Category: Devotional

Devotional thoughts for my benefit and yours from here, there, and everywhere

Quotes to Note 6: Following Christ As a Helpless Child

~ fundyreformed ~ 2 Comments

The last several months, I’ve been enjoying Tabletalk, a monthly devotional magazine from R.C. Sproul’s Ligonier Ministries. There’s a daily reading relevant to a specific passage, a bible reading plan, and several articles related to a specific theme for the month.

This month, the theme is resolutions. And Stephen Nichols, the author of Jonathan Edwards: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought, contributed an article on Jonathan Edwards’ famous resolutions. In that article he mentioned a letter with 19 points that Edwards addressed to a teenager who had asked for advice on how to live the Christian life. From that letter comes the quote for today’s quote to note. I hope it blesses you as it did me.

In all your course, walk with God and follow Christ as a little, poor, helpless child, taking hold of Christ’s hand, keeping your eye on the mark of the wounds on his hand and side.

May God grant that we all have such a humble trust in Christ this year, and may we draw closer to our Savior.

A Special Christmas Memory

~ fundyreformed ~ 1 Comment

This morning, I entered the first of 12 contests at Bible Geek Gone Wild. Shaun Tabatt is running a 12 Days of Christmas promotion there as an excuse to give away lots of free books.

Today’s contest asked the entrants to share a favorite Christmas memory. I’m usually not good with memories, but the one I have was a blessing to me in the remembering And I thought it’d be a great memory to blog about as well. So here goes…

It’s hard to pick a favorite memory. But one stands out from my childhood days.

My sister was either 2 or 3, and for me it was still a new thing to have a cute little sister (I was 6 years older than she). I believe Mom had her dressed up in a little red nightgown with a night cap on. The special gift for her was to be a Cabbage Patch doll. Rather than wrapping it up, Mom had it just sitting under the tree.

When I saw the gift, I was overcome with excitement for how little Katie would respond. Sure enough, she got up and rushed out to the tree and her eyes lit up with wonder and she grabbed her doll, treasuring it as only a little toddler can.

I think that Christmas was when I first learned that Christmas giving is not about me getting stuff, but about family and friends sharing love with one another. As the years passed from that day, the giving rather than receiving of gifts became more and more what I looked forward to at Christmas.

Now as a father of my own four little girls, I can’t wait to see the sparkle in their eyes this Christmas!

“Baby Bible Board Books (Collection #1)” by Edward & Sarah Bolme

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

Authors: Edward & Sarah Bolme (Illustrated by Tim Gillette)
Format: Child’s Board Book
Page Count: 20/per book
Publisher: Crest Publications
Publication Date: 2003
ISBN: 0972554645
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

This collection of children’s bible story board books is absolutely charming. The pictures are bright and cute. The stories are simple and on a young child’s level. The book proves durable and is easy for little fingers to hold. Best of all, the Bible stories are told in a simple yet very relevant way.

As the father of four little girls (the oldest is in Kindergarten), I’ve seen many a Christian themed kid’s book. Many of them bend the Biblical text too much for my tastes. Some water down the message to the point I can’t share them with my children. These books, written by Edward and Sarah Bolme, not only pass my parental eye, but they are treasured by my girls as well. (I can’t keep them on my desk to review, without my girls taking them back and using them!)

Each book focuses on a specific Bible story, and includes the specific Biblical reference on the back cover. With just a few words per page, each story is told at a child’s level. The pictures include cute pets or other kid-friendly embellishments, but the story stays true to the text. What’s best with these stories is how the last page applies the story’s lesson to the child’s experience. These are not moral lessons about how to act, rather teach about who God is and how we can trust Him in our lives. A Bible verse is included with the application as well.

The four books cover the following stories. Jesus Stops a Storm — which means Jesus keeps us safe, as well. Jesus Heals a Little Girl — so Jesus makes us well, too. Jesus Helps a Blind Man — and He takes good care of us. And then Jesus Feeds the People — even as God gives us good food, too. These applications are at a child’s level, and there is ample opportunity to add additional teaching as you read the book with your child.

The artwork is professional, and very attractive to children ages 1-3 (whom the books are geared toward) and even older. I really can’t rate these books high enough.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

This book is available for purchase at the following sites: Amazon.com or direct from Crest Publications.

Why Not to Visit Israel

~ fundyreformed ~ 22 Comments

Every decent Christian longs to go to the Holy Land.   They would love an opportunity to see the places where Biblical events happened, touch places Jesus may have touched, see where the Temple stood and where the empty tomb may have been.   Right?   Isn’t that true?

Well, I agree with John Piper.   I don’t really want to go to the Holy Land.   I don’t feel I need to.   This past Sunday, in Pastor Piper’s message, he declared that he’s never been to Israel, and he doesn’t want to go.   He even asked the church not to send him.   His sermon is available here, but Junior transcribed the part about Israel.   I’ll post his transcription here, and then the edited version in the print copy of his sermon.

Jesus is where we meet God. If you want to say, “Where on the planet today is a holy place that I can do a pilgrimage and be in the house of God?” Answer, “Jesus!” You want to go to a holy place on the planet? Stand still and come to Jesus. There aren’t any holy sites in the Christian religion. Zero. I’ve never gone to Israel mainly for that reason. Please, when I’m here 30 years don’t give me a free trip to Israel – fix my car. I got no problem with you going to Israel. I don’t want any emails. There’s just no more Jesus in Israel than there is in your pew right now.   [Actual quote]

Now Jesus is the new Beth-el. He is the place where God is present. Heaven has opened, and Jesus has appeared. And from now on, Jesus will be the place where God appears most clearly among men, and where men find their way into fellowship with God. There are no holy geographic places any more designated by God as his meeting place with man. Jesus is that meeting place.   [Edited revision of this part]

The reason pastor Piper says these things is that the Bible doesn’t teach that Israel is some special holy land that believers should long for.   No Israel–the land–pointed to a greater reality, that of spiritual fellowship with God.   We don’t need to go anywhere to be closer to Jesus, we are members of His Body.   We don’t need to look for a future Temple, we are the reconstituted Temple.

For more on this idea, I’d encourage you to check out my series of posts on Understanding the Land Promise.

Melchizedek's Supper: Bread, Wine and a Blessing from the Prefigured Christ

~ fundyreformed ~ 37 Comments

breadwineMelchizedek is a mysterious Old Testament figure. He appears on the stage out of nowhere, it seems. Then he jumps right back into obscurity.

If you’re unfamiliar with the story, you can read it in Genesis 14:17-24. Abram and his army of servants and allies, defeated an invading army and rescued the people and possessions of Sodom, his nephew Lot among them. After this surprising victory, Melchizedek appears on the scene with bread, wine and a blessing. After blessing Abram and God, he receives a tenth of all the spoils from Abram’s hand. Then that’s it. He’s gone.

We do know a few other things about him. His name means king of righteousness, and he was the king of Salem (which means peace). He’s also referred to as a priest of God Most High. Ps. 110 speaks of Christ being a “priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” and Hebrews 7 builds on that.

For the purposes of my post, it’s clear that Melchizedek is a type of Christ (see Heb. 7:3). He is a Priest-King, and Jesus is the Prophet-Priest-King. Considering that God knew all along that Melchizedek was a type of Christ, and since God orchestrates all of history, including the events of Genesis 14, I think there is something for us to learn here from Melchizedek’s bringing bread and wine to Abram.

I was reading the 8th portrait of Christ in Bob Beasley’s book 101 Portraits of Jesus in the Hebrew Scriptures, when I was struck by this simple line, “He [Melchizedek] brings bread and wine, elements we use in the Lord’s Supper.” Melchizedek brought bread and wine, like in the Lord’s Supper. So I thought, what does this teach me about the Lord’s Supper? The answer might seem too simple and obvious but I think it is quite important.

The Lord’s Supper is a blessing that Jesus brings to us. It isn’t just a rite to be observed, but Jesus, comes to us bringing bread and wine. He blesses us through the meal He shares with us. As Melchizedek blessed Abram along with the bread and wine He shared with him, so Christ blesses us as we partake of holy communion.

The supper, after all, is Christ’s idea, His ordinance for His church. He says the elements represent His body and we should remember Him as we eat of it. In previous posts on the Lord’s Supper, I’ve shown how the idea of sharing a meal with God is behind the Lord’s Supper in part. I mentioned before that Wayne Grudem highlights Ex. 24:9-11 and Deut. 14:23-26 as examples of God’s eating with men. Perhaps this story of Melchizedek foreshadows those meals as well.

In the Supper, all the blessings we get come from Christ. Ultimately the bread and wine come from Him as well. This coming Sunday we’ll partake of the Lord’s Supper at my church, and I am eager to receive a blessing from the hand of Christ my Melchizedek. A blessing given through my enjoyment of the joy of wine, and the sustenance of bread. May Jesus be ever more my blessing, my joy, and my life’s sustenance. Amen!