6 months

Bethany and I have been married 6 months today!  A happy thought and reality...

Divine Blessing & Food, Physical and Spiritual

In Genesis, God blessed man and gave him the right to the plants and the animals for food (Gen 1:29; 9:3). Yet, should we not give thanks for the food and seek God’s blessing upon it as Jesus did (Matt 14:19; 15:36)? But what does it mean that He blessed the food? From a study I am doing on blessing, it seems that when Jesus blesses the food He is teaching us that we need to depend on God for our sustenance and strength. As John Calvin says in The Institutes, “But the Spirit declares not only that the produce of the earth is God’s special gift, but ‘that man does not live by bread only’ (Deut 8:3), because it is not mere fullness that nourishes him but the secret blessing of God” (1.16.7). Mere food molecules do not nourish man; God continually sustains man by His hand. The food is a tool which has no power unless God decrees it.

This leads to my second pondering. What does it mean when Christ showed us the example which Paul repeats of blessing the Lord’s Supper? As in the previous example, when Christ blesses, He does so directly (Mt. 26:26). As God, He can bless at will. Yet, when we come to the Table, the cup should also be blessed according to Paul (1 Cor 10:16). In our case, we bless indirectly.  We must come and ask God’s blessing on these simple physical elements, so that by His power they may give us the spiritual nourishment and strength which they are meant to. What a wonderful thing the blessing of God is, and how little sensitivity I find in myself to be grateful for His great goodness.

Other passages: Lk 24:30; 1 Cor 10:16; Mt. 26:26; Mk 14:22 [cf Lk 22:19; 1 Cor 11:24; 1 Tim 4:3; Rom 14:6; Acts 27:35]

An article on Confessionism which I found really helpful

  This article "Confessionism: The Misuse of 1 John 1:9" lays out much that I have wondered about, and it actually summarizes much that I've thought, and it helped me to complete my thoughts.  I had arrived at many of these conclusions regarding the passage under question, 1 John 1:6-2:1.  However, it wasn't till part way through this article that I really put together the fact that a normative Christian response to sin is to recognize its presence in the believer.  Our understanding of our need of a Redeemer is the basis of our confession of sin's indwelling presence with us on this earth.  Nothing good comes from us; everything good comes from God.  Thus, I freely confess that I am a sinner who sins daily.

 As the author of the article says, we do admit/confess our sins, but it is not to obtain forgiveness.  The admission of our sin is a step on the path of repentance and change.  We have forgiveness, full and free, from the moment of our initial justification.

Notes

I read in Habakkuk today, and I was struck by the thoughts at the end of chapter 2.  The heathen speak to their voiceless idols saying, "Awake, Awake."  But... the Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silent before Him.  While we have been granted access to the throne of grace freely, it is not just to speak.  Yet, I find that it is extremely difficult to see the Lord in His holy temple and also keep silent.  The cluttered mind and lack of natural stillness needs to be remedied, by grace.  May I learn to be still before the throne!

I posted a bit at the "family" blog today since it is the 121st year since my great-grandmother was born.

Finally, I have recently been finding a wealth of commentaries on Google Books that are on various lists of "best" commentaries.  Obviously the value of them varies, but I found books by Keil, Delitzsch, G. Campbell Morgan, F. B. Meyer, Westcott, A. J. Gordon, Andrew Bonar, A. T. Robertson, John Owen, Spurgeon, John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Broadus, A. C. Gaebelein, Charles Hodge, and A. W. Pink.  The significance is not so much in the details as in the vast array of resouces that are available.  Besides all that, there is much available in areas of church history and theology as well.