Orthodox: mercy, justice and a Redeemer

  I've been reading in an old Russian Orthodox systematic theology.  The purpose is to learn, specifically about what has been believed by those who have lived in this area under Christ's name longest.  In this particular instance, the quotation also speaks to the majority beliefs locally. So here, from the sections about sin and salvation is a beautiful expression:

In regard to repentance also, it can never be sincere in the corrupt and unregenerate heart; because, to the end of life, the perpetual commission of sin proves it to be weak and ineffectual; for former acts of repentance, are ever violated by present transgressions. I do not mean evangelical or Christian repentance; it is of another kind: and why it is effectual, we shall soon show.

Let no man, however, suppose, that because God is infinitely merciful, or rather mercy itself, he can, without regarding men's imperfections and their falling into sin, out of his mere goodness, pardon men, and render them fit to be partakers of his blessedness and glory. Such reasoning is base and sinful; it makes the mercy of God blind; it presupposes a God not possessed of eternal and inviolable rectitude. It obliges him to regard the righteous and the wicked alike, a supposition which it is dreadful to apply to the living God. 

Does any one ask, by what way then can man be saved? By that way, I answer, which infinite wisdom has devised, and in which the mercy of our God is united with a full satisfaction of his justice, in the work of our salvation. And what this way is, the word of God has particularly revealed to us. (pg128)

(...)

The love and mercy of God to all his creatures, but particularly to man, is greater than we are capable of comprehending. How could that Being then, whose goodness transcends our comprehension, suffer man, the chief among the creatures, to perish; and who, according to the design of God himself, was created for eternal happiness? But the justice of God is no less real than his mercy, and could not suffer the least violation. Thus, if anywhere, more especially here, we must use the words of the gospel: "The things which are impossible with men, are possible with God." (Luke 18:27) What can be hid from the infinite wisdom of God? To it, the most secret means are all open and revealed. It beheld, that on the part of man there was no way by which he could obtain salvation; because every individual stood in need of this for himself. The angels were not possessed of adequate powers to execute this great work, which required nothing less than infinite might. There remained no hope but in God himself. And hence, in the most secret counsels of the Holy Trinity, which are impenetrable to the powers of angels, it was appointed, that the most exalted Son of God should himself become the Redeemer of the human race, and this office he assumed.

(pg 130)

- Platon, A Summary of Christian Divinity 

("Man is unable to deliver himself" and "For the salvation of man, God himself became incarnate" sections)

Self-swindlers & Daily needs

  I didn't mention one of the books, Dangerous Calling (by Paul Tripp) that I am reading, when I wrote my list of recommended books from last year.  I am about a third of the way through it, and it has been incredibly helpful. Convicting and encouraging and challenging..

 Here's a series of quotes regarding Hebrews 3:12-13 that I thought would be helpful. ("Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.")

Every person still living with sin inside is a very skilled self-swindler. I think we do this way more often than we are aware. 

...

But spiritually blind people are not only blind; they are blind to their own blindness. They are blind, but they think that they see well. So the spiritually blind person walks around with the delusion that no one has a more accurate view of him than he does. 

...

The blinding ability of sin is so powerful and persuasive that you and I literally need daily intervention. What the writer of Hebrews is crushing with this warning and call is any allegiance we might have to an isolated, individualized, “Jesus and me” Christianity. He is arguing for the essentiality of the ministry of others in the life of every believer. 

...

The author argues here that personal spiritual insight is the product of community. It’s very difficult to get it by yourself. 

...

This self-righteous blindness also means that they will not deal very well with opposition and accusation. They will not see these things as tools of uncomfortable grace sent by a God who is continuing his work in them. Because they are content with who they are, they will wonder why God has singled them out for this particular difficulty, in moments giving way to questioning the goodness and wisdom of God. 

2014 Recommended Reading

This year's best-book list will not be particularly long, although I did quite a bit of reading this year.  Part of that is because my current stage in life means that I am doing a good bit of reading in Turkish: Aziz Nesin is a famous and very funny, but probably not to most people who are unfamiliar with Turkish culture.  Thus, I will suggest several books which I think would be widely enjoyable and let that suffice.

God's Glory in Clay Pots (Les Ollila and Sam Horn) - I virtually never read devotionals, but this one was extremely valuable to me.  There is also a sermon series which it was created from, available here. I previously posted about this book here.  (my blog post)

David and Goliath (audio edition, by Malcolm Gladwell)  - This is another well-written book by Gladwell, which we again enjoyed together as a couple. We highly recommend the audio editions, as the author reads them beautifully.  Topic: underdogs and outcasts.

The Legacy of William Carey (Vishal and Ruth Mangalwadi) was an insightful book about the effect of William Carey's vision and work on the people and culture of India, extending to modern times. The robust and well-balanced vision of a Christian man. (related posts: Dorothy Carey, Carey: Spread of the Gospel, Carey: on Prayer)

For the first time, I read Louis L'amour's entire Sackett series in order this year.  That was fun, and as far as I found, there was only one book that didn't seem to fit quite right. I have been gathering the series for years, though I haven't finished gathering a few books with miscellaneous references to Sackett's yet. (Reading order here.) 

Also, in the Western category, Tim Champlin (relation unknown) has written a couple of novels I really enjoyed this year: Wayfaring Strangers and Cross of Gold.  Wayfaring Strangers was particularly interesting as it followed different characters going West in several different ways.

It's a Jungle Out There (Ron Snell) is an autobiographic series of sketches about a family growing up deep in Peru's jungles.  It reminded me in many ways of my own childhood, was a fun read, and will be even more fun to read with my kids someday I think.  (I got the second volume this Christmas.)

Nothing much new happened in the musical category this year.  Of course, the Piano Guys' "Wonders" album came out, but that was more a continuation of past joy than a new discovery.  Also, Kevin Burrill has begun producing his music, starting with "The Great Exchange" and continuing with a Christmas album.  Those were both greatly enjoyed!

Recommendations from years past: 2013, 2012, 2011

Advent 2014

 This year as a family we started doing Advent readings on the mornings we ate breakfast together in December. It was a special time of sharing as a family, the girls could understand the short passages with a little explanation. Since it was an experiment, we started in the easiest way I think, we read the major prophecies that we could think of about Christ leading up to His birth. The themes were beautiful, and it seems a good tradition with which to focus on the unique Son.

2014 names of the Promised One

Genesis 3 - the One who will crush the snake's head
Genesis 12 - the Blessing
Numbers 24 - the Bright Morning Star
Deuteronomy 18 - the Prophet who is greater
Psalm 2 - the forever King and God's Son
2 Samuel 7 - God's forever King who builds God's forever house
Psalm 22 - the Sufferer
Psalm 24 - the King of Glory who is strong and mighty in battle
Psalm 110 - the High Priest like Melchizadek
Isaiah 7 - Immanuel
Isaiah 9 - a son, a child, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
Isaiah 53 - the despised, atoning Sufferer, God's servant
Isaiah 61 - the Spirit-anointed Healer, Liberator, and Gladdener
Micah 5 - a long-in-coming Ruler in Israel
Matthew 1 - Jesus

Broken Hoses and Broken Pots - a personal update

  Occasionally, God providentially arranges life's events to provide clarity in what He is teaching.  It's not that we ever get to know the full spectrum of His work, but sometimes He makes clear that 'this' is the lesson of the moment.  Two weeks ago, I began reading a short devotional book called God's Glory in Clay Pots by Les Ollila and Sam Horn (audio here).  I virtually never read devotionals, and I don't even know how I came across this one, but it immediately began feeding my soul with the truths of the great Potter's loving care which brings difficulty for the preparing and shaping and beautifying of the pot, while displaying the glory of the Potter.

 Then, last Sunday our pastor preached on Job and how every difficulty Job faced were designed to teach him more of God and how to worship Him for who He is in, not simply for what He gives.  Friday morning, I finished the book in thankfulness for a Potter who would dirty His hands with clay.  We live where most people cannot imagine a Lord who would stoop in humility to become clay like us.  Friday night, probably about 5AM a hose burst under the kitchen sink; and close to 6, we found that out, by stepping in water as we got out of bed.  So, yesterday was scrambled.  Many tokens of love were evident throughout the day, both divine and human - neighbors and friends who served us far beyond our expectation.

 And then, tonight, I was reading in John 11... Lazarus is sick, and it says that when Jesus knew that He stayed away because He loved them.  This is right after He has commented that this sickness is for God's glory.  And, these themes run through the chapter: God's glory and God's love call for the same (in)action here - Jesus stays away!  And immediately the burst hose and the extra pressures that that brings come to mind: it's not like we didn't talk about those shaping, pressuring Divine Hands yesterday, but a point is pressed home - our pipes only burst under loving pressure.  That wasn't simply rubber breaking - another lump in the clay is being worked out, or maybe lots of lumps in lots of pieces of clay, but certainly in this one.

 And the reason?  So, that the Treasure that's hidden inside will be able to be revealed.  The pottery is not that impressive; the Treasure inside... awesome! incredible! And amazingly, the pottery will become more beautiful at the same time it glorifies the Potter better!  God's love for us and His seeking His own glory are incredibly displayed together in the image of the Potter.  (I highly recommend the book because it weaves together the many Potter-vessel images in Scripture so beautifully.)

 The truths of the song rang sweetly again today as we sang them... "Blessed be your name in a land that is plentiful... when the world's all as it should be... when I walk in the desert place... when the darkness closes in... Blessed be your name!"

a variety of ways for looking at shame

  I have been actively learning about shame for a couple of years now, and I wanted to compile the resources I've gathered.  I've posted on the topic a couple times before, but I wanted to gather the resources in one place.

Video

- Brene Brown's 'Listening to shame' has been invaluable in my learning; first, you should listen to her first TED talk on vulnerability first.  This would be a wonderful way to spend your time; I've listened to them each multiple times.

Two Books 
- Roland Muller's Honor and Shame (summary) - This book is probably a great place to start on the basics of a shame-based culture.

- Ed Welch's Shame Interrupted - This book is a beautiful place to begin examining our own shame in light of God's Word or sharing God's hope to those who are in shame and despair

Blog posts 

- Scripture is about Our Shame - the basic Gospel story of shame

- Jesus the Shame-Bearer - thoughts on what Christ did for us

My Speculations

Law-based culture says something is wrong according to the group's rules.

Shame-based culture says something is wrong as it is negatively effects group members?

Fear-based culture says something may have bad consequences for the individual or group?

Empathy is the antidote to shame.  Brene Brown

Related post:
Honor, Shame, and Slanting Theology

The odd notion of 400 Silent Years

  A fair number of unsupported (or poorly supported) assertions wander about in popular Christian theology.  One that I read or hear relatively often is the idea that there were '400 silent years' between Old and New Testament times.  Now, we can certainly estimate that there were 400-430 years between the writing of the last book of the OT and the birth of Jesus Christ.  But why would we state without proof that those years were silent?

Simeon & Jesus

Anna & Jesus

   Some might say, "God didn't speak during that time."  But Scripture doesn't say that.  In fact, the opposite is hinted at, since Simeon had been told that he wouldn't die till he saw the Messiah, by the Holy Spirit. (Lk 2:25-32.) Beyond that, people didn't appear particularly surprised when Zechariah's sees a vision (Lk 1:22), quickly guessing that that's what happened.

  Or, someone might say, "There were no prophets during those 400 years."  Scripture doesn't say that; and it does say that there was a prophetess, Anna (Lk 2:36-38).  It seems quite unlikely that she had only begun being a prophetess a year or two before Christ's birth.

  As a final defense of this concept, it might be suggested that for 400 years, there was no authoritative Scripture recorded. Certainly that would seem to be true, but this is a very different claim from 'silent years.' If this is the case, we should probably use a number greater than 400, since even an early dating for 1 Thessalonians, Matthew, James, or Galatians would make the count close to 450-500 years.  Yet, wouldn't it be ludicrous to describe many of those years as silent?

  I realize that is a very narrow point to make, but do we really believe that God was silent for 400 years?  Prophets or prophetesses and Scripture were not speaking? to say nothing of the Spirit of God who even in the darkest times never leaves Himself without a witness! Sometimes the voice of God is 'rare' or 'precious' in its scarcity, but I see no evidence of silence, particularly in a ~400-year epoch where Scriptures simply do not tell us authoritatively what happened.

Numerical beauty (palindromic)

Yesterday while counting something, I realized that adding 9 to 5 five times, resulted in a numeric palindrome 05 14 23 32 41 50.  A palindrome is a word that can be read the same way forwards or backwards.  Today, when I glanced at the numbers I'd written down again, I wondered if it would work with another number.  Sure enough, it does. Just add 9...

00

01 10

02 11 20

03 12 21 30

04 13 22 31 40

05 14 23 32 41 50

06 15 24 33 42 51 60

07 16 25 34 43 52 51 70

08 17 26 35 44 53 62 71 80

09 18 27 36 45 54 63 72 81 90

Beyond that, there's multiple additional pattern layers within the set, and the pattern renews after the first series; thus, after 01 10, you have a second numeric palindrome:

19 28 37 46 55 64 73 82 91 

Again, this continues after the other sets.  Aren't numbers beautiful?  I am especially curious about what is special about the number 9 in these sorts of sequences.  

  I've played mental games with numbers since at least fifth grade when I learned to 'cast out nines' as a method of checking multiplication, division or addition problems.  (Another pattern that I realized years ago is that the square of any number is +1 of the product of the number before and after it.  Thus, 8x8=64, which is one more than 7x9.) Anyways, I have no idea whether there is any significance in this sort of thing or whether whoever else has found it has given it a name, but I haven't found it if there is a significance or if it does have a name! 

learning of an Afro-Surinamese-Dutch-American inventor

  While researching a presentation on Suriname for my Turkish class, I came across "Jan Ernst Matzeliger" as a significant person of Suriname descent. But I'd never heard of him, even though he was important in the history of both the places I grew up.  

 He was the sort of person who apparently thrived on overcoming obstacles. As the son of a Dutch engineer and a Suriname slave, he eventually left Suriname to travel the world and then settle in America where he invented an 'uninventable' machine, the shoe-lasting machine.  His idea was so unbelievable and complex that a person actually came from the Patent Office to make sure it really worked.  

 By most measures, he would be considered one of the most important African-American inventors in history; by birth, he was Afro-Surinamer and Dutch; but he became a naturalized US citizen.  He was featured on a US stamp in 1991.  Read more about him here.

Muğla, university city and Mediterranean province

  During the recent national holiday, our family got the chance to travel to the city and province of Muğla.  We got to explore as tourists, but we were also looking at it as a place we might be able to work and live in sometime in the future.  So, the pictures below will be a sampling of tourism, road trip, and our explorations of both city and province.

  The people were hospitable and gracious, and it was nice to get to meet a good variety of Muğlalılar.  This is a gorgeous area; unfortunately, I couldn't take a picture of the most beautiful view because I saw it a couple hundred yards out from shore in Akyaka, looking back over the clear blue water against the green cliffs with a pleasing little Turkish town nestled on the shore.

breakfast at a little inn

nearing a new city, Milas

Olive orchards were a frequent sight.

the area has lots of mountains, as well as lots of greenery

the University in Muğla, pretty campus and the staff that we met were very nice

Ice cream and parks were important parts of all of our lives,
but they especially helped the littlest members of our group enjoy the time.