Ascribelog

Moving!

2011-04-02T10:28:00.003-05:00

I've done it! I've moved my blog over to Wordpress!

I simply didn't have the time or patience to deal with the formatting glitches I was experiencing here on Blogger. Please click the link above to visit the new and (I hope) improved Ascribelog!

Giving God Glory in Public Pain, Psalm 115

2011-04-02T07:31:00.005-05:00

It's no secret that our church is going through an extremely difficult time right now. No one has tried to cover up anything or sweep anything under a rug, but the media hoopla is painful for all of us.

It would be inappropriate and unwise for me to comment more specifically on the situation in this public forum, but I mention it now only to share how remarkable God's providence has been throughout these last few months.

God has provided just the right sermons for us at just the right steps in this painful journey. And he has provided a faithful interim shepherd who preaches and speaks the truth in love.

And as I blog my way through the Psalms, it amazes me how appropriate each one seems to be to the changing situation.

As the media coverage and public criticism intensifies, it is good to read Psalm 115, which begins with this wonderful verse:

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,

for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

As our collective name is dragged through media muck, we grieve not only for the damaged personal relationships and reputations and the damaged congregational reputation, but also—and especially—for the damage to Christ's church. We trust God's steadfast love and faithfulness while continuing to pray that no one individual will receive personal glory, but that in all this mess God will receive all the glory.

The next section of Psalm 115 seems particularly apt to recent media exposure and public scorn:

Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?"

Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases (2-3, ESV).

Perhaps some members of the media delight in exposing sin within a small Dutch Reformed enclave like Pella. Perhaps some people gloat in what they view as our church's religious hypocrisy. Perhaps some unbeliever asks, "Where is their God?" Even believers can think, "Why did God allow this to happen?"

Our only response can be, "Our God reigns on high, he is sovereign over even this painful situation."

Verse three says that God does all he pleases. How can this pain please God? We don't know. But we do know that he will use it for good. Perhaps it will unify and strengthen marriages; perhaps it will unify and strengthen our church; perhaps it will unify and strengthen our federation; perhaps it will unify and strengthen Christ's church in our community; perhaps it will even help unify and strengthen Christ's church in our nation and throughout the world. We just don't know. But we can be sure it will somehow, in some way, be for good.

The next section of Psalm 115 (verses 4-8) talks about the ineffectiveness of idols and how those who put their trust in them become like them. Those who trust in anything except God are as dumb, blind, deaf, lame, and mute as an inanimate idol.

Verses 9-11 encourage believers to trust in the Lord, who is our "help and shield." Following this encouragement, the psalmist give believers these beautiful promises and prayers (excerpts from verses 12-15, ESV):

The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us;

he will bless those who fear the LORD,

both the small and the great.

May the Lord give you increase,

you and your children!

May you be blessed by the LORD,

who made heaven and earth!

God not only promises to remember us, but he also promises to bless us! And he will bless the lowly believer as well as the exalted believer. The psalmist asks God to bless us and our children, a prayer that will be fulfilled because God is the Creator God who made all things and can do all things.

Psalm 115 concludes with a reminder of God's sovereignty and a call to live with victorious praise (16-18, ESV):

The heavens are the LORD's heavens,

but the earth he has given to the children of man.

The dead do not praise the LORD, n

or do any who go down into silence.

But we will bless the LORD

from this time forth and forevermore.

Praise the LORD!

God reigns over the cosmos and over all the events of our lives! He has put us on earth and given us authority over our little areas of creation. I don't know about you, but I've had plenty of times in the last year—particularly in the last few months—when I just wanted to say, "Beam me up, Scotty!"

It isn't wrong to long for glory. Christians are called to long for our translation to glory as well as the renewal of all things. But while we're here, we are also called to live to God's glory. Our dead bodies can't witness to other people about God's glorious salvation. While we live, we can't be silent! We must praise God as long as he gives us breath, no matter what our circumstances.

That's why we're making the commitment in all of this to bless the Lord now and forever!

Praise the Lord!

Blog foes, Facebook friends

2011-04-01T06:34:00.008-05:00

For the last three days, I've spent hours trying to format blog posts, but Blogger won't recognize line breaks, even when I type them entirely in html and insert the proper formatting. As soon as I publish, the breaks disappear. I've posted a note on my Facebook account that meditates on Psalm 115, particularly as it relates to the current situation in our church. If you want to read it, please create a Facebook account and add me as your friend.

The Tub in the Living Room

2011-03-31T05:48:00.005-05:00

There's a bathtub in my living room.

After raising four children and putting them all through private Christian school, we are finally getting to the point of being able to afford some desperately needed home repair. Our bathroom requires serious renovation; we need to replace the vinyl flooring, sub-flooring, sheetrock, sink, and...tub.

Because I struggle with chronic pain from arthritis and brachial neuritis, we've had our eyes on a moderately-priced whirlpool tub at Menard's for about the last three years. When it recently went on sale, we bought it; even though we haven't started the bathroom renovation yet and are not anywhere close to being ready to install the tub.

So it sits inside its huge cardboard box in our living room. It takes a lot of space, although it came in handy for sorting paperwork while I was working on income tax preparation. It was a little awkward when our elders came for their annual home visit. It fascinated our grandsons. It has been difficult to ignore when we've had visitors.

It reminds me of the idiom about an elephant in the living room. Writers or speakers often use the phrase to refer to a pressing issue that people choose to ignore, even though it is as obvious as an elephant in a living room.

People may say, "Nice warm day." Or they'll ask, "How 'bout them Hawks?" But they don't ask about the elephant in the living room. Meanwhile the elephant stands there, slowly swinging his trunk above the creaking boards and sagging floor joists.

It would be more helpful to discuss the elephant and help the owner remove it before it compromises the structure of the entire house with its weight (not to mention its droppings!).

As long as the tub sits in my living room, it reminds me that we all have issues that need to be faced and addressed. Although it may be painful, it is better to deal with the elephant in the living room than to ignore it.

It causes me to tremble, Psalm 114

2011-03-30T07:19:00.004-05:00

What causes the earth to tremble, firm ground to ripple, and buildings to sway?

We can talk all day about plate tectonics and continental drift, but the short answer is: God.

In beautifully poetic language and form, Psalm 114 depicts an animated earth and its elements when God delivered Israel from Egypt. Read it aloud to enjoy the fullness of its beauty!

When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.

The sea looked and fled;
Jordan turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.

What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turns the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water (Psalm 114, ESV).

The parallelism is obvious. (Parallelism is the repetition of a similar concept with different words in two subsequent lines.) The ESV Literary Study Bible says, "There is no better example in the entire Psalter of how Hebrew parallelism works and of the beauty that attends it" (p. 878).

Parallelism and other poetic devices enliven and energize this psalm. We visualize the water of the Red Sea cresting up into two giant waves that part and expose a quickly drying sea bed. We see the face of a hard gray rock melt into a rippling pool of shimmering water reflecting the sun's beams and the blue sky. We feel the excitement and wonder.

But perhaps we think: "Well, it would have been great to be the Israelites and see those miraculous events, to finally be free from slavery; but we're stuck here in this broken world with all its pain."

The reality is that we've been delivered from slavery in even more miraculous ways than the Israelites. We were dead. Now we live.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind (Ephesians 1:1-3, ESV).

We were dead, not sick or comatose, in our sins. Is resurrecting a corpse any less marvelous than parting a sea? Ephesians 3 continues by describing God's ultimate crisis intervention:

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (4-7, ESV).

We do not simply exist, feebly grasping life with our fingernails while we wait for Christ to reappear and rescue us; we are alive with Christ. We have been saved and raised with him. In ways we can't fully understand, we are already seated with him in the heavenly places. When we die, our souls will go to heaven, and one day Christ will resurrect and glorify our bodies; but we don't have to wait for his grace. He is already demonstrating the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness toward us.

Tremble in amazement at your deliverance from the slavery of sin, which was no less remarkable than the marvelous deliverance of Israel so poetically described in Psalm 114.

Pray for grace. Pray for God to open your eyes to the immeasurable riches of Christ's grace that already exist in your life!

Ministerio Cristiano "El Pacto de Gracia"

2011-03-24T05:52:00.005-05:00

I recently interviewed Mid-America Reformed Seminary graduate, Valentin Alpuche, regarding his urban church planting work among the Hispanic population of Chicago Heights: Ministerio Cristiano "El Pacto de Gracia" (Ministry of Christ "The Covenant of Grace"). His work is based in a storefront shared with an art gallery.
Valentin is second from the left in the front row of this group of men.
Valentin's wife, Betty, and their daughter, Jade, are in the middle chair of the front row in the above photo.

This is what Valentin said about his ministry's challenges and joys:

"There are many different challenges. The first is that a lot of second and third generation Hispanics don’t speak Spanish or they prefer to speak English. Another challenge is that once Hispanics come to America, they become even more materialistic in their worldview since having a job and a salary is what really matters, and they feel no need to have a saving relationship with God. Another factor is that because of their Catholic background Hispanics don’t see faith as a serious matter, requiring a commitment to serve the Lord in all areas of their lives. Unfortunately this same understanding is being infiltrated into many non-Reformed Spanish churches. Another aspect is that many of the immigrants are illegal. A final challenge is that we don’t have our own location in a visible area. We are praying for the Lord to provide a more strategic location."

"The main joy is to see people being saved from eternal condemnation—to see people opening their hearts to the gospel of Jesus Christ! I rejoice as much as the angels do in heaven!"

The entire interview has been posted on the website of the Seminary, and you can read it here.

Already blessings, Psalm 113

2011-03-23T05:07:00.004-05:00

Reformed Christians are fond of talking about "already" and the "not yet."

By this they mean that we already enjoy the blessings of the Christian life, but that we have not yet experienced its fullness. When we die, we leave the ravages of physical life and enter into fellowship with Christ in heaven, but we will not experience the fullness of Christ's kingdom until his return. Then the first heaven and earth will pass away and the sea will be no more; there will be a new heaven and earth and God will dwell directly with us; He will wipe every tear from our eyes and there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain; for the former things will pass away and he will make all things new (Revelation 21:1-5, ESV).

Many events in this world and struggles in our lives make us long for that day. Much of scripture, including many of the psalms we've looked at on this blog, point us toward that great day. But the thing that strikes me about Psalm 113 is that it isn't simply pointing to the "not yet" of future glory; it's talking about the "already" of our lives now.

Psalm 113 is a simple psalm bracketed with exclamatory praise. Its opening verses pulse with joyous praise:

Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD!
Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the LORD is to be praised! (1-3, ESV).

Certainly these verses convey the everlasting nature of God and his praise; his name is to blessed "from this time forth and forevermore" (the "already" and the "not yet"). But this opening reinforces the "already" aspect by mentioning the rising and setting of the sun.

In addition to the beautiful promises reflected in the second paragraph above, the penultimate chapter of the Bible tells us that the New Jerusalem "has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb" (Revelation 21:23, ESV).

If there will be no sun or moon in the new creation, then Psalm 113:3's reference to the rising and setting of the sun clearly conveys the concept of praising God's name in the here and now.

After this jubilant opening, Psalm 113 turns our gaze upward to focus on our exalted and sovereign God.

The LORD is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens!
Who is like the LORD our God,
who is seated on high,
who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth? (4-6, ESV).

From the highest heaven, our glorious God reigns over all the nations. He does not ignore current events; he "looks far down" on the obedient hosts of angels in heaven as well as the rebellious nations of people on earth. This means God is firmly in control, even over all the countries being torn apart by internal conflict.

God sees the suffering of his people, many of whom need not wait until their translation to glory for relief and blessing.

He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD! (7-9, ESV).

In his great mercy, God raises the poor from the dust of poverty and lifts the needy from the ash heap of mourning. He seats them with the princes of his people! In his marvelous compassion, God grants the barren woman a joyful home filled with the sweet sounds of children.

These are not "pie in the sky, wait until you die" promises. These are blessings that God gives to believers here and now in the "already" of his kingdom.

No wonder the psalmist concludes as he began: "Praise the LORD!"

South Orange County Church planting effort changes frequency and venue

2011-03-22T04:55:00.004-05:00

After nearly two years of monthly mid-week home studies, South Orange County Reformed Fellowship is stepping forward in faith with weekly Sunday evening public meetings.

Beginning March 13, 2011, the group will meet each Sunday at 5:00 PM for a time of prayer, fellowship and Bible study at the San Felipe de Jesus Chapel, located at 26010 Domingo Ave. in Capistrano Beach, CA.

Under the supervision of the Oceanside URC consistory, Rev. Jon Moersch carries out the church planting work in a tent-making capacity. Rev. Moersch explains that the change in frequency and venue has been under consideration for some time.

“For the past several months, we have been thinking that a midweek home Bible study, held once a month, made it difficult for visitors to come,” he says. “Our thoughts were that if we could get a public facility and meet every Sunday evening, we could potentially draw a larger number of people.”

Obstacles to making the changes were finding a suitable location and the financial burden of renting a facility. But the Lord overcame those obstacles in an amazing way.

“Thankfully, I was able to find a small chapel near the beach that was available on Sunday evenings,” Rev. Moersch relates. “The building is owned by a large Roman Catholic church up the road and they use it largely for Spanish language mass. The priest was extremely gracious and is allowing us to use the facility for six months at absolutely no cost!”

The group’s initial goal is to spread the word concerning the work. A closely related goal is to gain as many core members as possible.

“Currently there are three families (not including my own) that are seriously committed to planting this church,” says Rev. Moersch. “Please pray for us that the Lord would see fit to bless our labors and add to our numbers.”

Oceanside’s pastor, Rev. Danny Hyde, reports that the Oceanside consistory approved South Orange County Fellowship’s changed venue and frequency for six months.

“If we grow to 6-10 families (singles, couples, entire families), we will proceed with public worship.” Rev. Hyde writes. “If not we will bring this labor to an end after nearly three years.”

The consistory of Oceanside URC adopted a church planting plan for the area in October of 2008. In February of 2009, Jon Moersch (member of the core group and previous Oceanside intern) was ordained to the work. The monthly home meetings began in San Clemente in May of 2009.

“For the past year and nine months,” writes Rev. Hyde, “Pastor Jon has labored with minimal success in terms of numerical growth, although we know his labors are not in vain eternally.”

The consistory of the Oceanside URC remains convinced of the desperate need for a confessionally Reformed congregation in South Orange County, CA.

“While we remain convinced of the need, only the Lord can grant success,” writes Rev. Hyde. “Will you boldly pray with and for us: ‘Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success!’ (Ps. 118:25)?”

Rev. Hyde requests not only the prayers of God’s people, but also the transmission of information: “We need your help propagating this info to anyone you may know in South Orange County who is not a member of a Reformed congregation.”

Readers are encouraged to point area family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to the South Orange County Fellowship’s blog.

The above article by Glenda Mathes appeared on page 17 of the March 16, 2011 issue of Christian Renewal.

Reviewing "Calvin as Journalist"

2011-03-21T04:17:00.003-05:00

In Calvin and Culture's penultimate chapter, "Calvin as Journalist," Warren Cole Smith connects the dots between Calvin's characteristics and modern journalism.

My review of Smith's chapter went up last Friday at the Reformed Academic blog.

Some of Smith's lines are heavier than others, but his transitions between subjects flow smoothly and he leaves readers with a challenge to reclaim journalism's noble past.

Light dawns in the darkness, Psalm 112

2011-03-18T06:40:00.008-05:00

As nuclear meltdowns threaten and the earth's foundations shake, God reminds us today that the righteous will never be moved and light dawns in the darkness.

Like so many other psalms, Psalm 112 begins with praise to God. But it quickly shifts focus to the godly person (verse 1, ESV):

Praise the LORD!

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commandments!

In the ESV Literary Study Bible, editors Ryken and Ryken identify Psalm 112 as an encomium, which they define in their glossary as "A work of literature that praises either a general character type (e.g., Psalm 1 on the godly person and Proverbs 31:10-31 on the virtuous wife) or abstract quality (e.g., 1 Corinthians 13 on love and Hebrews 11 on faith)" (p. 1887). If you've studied poetry or classical literature, you may already be familiar with the term.

The editors also note that the psalm's "successive half-verses follow the sequence of letters in the Hebrew alphabet, making this an acrostic poem" (p. 876). Regular blog readers will recall that the previous psalm we examined, Psalm 111, was also an acrostic praise psalm. Psalm 112 assures the godly of God's covenantal care for their ensuing generations.

His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever (2-3, ESV).

Our children may not win wrestling meets and we may not have a safe stuffed with currency and jewelry, but our believing children are strong in the Lord and their eternal souls are treasures in our households now and in our eternal homes. Our righteousness is Christ's, and that will never fail.

Because we have this never fading hope, light dawns in our darkness.

Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.

It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;

who conducts his affairs with justice (4-5, ESV).

In the murky shadows of this world, we can see the light of Christ. His dawn lights our way and lightens our hearts. He enables each of us to imitate him by being gracious and merciful. The righteous person is generous and helpful; he deals honestly with others.

The righteous are able to stand firm even in adversity.

For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries (6-8, ESV).

Because our righteousness is the righteousness of Christ, we will not be shaken even when the earth trembles. The grass may wither and the flower fade, our earthly bodies may deteriorate and die, but the Word of the Lord stands firm forever. And our souls are eternally secure in Christ that living Word. We need not fear frightening news reports. Our pulse remains steady when we trust God. We can be sure that one day we will view all enemies from a victorious vantage point.

The righteous acts of the godly person have everlasting value.

He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn is exalted in honor (9, ESV).

The biblical image of a horn represents power. In this world, God's people often are weak, oppressed, and humiliated. But the reality beyond this ephemeral sphere is that we are strong, powerful, and honored.

This makes the wicked very angry (verse 10, ESV):

The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish!

The wicked may try to grind the righteous in their vicious teeth, but they will soon melt away like a mist dispersed by sunlight. Their desires and stratagems will disappear.

In the face of today's bad news, take heart! God promises that the righteous will stand firm. Light will dawn in darkness!

California Dream Becomes Reality

2011-03-16T05:01:00.004-05:00

First United Reformed Church in Chino, CA, had a dream: develop a coordinated catechism curriculum for grades five through twelve that encompassed the Three Forms of Unity (the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism) with references to the Westminster Confessions.

After years of effort from many people, the new Life in Christ catechism curriculum now is available online for preview and pre-order!

First URC has arranged with Reformed Fellowship in Grandville, MI, to distribute the material. Reformed Fellowship's website features the Life in Christ project on its home page, and offers a pre-order special discount of $5 off the regular price per book on orders placed prior to May 15.

From the website:

This new curriculum is designed to instruct young people in the precious biblical Reformed faith in a format that uses sections of explanation, memory work from the confessions and Scripture and questions for discussion. Each lesson also includes space to answer the questions, a high-lighted box of key words and concepts, and personal application of the theme. Each of the volumes comprises twenty-five lessons in an 8-1/2” x 11” spiral-bound study-guide/workbook. Teacher Tips, helps for teaching the lessons, will also be available for most of the volumes.

The consistory of Chino's First United Reformed Church asked its pastor, Rev. Ronald Scheuers, to begin preparing this project in 2006. Many churches and individuals donated funds toward the project. Additional authors and editors contributed to the effort.

One of those authors and editors was yours truly, Glenda Mathes. I came on board with the project later than many others, but edited numerous lessons during the last half of 2008 and the first half of 2009. In July of 2009, I was asked to write a beginning level volume overviewing the Heidelberg Catechism, and I was asked if I could complete it by December 1. I said I would think and pray about it.

My experience with guided independent study as a non-traditional, older student taught me (among many other things) how to structure my work. I charted my anticipated writing and editing deadlines and factored in the number of lessons for each week in the time period. It looked intense, but viable. I said yes.

Between mid-July and the first of December, I wrote the twenty-five lessons of Not My Own: Discovering God's Comfort in the Heidelberg Catechism. I was not able to do this because of any personal abiblity; I was able to do this only and completely due to the amazing equipping grace of God.

That is the point I tried to convey in the "Author's Acknowledgments," which can be found in the introductory material here. The PDF file additionally shows the cover, table of contents, and the first lesson.

It is my prayer that this volume will help many students discover not only the beauty of the Reformed faith expressed in the Heidelberg Catechism, but also the comfort of God portrayed on every page of Scripture.

Praise Primer, Psalm 111

2011-03-12T07:11:00.006-06:00

In the original Hebrew language, Psalm 111 is an acrostic poem in which each line begins with consecutive letters of the alphabet.

The alphabet portion of the New England Primer uses an acrostic pattern to teach young children their A, B, Cs and simple theology. The New England Primer was the first published work for children in the American colonies. Its alphabet begins with this famous verse, "In Adam's Fall, We sinned all."

One can imagine little Jewish children memorizing the words of Psalm 111 to help them learn the alphabet and theology. The psalm contains a condensed overview of the gospel, the good news of God's sovereignty and salvation.

It begins with a call to praise and a vow for faithful corporate worship:

Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation (1, ESV).

On Wednesday evening, our church held its annual Prayer Day service, in which we hear a message from God's Word and intercessory prayers for various aspects of life: business and agriculture, our country, diaconal causes, and the Church.

Perhaps because of recent turmoil in the world and in our lives, I was more blessed by this service than ever before. It was a joy to gather with my church family and pray together. My heart truly was thankful for the opportunity. And today, I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to return to corporate worship tomorrow, on God's "festive day of rest" (Heidelberg Catechism, Q & A 103).

Not only are Christians called to joyfully worship, but we are also called to lovingly study God's works and words:

Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them (2, ESV).

God's splendid and majestic work is glorious. His faithful righteousness will never fade or fail:

Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever (3, ESV).

In God's great and gracious mercy, he has provided for the continuing transmission of his Word.

He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and merciful (4, ESV).

As he spiritually feeds us from his Word, he also physically nourishes us and cares for our covenant children throughout their generations.

He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever (5, ESV).

God demonstrated his power to Israel by bringing them out of Egypt's oppression and bestowing them with a fruitful land, tilled and established by others.

He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations (6, ESV).

God has also shown us his power by freeing us from sin's bondage and granting us the freedom of an abundant life in Christ. Every day we benefit from his faithful works.

The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness (7-8, ESV).

We can trust every part of eternal God's Word. His works and his words are faithful and upright. His most awe-inspiring gift is the salvation he freely grants to his covenant people (9, ESV):

He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!

Awesome is a word that has almost lost its meaning through trivial overuse, but its most appropriate use is in describing God's holy name. Our holy God's amazing redemption through Jesus Christ and his covenantal love to believers and their children truly generate awe.

Wisdom begins with love and awe for God (10, ESV):

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!

We shouldn't shy away from the biblical term "fear of the Lord." It doesn't mean to be terrified of God, although it includes an element of understanding God's power and his righteous anger against sin. The thought of a righteous and holy God ought to terrify those who don't trust in Christ for their salvation! But believers understand the "fear of the Lord" to encompass much more than simply acknowledging his holiness and power. It also means to whole-heartedly love and serve God. When we praise God, participate in corporate worship, peruse his Word, proclaim his wondrous works, and promote the covenant faithfulness of his salvation, we begin to have true biblical wisdom.

The alphabet section of the New England Primer taught early American tots how to read by inculcating biblical truths. The original model for that primer may have been Psalm 111, the acrostic "Praise Primer" that teaches us to trust our heavenly Father with a child-like faith.

In signs of times: Pray, Praise, Persevere

2011-03-11T05:50:00.007-06:00

Waking up this morning to news of Japan's massive earthquake and the resulting tsunami threatening more Pacific Rim countries, I pray for the people in the tsunami's path.

Prayer is appropriate and necessary in the wake of catastrophe, but sometimes our fears and concerns distort our prayers. We wallow in worry to the point of paralysis. We shouldn't allow our worries to paralyze us. So I do more than pray. I praise. And I persevere.

How can I praise God in the face of such devastation? Because God is the Almighty and Most High God. He looks on the earth and it trembles, he touches the mountains and they smoke (Psalm 104:32). Earthquakes and tsunamis are small glimpses of God's great power.

They are also signs of the times. In a private setting, Christ taught his disciples about the end of the age:

"And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains" (Mark 13:7-8).

Global unrest and disasters confirm that we live in the last days, the time between Christ's first advent and his second, and that every day brings us closer to the final great day of the Lord.

Perhaps the idea of that great day terrifies you. If you don't believe in Christ, it should! But Christ reassured his disciples that they should "not be alarmed." Luke quotes him as telling his followers, "Do not be terrified" (21:9). Christ said that catastrophes are only "the beginning of the birth pains." Just as contractions alert a woman to the approaching birth of her child; these earthly calamities alert believers to the quickly approaching return of our king (see my 9 March 2011 entry).

Jesus used the following analogy to teach his disciples about his second coming as "the Son of Man":

"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates" (Matthew 24:32-33).

Earthquakes and tsunamis remind us of God's incredible power and Christ's impending return. But we do not fall prey to panic. We also do not prophesy.

Harold Camping of Family Radio proclaims that Christ will return on May 21 of this year. He claims the Bible guarantees it! Apparently he hasn't read Matthew 24:44, which says, "...the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect," or Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32, which clearly state that "no one" knows the day or the hour of Christ's second coming, "not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

If Christ said that the angels didn't know and he himself didn't know, I doubt that Harold Camping knows. Nevertheless, I sometimes hope that God, in his inscrutable wisdom, would choose a day as soon as May 21; not in order to prove Harold right about anything, but because I ardently long for the day. Living with an increased awareness of Christ's imminent return also focuses our living on actions with eternal value.

Even though life in these end times can be difficult and its pain overwhelming, I persevere.

I do so because Christ commands it. He said, "And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved" (Mark 13:13). He also said, "By your endurance you will gain your lives" (Luke 21:19).

Many succumb to fear and confusion when confronted with calamitous signs of the times, but not believers. They've read the Book and they know how the story ends.

"And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21:25-28).

When the sea roars and waves strike, nations are perplexed and distressed. People faint with fear and foreboding. But believers need not be bowed down with distress or despair. Christ tells us to "straighten up and raise your heads," because our "redemption is drawing near."

Christ encourages us to live watchful, worthy lives as we wait for his appearing:

"But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:34-36).

We must not drown our sorrows in debauchery or bow down in despair over our cares. Both these extremes weigh down our hearts. And both extremes dull our senses to the twinges alerting us to Christ's return. We must stay alert and pray for the strength to persevere. We don't persevere in our own strength, but only in God's. He will enable us to stand.

Because God is in control even of catastrophes that signal Christ's imminent return, we need not panic or prophesy. We pray, praise, and persevere.

Packaging news for children: Interview with Norm Bomer

2011-03-10T05:25:00.005-06:00

by Glenda Mathes

Norm Bomer is the Senior Editor of God’s World News (GWN) and was its founding editor in 1981. He also is a talented writer and the author of several books including his memoir, Sons of the River. I recently had the opportunity to interview him via email.

GM: Your memoir, Sons of the River, is beautiful for its poetic prose and its depiction of relationships between family members and friends. What led to its writing?

NB: The writing of Sons of the River was sparked by our church’s first “hymn of the month”—either a familiar or an unfamiliar hymn chosen to be sung every week for one month during worship. That hymn was “Our God Our Help in Ages Past”—a very familiar one. As with so many other hymns, I knew all the words and usually sang them without thinking much about their meaning.

This time was different. The verse that begins, “Time like an ever-rolling stream” hit me as never before. Time “bears all its sons away.” But the words are not just about death. They are about the fact that a human does not really make his mark through his own merit. Life is short. And so are memories. Those sons who pass away are soon forgotten. They “fly, forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.”

Suddenly I was struck with the fact that I now had personal friends who had already died. Only a few people remember them, and they will soon be gone too. Was there anything about their lives on earth worth remembering?

Oddly, the name and face of an actor popped into my mind too: Franchot Tone.

GM: Who is Franchot Tone? I’ve never heard of him.

NB: I’m not surprised. But 60 or more years ago, virtually the whole world knew him. He was a beloved and highly acclaimed Hollywood star. I admired him. And he had a smile exactly like my friend Clayton Hoke.

The bottom line is this: There is no eternal hope in ourselves. Only God is “our hope for years to come . . . and our eternal home.” But there are things worth remembering. The Bible tells me so. And I wanted to remind others of that fact, not to brag about human accomplishment, but to glory in the fact that life in Christ does have meaning that lasts forever.

My early years in the small Nebraska town of Ewing made a huge and lasting impression on my heart. Few people have ever heard of Ewing, Nebraska, or known the people who made it live—people such as my lifelong friends Gordon Shrader and Clayton Hoke. I wanted to tell their story, which includes the story of their ancestors. For not only had that story intrigued me all my life, I saw it as everyone’s story—a reminder that life is worth living, that it has eternal meaning in Christ, and that true, eternal hope includes remembering what God has done on earth.

GM: How did the memoir writing process affect you?

NB: The writing itself was a cathartic experience for me. As a professional writer, I whip things out and meet deadlines regularly. But this was different. Although the book is not a long one, I spent three years creating it, usually writing in the dead of night when I and my memories were the only ones awake in the world. It was my sincere desire to create something beautiful, not only in theme but in form.

GM: You definitely accomplished that. Sons of the River has beautiful writing as well as beautiful content. What other books have you written?

NB: I’ve written No More Singing, published by Paideia Press; Willow, published by Baker Book House; Etymology for Wordbrains Like Me, published by Wordbrain Paperbacks (GWP); and Adventures in Etymology for Wordbrains Like Me, Wordbrain Paperbacks.

GM: Let’s talk about your professional writing and regular deadlines. God's World News produces four different monthly current events magazines at age-appropriate levels to help elementary and middle school students develop Christian character and learn to discern. These magazines remind me of the “Weekly Readers” from my grade school days, and I tend to think of them as "Reformed Weekly Readers." How would you describe God's World News as well as its mission and purpose?

NB: "Reformed Weekly Readers" would be a fair description, although they have now become monthly readers. The word “Reformed” is avoided in the context of GWN published materials, since many orthodox Christians react negatively to that term. The base of current events, biblical editorial analysis, and related features remains. And the core focus remains Christian worldview, promoting biblical discernment in students. The presentation now includes specific connections to the major academic areas of Christian school/home school curricula.

GM: Developing a biblical worldview is a lofty ideal, but how does that play out in practical terms in the pages of a current events magazine?

NB: All publications are written from a distinct worldview. Liberal, secular media masquerade as “neutral.” That masquerade is a powerful weapon. Readers are led to believe that the front page of a newspaper is just “fact,” and that opinions are exclusive to the editorial pages. Not true. The most influential opinion molders are on the front pages, where writers carefully pick and choose the stories you will see, carefully pick and choose the details they want you to hear, and carefully censor out what they do not want you to hear or think about. They also carefully choose quotes that build their cases—a media tool known as “journalistic ventriloquism.”

Like all news media, God’s World News is not neutral. We also carefully pick and choose the news stories we present and the details we believe our readers at each level should know about. The difference is, at GWN and in GWN we are honest about our non-neutrality. But more important than that, we diligently strive to be biblical, to tell the truth, to be honest and fair.

Our “Newsthink” editorials comment at length on particular current events, encouraging students to analyze them through the eyes of Scripture. In addition, we often append news stories with relevant Bible verses, questions for discussion, and sometimes brief editorial comments under the heading “Bible2Life.” We also supplement our print publications with online teaching tools, including a biography series that includes biblical commentary.

GM: What is the relationship of God's World News (GWN) to WORLD magazine and how did that relationship develop?

NB: During the first several years of publishing God’s World News, parents and teachers frequently expressed interest in the creation of a similar current events magazine for adults, one presented from a biblical editorial perspective. WORLD magazine is the product of that interest. It was first published in the mid 1980s and was financed largely through the success of God’s World News. Today, both publications are governed by the same board of directors, as is the World Journalism Institute.

GM: I’m curious about the logistics for GWN. Where are the offices for GWN located? Where are production and mailing handled? How do you get your news?

NB: God’s World Publications headquarters is located in Asheville, North Carolina, although the staff of WORLD magazine is scattered throughout the country. Printing and mailing are done by a company in Pennsylvania. We are members of the Associated Press and get most of our news information from AP. Some stories, of course, originate with us.

GM: What are the unique challenges faced by GWN and of your work in particular?

NB: One of the primary challenges over the years has been to encourage Christian school/home school teachers and administrators to appreciate the vital importance of teaching current events and Christian worldview—and to move beyond the traditional loyalty to textbooks. Completing a textbook should not be the primary purpose and goal of the school year in any classroom. The goal should be the proper teaching of children. The unique challenge of my particular work is also the most gratifying personally—that is, to see and explain what God’s word teaches in relation to a particular event or issue, and to do it in a manner appropriate for a particular age level.

GM: In what ways have you seen God's hand at work through your work with GWN?

NB: Over the years, the thousands of appreciative responses and testimonials from parents, teachers, and students have reinforced the importance and effectiveness of this facet of Christian education.

GM: How can Reformed Christians support the work of GWN?

NB: I believe the biggest need continues to be a thorough and enthusiastic dedication to Christian education. Education works, period. Christian parents who send their children to Godless schools need to understand the powerful and lasting ramifications of the fact that they are indeed Godless. As for God’s World News, I suppose one of the most helpful contributions would be to encourage local Christian schools/home schools to include it in their standard educational process.

ENDNOTE:
God’s World News produces 30 page editions for pre-Kindergarten through first grade (Early Edition) and second through third grades (Taking Off), as well as 38 page editions for fourth through fifth grades (News Current) and sixth through ninth grades (Top Story). The current subscription level for all four editions is 116,000. School year subscriptions include seven monthly issues (September-April), while full year subscriptions include 10 issues (every month except December and May). Subscriptions for three monthly summer issues of each edition are also available. Educational resources and subscription information for God’s World News publications can be found at: www.gwnews.com. More information about World is available at: http://www.worldmag.com/.

Christian Renewal Editor John Van Dyk added the following boxed article to the above interview.

Norm Bomer had this to say when asked how he became the editor of God's World Publications:

In February 1981, we were living in Hutchinson, Kansas. A close friend in Sterling, Kansas, called to tell me he had read a news report in The Presbyterian Journal about the launching of a Christian "weekly reader" by the Journal organization. He said a search was underway for a founding editor, and that with my enthusiasm for Christian education, my Christian school teaching experience, and my writing/editing history, I was Tailor-made for the job. But when I found out the Journal was published in North Carolina, I told Carol, my wife, that I was not even going to inquire. For me anything east of the Mississippi was too foreign and too strange. Here's a quick calendar of events:

February: phone call from my friend Harry Wilkey

February: at Carol's urging, very brief letter of inquiry to The Presbyterian Journal

February: no response

March: no response

April: in Prinsburg, Minnesota, interviewing for a teaching position at a Christian high school. Phone call from Carol telling me Joel Belz had called from The Presbyterian Journal

April 1981: home again, spoke to Joel by phone

April 1981: flew to Asheville, North Carolina, for interview. Joel had interviewed nearly 50 candidates, but not one had met all of the half-dozen prerequisites he had established.

May 1981: sold house in Hutchinson in spite of real estate recession.

June 1981: moved to Asheville, North Carolina. Harry had been right. It was the work of the Tailor.

The above articles originally appeared on pages 33-34 of the June 23, 2010, issue of Christian Renewal.

The Return of the King, Psalm 110

2011-03-09T05:57:00.010-06:00

In these days of civil war and natural disasters, spiraling prices and insuperable debt, religious persecution and apocalyptic prophecy, public depravity and private pain, it's comforting to be reminded from Psalm 110 that God is in control and one day soon Christ will be the visible king.

Editors Ryken and Ryken write about Psalm 110 in the ESV Literary Study Bible, "The focus is on the godly king, with the implied double meaning that the ultimate embodiment of this ideal is Christ" (p. 875). Although I often agree with comments made by this father-son duo, it seems to me that the focus in Psalm 110 is on Christ with an implied double meaning relating to the godly king.

King David seems to find confidence for his own reign by envisioning God the Father speaking to God the Son:

The LORD says to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool" (verse 1).

Verse 2 affirms the guarantee of victory over God's (as well as the king's and our) enemies:

The LORD sends forth from Zion
your mighty scepter.
Rule in the midst of your enemies!

In verse 3, incredible imagery and poetic language anticipate the great day of the Lord:

Your people will offer themselves freely
on the day of your power,
in holy garments;
from the womb of the morning,
the dew of your youth will be yours.

As believers stumble through life in the torn and filthy garments of sin, we take heart in the sure knowledge that one day we will be clothed in "holy garments" of pure linen that have been washed whiter than snow by Christ's blood. When the Son of Righteousness dawns, the decrepit tent of this current body will burst from the grave like a baby delivered from the womb. The resurrected body will be ageless, neither infantile nor infirm, but forever fresh and timelessly youthful.

Verse 4 refers to the meeting between Abram, who would become Abraham, and Melchizedek, who was "priest of God Most High" (Genesis 14:18) at Salem, which would become Jerusalem.

The LORD has sworn
and will not change his mind,
"You are a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek."

That verse is heavily referenced in Hebrews (5:6, 6:20, 7:17, 7:21), which teaches that Jesus has become our high priest forever.

As our high priest, Christ now sits exalted at the right hand of God, ruling and reigning until his return in judgment.

The Lord is at your right hand;
he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
He will execute judgment among the nations,
filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs
over the wide earth (5-6).

Christ's victory will be thorough and global. No oppressive king or wicked nation will escape his justice. The execution of his justice also will be swift.

He will drink from the brook by the way;
therefore he will lift up his head (7).

John Calvin writes in his commentary on this verse that David intends to convey the military prowess of Christ, like a commander in battle who doesn't stop for refreshment but quickly drinks from a stream in his path. Matthew Henry believes the "brook on the way" indicates the black stream of God's wrath from which Christ drank. Both agree that the final line of this psalm confirms Christ's exaltation.

Christ is our only high priest and our exalted king. When he returns in power to judge the nations, sin will be forever vanquished and the wicked banished into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15, 21:8). But the righteous will enter the rest of their eternal home where the river of the water of life flows. Beside it grows the tree of life, bearing new fruit each month, with leaves for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:1-2).

How I long for the return of the king!

All scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Chino's Mission and Evangelism Emphasis Week

2011-03-08T05:28:00.005-06:00

When I was a child, the highlight of the summer was our hometown’s annual Mission Fest—a week-long outdoor extravaganza featuring missionary speakers and fellowship for adults as well as playground fun and Cracker Jacks for kids.

Even as a married mom, I recall week-long Mission Emphasis events focusing on missionaries supported by our church. In today’s busy society, I don’t hear much about such week-long celebrations raising awareness and support for missions. But at least one church, First United Reformed in Chino, CA, has maintained a Mission Emphasis Week for 36 years. And it doesn’t look as if it’s a dying tradition.

Mr. Larry Vanden Berge, who is Vice President of the church’s council and chairman of its Evangelism Committee, says, “I certainly feel Mission Emphasis Week will go on for many years. In fact, it seems like it’s enjoyed more than ever. Even as our church approaches it 53rd year of existence and the congregation transitions from a predominately Dutch, dairy-based congregation to a rich variety of people who love and appreciate the Reformed faith, we still enjoy biblically-based traditions. Mission Emphasis Week boosts our support for missions, our local evangelism efforts, and our hospitality toward church visitors. In addition to providing generous support for our selected missionaries, our church members are even more inspired to make our church a shining light in our community.”

Based on Psalm 96:3, “Declaring God’s Glory to All People” was the theme when First URC in Chino held its 36th annual Mission Emphasis Week from January 22-30, 2011. It began with a Saturday evening prayer service, featured guest ministers and speakers for two consecutive Sundays, and included a Wednesday “Family Night” chicken dinner as well as a Saturday morning food and Bible distribution project.

“Mission Emphasis Week 2011 certainly exceeded my expectations,” says Mr. Vanden Berg. “Last year we put a lot of thought into the week but the attendance seemed about the same as if we had put little effort into it. This year I had lower expectations because of that. The Family Night event was much more edifying and, of course, the distribution project was again an encouraging event. Our committee commented they were quite pleased with the week and thought the sermons and presentations were all very motivating. We again arranged for a mix of foreign missions (Rev. Vic Bernales) and local evangelism (Rev. Danny Hyde), which seems to be an effective format.”

The week of activities began with an intimate gathering for prayer on Saturday evening, when about 18 people (many of them Evangelism Committee members) gathered around circular tables and prayed in small groups for specific aspects of the upcoming week.

On Sunday, January 23, the Sunday school children were told about foreign mission life and work. Rev. Vic Bernales, a church planter in Davao City, Philippines, spoke to the adult class on “Office Bearers’ Training: A Key to Sustain Reformed Mission Work.”

“Rev. Bernales’ presentation about training office bearers at a small church plant in a foreign land was a highly interesting topic,” says Mr. Vanden Berge.

Prior to the morning worship service, Cadets from the church presented the Christian flag and flags of sixteen countries in which the congregation supports mission work. Rev. Bernales preached on “Make Known His Deeds Among the Peoples” from Isaiah 12:1-6. Special music included brass players and the church choir singing “All Who Believe.”

At the evening service, Rev. Bernales preached from Acts 17:1-9 on “The Message That Turns the World Upside Down.” A soloist sang, “The Name Above All Names.” During a fellowship time following the service, Rev. Bernales gave a presentation on “Prayer and Gospel Preaching” that challenged attendees to seize every opportunity for witness.

“He asked the people in attendance to speak about their experiences in witnessing and their shortcomings as they did so,” says Mr. Vanden Berge. “Several people shared their encounters. It was encouraging for those present to hear others’ accounts and Rev. Bernales’ comments. I think many felt convicted to be braver in sharing their faith.”

Almost 150 people gathered at the church for a “Family Night Chicken Dinner” on Wednesday evening, after which Rev. Bernales gave an overview and answered questions regarding his work in the Philippines. Special music was presented by a mixed vocal group.

“The Wednesday night event had been a potluck for many years, but evolved into a Kentucky Fried Chicken dinner for the past several years,” explains Mr. Vanden Berge. “It was a lively and fun crowd with a good turnout of young families. The group seemed to greatly appreciate Rev. Bernales’ presentation. Vic interned in our church for ten weeks in the summer of 2007. Vic, Cathy, and their family are greatly loved by our congregation, so hearing about his ministry in Davao City was of high interest.”

An innovative aspect of the church’s Mission Emphasis Week was its “Food for Life” distribution project on Saturday morning, January 29. Mr. Vanden Berge explains that “Food for Life” began a couple of years ago and is supervised by a Christian board that acquires food items at depressed prices and sets up distribution events with various church in the local valley.

“We had participated in this as a congregation in October,” he explains, “and decided to tie it in this time with Mission Emphasis Week.”

About 175 families came to purchase groceries for $5 per large box. Approximately 60-70 volunteers from the church stocked the boxes. As boxes were loaded into the families’ cars, some church members offered them free Bibles, literature, and information about the church.

“Around 25 English Bibles were distributed and 40 Spanish Bibles were given to the largely Latino recipients,” says Mr. Vanden Berge. “They were very appreciative to receive spiritual as well as physical food.”

The week of activities concluded with a “Commitment Sunday” on January 30. Rev. Daniel Hyde, pastor of Oceanside United Reformed Church, spoke to the adult Sunday school class on “Being a Welcoming (Reformed) Church,” a topic on which he has recently published a book.

Rev. Quentin Falkena, First URC’s Youth Pastor, extended to the congregation a call to pledge financial support for the church’s monthly “Faith Promise” mission offerings. Through the “Faith Promise” offerings, the congregation supports Dr. Brian Lee’s work at Christ Reformed Church in Washington, DC; Rev. Ruben Sernas with Ontario Hispanic URC; Tom & Donna Cnossen with N. Canada Evangelical Mission; Rev. Bill Green with Latin American Reformed Fellowship in Costa Rica; Dr. Neal Hegeman, Academic VP & Hispanic Director for Miami International Theological Seminary (MINTS); Marvin & Joyce Hyde with Wycliffe Bible Translators; Chris & Joy Konop with Mission Aviation Fellowship in Democratic Republic of Congo; Dr. Sylvia Martinez with Ministries in Action in Dominican Republic; Rev. Steve McGee, Coordinator of English Speaking Caribbean Ministry for MINTS and President of Ministries in Action; Rev. Eric Pennings, Central American Director for MINTS; Rev. Steve & Nalini Poelman, URC missions in India; Roger & Karen Van Otterloo, Wycliffe Bible translators; Rev. Allen Vander Pol, Director of African and Philippines & English ministries for MINTS; and John & Shirley Wind with CRC World Missions in Mexico.

Rev. Hyde preached at the morning service on “Defending God’s Existence in an Age of ‘New Atheism,’” based on Psalm 19 and Romans 1:18-32. The Providence Men’s Group provided special music. Rev. Ronald Scheuers, First URC’s Senior Pastor, preached at the evening service on “Even a Gentile Soldier” from Acts 10. The “Bells of Praise” presented “Jesus Shall Reign.” During the fellowship time following the evening service, Rev. Ruben Sernas, pastor of Ontario Hispanic United Reformed Church, gave an overview of his Spanish ministry.

“Rev. Sernas helped us at the Food for Life distribution the day before,” says Mr. Vanden Berge, “and our congregation is seeking to help him financially and physically with his developing ministry.”

Mr. Vanden Berge relates that those attendees with whom he spoke “seemed very blessed and edified by the week of mission focused events.” He admits “it was a lot of work and sometimes I felt barely able to stay ahead of the wave.” He is quick to add, however, “But I think it is an awesome tradition to set aside this week at the beginning of the year, to focus on the work of our missionaries and to feel the conviction to do a better job of witnessing to our local community. Our congregation gives generously to our monthly Faith Promise for Missions offering, but I think more and more of us are becoming even more stimulated to witness in our community and show hospitality to the growing number of visitors who are checking out our church and joining us in worship.”

“I recommend that all churches, large or small, set aside a week focusing on missions and evangelism,” he says. “I believe it will spur them on to a year of ‘Declaring God’s Glory to All People.’”

The above article by Glenda Mathes appeared on pages 12-13 of the February 23, 2011, issue of Christian Renewal.

Keen Sox

2011-03-07T04:58:00.005-06:00

My husband isn't exaggerating too much when he says that my toes warm up about July.

Sadly it only lasts a few months. Wool socks become my constant companions from early fall to late spring. In Iowa, that translates to several months. I have little interest in shopping for clothing or shoes, but I love wool socks!

The socks I love are not my husband's bulky wool socks that fill an entire drawer of our dresser. Although I borrow a pair or two when I hunt deer with him, the socks I love are thin socks blended from fine Merino wool. They fit comfortably inside my Merrells. On the coldest day, they keep my toes toasty.

I discovered thin wool socks one day in Cabela's bargain cave. But I fell in love with them a few years ago when I purchased my first pair of Smartwool socks. These socks are wonderful! They are also expensive and require a sizeable investment. Every year at this time, I hopefully watch for Smartwool socks at slashed prices. But these socks evidently sell well and don't go on sale very often.

Last week I walked into Brown's Shoe Fit and tok advantage of some slightly reduced Smartwool socks as well as a special offer on Keen Sox. A pair of these ingeniously designed "sox" includes a designated left sock and a designated right sock.

I was going to post a picture of a couple of pairs, showing the bright yellow "L" and "R" triangles on the big toe portion of the sock, but my monitor went blank when I plugged my camera's USB cord into my CPU.

It came back to life only after I manually shut down the computer and restarted it. Apparently the system experienced a static shock. Our air is very dry since we heat with wood and our wimpy humidifier died on Saturday. Obviously, I must replace it soon to avoid losing either my monitor, my motherboard, or both. I've lost both too often during recent winters to take another chance.

And while I'm thinking of it, I believe it's past time to back up.

Before I do that, I'll finish this entry by simply saying, "I'm keen on Keen Sox."

Was John Calvin a journalist?

2011-03-04T05:38:00.004-06:00

I'll be honest: I've lived my entire life without ever pausing to consider the concept of Calvin as a journalist. Calvin as Reformer? Definitely! Calvin as theologian? Of course! Calvin as churchman? Indeed! But Calvin as journalist? Not so much.

Until now.

Arnold Sikkema, over at the Reformed Academic blog, asked me to review a chapter in Calvin and Culture: Exploring a Worldview. Edited by David W. Hall and Marvin Padgett, Calvin and Culture is published by P&R and currently is available for $15.20 (US) from Amazon.

Sikkema is Associate Professor of Physics at Trinity Western University and a member of Langley Canadian Reformed Church. He and the other contributors to the Reformed Academic blog have asked several people to review individual chapters of Calvin and Culture.

The 13 chapters in the book exhibit a variety of professional expertise on Calvin's connection to a wide range of cultural issues. Darryl G. Hart reflects on what Calvinism says to historians; John Witte Jr. writes about "Law, Authority, and Liberty in Early Calvinism"; William Edgar explores "The Arts and the Reformed Tradition"; while Leland Ryken discusses "Calvinism and Literature." Doesn't that sampling of authors and chapters pique your interest?

The penuntimate chapter, "Calvin as Journalist" by Warren Cole Smith, is the one I've been asked to review. Like Paul, I feel a little like "a child untimely born" (1 Corinthians 15:8).

I confess that I struggle to find nomenclature for my writing work. Am I a journalist? A reporter? A chronicler? A poet? An author? A wordsmith? Or simply a writer?

I have varying interests and numerous responsibilities. And in many different genres, I write much straw.

But if the primary characteristic required for a journalist is curiousity (as Warren Cole Smith points out in his chapter), then I qualify. And I'll take this step forward in the works God prepared beforehand for me (Ephesians 2:10).

PS - The Lord willing, you'll be able to read my review of Smith's chapter on the Reformed Academic blog on March 18.

"Life in Christ" catechism update

2011-03-03T05:31:00.015-06:00

I've been receiving inquiries about the Life in Christ catechism curriculum, for which I wrote the first volume, Not My Own: Discovering God's Comfort in the Heidelberg Catechism.

The eight volumes of the catechism are nearing completion. Work progresses on illustrations for a few of the lower level volumes as well as final edits on other volumes. It is hoped that the covers, table of contents, and first chapters of each volume will soon be posted on a Life in Christ page of the Reformed Fellowship website.

Rev. Ronald Scheuers, who serves as the General Editor for the project, writes:

"About five years ago our council asked me to begin preparing a new coordinated curriculum for children and young people in grades 5 through 12. This curriculum was to cover the Three Forms of Unity (The Heidelberg Catechism, The Belgic Confession, and the Canons of Dort), and where possible to also reference the Westminster Confession and Catechisms. With the help of other authors, editors, and contributors to this effort, we are now in a position to have these materials printed in the near future."

Rev. Scheuers has contributed untold hours to the mammoth project now nearing completion. He explains the format consistently used in each volume:

"Our new curriculum is designed to instruct young people in the precious Reformed faith of the Scriptures by using sections of explanation, memory work from the confessions and Scripture, questions for discussion and space to answer the questions, a highlighted box of key words and concepts, and personal application of the theme for each lesson. All the volumes contain 25 lessons. Teacher Tips, helps for teaching the lessons, will also be available for most of the volumes."

The Life in Christ instructional materials will be available in three different levels: Intermediate, Middle School, and High School. The following listing indicates suggested levels with colors used in those volumes and provides a brief description of each volume.

Intermediate (blue tones)

Not My Own: Discovering God’s Comfort in the Heidelberg Catechism - An Introductory Course on the Heidelberg Catechism

God’s Unfolding Promise: From Shadows to SONlight - A Course that traces God’s Covenant History of Redemption from Genesis through Revelation

Middle School (shades of green)

Christ’s Living Church: A Journey From Then to Now - A Course on the Church and the Reformed Faith in History

Faith of Our Fathers: Studies in the Belgic Confession - A Course on the Belgic Confession of Faith

High School (tan and brown)

The Price of Possession: The Heidelberg Catechism, Part 1 - A Course on the First Half of the Heidelberg Catechism

The Price of Possession: The Heidelberg Catechism, Part 2 - A Course on the Second Half of the Heidelberg Catechism

The Doctrines of Grace: Pillars of the Reformed Faith - A Course on the Five Solas, the Canons of Dort, and other Key Reformed Doctrines

Facing Faith’s Challenges: Defending the Faith and Answering Life’s Important Questions - A Course on Defending the Reformed Faith

Rev. Scheuers explained to me that the commmittee's desire was to allow churches to be flexible with the material since some churches have classes with combined grades while others have enough students for separate grades. The picture above gives an idea of the cover design.

The picture below shows the table of contents for Not My Own: Discovering God's Comfort in the Heidelberg Catechism.

Although it is hoped that Not My Own: Discovering God's Comfort in the Heidelberg Catechism will contain many illustrations, the below picture gives an idea of how the first page of each lessons looks.

And the next two pictures show the graphic elements incorporated into the lessons to add visual interest:

I'm having a hard time getting these pictures where I want them. And I know these pictures will be small and difficult to see on this blog, but I hope they give youth education committees and interested persons an idea of how the finished product will look.

Churches expressing an interest in reviewing materials now may be receiving unedited versions of the manuscripts and I want to assure them that extensive editing has greatly improved the unedited versions.

As Rev. Scheuers writes, "It is our prayer that you will find these volumes helpful in the exciting task of training the next generation in the marvelous truths of the Scriptures."

Purposeful Imprecation, Psalm 109

2011-03-02T07:39:00.005-06:00

Psalm 109 seems to be the most imprecatory of the so-called "imprecatory" (calling curses upon someone) psalms. In this psalm, author David calls down God's curses on his enemies in vivid language with memorable images.

Editors Ryken and Ryken of the ESV Literary Study Bible point out that in Psalm 109 (and Psalm 69) "the element of imprecation is enclosed in the familiar contours of the lament psalm, and we need to keep that framework in view if we wish to avoid distorting the poems" (p. 873).

They make a valid point. One can't simply load Psalm 109 and take aim at one's enemies. King David was God's chosen representative and those who attacked him were actually attacking God. Psalm 69 makes it even clearer that the psalmist suffers at the hands of others because of his righteousness.

We can't use the imprecatory psalms as ammunition against our enemies if we have not been honest and loving toward them. The psalm begins with a cry for help that makes this plain:

Be not silent, O God of my praise!
For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
speaking against me with lying tongues.
They encircle me with words of hate,
and attack me without cause.
In return for my love they accuse me,
but I give myself to prayer.
So they reward me evil for good,
and hatred for my love (1-5, ESV).

The psalmist has done nothing to generate this malice and has shown these enemies only love. He does not respond with similar hate-filled actions against them, but instead devotes himself to prayer.

The psalmist dramatically asks God to work events of judgment in the life of the evil doer. These explicitly harsh imprecations make us cringe: "When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin! May his days be few; may another take his office! May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow! May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit! May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil! Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children! May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!" (7-13, ESV).

David's long litany against the heartless evildoer continues with the most striking images of the psalm (16-20, ESV):

For he did not remember to show kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy
and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
He loved to curse; let curses come upon him!
He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!
He clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
may it soak into his body like water,
like oil into his bones!
May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
like a belt that he puts on every day!
May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,
of those who speak evil against my life!

In the above verses, David considers cursing as not merely an action, but also an attribute. Creatively comparing the act of cursing to the fact of cursedness, David shows how the action leads to the state as it permeates and covers the self.

In the midst of his imprecatory litany, David confesses that he depends solely upon a faithful and loving God for deliverance (verse 21, ESV): "But you, O GOD my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!"

Notice that David does not ask God to restore his (David's) name, but to work vengeance and judgment for the sake of God's name.

The next section of the psalm describes the psalmist's dreadful state. Anyone who has experienced a severe trial can identify with this vivid depiction of hopelessness and helplessness:

For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is stricken within me.
I am gone like a shadow at evening;
I am shaken off like a locust.
My knees are weak through fasting;
my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they wag their heads (22-25, ESV).

As the psalmist cries again to the Lord, he shows us the purpose for imprecation (26-27, ESV):

Help me, O LORD my God!
Save me according to your steadfast love!
Let them know that this is your hand;
you, O LORD, have done it!

The purpose of imprecation is always God's glory. God saves the righteous and curses the wicked in order to demonstrate his almighty hand. His judgments make his power plain.

As the wicked continue to curse God and his people, God will put them to shame. But he will bless the righteous (28-29, ESV):

Let them curse, but you will bless!
They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

The psalm concludes by again showing a purpose for imprecation.

With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;
I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from those who condemn his soul to death (30-31, ESV).

The righteous person who has been delivered from an enemy must thank God, not only privately, but also in corporate worship. God stands beside us in our need, ready to rescue us from death.

All scripture, including the so-called "imprecatory" psalms are profitable (2 Timothy 3:16). But we must always remember that calling down curses upon our enemies is appropriate only in the context of righteous suffering that acknowledges God's sole role in administering justice. The purpose of imprecation is always and only God's glory.

URCNA Classis Western Canada expands

2011-03-01T06:18:00.005-06:00

The following article by Glenda Mathes appeared on pages 9-11 of the February 2, 2011, issue of Christian Renewal.

Classis Western Canada expands

by Glenda Mathes

When Classis Western Canada of the URCNA met on January 13 & 14, 2011, at Trinity Reformed Church in Lethbridge, AB, it welcomed two congregations and examined two men.

An initial item of business was a request from Parkland Reformed Church of Ponoka, AB, seeking concurring advice regarding the organization of a daughter church, according to Article 22 of the Church Order. Known as “Parkland South,” the group has been meeting in Lacombe, AB, for just over a year. It consists primarily of URCNA members, although some visitors are among the 150-170 regular attendees.

Classis happily acquiesced to the request regarding Parkland South’s organization.

Delegates also rejoiced to adopt an overture from Surrey Covenant Reformed Church requesting the provisional reception of the Orthodox Reformed Church in New Westminster. The provisional membership of the New Westminster church requires ratification by the next URCNA Synod, scheduled for 2012.

The cities of Surrey and New Westminster are in the Vancouver region of southern British Columbia. The two churches have a long and warm relationship with each other, both having been members of the Orthodox Christian Reformed Churches at one time.

The New Westminster church has been independent for about five years. The congregation meets for 9:00 am and 7:00 pm Sunday worship services at 701 6th St. in downtown New Westminster. In January of 2010, the church called Rev. Gary Zekveld, who was ordained and installed last April. At a meeting in October, the congregation voted 100% in favor of affiliating with the URCNA.

Since Rev. Zekveld pastors the New Westminster congregation, this meeting of Classis Western Canada included his colloquium doctum for acceptance into the URCNA. He graduated from Mid-America Reformed Seminary in 2009 and served the Covenant Christian Church of Wyoming, ON, as well as Trinity Reformed Church in Lethbridge, AB, prior to his ordination at the Orthodox Reformed Church in New Westminster.

Rev Zekveld sustained his exam and Classis Western Canada welcomed him as a minister of the Word and sacraments in the URCNA.

The second examination conducted by Classis Western Canada was the candidacy exam of Corey Dykstra, a 2010 graduate of Mid-America Reformed Seminary and a member of the United Reformed Church of Thunder Bay (ON).

Mr. Dykstra sustained his candidacy exam and Thunder Bay URC may now declare him a candidate in the URCNA. Classis also adopted a motion that Mr. Dykstra’s ordination exam would be waived should he accept a call within Classis Western Canada.

In his report on Classis, Rev. William Van der Woerd (Clerk for Classis Western Canada) wrote: “It is always a joy to observe the desire of young and gifted men who aspire to become ministers of the gospel and for them to demonstrate those gifts and give a good account of their training.”

Following his graduation from Mid-America, Mr. Dykstra served a four-month internship in Kelowna, BC, and is currently in the Thunder Bay area. He and his wife, Jill, have an infant son, Kyle.

In other business, Classis Western Canada adopted two overtures regarding ecclesiastical procedures, made an appointment to the songbook committee, and agreed to provide financial support for two congregations through its needy church fund.

An overture from Surrey Covenant Reformed Church requested that Synod 2012 establish a “Standing Committee for Appeals” that would serve as a “pre-advice” committee for subsequent synods. Composed of elected representatives from each Classis, this committee would review all “pertinent material” associated with appeals and “make recommendations to the next synod regarding [their] adjudication….”

As background, the overture cited its intention to prevent a recurrence of the “undesirable” handling of appeals at Synod London 2010, when it was felt that time constraints on the Appeals Committee led to committee work being done during the full session of Synod.

Grounds for the overture reiterated that insufficient time was available during Synod to interview appellants and Classis members and stated that no other investigations could be done before Synod convened. Grounds also were that this would “provide Synod with a more balanced and thorough opinion of the committee’s work” and “prevent possible ‘pre-advice committee’ work during the full session of Synod.” Grounds additionally noted: “This would give the committee a minimum of four months (the usual time between the agenda deadline for synod and the synod meeting) to study the appeals rather than the 48 hours which the committee of pre-advice had at Synod London.”

Classis Western Canada adopted the overture, although Rev. Ralph Pontier spoke against it and advocates the implementation of regional synods to help expedite the appeal process.

“While I recognize the problem the overture addresses, having been deeply involved in the painful process of dealing with two thorny appeals at Synod London,” he says, “I believe a standing committee is not the best solution. We should recognize that one of the strengths of regional synods is that they expedite the appeals process, not necessarily preventing the appeals from going to a general synod, but digesting them in such a way that by the time they get to a general synod, the core issues are clearly before the body and can be dealt with both judiciously and speedily. We should also recognize that regional synods are not a Canadian Reformed invention but are part of our church order heritage from the Synod of Dort. Instead of rejecting them out of hand, we should ask why the CRC corrupted the Dort church order tradition by jettisoning them.”

“It seems ironic that many oppose regional synods as hierarchical,” he continues, “yet we seem willing to readily embrace synodical standing committees which have a far greater potential for becoming hierarchical. The membership of regional synods changes every time they meet and their budgets do not inflate dramatically every year. Although standing committees can serve well, in the history of some Reformed denominations, they are notorious for arrogating more and more authority unto themselves.”

A second overture dealing with procedural issues came from Faith Reformed Church of Telkwa (BC). The overture aimed at holding churches accountable to the Church Order mandate regarding regular church visitors by suggesting the addition of the following question to the existing seven questions on classis credentials: “In accordance with C.O. Art. 27, has the consistory invited the church visitors to visit the council in the past 2 years?” The addition of that eighth credential question was adopted.

Since Synod London 2010 had decided that the Psalter Hymnal Committee should be augmented by additional appointments from Classes not yet represented (Central US, Eastern US, Michigan, and Western Canada), Classis Western Canada needed to appoint a representative to that committee.

After having received multiple nominations, Classis appointed Scott Finch, from Redeemer Reformation Church in Regina, SK, to the URCNA Psalter Hymnal Committee. His is the Assistant Professor of Music and Worship Arts at Briercrest College and Seminary in Caronport, SK. He was scheduled to be ordained as an elder in Redeemer Reformation Church on January 23, 2011.

Two churches requested and received financial assistance from Classis Western Canada’s Needy Church Fund: Redeemer Reformation Church of Regina and the Orthodox Reformed Church of Edmonton for the support of its Grande Prairie church plant.

In executive session, Classis Western Canada dealt with several discipline issues and pastoral matters.

Rev. Hank Van der Woerd chaired this meeting of Classis, while his brother, Rev. William Van der Woerd served as Clerk. Rev. William Van der Woerd concluded his classical report by writing: “One of the blessings of federative unity is to be able to request the advice and wisdom of like-minded brothers in the Lord.”

The Lord willing, Classis will meet again during the second week of June, 2011, with Emmanuel Reformed Church of Neerlandia next in rotation to convene and host the meeting.

Awaking the Dawn, Psalm 108

2011-02-28T05:33:00.007-06:00

Most mornings I rise before 5:00. Sometimes significantly before 5:00, but I've been recently sleeping until my husband's cell phone alarm rings at 4:54. Even if I briefly sleep again for a few minutes after that alarm, I'm always up and in my office before dawn. Outside the south window of my office, I see the tops of trees materialize in the lightening sky. On clear days, the sun's rays bless the tree tops with bright golden light. And I'm reminded of a phrase from Psalm 108.

The premier psalmist David composed this song, whose first two verses explode in praise:

My heart is steadfast, O God!
I will sing and make melody with all my being!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!

I feel a lot of affinity with David. He was a sinner, but he loved God and sought with all his heart to serve him. When he fell into deep sin, he was convicted of his sin by God's word. His heart was humbled and he sincerely repented. But he still had to suffer the consequences of his horrendous sins.

We all sin. But if we genuinely repent and our hearts are broken, not merely in humiliation, but in true humility, we will submit our wayward spirits and willful pride to God's will. We will humbly confess our sin and seek forgiveness from all those we have hurt. In humble submission to God's Spirit, we will even be able to forgive those who have hurt us.

David was a poet and I often identify with his creative expressions. I think he also must have been an early riser. Perhaps like me, he felt closest to God in the quiet of the early morning, before the cares and concerns of the day pressed upon him. Perhaps those precious morning hours were his most productive times for writing, when he best reflected the creativity of the Trinity.

Because God had given David creative gifts, he felt compelled to use those gifts in public praise. He could have kept his songs to himself, but he desired to spread abroad the glory of God.

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the clouds (3-4, ESV).

David wanted God to receive the vast exaltation of which he alone is worthy. But he also longed for deliverance and salvation (5-6, ESV):

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer me!

God's steadfast love never fails. His faithful promises are sure. In the next section of this psalm, a divinely-inspired David proclaims God's holy faithfulness and prophesies his victorious salvation (7-9, ESV):

God has promised in his holiness:
"With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Valley of Succoth.
Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,
Judah my scepter.
Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph."

God sets people and nations in their places. God claims his people as his own dear children and provides an inheritance for them. He triumphs over the wicked and he brings eternal victory through Christ, who would come from the royal tribe of Judah.

Unless we submit our wills completely to God's, we cannot hope for victory. Like a rebellious Israel, we will wander without a leader and our battle efforts will be futile.

Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
Oh grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the salvation of man!
With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes (10-13).

God alone brings valiant victory. When we pursue personal power, when we deceive with secret sins, when we long for vengeance, when we cling to pride and control, we cannot hope to conquer.

But when we seek God's glory, when we genuinely repent and openly confess our sins, when we forgive others, and when we humble our hearts and spirits to God's will, he will bring victory.

Then the darkness will fade as the Son's light dawns!

Hubert R. Krygsman: In all things to glorify God

2011-02-24T06:17:00.005-06:00

Today's post is the final Christian college president interview from the feature that appeared in the April 28, 2010, issue of Christian Renewal. I posted my interview with Derek Halvorson on Tuesday, and I posted my interview with Philip Graham Ryken last Thursday. This is a slightly edited version of my interview with Dr. Hubert R. Krygsman, which took place before his inauguration as the current president of Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario.

Redeemer College began classes in 1982 and Dr. Krygsman serves as its third president, following the retirement of Dr. Justin Cooper, who served as Redeemer’s president for 16 years. Prior to coming to Redeemer, Dr. Krygsman was the Associate Provost and Director of the Andreas Center for Reformed Scholarship and Service at Dordt College in Sioux Center, IA.

Glenda Mathes (GM): Dr. Krygsman, I understand that you will assume the presidency on June 14, 2010. Is that correct?

Hubert Krygsman (HK): This is correct. Technically, I assume responsibility on June 14. But I will begin working at Redeemer on June 1 to learn from and work with Justin Cooper before he leaves office.

GM: Although most institutions of higher learning seem to want a multi-function president, they appear to vary in their desired focus. How would you describe the expectations for your presidency? Will you be more of a scholarly instructor or more of a development administrator? What primary categories of work are included in your job description?

HK: My understanding of the role is that of a multi-function president. I understand my responsibilities to include leadership in the following areas: affirming and articulating Redeemer’s Reformed identity and perspective; ensuring that Redeemer maintains and develops high quality programs that are rooted in its wholistic, Biblical perspective; developing Redeemer’s administrative organization; expanding Redeemer’s enrollment and supporting constituency; and cultivating Redeemer’s relationships with and service to its broader community, including with legislators, other colleges and universities, and other service organizations.

GM: What do you view as the probable challenges you will face in your new position?

HK: I’m sure there will be many challenges that I don’t yet know, but among the challenges I expect are the following: First, we will continue to face the pressures of a predominantly secular culture, and we will have to show the positive contribution that Redeemer makes to our students and our society. Second, we will need to continue building understanding and commitment to Redeemer’s Reformed perspective among our increasingly diverse community of students and supporters. Third, we will need to continue developing our programs in ways that serve our community and engage the wider world with a transforming vision. Fourth, we will need to find and develop the resources to sustain and expand Redeemer’s programs and impact. And fifth, on a personal note, I’m sure I will find the task of developing my own leadership a challenge. To meet all of these challenges, I trust that God will continue to provide for Redeemer, and we will find our strength and hope in Him.

GM: What do you view as the possible joys of the work?

HK: Here too, I’m sure I will find unexpected joys, but I hope to find much joy in following God faithfully, in working with colleagues and a supporting constituency that are share a deep commitment to Redeemer’s mission and vision, in seeing Redeemer’s faculty and staff flourish in working together in carrying out our mission, and in seeing our students grow into mature, faithful, and able servants and leaders of God’s kingdom in the world around us.

GM: What are the hopes or goals you have for your work at Redeemer?

HK: My goals are, generally, to lead successfully in the areas that I mention above, and in doing so to help Redeemer to flourish in fulfilling its mission in service to God. More specifically in the shorter term, I expect to focus the institution’s efforts especially on implementing the Strategic “Great Goals” adopted by Redeemer’s Board of Governors, which I share deeply. These goals include developing Redeemer’s international and global engagement; refreshing Redeemer’s distinctive Reformed worldview in ways that speak to a wider Christian community, demonstrating that Christian faith relates to all of life; and developing programs that connect academics and student life to develop the whole person.

GM: How can you see that God's providence in your life has prepared you for this position?

HK: God has provided for my family and I in many wonderful ways, starting with being raised in Christian homes, schools, and churches in southern Ontario. I pursued graduate studies in Canadian history, always with the commitment of one day serving the Reformed Christian community and its witness in Canada, especially in Christian higher education. God also provided an opportunity to work in Christian higher education at Dordt College, where during twenty years I had opportunities to develop my teaching and leadership in many facets of Christian higher education, and to work out a vision for Christian higher education that is intentionally based on a wholistic Biblical perspective. Finally, the search and interview process was a wonderful, Spirit-filled experience in which we discovered that we had a common vision, and where Redeemer’s needs and priorities matched with the experience, passions, and skills that I could offer. Throughout this process, we have sensed God’s leading, clearing a path, and giving us peace that His purpose was served.

Redeemer University College is an undergraduate Christian liberal arts and science university located near Hamilton in southern Ontario. Its more than 900 students are educated in small classes with a low student to faculty ratio. Redeemer University College offers a scripturally-direct education from a Reformed Christian perspective and in all things seeks to glorify God.

Considering the Lord's steadfast love, Psalm 107

2011-02-23T13:32:00.003-06:00

Psalm 107 begins the fifth book of the Psalter, but it flows smoothly from the previous two psalms. In my meditation on Psalm 105, I noted that it was a crash course in covenantal history. And my meditation on Psalm 106 showed how that psalm continues the historical theme with a confessional emphasis.

Psalm 107 is a lengthy and lyrical look at the fortunes of the redeemed throughout the past, during the present, and into the future.

In a pattern that has become familiar, it begins with a call to thank God for his steadfast love (verse 1, ESV):

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!

Those called to praise God are those he has redeemed through Christ from earth's remotest regions:

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south (2-3, ESV).

The psalm then goes into a series of descriptions of God's people who have suffered and continue to suffer in various adversities.

We read first of the redeemed who wandered in deserts:

Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things (4-9, ESV).

Then we read of those facing death while imprisoned in darkness:

Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron (12-16, ESV).

Adversity isn't always the result of sin, but the above verses indicate that it can be. And the following verses show there are times when our own foolishness and sin lead to deathly distress 17-22, ESV):

Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

Seafarers who have survived terrifying storms have seen the hand of God and ought to join in corporate worship, praising the God who rescued them from a watery grave.

Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;
they saw the deeds of the LORD,
his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders (23-32, ESV).

God is sovereign over storms at sea and every aspect of creation. He can turn a desert into an oasis, or a lush jungle into an arid waste. If the inhabitants are evil, God turns their farmland into wasteland. But for those who love him, he tames feral wilderness into fertile countryside.

He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
And there he lets the hungry dwell,
and they establish a city to live in;
they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.
By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their livestock diminish (33-38, ESV).

When adversity presses the righteous low, God brings down their oppressors and raises up the needy.

When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
but he raises up the needy out of affliction
and makes their families like flocks.
The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth (39-42, ESV).

Psalm 107 ends with a proverb:

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD (43, ESV).

Be wise. Consider the steadfast love of the Lord!

Derek Halvorson: In Christ All Things New

2011-02-22T05:37:00.007-06:00

Nearly a year ago, I (Glenda Mathes) interviewed for Christian Renewal three men newly appointed as presidents at Christian colleges: Dr. J. Derek Halvorson (Providence Christian College in Ontario, CA), Dr. Hubert R. Krygsman (Redeemer University College in Ancaster, ON), and Dr. Philip Graham Ryken (Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL).

I posted my interview with Dr. Ryken last Thursday (17 February 2011) and hope to post the interview with Dr. Krygman later this week. Today's post features Dr. Halvorson, the dynamic president of Providence Christian College.

Since this interview took place, Providence has moved from its original location in Ontario, CA, to Pasadena. The final informational paragraph has been edited to reflect current information.

Providence Christian College was founded in 2002 and Dr. Halvorson began serving as its second president after Jim Den Ouden’s retirement in 2009. Prior to his appointment to the presidency, Dr. Halvorson served as the Regional Director of Development for Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA.

GM: Dr. Halvorson, I believe you have been President of Providence Christian College since July of 2009, is that correct?

DH: Correct. I took office on July 1, 2009, and was formally inaugurated on September 19, 2009.

GM: Although most institutions of higher learning seem to want a multi-function president, they appear to vary in their desired focus. How would you describe your presidency? Are you more of an administrative instructor or more of a development director? What primary categories of work are included in your job description?

DH: You’re right in observing that most institutions want a multi-function president. In fact, I think that most would say that they have to have that sort of president. And, that's fairly typical of executive positions in other industries as well. Gone are the days (at most institutions) when the president could simply be a faculty member who also got to hand out diplomas at commencement.

I'm not primarily an administrative instructor, although I have guest-lectured in several classes this year and will teach a course next year. I'm determined to keep teaching as a part of my job, despite the many other good things I can and should do, for three reasons: 1) it's a great way to be involved in students' lives; 2) it's a great way to stay "in the trenches" with the faculty; and 3) it speaks to our college's commitment to undergraduate teaching as our first functional priority. (The secret fourth reason is that I just love the classroom, the learning that goes on there, and the learning that spills over into after-class conversations.)

Development is a big part of my job, no doubt, especially at Providence’s young age. Our board expects me to spend 50% of my time in fundraising and external relations activities (and those two often overlap). I also spend a good bit of time setting/articulating vision and establishing strategy for the institution. In addition, I am ultimately responsible for every aspect of the college's operations, so I'm regularly involved in conversations and decisions on budget/finance, public relations/marketing, admissions/recruiting, student life, academic affairs, facilities/operations, etc. Thankfully, I've got a great group of senior administrators who handle much of the day-to-day load on those issues. I also spend a good bit of my time working with our board. It's probably worth mentioning, too, that I'm expected to provide spiritual leadership for our entire campus community, which is a pretty awesome responsibility.

GM: I know that Providence recently benefited from a large gift. Can you describe how this gift came to the college and what role, if any, you played in the process?

DH: My primary role in relationship to the big gift we recently received was chief thanks-giver. Because of the confidentiality of the gift I can't say a whole lot, but I can tell you that I had limited involvement in the process of that gift coming to Providence. Some very generous folks became aware of Providence and its mission to deliver first-rate Reformed liberal arts education on the West Coast, and I think they saw this as a unique and strategic opportunity to support the growth of the kingdom.

GM: What other noteworthy events have taken place during this academic year and what role have you played in those?

DH: One of the delights of being in my first year as president is that I can brag about all of the good things that are happening, since I had almost nothing to do with most of them!

I don’t know if it counts as an event, but we had our largest freshman class ever matriculate in the fall. And in addition to being the largest they were also the strongest, academically speaking. Their average high school GPA was above 3.9 on a 4.0 scale. For us to be growing both in numbers and in the academic strength of our student body in a down economy bodes well for the future of the college and is a very tangible reminder of God's faithfulness.

In the fall we hired our first full-time film and communications professor. Troy Lamberth has extensive experience in the film industry here in southern California and is enthusiastic about equipping young Christians to bring a biblical perspective to bear on that world. That was a strategic hire for us, as we are seeking to build an institution that takes advantage of the peculiar resources afforded it by its proximity to a global city like Los Angeles.

We also rolled out a new visual identity in the fall. That’s certainly not the most profound event that’s taken place in my time here, but it was probably one of the more noticeable to the broader community. I was fortunate to be able to participate in the development of that “brand” even before I came on board officially, and it was fun to take up the challenge of communicating some of the distinctives of an academic institution and its heritage via a visual identity. (You’ll notice that Dutch orange and Presbyterian blue take a prominent place now in all of our materials.)

We’ve had some wonderful guest speakers on campus, our faculty continue to contribute to scholarly conferences and publications, our students continue to participate in a wide array of off-campus educational and service experiences.

GM: What are the challenges as well as the joys of your position?

DH: Challenges:
- There’s an awful lot to be done, or that could be done, so much of it exciting, and so little time. Like most folks in this sort of position, I have to guard against letting the job consume all of life. I work hard to set aside time for personal devotions, prayer, my family (I'm married and have two young children), and church activities. It’s not easy.
- The economy. We’re a young institution, and so we’re particularly susceptible to downturns in the economy. Missing out on one student or one big gift has much larger implications for us than it does for our older, more established sister institutions. Of course, by the same stroke, adding just a few more students or getting one big gift can have real positive impact for an institution at our stage of development.
- Awareness. In an information-saturated age, it’s difficult to raise awareness of a new college. One of my primary responsibilities is to get the word out, and it’s tough to do with so much noise out there. [Incidentally, this is one of the reasons I’m grateful for your invitation to answer some questions about my job.]

Joys:
In short, the people of Providence:
- Our students. They are wonderful—thoughtful, bright, deeply committed young Christians.
- Our faculty. Gifted, engaging, dedicated to discipling their students intellectually and spiritually.
- Our staff. Selfless, creative, and tireless in their support of our core educational mission.
- Our board. Visionary, prayerful, wise; they are a delight to work with.
- Our supporters. Faithful, generous, and encouraging in their support of the college.

GM: What are the hopes or goals you have for your continued work at Providence Christian College?

DH: There’s a lot that I could say here. At the highest level, my prayer is that Providence would be known for its faithfulness to biblical truth, for its commitment to the riches of the Reformed tradition, for outstanding liberal arts education, and for graduates who are thoughtful and passionate about working out the implications of the Christian faith for every aspect of their lives and for every dimension of society.

GM: How can you see that God's providence in your life has prepared you for this position?

DH: This could be a long answer, too. I'll try to be brief. I am the product of Christian education from kindergarten through college. In particular, my experience at Covenant College (which I chose over more "prestigious" institutions—Duke, the University of North Carolina, and the US Naval Academy) had a profound impact on who I am and how I think about and act in the world. I long for other young Christians to experience that same sort of education. And, I’ve become convinced that if we wish to have a leavening effect in our culture, Reformed higher education is one of the best ways to accomplish that. God has used my educational experiences to convince me of the value of Reformed liberal arts education, both for the students who receive it and for the churches and communities that will benefit from the lives of its graduates.

God has also taken me down an unusual career path to prepare me for my current role. I spent time immediately post-college working in the financial markets in Charlotte and Chicago. When I left the markets to pursue graduate education in medieval history, it was difficult to see how God would use that time, though now I am grateful for the exposure it gave me to business and finance. My training in medieval and early modern European history, while valuable in its own right (and also very interesting), gave me opportunity to explore the history of higher education in the West. The insights gained through that exploration have already proved useful as we work to build a college that takes advantage of the real strengths of western educational models while avoiding some of the pitfalls of the modern university. When I returned to my alma mater, Covenant College, after graduate school, my first job involved a mix of management responsibilities and roles in marketing and public relations. It was fascinating work, and stretching in many ways, but I couldn’t figure out at the time how God was going to use those experiences to make me a better history professor. In my last position at Covenant College, I did major gift fundraising. Again, it was difficult to see how that was going to help me be a better history professor. But my roles in management, marketing, PR, and fundraising are all proving invaluable in my present position. So, I can state with a lot of confidence that God was, by the work of His providence, providing me with the very kinds of experiences and responsibilities that one needs to be a college president. I certainly wouldn’t have recognized that at the time, but it seems obvious in retrospect.

Providence Christian College is a multi-denominational Christian liberal arts college located about 15 miles northeast of Los Angeles. It has more than 60 students from several states and three foreign countries. Its motto is: In Christo Omnia Nova (in Christ all things new).

Let all the people say, "Amen!" (Psalm 106)

2011-02-21T03:48:00.005-06:00

If Psalm 105 is Israelite History 101, Psalm 106 is Israelite History 102, with an emphasis on confession of sin.

Most of the psalm's forty-eight verses review Israel's sins from the time the people dwelled in Egypt (7), through the exodus (7-12), during their long sojourn in the desert (13-33), as they occupied the Promised Land (32-39), and during their oppression and captivity (40-43).

The psalmist prefaces this long confessional litany of sin with praise and a declaration that seems contradicted by most of the psalm (1-3, ESV):

Praise the LORD!
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD,
or declare all his praise?
Blessed are they who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times!

It's easy to sing the familiar words praising God's goodness and his steadfast love, and we readily realize our inability to recount all God's mighty deeds or adequately declare all the praise due his name. But verse three causes pause.

Can anyone observe justice and do righteousness at all times? Since no one can, how can anyone be blessed?

The psalmist then writes:

Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people;
help me when you save them,
that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that I may glory with your inheritance (4-5, ESV).

God's favor is the only avenue to blessing. His Son is the only source of salvation. His Spirit is the only way to obey. Because God grants us his favor, salvation through Christ, and sanctification through His Spirit, we begin to live for him. Then we can see the spiritual, if not the physical, prosperity of God's elect. Then we are able to rejoice within the church community. And then we look forward to our glorious inheritance in Christ.

But while we do these things, we confess our sin.

The long list of Israel's sins, despite God's repeated deliverance and provision, confirms the impossibility and our inability to do righteousness at all times. If we're honest with ourselves, we realize that we are just as sinful as those stiff-necked Israelites. We feel our kinship with Israel, whose "enemies oppressed them" and brought them "into subjection." Although God delivered them many times, they "were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity" (42-43, ESV).

When we humble our hearts and turn to God in true repentance, he hears our cries for mercy.

Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
when he heard their cry.
For their sake he remembered his covenant,
and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
He caused them to be pitied
by all those who held them captive (44-46, ESV).

God motivated pagan kings to release a remnant of faithful believers from captivity so they could return to the Promised Land. God also remembers his covenant with us. He will grant relief from our distress according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

We can pray with the psalmist:

Save us, O LORD our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise (47, ESV).

God will save us. But he saves us with a purpose: that we may gives thanks to his holy name and glory in his praise.

Because God is faithful and his love never fails, we praise him with all his people in every place and every time (48, ESV):

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, "Amen!"
Praise the LORD!

Quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Remembering and Recounting, Psalm 105

2011-02-18T05:10:00.005-06:00

Need a quick lesson in Old Testament covenant history? Read Psalm 105.

Psalm 105 recounts God's covenantal promise and how he brought his people into the promised land. God made the promise to Abraham, preserved and expanded Abraham's descendents during hundreds of years in Egypt, brought those two million people out of slavery, and destroyed an entire unbelieving generation in the desert before finally bringing his people into the land flowing with milk and honey.

But Psalm 105 isn't mere history; it's history with a purpose. That multi-faceted purpose is reflected in the opening verses (1-6, ESV):

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
Seek the LORD and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

The psalm calls God's people to do more than remember God's wondrous works. It calls all of us to worship God, to thank him, to praise him, to glory in his name, to seek him, and to rejoice in him. And one more thing: make known his deeds among the peoples.

Worship must be accompanied by witness.

When we remember and recount God's covenant faithfulness, we have comfort and confidence for the future. This covenant God still controls all the events in the world, while caring for us and our children.

He is the LORD our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
He remembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations (7-8, ESV).

Most of this long psalm conveys God's sovereignty over the patriarchs' lives and the Israelite nation. God is the one who "summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread," but "he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave" (16-17, ESV). This was God's plan for preserving his people in Egypt.

In that lush land, the Lord "made his people very fruitful and made them stronger than their foes" (24). God is the one who "turned" the "hearts" of the Egyptians "to hate his people" and "to deal craftily with his servants" (25).

But God provided rescue for his people. "He sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen" (26).

The psalmist emphasizes God's actions in subsequent verses describing how God sent each successive plague: "He sent.... He turned.... He spoke.... He gave.... He struck down.... He spoke.... He struck down...." (28-36, ESV).

That emphasis on God's work continues in verses describing the exodus from Egypt and his provision in the desert: "...he brought out Israel with silver and gold" (37). "He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light by night" (39). "...he brought quail, and gave them bread from heaven in abundance" (40). "He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river" (41).

God did all this for Israel because "he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant" (42). God is always faithful. His steadfast love never fails. He did not merely deliver his people, he granted them joy and abundance (43-45, ESV):

So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
And he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,
that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the LORD!

God did all this for his people so that they could obey him and praise him. God has delivered each believer from the land of sin's slavery. Someday he will deliver each of us from this land of sin's sorrow. What a day that will be!

But until that day comes, we have a responsibility to spread the good news of God's sovereignty and his salvation through Jesus Christ. We have a duty not merely to remember covenant history in our minds, but to recount it to others!

Philip Graham Ryken: For Christ and His Kingdom

2011-02-17T05:22:00.006-06:00

Earlier this week I promised to post my interviews with Dr. Leland Ryken and Dr. Philip Graham Ryken. My interview with Leland Ryken appears as my 15 February 2011 entry. Today I'm posting my interview with his son, Philip Graham Ryken, who was inaugurated as the eighth president of Wheaton College on September 17, 2010.
Last spring I interviewed Philip Graham Ryken via email for a Christian Renewal feature profiling three new presidents at Christian colleges. [The other two interviews were with Dr. J. Derek Halvorson (Providence Christian College) and Dr. Hubert R. Krygsma (Redeemer University College); I'll try to post those interviews soon.] The three interviews appeared in the April 28, 2010 issue of Christian Renewal.

Bear in mind that the following interview with Philip Graham Ryken took place almost a year ago, while Dr. Ryken was still the senior pastor at the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia and before he began serving as Wheaton's president.

Wheaton College was established in 1860 and Dr. Ryken will serve as its eighth president, following the retirement of Dr. Duane Litfin, who has been Wheaton’s president for 17 years. Dr. Ryken is currently the senior pastor at the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, where he has served since 1995.

GM: Dr. Ryken, I understand that you will assume the presidency on July 1, 2010. Will this put you in the position of becoming your father's boss and would that be awkward for either of you? [Dr. Leland Ryken is Professor of English at Wheaton and has been on the faculty since 1968.]

PR: Yes, I will be my father’s boss. I doubt my presidency will be very awkward for either one of us, though. We have a close relationship. My dad is always one of my biggest supporters, and I know he will be quietly supportive when I come to Wheaton. I also happen to be one of his biggest enthusiasts. He is still one of the best writers and lecturers I know for communicating truth clearly and comprehensively.

GM: Although most institutions of higher learning seem to want a multi-function president, they appear to vary in their desired focus. How would you describe the expectations for your presidency? Will you be more of a pastoral instructor or more of a development administrator? What primary categories of work are included in your job description?

PR: The work of the Wheaton College President is wide-ranging, which is one of many things that draw me to this new calling. There certainly is a pastoral dimension to providing leadership for a Christian college—especially through speaking in chapel and showing care for students, faculty, staff, and alumni who are going through difficult times.

I will also serve as an administrative leader, helping to ensure that everything on campus is run in an excellent, efficient, compassionate, and God-honoring way. There is always fund-raising to do, of course, which I embrace as an opportunity to encourage people in sacrificial stewardship and help advance the kingdom of God. As a collaborative visionary, I will also have a role in helping the Wheaton community discern its calling and then promoting that vision both inside and outside the college. The campus community will expect all this…and more.

GM: What do you view as the probable challenges you will face in your new position?
PR: The biggest initial challenge will simply be to learn the job by getting to know the campus community and growing into my new calling as President. For the past ten years I have served on the Wheaton College Board of Visitors and then on the Board of Trustees, so I have a fair working knowledge of the college. Yet I have never served in administration for higher education, so I have a huge amount to learn.

Since it will be impossible to please everyone, the criticism will be ongoing. But the support and encouragement are vast. I know that countless friends and alumni are committed to praying for me and for Wheaton College—every day, in many cases. So I believe that God will give me the grace to serve him faithfully.

Beyond the personal pressures, of course, there are all the pressures that Christian colleges face from the wider world: to compromise biblical standards on sexual ethics, to accommodate biblical theology to secular thought, to seek academic recognition for reasons of pride rather than humble service—the challenges will be endless. At Wheaton we try to meet these challenges by remaining true to our Statement of Faith and Community Covenant—documents that guide our thinking and conduct along biblical lines.

GM: What do you view as the possible joys of the work?

PR: I expect that the biggest joy will be to connect with college students. At the center of everything that Wheaton does is the intellectual work of preparing young people to offer a lifetime of service “for Christ and His Kingdom,” as our motto puts it. I will do everything in my power to ensure that our students receive the very best biblical, theological, and academic training that a college can provide. I look forward to spending some of my time with students in chapel, at the dining hall, in the concert hall, in the gymnasium, and everywhere else on campus.

GM: What are the hopes or goals you have for your work at Wheaton?

PR: My goals are many: to maintain Wheaton’s long-standing commitment to evangelical orthodoxy; to support our faculty in the exceptional work they do as teachers and scholars; to improve our campus facilities; to develop a more comprehensive program for collaborative student/faculty research; to continue to grow our ethnic diversity; to strengthen our connections to the church worldwide—my list of goals is a long one.

But perhaps my biggest goal is to help a performance-oriented campus become more and more a community of grace, in which the pursuit of excellence is motivated primarily by everything that God has done for us in Christ, not by our desire to do something for God.

GM: How can you see that God's providence in your life has prepared you for this position?

PR: From earliest childhood, almost everything I love in life has been associated with Wheaton College. I like to say that the campus is my natural habitat. Wheaton is the place where I fell in love with books and the life of the mind, with sports and music, with literature and philosophy. It is also the place where I fell in love with my wife; I met Lisa Maxwell during orientation week our freshman year and by Christmas I was sure that I wanted to marry her.

At the center of all these experiences has been God himself, who led me to fall in love with Wheaton College when I was still a young boy. This gave me a heart for Christ and His Kingdom that has never left me, and which I now see has prepared me to serve the college as its president.

Wheaton College is an academically rigorous Christian liberal arts college located west of Chicago. About 2,400 undergraduates and 500 graduate students come from 50 states, 37 countries, and over 55 denominations. Its motto is: Christo et Regno Ejus (For Christ and His Kingdom).

Sovereign Sermons

2011-02-16T05:43:00.005-06:00

God is sovereign. I always know this in my mind, but I sometimes do not feel it in my heart.

Yet there are moments in life when God does something so pointedly personal that it is as if he has reached down, put his arms around me, and said, "Glenda, see how much I love you!"

These last several weeks, I have often found it difficult to "feel" God's sovereignty in my heart. But in every Sunday sermon, he reaches down, puts his arms around my church family, and says, "See you much I love you!"

In his sovereignty, God has been providing sermons proclaiming exactly what we need to hear at that exact step in our journey. On December 19, Rev. Alan Strange, Associate Professor of Church History at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, preached on "God Only Wise" from 1 Timothy 1:12-17. On December 25, Rev. Mark Vander Hart, Associate Professor of Old Testament Studies at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, ministered to us from Malachi 1:1-5 with his message: Christmas: God Says it in Love." And on January 16, Mid-America seminarian Erik Stolte used 1 Kings 2:19-22 to remind us of God's "Healing Waters."

There have been several other pastors who have brought God's Word to us during these weeks, many of their messages can be found on the "Sermons" page of our church's website.

Rev. Vander Hart (who was also with us on January 2 and installed our new office bearers) ministered to us again last Sunday with two sermons that impressed me so keenly I feel compelled to share a few personal revelations.

The morning sermon was "Pray from Love for Peace," based on Psalm 122:6-9. Since some groups in today's world use verse six as a rallying cry for religious or political agendas, I was glad to hear an orthodox explication of the passage.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
Because of the house of the LORD our God
I will seek your good (NKJV).

Rev. Vander Hart noted that Psalm 122 is one of fifteen "Songs of Ascents" in the psalter, which are "songs of pilgrimage" sung by the faithful as they traveled up the hill into Jerusalem for worship. This isn't a solitary reflection, but rather the prayer of a man who is part of a congregation.

Rev. Vander Hart pointed out that the alliteration of the original language emphasizes the "total security" of both peace and prosperity. It is a prayer for the "shalom" of the people, not merely the city. He urged each of us to pray for all the members of the body of Christ.

His pointed application has changed the way I pray. I still pray for specific concerns of specific believers in particular locales, but I pray every day that God will grant "shalom" to every believer everywhere.

Rev. Vander Hart spoke of the "double motive" for this prayer: because you love your brothers and sisters in Christ, but also because you love the church.

He also spoke of the "double method" of this prayer: speaking peace and seeking good.

"Prayer is also action," he said. "If we pray, but we don't work, we're really not praying."

Christ ministers peace from the throne of God, he concluded, and we know from Hebrews 12:22 that we have come to the heavenly Jerusalem. When we see what Christ has done, then peace will be ours. He brings genuine peace and lasting shalom.

The morning sermon changed the way I pray, but the evening sermon changed the way I think.

Using the familiar text of Ephesians 2:10, combined with Lord's Day 32 of the Heidelberg Catechism, Rev. Vander Hart spoke on how "Christ Renews Us to Life Witness."

Reading Ephesians 1-10 reminded me of how closely this text about good works follows a clear exposition on salvation by grace through faith:

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:1-10, NKJV).

While responsively reading Lord's Day 32, I was struck (as I am every time I read it) by the comprehensive and personal answer to Question 86:

Q. We have been delivered
from our misery
by God's grace alone through Christ
and not because we have earned it:
why then must we still do good?
A. To be sure, Christ has redeemed us by his blood.
But we do good because
Christ by his Spirit is also renewing us to be like himself,
so that in all our living
we may show that we are thankful to God
for all he has done for us,
and so that he may be praised through us.
And we do good
so that we may be assured of our faith by its fruits,
and so that by our godly living
our neighbors may be won over to Christ.

Rev. Vander Hart introduced the sermon by mentioning that the Heidelberg Catechism reflects the "biblical balance" found in the book of Romans. He described some unbalanced views, such as pietism (All that matters is Jesus in my heart) [NOTE: not piety] and antinomianism (against the law). He pointed out that the Ten Commandments come under the "gratitude" part of the Catechism. It is a matter of motive. Some believers forget about thanksgiving and gratitude; some want us all to feel guilty all the time.

Rev. Vander Hart said, "Our focus tonight is on Jesus Christ our Savior who has redeemed us from that guilt!"

The two points of the sermon were 1) His good work of renewal, and 2) Our good work of witness.

Rev. Vander Hart spoke about how we often use the language of thanksgiving while actually living as if our good works can somehow "pay back" God. This cut to my heart.

"We always default in our payments," he said, "and that causes great anxiety.... The resting upon Jesus Christ's finished work gets clouded over by our anxiety to make payments. Good works as payments? You can't pay him back. God is infinite and limitedless. We are finite, very limited. And what could you give back to him that would be adequate payment in any case?"

This was the most convicting part of the sermon for me. I realized that, while using the language of gratitude, I am actually trying to pay back God with my work. I often think of all God has done for me and feel guilty over my failures to do more work in his kingdom out of my great gratitude. And this does, indeed, cause anxiety.

The antidote prescribed by Ephesians 2:10 is to focus on Christ. I am his workmanship. He saved me by grace and chose me for his own before the foundation of the earth. He prepared good works for me to do. Christ will enable me to walk at just the right pace in just the right works. They are not my way of paying him back; they are part of God's masterpiece.

I could write much more about how our good works praise God, assure us of our faith, and witness to our neighbors, but this post is already too long and Libby (my little dog) is whining. The next good work prepared beforehand for me is to let her out of her crate and take her for a walk.

I encourage you to listen to these and other sermons that have blessed our congregation in recent weeks.

Leland Ryken: Prolific author and passionate teacher

2011-02-15T05:35:00.005-06:00

Some of you may know that I was an older, non-traditional student who graduated from the University of Iowa in 2006 (No, I'm not telling how old!). Even as a young child, I was fascinated with books. I knew how to read before I knew I knew how (a story for another post someday). As a child, I longed to grow up, go to college, and write books. As an adult with many other commitments, I still longed to learn and to write. As my children grew and were educated, I became a self-educator through extensive reading.

One of the authors with whom I was most impressed was Leland Ryken. More than any other author, he expressed my beliefs about literature and faith. I often thought that, if I could have attended any college, I would have liked to attend Wheaton and study under his instruction. As church librarian, I placed several of his excellent works in our church's library.

It was only in recent years that I learned he'd grown up in my hometown! Shortly after I'd contacted him regarding an interview, the woman I was sitting beside in church choir practice mentioned that she and her husband were just back from the Chicago area and had enjoyed a nice visit with "Lee" Ryken, a friend from high school.

Small world? Coincindence? I think not. God is in control of even these seemingly coincidental trivialities of life (see my 11 February 2011 post on Psalm 103).

In yesterday's blog entry on Psalm 104, I promised to post my Christian Renewal interviews with Leland Ryken and his son, Philip Graham Ryken, editors of the ESV Literary Study Bible.

The following is a slightly edited version of my interview with Leland Ryken that appeared in the February 11, 2009, issue of Christian Renewal.

To say that Leland Ryken is a prolific author sounds trite, but is true. He has not only written a remarkable number of books, but he has also written on a number of subjects in a number of genres.

Some titles of the more than 30 books Dr. Ryken has had published reflect his broad range of interest and expertise: Words of Delight: A Literary Introduction to the Bible; The Christian Imagination: The Practice of Faith in Literature and Writing; The Liberated Imagination: Thinking Christianly About the Arts; The Word of God in English: Criteria for Excellence in Bible Translation; Worldly Saints: The Puritans As They Really Were; Redeeming the Time: A Christian Approach to Work & Leisure; and Realms of Gold: The Classics in Christian Perspective.

Dr. Ryken and his son, Philip Graham Ryken, co-authored the extensive studies in The Literary Study Bible, ESV and were two of three authors for Ryken’s Bible Handbook. He also co-authored with Margaret Lamp Mead the popular A Reader’s Guide Through the Wardrobe: Exploring C.S. Lewis’s Classic Story and A Reader’s Guide To Caspian: A Journey into C.S. Lewis’s Narnia. He has additionally served as a primary editor for The Discerning Reader: Essays on Christian Literary Criticism; A Complete Literary Guide to the Bible, and Dictionary of Biblical Imagery.

He has been a professor of English at Wheaton College since 1968. He has taught a wide range of courses through the years. His current repertoire reflects his various areas of expertise and includes Shakespeare, 17th-century English literature, the Bible as literature, writing, and survey of British literature.

Dr. Ryken served as Literary Chairman for the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible. In 2003 he received the Gutenberg Award for his contributions to understanding the Bible. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon and his B.A. from Central College and is—I recently learned—a native of my hometown: Pella, IA.

Dr. Ryken responded via email to several of my questions regarding his work and his perspective.

GM: Dr. Ryken, you’ve written about biblical translation and biblical literature, Milton and the Puritans, work and leisure, and the intersection of faith and art. How have you managed not only to develop this variety of interests, but also to write extensively on many different topics?

LR: Early in my career I had success in publishing on topics “outside my field,” as we call it in the academy. I can remember reaching a conscious decision that I would have a writing career in addition to my career as a professor and literary scholar. It is one of the best decisions I have made. My writing career is the story of entering pretty much every publishing door that opened before me, governed by God’s providence in the matter.

GM: How do you maintain focus with your many productive pursuits?

LR: I just concentrate on the topic of the moment. I actually enjoy working on multiple writing projects at the same time. In fact, if I have an afternoon to write, I normally divide the time among multiple projects just to avoid the potential boredom or discouragement that comes from spending the whole afternoon on a single project.

GM: In writing on so many different topics, have you published on subjects about which you were initially unqualified to write?

LR: I have. In much of my writing I have become an expert through a really great human invention known as research. It is a great sadness to me that many people do not envision the possibility of mastering something that currently lies beyond their field of knowledge.

GM: You’ve taught at Wheaton since 1968. What are the joys and challenges of teaching?

LR: For me, the joys of teaching are primarily being given the opportunity to interact with material that interests me a lot and of being able to share what I have found with students in the classroom. I enjoy performing in the classroom. I do not enjoy grading, and I have been disillusioned with developments in the youth culture during the past dozen years.

GM: What are those developments and how has youth culture changed since you began teaching?

LR: Multiple aspects of the current youth culture make this an inauspicious time to be a teacher. Young people are simply less knowledgeable than they once were in the subject areas that have traditionally made up education. Most young people have lost the old authentic thrill to be learning something new. Modern technology (even the computer by itself) has raised expectations of getting what we want immediately, and these expectations have produced a colossal entitlement mentality. Obsession with grades is an epidemic. Most young people do not revere the expertise represented by their teachers and are quick to set themselves up as rival authorities. Most teachers’ fund of anecdotes on these trends is full and overflowing.

GM: You’ve published more than thirty books. What are the joys of writing and publishing?

LR: The joy of publishing has been the joy of making an impact on people around the world. My books have made the world my classroom. They have fallen into the hands of people (chiefly teachers, broadly defined) who have in turn shared my thoughts with people under their influence. In the late stages of my career it is obvious that my books have been my chief contribution to the Kingdom, though I did not know this as the process was unfolding.

GM: Do you prefer teaching or writing?

LR: In both activities I would have withered on the vine if I had not had the two activities to feed each other. I could not have been a good teacher or writer alone.

GM: Your Wheaton faculty bio lists "travel and research in England" as one of your interests. What is the nature of your travel in England?

LR: I am poised to serve as a director on the Wheaton College program for the sixteenth time. I first served in that capacity in 1977. Intermingled with those trips have been seven or eight research trips lasting a couple of weeks each. My current upper-level scholarly project is to contextualize selected sonnets of John Milton in a Puritan milieu, so I have spent weeks and months typing Puritan data into my computer.

GM: Related to the above question, what literary projects do you have in the works?
LR: In keeping with what I said earlier about entering every open door, my current publishing ventures include books on English Bible translation, pastors in the literary classics, and expository preaching. If that list sends some of your readers into shock, let me add that many of my publishing ventures have been collaborative ones, and sometimes I have undertaken a role of what I call midwife as a servant to worthy projects. Essays that are currently in the publishing pipeline include ones on Calvinism and literature, Shakespeare and the Bible, and what I call "Christian Shakespeare." Some of my best work in the past decade has come in the form of addresses for professional conferences, college audiences, and church audiences.

GM: You served as Literary Chairman for the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible and have written extensively about the difference between essentially literal Bible translations (like the ESV) and dynamic equivalency ones (like the NIV). Can you briefly summarize the difference and explain its importance?

LR: Let me say first that people who want to know the full scope of this topic should consult my books on English Bible translation. But if you want my viewpoint in a single sentence, it is this: an essentially literal translation gives you what the biblical writers actually wrote (subject to the necessary changes of translating from one language to another); a dynamic equivalent translation is not a translation—it is a translation with intermingled commentary, with the result that an ordinary Bible reader has no way of knowing what the biblical authors wrote and how much has been added to that or subtracted from it.

GM: Readers of the Chronicles of Narnia differ in their views of allegory in the books. I identify allegorical elements in the stories; others identify the stories as allegories. As a co-author of reader’s guides to Chronicles of Narnia books, how would you summarize your view of allegory in the Chronicles of Narnia?

LR: The key to understanding allegory in any work of literature is the idea of an allegorical continuum on which we can plot the degree to which a work is allegorical (not whether it is "an allegory"). The Narnia stories range over the explicitly allegorical half of the continuum. In a letter, Lewis himself listed his allegorical intention for each of the seven books. For example, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe portrays "the Crucifixion and the Resurrection" of Christ. In that same letter, Lewis said that "the whole Narnian story is about Christ." It is impossible to reach those conclusions without seeing an allegorical or symbolic level of meaning in the stories.

GM: How would you characterize or describe your view of literary criticism?

LR: I believe that the function of literary criticism is to enhance a reader's understanding and enjoyment of works of literature. To achieve that goal, a critic needs to keep the focus on the work of literature and not on a substitute. My own love is explication or close reading of literary works.

Dr. Ryken's responses during the interview process were instrumental in helping me view my many work commitments more positively and structure my regular work days more efficiently.

I hope that the above interview whets your appetite to explore some of Leland Ryken's extensive works and discover for yourself how his meticulous research and articulate writing contribute to the continuing story that is literature.

This is My Father's World, Psalm 104

2011-02-14T05:13:00.005-06:00

In Not My Own: Discovering God's Comfort in the Heidelberg Catechism (the fifth grade volume I wrote for the "Life in Christ" catechism curriculum), I use Psalm 104 to demonstrate God's sovereign care over creation. As the student reads the psalm and identifies verses containing specific word pictures, I hope he or she begins to glimpse the beauty of God's sovereignty.

The exercise is part of Lesson 8, "Who Is God the Father?", and leads into discussion of Q & A 26, certainly one of the most beautiful of many comforting questions and answers in the highly biblical and intensely personal Heidelberg Catechism:

26 Q. What do you believe when you say:
“I believe in God the Father, almighty,
maker of heaven and earth”?
A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who out of nothing created heaven and earth
and everything in them,
who still upholds and rules them
by his eternal counsel and providence,
is my God and Father
because of Christ his Son.
I trust him so much that I do not doubt
he will provide whatever I need
for body and soul,
and he will turn to my good
whatever adversity he sends me
in this sad world.
He is able to do this because he is almighty God;
he desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.

If you read Psalm 104 (which I encourage you to do right now at Bible Gateway), you will be struck by the variety and energy of its imagery.

Anyone who loves literature loves the effective use of imagery in the printed word, and the Bible makes extremely effective use of imagery. Literature lovers also enjoy identifying types or genres of writing, and the Bible makes very effective use of different genres. If you love literature, you will appreciate the editorial comments in the ESV Literary Study Bible that help the reader identify different forms employed by the human authors of the biblical text.

I've mentioned the ESV Literary Study Bible (which can be purchased on Amazon) in previous posts and I've mentioned editors Leland Ryken and Philip Graham Ryken, but I haven't explained their relationship.

Not only is Philip Graham Ryken the son of Leland Ryken, but he also is now his boss. Leland Ryken is a longtime professor at Wheaton College, where Philip Graham Ryken was inaugurated as the school's eighth president on September 17, 2010. I've interviewd both men for Christian Renewal; my interview with Leland Ryken appearing in the February 11, 2009, issue and my interview with Philip Graham Ryken appearing in the April 28, 2010 issue (with profiles of three newly appointed presidents at Christian colleges). I'll try to post those interviews later this week.

ESV Literary Study Bible editors Ryken and Ryken identify Psalm 104 as "the fourth of five nature poems in the Psalter," writing that it is "so exalted and long that it ranks as an ode" (p. 862).

It begins with these familiar words:

Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
covering yourself with light as with a garment,
stretching out the heavens like a tent (verses 1-2, ESV).

Yesterday's reflection on Psalm 103 discussed how the concept of "blessing the Lord" includes loving and praising God. These opening verses directly praise God (in the second person) for his sovereign majesty and his creative power.

The next three verses switch to indirect praise, talking about God (in the third person) with picturesque language describing his majestic creativity.

He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
he rides on the wings of the wind;
he makes his messengers winds,
his ministers a flaming fire.
He set the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved (3-5, ESV).

The next lengthy section reverts to direct praise in word pictures pulsing with vitality:

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
At your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you appointed for them.
You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.

You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;
they give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
and bread to strengthen man’s heart (6-15, ESV).

One could reflect at length on each of the above images. Some certainly seem to describe the earth before, during, and after the flood (Genesis 6-9).

In the next section of Psalm 104, the psalmist again switches to indirect praise as he reflects on God's present care over creation:

The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.
The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers (16-18, ESV).

The next verse ties together God's creation with his continued sustenance:

He made the moon to mark the seasons;
the sun knows its time for setting (19, ESV).

God causes the progression of day and night. He creates the inclinations of different creatures. He does both of these things so that wild animals and man can co-exist in the same areas of creation.

You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
When the sun rises, they steal away
and lie down in their dens.
Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until the evening (20-23, ESV).

Another section of direct praise marvels at God's amazing sea and land creatures, who all depend on God for sustenance. God brings forth the plants that provide their food in the sea and on land. God brings each creature to life and takes away each one's life according to his great plan.

O LORD, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Here is the sea, great and wide,
which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.
There go the ships,
and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.
These all look to you,
to give them their food in due season.
When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground (24-20, ESV).

The psalmist prays that God will always endure and rejoice in his creation, over which he exercises complete and almighty control (31-32, ESV):

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works,
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke!

Can't you visualize tall buildings swaying in an earthquake or a volcano billowing black smoke and red lava?

Psalm 104 concludes with the psalmist's personal vow to praise God all his life. He prays that God will enable his meditation to please him. He also asks God to refine the earth by destroying the wicked. And he bookends the psalm with "blessing the Lord" praise similar to the phrase that opens it (33-35, ESV):

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!

May we join the writer of Psalm 104 in seeing God's handiwork in all of creation and praising him for it! And may the beauty of God's sovereignty and providence comfort us in our pilgrimage.

Blessing the Lord, Psalm 103

2011-02-11T05:16:00.005-06:00

The idea of blessing the Lord has always seemed a bit foreign to me. How can we, as mere human creatures, bless the almighty God who is the divine creator?
The strangeness of the concept comes, I think, from a skewed view. For most of my life, I've considered "blessing" as a thing that God gives or as the way he gives it. Every day I am blessed by God as I receive blessings from him, including innumerable gifts of which I am not even aware. But that's only part of the biblical concept of blessing. Scripture makes clear that "blessing" also can be loving and praising God.

Psalm 103 is the world's best primer on the concept of blessing the Lord.

Editors Leland Ryken and Philip Graham Ryken preface Psalm 103 in the ESV Literary Study Bible (© 2007 by Crossway Bibles) by writing that it is a "high point among the praise psalms" and add: "It is so exalted in scope and language that it ranks as an ode—the most elevated member of the lyric family."

As I get older (and I hope a little wiser), I see less "coincidence" and more "providence" in the things and events of life. And I think it is hardly "coincidental" that Psalm 103's lyrical song of praise immediately follows Psalm 102's broken-hearted confession of penitence (see my blog post of 09 February 2011).

Psalm 103 was written by David in thankfulness for God's forgiveness of his sin. It reflects the joy not only of David's heart, but also of his soul. He begins in verse 1 by pouring every part of his being into praise:

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!

He generates continued praise by reminding himself of God's blessings.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s (2-5, ESV).

God grants forgiveness to the repentant sinner. He is the Great Physician who heals all our emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual ills. God rescues us from many life-threatening dangers and redeems our souls from the pit of hell. As regents under the King of Kings, we wear fluid crowns daily jeweled with God's faithfulness, love, and mercy. Our hungry hearts are satisfied with God's good and perfect gifts, which equip us to persevere in his service.

Every evening I go to bed exhausted, unable to lift one more thing or write one more word, but by God's grace I wake early each morning and rise to my work on eagle's wings.

David continues this paean of praise by reflecting on God's past, present, and future works of grace and mercy.

The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever (6-9, ESV).

God revealed himself to Israel in the past, He patiently blesses his sinful people in the present, and he will turn present adversity to our good in the future.

The magnitude of God's forgiveness nearly defies description:

He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust (10-14, ESV).

God's marvelous compassion seems even more amazing as David compares the transience of man to the infinity of God.

As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,
to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all (15-19, ESV).

In his great mercy, God extends compassion to believers and their children throughout all faithful generations. God's covenantal love is sure because his throne is firmly established and his kingdom has no bounds.

The only possible result of reflecting in faith on God's love is to join David in praise. And that is how it is possible for sinful humans to bless our holy God.

When we remember God's faithful love to his people, when we reflect on the many gifts he daily gives us, and when we consider his sure guarantee for a sin-free future; then we, too, can bless the Lord!

Bless the LORD, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
Bless the LORD, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
Bless the LORD, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul! (20-22, ESV).

Doon URC will wait longer for pastor

2011-02-10T08:14:00.002-06:00

After waiting two years for a new pastor, the United Reformed Church of Doon, IA, will have to wait at least a few more months.

Doon URC called Simon Lievaart in July of 2010 and Mr. Lievaart successfully sustained his candidacy exam at Classis Central US in September of 2010. For the past six months, the church has been working through the immigration process that would allow Mr. Lievaart, a Canadian citizen, to take up his calling in Doon. But the United States government recently denied the visa request.

“The news was very disappointing,” says Mr. Clyde Lems, Vice-President of Doon’s Council, “and the congregation was in a state of disbelief, shock, and tears were shed. But after those initial human emotions were in check we were very much encouraged by a letter from Mr. Lievaart to the congregation reminding us that we are ‘always being shepherded by the Lord,’ and to keep ‘worshipping, praying, trusting and serving Him….’”

In consultation with Mr. Lievaart, the Council of Doon URC has determined to re-apply for the R-1 petition. The process is expected to take a few more months.

“This means that the church in Doon, which is now vacant for two years, will have to wait a little longer, and we too will have to wait before we can settle down as a family in the congregation God, through His church, has called me to,” explains Mr. Lievaart.

Mr. Lievaart is a 2009 graduate of Mid-America Reformed Seminary who served Rehoboth URC of Hamilton from May 2009 through February 1020. He spent some time in Doon during the spring of 2010, and since May has been serving the congregations associated with Parkland Reformed Church in Ponoka and its church plant in Lacombe. He and his wife, Jodi, have two young children.

The Doon Council is working with Rev. Todd Wagenmaker (an OPC pastor and immigration attorney) to resubmit documentation and re-apply. The hope is that Mr. Lievaart and his family will arrive at Doon in the spring.

“The plans for the next few months are similar to the past two years,” says Mr. Lems. “We have been very blessed to have had faithful preaching/pulpit supply from other area URC pastors, retired ministers, and we are very thankful for the RCUS pastors who have been filling our pulpit. We already have most of the Sunday services filled through March. We have also maintained our family visitations and our visits to the sick. By God’s grace the church has gained members, has had professions of faith and baptisms.”

“As elders and as a congregation,” he continues, “I feel that we have grown through even this trying situation. We have had times of disappointment, questions, and doubt, but by God’s grace we see more and more our dependence on the Lord and not our earthly circumstances. We are strengthened by the providential care of our Lord for His church and as a church of Christ we take comfort in what we confess in Heidelberg Catechism Q. & A. 27 and 28 [regarding God’s providence].”

“This is a disappointing reality,” Mr. Livaart says, “nobody likes to wait. We long to be home in Doon…. But these things are out of our hands, and this is another time in life where we are called to trust God’s ways and His timing.”

“And we have many blessings,” he adds. “I am still serving Parkland Reformed Church and am thankful that I can bring God’s Word to His people. The congregation here is glad to have me serve as I wait for the visa. It has been a blessing to work with Rev. Ramkissoon and to be part of the Parkland Reformed Church as they continue the process of establishing a daughter church. Though we are eager to move to Doon, we are very thankful to be where we are.”

This article by Glenda Mathes appeared on page 8 of the February 02, 2011, issue of Christian Renewal.

Withering Grass, Psalm 102

2011-02-09T04:56:00.010-06:00

Do you feel as weak and fleeting as withering grass? Then you're not alone; you're in company with the author of Psalm 102 and every genuinely repentant sinner in history.

My ESV Classis Reference Bible (© 2001 by Crossway Bibles) has at the beginning of Psalm 102 this heading, "Do Not Hide Your Face from Me," and this sub-heading, "A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD."

My ESV Literary Study Bible (© 2007 by Crossway Bibles, editors Leland Ryken and Philip Graham Ryken) prefaces Psalm 102 with this heading, "I wither away like grass" and notes: "As the headnote hints, this is one of the most intense personal laments in the Psalter."

It is indeed an intense personal lament. It is also a vibrant psalm, displaying vivid images that sear the penitential message into our minds and hearts.

It begins with this heartfelt cry (verses 1-2):

Hear my prayer, O LORD;
let my cry come to you!
Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call!

The psalmist is desperate. He is in deep distress from which he seeks immediate relief. His emotional, mental, and physical anguish encompass his entire being.

For my days pass away like smoke,
and my bones burn like a furnace.
My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;
I forget to eat my bread.
Because of my loud groaning
my bones cling to my flesh (4-5).

He is mentally depressed and is physically wasting away. He compares himself to a forlorn owl and a solitary sparrow:

I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,
like an owl of the waste places;
I lie awake;
I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop (6-7).

He suffers taunts from enemies and cannot enjoy simple mealtime pleasures, but he acknowledges that his continual sufferings are from God.

All the day my enemies taunt me;
those who deride me use my name for a curse.
For I eat ashes like bread
and mingle tears with my drink,
because of your indignation and anger;
for you have taken me up and thrown me down (8-11).

God is the one who sets men in places of authority and God is the one who throws down those who abuse that authority.

The sufferings of the Psalmist make him keenly feel his fleeting transience:

My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass (11).

In contrast to ephemeral humanity, the most high God is firmly and eternally enthroned.

But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever;
you are remembered throughout all generations (12).

People of renown are soon forgotten, but knowledge of God will never fade. He will be remembered through every generation until Christ returns. Christ came to earth in humility at the appointed time and he will come again to earth in glory at the appointed time. Until then—and especially then—God will remember his people.

You will arise and have pity on Zion;
it is the time to favor her;
the appointed time has come.
For your servants hold her stones dear
and have pity on her dust.
Nations will fear the name of the LORD,
and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
For the LORD builds up Zion;
he appears in his glory;
he regards the prayer of the destitute
and does not despise their prayer (13-17).

God will arise and have pity on his people; not simply those who call themselves Christians, but those who love and worship God wholeheartedly and treat others with genuine compassion.

When Christ returns, all the nations will suddenly realize the reality of God's existence. They will tremble in fear of his name and glory.

God is the one who builds his church. He is the one who hears and answers the prayers of those who feel forsaken and alone. Because God hears and answers prayer, we have a responsibility to communicate God's goodness and faithfulness to the next generation.

Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD:
that he looked down from his holy height;
from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die,
that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD,
and in Jerusalem his praise,
when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the LORD (18-22).

Those who have been set free from sin's death row cannot remain safe and silent; they must declare God's praise in every avenue of service and in corporate worship.

The psalmist again reflects on God's adverse providence and cries out to him for mercy (23-24):

He has broken my strength in midcourse;
he has shortened my days.
"O my God," I say, "take me not away
in the midst of my days—
you whose years endure
throughout all generations!"

This is not the cry of an old man, whose life is spent and who is patiently waiting for translation to glory; this is the cry of a man in his prime, who had hoped for many more years of doing great things for God.

Yet he acknowledges God's sovereignty in this sorrowful life and anticipates a sin-free existence in the new heavens and earth.

Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you will remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
but you are the same, and your years have no end.
The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
their offspring shall be established before you (25-28).

God is the only source of security for us and our children. God created the vast expanse of the universe with its unknown planets and brilliant stars. He placed the earth on a firm foundation where it perfectly spins on its axis. He warms our days with golden sunlight and lights our nights with silvery moonlight.

These seemingly constant things will pass away; they will change as quickly as one shrugs off an old robe and puts on a new one. But even when the sun and moon are darkened and the stars fall (Matthew 24:29), God will still be the same. He remains the same forever. Believers do not live in this transitory earth as much as we live in God. He is our dwelling place.

You may feel as fleeting as withering grass, but every genuinely repentant sinner is eternally secure in him.

Useful Instrument for God: Interview with Gideon Strauss

2011-02-05T05:12:00.005-06:00

Although I've enjoyed one-on-one, face-to-face conversations with Gideon, this interview was conducted primarily via email. It was published in the February 2, 2011, issue of Christian Renewal.

Dr. Gideon Strauss is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Center for Public Justice, Senior Fellow at Cardus, and—until recently—the Editor of Comment magazine. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church in America and has been married to Angela for 25 years. Their two daughters, Hannah and Tala, are students at Gordon College near Boston, MA.

Christian Renewal (CR): Dr. Strauss, you assumed leadership at the Center for Public Justice (CPJ), which began in Midwestern America and now is headquartered in Washington, DC, on October 1, 2009. Can you explain why you recently moved from Hamilton, ON, to Pasadena, CA?

Gideon Strauss (GS): While my intention remains to be living in the Washington DC area in the near future, I plan to be living in Pasadena, California for at least the next year, since my wife of nearly 25 years is a graduate student in intercultural studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, and we like to spend as much time together as possible. I don't know that Los Angeles serves as a bedroom community for many people working out of Washington DC, but it does for me. Of course, my work requires a great deal of travelling all over the United States, as we build the community of Center for Public Justice associates, so I spend nearly as much time in Southwest airplanes as I do in either our little graduate student apartment or the coffee shops of Washington.

CR: For some years you've been the editor of the electronic and print magazine, Comment. According to its website, Comment is "trying to build a Christian intellectual, artistic, and culture-making community animated by the gospel." How is Comment attempting to do that?

GS: Comment magazine connects people through the writing and art it publishes and the conversation that its content generates. Recently, for example, we heard back from an artist friend in New York City who met with a group of other artists to discuss one of our articles about a vocation in the arts, its promise and challenges, from a Christian perspective, and it was wonderful to hear about the quality and value of that conversation. Magazines have a great community-building power when they have a clear voice—people identify themselves with that voice, and then identify with others who also read the magazine with agreement. And that generates movements with culture-making consequences. On a small scale, examples would include the Partisan Review crowd of anti-stalinist leftists from the 1930s to the 1950s, or TS Eliot's The Criterion and its influence on the modernist literary movement. On a larger scale, think of Rolling Stone magazine in helping to shape the rock-'n-roll generation, or Wired magazine's techno-utopianism in the early 1990s. Comment magazine starts out from the premise that the good news of the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus makes all the difference in the world, also for the life of the mind and the practice of the arts, and in every area of human cultural endeavour. It tries to contribute to that by publishing articles that explore that difference.

CR: You have served as a Senior Fellow at the think tank Cardus (formerly Work Research Foundation), which takes its name from the Roman road that connected people with public spaces. The Cardus website describes it as "the liberal arts program of the think tank world." With a base in Hamilton, ON, and team members throughout the United States and Canada, it works to "build intellectual capacity, social networks and policy alternatives to sustain a wide range of cultural entrepreneurs for the renewal of North American social architecture." How does it do that and what is its relationship to Comment magazine?

GS: Cardus is the publisher of Comment magazine, so Comment is wholly a publication of Cardus. Cardus does a multitude of things, with most of which I am not involved. I'd encourage you to interview several of their staff for a better big picture: Michael Van Pelt, Ray Pennings, Milton Friesen, Rob Joustra, Dan Postma…

CR: In addition to your work for Cardus and your editorial responsibilities for Comment, you are the CEO of CPJ, which (according to its website) is "dedicated to public policy research, leadership development, and civic education" with a "distinctive Christian-democratic perspective." How is it accomplishing those goals and what are your responsibilities as CEO?

GS: I think perhaps examples are the most useful.

With regard to research, we are at the beginning of a research project on intergenerational justice, the federal deficit and debt, and domestic poverty. We'll be working with other organizations, and if all goes well with some colleges and universities, to try and understand the demands of public justice when it comes to balancing the costs of providing public services (especially to the elderly and the poor) with the raising of government revenues (especially from the young and the productive). The big question for us is always what God calls citizens and governments to do, practically, faced with particular historical challenges, given the order of creation for human life and the hope we have in the resurrection of Christ. So what is God calling the federal government to do now in the second decade of the 21st century, knowing what we know about demographic trends, the constraining effect of national debt and the burden of taxes, and the complex character of both poverty and aging in this moment of American history? As both a policy think tank and network of citizens, the Center for Public Justice has the difficult task of facing up to the complexity of policy issues while trying to communicate what we find and recommend in clear, honest, accurate terms that enable action. This is not easy!

With regard to leadership development, for example, this past summer we presented our annual Civitas events in Washington DC, starting in the evening on July 4 with a rooftop celebration watching the fireworks. The Civitas conference is an event anyone can attend. We start each day with common worship—this year we had Jim Belcher, the author of the book Deep Church, teach and exhort us from the Scriptures, and the husband-and-wife singer/songwriter team of Sandra McCracken and Derek Webb lead us in song. Then we bring in speakers who connect principle and practice—folk who as lawmakers, executive leaders and public administrators, judges, police officers and soldiers, public policy thinkers, public opinion journalists and so on respond to the call of God into a life of politics. This year we had a wonderful set of presenters—including Judy Dean on international trade and Rebecca Patterson on foreign service, Angela Wu on religious freedom and Bethany Hoang on sex trafficking and debt slavery. The Civitas School is a living-learning experience for graduate students, who spend a week together digging into these issues at some depth, and this year they studied with Stanley Carlson-Thies, a former colleague of ours at the Center for Public Justice who now heads up the Institutional Religious Freedoms Alliance (and whom you should really also interview for an article!). Stanley is a wonderful teacher, and our students really benefitted from what they learned in the Civitas School—I recommend the experience to any grad student: from seminarians to law school and business school students, political philosophers and social workers—the gamut! Finally we presented what we called the Civitas Institute (it will be called something else in the future), a series of evening lectures for people working in DC during the day, where they also had access to the teaching of Stanley Carlson-Thies. This model (of a series of evening lectures) really worked for us, so we'll be experimenting with ways in which to expand that in the future. I should mention here that these kinds of events only go as well as they do because we are blessed with a very gifted, small crew of staff and volunteers at the Center for Public Justice, under the able operational leadership of our Chief Operating Officer, Stephanie Summers.

With regard to civic education, we do that by means of both events and publications. An example of the civic education events we do is our current series of panel discussions on immigration, which we are doing in partnership with several other institutions—you can read a little about this series and the related certificate program here: http://www.cpjustice.org/content/cpj-co-sponsors-panel-series-immigration-reform. Our flagship publication is the weekly online magazine, Capital Commentary (http://www.cpjustice.org/capitalcom), which is about to expand significantly.

What do I do? Well, I see my task as CEO to have three parts: mission, morale, and money. My job is to serve as the connection between our board of trustees, who steward the purpose and mission of the organization by means of policy governance, and our staff, who give effect to that purpose and mission in programs and projects, it is to hire and lead a staff of highly motivated and competent paid and volunteer staff, and it is to raise the money to make all of this happen. In addition, I serve as the editor of Capital Commentary, making sure we publish articles that serve the purpose and mission of the Center for Public Justice: Our mission is to equip citizens, develop leaders, and shape policy in pursuit of our purpose to serve God, advance justice, and transform public life.

CR: How does your work for Comment and your work for CPJ intersect?

GS: In practice, not very much—these are and have always been completely separate and independent organizations; in principle: both Cardus and the Center for Public Justice starts out from the confession that Jesus is Lord over all of life, and so in their common commitment to the love of God, common worldview convictions about the creation, fall and redemption of the world, and common calling to culture-making, there is a deep intersection.

CR: You are a native of South Africa and wrote your Ph.D. dissertation on "The Ethics of Public Welfare." You worked as an interpreter for the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission under Desmond Tutu and were an advisor to the South African constitutional assembly on the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Beginning in 1999, you served as Research and Education Director for the Christian Labour Association of Canada, developing a comprehensive education program that included a one-year "CLAC College" for new staff. What led you to leave South Africa and come to Canada?

GS: Big life changes like moving from one country to another almost always have a complex of reasons and motivations woven together. I'll mention two of the reasons why we initially moved from South Africa to Canada.

First of all, I had been going through an extended vocational crisis from 1990. Before 1990 I thought that my life's vocation would be in the political struggle against apartheid in South Africa, which I had not imagined would come to an end in my lifetime. But then, early in 1990, with the release of Mandela and other political prisoners, the legalization of various previously banned anti-apartheid political organizations, and the initiation of negotiations towards a non-racial democracy, it became clear that I would have to listen for God's call into something other than resistance politics. During the 1990s I came to the conviction that my work would have to dig the soil in which a politics of contribution (rather than resistance) might grow, and that this must consist of helping the people of God think deeply about the connections between biblical faith, contemporary culture, and everyday life and work. Around 1996 and 1997 I thought that this call—to explore the connections between faith, work, and culture—might be given best expression in the ministry of word and sacraments in the Presbyterian churches of Southern Africa—mistakenly, it turned out—and so sought to prepare for such ministry. I wanted to study Reformed doctrine—in particular John Calvin—with J.I. Packer, and the pastoral practices as taught by Eugene Peterson, and so ended up at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Secondly, I needed, badly, a sabbatical, after two years of work as an interpreter for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. My work was quiet and behind the scenes—nothing spectacular: just conveying the words and stories of witnesses before the commission from one language (usually my mother tongue, Afrikaans) into another (usually English). But because these stories were all about abduction, torture, and murder, I found myself after two years to be very angry: praying Psalm 137 all the time, so to speak. I was sustained somewhat by the practice of praying the Psalms, which our small group had been studying since about 1994, but my prayers were narrowing down to that one psalm—a little like Bruce Cockburn's song "If I had a rocket launcher"?—and I knew that if it were to be well with my soul, and if I were to be able to continue making a contribution to God's world, I would have to step away from the work of the Commission and recover a practice of praying all the other psalms. Vancouver gave me the space to do that, and Regent College was a place of substantial healing for me, and for my marriage, which had suffered from how I processed my work with the Commission.

Unexpectedly, some months into our time in Vancouver, the Christian Labour Association of Canada invited me to apply for a job in which I would help their staff "explore the intersection between faith, work, and culture," which was too close to my sense of vocation for me to dismiss as coincidence, and so, wondering if this was providence, I applied for the job, was hired, and had the wonderful opportunity for twelve years to explore that intersection with CLAC and the Work Research Foundation (now Cardus) and Comment magazine.

For several years I was troubled by this turn of events, wondering if I understood God's call correctly—I had made commitments, including a five year commitment to CLAC, that I was resolved to keep, but I was still troubled. An invitation to consider a job as an academic administrator in South Africa around 2002, and the process around that, brought me to accept that I was truly called, for the long run, to do my work in North America. And here I still am, until differently assigned!

CR: What events, books, or people have been important influences in shaping your thought and guiding you into your current work?

GS: Too many to name! I could talk about my mentors through the years—from "Uncle Cliff" and Father Anthony Perry when I was a teenager, to Mark Manley and Caesar Molebatsi during my years in anti-apartheid politics, my university professors, including Kobus Smit, who supervised my master's thesis and doctoral dissertation work, to Calvin Seerveld and Steven Garber during my Canadian years. But let me list some of the books that most deeply influenced me.

In 1983, a year after my conversion to the Christian faith (my cradle religion was an amalgam of racism and Reformed pietism with which some of your readers will be familiar, and in my early teens I called myself a Zen Buddhist ... but I don't know if any Zen monks would have taken that claim seriously!), I started reading John Howard Yoder's "Politics of Jesus" at L'Abri in Switzerland, and in the years immediately following I drew on the work of Yoder and similar theologians to try and understand the connections between faith and politics. By the late 1980s I was no longer satisfied with what I could find in that tradition—it seemed to me that Yoder offered a politics of resistance and witness, but not a politics of contribution, and I was convinced (consider Jeremiah 29:7) that Christians were also called to a politics of contribution. Sometime in the late 1980s I had read a little book, Idols of our Time, by the Dutch economist and politician Bob Goudzwaard, that seemed to me to hint towards such a positive politics, even though the book itself was a work of criticism. In 1989 I decided to read into the tradition behind the work of Goudzwaard, to see what it offered—I read everything by Goudzwaard I could find, and then also the work of Herman Dooyeweerd, Abraham Kuyper, Guillaume Groen Van Prinsterer, Johannes Althusius, leaping back to John Calvin, and then leaping back further yet to Augustine of Hippo. Two years of reading backwards of time through these Christian thinkers, focusing on what they had to say about faith and politics, converted me to their tradition. I don't think anything else has so deeply shaped my thought or called me into a particular way of doing politics as the work of Augustinian, Calvinist, Kuyperian thinkers.

Briefly, also: my imagination and my sense of how a Christian way of life should *feel* has been thoroughly shaped by the work of Calvin Seerveld, in particular his book Rainbows for a Fallen World; my understanding of that intersection of faith, work, and culture has been thoroughly informed by Steven Garber's Fabric of Faithfulness, and recently nuanced by Andy Crouch's Culture Making; the eschatology and ecclesiology to which I would subscribe—both of which play a very large role in how I live my life—are handily summarized in Richard Mouw's little book When the Kings Come Marching In and Jim Belcher's Deep Church. And during this year my personal devotional life has been much enriched by Abraham Kuyper's To Be Near Unto God (in an older translation), as some years ago it had been by praying daily for two years out of John Baillie’s Diary of Private Prayer.

CR: How can you see God's hand at work in leading you into this work and preparing you for it?

GS: I believe rather thoroughly, first, in divine grace and providence, but also human responsibility. I have made many mistakes throughout my life, some very serious, and always with consequences. And yet, as Cal Seerveld likes to say, "God picks up the pieces." My life and work has taken peculiar, unexpected turns, and I must admit to often being perplexed and anxious in the face of the challenges that my calling brings about. And yet, looking back, I can see how God, more than anything else, has been slowly shaping my character and providing me with opportunities to learn skills that turn me into a useful instrument of his purposes, opaque as these purposes often are to me. I pray for the help of the Spirit in faithfully responding to my experiences and opportunities, paying attention to what I can learn, and trusting God to bless my limited efforts so that they constitute an honest and effective contribution to the work of the people of God and to the common good.

NOTE: This interview was conducted via email communications prior to the September 2010 decision of Dr. Strauss to give up his position as Editor of Comment magazine. Dr. Strauss became the CEO of the Center for Public Justice (CPJ) in October of 2009 and was scheduled to continue as Editor of Comment magazine until the end of 2010, but his increasing work load with CPJ made it impossible for him to continue his Comment editorial responsibilities.

Integrity of Heart, Psalm 101

2011-02-02T06:51:00.006-06:00

David was a sinner. He was a great sinner, committing adultery and murdering the husband of his lover. When the prophet Nathan confronted him with his sin, he confessed his sin and pleaded with God for mercy in Psalm 51.

One wonders if David wrote Psalm 101 after that incident. In this psalm, David conveys his conscious decision to guard his mind and his heart. He determines to surround himself with faithful believers who can provide godly counsel. He rejects deception and falsehood, prohibiting such evils from even entering his home.

Because he has chosen to live with integrity, David is able to sing of God's steadfast love and justice:

I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
to you, O LORD, I will make music (verse 1).

He makes an effort to change old thinking patterns by focusing on that which is pure and honorable (Philippians 4:8). Although he still feels as if God is distant, he is determined to be the godly head of his household that God calls him to be. He has made a decision to "walk with integrity of heart":

I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house (2).

Walking with integrity of heart includes guarding his private thoughts and actions as well as his relationships with others:

I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me (3).

He is determined to guard his mind and heart so zealously that sin will not gain even a little foothold:

A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil (4).

He will not be arrogant or participate in gossip; he will not even allow himself to be exposed to these evils:

Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
I will not endure (5).

He will surround himself with faithful believers and follow their godly counsel:

I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me (6).

He will guard his home and family from all deceivers and liers, even himself:

No one who practices deceit
shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall continue before my eyes (7).

This isn't a one-time decision that David can make and then forget about. He needs to remind himself daily of his decision to have integrity of heart:

Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
from the city of the LORD (8).

Every day David has to thwart the efforts of Satan in his kingdom and in his heart. The fight against sin in his life, and in ours, is a constant struggle. We must never let up in our vigilance. We must decide each morning to walk this day with integrity of heart.

Serve with Gladness, Psalm 100

2011-02-01T06:28:00.007-06:00

I read Psalm 100 on Sunday before leaving for worship, and I wish that I'd posted it then so that others might have benefitted as well. It's a familiar psalm that many of us learned as little children. It's also a marvelous prelude to appropriate worship and a daily guide for joyful service.

The English Standard Version (ESV) sub-titles it "His Steadfast Love Endures Forever" and notes that it is "A Psalm for giving thanks."

It begins with a rousing call to worship (verses 1-2):

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

Then it reminds us of our relationship with the God who made us, to whom we belong, and who daily cares for us:

Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture (3).

Sometimes I look at my little lap dog, Libby, and I think of that old saying, "It's a dog's life." She has a cozy bed in a warm house; she receives daily food and water witout work or worry. When I'm under a lot of stress or have a lot of concerns in my life, I sometimes think that she has a pretty easy life in comparison to mine. Of course, I don't envy her pea size brain or bathroom arrangements (especially when temperatures drop below zero and the wind howls).

But the idea of being watched over and cared for has definite appeal. And that is reflected in the biblical analogy of God's people being the sheep of his pasture. We may feel as if we're wandering alone on a windswept moor, but we're part of a flock that is directed into green pastures beside still waters.

Because God cares for us and provides all we need, we can rejoice with the psalmist as we come before God in prayer, family worship, or corporate worship on the Lord's Day (4):

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

We can give thanks to God and bless his name because he is good and his love lasts:

For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations (5).

God is a faitful covenant God who shows his love to believers and their children throughout their generations. In this knowledge, give thanks to him and bless his name. Serve your LORD today with gladness!

Holy God, Psalm 99

2011-01-27T06:25:00.002-06:00

Do you feel that the world is out of control? Does it seem as if injustice triumphs?

Read Psalm 99!

This psalm is a great antidote for worldly overload. It's a reminder of God's faithfulness throughout his dealings with his covenant people. And it emphasizes God's supreme holiness.

The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
The LORD is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples (verses 1-2).

It may seem as if earthquakes are random natural events, but even these events in nature are under God's control. This Psalm makes it sound as if the earth itself trembles at the majesty of God. Because God reigns as the Most High over all creation, all people are called to praise him (verse 3):

Let them praise your great and awesome name!
Holy is he!

God is not only powerful and holy, he is also just.

The King in his might loves justice.
You have established equity;
you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob (4).

The name "Jacob" can be considered as a synonym for "Israel" or the peole of God in all times and all places. But its use here is interesting since Jacob means "deceiver" and Jacob's early years were not characterized by "justice" or "equity" or "righteousness." God is the covenant God of Jacob; however, and he loves justice. He has established equity and executed justice and righteousness to his people and through his sinful servant Jacob.

Verse 5 is a rousing call to exalt the Lord and worship our holy God:

Exalt the LORD our God;
worship at his footstool!
Holy is he!

The psalm then reminds us of God's covenantal relationship with his people during Old Testament days:

Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
They called to the LORD, and he answered them.
In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
they kept his testimonies
and the statute that he gave them (6-7).

God's glory was present in the pillar of cloud during Israel's wanderings in the desert. His people called on his name and he answered them; he gave them statutes and they obeyed him. No Old Testament patriarchs or New Testament saints obeyed God perfectly, but God forgave their sins. Sin is rarely without consequences; however, and all sin must be paid for--either by ourselves or by another (Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 12).

O LORD our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their wrongdoings (8).

How should we respond to our righteous and holy God who hates sin, but provided salvation through the perfect atonement of his Son? We should exalt his name and fall on our face in worship (verse 9):

Exalt the LORD our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the LORD our God is holy!

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

Dawn Treader navigates new waters without sinking

2011-01-25T05:15:00.002-06:00

The latest movie in the "Chronicles of Narnia" series faithfully represents some important aspects from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in a film full of visual delight and exciting action. But uncompromising Narnia fans should be aware that the Dawn Treader takes some unexpected plot tacks by sailing into entirely new waters.

The movie's special effects are excellent, with realistically undulating waves and a believably hideous sea serpent. Viewers can choose between 3D and 2D versions, but I don't think the extra expense for 3D is necessarily worth it. I noticed 3D effects more during the previews than during the movie.

Modern movie viewers would probably not see enough excitement in Caspian's desire to find seven lost lords, so movie makers interjected a quest for the swords of the lords, which all must be laid on Aslan's table in order to destroy an evil green mist.

The interjection of the sword quest is a definite departure from the straight course of the book, but it can be viewed as demonstrating some biblical truths. The green mist affects people's minds and actions, influencing them to choose sinful behaviors. Characters must exhibit great strength of will to resist its temptations. The swords are wonderful weapons that can be used wisely or foolishly. Although the swords are valuable and useful, characters must lay them self-sacrificially on Aslan's table. I see biblical parallels on multiple levels, which enables me to accept the quest with little dissent.

If viewers can live with these plot injections, the other plot discrepancies seem minor. Most changes obviously have been made to condense the story and make it more exciting.

I've come to expect that my favorite novels will not translate accurately from my imagination to the big screen. And I've finally figured out what makes the difference between changes I don't mind and those I mind very much.

I understand that action is the cinema king. The maxim for writing novels is, "show, don't tell," but the canon for making movies is, "show, and sell." The visually exciting movie sells more tickets and garners more profits.

Since I understand that basic Hollywood principle, I don't mind seeing a plot manipulated to maximize action. So what if some events are condensed or changed to create more suspense? I don't mind as long as the events reflect the truth conveyed in the novel.

What I do mind is when movie makers mess with truth and character. I minded very much the introduction of conflict between Peter and Caspian and the introduction of a romance between Caspian and Susan in Prince Caspian, because these things twisted the character of the characters, which in turn twisted the truth. And another important writing maxim (even, and perhaps especially, for fiction) is, "Write what's true."

The Dawn Treader movie depicts many truths from the book. Lucy longs to be as beautiful as her older sister, Susan, and the movie aptly conveys her struggle and the ensuing realization of her self worth. Some characters introduced into the narrative earn a place by helping demonstrate this. Although Eustace's life as a dragon differs between book and movie, it remains a character altering experience with Aslan removing the "old man" or dragon as the case may be. Reepicheeps' friendship with Eustace the dragon as well as Reep's personal quest to find Aslan's land are retained in the movie.

The best part of the film is its excellent conclusion, which lifts accurate dialogue directly from the book in, what was to me, a surprising move from modern movie makers.

As always, my advice is to read the book first. And don't let the plot changes keep you from enjoying this delightful movie.

© Glenda Mathes

This movie review appeared on pages 47 & 50 in the January 12, 2011 issue of Christian Renewal.

Joyful Judgment, Psalm 98

2011-01-24T05:04:00.002-06:00

Does the title "Joyful Judgment" seem like an oxymoron to you?

It may, unless you read Psalm 98, which reflects such joyful anticipation of Christ's return that one almost hopes Harold got one thing right.

Harold Camping is the voice of Family Radio, which has some edifying programs (Radio Reading Circle, Family Bible Reading Fellowship), but is also the sounding board for Harold's aberrant theological views regarding the church age and his preposterous prophetical predictions. He currently predicts that "the Bible guarantees" Judgment Day on May 21, 2011.

The Bible assures us that "no one" knows that day and hour, not even the angels in heaven or the Son, but only the Father (Matthew 24: 36, Mark 13:32). So I'm pretty sure Harold Camping hasn't received some secret revelation. Although I admit there are times when I long so much for that day that I almost hope Harold is right.

And reading Psalm 98 certainly makes one long for that day. Psalm 98 is subtitled "Make a Joyful Noise to the LORD" in my regular English Standard Version Bible and "Let the sea roar" in my Literary Study Bible ESV.

The psalm rocks with praise, beginning with these marvelous and familiar words:

Oh sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him (verse 1).

Salvation is one of the most marvelous and most powerful things God has done. But he hasn't kept it a secret revealed only to a chosen few; he has made it known throughout the world:

The LORD has made known his salvation;
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations (2).

God has revealed salvation globally, but God's global revelation has been particularized in his covenant relationship with those he loves, the chosen nation of believers, Abraham's true children.

He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God (3).

Because all the earth can see how God's love and faithfulness to believers never fails, the whole earth should joyfully praise God (4-6):

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!

The above verses certainly seem to shoot down arguments against instruments in worship. God loves the joyful noise of praise! And he commands the use of various instruments.

The biblical image of the sea often represents nations in a rebellious uproar, but in this psalm it is coupled with the world's people and seems to be part of the teeming creation praising God with a joyful noise (7):

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!

Creation and creatures unite in praise to the Creator! Why?

Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together
before the LORD, for he comes
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity (8-9).

Creation and Christians rejoice with wild abandon because the Lord is coming! He is coming to judge the world and its people.

It may seem odd to equate such animated praise with Christ's judgment, but that is the reality for believers. The unrepentant and unbelieving do well to tremble in silent contemplation of Christ's return, but repentant believers join creation in recognition of Christ the Creator and the King. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity. He will free believers from this constant death and turn their mourning into everlasting song!

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Global glory and heavenly heights, Psalm 97

2011-01-20T05:18:00.003-06:00

As I sit in a cluttered office, feeling sorry for myself on Day 2 of some sort of stomach flu and dreading the negative 11 degrees forecast for tonight, it's good to remove my mind from my messy home and trivial trials by reading Psalm 97.

This psalm lifts the reader's thoughts from the narrow confines of one's mind and transports them into global glory and heavenly heights.

The first verse sings of creation's joy in God's sovereignty:

The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!

Verse 2 depicts righteousness and justice as twin pillars upholding God's throne:

Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

Verses 3-7 convey God's power in creation and against his enemies:

Fire goes before him
and burns up his adversaries all around.
His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
All worshipers of images are put to shame,
who make their boast in worthless idols;
worship him, all you gods!

When the people of the earth see God's glory and majesty, they tremble and are put to shame. But believers rejoice in God's judgments:

Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgments, O LORD.
For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods (8-9).

God's inevitable and impending judgment is a wake-up call for believers. They first must reject all the sin in their personal lives; then they are to trust God for deliverance from deadly peril and wicked persecution.

O you who love the LORD, hate evil!
He preserves the lives of his saints;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked (10).

Those who love the Lord and genuinely repent from their sin have hope for light and joy:

Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart (11).

We may not harvest the light and joy, but it is a reality because God plants it in our hearts. Even when we don't feel happy or light-hearted, we can have true joy in our hearts by thanking God (verse 12).

Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!

We can thank God for his great gift of salvation. We can thank him for his sovereignty over all creation and all people. We can rejoice in the Lord when we meditate on his majesty evidenced in global glory and heavenly heights.

Ascribing glory, Psalm 96

2011-01-17T04:27:00.005-06:00

Although Psalm 90 may rate as my favorite psalm (see my post of 20 December 2010), Psalm 96 could be designated as my "theme" psalm. Psalm 96 generated the name of this blog and its purpose.

The title of this blog, Ascribelog, has a double meaning:
1) It is a blog that ascribes glory to God (ascribe blog), and
2) it is a journal of a writer (a scribe log).

Every day it is my prayer that God will use me to further his kingdom and bring him glory. I pray daily for him to guide my work, for his creative spirit to spark my creativity, for him to enable me to sing a new song and declare his glory among the nations.

The first three verses of Psalm 96 say:

Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth!
Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!

The next three verses (4-6) explain why all believers should want to sing a new song:

For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

And the following three verses (7-9) reflect my personal calling and that of all believers:

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!

God calls each one of us to give God all the glory in our families and nations, in our work and worship. As the source of all glory and strength, he alone deserves all praise and all glory. Out of our overwhelming gratitude, we offer him our tithes in corporate worship, our donations to kingdom causes, and our entire lives of service. We worship God in the splendor of his holiness, which causes us to tremble.

We may not remain silent; we have a responsibility to proclaim God's goodness in global contexts:

Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity" (verse 10).

God reigns. He is sovereign over all our joys as well as our sorrows, our blessings as well as our adversities, our honors as well as our humiliations.

Despite personal distress and global disaster, God reigns over the people and creation he has established. As long as the earth remains, springtime and harvest, summer and winter shall not cease (Genesis 8:22). He will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6 & 8, Joshua 1:5, 1 Chronicles 28:20, Hebrews 13:5).

Because God is always with us and continues to care for his world, all of creation can rejoice:

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness (11-13).

Every aspect of creation will rejoice when Christ returns. Just as the morning stars sang at creation (Job 38:7), the trees will sing for joy when the Lord returns to make all things new.

The Lord will come in judgment, but his judgment will be in righteousness and faithfulness. He knows the hearts of every person; he will judge every believer based on the righteousness of Christ. No one can stand on the strength of personal righteousness; we are all sinners who have fallen far short of God's perfect standard. But repentant sinners have no need to fear God's just judgment.

Thanks be to God for his great salvation through Christ Jesus! Sing a new song! Ascribe to God all the glory!

Split Personality, Psalm 95

2011-01-12T06:13:00.009-06:00

At first glance, Psalm 95 appears to suffer from a split personality.

This familiar psalm begins with a rousing call to worship:

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! (verses 1-2)

The next three verses give reasons why God is worthy of adoration:

For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land (3-5).

God is the Most High; he created all things and he continues to sustain all things. Even the sea (often a biblical synonym for rebellious peoples) is his; he made it and it remains under his control.

The Psalmist again calls us to worship:

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! (6)

The first three lines of verse 7 again give reasons for adoration, but they are more personal this time:

For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.

Not only is God the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, but he is also the Great Shepherd who cares for his sheep. He is our God. We find refuge and refreshment in his pasture. We are the "sheep of his hand," which conveys that he made us and he cares for us. Notice, please, that we are his sheep. He isn't a hired hand who doesn't really care about the sheep. No, we belong to him.

But the last line of verse 7 signals a sudden shift. Adoration is replaced by admonition. What begins as a warning from the psalmist transforms into the very voice of God:

Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, "They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known my ways."
Therefore I swore in my wrath,
"They shall not enter my rest" (7b-11).

What are we to make of this psalm's apparent split personality?

Certainly these final few verses are a warning about hardening one's heart against the work of the Holy Spirit. They warn us against unbelief in the face of God's amazing love and provision. They warn us to guard our hearts and to study God's Word. God clearly indicates that rebellious and sinful people will never enter his rest.

But how do all those warnings fit with the first part of the psalm?

I believe it is helpful to remember that biblical teaching associates rest with worship. This brings to mind Q & A 103 of the Heidelberg Catechism (recently mentioned on this blog):

103 Q. WHAT IS GOD’S WILL FOR US
IN THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT?
A. First,
that the gospel ministry and education for it be maintained,
and that, especially on the festive day of rest,
I regularly attend the assembly of God's people
to learn what God's Word teaches,
to participate in the sacraments,
to pray to God publicly,
and to bring Christian offerings for the poor.

Second,
that every day of my life
I rest from my evil ways,
let the Lord work in me through his Spirit,
and so begin already in this life
the eternal Sabbath.

God calls us to corporate worship on "the festive day of rest." And he calls us each day to "rest" from our evil ways. We are not "resting" from sin when we harden our hearts to the Spirit's leading, or when we doubt God in the face of his amazing provision, or when our hearts wander and our feet stray. In these case, we actively pursue sin.

God will not grant his rest to those who do not rest from sin. If we want to enter God's rest in worship and adoration, we must recognize our sin and repent from it.

Recall that 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousnss."

God does not promise to cleanse us from "our trivial sins" or "some of our sins," but "all unrighteousness."

No sin, no matter how heinous in its actions or how far reaching in its consequences, is beyond God's forgiveness. The only sin that cannot be forgiven is blantant rejection of the Holy Spirit.

Do you find this difficult to believe? Do you feel as if God can't possibly forgive you and your particular sin?

Please note the placement of God's promise to cleanse you from "all unrighteousness": it is smack in the middle of two important verses. The verse directly before emphasizes the importance of recognizing sin:

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8).

Pride tops the nonexistent lists of pious people who fail to recognize their sins.

The verse following God's promise to forgive all our sins is a stark warning:

If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us (1 John 1:10).

Any hypocrite who doesn't really recognize and repent is a horrible sinner who actually calls God a liar! But, guess what? If you don't believe God can forgive your sin, you're calling him a liar, too!

The placement of that promise in between those two important verses is not coincidental. And the apparent sudden shift in Psalm 95 does not evidence a split personality. The construction of God's Word is never coincidental or contradictory.

God calls us to worship him. He alone is worthy of worship. He commands us to soften our hearts and turn from our sin. And then he assures us that he forgives even our worst sins. Repentent sinners will enter his rest.

Justice will return, Psalm 94

2011-01-10T03:40:00.005-06:00

Feel like the wicked are doing a tap dance on your head? Read Psalm 94.

Many years ago, I heard a pastor use the tap dance illustration and the imagery has stuck in my mind. What an appropriate analogy for those times in life when you feel that evil beats your brain in an oppressive staccato rhythym of pain!

My New King James Version (NKJV) subtitles Psalm 94 "God the Refuge of the Righteous." The subtitle in my English Standard Version (ESV) is "The LORD Will Not Forsake His People," quoting from verse 14; while the prefatory remarks in my ESV Literary Study Bible are titled "Justice will return to the righteous," a quote from verse 15.

Psalm 94 is, indeed, all about God the refuge of the righteous who does not forsake his people and will restore justice to them. It begins with a cry for vengeance:

O LORD, God of vengeance,
O God of vengeance, shine forth!
Rise up, O judge of the earth;
repay to the proud what they deserve! (ESV, 1-2)

Then it catalogs the evil deeds of the wicked:

O LORD, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked exult?
They pour out their arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.
They crush your people, O LORD,
and afflict your heritage.
They kill the widow and the sojourner,
and murder the fatherless;
and they say, "The LORD does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive" (3-7).

Their belief that God doesn't see their sin demonstrates their ignorance:

Understand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who teaches man knowledge—
the LORD—knows the thoughts of man,
that they are but a breath (8-11).

It is comforting to be assured of God's sovereignty and omniscience as well as the brevity of wicked men, however, we don't usually think of discipline as a blessing:

Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD,
and whom you teach out of your law,
to give him rest from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked (12-13).

It's instructive that the sentence speaking of discipline as a blessing links discipline with biblical instruction and restful relief. This sentence also includes a promise that God will deal with the wicked. And God will not forget his people:

For the LORD will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;
for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it (14-15).

God will never leave us or forsake us. He will bring justice into our lives, enabling the "upright in heart" to follow the just path and the righteous way. The assurance that God will not abandon us is followed by a couple of rhetorical questions:

Who rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers? (16).

The Psalmist reiterates the obvious answer by affirming his total dependence upon the Lord's sustaining love:

If the LORD had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
When I thought, "My foot slips,"
your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up (17-18).

Remembering God's sovereignty, his omniscience, and his steadfastness enables the Psalmist to feel joy even when his heart is burdened:

When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul (19).

That's a good verse to write on a card and stick on your refrigerator or above your monitor!

Even under the oppression of evil leaders or governments, believers can take refuge in God and trust him to wipe out the wicked:

Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame injustice by statute?
They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.
But the LORD has become my stronghold,
and my God the rock of my refuge.
He will bring back on them their iniquity
and wipe them out for their wickedness;
the LORD our God will wipe them out (20-23).

Evil people may seem to have the upper hand. They may go on shooting rampages or enact unjust laws. But God is our stronghold; he is the rock of our refuge. When the cares of your heart are many, remember that God's steadfast love sustains you. Let his consolations cheer your soul. He will not forsake his people or abandon his heritage. Justice will return to the righteous!

Today on Capital Commentary

2011-01-07T05:32:00.002-06:00

The Center for Political Justice recently asked some writers to comment on the most important political event of 2010. I was one of those writers and my response appears today (and I believe today only) in the Dialogue section of CPJ's online publication: Capital Commentary.

Praise in the flood, Psalm 93

2011-01-05T08:13:00.003-06:00

God never ceases to amaze me.

It's likely because I'm such a slow learner that God continues teaching me the same lessons over and over. But I believe an additional reason is that God delights in delighting his children.

This morning I was extremely delighted to see once again God's perfect timing!

For the last few weeks, I've been getting discouraged by an editing project that seemed to grow rather than diminish. Concerns for others have been weighing heavily on my mind. And while I've enjoyed great fellowship with family as well as old and new friends, our household continues to be pretty hectic.

While I plodded through the seemingly unending editing project, I was unable to open email attachments containing two other large editing projects, in spite of repeated attempts from many people. This was frustrating, of course, but it actually reduced my stress level during this busy time of year because I didn't have opened files waiting for my attention. When these two additional projects came to mind, I thought, "Well, I won't worry about those for right now. I don't have working files yet anyway."

This morning I finally finished the mammoth editing project. And when I went into my email account to send those files off, what should I find but new files of the other two projects waiting for me! And, wonder of wonders, I finally was able to open them!

The amazing timing made me break into praise that was very nearly Pentecostal: Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Psalm 93, which is next in my meditational schedule, seems altogether appropriate:

The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty;
the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.

The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring.
Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the LORD on high is mighty!

Your decrees are very trustworthy;
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, forevermore.

Over the surging of the floods and the roar of their waters, God reigns in imperturbable majesty. His throne is from everlasting. His decrees are trustworthy. He is in control of all the turbulent and traumatic events of our lives.

In his perfect timing, he will still the storm and draw back the flood. Even though it may seem as if we will know only despair and sorrow for the rest of our lives, God will rescue us in his perfect timing. He will restore hope and joy.

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Sunrise, Sunset: Views from Space

2011-01-03T04:29:00.011-06:00

Viewing these incredible pictures from space has profoundly affected my concepts of time and reality.

The sun setting in the thin blue line of earth's atmosphere.

My Facebook friend, E. Calvin Beisner, alerted me to the existence of these picture by posting a link to them in a recent status line. They were taken by NASA astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock during his recent command of the International Space Station and the Expedition 25 crew. During his stay at the station, he tweeted pictures and comments to his followers. If you go to this link, you can view all of the pictures and share in Astronaut Wheelock's wonder at sights such as the above sunset and the Space Station reflected in the Earthshine from this blue sunrise.

Sunrise in earth's razor thin atmosphere.

Astronaut Wheelock writes that the Space Station, traveling at 17,500 miles per hour (five miles per second) orbits Earth every 90 minutes with a sunrise or a sunset every 45 minutes. That's 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets each day of Earth orbit.

This gives amazing perspective to those words from Genesis 1, "There was evening and there was morning, the first [second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth] day." The fact that astronauts in the International Space Station view evening and morning every 90 minutes gives us an infinitesimal understanding of the nebulous nature of time. In ways far beyond what our finite minds can begin to grasp, God exists outside the constraints of time and space. As is so frequently the case, Psalm 90:4 comes to mind:

For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.

We may toss in pain and turn feverish pillows, we may find no relief from overwhelming sorrow or insidious anxiety, but our long sleepless nights will end. The reality is that they will end sooner than we think.

Astronaut Wheelock writes about the blue line of Earth's atmopshere, "That beautiful thin blue line is what makes our home so special in the cosmos. Space is cool…but, the Earth is a raging explosion of life in a vast sea of darkness."

We tend to think of ourselves and our world as the center of the universe, if not as the only reality, but the truth is that each individual and even our entire world--teeming with life and beauty--are very small compared to the vastness of space.

And even what Astronaut Wheelock calls the "vast sea of darkness" that is the immensity of space cannot be compared to the vast sea of light that is God.

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love (Micah 7:18).

Our afflictions may seem too much to bear. We may feel as if God's fierce anger burns against us in a consuming fire. But just as we can't grasp the reality of existence outside time and space, we can't grasp the reality of God's delight in steadfast love.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness (Lamentation 2:22-23).

James Schaap: On the Reformed faith

2010-12-30T04:57:00.003-06:00

My last post featured the first section of my interview with James Calvin (Jim) Schaap, which appeared in the December 15, 2010, issue of Christian Renewal. That section dealt with his current work, his upcoming retirement, and his views on writing. In this second section of the interview, which will appear in the February 12, 2011, issue of Christian Renewal, Schaap discusses how a Reformed perspective relates to the arts and how he views the CRCNA and the Reformed faith.

Glenda Mathes (GM): Let’s talk a little bit about perceptions. How would you define a Reformed perspective on the arts?

Jim Schaap (JS): I was under the impression when I was 17 years old that to be a Christian writer meant that you needed to turn out “Sugar Creek Gang” or that you needed to write a certain kind of Sunday school material or something like that. And I think I first ran into what I would call a Reformed view of writing and literature when that kind of prison was broken through. That made Hemingway fair game; that made Fitzgerald fair game; it made Dickinson fair game. It helped me to say, “There’s more to looking at Emily Dickinson than whether or not she subscribes to the five points of Calvinism. That somehow in understanding her, we can understand ourselves and our relationship to God.” That is a much, much broader vision of life and literature and writing than a sort of pietistic way of thinking about things. That’s something that I’ve always lived with and lived joyfully with, as a matter of fact.

The Reformed view of things is from my view a very broad view. Does it have its weaknesses? Sure, because it probably offers more opportunity for exploration that may lead to something other than adherence. On the other hand, you know as well as I do that there were so many people who were so strictly raised that they kicked to get out of that circle. You can make an argument that going to a Christian college can, in fact, be more difficult for some students than going to a public university. Because at a Christian college you’re going to be asked to think about things in a way that’s deadly serious and that asks you ultimately even to question the nature of your own faith. You can very easily—sometimes even more easily—avoid those kinds of things at a public university. I think a Reformed view of life (it’s what kept me at Dordt for all these years to start with) is very precious and very powerful, but sometimes even a little dangerous. It says to me you don’t have to read just heart-pounding Christian literature, but you can read almost anything you want.

GM: You mentioned “that kind of prison was broken through”; was there some specific incident, or some course, or something that happened in your life?

JS: I wish I could point at one, but I don’t think I can. With respect to literature itself, I do like to remember one day my sophomore year in college, on my way to American Literature class, that I was reading of all things, Emerson. I wasn’t an academic; I wasn’t really scholarly. But I remember thinking to myself, “You know maybe I should actually major in English, because if I would I could talk about this and I could think about this for my whole life.” I can remember where I was on the sidewalk when all of a sudden that dawned on me. And I think at that point for me to say I was thinking about being a writer wasn’t true. I was thinking about, “What am I going to do with my life?”

GM: Were you thinking more of a teaching career then?

JS: Yeah, and what came to me was, “I can do this.” I mean you could actually do this. I didn’t have great English teachers in high school. I can’t say, “Oh, I had this wonderful English teacher; I wanted to be like him or her.” But that’s not true.

GM: Your teachers in college were much better? Or you were discovering the significance of literature?

JS: What happened in my situation is that I became sort of rebellious at Dordt. Well, more than sort of. I wrote for the school paper and I wrote things that people didn’t always like, so I learned something about the power of the pen. It may not have been the greatest lesson. People got mad because I said we shouldn’t be in the Vietnam War. So that was good for me because I realized that if you write something, people can react to it, which is not a small lesson. It’s a big deal. I think that was big deal. And then I am very much a child of the 60s, and the other thing that’s important is that I had a mentor before I knew him or he knew me. That was this novelist from Northwest Iowa called Frederick Manfred. I found out when I went to Dordt that there was this novelist; and I thought all novelists were either Jewish or from New York or something. And I didn’t know real people could write novels. This guy wrote these novels about people that I thought I knew. That really clicked in me and that was when I was a freshman in college. I read a novel of his and I thought, “Could I do this? Could I write stories like this? Given who I am and who my people are, could I do that? Wow, that would be terrific.” So that’s where that came from; totally outside of class. Although I did have a teacher who told me I could write well as a freshman.

GM: In 2007 you wrote an essay, "What about a Bicentennial? Mr. and Mrs. CRC," which you presented at the CRCNA's 150th Anniversary Conference and which appeared in the September 2007 Pro Rege. In that essay, you wrote about many factors that make the future of the CRCNA appear bleak. Those factors could be summarized as individual choice, geographic mobility, shallow spirituality, pervasive technology, limited relationships, shrinking ethnicity, emerging congregationalism, and diminished distinctives. In the three plus years since that essay appeared, which of those factors have mitigated or amplified?

JS: None that I know of; the course seems to be the same. The one thing I'd add is the continuing diminution of denominationalism itself, a phenomenon that's culture-wide. Even the Catholics are discovering that their children don't know that the Catholic faith is “sacramental.” My sense is that the ethnic factor—really significant in the cohesive CRC of the mid to late 20th century—has, via internet especially, faded even faster than I might have guessed. People find and establish communities in new ways these days. (Of course, I mean ethno/religious character, not just ethnic—I don't know too many CRC people who give two hoots about wooden shoes.

GM: In spite of the bleak outlook, you wrote that “a story is nothing without a surprise” and the surprises were that the CRCNA was not only still in existence after having in the last thirty years “hemorrhaged from every possible orifice,” but also that young seminarians were making intentional choices that affirm preaching of the Word and family-focused church education while many churches were working to recreate community within their congregations. In what ways are these “surprise endings” from three years ago more or less evident now?

JS: What really surprised me was that the seminarians I spoke with really believed that “the preaching of the word” was paramount in their approach to leading a congregation. That surprised me because “the lecture” just isn't much in higher education these days; one person talking is really old-fashioned (not necessarily bad, in my book, by the way). I have no reason to believe that that's changed or is changing, and I may well have been talking to some more conservative seminarians at the time.

I don't know that I know an answer to your question, however. And that may well be an answer. For much of my life I felt as if I were a member of a community with a common dialogue. Not any more. I'm not sure there is a common dialogue. Conservatives might maintain that such a falling off is an earmark of a church staggering toward liberalism, but I wouldn't be so quick to create a villain. There are perfectly understandable reasons for what finally may be the disappearance of the CRC. As Richard Ostling told me long ago, in America, ethnic denominations all die.

GM: You wrote that the greatest gift of the CRC to American evangelicalism is “a theology which insists on God’s immense sovereignty over all of life, because ‘from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” In what ways do you still view that as the greatest gift of Calvinism to the American religious landscape or in what ways has your perspective changed over the last three years?

JS: To my knowledge, the greatest gift of the CRC is that which some call “neo-Kuyperianism.” I still think that, even though the vast majority of those who worship in the CRC these days likely have no clue whatsoever about what it means. I say that because one almost requires Kuyperianism to get to worldview, and worldview—for better or for worse—is everyone's game in evangelical America these days. Lots of Christian worldviews aren't necessarily mine, of course; but the idea of the Christian faith being a kind of ideology is a special gift of the neo-Calvinists. It's not the province of the old-line pietists, however. Never was.

That gift is best visualized in the Christian school system—envisioning all of creation as His.

GM: You hesitated to make specific predictions regarding the future of the CRCNA three years ago, but you wrote: “Those of us who own up to a sovereign Lord and Creator who loved this very world so much he sent his son—we will be his and He will be ours, no matter what letters or words we inscribe on our shingles.” How do you now view the future of the CRCNA in particular and the Reformed faith in general?

JS: The Reformed faith seems to be going well—those who find their roots in the English Calvinists, that is, are prospering. Continental Calvinists, not so. Many of the English Calvinists have hitched their wagons to conservative evangelicalism, however, and their fate rests in the hands of Focus on the Family types, and others like them. How well they fare in the Tea Party revival now going on remains to be seen. Loving the constitution and free enterprise isn’t necessarily an attribute to some of those in the religious right, who see abortion and gay marriage as their reason for existence.

A preacher friend of mine—a Westminster grad, actually—once told me he thought God is always working to make things new. But he never really tosses out any of the old either. Look, Catholic chants are coming back. The Orthodox faith is doing better than anyone would have expected. Mega-churches are falling out of favor, even though they've been the headlines for three decades. And, as Christianity Today has made clear more than once in the past few years, Calvinism is arisin’ (at least among the Baptists)! While the Calvinists are eschewing Calvin, the Armenians are holding him high (when they can and still keep their jobs). Go figure!

It seems to me that it's become very, very hard to be a kind of middlin' Christian these days, part of what the CRC used to call “a third way.” You're either mainline Protestant, which is to say dying, or else conservative evangelical, which is where all the steam is. We're a bifurcated country these days—and the church culture is split as well, two dynamically opposed visions of goodness and truth and right. The CRC suffers in that kind of dilemma. I read World magazine faithfully, and love what they are doing. I don't necessarily share their politics, however.

GM: You wrote on a recent blog entry that there was no other writing project in your pipeline, but in Pella you read from a fiction-based-on-fact work about the Dakota War of 1862. What's the status of that story, does it have a title, and is it part of an extended work?

JS: I have no plans for something long on the 1862 war. There are numerous volumes on it already—but that isn't to say that using it as a background might be possible, but that's a novel, Anyway, right now I've got only an unfinished novel in my computer—no other projects. But I'm also one and one-half years away from retirement, which sounds wonderful to me. There will be more.

This second section of my interview with Jim Schaap will appear in the January 12 issue of Christian Renewal. Subscribe today!

James Schaap: On teaching and writing

2010-12-28T05:41:00.004-06:00

Dr. Jim Schaap is Professor of English at Dordt College and the author of more than 20 books, including novels, devotionals, collections of short stories, and a denominational history of the CRCNA. His most recently released books appeared nearly simultaneously in November of 2010: Honest to God, a volume of meditations on the Psalms, and Rehoboth: A Place for Us, subtitled An Album of Family Stories. I recently met and interviewed him for Christian Renewal.

Glenda Mathes (GM): Last year you were a writer-in-residence at Covenant College in addition to your regular responsibilities at Dordt, which you wrote resulted in a “blizzard of papers” from working with 42 fiction writers.

Jim Schaap (JS): Yes, 42 fiction writers! Thankfully I’m done with that. I have a feeling that this spring may be a normal semester, but this fall is not because I have a couple books coming out and the promotion for one is somewhat demanding. I did a big project for Rehoboth Christian School in New Mexico on the Rehoboth mission and its history. Rehoboth has been there for 100 years and many people can locate points at which Rehoboth had touched the lives of great-grandparents; some have maintained a relationship to the institutions. That book contains 12 feature journalism stories about families who have been part of Rehoboth for a long time, so my promo for it has kept me really busy this fall, but I honestly think in the spring I’ll have a regular semester.

GM: What’s your regular schedule like at Dordt?

JS: Most teachers have a schedule of four courses per semester, and I have seven. I was teaching less, but now I’m teaching more. I think you’ll be the first announcement in any magazine, but I’m in my twilight because I have just a year and a half left. I told the administration that I’d be done at the end of next year.

GM: That was actually my next question. I was going to ask if you were making any plans to retire and about your reflections regarding retirement.

JS: I started at Dordt in 1976, so it’s been about 34 years, very close to 40 years of teaching, if you include graduate assistantships and high school teaching at the beginning of my professional career. I loved teaching at Covenant, so the idea of teaching writing at some other place doesn’t put me off, but I’ve been at Dordt long enough.

I obviously want to write more and, since it is an early retirement, that’s the plan. But in order to have some income as well, I wouldn’t mind teaching online. It’s the standing in front of class and the preparation stuff that I’m tired of. I don’t mind student papers, but I’m tired of preparation; no more inservices. We shall see where the Lord leads!

GM: How do you view the concept of retirement?

JS: For me, it is a little bit scary right now; because I think all of us are vastly more individualistic than we really believe we are, and the ritual of teaching is something which is just in me. After 40 years, it’s just there! Larry Woiwode said to me once, “If you’d stop teaching, it would take you a long time to adjust,” simply because that’s the natural rhythm in my life. You can well imagine that—for someone like me who’s basically had to write only in the summer—this simple idea of having all year to write just seems like this vast play land, so I can’t begin to think that in any way it’s going to be inhibiting. On the other hand, I remember Larry saying, “Well you know, Jim, if you retire, it’s going to be hard for you to do that.” And it may well be because all that freedom is going to be sort of different.

GM: I know from experience that deadlines force you to write, but when you have unlimited time to write, it’s more difficult.

JS: See, I don’t know that. For all of my life, all I’ve ever done is teach all year and then fill up every summer or Christmas vacation with writing projects. So right now I go out with a kind of wild exuberance. I can hear this voice saying it’s going to take a little acclimation. And that could well be. Hemingway said writing is never a full-time job, and I think he’s right in the sense that if I were to hole up and simply write, I wouldn’t touch the world. And I think you do have to stay in touch with the world more than just reading the latest news online or watching television. You do need to stay in touch, and that’s why the first thing I thought about is teaching online. Because of all the tasks of being an English teacher, the one I like the best is to take something from a kid who really wants to learn to write and help that kid write better. That I still like. I don’t get depressed about a stack of papers, what gets me is the kind of tension which arises from having to prepare for class especially when that span gets wider and wider and wider, as it does. I’ve always taught 20-year-old kids and I haven’t always been 30 years old. I’ve been 40 years old, 50 years old, and now 60 years old, and that span is just getting pretty dumb wide. Things like technology shape the way they think in a way I don’t get in the same way. And culture itself shapes them in new ways. I think for instance at Dordt today there’s a much higher level of spirituality than there was 30 years ago.

At the same time, just as the Pew poll clearly shows, our students have an appalling lack of knowledge of what faith is about. So while they raise their hands in praise and maybe pray more fervently and passionately, their theology is weird. I think that’s very evident and for me, as their prof, it separates us more and more, because I don’t think like they do anymore. And another thing that’s very, very practical—I teach literature, so let’s just take a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald that appears in nearly every anthology—I honestly don’t know how they read it anymore. When they look at a story, for a long time in my teaching career, I could say, “This is going to be bothersome to them; they’re not going to get this.” And I don’t know that anymore. I don’t know how they read. My sense is that it’s very difficult for them to stick with something for very long.

For them everything is real short: Twitter and text. You and I were raised in an era in which literature had a more significant place. I’m not Chicken Little here and saying that the sky is falling, but to many students today, literature has little significance. The other day I was in a class with English majors and I asked them if they could name one contemporary poet and they couldn’t.

And then I said, “Well, did you ever hear of Billy Collins?” He’s very popular, popular in the sense of not too heady. Collins is not that hard. No, never heard of him. I said, “Well you have to have heard of Maya Angelou.”

Never heard of Maya Angelou. These are English majors. Why does that happen? It happens because of the fact that literature—in the society in which we exist today—requires more than popular media has time to give it. And I don’t mean to sound like woe and woe, but the fact is that it gets harder to teach literature then. And I believe in literature; and when you believe in it and it doesn’t go, then it gets tougher.

GM: So are students writing less these days?

JS: There are people who argue that students actually write more today than they did 20 years ago. Now that writing may include Twitter and it may include blogs and it may include letters; it certainly will include emails. But the idea is that the only writing most people would have done 25 years ago is student papers, in other words, “Check out the sea imagery in Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea.” And that’s a peculiar kind of writing: American standard English, academic writing.

Some people argue that our students are more creative today because they express themselves more frequently in a variety of media. Whether or not it’s true, I’m not an expert on that; but I do think it’s easier for students to be creative writers now than it was 20 years ago. Now I’m not willing to say that they’re better or anything, I don’t know about that, but they’re quicker to do it. Another thing I think it’s fair to say is that most college students 20 years ago were somewhat reticent; if you give a speech, you get real nervous about it. Today my students would rather say, “Let me give the speech and you sit down, Dr. Schaap.”

They’re very at home standing in front of people. They may not do it all that well, but that’s no problem whatsoever. They’re very good at believing that they’re very good. And honestly, if you’re going to write creatively, you have to believe that you’re going to be good so that makes it somewhat easier, too.

GM: You’ve written novels, short stories, devotionals and other non-fiction; what I call a “multi-genre-tional” writer; and you’re in good company, Marilynne Robinson, C.S. Lewis and so on. Still graduate programs often force graduate students to choose between either a nonfiction or a fiction track. What would you say to the student who wants to pursue a graduate career, but wants to write both fiction and nonfiction?

JS: There’s probably a larger question behind that, which has to do with the whole MFA program and I can go back and forth on that. On the one side, you’ve got the view that says we’d be better off if we didn’t have so many MFA programs because they turn out so many people who think they’re going to be writers. On the other hand, I certainly believe that what’s most important to people who are beginning is that other people read them. When students graduate and they don’t have people to read them anymore, I always tell them to go to a Walden or to a Barnes and Noble, which almost always have a writers group or two.

In other words, they shouldn’t just exist in this little cocoon. Emily Dickinson could do that, but she’s one of very few. I think being read is a big deal. Honestly and truly, through 30 plus years of teaching at a small liberal arts college, I’ve seen a lot of kids who have talent. You know the old prescription, that accomplishment is 90 percent perspiration and 10 percent inspiration? I think there’s a lot of truth to that. You just simply have to stay at it. And that means in any of the arts—whether you want to be a dancer or a flutist or a visual artist—you just have to be willing to continue to do it, even though the rewards are pretty minimal. There are obviously people who make big money writing, but not that many. Just like there are people who make big money as operatic tenors, but not that many.

Basically in an imaginative genre, whether it’s creative nonfiction or fiction, it’s mostly a matter of “show, don’t tell.” There’re only a couple of rules you need to learn and then you need to do it. I would think that if you’re good at fiction, you’re good at some of the other things, too. If you’re good at nonfiction, you can try your hand at some of the other things. I don’t know that that would necessarily be a limitation.

GM: What advice would you give to the talented student who wants more than just to be read by others, who wants to be published?

JS: I had Raymond Carver as a prof at the University of Wisconsin, and he said to me once, “Best rule of thumb as far as I’m concerned is: publish, publish, publish.” I try to live by that, so if the church that I belong to, the Christian Reformed Church, said to me 25 years ago, “Why don’t you try your hand at kids’ devotions?” at the time my kids were little, why not? Let’s try that. “Why don’t you try your hand at a history book?” Okay, let’s try that.

I like the old concept of a man of letters. I think when finally my computer shuts down for the last time and I say, “Well, this is the body that I cranked out; I got several novels, I got this history of the denomination, and these plays and this biography, I hope the Lord says to me, “You did okay.”

I try hard, and I never got reviewed in the New York Times. I would love to still turn out a couple novels that sell well; that never happened, but there’s always for me something more important than writing and that is not only my relationship to God, but also my relationship to my family. I sometimes wonder if I were willing to sacrifice everything for writing whether I might have been a better writer.

In any of the really high-profile professions, you have to give of yourself totally and I don’t. I always liked teaching. Now I just told you I wasn’t going to do it anymore, but I’ve always enjoyed it. I’ve had a good life in terms of writing a variety of different things and enjoying them all. My number one joy is fiction, but it’s also most difficult. I’ve got two novels that I’d love to be able to sell, but neither of them is finished because I’ve re-written them four or five times. I just don’t have them right yet. But writing fiction is better than anything; I’d rather do that than anything.

GM: So you continue working on a novel until you feel that you have it right?

JS: I know when they aren’t there and I also know what it’s like to write a novel and then figure out that it’s there. And I know with both of these it’s not there yet. So on the ride down here this morning from Northwest Iowa—even though I’ve got class preparation on my mind and I’m listening to a book on an iPod—I’m still thinking, “What’s wrong with that pastor? Why can’t he tell that story?” And I don’t get it, but when I retire I’ll have time. Because I do know that it happens; it’s happened to me in the past. All of a sudden, I say, “That’s it!”

This section of the interview with James C. Schaap appeared in the December 15, 2010, issue of Christian Renewal. The second section of this interview, dealing with Dr. Schaap’s perspectives on how the Reformed faith relates to the arts and denominationalism will appear in the next issue of Christian Renewal and will be posted later.