But God...

R. C. Sproul has said several times that the most important word in the Bible is the word, 'but'.

I'm reading Trevin Wax's book, Counterfeit Gospels.  On page 98, he illustrates Dr. Sproul's point with this section of text-

  "Because Jesus was filled with horror and cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" we are filled with wonder and cry, "My God, my God, why have you accepted me?

  Because Jesus cried, "Father, forgive!" the taunts we hurled at Him on the cross are transformed into praise for His generous mercy.

  Because Jesus said, "I thirst," we can drink from the fountain of living water and never thirst again.

  Because Jesus said, "Woman, behold your son," and felt the pain of separation from His earthly family, we can experience the blessing of being united with a heavenly family.

  Because Jesus cried, "It is finished!" our new life can begin.

  Because Jesus committed His spirit into the Father's hands, God commits His Spirit into our hearts."

...but God, who is rich in mercy...

Outstanding stuff.

A Couple Worth Repeating

I noted a couple of excellent blog posts this weekend, and I'll pass them along.

If you are worried you might be addicted to Facebook, Twitter, et al., this blog from Tim Challies is a must-read (it's worth a read even if you aren't addicted).

Then, this post from Trevin Wax on Humility and Humor was just outstanding.  If you only read one blog a day, read Challies'.  If you read two, read Challies' and Wax's.  (Of course, you can always read mine as well!)

Of course, if you read Challies, you've already seen the next one.  But if not, it is worth looking at.

This is an article on why Genesis 1 and 2 are not poetry, but historical narrative.  (Yes, this is important.)

Good reading!

A Few Tidbits

I just got copies of both The Next Story by Tim Challies and Counterfeit Gospels by Trevin Wax.  Which to read first?  I started them both...I have a bad habit of reading four or ten books at once, a little at a time.  I wonder how it affects my retention...

I think I'll read Counterfeit Gospels first...I may outline it and try to make a short (three-to-six week) Sunday School curriculum out of it. 

I enjoyed this post on the 'Gagafication of the Church'.  It's kind of weird to think about...but a valid concern.

A thought gleaned from Michael Horton- "Today's fundamentalists are tomorrow's liberals."  How so?  I think he might be right, but I need a lot more info before I go around saying it.

Finally, here's a quote from Horton's Gospel Driven Life that I love-

“The last thing we need is a church that keeps us sealed up in our own compartment with others of similar experiences in life.  We need to be integrated into the body of Christ.  Younger believers don’t need another speaker to come in and tell them about dating, self-esteem, and relationships.  They need to have relationships with saints who have put on a few miles in the Christian life and have faced challenges to their faith and practice that younger believers have not.”  (p. 197)

->

Book Review of Counterfeit Gospels

I recently discovered a new blog that I really enjoy.  It was mentioned by Tim Challies...it is called Blogging Theologically and is written by Aaron Armstrong.  I don't know much about Aaron, but I really like his blog.

Today, he posted a book review that was excellent.  (By the way, if you don't know a good reason for reading blogs, one of the best is book reviews.  You can't always trust that reviews on Amazon.com are legitimate...those can be easily staged.  But reviews on blogs are the real deal. Here's a link to all my reviews on Amazon.com, in case anyone cares.)

His review was of Trevin Wax's book, Counterfeit Gospels.  Here's the link to Aaron's review.

Aaron tells us not only what the content was of the book, but why the content was important, why we need to read what the author wrote, and how it can help us bring glory to God in our daily lives. 

And the book itself seems to ring a resonant chord, especially in light of the recent Rob Bell mess and the blogosphere battles over Bell and his critics and supporters.

I'm ordering a copy of Counterfeit Gospels on Thursday (pay day).  I just need to decide if I'm getting the Kindle version or the hardback version.