What if death is not dying?

I just found out that Rachel Barkey died a few weeks ago. A sister in Christ I did not meet here on earth, but look forward to seeing again in glory.

“Cancer does not define me. Neither does being a wife or a mother. All these things are part of who I am but they do not define me. What defines me is my relationship with Jesus.”

Listen to her story here.

The Valley of Vision

A wonderful prayer from the book of the same name:

LORD, HIGH AND HOLY, MEEK AND LOWLY

Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,

where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;

hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox

that the way down is the way up,

that to be low is to be high,

that the broken heart is the healed heart,

that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

that to have nothing is to possess all,

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

that to give is to receive,

that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,

and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,

thy life in my death,

thy joy in my sorrow,

thy grace in my sin,

thy riches in my poverty,

thy glory in my valley.

An encounter

Standing in the city amid stone towers. Under cover waiting for the bus. Warm, dry, and still trying to wake up. Mist in the air and rain drizzling down all around.

The old man flashes in front of you as he walks past. A shaggy mass of hair. Black overcoat and a pair of shorts sprouting thin white legs like knobbly tree trunks. A gumboot on one foot and a shoe on the other. Half-empty bottle of wine in one hand and a backpack over the shoulder. A smell trailing behind.

Around the corner, another man. Sitting down hunched in the meagre shelter of a closed garage door, fumbling for a cigarette with dirty hands.

What do you do? How do you show Jesus to these people? How do you tell them of the good news?

Do you stop, offer to buy them a meal, maybe learn their names, attempt to teach them some theological propositions, and then.. turn your back and go on about your day? Go home to your warm, dry house, whilst they spend another night out on the asphalt with the wind for company?

Couldn't you stop and really talk to them? Sit down, spend time, and really listen? Couldn't you spare any room in your house for them? The back porch? The couch? Are there no crumbs you have spare? Of course you could, and of course there are. But, it would be awkward, disruptiing, uncomfortable. How can you do that? Where would you draw the line? You have too much "stuff" to do. It would be time consuming. It would be hard work trying to talk with them. They might bring their dirtiness into your lovely clean house. They might not be nice people. They might not appreciate your help. They might even rob you of some of your treasured earthly riches.

No, it's far too hard. So you get on your bus and go to work, staying inside your warm, safe bubble.

But, you have forgotten.

You were once homeless. You were cast out, no friends, family or roof over your heard. You were starving, cold, and desperate. You were a repugnant, smelly mess. You had a foul mouth that poured forth hatred and obscenities. You were rubbish, destined for a lonely death in the darkness.

Until He stopped and sat down next to you. He was not put off by your state, the filthiness of the gutter you were lying in, or the insults you directed at him. He took you in. He washed you clean. He gave you food, shelter, and fine clothes to wear. He let you live in his house, not as a temporary stranger, not even just as friend, but as an adopted brother. He told you of mercy, of forgiveness and of love.

And He told you to go and do likewise.

Most Influential Books?

Ken Brown wrote a post on Five Influential Books and 40+ people have chimed in with their own top 5. It's a mixed bag (Spong is in there!), but interesting nonetheless.

John Hobbins deserves particular attention as usual with his Five authors who will change the way you read the Bible:

Why, you may ask, is it important to learn to read Shakespeare before learning to read the Bible? Because it takes blood, sweat and tears for a 21st century reader to make sense out of Shakespeare. Fast forward to the Bible. No one should expect to understand the fine grain of the Bible without a still greater investment in energy. Objectively speaking, the Bible’s cultural distance from us is five times greater.

At the risk of demonstrating how little I've actually read, I thought I'd try a more general top 5 of my own:

1. Fundamentalism and the Word of God, JI Packer

Every Christian should read this. Short, punchy, straight from the Bible, and an absolutely vital topic within Christianity - the authority and primacy of Scripture.

2. How to Read the Bible for all its Worth, Gordon Fee & Douglas Stuart

The very first book I ever read on interpretation, and I thank God for that - it gave me a solid foundation in learning to read the Bible truthfully.

3. Mere Christianity, CS Lewis

Reading this for the first time as an atheist was akin to looking into the mirror for the first time in my life and actually seeing something of my true reflection therein. Lewis' ability to paint a vivid and clear picture of the inner workings of our character is both insightful and painful.

4. The Autobiography of George Mueller

This incredibly simple & plain little [abridged] collection of Mueller's journal notes exploded my horizons. I think it is one of the most encouraging books I've ever read. The warmth and gentleness of Mueller oozes through the pages, and his incredible faith in his Heavenly Father is a utter joy to behold. Moreover, it is an incredibly practical book to read, full of examples that one can inspire to follow.

5. Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, Arthur Bennett

Pure gold for the soul. This wonderful little book has helped me through many a cold night of prayer. Filled with beautifully laid out prayers & devotions from the likes of C.H. Spurgeon, Richard Baxter, Isaac Watts, John Bunyan, and many others.

Honourable mention: Anything by Charles Spurgeon

I agree with the Baptists in suggesting that Spurgeon was the greated preacher since the apostles. I love Spurgeon because I love Christ, and Spurgeon shows me his glory like noone else. Dan Philips recently said it well:

I love Spurgeon because he is like a beggar who has happened onto a vast fortune, and delights in plunging his hands deep into the piles of gold coins, then letting them run and tinkle between his fingers for all to see and marvel — and he bids us come, dig in deep, and take to our heart's delight. Only it isn't gold, it's better. It's the riches of Christ, the glories of God's redeeming faithfulness, His condescending love, His precious promises. No one shows Christ as lovelier, nor God's grace as richer, than does Spurgeon.

Amen.

Beyond Knights and Damsels: Evangelicals and Gender

Check out this excellent smack-on-the-money article about masculinity & feminity over at The Gospel & Culture Project. I've been mulling over a blog post almost exactly along the same lines but they've done a far better job. Read it! Here are some juicy quotes:

If boys tend to be more competitive and “dangerous,” and if girls are by “nature” more tentative or passive (or worse, more dependent and seductive), do these tendencies necessarily reveal God’s will for masculinity and femininity? Or do they represent remnants of a fallen order that God calls us to redeem?

Bushnell’s work with prostitutes convinced her that the “feminine” passivity held up as a Christian virtue for Victorian women, actually left them vulnerable and ill equipped to protect themselves. True virtue, Bushnell insisted, required strength and courage from women as well as men. “When an expositor and preacher of the Gospel wanders out of his path of duty ‘to preach Christ’ as woman’s one example of conduct, and instead preaches ‘womanliness,’ he sets up an idol of his own creation for women to worship,” she wrote.

In theory Bushnell advocated the same “virtues” for both men and women. But due to centuries of female subordination, she suggested that modern men and women required different correctives in order to follow Christ. Men would need to become less proud and domineering, while women would need to become more confident and assertive.

And, concluding:

Certainly Christians are called to be courageous and unflinching in their faith, but by separating “masculine” virtues of courage and strength from the “feminine” virtues of humility and gentleness, the church risks fostering a culture of arrogance and aggression—all, supposedly, in the name of a manly Christ. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that a 2004 Pew study revealed that conservative evangelicals tended disproportionately to support an aggressive foreign policy, and, more than any other demographic, to approve of American engagement in pre-emptive war. As many evangelical writers on masculinity make clear, pacifism has no place in a truly “manly” Christianity.

However, as Bushnell suggests, a better solution may be to preach one Christ for men and women, working to nurture both gentleness and strength, courage and grace, in women and men alike.

Hear hear!