Chapter 17

Sorry that there hasn't been an update for a while. I'll try to get one up soon. Here is another chapter until then.

http://www.box.net/public/vqms8xulyt

Chapter16

Sorry I didn't post this yesterday, but I don't think anyone is up to this one yet :)
I'm glad you enjoyed the beginning F.B.! These last few chapters have been the best in my opinion.

http://www.box.net/public/hf26s2phuh

The Shadow Goes

My goodness! A real update?!

Yes readers, browsers, or onlookers, I have two weeks of things to tell about and yet not enough time to do it in. My memory fails me and the events of the past few days recede into the depths of subconsciousness. School overwhelms me, bringing me down into the monotony of daily life, unless you think that double integrals are exciting, as I did when we finally got to them!

Let's see, I'll start off with Friday, nearly two weeks ago. JP and Kacy, Jon, Jonathan, and myself went to the International Coffee House in the evening. We played a little bit of ping-pong and hung around playing with the kids. Jon was frantically trying to get a little girl to say "pen" but all she could manage was "boo." Jonathan chimed in and the two of them were hammering away on her while I worked on my Statics problems. The manager's wife spoke about a book she gives to everyone about Christians in China, something about believing in God and having visions of the gospel before it was preached, and miracles being worked (if I'm not mistaken). I raised my mental eyebrows. I don't deny that such things are possible, yet I'm always skeptical when other people claim them. God ordinariliy uses ordinary means, but that doesn't mean He has to.

Sunday, I'll insert a piece of an e-mail I sent regarding my experience at the Assisted Living center. I volunteered to go and read to the elderly people on Sunday afternoons:

First, when I showed up, the caretakers had no idea why I was there. Apparently the lady who is on duty as manager during the week, didn't let the weekend staff know what was going on (though she said she did). Actually, one lady did know but she thought I was coming between 2 and 4. So they said they would round a few of the residents up for me, herding them into the front area. In the meantime I spoke with a gentleman who said that his commanding officer lived to be a hundred and five and told me of his exploits under him (who in turn was under General MacArthur) in the 11th Airborne. He asked what major I was and when I told him said that he, if he had it to do all over again, would major in hypnotism! That way he could make all these politicians do what he wanted (he absolutely hated Bush). He said that those Arabs out there were just desert rats and you know what we should have done with them? We should have drowned them by busting their dam. That's what we should have done. He said that Jesus "washed his hands of them" and so should we. I said that I believed God had not forsaken the Jews but he wasn't listening to me, he just carried on. He also told me that all of this money that Kennedy wasted on space was a horrible idea, that we already know from the Bible that there isn't any life out there, and did I know where in the Bible it said not to mess with the stars? I said no and he told me that there were ten kings of Judah and had I heard of Jehoshaphat? I said yes and he told me that God told Jehoshaphat not to preoccupy himself with the stars but Jehoshaphat didn't listen so God made him jump around until he died, though we don't know how long he was jumping, see. I was completely bewildered, yet he was serious. I wondered where in the world he had read that story. My father, when he heard it, laughed something about "jumpin' Jehoshaphat" and it makes me wonder whether or not this man was making up a fantasy based upon that expression, or if it really was some tradition somewhere! He didn't have Alzheimer's or anything like that, he was pretty sharp, but very obviously misinformed. I politely said I had no recollection of that. He also asked me if I was a reverend, seeing my Bible and such.

So I started reading and Jon and Jonathan showed up. I read three chapters in Genesis and pretty soon there were nine people gathered around. I tried to read loud and clear but at first there was a lot of interruptions going on, they were testing the intercom system (which would beep and say "one, two, three" every five seconds for several minutes, and people coming in (at which one of the ladies would very noisily hush). I was surprised though, they were extremely attentive. There were a couple of ladies that pretty much were wheeled in and sleep all day long but no one else fell asleep and they just watched me. After finishing Genesis 1-3 I moved on to Pilgrim's Progress (much to the delight of one of the ladies, who seemed to know the story quite well) and tried to be animated as I went through it. Raising the eyebrows and making gestures toward "yonder wicket gate" and pointing to the burden upon the back. I think the voices helped too. I read to the part where Christian turns to go toward the mount Sinai. After that, I finished up by reading the first three chapters in Matthew, and then it was time to go. A couple of the ladies told me I read very well and told me thank you very, very much. I was asked by them to come back and I certainly plan to next week. There was an older gentleman who said something like "God bless you, thank you" to me and about five of them wanted to shake my hand as I went out. I was very excited at the response. They clearly liked it very much, and I hope it was for the message. I also hope there was some discussion amongst themselves afterward as to what we read. Unfortunately I can't really give a commentary, though I did make mention that the "book" that Christian refers to is the Bible.

So the older people seemed to think it was wonderful to have Scripture read, and I know I enjoyed it (though I was thirsty afterward from having read so loudly). There was an older lady that kept wheeling herself back and forth in the hallway and would shout from time to time "I can hear you!" And another lady that would always be saying "SHHH! Be quiet Mildred" When Mildred was just moving around and it was this lady who was making a loud disturbance :) They are sweet old ladies though. I feel sad seeing some of them though. One was wheeling herself around (very slowly) and said she was looking for the exit and wanted to find her daughter. I asked what her daughter's name was and she said she couldn't remember. I just wish there was something I could do to help.

Monday I visited my family during my Fall break. It seemed amazing to me that Fall break came up so quickly! I wasn't prepared for it, unlike a host of my fellow classmates. I enjoyed the time down south however, and spent a little time getting my voting out of the way, finishing up a scholarship application, and playing Mario Kart and Animal Crossing with 4 siblings at a time! I returned home on Tuesday.

Wednesday, labs were cancelled so I went and visited my TA during those hours. The lab that I had finished early (though everyone else stayed late) and thought I did well on, I had an 87 on it, and I was surprised. The entire last page was negative 4's and 3's so I took it to my TA and asked him about it. He glanced at it and then began to apologize profusely saying that he thinks I was the only one who did it right and he was going too fast and just marked it wrong. He corrected it and I received a 98 on the lab instead. That's a big difference!

Thursday I had a meeting with HKN, an Electrical Engineering society on campus that I had been invited to join. They described the initiation process which included scavenger hunts, wearing suits on certain days, collecting signatures from 75% of the faculty in the department (and they were allowed to ask you a question they had prepared before they gave you their signature) and a service project. I was seriously considering it, though undecided, when I noted that the service project and some of their meetings were on Sunday. I sent an e-mail to the president asking if it might possibly be changed to a different day (why Sunday?!) but haven't received a response in nearly a week, and I doubt it would be changed for one person anyway. That settled my mind for me though.

Friday evening I headed over to the International Coffee House again. Jonathan was the ping-pong champion last time, this time I beat him. JP and I talked a little bit about the baptism issue and then the two "real" ping-pong players showed up and we all watched for a while. At the end, there were three young lads who were playing around and Jonathan and I ended up getting into a ninja fight with them.

Saturday afternoon, after getting some homework done earlier in the day, I headed over to the N house for dinner and to meet Aunt Helen. As I arrived, Stephen and Daniel waved to me, they were outside playing frisbee so I joined them. Shortly after that, Gus and Aunt Helen drove up and we went down off the hill to say hello. Then we returned to frisbee until it was time for Daniel to leave. We headed inside and I talked with the elder (elder as in years) Mr N for a time and then we sat down. Shortly thereafter, F.B. and Daisy arrived. We went outside after supper and played some frisbee until we couldn't see anymore (and then played for a while after) and played Sardines (Daisy found a great hiding spot, she's methodical!) and Flashlight Tag (I think it was called). I was "it" and ran around the house trying to gaurd the cat's brush while not "camping" out on the spot. There was a brief time of family worship in the evening and then Aunt Helen went upstairs to see some of Philip's films, and I decided I had better head on home.

Sunday I read in the afternoon again. This time there was an elderly lady who was there first and I asked her what her background was. She said baptist but she didn't believe that there was only one God or right way, though she did believe in Jesus. I began to read and other residents showed up after some time. After finishing the Old and New Testament reading, I took a brief break to ask people their names and their background. The second lady I came to said that her father ran a baptist church. I asked her if he was the minister and she said "Oh no! He hired the minister." Which made me a little er.... concerned. Then she said that she was also thankful for her catholic experience because she felt they were the closest to the Bible. I politely said that I had to disagree with her, that they held tradition on equal footing with Scripture. She stared at me and said "son, who told you that?!" I said that you could look in their own creeds, I don't think any knowledgeable Catholic would deny it. She started to get upset and talk faster, and when she talked faster her dentures kept on falling down from her upper gums. Have you ever had a person angry at you who was trying to talk while their teeth were popping out? I have to admit that it's hard to keep a straight face. I changed the subject and she forgot almost immediately about it. She kept forgetting what we had talked about previously. After that though, I only asked what their names were!

One man asked me where I was getting my training. I was puzzled and asked what training he referred to and he said training to read out loud like I do. I said I didn't have any and he said "Oh! Well, you read very well." It was a very high compliment! I read up to the Interpreter's House in Pilgrim's Progress, taking the time to make a couple of comments along the way, to help keep the attention of the residents. At the end, I asked what Christian's burden represented, and was rather sad to see that no one could tell me. So I explained that it was his sin that was weighing him down, and he could feel his guilt. And gave a sneak preview of the next section where the sin is forgiven and the guilt is taken away at the cross and what a beautiful picture that is! I also explained what Mount Sinai and Mr Legality represented, and how this was the path that people chose when they tried to fulfill the law to gain their salvation. As Christian felt, his burden became even heavier!

I said good-bye to them all and one of the caretakers said "thanks for keeping them busy for an hour." Huh! Busy indeed! I hope it's doing more than just being a break from daily life!

Monday, in my Differential Equations class, it appeared that the previous class (Psychology) had left a drawing on the white board, a drawing of a pig with a ring around its middle. Above it were the words "do not erase." I contemplated whether or not they had done that for a test to see if people would unquestioningly obey instructions (so it would be there next class session) or if perhaps that people wouldn't obey instructions even for two days! My math instructor came in, glanced at it and the writing and said with a grin "Don't you just hate imperatives?" and promptly erased it. That afternoon I met with Alan and we had a good time of discussion on various subjects, but more particularly on the first chapter of Ryle's Holiness, which was on Sin. At least (I should say) it was was profitable for me!

From there it has been pretty much just a regular week, not a whole lot has been going on out of the ordinary. School, homework, reading a little here and there. I'd probably best be getting back to that right now, so I'll close this "brief" update.

Chapter15

I've recorded a few more chapters and I'm really enjoying the last few. I had to edit some of the qualities so that they could be uploaded to my webspace though!

http://www.box.net/public/7tvpdyyblt

Chapter14

Thanks Arwen, I'm don't want anyone to feel like they have to listen, or necessarily that I want them to, but it's there if they'd like :)

I'm enjoying it personally though!

http://www.box.net/public/k8r64i5tah

Chapter13

They keep coming.

http://www.box.net/public/6lqutth959

Chapter12

The chapters seem to be getting better to me, I'm excited about getting further in the book.

http://www.box.net/public/ez8cprn5cu

Chapter11

This one concludes the time spent at the house Beautiful, and means that I don't have to try to do Charity's voice anymore! Yay! I liked the discourses that they had though.

http://www.box.net/public/4avu5yr5al

Chapter10

I need to record some more, my buffer is all spent!

http://www.box.net/public/x9v2bo6igd

Chapter09

This chapter was also good, as they recapped what had happened in chapter 8 and explained it a bit. I'm enjoying this book for the most part, it's just when all of a sudden there is a theological discussion upon the work of Christ, that things seem to go amiss. Which is unfortunate!

http://www.box.net/public/sd3joyn2rn

A Catalogue of Days

This blogger is in serious need of an update!

So this week so far (in brevity):…..

Sunday we had more visitors than is normal, which is kind of funny because this always seems to happen when Pastor is gone. In Sabbath School, Dave had a very good lesson on Precious Remedies. That class has been very good for me because I do so often fall short. It’s been both convicting and encouraging.
Before the class started, one of the younger girls had drawn some animals on the white board and Dave started to erase it. Beth asked slyly if he was going to teach us on how to make these animals. He said “I wouldn’t spend five minutes on that.” To which Beth countered with “But God spent a whole day making animals!” And Dave responded simply with “Yes, but he had the time.”

Alan gave a very good sermon on the new heavens and new earth. It has been a subject that I’ve been thinking of for the last couple of years, one of those many that are always floating in the back of my mind. The idea of the earth being renewed or redeemed, not that everything that is physical goes out of existence and we live on the clouds forever after that. As Dan F. said recently to JP, I did want to see the world when I was younger, but I realized that one day I will get to see it, and in perfection. There is meaning behind the “new heavens and new earth” that we should ponder upon I think, though I’m not qualified to even begin.

We all went out that afternoon for the Life Chain, and held signs up, a silent witness against abortion. I spent about a half hour praying and praying through a couple of Psalms. I told Philip that though I desperately wanted to see the country brought to its knees and the people repent and turn from the sin of abortion, that I certainly didn’t have the love Paul had for his countrymen. I had no desire to wish myself accursed for their sake. It made me think on how little love I really do show to others.

That afternoon, Jonathan was supposed to come over to the camper but ended up reading at his place instead. I went and picked him up and then went and got the three stooges from the N house and we headed over the F’s home. All of the boys (except for poor Stephen) rode in my car. Stephen was trapped in a vanload of girls. We despaired of ever seeing him again. Alive at least.

I asked Philip if he would read his book out loud, which was “Thoughts for Young Men” by JC Ryle. I enjoyed it very much and he would pause and comment every once in a while and we’d discuss a few points. Jonathan and Greg fell asleep in the back and I think Ben may have dozed off so the care was pretty quiet.

And this study concluded the book of Hebrews. It was somewhat sad to see it end but it looks like we may have a couple of weeks of “Hebrew’s Greatest Hits” until the next study starts. It was a very good study and I’m grateful to Bill for doing that.

Monday started my busy week. It’s odd but it seems that when I have exams, I’m far less busy than when I don’t. Perhaps because I don’t really study all that much for exams and there isn’t any homework. Anyway, on my Differential Equations exam, I missed a negative sign and forgot to raise on of my answers as an exponent of e. So I had a 95%. On my Statics exam, I scored a 97 which should have been 100% but I missed a negative sign there as well! I have tried to be optimistic about it though: at least next time I have a chance for improvement. Jonathan’s Bible study met outside and it went really well. We discussed God’s plan of redemption and everyone seemed to be agreeable to it. We’ll be covering his “calling” next week.

Tuesday I and Jonathan were invited to go over to the Knox residence, we were asked to bring something we had read, to share. I brought a couple of paragraphs from “The Christian Life”. We had a good time and I appreciated their doing that.

Wednesday was extremely busy, I was almost literally running around all day long, from office to office, class to class. From 7:00 in the morning until past 5:00 that afternoon I was on campus, trying to get a bunch of stuff done. When I got to my Physics lab, we were told that we were going to do Lab 6 instead of lab 5 (which was on the schedule and which I had prepared for). So I was disconcerted at that. They supposedly sent out an e-mail letting us know of this change (they made it a couple days before) but I never received anything and neither did half of the class. That rather disturbed me. So I felt like I stumbled through the lab, trying to get all caught up and do the pre-lab along with the regular lab. It was a mess. But I feel like I got a lot of work done that day overall.

And now I’ve got a lot of other things that need to be finished, so I’m going to have to close this post for now. But first… some quotes:

From the Christian Life by Sinclair Ferguson, pg 147 speaking about 1 Cor 7:32-35:

“On occasion these words have been taken to reflect a very low view of marriage on Paul’s part. But men who have lived through revival days like the ones the church at Corinth was undoubtedly experiencing, and who have been sensitive to their Christian responsibilities, have often come to realize that Paul was advocating realism rather than masochism. He was not thinking about marriage as a battle-ground, but of the inward battles the married person would have to fight with himself or herself to maintain a spirit of loyal devotion to Jesus Christ. Marriage is a blessing (as Paul clearly indicates in his letters to Colosse and Ephesus). That is why it can also be a source of temptation. It is the paradox of earthly blessing that because of our own wayward hearts we can worship the gift rather than the giver.”

And the point was to help cultivate a spiritual detachment from this world, in the sense that we really are not of this world and our hope is set on Christ and not anything else! It was a very good reminder to me, because too often I tend to focus on physical things rather than the ultimate goal.

Pg 160
“Mortification from a self-strength, carried on by ways of self-invention unto the end of a self-righteousness, is the soul and substance of all false religion in this world.” – John Owen

Man! He hit the nail right on the head! Basically, all false religions are man-centered, Christianity is God-centered. When we invent our own ways to earn our way by our own strength and our own righteousness, we are surely wrong.

Pg 161
“But what is the inner logic of this argument? It is that our union with Christ gives us a new identity in which our relationship to sin is radically altered, and we are raised to a new dignified status in Christ. Since we are thus united to him the foundation has been laid for an entirely different way of life and a new devotion of our affections. Our new identity is itself the new incentive we need to deal with sin. Just as a newly-married bride is given a new name and with it a completely new identity, that new identity is the only incentive she needs to live her life in which her affections are entirely set upon her husband. Beforehand she may have felt varying degrees of affection towards others. Now her husband must have a unique affection, and anything that would mar, distort or destroy that affection must be rigorously and consistently refused. So with those who are married to Christ by grace and faith.”


And another good reminder for me. Union with Christ means that my devotion is set fully upon him, or needs to be.

Also, I just got an e-mail this morning from Marijke asking me to take a look at a couple of sites she was reading, basically how to test “True Christians” but mocking those who claim to be and are not. I did so, and sent her my response, yet it was sad to see how all the verses that were used were taken dreadfully out of context. Basically, since Jesus told his disciples to “give freely to him who asks” that if you ask a Christian for their money and they refuse, then you have the right to say they are not a true Christian. I spent a lot of time trying to explain each of the points that these sites brought up. She came to me because she said I’m just about as close to a “True Christian” as anyone she knows, and more serious than others. I just hope that my responses don’t seem to evade the issue but clearly explain what the Bible says and refute what these other people say.

Chapter08

I liked this chapter a lot. It effectually highlighted some of the evils of the "persuasive" system.

http://www.box.net/public/9bqtv2ku7a

Chapter07

I need to do a real update soon. But no time today!

Chapter seven I had to do a little editing as well, because there was something about Christ's righteousness not being applicable to us, that his righteousness only fulfilled the law for himself. Basically denying double imputation.

The Westminster Larger Catechism says that it was necessary that Christ be God so that he might "give worth and efficacy to his sufferings, obedience, and intercession;"
Which I remembered and seemed to be clear enough to me. Being man, Christ was qualified to partake in our sufferings, being of like nature, but being God, he was able to give infinite worth to those sufferings. Anyway.....

http://www.box.net/public/psxqv7gdk5

Chapter06

In this chapter, The Interpreter declares that he doesn't think that Christ was actually punished for anyone's sin, because this would mean that God could not offer of grace what was already due to these people, for whom Christ had suffered. This is an error and was taken out of the recording.

http://www.box.net/public/ftdjvjzyn3

Chapter05

And here comes the next installment.

Nothing of particular to note on this one, I don't think at least.

http://www.box.net/public/ye94il6nd3