Vacation

Hello friends! I'm writing this from Atlanta, GA. Steve and I drove 12 hours today, and I'm much too tired to write anything intelligent this evening. Check back tomorrow, although I may talk to Corporate about how many vacation days I'm allowed from CandyceLand. :-)

The Story Behind The Song

So I'm sitting in the home of dear friends in Camp Hill, PA, as I write this. This is Day #1 of 7 of VacationLand at CandyceLand! Because it's so late at night, I'm going to resort to the easiest post to write - the story behind the song. (Now you know one of my secrets!)

In 1983 Steve and I attended our very first Protestant church in Berkeley, CA. I believe (although I can't prove this) that the first Protestant hymn I ever heard was "The Church's One Foundation," and I was immediately smitten. When I think of First Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, I think of this hymn. It has continued to be one of my favorites throughout the years.

It was written by a man named Samuel John Stone who was born in England in 1839. Apparently as a minister he was very tender-hearted, and particularly toward those who were struggling financially. As Lindsay Terry reports in his book Devotionals From Famous Hymn Stories, Stone was very much loved by his people:

"In his later years Stone enjoyed a remarkable ministry among the shop hands and office workers of London. As the early, cheaper trains began to stream into the city bringing the workers. Samuel Stone would open his church and have periods of singing and short messages for the people. He then would allow them to sit quietly and visit, sew, or read until it was time for them to begin their day's work.

He noted that many used the "Apostle's Creed" in their praying, but that few of them had any comprehension of its meaning. This ignorance, coupled with the blasphemy of the evolutionist and materialist of his day, prompted Stone to write one of the truly great hymns used in our churches today."

The church's one foundation
Is Jesus Christ, her Lord
She is His new creation
By water and the word
From heaven He came and sought her
To be His holy bride
With His own blood He bought her
And for her life He died

Elect from every nation
Yet one o'er all the earth
Her charter of salvation
One Lord, one faith, one birth
One holy name she blesses
Partakes one holy food
And to one hope she presses
With every grace endued

Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed
By schisms rent asunder
By heresies distressed
Yet saints their watch are keeping
Their cry goes up, 'How long?'
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song

'Mid toil, and tribulation
And tumult of her war
She waits the consummation
Of peace forever more
Till with the vision glorious
Her longing eyes are blessed
And the great church victorious
Shall be the church at rest

Yet she on earth hath union
With God the Three in One
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we
Like them, the meek and lowly
On high may dwell with Thee

I would say that this is indeed a great summary of the Apostle's Creed. Rev. Stone's mission was accomplished!

A Challenge to Readers of CandyceLand

Today begins a new adventure for CandyceLand - we're going on a road trip! We leave today for Atlanta where we will celebrate the wedding of a special friend. We will be coming back via Pittsburgh to meet up with Kristin and Dan. And yes, Pittsburgh is definitely NOT on the 'way back' from Atlanta to New Hampshire - but it will be for us. Kristin has a present to give to me, so that's all the incentive I need to drive there. :-)

As I write this, I wonder what other "Lands" there are in this world. I can think of DisneyLand, GraceLand, the Holy Land, the Land Before Time, MaryLand, Land's End, TV Land, Land O'Lakes, La La Land, the Land of Make Believe, LegoLand, and of course, CandyLand.

Now here's the deal: while I am driving south today, I want the rest of you people to put your brains into gear and come up with more "Lands" to explore! If I am able to check in tonight, I want to see lots of activity here on CandyceLand!!!

Looking Back

For some of us, the holidays are bittersweet at best. We enjoy seeing our loved ones, but we miss those that are no longer around the table. Or we think back to better times before we lost the job, before the relationship was broken, when our health was better, etc. There are so many griefs in this world, and the temptation is to focus on the "...good old days." But is this what God would have us do? Here's what He says in Ecclesiastes 7:10:

"Say not, 'Why were the former days better than these?' For it is not from wisdom that you ask this."

Sounds like He is commanding us to not live in the past; to be thankful for the blessings He bestowed upon us back then, but not so much as to be stuck in those memories. I received an email from GriefShare yesterday which gave a very good visual illustration of this truth:

"It would be dangerous to drive down the street if your attention were focused solely on the rearview mirror, looking at what is behind. Grief (in all its forms) tends to make you look to the past, to what you lost. The pain of that loss, it's true, will be with you forever, but to move on, you must focus on the future as well as on the past."

My dear friends, whatever your loss may be, look to God and not to the past for your hope. After all, He is the one steering us toward heaven.

Words for the Weekend

“The whole life of Christ was a continual Passion; others die Martyrs, but Christ was born a Martyr… His birth and his death were but one continual act, and his Christmas-day and his Good Friday, are but the evening and morning of one and the same day.”

—John Donne, Christmas sermon, Dec. 25, 1626

Blessings On This Day

The Story Behind the (Christmas Eve) Song

In 1818, Assistant Pastor Josef Mohr was in a panic. He was in charge of the annual Christmas Eve service at the Church of St. Nicholas in Austria., at which he annually presented a new piece of music. This year, though, the church organ was broken. Some say rust was the problem; others believed it was mice. In either case, the organ couldn't be repaired until after Christmas. So Father Joseph went for a walk. And this is the rest of the story, as reported by howstuffworks.com:

"Father Joseph looked out over the Austrian Alps. Stars shone above in the still and silent night. Silent night? Father Joseph stopped. Of course! "Silent Night!" He had written a poem a few years before, when he had first become a priest, and he had given it that very title. "Silent Night."

Father Joseph scrambled down the mountain. Suddenly he knew how to bring music to the church. The next morning, Father Joseph set out on another walk. This time he carried his poem. And this time he knew exactly where he was going -- to see his friend Franz Gruber, the organist for St. Nicholas, who lived in the next village.

Franz Gruber was surprised to see the priest so far from home on Christmas Eve, and even more surprised when Father Joseph handed him the poem.

That night Father Joseph and Franz Gruber stood at the altar of St. Nicholas Church. Father Joseph held his guitar. He could see members of the congregation giving each other puzzled looks. They had never heard a guitar played in church before, and certainly not during midnight mass on Christmas Eve, the holiest night of the year.

Father Joseph picked out a few notes on the guitar, and he and Franz Gruber began to sing. Their two voices rang out, joined by the church choir on the chorus. Franz Gruber's melody matched the simplicity and honesty of Father Joseph's words.

When the last notes faded into the night, the congregation remained still for a moment, then began to clap their hands. Applause filled the church. The villagers of Oberndorf loved the song! Father Joseph's plan to bring music to St. Nicholas Church had worked.

A few months later, the organ builder arrived in Oberndorf and found the words and music to "Silent Night" lying on the organ. The song enchanted him, and when he left, he took a copy of it with him.

The organ builder gave the song to two families of traveling singers who lived near his home. The traveling singers performed "Silent Night" in concerts all over Europe, and soon the song spread throughout the world."

Thou Shalt Steal

How's this for 'odd news?' A priest in Britain is advising his congregation to shoplift if they need to. I kid you not. Here is his recommendation, as reported in the Daily Mail of London:

"Father Tim Jones, a 41-year-old clergyman at St. Lawrence Church in York, England, said that shoplifting — rather than prostitution or burglary — is sometimes the best option for poor people struggling to make ends meet. 'My advice as a Christian priest is to shoplift,' Jones reportedly told churchgoers during his Sunday sermon. 'I do not offer such advice because I think that stealing is a good thing, or because I think it is harmless, for it is neither. I would ask that they do not steal from small family businesses, but from large national businesses — knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices,' he continued. 'I would ask them not to take any more than they need, for any longer than they need ... My advice does not contradict the Bible's eighth commandment because God's love for the poor and despised outweighs the property rights of the rich.'"

Hmmm. I wonder how God views this new interpretation of the 8th Commandment. I'm guessing Wal-Mart is not too happy with it, either.

Book and Movie Recommendation

In case you were wondering, (ha!), my favorite film of all time is How Green Was My Valley. This movie is based on a book of the same name authored by Richard Llewellyn, and originally published in 1939. Until very recently, I had never read the book. However, a very good friend of mine (Thanks, Janet!) rectified this situation, and gave me the book as a gift.

Oh how wonderful it is! I have only read 6 chapters thus far, but I can say without a doubt that you should all run to your nearest library or bookstore to pick up a copy. The story is about a man, Huw Morgan, who is about to leave his Welsh village forever. He describes his life as the youngest son in a large family, all of whom are employed by the local coal mine. Huw is about 6 years old when the story begins.

The writing style is terrific. Here are three passages which will give you a taste of this book:

"There was never any talk while we were eating. Even I was told to hush if I made a noise. And that way, I think, you will get more from your food, for I never met anybody whose talk was better than good food."

"It is very strange to think back like this, although come to think of it, there is no fence or hedge round Time that has gone. You can go back and have what you like if you remember it well enough."

"When we were all ready, we stood to sing the morning hymn, and Mrs. Tom said a little prayer, asking a blessing on us all, and strength of mind and will to live and learn for the benefit of mankind. I remember well trying to think about mankind. I used to try to build up something that would look like mankind because the word Man I knew, and Kind I knew. And I thought at last, that mankind was a very tall man with a beard who was very kind and always bending over people and being good and polite."

It might not even be too late to put this book and movie on your list to Santa. :-)

Words Without Knowledge

People often speak of having a "favorite" verse; I have too many to count. But the one that has stuck with me the most, particularly during the last two years, is this one from Job:

"Then Job answered the Lord and said, 'Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I place my hand over my mouth.'" (Job 40:4)

If ever there were a good idea - it would be this one - to stop talking. It is no small matter that after God's discourse at the end of this book, Job admits the obvious: God is so far superior to us that it would be wise to stop the fretting and rebelling and complaining that characterizes much of our speech. Why can't we remember this? Why do we fill up our ears with words that accomplish nothing except drag ourselves (and anyone within hearing distance) down to the pit of sin and despair? Why do we prefer our ignorant views on life experiences rather than trust that God has a purpose which we can't even begin to fathom?

Ahhh, to be able to conclude, as Job did, that submission is the key to peace, comfort, and mercy for us:

"Then Job answered the Lord and said: 'I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.'" (Job 42:1-3)

Words for the Weekend

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him."

John Piper

GriefShare update

I thought I would take this opportunity to thank all of you who have been praying for the GriefShare ministry that was started at EPC back in September. We have now completed the first 13-week cycle, and will begin another one on January 11th. One of the great qualities of GS is that while there is a progression in topics as the sessions unfold, each one is also fully self-contained. This kind of flexibility allows people to join in at any time during the cycle and just continue to attend the next series in order to complete the entire course. Many participants purposely attend for more than one cycle anyway, as new insights can be gleaned as the journey of grief continues in an individual life.

I would ask that CandyceLand readers pray for the 12 participants who attended this past cycle. Many will be returning in January, but the Christmas season will be hard for those experiencing a recent loss, as most of them have. They are very dear friends to me now. Will you blanket them with prayers of comfort this season?

We concluded our last night with a song by Michael Card entitled "The New Jerusalem," which was fitting as the last session concentrated on the myths and facts of heaven. Here is a link to part of this beautiful music.

A Great Gift Idea

Are you having trouble buying presents this year? Do you have that one person that is SO hard to shop for? I would suggest that you be creative this year, and perhaps purchase according to that favorite holiday song: "The Twelve Days of Christmas." If that appeals to you, I hope you have deep pockets!

"Making one's true love happy will cost a whopping $87,403 this year, a minuscule increase from last year, according to the latest cost analysis of the items in the carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas." That's the grand total for the single partridge in a pear tree to the 12 drummers drumming, purchased repeatedly as the song suggests, according to the annual "Christmas Price Index" compiled by PNC Wealth Management. The price is up a mere $794, or less than 1 percent, from $86,609 last year." (Yahoo News)

WOW - who would have thought these gifts would be so expensive? Here's a partial cost analysis:

Five gold rings: $500
Seven Swans A-Swimming: $5,250
Nine Ladies Dancing: $5,473 per performance
Ten Lords A-Leaping: $4,414 per performance
Eleven Pipers Piping: $2,285 per performance
Twelve Drummers Drumming: $2,475 per performance

Can anyone explain to me why seven swimming swans are more expensive than the lords, the pipers, and the drummers? What kind of store carries these items, Wal-Mart? And don't even ask about fitting all these under the tree for Christmas morning... :-)

Sinned Against Again, #5

If you are a new reader to CandyceLand, I strongly suggest that you back up a few days and begin at the beginning of this series which focuses on the whys and whats of the human condition of "being sinned against." Today is the last installment on this topic - finishing the list of desired behaviors suggested by Paul David Tripp in his wonderful book "A Shelter in the Time of Storm: Meditations on God and Trouble. Here are two more ways in which we should respond when others hurt us:

3. "Learn your lessons. God has you in the painful moment not simply to reveal himself to you but to grow and change you through it, as well. He has chosen to keep you in this fallen world because he hasn't finished redeeming you. Sure, you long for the grace of release and the grace of relief, and sometimes you do experience these, but primarily this moment is a moment of refinement. The heat of interpersonal difficulty is meant to purify us, something that each of us continues to need."

This is such good advice. Let's be honest and admit that we are in need of further sanctification in this area. How often have we lashed out when troubled by the remarks or deeds of others? Let's look to God to redeem these situations for our good and for His glory, and know that we are heading for an eternity of "release and relief."

4. "Reflect his light. In these painful experiences, God is not only calling you to submit to his will but to actively give yourself to the values and work of his kingdom. He calls you to reflect the light of his character. He calls you to suffer in ways that can only be explained by his presence and power in your life. Jesus said it this way: "...that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16)."

How could I possibly improve upon Christ's words? May God grant us the remembrance of these lessons the next time we are "sinned against."

Sinned Against Again, #4

So now that we understand why we are sinned against (the Fall), that we contribute some of our own sin to the sins that others commit against us, and we acknowledge that God is behind all of this drama, what should our reaction be? This is the focus of Paul David Tripp's devotional in A Shelter in the Time of Storm: Meditations on God and Trouble. Here is the first two (of four) recommended responses:

1. "Run to the temple. Run to your Lord, not away from him. Instead of meditating on all the nasty things that you have endured at the hands of the person who hurt you, give yourself to examining, meditating, and recounting the beauty of your Lord. Let your mind consider his love, mercy, grace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, wisdom, power, forgiveness, and kindness. Require yourself to consider that this moment may not be a contradiction of his character qualities, but rather a demonstration of them."

This really is a great insight. After being slighted or insulted, isn't our usual response to run to someone else and tell our story of being sinned against? How much more profitable to run to God and and His Word, see who He is, and then attempt to resolve our difficulty in a similar way - with mercy, grace, patience, etc.

2. "Remember your place. Your life no longer belongs to you. Your story is no longer just your story. You have been welcomed to the kingdom of another, and your life is part of the plan and purposes of that kingdom. Don't allow yourself to begin to think that you are in the center of your universe. Remember, you have been chosen to live for the glory of another, and when you do, you will reach levels of personal contentment and joy that aren't possible any other way."

I don't know about the rest of you, but I sure am attracted to the promise of "... personal contentment and joy." Perhaps if we focus more on God and His purposes in our trials, we will be blessed as fretful and angry thoughts flee from us and are replaced with the good gift of a calm and gentle spirit. Sounds like a worthy goal!

Sinned Against Again, #3

We are in the midst of a discussion of Psalm 27:3 - "Though an army encamp against me..." Two blog posts ago, we observed that being "sinned against" is a certainty for all of us. We can see this even in the lives of little children. What toddler has not been surprised and bewildered when some other child takes away a precious toy, or, worse yet, when he is slapped or shoved? Our reactions to these events can cause sinful behaviors on our part as well, as we attempt to maintain some level of self-preservation. The question at the end of Friday's post was this: Who is this person that Paul David Tripp refers to as the one who is "calling us to endure these experiences?" For most of you, I'm guessing you know where he is going with this:

"You and I are not in control of our lives; we are not the writers of our own stories. Our individual stories have been embedded in the story of another. We are not the chief actor in the drama that is our own lives. The decisions of someone else are driving the plot of each of our stories. No, I'm not talking about the person who has mistreated you; I'm talking about your Lord. You're facing what you are facing not simply because of the sin of that other person, but because of the wise choice of a loving Redeemer. The fact is that God has us exactly where he wants us... He places us in interpersonal difficulty because he intends that difficulty to be a workroom of redemption."

This is amazing on so many levels. The concept that we are not in control is insulting to many; the assertion that we are not the chief actor in the drama that is our own life can be seen as demeaning to others. But is it really? Isn't it freeing to know that we are not charting our own way in the world, that instead we are partakers in the cosmic drama that God is orchestrating? Isn't it refreshing to think that even nasty remarks by a gossipy neighbor are intended by God for our good, if seen through the prism of His perspective? I would much prefer to have a loving Redeemer make good out of bad, redeeming rather than wasting all the difficult situations we find ourselves in.

What should our role be in response to being sinned against? Yes, that is the homework for you to meditate upon until tomorrow...

Words for the Weekend

“The heart of most religions is good advice, good techniques, good programs, good ideas, and good support systems. These drive us deeper into ourselves, to find our inner light, inner goodness, inner voice, or inner resources.

Nothing new can be found inside of us. There is no inner rescuer deep in my soul; I just hear echoes of my own voice telling me all sorts of crazy things to numb my sense of fear, anxiety, and boredom, the origins of which I cannot truly identify.

But the heart of Christianity is Good News. It comes not as a task for us to fulfill, a mission for us to accomplish, a game plan for us to follow with the help of life coaches, but as a report that someone else has already fulfilled, accomplished, followed, and achieved everything for us.”

Michael Horton, The Gospel-Driven Life

Sinned Against Again, #2

Did anyone do the assigned homework from yesterday's blog? Yeah, I didn't think so... :-)

The question you were supposed to ponder was how you respond when you are sinned against. The context for this is a little mini-series for CandyceLand on being sinned against and our reactions to it. Acknowledging that we live in a fallen world, there will undoubtedly be situations in which we are wronged. Paul David Tripp in A Shelter in the Time of Storm: Meditations on God and Trouble wants to make the case that while sometimes we are sinned against through no fault of our own, how we react to this situation determines whether we fall into the trap of sin ourselves:

"Do you give way to fear, trying to conceive of all the possible "what ifs," as if figuring out what could happen will protect you from it actually happening? Do you tend to wallow in the "if only's" of what could have been, wishing for outcomes that have already passed you by? Do you bunker down and determine to live self-protectively, telling yourself that you have been taken once and it won't happen again? Are you tempted to strike back in anger, wanting others to hurt in the way that they have hurt you? Do you tend to slip into your cocoon of silence, refusing to deal with the person who has hurt you? Do you speak and act in haste? Do you allow the failure of others to initiate a new round of doubtful thoughts about the Lord, his love, mercy, and grace?"

My personal answer? Yes. I have done all of the above, and probably more. I would add sulking and stewing and scowling as well. And that's only for the letter "S."

Tripp continues:

"What do all of these reactions have in common? They make what happens to you the most important thing in your life. They make your disappointment the saddest thing in your life. They make your feelings the most accurate indicator of how good your life really is."

Ouch again. I guess we can add "selfishness" to our list of "S" words. But the surprising insight that will be revealed tomorrow is that "...you have been called to endure those experiences because of the choices of another."

Homework Assignment #2: Who is this "another?"

Sinned Against Again, #1

Regular readers of CandyceLand know that I am in the midst of a year-long study of Psalm 27, with the help of the incredibly good book: A Shelter in the Time of Storm: Meditations on God and Trouble by Paul David Tripp. Each devotional that I read I want to share verbatim with you - but space does not allow for this. I found another excellent one yesterday, and it will probably take a few days to share it with you - but it is absolutely worth the time. It is entitled: "Sinned Against Again," based on "Though an enemy encamp against me..." (Psalm 27:3)

The subject for today is the reality that we live in a fallen world, and so we will often be sinned against. For some reason, God has chosen to allow us to feel the effects of the Fall, primarily sin and misery:

"He has chosen you to live in an environment where there is no perfection to be found. He has chosen you to live as a flawed person among flawed people. He has chosen to keep you where injustice, corruption, jealousy, greed, anger, and conflict are everyday occurrences. He has not coated you with situational Teflon, protecting you from the disappointments and hurts of a world gone bad. There is no way you and I will avoid being sinned against. There is no way we will escape being besieged. God's covenant promises to you don't include a 'being sinned against' exemption clause."

Don't you love the way Tripp uses words? "Situational Teflon?" "Being Sinned Against Exemption Clause?" How I wish I possessed these two tools for dealing with difficult experiences!

Tripp then reminds us of all the mine-field relationships that could hurt us: husband/wife, parent/child, friends, deceitful co-workers, family injustices/favoritism, evil/violent strangers, etc. The list is endless. Finally he asks: "What do you do when the irresponsible choices of others have altered your life, maybe even for the long run?"

This last question is your homework, dear readers. Think through your answer - how do YOU respond when you are sinned against? Tomorrow I will share what Tripp considers the most common reactions, and why none of these work and all of them are sinful. Stay tuned.

This is the Way

During the last two years I have developed a very deep appreciation for the book of Isaiah. I have always been intimidated by this section of the Bible - never quite understanding it, and not really seeing the present day value of it. What foolishness! Isaiah contains some of the most beautiful passages in Scripture. They have comforted me immensely. For instance, yesterday I read the following:

"For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.'" (30:19-21)

And as if to anticipate my concern that I might not hear the Teacher, or that I might stray off the path to Zion, God provides me with this:

"And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray." (35:8)

What a gracious God to even promise that should I become a fool (which happens too easily), I will not ultimately go astray. His shepherding will guide me back when I turn to the "...right or to the left." How I long to "...see my Teacher." What comfort! What encouragement! What hope for a gracious end to our suffering!

Practicing What We Profess

In a previous post I mentioned the Prayer Booklets that our church puts out to guide us in specific areas of prayer. I choose to receive them daily via email; I have found that if I see it in my inbox, I am more likely to follow through and actually pray for the specific request suggested. Anyway, today's selection really gripped me with the reality of our folly. Here is an excerpt:

"Father, though by Your grace and through Your Spirit I have come to believe, yet I have not lived the life of One who calls You Lord. The easy yoke and light burden of Your Son, My Savior, I have often rejected for the binding shackles and heavy load of sin. I have continued too much and too long in the ways of the old man, living according to the pattern of the world, rather than walking as a child of light. I know that I have been bought at a very dear price, even the blood of Christ, and would plead only that same blood for my pardon. Subdue my wandering heart that my profession would more and more become my practice. Grant me the blessing of Your fatherly care and discipline, the humble heart of a submissive child, the boldness of one who knows that he is loved, and the joy of being an heir of Your kingdom with Christ."

Isn't that a lovely prayer? But to my dismay, I realized that I didn't even totally remember the "profession" that comes before the "practice." In order to become a member of EPC, we are asked to study and then answer 'yes' to the following questions:

1. Do you acknowledge yourselves to be sinners in the sight of
God, justly deserving His displeasure, and without hope save
in His sovereign mercy?

2. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God,
and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and rest upon Him
alone for salvation as He is offered in the Gospel?

3. Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon
the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as
becomes the followers of Christ?

4. Do you promise to support the Church in its worship and
work to the best of your ability?

5. Do you submit yourselves to the government and discipline
of the Church, and promise to study its purity and peace?

I think that we would all benefit from a regular review of our "profession" in order to measure how well we're doing with our "practice" of it; in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that is.

Idols

I'm often amazed at how God brings some great truth to my attention through a variety of sources. It happened again today. During worship we sang "All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above." The 5th verse states:

Ye who confess Christ's holy name, to God give praise and glory!
Ye who the Father's pow'r proclaim, to God give praise and glory!
All idols underfoot be trod, the Lord is God! The Lord is God!
To God all praise and glory!

Then the first reading I come across when returning home is this one from Tim Keller's new book Counterfeit Gods:

“If we are deeply moved by the sight of Christ's love for us, it detaches our hearts from other would-be saviors. We stop trying to redeem ourselves through our pursuits and relationships, because we are already redeemed. We stop trying to make others into saviors, because we have a Savior.”

See the connection between the song and the quote? We don't need to make other people or other things into idols if we are fully convinced that Christ is the only one worth worshiping. We all "think" we would like to be someone's idol, but the reality is that it doesn't work for us or for them. It's too much pressure for one person to bear the burden of being everything at all times. And other types of idols, like money, fame, power, work, etc. are not enough for those of us who have eternity etched in our hearts (Eccl:3:11).

So what should we do when we realize that we have made our own idols, and are persuaded that this is not glorifying to the only one who truly deserves to be worshiped? We should do whatever it takes to remove them from that position, for their sake, for our sake, and for God's glory.

"The Lord is God! The Lord is God! To God all praise and glory!"

Words for the Weekend

“The Biblical view of things is resurrection - not a future that is just a consolation for the life we never had but a restoration of the life you always wanted. This means that every horrible thing that ever happened to you will not only be undone and repaired but will in some way make eventual glory and joy even greater.”

Tim Keller, The Reason for God

Too Tired to Blog

True confession time: I didn't get around to thinking about this blog post until after 10PM last night. I started with a topic - but it didn't flow - and I began to get frustrated. Steve offered to try to do an imitation of my writing style. This required some work, since his blog (epcblog) is very different in topic and tone than CandyceLand. SO... what do you think of his first effort to be me?

"What is crooked cannot be made straight..." Ecclesiastes 1:15

To borrow a line from the inspirational sports movie Rudy: "There is a God, and I'm not Him."

There are so many things that only God can fix. When we have done all that can be done, being anxious or making a desperate decision out of panic will not normally make everything alright. If we truly have done all that we can reasonably do in addressing some problem that is really beyond us, what choice do we have but to trust God?

He is faithful. That means that we can enjoy a meal in peace if we have something to eat, and we can even have a good night's sleep if the Lord has given us a place to rest.

I guess it just takes some good spiritual thinking for us to remember that worrying cannot fix things that are broken. As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

Hmmm... Not too shabby. Maybe he should give up his day job and start StephenLand. :-)

The Story Behind the (Christmas) Song

'Tis the season for Christmas Carols, so I thought I would choose some to highlight in the upcoming weeks. The first is "O Little Town of Bethlehem."

This beloved hymn was written by Phillips Brooks, a pastor in Philadelphia and Boston. One article I read (Lindsay Terry from Devotionals from Famous Hymns) commented that Brooks "...preached, unlike most Protestants of his day in that city, the evangelical gospel of Jesus Christ." Apparently in 1865 Brooks traveled to the Holy Land, and actually visited Bethlehem for a Christmas Eve service. He was so touched by the experience that a couple of years later he wrote a poem for the children of his church. He then asked Lewis Redner, who was the organist and Sunday school superintendent of his church, to write a tune for his poem. The following (excerpted from Louis Benson from Studies of Familiar Hymns) is an actual account of Mr. Redner's experience of writing the tune of "O Little Town of Bethlehem."

“As Christmas of 1868 approached, Mr. Brooks told me that he had written a simple little carol for the Christmas Sunday-school service, and he asked me to write the tune to it. The simple music was written in great haste and under great pressure. We were to practice it on the following Sunday. Mr. Brooks came to me on Friday, and said, ‘Redner, have you ground out that music yet to “O Little Town of Bethlehem”?’ I replied, ‘No,’ but that he should have it by Sunday. On the Saturday night previous my brain was all confused about the tune. I thought more about my Sunday-school lesson than I did about the music. But I was roused from sleep late in the night hearing an angel-strain whispering in my ear, and seizing a piece of music paper I jotted down the treble of the tune as we now have it, and on Sunday morning before going to church I filled in the harmony. Neither Mr. Brooks nor I ever thought the carol or the music to it would live beyond that Christmas of 1868."

Aren't we glad that Mr. Redner's original prediction didn't come true?

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is giv'n!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heav'n.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him, still
The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem!
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Immanuel.

Helping Others

Today I read a great article in the New York Times which documents various studies supporting the thesis that volunteerism helps the volunteer in many ways. Much research has been done in this area of altruism, and in every case the patients have better physical outcomes when they have participated in programs that focus on other hurting people:

“There’s no question that it gives life a greater meaning when we make this kind of shift in the direction of others and get away from our own self-preoccupation and problems,” said Stephen G. Post, director of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care and Bioethics at Stony Brook University on Long Island and a co-author of “Why Good Things Happen to Good People” (Broadway, 2007). “But it also seems to be the case that there is an underlying biology involved in all this. An array of studies have documented this effect. In one, a 2002 Boston College study, researchers found that patients with chronic pain fared better when they counseled other pain patients, experiencing less depression, intense pain and disability. Another study at the Buck Institute for Age Research in Novato, Calif., also found a strong benefit to volunteerism, and after controlling for a number of variables, showed that elderly people who volunteered for more than four hours a week were 44 percent less likely to die during the study period."

These are pretty amazing statistics, and should lead all of us to concentrate on helping others, for their sakes and ours. Sounds like a very biblical idea to me...

"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but the interests of others." (Phil 2:4)

We give ourselves away for the sake of others, and they are blessed, but somehow it works out well for us. A win-win situation!

Avoiding Detours

Yesterday's post discussed how God really does have a "level path" for us to travel, as evidenced in Psalm 27:11: "Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies." Paul David Tripp believes that we often steer off the narrow road because we are both impatient and disloyal. We don't want to wait to see God's plan for us to unfold, and, even worse, we're not even convinced that He knows best. This problem is exacerbated when we reach a crisis moment in our lives; we then slide down a slippery slope into dangerous waters.

"There is no time when this temptation (to impatience and disloyalty) is more powerful than when we are facing difficulty. This is exactly what the verse we are considering recognizes. When you are being hammered by the enemy, it's very tempting to debate within yourself as to whether God's way is the best way. It starts with bad attitudes. Perhaps you begin to doubt God, doubt his goodness, and question his love. Perhaps you give way to anger, impatience, and irritation. Or maybe you begin to allow yourself to envy. You wonder why the guy next to you has such an easy life, when yours is so hard.

These bad attitudes lead to bad habits. You quit praying because you reason that it doesn't seem to be doing any good. You stop reading your Bible because those promises don't seem to be coming true in your life. You quit attending your small group because you can't stand to hear the stories of God's love that others share, when your life is so hard. You even begin to give yourself reasons for missing the Sunday worship serve, reasons you once wouldn't have given yourself. Before too long there is a coldness and distance in your relationship with God that would have shocked you in the early days of your faith. Your difficulty has deceived you into thinking that you have reason for wandering off God's straight path, and your attitudes and habits have placed you on the dangerous side-paths of the kingdom of self."

My father taught me when I was young about the choice to obey: "There's an easy way, and a hard way." Isn't that the truth? Why do we always take the hard way? Why do we spurn God's teaching to just trust and obey? Why do we so often steer into the wide path of mistrusting Him, which only causes us misery? Let's take the easy way, God's way, and stay on the level path. Even though the right road for us might have some significant difficulties, it is still greatly to be preferred to detours that may lead us far away from Him.