Looks like I got my Mangini wish: Browns Introduce Mangini. I hope it was not a foolish wish.

Is Mark Dever done with his sabbatical? Here is a recent article on pastoral prayer: A Village Church with a Village God.

David, aka The Thristy Theologian, tells us the story of Thomas Chalmers' conversion.

This is a touching story: Calvin: A Brief Life. (HT: Tim Chester)

What a contrast between the story of Calvin and the horror behind this article by Dr. Mohler: A Chilling Account

Not much else out there in blogworld. I leave you with this...try not to let it get stuck in your head. Thanks to Ethan and Nick for pointing out this little gem:

Author: Cathleen Lewis

Pages: 242 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Price: 16.49

Genre: Biography

Quick Summary:

Rather than going into a detailed description of Rex's life watch this video it tells the story of Rex.



This book is that story.

What I Liked:

Cathleen Lewis is a great writer. She describes the events with such detail and precision that you can feel this story. Speaking of the frustration of being kept away as doctors were strolling her newborn toward ICU Lewis describes it thus: “I lunged behind the bed as they hurried past, my reflexes sharpened by a potent cocktail of anxiety and love”. Such eloquent writing is throughout the book.

Yet, Rex is not merely well written, it is also raw, gritty, and real. You can feel the mother’s heart breaking each time news is given of how difficult life is going to be for her son. I found myself sharing in the author’s anger and bewilderment at the broken school systems. This book shows raw emotion: you can sense the underlying anger at the husband that abandoned her, the constant battle of “why God”, the pride of seeing her son perform, and a deep sense of what a mother’s love really is. What a great book, I found myself not able to put it down! I hope she writes another book as Rex grows more.

What I Disliked:

Perhaps a fitting “sequel” would be a real look at Cathleen’s faith during such a time. As you read this book you sense that God is there and that her faith is real. However, it seems as if God is in the background and that her view of Him is more of a magical genie. Then you read the last chapter and realize this is not the case at all. You see that her faith is much deeper, more grounded, and quite real. I would like to read a book with God in the foreground and Rex in the background. I understand the aim of this book and it very much serves its purpose, yet, after reading that last chapter I think there is a story in here that is yet to be told.

Should You Buy It?

I most certainly would suggest it to anyone. It’s such a well put together book and a wonderful story of God’s grace, a mother’s love, and how much we really can get through. It’s a great book.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Colin Adams supplies a handy 10 item list of what you can pray for your pastor.

Jared from The Gospel-Driven Church shares his Calvinism that is counter-culture to Calvinism. If he's correct I think I might be counter-cultural too.

Great article from Ray Ortlund concerning the biblical illterate culture that has sprang up in the church ON OUR WATCH.

In other news my hands a freezing in my cold office.

I like this quote from Tim Keller: What is the Gospel?

This is interesting. I've never thought of this before. Jay Adams considers the doctrine of Traducianism and explains why it matters. If you are as confused by the title as I was perhaps you should check it out.

Preachers, do you ever get afraid that this is the way you come across?

The congregation at Ridgeview Community Church was not amused when church organist Ed Hudson “Rickrolled” them.

I think my wife is a Calvinist too:

Thursday will be our son's first birthday. Hard to believe. Here is the invitation we made for his first birthday:

Make a Smilebox greeting

Remedy #8 and Devices

"By representing to the soul the outward mercies that vain men enjoy, and the outward miseries that they are freed from, whilst they have walked in the ways of sin."

In a perfect world bad things would happen to bad people and good things would happen to people that aren't quite so bad. Or at least that is the way we envision it should be. A common device that Satan uses is to point out the seemingly joyous exuberance of a man in a hellish condition whereas he makes our own personal discontentedness stick out like a sore thumb. In other words Satan confuses us into thinking that "following Christ simply doesn't work, look at the happiness of that man that does not follow Christ, what say you?" For remedies consider that:

• No man knows how the heart of God stands by his hand.
• There is nothing in the world that doth so provoke God to be wroth and angry, as men's taking encouragement from God's goodness and mercy to do wickedly.
• There is no greater misery in this life, than not to be in misery; no greater affliction, than not to be afflicted.
• That the wants of wicked men, under all their outward mercy and freedom from adversity, is far greater than all their outward enjoyments. [In other words they are never satisfied]
• That outward things are not as they seem and are esteemed.
• The end and the design of God in heaping up mercy upon the heads of the wicked, and in giving them...rest and quiet from those sorrows and suffering that others sigh under.
• That God doth often most plague and punish those whom others think he doth most spare and love.
• To dwell more upon that strict account that vain men must make for all that good that they do enjoy.

Quick Thoughts:

Brooks' point is really rather simple: Things are not as they seem. To look at the happiness of a man without Christ is to look at a mirage. Even if the Lord has given him this mercy it will soon fade. Often the happiness that is outward is only a mask for the deep pain that is inward. The man apart from Christ is never satisfied, and though he have all of this outward mercy he is still not fulfilled. Rather than focusing on the mirage of the lost man I would have rather Brooks' compared the glories of this world to the glory of heaven. Nevertheless, his points are effective.

Extracted Elixir's:

"No man knoweth either love or hatred by outward mercy or misery; for all things come alike to all, to the righteous and the unrighteous, to the good and the bad, to the clean and the unclean." (72)

"To render good for evil is divine, to render good for good is human, to render evil for evil is brutish; but to render evil for good is devilish; and from this evil deliver my soul, O God." (73)

"What is honor, and riches, and the favor of creatures, so long as I [lack] the favor of God, the pardon of my sins, an interest in Christ, and the hopes of glory! O Lord, give me these, or I die; give me these, or else I shall eternally die." (75)

Okay, I'm stretching the "ish" to a couple of weeks. I hope to get back to regular linkage soon. I hope you like the new Borrowed Light.

Dan Phillips introduces us to a new word: Sarkicophobia. I know...it sounds boring, but it's really not. Be sure to read this one.

What a quote from Cornelius Plantinga. Thanks to Of First Importance for this one.

If you need a visual picture of the number of abortions since 1973 then the Mississippi Baptist Covention has supplied one: see here.

This is the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin. In honor Reformation 21 will be blogging through Calvin's Institutes. You can check out that blog here.

John Piper offers 9 Ways to Pray for your Soul.

Justin Taylor compiles suggestions on meditating on God's Word.

Is God's discipline teaching or chastisement? Mounce answers here.

And apparently this one is a good one, have yet to read it but everybody and their mom is linking to it. So, I'll just give the usual HT: to JT. Carl Trueman wonders why there are never enough parking spaces at the prostrate clinic.

This isn't a link but a final question for my football fan readers. Who do you think the Brownies will get as their GM and Head Coach? I'm pulling for Mangini as the HC.

Thanks to Brian for showing me this gem: