You can make plenty of plans, but circumstances may superintend them all. We had planned so many things outdoors when we were to visit our son for the weekend. We did do one chore before it rained. On Friday evening before supper we plopped a fourteen foot section of telephone pole into a four foot hole and tamped in dirt until it was solid and plumb. It rained lightly thereafter, so we ate supper and played with our granddaughter. The next morning we tamped in a second pole to within six inches of surface level before the rain came. So, instead of more outdoor activity, we went to a Book Barn of used books in a warehouse. I found a few good reads. Between the periodic hard showers pelting on the metal roof, the hypnotic classical music, and the row upon row of books it was quite relaxing. That evening during supper we watched a nice PG movie. Sunday morning we were challenged by a sermon from Acts 4 on praising God for the bright and dark providences. I hope to make further comment on that at a later date. After a big lunch we talked a few more hours before driving 4 hours home. Times with family can be so short but so meaningful. I hope that it encouraged our son and daughter-in-law as much as it did us and made our granddaughter as happy as it did us. Click on “Little Visit” to see a few pictures.
Archive for April, 2023
A Quiet Weekend Visit
Posted in Delights, Family, Influence, Photo, tagged Family, Grandchildren, Visiting on April 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Bushwhacking Pond
Posted in General, Hike, Nature, Outdoors, Photo, Wildflowers, tagged Bushwhacking, Nature, Outdoors, Ridge walk, Wildflowers, Woods on April 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The day before “A Few Quick Miles“, I went on a hiking trip with a young friend from church with whom I had hiked “Through A Gorge” previously. I had actually wanted to do this hike for over thirty-five years. It is in an area now designated as Pond Mountain Wilderness Area. The draw for me was there were very few trails in the middle of this 6900-acre area. Going off trail can be challenging. I have numerous experiences with bushwhacking, some rewarding and some exhausting and very long. I have learned to avoid off trail in deep draws with creeks unless I have plenty of time, a specific goal, and a good exit strategy.* If you would like to see a few pictures of the trip, click on Pond Mountain.
*I should write a business plan based on bushwhacking.
A Few Quick Miles
Posted in Exercise, Family, General, Grandchildren, Nature, Outdoors, Photo, tagged Covered Bridge, Exercise, Family Time, Mountain Biking, Tweetsie Trail on April 19, 2023| 2 Comments »
A little too quick and more than one or two miles. My middle son and I went mountain biking this morning. Because there are several public trails nearby and one under the main road 1/2mile from his house, it is easy to get on multiple and various surfaces. This is the second time I have ridden with him. I have been trying to get into shape by riding a steep hill behind my house. It has increased my power, but riding with my son involves endurance. I am always lagging behind. So, I guess we keep it up and I will build endurance, too. If you can endure my pictures and commentary, check it out at Multiple Surfaces.
Infinitely Superlative
Posted in General, God Thoughts, God's Word, Person of Jesus, Piety, Praise, Reflection, Thanksgiving, Worship, tagged attributes of god, Characteristics of God, Scripture, What is God like? on April 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »
While listening to a radio preacher on the way to work a few weeks ago, he challenged his listeners to take a blank piece of paper and write on it as many single words as they could that come to mind when thinking about God. That evening I sat down in my rocking chair to do just that. Many words came to me. I soon realized that all of the words should be understood to be superlatives. For example, God is not merely knowing but all knowing. The next thought came that any word that was superlative should describe God. Immediately a caution flag arose in my conceptual vision. I should only use words that are either in Scripture or clearly describe ideas in Scripture. It took me about 40 minutes to make the majority of the list below. More words came in subsequent days as I read the Scriptures in my devotions or heard a sermon at church, on the radio, and online. You cannot tell which words were on the first 40-minute list because I decided to alphabetize them for the sake of making a study out of them. I further decided to separate out descriptive words from names of God. I hope that this list is useful to you in your thinking about and meditating on God. There was one difficulty in the exercise. I tried to limit myself to attributes of God’s character and not works He has done. Much of what we know about God through Scripture and the witness of Creation revolves around what God has done. Many of the attributes listed below concern what He does flowing from who He is. It is a fine distinction that I tried to adhere to.
As a suggestion, you might meditate on one word per day, looking up the verses listed. You could also look up cross references in the column of your Bible to find more related verses. As you consider the ideas, praise and thank God for being an excellent being in this area. Consider three things additionally: 1) How does this attribute of God modify or fortify my concept of who God is? 2) How does this concept increase my security in God and confidence for living for Him? 3) How does this idea about God increase my piety, both positively in godly living and negatively in mortifying the flesh and overcoming temptation?
| Able | Luke 3:8; Rom 4:21 | Perfect | Deut 32:4; Mt 5:48 | |
| Awesome | Deut 10:17 | Powerful | Psa 29:4 | |
| Beautiful | Isaiah 4:2 | Pure | 2Sam 22:27; Psa 19:8; 1Jn3:3 | |
| Caring | I Peter 5:7 | Real | Deut 4:35; Isa 44:8, 45:5 | |
| Communicative | Gen 35:13; Ps 50:1 | Relational | 1 Cor 1:9; 2 Cor 13:14; 1 Jn 1:3 | |
| Compassionate | Exo 34:6; Deut 4:31 | Reposed | Gen 2:1-3; Is 28:12 | |
| Condescending | Gen 16:13, 21:15-19; Isa 57:15 | Righteous | Deut 32:4; Psa 116:5; Acts 22:14 | |
| Discerning | Ps 138:6; 139:2 | Self-sufficient | Psa 50:10-12 | |
| Eternal | Dt 33:27; Isa 9:6; Jn8:58 | Shining | Ezek 8:2; 1 Jn 2:8; Rev 1:16 | |
| Exalted | Job 36:26; Psa 97:9; Acts 5:31 | Source | Deut 8:3-9; Heb 5:9; James 1:17 | |
| Faithful | Deut 7:9 ; Isa49:7; I Cor 10:13 | Sovereign | Psa 103:19;Dan 4:25,34-35, 5:21 | |
| Famous | Isaiah 66:19 | Strong | Job 9:19; 2 Sam 22:33 | |
| Forgiving | Num14:18 | Transcendent | I Kings 8:27;Job 37:23;Isa 57:15 | |
| Giving | Jam 1:17; Dt 8:18; Matt 5:45 | True | Jer 10:10; Jn 3:33, 17:3; 1 Th 1:9 | |
| Glorious | Exo 15:11, Psa 29:2,9 | Trustworthy | Psa 22:4-5 | |
| Good | I Chr 16:34; Ez 3:1;Mark 10:18 | Unsearchable | Job 5:9; Rom 11:33 | |
| Gracious | Neh 9:17; Psa 103:8 | Wise | Rom 11:33, 16:27;1Cor 1:26 | |
| Great | Exo 18:11; Deut 5:24,10:17 | Wonderful | Isa 9:6 | |
| Heavy | Psalm 32:4, see glory | Worthy | Psa 18:3; Rev 4:11, 5:12 | |
| Holy | Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8,154 | Wrathful | Lev 26:28; Nah 1:2 | |
| Honorable | Lev10:3; Dt28:58; Jn5:23 | Zealous | Joel 2:18; Zech 1:14-15 | |
| Infinite | Ps147:5; Eph3:18-19 | |||
| Intense (Fierce) | Num25:4; Jer30:24; Rev19:15 | Almighty | Gen 17:1; Job 40:2; Rev 1:8 | |
| Invisible | Col1:15; J n1:18 | Alpha | Rev 1:8, 21:6, 22:13 | |
| Jealous | Ex20:5; Nah1:2 | Creator | Eccl 12:1; Isa 40:28 | |
| Just | Dt32:4; Rom3:26 | Christ | Acts 10:38; 18:28 | |
| Kind | Ps145:17; Eph1:5 | Father | Psa 68:5; Jn 8:54; 1 Cor 8:6 | |
| Life | Gen2:7; Jn1:414:6; Rev20:4 | Jesus | Matt 1:,16,21; Phil 2:10 | |
| Longsuffering | Ex34:6; 2 Pt3:15 | Judge | Gen 15:14,18:25; Psa 7:11, 75:7 | |
| Lovely | Ps 84:1, 135:3 | Justifier | Isa 53:11; Rom 3:26,30 | |
| Lovingkindness | Ps 69:16; Jon4:2 | King | Psa 47:2,95:3; Mal 1:14;Rev15:3 | |
| Majestic | Ex15:11; Is33:21 | Lord | Gen 2:4,15:7; Ex 20:2;Acts 22:8 | |
| Merciful | Ps 86:15; Jam 5:11 | Omega | Rev 1:8, 21:6, 22:13 | |
| Mighty | Ps50:1; Is9:6 | Priest | Zech 6:13;Heb 3:1, 4:14, 5:6, 7:3 | |
| Moral | Lk23:41; 2Cor5:21; Jam1:13 | Prophet | Deut 18:15,18;Acts 3:13-23,7:37 | |
| Omnipotent | Job42:2; Eph1:18-22 | Protector | Psa 14:6, 46:1, 146:9 | |
| Omnipresent | Psa 139:7-12 | Provider | Psa 147:8, Eph 3:20 | |
| Omniscient | Job34:4,21; Psa 33:13; 1Jn3:20 | Redeemer | Job 19:25 | |
| Patient | 2 Pt3:9,15; 1 Tim1:16 | Savior | Isa 43:3,11, 47:4 Jer 50:34 | |
| Spirit | Gen1:2;Jn14:16,16:13;Rom8:11 |
Real Life
Posted in Assurance, Faith, Freedom, God Thoughts, Justification, Piety, Resurrection, tagged Faith, Life, Resurrection, Victorious living on April 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Christ is risen, He is risen indeed. May you have a blessed Resurrection Day and recall the benefits of Christ’s resurrection more in the coming year.
When we think of real life, it is usually to opine about the difficulties and discouragements of the daily mundane, stressful accidents, and unpleasant interactions of our lives so different from out desired and naive perceptions at an earlier time. We must live with and grow through these experiences, but that is not the type of real life to which I refer.
In the sermon this morning, the elder preached from Romans 4:23-25, of which verse 25 says, “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.” He pointed out from this and other Scriptures that the resurrection is a necessary part of the Gospel, the good news about salvation. “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.” (I Corinthians 15:14) Our justification was completed in Christ’s resurrection. I am not going to repreach his sermon, but if you are interested, it will be posted at https://www.christbiblechurchkingsport.com/media/ .
Rather, in the light of this sermon, the pastor closed the service urging us to go and live, quoting Romans 6:11: “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
The wheels of my mind and my spirit began to whirl with thoughts concerning what this means. We as Christians define many words biblically which is different than the world. For example, The world ever increasingly defines freedom as license to do what the individual wants to do. Some will realize the folly of this unbridled license and add ‘if it doesn’t hurt anyone’. Christian freedom is wholly different. Biblical freedom is the enabling of God in the believer to do what is right, which will be both glorifying to God and right for others as well as beneficial to the believer.
In a similar fashion, life is usually considered to be the ability to exist, survive, or even thrive in a way agreeable to the individual. But life in the biblical sense is a progression toward more of God and less of me (John 3:30). There are only two perspectives in the world: Unbelief and belief in the truth. Those who reject the Triune God and the salvation He provides are in daily existence trending ever more deeply into death (Romans 6:23a). Believers trend daily toward life as they believe and act on biblical truth. When the pastor said go and live, I understood him to mean that we should believe in the resurrection as our justification and live victoriously in it. That will mean both rejecting what is not right, piety, and striving for what is good and glorifying to God. “Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1)… circumspectly, victoriously, publicly. He is risen! Live for Him and by Him.
Posterity and Sibling Visit
Posted in Birthday, Family, General, Grandchildren, tagged Birthday Outing, Family, Grandchildren, Siblings on April 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »
My grandchildren are adorable. Well, I am a bit biased, but I am probably supposed to be. My wife and I got to spend half of our Saturday with seven grandchildren and their parents. Then we went out to eat for her sister’s birthday. It was quite the full day and good day. Check it out at Grins and Giggles.
CreatorWorship 