Category Archives: Christian Life

When God doesn’t deliver

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In the wake of the horrible tragedy that occurred recently when a gunman entered a movie theater and opened fire, some remarkable testimonies of God’s providential deliverance have emerged. So you STILL think God is a merciful God? tells how the author and her children escaped the theater unharmed. A Miracle Inside the Aurora Shooting: One Victim’s Story relates how a bullet entered one victim’s brain through a previously undiscovered birth defect, causing the bullet to miss the brain itself.

Of course, some will attribute the circumstances to happenstance or luck. But others wonder, why does God deliver some but not others?

In Rosalind Goforth’s book How I Know God Answers Prayer, one chapter details the miraculous bur harrowing account of her family’s deliverance during the horrors of the Boxer rebellion in China in the 1900s. She says:

Many times we were asked in the homeland to tell the story of our escape during the Boxer uprising, and often the question was put, “If it was really God’s power that saved you and others on that journey, then why did He not save those of His children who were so cruelly put to death?” For a time this question troubled me. Why indeed? One day when seeking for light on the matter I was directed to Acts 12. There I found the only answer that can be given. We are told in verse 2 that James was put to death by the sword; then the rest of the chapter is given to the detailed record of Peter’s wonderful deliverance in answer to prayer (vv. 5, 12).

She goes on to say that a great many people were praying for them and that undoubtedly had a lot to do with their deliverance.

But some pray and are prayed for, yet still die or suffer. What then?

Hebrews 11, that great “Hall of Faith” passage tells of many marvelous things God wrought through the faith of His people. But then verses 36-38 take a turn from all that deliverance and provision and answered prayer:

And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

Why were these not delivered? The text doesn’t say, but they are commended just the same as the others: “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect” (vv.39-40).

In the New Testament, John the Baptist was beheaded. Stephen was stoned. James was killed. Layton Talbert asserts:

But martyrdom is no less providential than deliverance, and the martyrdom of these men was as providentially superintended by God as was the martyrdom of His own Son. Such deaths are neither a failure on God’s part nor a victory on Satan’s. They are a part of the outworking of God’s all-wise and always good purposes. (Not By Chance: Learning to Trust a Sovereign God, page 198).

He goes on to relate:

You have probably heard that “the safest place to be is in the center of God’s will.” A veteran missionary to Colombia, South America, once explained how experience and personal Bible study led him to modify that saying. “The most fulfilling, joyful, and peaceful place to be is in the center of God’s will,” he concluded. “But it is not necessarily the safest.” This is not heresy — unless we measure orthodoxy by conformity to cliche rather than to Biblical realism. (p. 198).

The quote is taken from the article “Peace, if not safety,” and the missionary, Timothy A. McKeown, goes on to make these statements, also quoted in Not By Chance:

It seems to me that the Bible is full of examples of God’s people often-not occasionally-being placed in unsafe, uncomfortable, and dangerous situations.

Most prayers in Scripture focus not on the personal safety and benefit of believers but on the power, majesty, testimony, and victory of God over his-and, of course, our-enemies.

The Lord calls us to obedience in spite of the “costs”-not to personal comfort and safety!

Dr. Talbert continues:

Our death is as much a matter of providence as our life. It may seem tragic or ignominious or accidental. But God’s providence rules over the tragedy, the ignominy, and yes, even accidents. Moreover, we must labor to think God’s thoughts, to maintain God’s perspective (p. 199).

He goes on to point out that the deaths of John the Baptist, Stephen, and James were not the end of them, in two senses. 1) They go on to life in heaven with God, our true and ultimate home, and 2) their influence and testimony continue on.  This is true in our times as well, as illustrated by Jim Elliot and the other four missionaries who were killed by the tribe they were trying to reach, Gracia Burnham’s husband, and any saint of God.

In On Asking God Why by Elisabeth Elliot, she included a chapter called “On Brazen Heavens” written by her brother, Thomas Howard. After describing times when God has not answered prayer, at least not as the person praying wanted, he says:

Turning again to the disclosure of God in Scripture, we seem to see that, in his economy, there is no slippage. Nothing simply disappears. No sparrow falls without his knowing (and, one might think, caring) about it. No hair on anybody’s head is without its number. Oh, you say, that’s only a metaphor; it’s not literal. A metaphor of what, then, we might ask. Is the implication there that God doesn’t keep tabs on things?

And so we begin to think about all our prayers and vigils and fastings and abstinences, and the offices and sacraments of the Church, that have gone up to the throne in behalf of the sufferer. They have vanished, as no sparrow, no hair, has ever done. Hey, what about that?

And we know that this is false. It is nonsense. All right then–we prayed, with much faith or with little; we searched ourselves; we fasted; we anointed and laid on hands; we kept vigil. And nothing happened.

Did it not? What angle of vision are we speaking from? Is it not true that again and again in the biblical picture of things, the story has to be allowed to finish?

Was it not the case with Lazarus’ household at Bethany, and with the two en route to Emmaus? And is it not the case with the Whole Story, actually–that it must be allowed to finish, and that this is precisely what the faithful have been watching for since the beginning of time? In the face of suffering and endurance and loss and waiting and death, what is it that has kept the spirits of the faithful from flagging utterly down through the millennia? Is it not the hope of Redemption? Is it not the great Finish to the Story–and to all their little stories of wandering about in sheepskins and goatskins as well as to the One Big Story of the whole creation, which is itself groaning and waiting? And is not that Finish called glorious? Does it not entail what amounts to a redoing of all that has gone wrong, and a remaking of all that is ruined, and a finding of all that has been lost in the shuffle, and an unfolding of it all in a blaze of joy and splendor?

A finding of all that is lost? All sparrows, and all petitions and tears and vigils and fastings? Yes, all petitions and tears and vigils and fastings.

“But where are they? The thing is over and done with. He is dead. They had no effect.”

Hadn’t they? How do you know what is piling up in the great treasury kept by the Divine Love to be opened in that Day? How do you know that this death and your prayers and tears and fasts will not together be suddenly and breathtakingly displayed, before all the faithful, and before angels and archangels, and before kings and widows and prophets, as gems in that display? Oh no, don’t speak of things being lost. Say rather that they are hidden–received and accepted and taken up into the secrets of the divine mysteries, to be transformed and multiplied, like everything else we offer to him–loaves and fishes, or mites, or bread and wine–and given back to you and to the one for whom you kept vigil, in the presence of the whole host of men and angels in a hilarity of glory as unimaginable to you in your vigil as golden wings are to the worm in the chrysalis.

There may be any number of reasons why someone faces death without actually dying. Many who have done so have testified it gave them a new sense of purpose. But as to the question, why does God deliver some people from death and not others, we can’t really know the answers. Even those who were delivered will have to face death another time. All we can do is trust that God has His purposes in what He allows.

But God never promises that all His people will comfortably live the American Dream for 80+years. One of the lessons in such tragedies as the one in Aurora is that truly we never know what a day may bring forth and we’re not promised another breath. We need to be ready to face our Maker. “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (I John 5:11-12).

Book Review: The Silver Chair

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Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge

Reading to Know - Book Club

I read The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis for the Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge and the book club choice for July sponsored by Carrie at Reading to Know.

I’m reading the Narnia books in the order in which they were first published, and The Silver Chair comes fourth, just after The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (linked to my thoughts.)

The book opens with Eustace from that book (though by now Eustace is “not a bad sort,” having changed from the negative, complaining boy he used to be) and schoolmate Jill Pole dealing with some bullies in the school. As Eustace tries to tell Jill about Narnia, they wonder if maybe they could ask to be taken there. Then they hear the bullies pursuing, make a run for a gate in a wall, and find themselves suddenly somewhere else. Eustace ends up falling over a cliff while trying to help Jill keep from doing so, but Aslan rescues him by sending him to land.

Jill is frightened by Aslan at first. She’s dreadfully thirsty, but Aslan is beside the stream, and Jill is hesitant to go forward. He invites her to come and drink. She wants to look for another stream, but he tells her there is no other. Parts of this conversation recall the invitation from Christ to come and drink and the fact that there is no other stream of living water that can be had other than His.

Jill does finally trust Aslan enough to come and drink. After dealing with her about her part in Eustace’s fall, Aslan gives her a task for the both of them but says it will be harder because of her actions. She and Eustace must find and bring home the young prince Rillian, Caspian’s son, who has been missing for ten years. Aslan gives Jill four signs and makes her memorize them, then sends her off to join Eustace.

She quickly “muffs” the first sign, which makes their task even harder than it would have been. With the help of some owls and Puddleglum, a Marsh-wiggle, they set off to find the prince. They are sent the wrong way by what seems to be a beautiful woman and a silent knight, run into some trouble with the next two signs, brush against great danger at a giant’s castle, and end up searching through an underground world to find a seemingly silly young man who has to be tied to a silver chair every evening during a fit of insanity. Or is that when he is truly sane?

Though I missed the Pevensie children, I did enjoy this foray back to Narnia. A repeated theme throughout the book seems to center around obedience and trust. When they don’t follow the first signs, their task gets that much harder. Then when things come to a crisis and the final sign seems to be before them, yet the circumstances are not what they thought they would be, Puddleglum says, “There are no accidents. Our guide is Aslan…and he knew already all things that would” happen, and “Aslan didn’t tell Pole what would happen. He only told her what to do.”

Besides those already mentioned, there are other Biblical allusions, among them, the reminder from Aslan about how important it was to keep reminding oneself of his word, and his remark, when Jill wonders how he could have been calling them when they were the ones looking for a way to Narnia, “You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you.” Though at first they fall into trouble by being more concerned with creature comforts, getting to a place where they could get in out of the elements, rest, and eat, though that place was a place of danger to them, later on they’re delivered from great temptation and disaster by reminding themselves of Aslan’s words and the bedrock truth they know.

I enjoyed some of the veiled humor sprinkled throughout the book as well, often aimed at the children’s school, known as the “Experiment House.” The best of those lines was when “the Head’s friends saw that the Head was no use as a Head, so they got her made into an Inspector to interfere with other Heads. And when they found out she wasn’t much good even at that, they got her into Parliament where she lived happily ever after.”

I also read the chapter pertaining to The Silver Chair from The Way Into Narnia (linked to my thoughts. I had read it last year except for the chapters specific to the books I hadn’t read yet. It’s a great Narnian resource). He pointed out something that hadn’t dawned on me in the structure of the story, that it takes descending steps and then ascending steps. He felt the theme was freedom and obedience, or freedom through obedience, and I think I’d agree.

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

Discernment

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I was dismayed recently, when reading through the comments on a somewhat controversial blog post, to see that when one commenter tried to bring the Scriptures to bear on the topic, he was called legalistic and judgmental (and this by other professing Christians.)

Conversely, the Bible says the Bereans “were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:10). Searching through the Scripture to see if what was being said lined up with what was there was considered a noble thing.

A couple of nights ago, the evening reading from Daily Light on the Daily Path contained several verses on this topic:

The ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat. Job 34:3

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. I John 4:1

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. John 7:24

I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. I Corinthians 10:15.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. Colossians 3:16a

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith. Revelation 2:29

He that is spiritual judgeth all things. I Corinthians 2:15a

Take heed what ye hear. Mark 4:24a

I know thy works, … and how thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars. Revelation 2:2

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. I Thessalonians 5:21

Several of those verses that speak of judging. Someone might say, “Whoa, wait a minute…I thought we weren’t supposed to judge.” That’s one of the most misunderstood concepts from the Bible. We’re not supposed to judge in the sense of condemning someone on the assumption that we know what what their motives are, condemning someone’s actions that might be different from ours when there is not a Scriptural principle involved, acting as if we’re superior in some way, etc. But to exercise discernment, to judge whether this or that statement or action is in line with Scripture (especially when the one saying or doing says it is but seems to be a little off-base) is another thing entirely.

According to a Greek lexicon the word used for “judgeth” in Acts 17:11 and I Cor. 2:14-15 quoted above means:

examine or judge

  1. to investigate, examine, enquire into, scrutinise, sift, question
    1. specifically in a forensic sense of a judge to hold an investigation
    2. to interrogate, examine the accused or witnesses
  2. to judge of, estimate, determine (the excellence or defects of any person or thing

I’ve linked back to some of the other definitions in the verses themselves so as not to be too lengthy here.

Sometimes what another person advocates won’t seem major, but as one pastor put it, if you’re taking a trip and start off on the right path, and then turn just ten degrees the wrong direction, it won’t look like a big difference at first, but if you keep going you’ll find yourself way off course.

Of course, there are some areas where Christians can have differences of opinion and practice, where the Bible doesn’t speak directly or in clear principle, and we should allow each other the grace to do so (Romans 14). But many today are taking Christian liberty to mean “I can do whatever I want and other Christians shouldn’t judge me for it,” when Romans 14 teaches the exact opposite, the reigning in of one’s freedom so as not to cause others to stumble. And even the premise there is wrong: we’re not free to do “whatever we want” as Christians.

I was stunned recently when a blogger I read and love linked to another’s post advocating a certain position that is controversial in the church today, and the author of this post effectively swept away all the New Testament arguments against her position by saying the N. T. is about attitudes rather than rules. That should raise a number of red flags to any discerning reader.

The Bible has many warnings against false prophets. Paul warns that it is not just those from the outside, but even some from within the church will lead some astray: “ For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20: 29-30). But he goes on to say in v. 30, “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”

Soak in the Word of God. Hold it to a higher esteem than anyone else’s words. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom” Colossians 3:16a.

For more on this topic, see also:

Tension.
Controversies.
Analyzing vs. criticizing.
Just what does “judge not” mean, anyway?
Does niceness really matter?
Doctrine.

The Perfect Wisdom

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Our church uses the same hymn for an opening for several weeks/months in a row, and just recently we started using the song “The Perfect Wisdom.” Around the same time the Galkin Evangelistic Team‘s CD, By Faith, came out with that song as its third track. I’ve about worn my CD out replaying that song. It is all wonderful, but the part that stood out to me the most at first was the last six lines.

The perfect wisdom of our God,
Revealed in all the universe:
All things created by His hand,
And held together at His command.
He knows the mysteries of the seas,
The secrets of the stars are His;
He guides the planets on their way,
And turns the earth through another day.

The matchless wisdom of His ways,
That mark the path of righteousness;
His word a lamp unto my feet,
His Spirit teaching and guiding me.
And oh, the mystery of the cross,
That God should suffer for the lost
So that the fool might shame the wise,
And all the glory might go to Christ!

Oh grant me wisdom from above,
To pray for peace and cling to love,
And teach me humbly to receive
The sun and rain of Your sovereignty.
Each strand of sorrow has a place
Within this tapestry of grace;
So through the trials I choose to say:
“Your perfect will in your perfect way.”

~ Words & Music by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

I Run to Christ

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I’ve posted this text before, but its inclusion on the new Wilds CD, A Living Sacrifice, has it in my mind again.

I run to Christ when chased by fear
And find a refuge sure.
“Believe in me,” His voice I hear;
His words and wounds secure.

I run to Christ when torn by grief
And find abundant peace.
“I too had tears,” He gently speaks;
Thus joy and sorrow meet.

_____

I run to Christ when worn by life
And find my soul refreshed.
“Come unto Me,” He calls through strife;
Fatigue gives way to rest.

I run to Christ when vexed by hell
And find a mighty arm.
“The Devil flees,” the Scriptures tell;
He roars, but cannot harm.

_____

I run to Christ when stalked by sin
And find a sure escape.
“Deliver me,” I cry to Him;
Temptation yields to grace.

I run to Christ when plagued by shame
And find my one defense.
“I bore God’s wrath,” He pleads my case—
My Advocate and Friend.

Words by Chris Anderson
Music by Greg Habeggar
Reprinted with permission

You can peruse more of Chris and Greg’s hymns at their web site, Church Works Media. Notes on the text to this hymn are here and you can listen to a choral version of it here.

May you run to Christ for any and every need, large or small.

Shadow and Coolness

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It’s supposed to get up into the 100s today. I am so glad for air conditioning! But the forecasted high temperatures reminded me of this poem. Amy Carmichael was a missionary in India for most of her adult life. The inspiration for this poem came as a result of the heat in India and the refreshing coolness to be found in the shadow, plus the story of the Israelites being led by the pillow of fire by night and the pillar of cloud by day in the book of Exodus.

I Follow Thee

Shadow and coolness, Lord,
Art Thou to me;
Cloud of my soul, lead on,
I follow Thee.
What though the hot winds blow,
Fierce heat beats up below?
Fountains of water flow –
Praise, praise to Thee.

Clearness and glory, Lord,
Art Thou to me;
Light of my soul, lead on,
I follow Thee.
All through the moonless night,
Making its darkness bright,
Thou art my heavenly Light –
Praise, praise to Thee.

Shadow and shine art Thou,
Dear Lord, to me;
Pillar of cloud and fire,
I follow Thee.
What though the way be long,
In Thee my heart is strong,
Thou art my joy, my song –
Praise, praise to Thee.

Come Holy Spirit

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I was listening the the music shuffling through my iPhone this morning and this song came on via Brian Pinner’s CD, Cantate Domino (he has it there as “Breathing After the Holy Spirit.”) I love this melody. I hadn’t heard it in years, but it spoke to my heart this morning. I believe it is taken from or inspired by Romans 5:5 (NKJV): “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove,
With all Thy quick’ning powers;
Kindle a flame of sacred love
In these cold hearts of ours.

Look how we grovel here below,
Fond of these trifling toys;
Our souls can neither fly nor go
To reach eternal joys.

In vain we tune our formal songs,
In vain we strive to rise;
Hosannas languish on our tongues,
And our devotion dies.

Dear Lord! and shall we ever live
At this poor dying rate?
Our love so faint, so cold to Thee,
And Thine to us so great!

Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove,
With all Thy quick’ning powers;
Come, shed abroad the Savior’s love
And that shall kindle ours.

~ Isaac Watts, 1707

Book Review: Raising Real Men

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I first became aware of this book through the M.O.B (Mothers of Boys) Society web site.* I enjoy Hal and Melanie’s occasional columns there, usually full of wisdom and practical insight, as they are raising six boys themselves.

The premise of Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching, and Appreciating Boys by Hal and Melanie Young is that what society and moms find negative about boys is part of what defines them as men and should be trained rather than squelched. For instance, a natural bent toward leadership in a pint-sized immature young boy with a sin nature will look bossy and controlling. Risk-taking in a young guy will look like recklessness. The goal is to develop those qualities in a right way rather than just squashing them. And moms in particular, who prefer peaceful, docile children, need to understand that boys act, think, and respond differently. That doesn’t mean we let them run rampant: too often destructive behavior is excused  with a “That’s just the way boys are” attitude. But we pray for them, teach them, train them, lead them to the Lord, and help them, with God’s help, to become mature young men.

The Youngs discuss various aspects of this training, from acceptable risk-taking, competition, heroes, dealing with violence, purity, money matters, work ethics and experience, differences in learning, chivalry, gender roles, household duties, preparing for marriage and careers, and transitions as boys mature.

Here are a few quotes from the book that stood out to me:

God has placed in our boys a desire to be in charge, because one day they will be in charge. Today’s boys will be the fathers, and bosses, and elders, and statesmen of tomorrow. We’ve got to teach them how to submit to authority without destroying their leadership (p. 24).

Adults sometimes equate a desire for adventure with immaturity and recklessness. The Bible makes a distinction and so should we. The desire to conquer, to win against the odds, to do great things — these can be admirable ambitions. The willingness to pit one’s nerve against an unsettling foe is frequently called for in Scripture…On the other hand, overconfidence and rashness is soundly criticized (p. 48).

Our boys should be active and adventurous, but careful of themselves at the ultimate extreme, understanding that life is a gift and their bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. To risk life meaninglessly is foolishness; note that God’s gifts of boldness and courage are not for self-fulfillment or entertainment but for greater service to Him (p. 53).

Every family has some way they can teach their sons to be faithfully independent in a step-by-step way….It doesn’t seem fair to keep sons under constant instruction and supervision, with no chance to stand on their own, then give them complete responsibility and freedom when they come of age…Think of it like teaching a baby to walk — first you hold their hands, then you stand just a bit away, then farther away. If they stumble, you can catch them — to a point (p. 63).

When God asked Adam and Eve [questions], He wasn’t looking for information; He was forcing them to confront their fall from innocence (pp. 89-90).

This is the difficultly with “time-out” punishments that focus on exclusion from the fellowship of the family. Exclusionary punishments send the child away from the love and wisdom of his parents to brood in a corner, feeling angry and sorry for themselves in the lack of discipline and teaching. The fear of abandonment and rejection is deep in a small child. How much better to correct the sin and heal the broken fellowship quickly! (p. 91).

It was especially gratifying to read someone else saying that about “time-outs.” I had always felt that they weren’t the best way to discipline. There were some times we sent a child to his room to wait while we got our emotions under control (and gave them time to do the same) or prayed or thought about what to do. If they were sometimes in a bad mood that wouldn’t be rectified (boys have their “moods” as well as girls), we’d say something like, “If you want to be in a bad mood, that’s up to you, but you’re not going to inflict it on the rest of the family. You can go to your room til you’re feeling more sociable.” Usually it didn’t take long for a change in attitude to come. But where definite disciple is needed, it’s so much better to deal with it effectively and get it over with.

To me the heart and summation of the book came at the end:

Our boys need to be comfortable in their own skins. Not all men are athletes just like not all are intellectuals. Manliness is much more than brute force, it’s a heart attitude of confidence and boldness to accomplish the mission given by God (p. 243).

There were maybe a couple of minor things I disagreed with: one equated shyness with selfishness. I believe shyness is a personalty characteristic and not intrinsically selfish, but it can manifest itself in selfishness. Being an intensely shy person myself, the realization that my responses could hurt or offend people or curb ministry to them helped me a great deal in opening up and reaching out when I’d naturally feel more comfortable pulling back and remaining quiet.

The book almost assumes its readers are home-schoolers, but that is probably because the Youngs home school and are writing from their experience, and much of the book came from talks given to home school associations and such. But one does not have to home school to benefit from the book.

When I was growing up, fathers were quite authoritarian: nowadays the pendulum has swung to the other extreme and fathers are portrayed on TV as bumbling fools and “manhood” is looked down upon. As a mom of three grown boys, I am glad to recommend this balanced treatment on the topic with its encouragement to raise real, godly men to authentic Biblical manhood.

___________
*Disclaimer: While I recommend the M.O.B. Society web site, I do not agree with every little thing every writer there says nor with every ad there.

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

Book Review: Feminine Appeal

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Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney came about when several people heard her teach through Titus 2 and urged her to put her talks into book form.

In the first chapter she shares her early wife and mothering years of wishing she had someone to come alongside and teach, guide, ask questions of, etc., and then explains that’s exactly what Titus 2 calls us to do.

I appreciate that instead of pulling these verses out to stand on their own, she brings out them out in the context of the rest of the chapter. The purposes for godly women mentoring younger women goes beyond our individual homes and families: the larger purpose is that such teaching “becomes” (KJV) or “accords with” (ESV) “sound doctrine” (verse 1), “that the word of God be not blasphemed” (verse 5), “that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you”, (verse 8), and “that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things” (verse 10). She explains that “To ‘adorn’ means to put something beautiful or attractive on display — like placing a flawless gemstone in a setting that uniquely shows off its brilliance” (p. 27). By our actions and conduct, even how we minster to our homes and families, we can display the gospel of Christ.

She then delineates the teaching of Titus 2:3-5 into seven virtues, giving each of them their own chapter:

  • The Delight of Loving My Husband
  • The Blessings of Loving My Children
  • The Safety of Self-Control
  • The Pleasure of Purity
  • The Honor of Working at Home
  • The Rewards of Kindness
  • The Beauty of Submission

Though much of the book is directed to married women, Carolyn encourages single women to read along, too, both because much of this instruction is to all women, and because it will help prepare them if God does lead them to marriage, and it will help them as they mentor and encourage other women as well.

There was much that spoke to me in this book, but a few highlights particularly stood out. One was a reminder that “While the salvation of our children is our highest aim, our tender love is not sufficient for this task. Only the Holy Spirit is able to reveal the truth of the gospel. However, our tender love can be an instrument in God’s hands” (p. 61).

Another came from the chapter on self-control.

“Self-control doesn’t just happen. We can’t adopt the indifferent attitude ‘let go and let God’ and expect magically to become self-controlled. Self-control requires effort. However, development of this quality is not solely dependent on us. We cannot acquire this virtue by our own strength. It is only as we cooperate with the power of the Holy Spirit that we will achieve self-control, Our growth will take place as it did with Paul who said, ‘For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me’ (Col. 1:29). Notice that Paul did toil and struggle, but his effort was initiated and sustained by the Holy Spirit.”

I wrote recently about the struggle between grace and obedience, and this caps those thoughts off perfectly.

I hadn’t heard the word the KJV uses here, “sober,” interpreted as self-control before, but other versions use that word, and the original Greek word does convey that idea.

Another highlight was a quote from Dorothy Patterson’s book Where’s Mom?:

“Much of the world would agree that being a housekeeper is acceptable as long as you are not caring for your own home; treating men with attentive devotion would also be right as long as the man is the boss in the office and not your husband; caring for children would even be deemed heroic service for which presidential awards could be given as long as the children are someone else’s and not your own” (p. 102).

Absurd, isn’t it? I was thinking recently that most everyone appreciates good marriages, well-behaved polite and kind children, and walking into a well-ordered home, yet how ironic that society devalues the efforts of those dedicated to them.

Another quote from the same book says:

Homemaking — being a full-time wife and mother — is not a destructive drought of uselessness but an overflowing oasis of opportunity; it is not a dreary cell to contain one’s talents and skills but a brilliant catalyst to channel creativity and energies into meaningful work” (p. 109).

After receiving many of the truths in this book multiple times over the years through godly teaching and preaching, good books, and my own studies, there wasn’t much that was new to me here, and perhaps anticipation of that is what kept this book on my nightstand for ages before I finally determined to include it in my spring reading plans. But it’s good to remind ourselves from time to time of truths we already know. We can get discouraged in our duties or sway one way or another, pulled off-balance by differing opinions and philosophies. Reading such a book as this provides both encouragement and course correction.

Whether you need encouragement or reminding, or you’ve never received such instruction as this, or you need help knowing how to mentor others, I recommend this book to you.

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

Book Review: It Is Not Death to Die: A New Biography of Hudson Taylor

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(I hope you’ll forgive me for talking mostly about books the last two weeks. 🙂 I happened to finish several recently and I’m trying to finish off my spring reading plans.)

I’ve mentioned before the importance of reading missionary biographies, for our own growth and inspiration and to keep before us those names in church history that need to be remembered just like Washington, Lincoln, and others need to be remembered in our secular history.

Hudson Taylor is one of those names for several reasons. He was a pioneer missionary to China in the 1800s during a time when China was especially hostile and suspicious of foreigners. He wanted to convert people to Christ in their own culture rather than converting them to Western culture. He dressed as a Chinaman, much to the dismay and criticism of the overseas European community and even other missionaries, simply because he found that the most effective way to work with the Chinese. A missionary coming into a town dressed as a European was likely to be attacked and cause a riot. He suffered much hardship uncomplainingly and purposefully lived as simple a life as possible. He did not set out to start a mission agency, but the agency which sent him out failed miserably: they failed to advise or prepare him, failed to forward funds and communicate with him when he was on the field, causing other mission agencies to step in and help him and others, and then they had the gall to criticize other mission agencies in the periodicals of the day. The necessity of a mission agency attuned to the needs in China and resp0nsible in its habits led to Hudson beginning the China Inland Mission. There were a few missionaries in the bigger cities, but China wanted to go inland where the gospel had not been preached. Probably the most notable aspects of Hudson, however, were his simple childlike (but not childish) faith and his unswerving obedience to what he perceived God wanted him to do.

For these reasons I was very glad to see It Is Not Death to Die: A New Biography of Hudson Taylor by Jim Cromarty. There are two older well-known biographies of Hudson Taylor. One is a two-volume set, Hudson Taylor in Early Years: The Growth of a Soul and Hudson Taylor and the China Inland Mission: The Growth of a Work of God by his daughter and son-in-law, Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor, first published in 1911. But the first volume is over 500 pages and the second well over 600, which can be quite daunting and they can sometimes be hard to find (Amazon only had used copies but I found them on sale just now here.) These are excellent and easily readable though they were written over a hundred years ago. The other well-known biography of Taylor is Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret, also written by his daughter and son-in-law, but much more compact at 272 pages and still printed regularly today.

I had high hopes that this new biography by Cromarty would bridge the gap between these two and bring Hudson’s life before a modern audience that might not seek out the older books. And while it is a faithful representation with much research evidently behind it and I can recommend it, I wish it were more dynamically written. It’s a good reference book for people who want to know more about Taylor, but I don’t know if it would draw in those who are unfamiliar with him or those who do not like to read biographies.

Biographers do have it a little rough: they can write in a story form, which is more interesting but tends to be less accurate as the biographer has to invent conversations and situations to bring out the points he needs to; or they can right a factual version which can tend to be more encyclopedic and accurate, but which doesn’t appeal to the average modern reader. This one is in the style of the latter. I think it could have been much more condensed: there are many descriptions of various CIM missionaries’ travels which could have been left out or at least summarized. The book is 481 pages, not including indexes and end notes, and I have to admit I got bogged down in places.

But I do recommend the book. If you persevere, you will find great nuggets about Taylor’s character. He was not unflawed: he was very human and he would never have wanted people to think he was some super-Christian. But he loved and followed the Lord in an exemplary and humble way.

I marked way too many places to share, especially in a review that is long already:

But here are a few places that stood out to me:

His health, as he described it, could “not be called robust” (p. 49), but I hadn’t realized he struggled so much with his health through the years, including regular bouts of dysentery.

Before he went to China, the girl he had planned to marry refused his proposal because she did not want to go to China. He wrote to his mother, “Trusting God does not deprive one of feelings or deaden our natural sensibilities, but it enables us to compare our trials with our mercies and to say, ‘Yet notwithstanding, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation'” (p. 55).

Once during a storm on the way to China in a ship, he took off a life jacket because he felt he was trusting in it rather than the Lord. Later he realized that was wrong thinking and wrote, “The use of means ought not to lessen our faith in God; and our faith in God ought not to hinder whatever means He has given us for the accomplishment of His own purposes…When in medical or surgical charge of any case, I have never thought of neglecting to ask God’s guidance and blessing in the use of appropriate means…to me it would appear presumptuous  and wrong to neglect the use of those measures which He Himself has put within our reach, as to neglect to take daily food, and suppose that life and health might be maintained by prayer alone” (p. 99). He was later said to be “a man of prayer, but it was prayer associated with action…’He prayed about things as if everything depended upon the praying…but he worked also, as if everything depended upon the working'” (p. 329).

To live in inland China at that time meant giving up what would be considered as Western luxuries, and Hudson tried hard to give a real picture of the mission field before new missionaries came over. “The only persons wanted here are those who will rejoice to work — really to labour — not to dream their lives away; to deny themselves; to suffer in order to save.” (p. 294). He wrote to applicants, “If you want hard work, and little appreciation of it; value God’s approbation more than you fear man’s disapprobation; are prepared, if need be, to seal your testimony with your blood and perhaps oftentimes to take joyfully the spoiling of your goods…you may count on a harvest of souls here, and a crown of glory that does not fade away, and the Master’s ‘Well done’…it is no question of ‘making the best of both worlds’ — the men who will be happy with us are those who have this world under their feet” (p. 303).

At one time he said. “My soul yearns, oh how intently for the evangelization of these 180 millions of the nine unoccupied provinces. Oh that I had a hundred lives to give or spend for their good…Better to have pecuniary and other outward trials and perplexities, and blessing in the work itself, souls being saved, and the name of the Lord Jesus being magnified, than any measure of external prosperity without it” (p. 297).

He was known to be a humble and unassuming man. Many meeting him for the first time were surprised that he didn’t “stand out,” but looked at first like a regular Chinaman. Spurgeon wrote of him, “Mr. Taylor…is not in outward appearance an individual who would be selected among others as the leader of a gigantic enterprise; in fact, he is lame in gait, and little in stature; but…his spirit is quiet and meek, yet strong and intense; there is not an atom of self-assertion about him, but a firm confidence in God” (p. 329). Many times he quietly and unassumingly helped and ministered to others, especially new arrivals. Once when a group he was with had to spend a night on a boat with a leper, and someone complained about the stench of his bedding, Hudson spent the night in his cabin uncomplainingly and bought him new bedding the next day. Another time when an exhausted group of travelers fell into bed without eating, Hudson prepared omelets for them all. Once when he knew of a paper that was critical of him, almost derogatory, he said, “That is a very just criticism, for it is all true. I have often thought that God made me little in order that He might show what a great God He is” (p. 400).

In one meeting, Hudson said, “What we give up for Christ we gain, and what we keep back is our real loss…Let us make earth a little less homelike, and souls more precious. Jesus is coming again, and so soon! Will He really find us obeying His last command?” (p. 383).

I had thought that the title of this book came from the hymn, “It is Not Death to Die,” originally written in 1832 and recently updated. But in writing of Hudson’s death, Cromarty cites the Banner of Truth 1977 publication of Pilgrim’s Progress, at the section where Mr. Valiant-For-Truth dies, and the line “It Is Not Death to Die” is in the passage he quotes but I have not found it in the online versions of Pilgrim’s Progress. Nevertheless, the sentiment is true. Dying to self and living for Christ, which Hudson Taylor exemplified, is true life, just as dying to this body makes way for heaven for those who have trusted Christ as Savior.

(For a more positive review that brings out some different things about Cromarty’s book and Taylor’s life, see my friend Debbie’s review here.)

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)