August Reflections

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August’s heat and humidity have us longing for cool fall breezes. Each day brings us closer to them!

We enjoyed an extended time together as a family when my oldest son came to visit for about ten days. My husband took a week off, and Jason, Mittu, Timothy, and Jesse were here much of the time, though Jason and Jesse still worked most days.

I think I only ended up making dinner 3 nights. We went out some nights, Jesse made dinner for us one night at his place, and Mittu made dinner a few nights. We hadn’t coordinated beforehand spreading meals around, but it worked out nicely.

We celebrated Jeremy’s birthday at the beginning of his time here and mine near the end. It’s nice when the calendar works out so he can be here for both celebrations. We joked at the beginning of his, “Should we Face Time Jeremy?” We’re used to putting him on the TV screen for other celebrations when he can’t be here in person.

We played lots of Jackbox games, enjoying some old favorites as well as trying out some new ones. We also played Uno and even got out Settlers of Catan for the first time in a long time. It was Timothy’s first time to play the latter, and he lasted through most of the game. It’s a lot for a 8-year-old to take in.

We usually try to have one major outing during the week and maybe a couple of smaller ones. But this time there were several interesting things occurring that we took advantage of. I’ve mentioned a few of them during Friday’s Fave Fives, but wanted to go into more detail here. But that ended up making this already long post twice as long, so I am going to share details and photos in a separate post tomorrow.

Creating

I made two cards this month. The first was for Jason and Mittu’s anniversary:

And this was for Jeremy’s birthday:

Watching

We really enjoyed War Horse. It’s been out for a few years, and I remember when I saw it advertised that it looked good. But then we forgot about it. It follows a horse’s path from a farm through many hands during WWI. I was especially struck by how just one person in each scenario saw the horse’s worth and made a difference in its treatment or next step, which enabled it to continue on–an apt metaphor for making a difference for good in the lives of people we meet. I don’t think that was the main point of the movie, but that’s something I got from it.

A Call to Spy was very good as well (except for a few instances of taking God’s name in vain. 😦 ). It was based on true events about women being recruited as spies during WWII, and followed the path of two in particular.

Reading

Since last time I have finished (linked to my reviews):

  • Where I End: A Story of Tragedy, Truth, and Rebellious Hope by Katherine Elizabeth Clark, a true story. Katherine was playing tag with some children at her son’s school playground when a boy jumped off the jungle gym and onto her head, breaking her neck and paralyzing her instantly.
  • Something Good by Vanessa Miller, a great novel about “Three Women. Two Mistakes. One Surprising Friendship That Changes Everything.”
  • The London House by Katherine Reay, a novel about a woman who seeks the truth when an old friend tells her he is about to publish an article that says her great aunt was a Nazi sympathizer. (Audiobook).
  • The Stranger by Melanie Dobson, a novel set in the Amana colonies in 1894. A stranger with a sick daughter stops to get help in the commune and falls in love with one of its inhabitants. But the group is wary of outsiders.
  • To Treasure an Heiress by Roseanna White, a novel about a race to discover pirate treasure, but with surprising depth and truth. Very good. (Audiobook).
  • Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle by Lady Carnarvon. The current countess of the castle that was used for Downton Abbey tells some of the castle’s history, particularly that of Lady Almina, who converted it to a hospital during WWI. (Audiobook and Kindle).
  • O Love That Will not Let Me Go: Facing Death with Courageous Confidence, complied by Nancy Guthrie. Nancy has collected excerpts from writings as far back as the Puritans to modern-day writer on the subject of death and dying. Excellent, excellent, excellent.

Normally I have a Warren Wiersbe commentary in my reading list. I am in 1 Chronicles now, and Wiersbe included it in with his book on 2 Samuel, Be Restored: Trusting God to See Us Through. I’m not rereading the whole thing, since I did in April, but I am looking through the parts that specifically mention Chronicles.

I’m currently reading:

  • Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
  • Jesus Led Me All the Way by Margaret Stringer
  • The Hatmaker’s Heart by Carla Stewart
  • The Lost Heiress by Roseanna M. White (audiobook)

Blogging

Besides the regular Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve posted these since last time:

  • Labels and Lenses. Labels are helpful and necessary. But we need to look at our lives and theology through the lens of Scripture, and not look at Scripture through the lens of our labels.
  • Why Keep Reading the Bible, especially when you’ve read it several times before?
  • Making Time to Read the Bible. If we don’t make time for it, we likely won’t find time for it. Some tips to make that time for what Jesus called the one necessary thing.
  • How Can We Make Our Souls Fire Resistant? Just as leaves can smolder and then erupt into flame, sin can flame out in our hearts. What can we do to avoid that happening?
  • What Can We Learn from Bible Genealogies? Genealogies are probably no one’s favorite part of the Bible. But what might God want us to learn from them?

I overlooked my blogging anniversary at the end of July. 16 years! And, as of today, 5,189 posts. Thank you for reading and making blogging such a blessing to my heart.

As we turn the calendar to September tomorrow, we look forward to Jesse’s birthday and a visit from my folks at the end of the month.

How was your August? Anything interesting happen?

To Treasure an Heiress

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In Roseanna M. White’s novel, To Treasure an Heiress, Beth Tremayne loved exploration and adventure. She lived in the Isles of Scilly in the early 1900s and traveled to all of them in her sloop. She found some old letters and a map in her grandfather’s house that indicated a legendary pirate king had lived on her island, Tresco, and had left a fortune somewhere in the vicinity. That was fuel to Beth’s adventure-loving heart.

Beth had a trinket box, given to her by her mother, which had King Rupert’s seal on the top. Beth sent the box to the father of her friend at finishing school who was an expert in antiquities. Her friend’s father, Lord Scofield, authenticated the box—but then sold it! Worse yet, both Lord Scofield and his buyer, Lord Sheridan, were intrigued by the thought that more items connected to King Rupert might be on the islands. Scofield was interested mainly in the purported treasure, but Sheridan was a descendant of Rupert and interested in artifacts.

Worst of all, Sheridan had actually come to Tresco. Beth’s efforts to shield her family from the repercussions of her search had failed miserably. Her grandmother urged her to forgive and to work together with the family, and even Sheridan, to find Rupert’s treasure. But Scofield is looking as well and isn’t above using less than honorable means.

A secondary story line involves Beth’s former governess, Senara, who had been dismissed from her most recent job due to indiscretions. Senara had fallen in love with a man who had misled her, and now she feels tarnished and ashamed. A new friend helps her see that with God’s forgiveness, she can be forgiven and made new.

He makes us with great worth. Creates us that way intrinsically. Our sins, our bad choices, perhaps they coat us like mud. But the mud cannot take away the value He instilled in us. Mud does not make a pearl any less valuable. If it did, they why would Jesus have deemed us worthy of the sacrifice of His life? Because He loves us, as does the Father. Because we are valuable. And the blood of Christ, when it washes us clean, fully restores us to what He created us to be. A pearl cannot be stained. No matter how many centuries it sits in mud, wash it in a bit of water and it’s gleaming again.

This book is a sequel to The Nature of a Lady, which I enjoyed last year. I think this book could be read alone, but it’s richer together with the first. I normally wouldn’t be attracted to a book about chasing pirate treasure, but I have loved everything I have read of Roseanna’s. She manages to bring out deeper levels of meaning for her characters. Parts of the story are touching and sweet; some are even funny.

I didn’t like Lord Sheridan at all in the first book, and when this one hinted at a romance between him and Beth, I didn’t think it would work. But he grew on me in this story.

I found the resolution just a bit anti-climactic. But all in all, I found this a lovely story.

I listened to the audiobook, nicely read by Liz Pearce.

What Can We Learn from Bible Genealogies?

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If Leviticus doesn’t kill your Bible reading plans, Chronicles might.

When our church was going through 1 Chronicles, our Bible study leader said his children asked, “Do we have to read the genealogies?” He admitted he was thinking the same question.

The genealogical sections of the Bible are probably no one’s favorite part of Scripture. Our pastor has often said, “Every part of the Bible is inspired by God, but not every part is inspirational.” We’re probably not going to get warm fuzzies from those lists of unfamiliar names.

But because the genealogies are as inspired by God as every other part of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16), they have much to teach us.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t waste words. God’s works and thoughts are “more than can be numbered” (Psalm 40:5, NKJV). A former pastor used to say the Bible is divinely brief: of all the things God could have shared with us, He chose the particular words in the Bible. So everything in the Bible is there for a purpose.

Our pastor’s wife used to say of some of the “drier” passages of the Bible, “Keep digging until you find the golden nuggets.”

So what can the genealogies teach us?

God keeps records. Detailed records. Every person on those lists was someone known of God and loved by God. And He knows and cares about us as well.

Some genealogies act as bookends or transitions. For example, Genesis 36 wraps up Esau and his descendants before Jacob’s story switches focus to Joseph.

The Bible is history. Bible professor Dan Olinger said he was thrown for a loop when he learned that some theologians teach that the narratives of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, are fables. These teachers say we’re meant to learn lessons from OT stories like we do from Aesop’s fables, but the stories and people were made up. Dan struggled with this view until he realized that the genealogies ground the Biblical narratives in history. In fables, it doesn’t matter where the characters lived or came from or who their descendants were. But those details do matter in history.

God keeps His promises. Part of God’s covenant with Abraham was that in him, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). God repeated this promise to Jacob three times (Genesis 12:18; 26:4; 28:14). God had promised David that his throne would be established for ever. Paul says God “promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:2-4). Matthew’s genealogy establishes Jesus’ human and royal lineage from Abraham through David. Jesus was the long-awaited fulfillment of God’s promises to His people through the ages.

Jesus loves sinners. Luke’s genealogy traces the line of Christ all the way back to Adam, establishing His humanity. Matthew mentions some people we might be surprised to see there.

All of the names shout that Jesus is not only the long-awaited King but that He is the King of grace! This entire family deserved to be rejected by God for notorious wickedness—for lying (Abraham), deceit (Jacob), immorality (David), double-mindedness (Solomon), arrogance (Rehoboam), unbelief (Ahaz), and idolatry which included child sacrifice (Manasseh). And this family had a history of disreputable women, who were “outsiders” for one reason or another. Tamar was the seductive Canaanite (v. 3), Rahab, the prostitute from Jericho (v. 5), Ruth, the Moabitess (v. 5), and Bathsheba, the adulteress (v. 6). You see, Jesus was born into a family that was notoriously deserving of judgment. But that means He’s not afraid to be associated with sinners, including immoral Gentiles—including me and you! (Joe Tyrpak, Gospel Meditations for Christmas, p. 11).

Thomas Overmiller writes:

If the genealogy of Jesus himself featured mothers with disgraced or shameful reputations, then why should you expect anything different? God does not weave people into his purposes and plans because they come from a pristine family background. He weaves people into his plan instead who have disgraceful backgrounds, the kind of disgrace that comes from our own sin and the kind that comes from the sin of others towards us. God delights to find sinners and save them. He delights to redeem us from the power of sin and from the pain of sinful things that other people have done to us. The grace of God shines through disgraced people (A Genealogy of Grace: Mothers of the King).

Genealogies encourage God’s people. I don’t think I realized before this trek through 1 Chronicles that it was written to the Israelites going back to their land after having been in exile in Babylon for 70 years. They needed to be reminded of their identity and encouraged that they were “still God’s people and retain their central place in God’s purposes for humanity” (Brian E. Kelly, ESV Study Bible, p. 705).

The Chronicler sought to address some urgent questions of his day concerning the identity of Israel. He wanted to instill fresh confidence in the people. The genealogies of Israel that begin the work (1 Chronicles 1–9) start by tracing the people’s ancestry back to Adam, a striking reminder that Israel was at the center of God’s purpose from the very beginning of creation. Although only a “remnant” and a provincial outpost in a great empire, Israel must remember that its security and destiny rest with Yahweh, “who rule[s] over all the kingdoms of the nations” and has given the land to Abraham’s descendants “forever” (2 Chron. 20:6-7) (Brian E. Kelly, ESV Study Bible, p. 701).

Genealogies remind us that life is short and death is sure until the Lord returns. I don’t remember the details or the source, but I heard about a girl who invited her unsaved dad to church. The pastor happened to be in a section of genealogies. The girl was discouraged, thinking this was the worst of all sermons for her dad to hear. But her dad became a believer. He said that hearing over and over that so-and-so lived, had children, and then died struck him. The repeated phrase “and he died” drummed itself into his mind, and he decided he needed to prepare for his own end.

Many of the Bible genealogies are “telescoped”: they don’t include every ancestor in a given line. This accounts for some discrepancies between lists. Each of the genealogies is there for a particular purpose, so the author will only include the names that are pertinent to his theme.

I hope you’re more encouraged about Biblical genealogies now. They still might not be the most exciting parts of the Bible, but they’re a rich and integral part.

Does anything in this list of what genealogies teach us resonate with you? Can you think of other purposes for genealogies in the Bible?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

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I have just a short list of links to share as I am still way behind in my blog reading.

Six Steps to Shield Yourself from Satan, HT to Aritha. “So, no matter how many flaming darts Satan fires against us, the shield of faith can extinguish them all. But that doesn’t happen automatically. Shields need to be picked up, and used. So, how do we do that? Here are steps I have found helpful.”

The Lord’s Prayer: Antidote to Expressive Individualism, HT to the Story Warren. “Expressive individualism, the view that who you are is who you feel yourself to be on the inside, is the dominant approach to identity formation in our day. . . This approach to self-understanding is a challenge to a Christian view of the self at every level.”

Inconvenienced, HT to Lisa. “I feel the sting of guilt because I don’t want to be inconvenienced in this way. I want to carry on with my personal schedule as planned. I’m ashamed to say this. I don’t want my routine interrupted. How totally selfish is that?” I can identify.

Three Significant Ways to Teach Your Son The Value of Marriage. “With marriage feeling so ‘optional’ in our present culture, how do we communicate its value and significance to our sons?“

Update: I thought I hit “publish” this morning! I guess I didn’t. My apologies.

Friday’s Fave Five

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I enjoy this weekly tradition of stopping with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to remember and acknowledge the best parts of the week, to thank God for them and savor them just a little longer by sharing them.

This has been another very full and very good week.

1. My birthday. My family does a wonderful job making me feel special on my birthday. Their love and care took a bit of the sting out of this being a milestone birthday. We went out to one of my favorite restaurants for lunch, and Mittu made my favorite Texas Sheet Cake.

2. More family time. My oldest son was here for about ten days, and my husband was off for a week. The rest of the family was here more than usual, and we packed a lot of visiting, feasting, and game playing into our time together. Mittu made dinner a few times and Jesse had us over to his place for one dinner.

3. Fun outings. I’ll share more about these next week, but we had several outings together. One was a hot air balloon festival.

4. The family all together at church. Jason and Mittu and Jesse attend elsewhere, but while Jeremy was here, we all attended together on my birthday. That was a special blessing to my heart.

5. A made-for-me cup-holder. I like my cold drinks super-cold, so I often put them in the freezer for a bit. It’s even better if they get a little slushy. It’s never been a problem before, but last week my glass of orange juice tipped over and dripped down the side of the freezer, on every shelf below, and made a little puddle at the bottom. My husband has a little 3D printer and made this cup holder to keep spills from happening in there again.

I hope you’ve had a great week as well!

A Book About Death and Dying That Is Not Morbid

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Why would anyone read a book on dying if death is not imminent for oneself or loved ones?

Well, in my case, I saw a few quotes that I liked from O Love That Will not Let Me Go: Facing Death with Courageous Confidence, complied by Nancy Guthrie, in Aging with Grace. I’ve read and enjoyed some of Nancy’s other compilations (Come Thou Long Expected Jesus about Christmas and Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross about Good Friday and Easter). I had not known about this one, but when I did, I wanted to get it, too.

And then, I’ve always dreaded death, even as a Christian. I knew heaven was something to look forward to, with the presence of Jesus and the absence of sin, sickness, sorrow, and crying. I assumed that God would give me grace to die when the time came, and I just tried not to think about it much. So I thought this book might provide some help in that regard.

As with Nancy’s other compilations, this book is made up of excerpts from the writings or sermons of Christians as far back as the Puritans and as modern as Joni Eareckson Tada, John Piper, and Randy Alcorn.

The book is divided into four parts:

  • A Reality That Will Not Be Denied
  • An Aim That Keeps Me Pressing On
  • A Hope That Saves Me From Despair
  • A Future That Will Not Disappoint

Ecclesiastes reminds us, “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. . . . The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth” (7:2, 4).

J. I Packer writes:

In every century until our own, Christians saw this life as preparation for eternity. Medievals, Puritans, and later evangelicals thought and wrote much about the art of dying well, and they urged that all of life should be seen as preparation for leaving it behind. This was not otiose morbidity, but realistic wisdom, since death really is the one certain fact of life. Acting the ostrich with regard to it is folly in the highest degree (pp. 15-16).

John Owen says in “Hope Is a Glorious Grace” that we’re like travelers. Some are so busy about other things, they don’t give much thought to the place they are going. Others learn as much as they can about their destination so that they are better prepared and know what they are looking forward to through the discomforts of the journey.

Thomas Boston says, “The less you think on death, the thoughts of it will be the more frightful– make it familiar to you by frequent meditations upon it, and you may thereby quiet your fears. Look at the white and bright side of the cloud– take faith’s view of the city that has foundations; so shall you see hope in your death. Be duly affected with the body of sin and death, the frequent interruptions of your communion with God, and with the glory which dwells on the other side of death– this will contribute much to remove slavish fear” (p. 115).

Several themes came up in many of the selections: Jesus has taken away the sting of death by His own death for us and His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:53-56). Death is “the last enemy” (1 Corinthians 15:26), but it is a defeated enemy. This world is our temporary home: we’re just strangers and pilgrims here (1 Peter 2:11). God is preparing us for “a better country, that is, a heavenly” (Hebrews 11:16). God will accompany us through the pangs of death and usher us into His presence. Keeping this end in mind should affect how we live here.

One of the best chapters is “Comfort against Fears in the Dying Hour” by Thomas Boston. It’s excerpted from a longer sermon here. The part in this book starts near the end where he talks about different “cases” and gives help for them—fear of leaving loved ones and friends behind, of the sad state of one’s spiritual condition, of dying too soon, of pain or losing one’s senses at the end

I have multitudes of quotes marked, much more that I can share here. But I’ll try to leave you with some I found most helpful.

Death’s sting has been removed, but its bite remains. It does not have the last word for believers, but it remains the believer’s antagonist until the resurrection of the body. The good news is never that one has died, but that death has ultimately been conquered by the Lord of Life (Michael Horton, pp. 23-24).

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). You become like what you choose to behold. Behold Christ, you become Christlike. Gaze upon superficiality and immorality, and it’s equally predictable what you’ll become. Who you become will be the cumulative result of the daily choices you make (Randy Alcorn, pp. 55-56).

Our witness for Jesus is frequently manifested in our absolute weakest moments rather than when we are at full strength (John Eaves, p. 71).

We forget that throughout biblical history, trials, hardship, and death are equally a part of our witness to an unbelieving world as are healing and deliverance and divine blessing (John Eaves, p. 73).

In sickness the soul begins to dress herself for immortality. . . The soul, by the help of sickness, knocks off the fetters of pride and vainer complacencies (Jeremy Taylor, p. 79).

Richard Baxter says God uses sickness “to wean us from the world, and make us willing to be gone” (p. 97).

What more should God do to persuade you to accept death willingly and not to dread but to overcome it? In Christ he offers you the image of life, of grace, and of salvation so that you may not be horrified by the images of sin, death, and hell. Furthermore, he lays your sin, your death, and your hell on his dearest Son, vanquishes them, and renders them harmless for you. In addition, he lets the trials of sin, death, and hell that come to you also assail his Son and teaches you how to preserve yourself in the midst of these and how to make them harmless and bearable (Martin Luther, p. 108).

You say that you cannot abide the thought of death. Then you greatly need it. Your shrinking from it proves that you are not in a right state of mind, or else you would take it into due consideration without reluctance (C. H. Spurgeon, p. 148).

O Lord, when the hour comes for me to go to bed, I know that thou wilt take me there, and speak lovingly into my ear; therefore I cannot fear, but will even look forward to that hour of thy manifested love. You had not thought of that, had you? You have been afraid of death: but you cannot be so any longer if your Lord will bring you there in his arms of love. Dismiss all fear, and calmly proceed on your way, though the shades thicken around you; for the Lord is thy light and thy salvation (C. H. Spurgeon, p. 152).

I appreciated that a couple of writers put words to something I had not been able to express: dread of the “strangeness to the other world” (Owen, p. 100). It’s always a little nerve-racking to go to a new place, but it seems silly to feel that way about heaven. But I’m glad I am not the first person who has. Thomas Boston reminds, “Your best friend is Lord of that other world” (p. 113).

This book was a great blessing to me many mornings as I read it. I’m sure I’ll read it again in the future. I heartily recommend it.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

The Stranger

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In Melanie Dobson’s novel, The Stranger, banker Jacob Hirsch lost his job in 1894 Chicago. His wife had died the year before. He decides to scrape together the cash he can and take his four-year-old daughter, Cassie, to Washington, where he heard work was available.

But Cassie falls ill on the train. Jacob gets off in Iowa, desperate to find help, though he has little money. A woman approaches him, speaking German. She takes Jacob and Cassie to the nearby doctor, who diagnoses Cassie with diphtheria and quarantines them. Liesel, the German woman, insists on staying to help nurse Cassie since Jacob is injured as well.

Jacob learns that the community he’s in is called the Amana Colonies. Its founders immigrated from Germany in the 1830s and the group lived a communal life style. The families lived in individual homes, but each member was assigned a job in the community. They were a charitable group, providing meals and help to those in need. But they were suspicious of outsiders and preferred that they move along as soon as possible.

Liesel works in the gardens, though she wants to work with children. It was arranged that she would marry Emil some day, a baker who wants to be a carpenter. She doesn’t really know him, but she assumes they’ll grow to love each other eventually. She finds it strange, though, that he hasn’t sent word to her or checked on her since she has been quarantined.

In close quarantined quarters, Jacob and Liesel find much to admire about each other. After quarantine is over, Jacob is asked if he will help out in the community while Cassie continues to recover. Liesel offers to take care of Cassie while Jacob works.

The Amana elders commend Liesel for her help but warn her about becoming too close to Jacob. Her father is more adamant than most, with his suspicion of outsiders heightened by his own wife’s leaving him and Liesel and the colonies.

But as Jacob and Liesel’s feelings grow, their dilemma does as well. Would Jacob be willing to stay? Would the elders even let him? Would Liesel be willing to leave the only community she has known for Jacob?

And, unbeknownst to either of them, unexpected trouble is brewing for Jacob back in Chicago.

I had heard of the Amana colonies briefly before. Some might confuse them with the Amish or Mennonites, but there are differences. Neither of those groups lives communally, but they all value hard work and simplicity. The Amana group was known as the Community of True Inspiration, and its followers were called Inspirationalists. They believed that God spoke through certain “instruments” in their time just as He did in Bible days, and they placed their books on Inspirationalist sayings on an equal plane with the Bible. Some of their sayings (sprinkled between chapters in this book) sound Christian-ish, but others are a little off. Like “Whosoever sincerely seeks the treasure within their heart must seek with diligence, abandoning all else. You must search deeply until you reach the unfathomable, wherein you shall be absorbed,” Johann Friedrich Rock, 1717 (p. 118)—whatever that means. So I would call this historical fiction, but not Christian fiction.

But I enjoyed learning more about the Amana colonies, and I enjoyed the story.

Amana members disbanded the commune in 1932, but the society is till there. Amana appliances came from this area, and that business was later bought by Whirlpool. Now the colonies offer tours and sell wares.

How Can We Make Our Souls Fire-Resistant?

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A few years ago, we came home from having lunch at my son and daughter-in-law’s place to find a large burned patch in the grass to the left of our house as well as damage to a neighbor’s fence.

As we talked with neighbors, we learned that the neighbor behind us had been burning leaves earlier in the week. She thought she had the fire completely out and left a few days later to go out of town.

But underneath the ash, fire had been quietly smoldering for several days. Finally it erupted into flame and then spread over the dry grass. Thankfully neighbors saw it and called the fire department.

It was frightening to me that all this could happen in just a few hours while we were out. Perhaps the fire had already started before we even left, but we didn’t notice it since our driveway is on the other side of the house.

Since the photo above is a panorama shot, it’s a little distorted. Our fence line actually turns a corner rather than standing in a straight line all the way down. Still, you can see how the fire neatly went around the fence.

Another evidence of God’s protection is that just a few months earlier, we had a row of dead trees rather than a fence. Some of you may remember our ordeal of having 50 trees on our property line die off. We had to find someone to cut them down and haul them off, and then someone else when the first crew didn’t fulfill their obligations. Then my husband found some used fencing on Craig’s List and spent several evenings and Saturdays putting up the new-to-us fence.

But imagine what would have happened if that row of dead trees had been in the line of the fire. I shudder to think about the possibilities. I’m grateful for God’s mercy and timing.

I don’t know what brought this incident to mind recently—maybe the sight of a different neighbor burning something in his yard last week.

James 3:5 came to mind: “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!” Just as an almost-put-out fire can blaze up and burn out of control, a small tongue can cause immeasurable damage.

Lust is another kind of fire. Job said that if he had been unfaithful to his wife, “that would be a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; for that would be a fire that consumes as far as Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my increase (Job 31:11-12). Proverbs asks, “Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished” (6:27-33).

Anger is not always bad in itself. God is angry at certain things. We should be angry at injustice, at mistreatment, and so on. But much anger arises from selfish reasons. Some of us have been on the receiving end of the quick flash fire of someone else’s anger. But a slowly smoldering undercurrent is no better. Psalm 37:8 says, “Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.”

Gossip can easily spread like wildfire. “For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body” (Proverbs 26:20-22).

Most sins are more easily dealt with when they’re small. If we let temptation linger without turning from it, if we fail to quench it completely, it can build up under the surface until it suddenly erupts and spreads.

But sometimes it seems we’re not only surrounded by temptation, but filled with it. We have an enemy of our souls who knows what our particular triggers are. And we have an old nature that fights against the new nature we received when we believed on the Lord Jesus as our Savior (Galatians 5:16-16). What hope do we have when the devil lures us and our own flesh betrays us?

I thought it was so unusual that the fire in our yard bypassed the vinyl fencing. I looked up whether vinyl was heat-resistant, and it is, according to this article. Vinyl fencing is hard to ignite, won’t spread easily if it does ignite, and can be easily put out.

How can we help our souls to be fire-resistant?

In describing the armor of God in Ephesians 6, Paul says, “ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (verse 16). The word “extinguish” in the Greek means, according to the definitions at the bottom of this page, “extinguish, quench, suppress, thwart.” The shield of faith doesn’t just stop the fiery arrows of temptation from reaching us: it actually puts them out.

What kind of faith makes up this shield? The faith that acknowledges the one true God is righteous, kind, and good. The faith that believes His will and purposes are better than Satan’s lures or our desires. The faith that wants to please Him more than it wants to indulge self. The faith that believes and applies His Word. Proverbs 6:23-24a says, “For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, to preserve you.” Jesus resisted Satan’s temptations with the Word of God (Matthew 4:1-11).

The Pulpit Commentary says of the shield of faith in Ephesians 6:16:

Withal taking up the shield of faith. The θυξεός was a large oblong shield covering a great part of the body, not the ἀσπίς, smaller and more round. Faith, in its widest sense, constitutes this shield – faith in God as our Father, in Christ as our Redeemer, in the Spirit as our Sanctifier and Strengthener – faith in all the promises, and especially such promises as we find in Revelations 2. and 3. “to him that overcometh” (comp. promise to Ephesus, Revelation 2:7) Wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. “Fiery darts” were weapons tipped with inflammable materials, firebrands, curiously constructed, adapted to set on fire. Metaphorically, considerations darted into the mind inflaming lust, pride, revenge, or ether evil feelings, emanations from the great tempter, the evil one. That such considerations sometimes start up suddenly in the mind, against the deliberate desire, sometimes even in the middle of holy exercises, is the painful experience of every Christian, and must make him thankful for the shield on which they are quenched. An act of faith on Christ, placing the soul consciously in his presence, recalling his atoning love and grace, and the promises of the Spirit, will extinguish these fiery temptations.

We can say with David:

For it is you who light my lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This God—his way is perfect;d
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?—
the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.

(Psalm 18:28-32)

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

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Here are some great thought-provoking reads found recently:

Bored With Christianity? HT to Challies. “In a world that offers such multitudinous choices and options for life and happiness–why persist in this same old religion with the same old book?”

Christ’s Crucifixion Isn’t Child Sacrifice, HT to Challies. “Many professing Christians are uncomfortable with God killing his Son as the penalty for our crimes. They see this as child sacrifice. From their perspective, it’s impossible for such a doctrine to be consistent with God’s character when it’s so clear that God abhors the killing of innocent children.”

Unfathomable. “Give them a taste of this big, wild, wonderful world that was made by a bigger, wilder, more wonderful God. It won’t make any of your problems, or theirs, disappear. But I have a strong hunch that in the presence of something so large, they will be reminded of the One who is Unfathomable himself.”

Cosmic Significance Therapy. “For Moses, the aim of considering the brevity of life isn’t hopelessness, but a proper outlook—an eternal perspective. And this perspective shapes how we live and work today.”

When You’re Up to Your Neck in Mud—Sing! HT to Challies. “Singing in adversity gives hope and lifts spirits. If that’s true in general terms, how much truer wouldn’t that be if we were up to our necks in mud and singing songs that actually spoke of hope, songs like psalms and biblical hymns?”

I’m Not an “Angel Mommy,” and Here’s Why. “As a follower of Christ and a mother who suffered three miscarriages, I have a vastly different view of what my babies are experiencing. People who die don’t earn angel wings.”

The Delight and Distress of Preaching, HT to Challies. I’ve experienced what this writer discusses, even though I am not a preacher and have done little speaking. By the way, I would much rather hear a preacher or teacher who feels like this than one who is brash and overconfident.

Knowledge Is Not a Bank, HT to Challies. “Knowledge is not a bank. It’s more like a garden. Truths and skills that are planted in our minds can bear good fruit in our lives. But just as a neglected garden will run wild with useless weeds, so our minds can easily become a wilderness of distractions, anxieties, and trivialities that choke out the good and productive knowledge we’ve accumulated before it gets the chance to take root and grow into real applications in our real lives.”

Reject the Algorithm, HT to Challies. This isn’t written from a Christian perspective, but makes some good points for being genuine rather than trying to get the most clicks.

Song of Suffering: A Short Film Featuring Joni Eareckson Tada, HT to Challies. This video is well worth 13 minutes of your time.

Friday’s Fave Five

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Once again we’re pausing for a bit with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to recount the blessings of the week. This has been one of those weeks with much more than five faves, but I’ll try to narrow it down. 🙂

1. Having the family all together. My oldest son came in from RI for a visit last Friday night and will be here a few days more. We’ve had lots great time all together chatting, eating, playing games. Then various combinations of family members visited in smaller groups. I love it.

2. Jeremy’s birthday. I’m so glad he could be here for it.

3. Several fun outings. We went to a car show, which included a kids’ area with Nerf target shooting, balloon animals, and other similar things. Then over a couple of days we went to a BrickUniverse LEGO Fan Convention, a bubble tea place (I didn’t try it, but everyone else enjoyed theirs), a French creperie, the art museum . . . I think that’s all so far. I’ll elaborate on a couple of these on my end-of-month post or in a post of their own. It’s been nice to chill at home between outings.

4. A new critique group. I’ve been praying about finding a group to exchange writing with and get feedback from. I was invited to participate in one via Zoom and was delighted to see a few fellow bloggers there I have known a long time. We had an introductory meeting, and I am looking forward to future meetings.

5. Password is a show I watched as a kid, and there is a new iteration of it that just started airing last week. It’s a little too hyped-up, but otherwise I love the game itself.

What’s something good from your week?