Day Off Week 44 2020

I spent most of today reading. I was given the above book the other Christmas by one of my sons. I started reading with enthusiasm but put it down, as so often happens. Anyway taking it up again on Tuesday I've really enjoyed reading more of it. It takes a random approach to history moving on from subject to subject psychologically rather than chronologically. The book has arisen out of an ongoing podcast series, worth checking out. It's quite a big book (over 400 pages) so although I read a big chunk there's still a way to go. In also watched a bit of TV.

Where is God in a coronavirus world?

I meant to mention before this little book by John Lennox, which may still be useful to pass on. I am not familiar with John Lennox's writings but I am aware of his faithful witness in the world of academia. This little book simply deals with the problem of natural evil but with special reference to the corona virus, It includes some interesting info. I'd not realised, for example, that most viruses are good things. Some of the phraseology I would not use but it' fine on the whole. It is a small book worth reading, worth passing on.

Pastors Coping With Criticism

 

Like proverbial London buses, first no books then two at once. I refer to the subject of the criticism of pastors. Until these recent two I am not aware of any. It was Mostyn Roberts book that I came across first. I then noticed that Joel Beeke had written with Nick Thompson on the same subject so I got that on kindle. Both books have their strengths and weaknesses. Mostyn's book is very brief and focuses tightly on the matter in hand, giving sage and biblical advice. The Beeke book is longer and aims wider and so can be more diffuse and is sometimes guilty of stating the obvious. It is helpful to have such items to help us through this important subject. Both books are warmly commended.

The Art of the Forger

It's a strange thing with books, how they can hang around a long time before they are read. The Art of the Forger by Chris Wright was first published in 1985 (a staggering 35 years ago). I'm not sure when I bought my copy but a long time ago. Anyway the other day for some reason I plucked it off the shelf and read it. It's not a long read and has lots of illustrations. It's chiefly about a painting called The Fortune Teller. Wright takes us through the story if how he eventually came to believe it is not by De la Tour the renaissance artist but is a fake from the early twentieth century. He believes it is an example of several from the same hand. With a walk on part for Anthony Blunt the whole story is fascinating and raises as many questions as it answers. Art history is a strange world open to abuse and sometimes rather murky.

365 Albums 286-300

1. Crises Mike Oldfield 1983
2. Five Miles Out Mike Oldfield 1980
3. Tyger Tangerine Dream 1987
4. 10000 Clowns Jan Akkerman 1997
5. Short Stories Tall Tales Horslips 1980
6. Horslips and the Ulster Orchestra Live at the Waterfront Belfast 2011
7. Geluckig is het land Thijs van Leer, Louis van Dijk & Rogier van Otterloo 1980
8. Rubycon Tangerine Dream 1975
9. Le Parc Tangerine Dream 1985
10. Amarantine Enya 2005
11. The Belfast Gigs Horslips 1980
12. Pergamon (Quichotte) Tangerine Dream 1980
13. Canyon Dreams Tangerine Dream 1991
14. Earth Moving Mike Oldfield 1989
15. Sunshower Joachim Kühn Band 1978

A Dutch Ten

In English several phrases contain the word Dutch. These phrases are not always obvious in meaning.

1. Dutch treat/go Dutch - an outing, meal, or other special occasion at which each participant pays for their share of the expenses/To pay one's own expenses on a date or outing. (Dutch treat can also be used for a marijuana strain).
2. In Dutch - In disfavour or trouble
3. Dutch auction - A type of auction in which the price on an item is lowered until it gets a bid. The first bid made is the winning bid and results in a sale, assuming the price is above the reserve price.
4. Dutch courage - Strength or confidence gained from drinking alcohol
5. Dutch uncle - An informal term for a person who issues frank, harsh or severe comments and criticism to educate, encourage or admonish someone (opposite to avuncular)
6. Dutch barn  - In the UK a barn that has a roof, but no walls. (the term is used differently in the USA and differently again in Canada)
7. Dutch cap - A woman's lace cap with triangular flaps on each side, worn as part of Dutch traditional dress (but also used for a type of contraceptive)
8. Double Dutch - Language that is impossible to understand; gibberish (in the USA used for a skipping game that uses two ropes)
9. Dutch angle - Also known as Dutch tilt, canted angle or oblique angle, this is a type of camera shot which involves setting the camera at an angle on its roll axis so that the shot is composed with vertical lines at an angle to the side of the frame
10. Dutch barge - a traditional flat-bottomed shoal-draught barge, originally used to carry cargo in the shallow Zuyder Zee and the waterways of Netherlands.

{Also note Dutch braid, Dutch toast, Dutch hoe, Dutch elm disease, Dutch pan or oven (a cast iron casserole) and Dutch disease (the apparent causal relationship between the increase in the economic development of a specific sector and a decline in other sectors.)}

As Jan Akkerman might say Thank you very Dutch.

Evangelical Library Annual Lecture 2020

Last Monday was the annual lecture of the Evangelical Library. Normally it is June but this year we held it over hoping that by now we could have had it at the Library as we would have. That proving impossible we went for the zoom option, kindly organised for us by Dr Ian Densham. The subject was Fanny Crosby and some of her contemporaries and the lecturer was Stan Evers. It was excellent. Although Stan struggled slightly with the technology as he tried to give us visuals he was very relaxed and the medium suited his calm seated style. A lot of research went into this but everything was put over very simply and clearly. Without hiding her Arminian beliefs or the problems she faced in life a warm portrait was composed of a woman who did what she could. We hope to publish the text soon in In Writing and recordings are available through the Library.

Lord's Day October 25 2020

It was the old game of two halves last Sunday I thought. Surprisingly, it was with the New Testament section in the morning that I came a cropper in the chapel rather than the Old Testament one in the evening on zoom. I expounded the passage from 2 Corinthians 10:7-18 okay but there was something lacking somehow. Joshua 13 went much better I thought but who am i? Decent numbers am and pm.

Midweek Meeting October 21 2020

At last we're through 1 Chronicles 1-8 and on to Chapter 9 and more easily navigable territory. So we had  a good teaching session and then an excellent prayer meeting, helped by a good attendance and the willingness of people to pray. All on zoom still.

Day Off Week 43 2020

I had week 42 on a different day visiting family and then this week's day off seemed to go rather badly. A sort of gloom settled on me that I couldn't easily shake off, The pile of part read novels pictured did not help.

I could never understand

The wind at all

Was like a ball of love

I could never never see

The cosmic sea

Was like a bumblebee

And when I'm sad

I slide

Spencer Davis Group - Gimme Some Lovin'

Spencer Davis who grew up in Swansea has died. Born 17 July 1939; died 19 October 2020.

Lord's Day October 18 2020

Sunday was one of those red letter days that come from time to time. We had our first baptism in a while. This was someone who git in touch with us during the lockdown and despite the difficulties has come to a real faith in Christ even though having a background where Christian faith is actively discouraged. This is the second person with that sort of background to join us, which is encouraging. Of course, the logistics were slightly difficult but I donned rubber gloves, a facemask and visor and I don't think we transgressed any rules. I preached from Acts 8, somewhere I often turn when a baptism takes place. I prepared an entirely fresh sermon, which wrote itself and preached very easily. I hope it will have some impact. (It should be on the website soon). In the evening we zoomed again for the last message on Isaiah 55 (verses 7-13). We then did something I can't remember doing before but people were given opportunities to ask questions. We had a whole raft of good questions  - Why wouldn't Mordecai bow to Haman? What about Christian conspiracy theories? What is the difference between hope and faith? In what sense were Adam and Eve's eyes opened when they ate the fruit? Etc. Good questions I hope the answers were of some use.

Midweek Meeting October 14 2020

 

I forgot to write up last Wednesday - back to bad habits. Anyway, our zoom meeting went very well. We looked at 1 Chronicles 8 and then prayed. I'm getting the hang of these long lists of names slowly. I tried to finish in good time as we had a church members meeting on zoom the next evening. That went well too, on the whole.

10 marks of the presence of the Spirit in the soul by J C Ryle

1. The Spirit quickens men's hearts. All who have the Spirit are quickened by Him, and made spiritually ALIVE. He is called in Scripture, "The Spirit of life." (Rom. 8:3.) 

2. The Spirit teaches men's minds. All who have the Spirit are taught by Him. He is called in Scripture, "The Spirit of wisdom and revelation." (Eph. 1:17.) 

3. The Spirit leads to the Word. All who have the Spirit are led by Him to the SCRIPTURES. This is the instrument by which He specially works on the soul. The Word is called "the sword of the Spirit." Those who are born again are said to be "born by the Word." (Eph. 6:17; 1 Peter 1:23.) 

4. The Spirit convinces of sin. All who have the Spirit are convinced by Him of SIN. This is an especial office which the Lord Jesus promised He should fulfil. "When He has come, He shall reprove the world of sin." (John 16:8.) 

5. The Spirit draws to Christ. All who have the Spirit are led by Him to CHRIST for salvation. It is one special part of His office to "testify of Christ," to "take of the things of Christ, and to show them to us." (John 15:26; 16:15.) 

6. The Spirit sanctifies. All who have the Spirit are by Him made HOLY. He is" the Spirit of holiness." (Rom. 1:4.) 

7. The Spirit makes people spiritually minded. All who have the Spirit are SPIRITUALLY MINDED. To use the words of the Apostle Paul, "those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." (Rom. 8:5.) 

8. The Spirit produces inward conflict. All who have the Spirit feel a CONFLICT within them, between the old nature and the new. The words of Paul are true, more or less, of all the children of God, "The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh - so that you cannot do the things that you would." (Gal. 5:17.) 

9. The Spirit makes people love the brethren. All who have the Spirit LOVE others who have the Spirit. It is written of them by John, "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren." (1 John 3:14.) 

10. The Spirit teaches to pray. Finally, all who have the Spirit are taught by Him to PRAY. He is called in Scripture, "The Spirit of grace and supplication." (Zech. 12:10.) The elect of God are said to "cry to Him night and day." (Luke 18:7.)

(From Old Paths J C Ryle)

Compel Them To Come In

Whitefield and Spurgeon, great evangelists both, were strong Calvinists. Some seem to forget that. This little hard back from Christian Focus by Dr Donald Macleod, who always writes so well, is on the free offer of the gospel and is well worth reading wherever you may stand on this issue. Beginning with a sermon by C H Spurgeon on compelling them to come in, which is reproduced as an appendix the book, it deals with arguments against the free offer from man's spiritual bondage, predestination, limited atonement and divine security but then goes beyond that providing chapters on delivering the free offer, knowing where the fish are hiding and on the messenger himself. The latter part of the book I found particularly stimulating. We need books like this.