dual personalities

Tag: bible reading

March 19, 2024

Awake my soul and with the sun*

by chuckofish

In my daily Bible reading I have been sojourning in the book of Joshua. I am always impressed with Joshua. He is a real role-model, a mighty man of Israel: steadfast, obedient and brave. Funnily enough, over at desiringGod.com someone was thinking the same thing and wrote this about the humble young leader.

Yes, Joshua learned to trust God’s word, and it guided his life. We all have a lot to learn from him. “Today we know that the LORD is in our midst, because you have not committed this breach of faith against the LORD. Now you have delivered the people of Israel from the hand of the LORD.” (Joshua 22:31)

Speaking of humble young men, I was pleased to see that Scottie Scheffler won the Players Championship, the first professional golfer ever to repeat, a back-to-back winner!

Today we remember Thomas Ken (July 1637 – 19 March 1711), English Anglican cleric, who died on this day in 1711. He wrote many hymns and was one of the seven non-juring bishops when James II reissued his Declaration of Indulgence. Along with his six brethren, Ken was committed to the Tower on June 8, 1688, on a charge of high misdemeanour. Ken was put on trial with the others, which resulted in a verdict of acquittal. He is commemorated on the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar on March 21. I always think of him when we sing the doxology.

Here’s a good word from Randy Alcorn about being a Christian in today’s hostile world. “Jesus is the Audience of One. We will stand before His judgment seat, no one else’s. We should long to hear Him say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ What other people think won’t matter.”

And in nutball news…

It was cold but sunny here in flyover country yesterday. (Note the down coats.) Today should be warmer. Hopefully I’ll get some more work done on the Florida room and we can open it for business soon.

*Thomas Ken

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April 5, 2023

I’ll lay my trophies down

by chuckofish

I am currently reading the Epistle of James in my daily Bible reading plan. Chapter 4 is quite convicting:

Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Clearly, resisting the devil is a full time job and we must never drop our guard. Read the whole chapter and see how the Bible speaks to us today. Washing our hands was not just something we did during Covid.

So be obedient and all manner of things shall be well. Don’t follow the world, follow Jesus. Being kind is important, but it’s not the Gospel.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down,
All down at Jesus’ feet.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

–Elvina M. Hall, 1865

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December 29, 2022

Travels with Mr. Smith and other stuff

by chuckofish

We had a fruitful 24 hours in Jeff City. Daughter #1 went into her capitol office to close up shop and we packed some stuff (mostly clothes) in her apartment to bring home. We went to High Street and visited a couple of our favorite shops. We went to Steak ‘N Shake for lunch and then took the scenic route home through lovely Osage and Gasconade counties.

We were exhausted when we got home so we collapsed and watched some TV–Mr. Smith is a big fan of Eddie on Frasier.

Meanwhile I now have three days of reading left until the end of the year when I will have officially read the entire Bible. I am very proud of myself for completing the Robert Murray M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan in 2022!

Starting in 2023 I will be reading the 5x5x5 New Testament Bible Reading Plan which is reading through the New Testament in a year, reading Monday to Friday.

Here is a list of Bible Reading Plans in case you are interested. Choose one that is best for you! As R.C. Sproul said, “Disciples of Christ abide in His Word. Those who abide in His Word know the truth and are free.” 💯

And on another subject, thank you, Anne, for once again putting my thoughts into coherent words. “But as I said, the Lord spoke to me, and the word for 2023 is Fatuous. I’ll be using it an awful lot in the forthcoming [year], being sensitive to the Holy Spirit.” (*I’m kidding. God did not audibly give me this word.)

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August 25, 2022

God’s gonna trouble the water

by chuckofish

I continue to read through the Bible and I am enjoying it. Barring some catastrophe, I know I can finish! Daughter #1 says my plan is weird, and it is true that in my plan I read through the NT twice, but I am sticking with it. And when I finish, I will start all over. Last week I read Romans chapter 12 (again) and I was struck by verses 9-21. Here are some clearcut, straightforward rules for life, as laid out by Saint Paul:

1. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 

2. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

3. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 

4. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 

5. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 

6. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 

7. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 

8. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 

9. To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 

10. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

–Romans 12: 12-21 (ESV)

Post these simple rules on your refrigerator and read them every morning!

“A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”― Charles H. Spurgeon

Here’s a song I like:

And here’s a little good news for a change, care of Albert Pujols.

Don’t worry. Wade in the water, children.

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August 4, 2022

Hot time, summer in the city

by chuckofish

Praise God that His grace is sufficient for each day.

How is your week going? I have been working inside, moving things around to accommodate my new wing chair, which I am picking up later today with the assistance of the boy and his truck. My home is definitely a work in progress…adding and subtracting and rediscovering things that I have put away. As the @madcapcottage boys say: “When it’s time to change! Let’s rearrange…”

I worked in the yard for small amounts of time this week, but we have entered that portion of our flyover summer when it is too darn hot to do much outside. The yard is on its own.

I also worked on (and finished) my new Rifle Co. puzzle.

It was a fun one!

And I am reading J.C. Ryle’s oft-quoted book Holiness.

Published in 1879, it is remarkably readable and relevant. I highly recommend it!

“It is vain to shut our eyes to the fact that there is a vast quantity of so-called Christianity nowadays which you cannot declare positively unsound, but which, nevertheless, is not full measure, good weight and sixteen ounces to the pound. It is a Christianity in which there is undeniably ‘something about Christ and something about grace and something about faith and something about repentance and something about holiness’, but it is not the real ‘thing as it is’ in the Bible. Things are out of place and out of proportion.”

Boy, old J.C. should see what passes for Christianity these days!

Tomorrow is the birthday of film director and writer John Huston, who was born in Nevada, Missouri in 1906. He made a lot of movies–some bad and some good. You might want to watch one of his good ones such as Key Largo (1948) or The African Queen (1951). He also directed The Bible: In the Beginning, which was the second highest-grossing movie in 1966. (No kidding.) He also played Noah. It is not a great movie, but I would like to see Peter O’Toole as the Three Angels again. He was pretty great.

You will recall that he (they) brings down the wrath of God on Sodom and Gomorrah.

In my Bible reading I am currently in Judges and have recently read all about Samson and Delilah–quite a story! I was reminded that Cecil B. deMille made a movie about them with Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr cleverly titled Samson and Delilah (1949). I want to check it out.

I mean that story was made for the movies!

When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19 After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him.[a] And his strength left him.

20 Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”

He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

–Judges 16: 18-22

Well, we amuse ourselves.

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July 7, 2022

“And in your book they are all written, the days fashioned for me”*

by chuckofish

As you know, I am reading the Bible on a schedule. Recently I finished the book of Deuteronomy. I read this, the conclusion where Moses is renewing the covenant between God and Israel before he dies on Mount Nebo:

11 “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” (Deuteronomy 30:11-20)

Once again Moses is saying, you know what you should do, but you won’t do it.

The Apostle Paul makes a big deal of this chapter in Romans. So does John Steinbeck in his magnus opus East of Eden.

Here’s Tim Keller’s take on how it points to the Gospel. If you have 45 minutes–put down Instagram–and watch it.

Boy, he’s good.

*Jeremiah 2: 16

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December 30, 2021

Another slice of gingerbread

by chuckofish

Did you have a merry Christmas? I hope so. Daughter #2 and Katiebelle leave today and I will get back to regular blogging shortly. Until then, here’s wishing you a happy new year and hoping that you resolve to grow in godliness in 2022. However, I agree with Anne that “the way out is not to try to baptize self-consideration. Nor to take to oneself the work of the Holy Spirit. Rather, the Christian above all people has access to the greatest gift given by God–to lose track of oneself in the worship of a holy and merciful God.”

Here’s the 2021 TCM Remembers video which features film luminaries who died this past year.

I’ll be toasting the wonderful Israeli actress Haya Harareet who died this year in February.

Check out this four-minute clip of PCA minister Alistair Begg–“The Man on the middle cross said I could come.”

The full sermon is titled “The Power and Message of the Cross” and can be watched in its entirety here.

R.C. Sproul reminded us continually that “Disciples of Christ abide in His Word. Those who abide in His Word know the truth and are free.” Here is a list of Bible reading plans for 2022 from Ligonier Ministries.

So again, Happy New Year! Thank you for reading our blog.

We are happy to be welcoming a new year, but remember to celebrate responsibly. Daughter #1 is headed back to Jeff City early because the weather forecast for this weekend looks lousy. Our New Year’s Eve plans will be curtailed and low-key. C’est la vie.

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,

    With Thee, O Father, as my harbour,

    Thee O Son, at my helm,

    Thee O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.

Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,

    My lamp burning,

    My ear open to thy calls,

    My heart full of love, my soul free.

Give me Thy grace to sanctify me,

    Thy comforts to cheer me,

    Thy wisdom to teach,

    Thy right hand to guide,

    Thy counsel to instruct,

    Thy law to judge,

Thy presence to stabilize.

    May Thy fear be my awe,

    Thy triumphs my joy.

–Jonathan Edwards
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