BlogSpot52.com

Aug

2015

Home-made Table Tennis Table

Making a Table Tennis Table

It’s summer—and what do you do with your kids that they will enjoy, and how do you do it on a nil budget? Had you thought about … table tennis!

We viewed a short “how to” video on YouTube (that was fun and gave us inspiration and ideas)—here is the link. I liked the way the whole family got involved in the project and thought maybe I could replicate the approach with my son, Matthew, aged twelve.

Budget and Basics

We had to start from scratch, so we figured out some measurements and decided we could make a frame that would be sturdy and stable enough to hold an 8’ x 4’ fiber particle board. Off to Home Depot we drove, purchased some 8’ length studs (lumber in the USA is relatively inexpensive) which we could cut down and screw and glue together into a frame—cost, under $10.00 for the studs, and a bit under $30 for the board.

Matthew chose the color for the paint and was fascinated as the attendant mixed it to the exact code. Meanwhile, another attendant had cut the board to a smaller size so that we could fit it in our Volvo. It’s amazing what you can fit into our Volvo when you put the back seat down. This car really is quite a workhorse!

Applied Science

Measuring, cutting, and drilling came next. This is applied science. All those things that had been learned in sixth grade began to find direct and practical application (like, Would there be enough paint in the can to cover nearly 50 square feet? How important are right angles and perpendiculars when it comes to getting legs to be fitted to a frame? How can we avoid wobbles?) The painting was fun, too. We ended up with temporarily green fingers.

We are blessed to have an enclosed deck—called a screen porch in the USA—so that makes a great place to put our table. Construction was fairly straightforward, but then we had to think of paddles and a net. We started with some pieces of plywood and a plastic ball about as large as a marble, but that was too challenging. A thrift store yielded six real table tennis balls for a total of 49 cents (hey, it was really nice to hear the proper sound of a ping-pong ball on the table!); then we checked out the dimensions and exact shape of paddles online (it’s amazing what you can find on the Internet), worked out a template to cut some plywood off-cuts we had, reinforcing them with a more robust handle made from some old dowel that had been left over from another project. The game really got going then, even using an imaginary net. Then I found what I thought I had—a small piece of netting from when I had repaired an insect screen. Joined together, there was just enough of it to make a six-inch-high net that would reach over the width of the table, held in place with a couple of home-made brackets and with the net tightly secured with bulldog clips.

Hours of Sweat and Fun

How many hours have we enjoyed playing table tennis so far? I’ve lost count. And I’ve also learned that I have relatively little chance of beating my son, whose eye-to-hand coordination seems much better than mine. We can even play at night when the evenings are cooler, as there is a light and overhead fan—and the air currents from the fan certainly add an interesting dynamic to whichever way the ball is influenced when it is hit.

Enjoy the three-minute video of Matthew and me below. And if you come and visit us, expect to be offered—and challenged to—a game of table tennis!

Jul

2015

Friend Focus: Glenda Hotton

Why Focus on a Friend?

My service of editing and helping people develop an online presence introduces me to some delightful people. In serving them, it is my privilege to have made new friends over the years, so I thought it would be good from time to time to point the camera, as it were, on some of them, and the excellent ministries that they themselves conduct.

Glenda Hotton

In this post, I would like to introduce Glenda. I first became aware of her when my good friend, Dr. Paul Tautges, began recruiting authors for a series of booklets he and I were spearheading, Day One’s Living in a Fallen World resources, now available as the Lifeline Mini-Books from Shepherd Press.

Glenda’s little book, then titled Help! I Can’t Submit to My Husband, posed some challenges when it came to finding an appropriate cover image. We wanted something that communicated “Hey! You must read this” but the matter of perceived relevance played an arpeggio in the orchestra of our thinking. We even considered a 1940s monochromatic image with a humorous visual hint of “Surely this kind of idea is old fashioned and you can’t be serious to bring this into Christian teaching today!”

Well, we persevered, and eventually found an image that worked–and it wasn’t the monochrome one! And if you would like to see what the Shepherd Press version is going to look like, take a look here for a preview!

Times change, and with the end of my former employers’ presence in the USA, a new strategy was developed; hence the Shepherd Press initiative. In this, I came to have more direct dealings with Glenda, especially when she commissioned me to take charge of some developments in her online strategy. The outcome? Find out here by visiting her site!

Practical Godliness

Glenda is a delightful lady who cherishes and makes the most of every opportunity to inculcate a spirit of practical godliness on the part of the women whom she mentors. A member of Grace Community Church, Sun Valley (John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher there), she teaches regularly at the Master’s College.

Being a Help Meet

The term help meet sounds a little old fashioned to some people, but it articulates a wonderful truth from creation, how it was that the first woman, Eve, was to be a helper suitable to and corresponding to her husband, Adam. Glenda loves to tease out the practical implications of this in her writing and speaking ministry, and her blog is replete with thoughts, biblical principles, and lines of application to her readers. If you are a woman seeking guidance on how to grow on grace and godliness in the area of womanliness and in the service of marriage and motherhood, Glenda has so much to offer.

Gracious

Inculcating a spirit of grace in others comes so easily and naturally to Glenda, as she models it herself. Having seen so much of her material in working with her in building her website, I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed in reading her writings and considering her points of application. You will find her an excellent mentor!

Glenda’s Resources

Glenda offers various downloads, some for free, others for a small payment. You might like to check out her free audio message here. And there is also a downloadable PDF study guide to go with it here.

Whether you are the mother of a young daughter (and would like to help her to grow into a gracious young woman who understands social etiquette), whether you are a young bride, or whether you are a seasoned mom and grandmother, you will find helpful ideas and principles on Glenda’s site to guide, challenge and inspire you! And, if you respond to any of her posts, I know she will be delighted to engage with you.

Jul

2015

Understanding Anger: Shepherd Press Blog

On Anger

Shepherd Press provides a wonderful range of resources to help ordinary people deal with matters of the heart. Consider the words of the SP blog posting of July 18th, 2015.

Anger is a difficult sin. Like an ice-breaker pushing huge chunks of ice in all directions, anger leaves a trail of broken pieces in its wake. Broken chunks of ice are good thing. Broken pieces of life – not so much.

Anger is often a response to injustice. With God this is good. His motives and reasons for anger are always pure and right. Your child’s anger is also often a response to injustice. But his motives and reasons are seldom pure and right.

A young child thinks he has been wronged because someone else has his toy. A middle-schooler is angry because others are not kind to her. A teenager struggles with anger because of guilt as a result of being entangled in the web of pornography. Children of any age can experience anger when they believe their parents do not understand them.

Paul, in Ephesians 4: 26-27, has important things to teach about anger.

First, anger is a part of life. Because your children live in a fallen world, there will always be things to be angry about. Sinful anger results when God is separated from personal anger. There must be a deep confidence that God sees all that is wrong. He has promised he will make all things right in his time (Romans 12:17-21 & 8:28)

Second, human anger must be quickly resolved. Paul says do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. Ignoring anger leads to more anger. If your child, middle-schooler or teenager is angry, don’t settle for a quick solution. Do whatever it takes to get to the underlying problem.

Whatever it takes!

Modern life steals time from families. There are appointments, schedules, school, church and the many other things that demand to be done. Time is essential to address anger.

Unresolved anger provides a foothold for the enemy. Anger is like cancer, it doesn’t stop growing unless it is removed. If you only clean up the broken pieces of life caused by anger, the root problem remains.

Please hear me! Anger covered over and not resolved will grow into an ugly, tragic mess. Failing to take time now can result in losing years to the aftermath of anger later on.

What can you do?

Listen well. Listen for attitudes as well as words. Listen for hurt, disappointment, indifference and despair. Listen for a troubled heart.

Speak with words that address your children’s heart and not only their actions. Use pleasant words, avoid harsh, sharp responses. Know your children well enough to say words that will truly build them up.

Remember that you have to be a refuge before you can be a resource. Pray eagerly for God’s help! These things take time. There is no substitute!

Live in humility before God and your children. Don’t be dominated by anger in your heart. Take the time needed to address anger.

This post is from Shepherd Press, July 18th, 2015 and may be accessed here.
Featured image from www.publicdomainpictures.net. "Like an ice-breaker pushing huge chunks of ice in all directions, anger leaves a trail of broken pieces in its wake."

Jul

2015

Responding to God’s Sovereignty in Our Circumstances: A Reading from C H Spurgeon

A Meditation from C H Spurgeon

As I have mentioned before, the insights, perspectives and applications of the nineteenth-century English preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, are both remarkable and abiding.

His ability to perceive truth and to draw lines of application from it to the situations ordinary people face was nothing short of remarkable. A young child once listening to him preach turned to his nanny and asked her, “Miss, why is Mr. Spurgeon speaking directly to me?” Others recounted that what he said from the pulpit came, as it were, as words directed to them personally from heaven.

Many people are puzzled by the intersection of God’s sovereignty, on the one hand, and human responsibility on the other. How do these matters fit together? There is a measure of confluence in these that we are not able completely to analyze, but which nevertheless are a part of the dynamic of our ongoing experience of life.

Consider Spurgeon’s brief meditation here. It is from a book of daily readings based on sermons he preached in the earlier phase of his ministry. Readers in the USA may buy the book at a discounted price, shipping-free, here.

A Wise Desire

“He shall choose our inheritance for us.” Psalm 47:4

Suggested Further Reading: Genesis 45:4-11

If you turn to the pages of inspiration, and read the lives of some of the most eminent saints, I think you will be obliged to see the marks of God’s providence in their histories too plainly to be mistaken. Take, for instance, the life of Joseph. There is a young man who from early life serves God. Read that life till its latest period when he gave commandment concerning his bones, and you cannot help marveling at the wondrous dealings of providence.

Did Joseph choose to be hated of his brethren? But, yet, was not their envy a material circumstance in his destiny? Did he choose to be put into the pit? But was not the putting into the pit as necessary to his being made a king in Egypt as Pharaoh’s dream? Did Joseph desire to be tempted of his mistress? He chose to reject the temptation, but did he choose the trial? No; God sent it. Did he choose to be put into the dungeon? No. And had he anything to do with the baker’s dream, or with Pharaoh’s either? Can you not see, all the way through, from first to last, even in the forgetfulness of the butler, who forgot to speak of Joseph till the appointed time came, when Pharaoh should want an interpreter, that there was truly the hand of God?

Joseph’s brethren did just as they liked when they put him into the pit. Potiphar’s wife followed the dictates of her own abandoned lust in tempting him. And yet, notwithstanding all the freedom of their will, it was ordained of God, and worked according together for one great end; to place Joseph on the throne; for as he said himself, “Ye meant it for evil, but God intended it for good, that he might save your souls alive!”

For meditation: You may find yourself in undesirable circumstances, but God can take these bad things and work them together for your good and his glory if you are his child (Romans 8:28). The all-knowing God knows what is best for us and can direct us clearly by our circumstances (Isaiah 48:17).

Sermon no. 33
8 July (1855)

Jul

2015

The Stars and the Stripes

It’s July 4th!

Go on… Celebrate! And enjoy the words below!

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro’ the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen thro’ the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov’d homes and the war’s desolation;
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Words from http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/starspangledbanner.html
Featured image from www.publicdomainpictures.net

Jun

2015

July Thoughts

Pray for America!

As we move into July, my thoughts turn to this great nation’s need for prayer. Consider the words recorded by Billy Graham in 2013:

‘Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable…

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from sin and Set us free. Amen!’

Heritage in a Hymn

Then consider the words of Samuel Francis Smith, composer of My Country, ‘Tis of Thee, in this prayer:

My country ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died!
Land of the Pilgrims’ pride!
From every mountain side,
Let freedom ring!

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love.
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture fills
Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom’s song.
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

Our fathers’ God to, Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
With freedom’s holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King!

Below is a musical rendering you might also enjoy watching.

Jun

2015

Victor Borge on Phonetic Punctuation

Put the Fun back into Phonetics!

I am a former school teacher; I am now an editor and a publishing consultant, as well as functioning in an entrepreneurial role. So, words are important to me. I use them; and I love using them correctly.

Occasionally, something shows up that puts the work of a linguist in a better, more humorous light. We need this kind of light relief! Danish born Victor Borge had just the skill to do this. I’ll share more of his jokes in future posts. (It is recorded, by the way, that even though Borge did not speak a word of English upon his arrival in the USA in World War II, he quickly managed to adapt his jokes to the American audience, learning English by watching movies!)

Enjoy his verbal and visual way of explaining the place of those simple punctuation marks in the two-minute clip below!

Jun

2015

When You Are Called to Walk on Water

A Welcome Email . . .

When my in box notified me there was an email in from my namesake, Jim, (his last name is Albright–very appropriate!), I could not have imagined the delight his project would bring me in the months following. Jim had crafted a book, borne of his experience of God’s grace and calling to be obedient to serve Him in the ministry of the gospel, but felt it would be good to run it through an editorial process just to tidy up some aspects of it, and get it ready for a publisher.

The title? Uncareful Lives–aptly subtitled Walking Where Feet May Fail.

Don Whitney says:
“Warning: Reading this book can be hazardous to your health. And your wealth. And your plans. And more. Read it, and you may find that you begin to live a more ‘uncareful life’ for the glory of God.”

Jim has become a friend, albeit an unmet friend, during the course of our association. I asked to interview him online. Here is the script. The book is available from mid-July 2015.

Interviewing Jim

Jim Holmes: Jim, you first contacted me more than a year ago, and mentioned you had written a book. You had labored long and hard over the project, but you also communicated to me that you wanted to run it through an editing process. This proved to be the intersection of two Jims; my life has certainly been the better for meeting you. I enjoyed reading your sample chapters immediately I saw them, and I sensed how much of a passion you have for the topic—living a life of reckless abandon for the Savior. Tell our readers how it is that you first felt the burden to write this book.

Jim Albright: Quite simply… It’s what I’ve learned about God. He has taught me how utterly faithful He is as I have, with much trembling at times, simply obeyed Him. As I say in the book, “We can do all He says because He will do all He says!” It’s true. He is our license to live our faith as big as we dare! I wanted to say this about Him. I needed to say this about Him. It’s the life God has redeemed every Christian to live–a life of glad reckless joy obedience!

Jim Holmes: The title is an intriguing one—“Uncareful Lives” That seems to be almost a contradiction of everything we are taught in Western culture. The pundits tell us to seek secure jobs, not to risk ourselves, not to do anything that may cause embarrassment, to be sure that we have an emergency fund in our bank, to have life and medical insurance, a well-primed pension, and so many other earthly securities. Would you make a few comments to our readers about (a) why you called the book “uncareful” and (b) whether you really are encouraging your readers to live in ways that some may consider irresponsible?

Jim Albright: The title came from the passage God used to change the trajectory of my life. I had been a businessman for twenty years when God called me to preach. I wanted to preach. It was burning in my bones to preach but I was just afraid to leave the security. It didn’t look like the responsible thing to do. God took me to Hebrews 11 and challenged me on what I professed to believe. And, of course, when you read God’s definition of faith in that great chapter and then look at the lives of the men and women listed there, you immediately recognize that real faith is never principally concerned with being careful but only with being faithful. Real faith will always take us beyond the commonsense life of conformity. Real faith always transcends the current resume. It’s one of God’s better gifts to us–an invitation to walk on the water with Him. Do we believe He’s God or not? Real faith says, yes! And then joyfully steps into the uncareful life of radical obedience!

“Real faith is never principally concerned with being careful but only with being faithful. Real faith will always take us beyond the commonsense life of conformity.”

Obviously, irresponsibility is in the eye of the beholder. There were people in my life who said as much as I left business to go to seminary at forty-two years of age. Was Abraham irresponsible to leave the security of what he knew? Was Moses irresponsible to stand before Pharaoh and challenge him? Was it irresponsible for David to step in front of Goliath? Well, from a strictly human perspective, most would say, yes. But this is what every born-again Christian knows and understands–if the Creator-God has put it in your heart to do it, it would irresponsible not to obey. Of course the true life of faith is never a careless, reckless, thoughtless or rash kind of life, rather, it is a bold, daring, courageous, and abandoned kind of life in obeying Jesus Christ.

Jim Holmes: In a nutshell, what is the message or burden of your book?

Jim Albright: Our God is God! He is breathtakingly awesome! We can live Hebrews 11 because He is who He is! If we really believe this, we must really live this. Life is way too short not to give all of ourselves away to Him! And here’s the deal–every born-again Christian desperately wants to go with Jesus. My book is simply an exhortation to get on with it!

Jim Holmes: Your life seems to have been a series of adventures, especially since you quit your job in corporate business. What is the greatest challenge that you encountered along the way?

Jim Albright: The biggest battle was the first step. It was leaving the commonsense herd-life. It was cutting the cord of career security. It was that first step out onto the water. The first step was the hardest, beyond that it’s been pure joy. As I say in the book, Karen and I love the surfing metaphor. All we have to do is keep our balance and stay on the board. All we have to do is take the ride. All the power, direction, force, speed, and timing are in the wave. God is our wave. We’ve learned that our job is simple: just maintain our equilibrium, and He does everything else.

Jim Holmes: You mention your wife Karen several times in the book; does she share the same passion that you do for living uncarefully? And what did she think of your putting pen to paper to write your story?

Jim Albright: Yeah…She’s hopelessly in love with Jesus Christ. She knows He’s God and she knows He’s good. She would follow Him anywhere. Karen is just a perfect wife in the most important sense; she is always “all in” with God. She has always been my biggest cheerleader. She was jazzed about the book and was indispensable in the editing process.

Jim Holmes: As I was working through the book from an editing point of view, I was struck by the number of OT and NT characters who lived by faith and who were called to do remarkable things for God; should we, as modern-day believers, expect to have to face the same kinds of challenges? Could you let us have some examples of how modern Christians might have to apply some of these principles?

Jim Albright: Yes, of course! If God-believing, Word-doing faith pleases God, which Hebrews 11:6 clearly says is true, certainly we can expect that He will perpetually bring us to crossroads of faith throughout our lives. God loves faith, and what every true Christian discovers as we genuinely begin to walk with Him, is that we love it too. It’s just one God-encounter after another. It’s addicting. Once you’ve tasted that kind of life, you can’t live small anymore.

God means for His people to bring Word-doing faith to bear in every circumstance of life. There is not one area of life exempt from radically believing and obeying Him. Christianity is pretty simple. Jesus says, “Follow Me!” And real believers get up every day and do just that.

Jim Holmes: Tell our readers—what was the trigger that put you into a writing trajectory?

Jim Albright: The Lord gave me the title five years before I ever started writing. I knew I wanted to say these things about Him; in fact, I needed to say these things about Him. It was my great honor and joy to give testimony to His faithfulness in our lives. I could not, not do it. I had to tell everyone what I’ve learned about Him. Radically going with Christ is just the best life available. Life is way too short to settle for anyone or anything else. His words in John 14:21 are true. In obedience He “discloses” Himself! It doesn’t get any better!

Jim Holmes: Now here’s a request that might be a hard one: Could you let us have a favorite paragraph from your book?

Jim Albright: What a terrible question to ask an author! [Laughter] Too many favorites to mention but I will share one of the closing paragraphs of the book as I challenge readers to embrace the uncareful life of walking intimately with Jesus Christ:

I know, some of you are looking at the wind and waves and feel you need to opt out on the water-walking thing for one very good reason or another. What is Satan telling you? Is he telling you it’s impossible? He’s right. Is he telling you it’s risky? He’s right. Is he telling you it will be costly? He’s right. Is he telling you your life will radically change in unpredictable ways? He’s right. Of course he’s right! He’s merely parroting what God has already told you about discipleship. This is not new information! C. S. Lewis insightfully writes, “It is a remarkable fact that on this subject Heaven and Hell speak with one voice . . . What Heaven desires and Hell fears is precisely that further step, out of our depth, out of our own control.” Satan wants you in the boat. You’re no bother to him there. You pose no threat to him there. It’s those pesky water-walkers he hates. He knows they’re the most dangerous people on the planet! They’re the ones God uses to turn the world upside-down!

Jim Holmes: What other books do you have in mind to write?

Jim Albright: I have three more in my head right now. I’m actively working on one of them. I love the breathtaking power, genius and exuberance of God displayed in the created order. It’s in my heart to write about this. The project is intimidating but I feel Him leading me on.

Jim Holmes: How can people get a copy or copies of your book?

Jim Albright: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes. Also, check out the links I’ll let you have at the end of the interview.

Jim Holmes: Are you open to special speaking projects, etc., as you get this book into the public arena?

Jim Albright: Yes of course…It would be a tremendous honor and great joy!

Jim Holmes: Do you have a special website or any way that people could see you and hear you speak?

Jim Albright: Yes, there various places on social media where I can be found. The key ones are these:

A dedicated site for the book itself, uncarefullives.com

The church where I am the pastor, International Church of Milan, icm-milan.com

Jim Albright sermon podcast

Facebook

Jim’s book is published by Ambassador Emerald International. A trade paperback of 160pp, the ISBN is 978-1620205303, and the suggested retail price $12.99. It has good endorsements from Lance Quinn, Don Whitney, Curtis Thomas and Jim Elliff.

The text of this interview is © copyright, blogspot52.com 2015 and may be reproduced in its entirety provided due acknowledgement is made of the copyright holder, with or without graphic or illustrative content.

Jun

2015

A Little Bird Told Me

Some months ago, I completed work on an editorial project involving Dr. Timothy Cross. Timothy, author of over thirty books, resides in Cardiff, Wales. When he first showed me his proposed manuscript, I liked it immediately, and recommended it for publication by the company I was working for at the time. Then, through a series of events, it ended up being brought into print by Christian Focus. The title chosen makes me think of Twitter. And that could be a blog post in and of itself!

I so much like the way that Timothy wrote the book, that I thought I should share some background to the story with you. It comes in the form of an interview. Enjoy!

To purchase a copy of the book, check out this link here or here.

Jim: The English language uses many sayings from the Bible, and people often quote them without even realizing they are quoting from the Word of God. You have been working on this fascinating book, “A Little Bird Told Me–Everyday Expressions from Scripture”, for some months. How did you first come up with the idea?

Timothy: Like an oak tree, the book grew from a small acorn! I kept on hearing politicians, colleagues and even footballers using expressions from the Bible without realizing it, and I thought that pointing out that these were biblical expressions, and explaining their meaning would make for interesting messages for my gospel slot on the monthly South Wales Talking Magazine. The response to the messages was very encouraging, and I typed up some of them and these were published as a mini series in the Evangelical Times. This wider audience response was also very favourable and I thought ‘I’m on to something here’. Surprisingly, the subject does not seem to be very well covered in Christian literature, and this motivated me to get a compilation of everyday expressions from the Bible and their meaning into print. My experience reveals that both Christians and non Christians seem to have a fascination for the origins of and background to expressions from the Bible which are in everyday use.

Jim: Tell us about some of the blessings to you personally in working on this project.

Timothy: If one is convinced that the Bible is no ordinary book but the very Word of God itself, then digging into Scriptures–whether it is preparing a sermon or researching a book or for personal devotions–is one of the greatest privileges and blessings possible this side of eternity. The more I study the Bible (and I have been at it a long time!) the more I am convinced of its divine inspiration. According to 2 Timothy 3:15, the purpose of ‘all Scripture’ is to lead us to Christ. Thus when a believer studies Scripture in the right spirit, the Lord Jesus always draws closer. The inspired Word and the incarnate Word, while distinguishable in principle, in practice are inextricable in our personal experience.

Jim: We’ve heard it said that all writers get “Writer’s Block”. Is this true of you? How do you deal with it?

Timothy: At the risk of being a heretic I have never suffered from ‘writer’s block’ and I have written over thirty books. A godly elder once told me that when it comes to sermon preparation, ‘Let the message make an impression on your soul, then there will be no trouble with expression.’ The same applies, I believe to Christian writing. Christian writing is unlike secular creative writing in that it is not original but rather a matter expounding the Scriptures which have been given. Saying that though all Christian writers and preachers aspire to expounding the Scriptures with both clarity and passion and not put any human barriers between them and the hearers/readers.

Jim: What was the most surprising or inspiring saying that you think you used in this book?

Timothy: When people say ‘I’m almost at my wits’ end’ they never fail to be surprised when you say to them, ‘Did you know that you have just quoted from Psalm 107:27?’ Choosing the most inspiring saying from the fifty-two is difficult. You are asking me to choose a Quality Street chocolate! I personally though find it incredibly heartwarming when Almighty God refers to His redeemed children as ‘The apple of my eye’–see Chapter 1.. This can only be explained by divine grace–God’s love for the undeserving and ill-deserving.

Jim: There are 52 readings in this book. That could seem an unusual number. Tell us about this.

Timothy: There was no predetermined plan to this, but rather just the way the work panned out. It began with six chapters, and I never thought that these would go beyond the South Wales Talking Magazine and Evangelical Times. The Lord’s people kept encouraging me, though, so I continued my research, and the chapters came to 31, which I thought would be suitable for daily devotionals–31 days being in most months. A publisher–you!–then asked me to increase the chapters to 52. I was reticent, as I was by then working on other writing projects. Before I knew it, though, extra ‘Everyday Sayings from the Bible’ came to my mind and attention, and these were written up. In fact I now have several extra chapters which are not included in the work. Books have an ideal length in my opinion. I like them to be neither too long nor too short. Fifty-two–the number of weeks in a year–seemed to be the ideal length. Each chapter is self contained while being in line with the overall theme. It can be read either one chapter at a time or a few chapters at a time in a pick up, put down manner. It might even make a daily travelling companion for someone commuting to work, or a spiritual ‘pick me up’ during the lunch hour.

Jim: You are very good at drawing lines of application from the truth you are writing about to us in our modern world. How would you advise ordinary people to cultivate this practice when dealing with family, friends and neighbours?

Timothy: If this compliment is true, it stems from my years in the pulpit. Pulpit preaching is a matter of the explanation and the application of a biblical text–not so much a matter of making the Bible relevant, but rather bringing people under its eternal relevance. While the Bible was written in a certain context which should always be borne in mind when accurately expounding it, as the Word of God it is also timeless. God is our eternal contemporary and thus His Word is always relevant. Similarly, human nature does not change even if human technology does. Those in Bible times shared the same hopes, fears, aspirations, stresses and perplexities as we do. But their needs–just as our needs–were met by the saving and sustaining grace of God in Christ.

Jim: Are you available to give talks to people at churches, conferences, etc., on the topics in this book? What is the best way for people to contact you if so?

Timothy: Yes!–though I have quite a full diary of preaching engagements, involved as I am in the local church. I am contactable via the contact section of my website.

Jim: Dr. Cross, it has been a pleasure interviewing you on this subject. Thank you for taking the time for this interview!

Timothy: You are more than welcome. If the readers find half the blessing in reading the work as the blessing I had in preparing the work, I will be more than amply repaid.

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This interview is © copyright, blogspot52.com 2015 and may be reproduced in its entirety provided due acknowledgement is made of the copyright holder, with or without graphic or illustrative content.

Jun

2015

John Calvin on This Present Life and Its Comforts

“Lawful Comforts”

One of the greatest thinkers of all time, John Calvin, is often thought as being rather a monochromatic personality. Yet his insights into life and liberty are both remarkable and refreshing. In The Institutes, Book 3 Chapter 10, he wrote about how we may make appropriate use of this present world and the enjoyable things if offers us. The two paragraphs lower down are taken directly from his writing. The full section may be accessed here.

I was reminded of the grace of God applied universally to people in His gifts of variety in fruit and vegetables. It made me think of how Calvin so eloquently articulates this point in the paragraphs below, using the examples of foods given not only for necessity but also for our delight; and so, too, in the analogy of the properties of substances such as gold, silver, ivory and marble, these substances being graced above other metals or stones.

Enjoy reading these short excerpts from Calvin’s writing!

[God] consulted not only for our necessity, but also for our enjoyment and delight . . .

2. Let this be our principle, that we err not in the use of the gifts of Providence when we refer them to the end for which their author made and destined them, since he created them for our good, and not for our destruction. No man will keep the true path better than he who shall have this end carefully in view. Now then, if we consider for what end he created food, we shall find that he consulted not only for our necessity, but also for our enjoyment and delight. Thus, in clothing, the end was, in addition to necessity, comeliness and honour; and in herbs, fruits, and trees, besides their various uses, gracefulness of appearance and sweetness of smell. Were it not so, the Prophet would not enumerate among the mercies of God “wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine,” (Ps. 104:15). The Scriptures would not everywhere mention, in commendation of his benignity, that he had given such things to men. The natural qualities of things themselves demonstrate to what end, and how far, they may be lawfully enjoyed. Has the Lord adorned flowers with all the beauty which spontaneously presents itself to the eye, and the sweet odour which delights the sense of smell, and shall it be unlawful for us to enjoy that beauty and this odour? What? Has he not so distinguished colours as to make some more agreeable than others? Has he not given qualities to gold and silver, ivory and marble, thereby rendering them precious above other metals or stones? In short, has he not given many things a value without having any necessary use?

Gold and silver, ivory and marble
. . . precious above other metals or stones . . .

3. Have done, then, with that inhuman philosophy which, in allowing no use of the creatures but for necessity, not only maliciously deprives us of the lawful fruit of the divine beneficence, but cannot be realised without depriving man of all his senses, and reducing him to a block. But, on the other hand, let us with no less care guard against the lusts of the flesh, which, if not kept in order, break through all bounds, and are, as I have said, advocated by those who, under pretence of liberty, allow themselves every sort of license. First one restraint is imposed when we hold that the object of creating all things was to teach us to know their author, and feel grateful for his indulgence. Where is the gratitude if you so gorge or stupify yourself with feasting and wine as to be unfit for offices of piety, or the duties of your calling? Where the recognition of God, if the flesh, boiling forth in lust through excessive indulgences infects the mind with its impurity, so as to lose the discernment of honour and rectitude? Where thankfulness to God for clothing, if on account of sumptuous raiment we both admire ourselves and disdain others? if, from a love of show and splendour, we pave the way for immodesty? Where our recognition of God, if the glare of these things captivates our minds? For many are so devoted to luxury in all their senses that their mind lies buried: many are so delighted with marble, gold, and pictures, that they become marble-hearted – are changed as it were into metal, and made like painted figures. The kitchen, with its savoury smells, so engrosses them that they have no spiritual savour. The same thing may be seen in other matters. Wherefore, it is plain that there is here great necessity for curbing licentious abuse, and conforming to the rule of Paul, “make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof,” (Rom. 13:14 ). Where too much liberty is given to them, they break forth without measure or restraint.

Image credit: Featured image of fruit from www.publicdomainpictures.net

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“Lawful Comforts”

[God] consulted not only for our necessity, but also for our enjoyment and delight . . .

Gold and silver, ivory and marble . . . precious above other metals or stones . . .

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Don Whitney says:
“Warning: Reading this book can be hazardous to your health. And your wealth. And your plans. And more. Read it, and you may find that you begin to live a more ‘uncareful life’ for the glory of God.”

Gold and silver, ivory and marble
. . . precious above other metals or stones . . .