Great Prayers of the Old Testament by Walter Brueggemann

Presbyterian Publishing graciously sent me a review copy of this book.

Walter Brueggemann exposits twelve prayers of the Old Testament including those of Abraham, Moses, Hannah, David, Solomon, Jonah, Jeremiah, Hezekiah, Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel and Job.

The substantive Introduction includes discussion on the origins of prayer including the first recorded prayer of the Israelites in Egypt.

Brueggemann often contrasts the primitive prayer of antiquity to those in the modern church, albeit a bit cynically:

It is evident in contemporary church practice, given rational assumptions and psychological sophistication, that much prayer in the church is reduced to an emotional exercise. This is evident in our propensity to ‘feel better’ when we pray, and in the readiness to water down petitions so as not to ask in bold ways, when our modernity assumes that in fact there is no one listening anyway.

Each chapter includes background information pertaining to history, culture, politics and context surrounding each prayer. The prayers are exposited as opposed to being devotional or pastoral in nature. Grammar and a bit of Hebrew are delved into, but not in a way that is cumbersome or not easily understandable to a wide audience. Although there is brief mention of application, this is left mainly for the reader to ponder through three Questions for Reflection and Discussion at the end of each chapter.

It’s obvious that the author has a firm grasp of the Old Testament, often providing references to other passages that are relevant to the discussion. Ties to the New Testament are also occasionally mentioned.

If I may use the terms liberal and conservative, Brueggemann is on the liberal side from my conservative perspective.

Some things that make you go hmmm…

• The author says that, “Abraham and YHWH share confidences and are perhaps ‘best friends,’” although to be fair he mentions that Isaiah 41:8 has it, “Abraham, my friend.” Also regarding Abraham he says that “Abraham finds a ‘prayer partner’” who is competent and ready to be engaged.”
• Regarding Moses, “It is evident in this exchange that Moses loves Israel more passionately than does YHWH, and it is this greater passion that sets the tone of urgency in the prayer.”
• In the chapter on the prayer of Hezekiah which mentions the oppression of the Assyrian empire: “Those of us who belong to the United States as an imperial power may take note that the transformative prayer is on the lips of those who are under threat from empire.” I’m speechless on this one. Make of it what you may.

A brief Retrospect ties everything together very well.

The book is well organized and thought out, and is very efficient with words, leaving this reader feeling that it’s just the right length.

The author speaks with one bit of humor (pages 11-12 which I won’t spoil for you) and passion.

I assumed that anything coming from the book’s publisher, Westminster John Knox Press, would be in a similar vein to my conservative/reformed proclivities but apparently that isn’t always the case, thus I was a bit taken aback by some of the things I read. However, my preferences should in no way detract from the quality of the book for those who may be interested. I came away with not only a better understanding of the twelve prayers, but a better understanding of parts of the Old Testament.

Paperback: 142 pages
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press (October 1, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0664231748

Buy it at:
Amazon.com

Mystery and paradox abound in our experience, and I don’t think we as Christians should be ashamed, or too proud, or too afraid to admit that mystery exists even in the areas that confuse and scare us the most and that cause us the most doubt. Any theological answer must humbly make room for the amount of answers we don’t have.

–Damian Caruana, Castle of Nutshells

Unlike most men I know, Jesus also loved to praise other people. When he worked a miracle, he often deflected credit back on the recipient: ‘Your faith has healed you.’ He called Nathanael ‘a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.’ Of John the Baptist, he said there was none great born of women. Volatile Peter he renamed ‘the Rock.’ When a cringing woman offered him an extravagant act of devotion, Jesus defended her against critics and said the story of her generosity would be told forever.

–Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew

Praising others is not one of my strengths. I’m praying that this year during the Christmas season while spending more time with others that God will give me the grace, and that I will be obedient, in loving others in this way.

I pray that those reading this blog will have a nice time celebrating the birth of Jesus and spending time with others.

That those without family will find fellowship with others.

That those who are estranged, alone or suffering would find comfort in and fellowship with our Lord.

Hebrews

Something I wouldn’t have noticed without a commentary:

Psalm 110 provides the key text of this epistle, and the significance of Christ’s being a seated high priest is explicitly set forth in the following chapters, especially in Hebrews 10:11-14, where he is contrasted with the Aaronic priests who remained standing because their sacrificial service never came to an end.

F.F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews

Isaiah 57:15b TNIV
“I live in a high and holy place,
but also with those who are contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

I have to admit I understand the revive part but didn’t understand how our spirit is revived and what the difference is between spirit and heart.

I was taking spirit to mean similar to what’s mentioned in James:

James 2:26 TNIV
“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”

As an aside, the NLT seems to be even more literal here as far as I can see:

James 2:26 NLT
Just as the body is dead without breath,* so also faith is dead without good works.
*Or without spirit.

Looking at Strong’s and BDB shows a wide semantic range. But then I could see what spirit probably means in this context. As in, “My spirit was low after I got the bad news.”

The NLT gets more at the meaning:

“I live in the high and holy place
with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.
I restore the crushed spirit of the humble
and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.”

The NET is rather surprising:

“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,
but also with the discouraged and humiliated,
in order to cheer up the humiliated
and to encourage the discouraged.”

The more dynamic translations/renderings help me to see the possible meaning and have something to go on for further investigation.

How do you think they did?

My back prevents me from spending any more time on this one.

I’ve mentioned my back problem(s) to some people and thought I’d give an update and just write some ramblings.

I got my first steroid injection into the area of the herniated disk. They told me the anesthetic would hurt a little which is no big deal and I’m not abnormally afraid of needles. What they didn’t tell me is how much the fluid going in would press on the nerve root. Wow. That was more back pain than I’ve ever had in my back and radiating down. My pain tolerance has always been pretty high and I’ve grown accustomed to it but this was kind of a shock. Even in my Zen conscious relaxation mode I still involuntarily jumped which the doctor told me to try not to do. Well maybe he should have told me this might happen!

Before the procedure I was reading a blog post on my personal media player about John 3:16. I was thinking about how the HCSB correctly renders it, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” But we know God loved/loves the world so much, so how about Scripture for that? While I was in the recovery room I was reading Ephesians 1-2 and came across 2:4: “But God, who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us,”. What a great passage of Scripture to read at a time like that.

I don’t normally write about what I got in the mail to review because I just write about it when I review it, but I got Great Prayers of the Old Testament by Walter Brueggemann from Presbyterian Publishing which is the first book I requested from them. That was a nice thing to see while still being in pain. I’m very glad to start a relationship with them. I should have a review in January. I’m still very anxious to read A Call to Spiritual Reformation by D.A. Carson which deals with Paul’s prayers. It will be good to start with the OT prayers.

Time to get off this office chair.

John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion Doctrine & Doxology Edited by Burk Parsons

Contributors include: Jay E. Adams, Eric J. Alexander, Thabiti Anyabwile, Thomas K. Ascol, Joel R.
Beeke, Jerry Bridges, Sinclair B. Ferguson, W. Robert Godfrey, D. G. Hart, Michael Horton, Phillip R. Johnson, Steven J. Lawson, John MacArthur, Keith A. Mathison, Burk Parsons, Richard D. Phillips, Harry L. Reeder, Philip Graham Ryken and Derek W. H. Thomas.

There are so many caricatures of Calvinism (and Arminianism) found on the web that it can be difficult to know exactly what Calvinism really is. What better way to do that than to read about John Calvin as written by contemporary historians, authors, preachers and theologians?

From the book’s description:
“John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology is a winsome portrait that dashes stereotypes about Calvin and the theological system that bears his name.”

…the amount of misrepresentation to which Calvin’s theology has been subjected has been enough to prove his doctrine of total depravity several times over!

–J.I. Packer, The Collected Shorter Writings of J. I. Packer

There are so many quotable quotes in this book it’s difficult to choose which ones to include in this review to whet the appetite of anyone who might be interested in reading the book.

Iain H. Murray writes this in the Foreward:

Sometimes the impression can be given to other Christians that we regard ‘Calvinism’ as co-terminus with Christianity and that we think all gospel preaching can be fitted into the five points. The five points are not to be depreciated, but God is incomprehensibly greater than our understanding, and there are other truths to be preached far beyond our capacity to harmonize.

Calvin cautions us here. In speaking of the indiscriminate invitations of Christ in John 5, he observes, ‘He is ready to give himself, provided that they are only willing to believe.’ He can say that ‘nothing of all that God wishes to be saved shall perish’ and yet warn his hearers lest the opportunity of salvation ‘pass away from us.’ He speaks of Christ’s ‘great kindness’ to Judas and affirms, ‘Christ does not lay Judas under the necessity of perishing.’ If on occasions, when in controversy with opponents of Scripture, Calvin unduly presses the implications of a doctrine, he guards against that temptation in his general preaching and teaching. He does not hesitate to teach that God loves those who will not be saved; indeed, he writes that God ‘wishes all men to be saved,’ and to the objection that God cannot wish what He has not ordained, it is enough for Calvin to confess: ‘Although God’s will is simple, yet great variety is involved in it, as far as our senses are concerned. Besides, it is not surprising that our eyes should be blinded by intense light.’ Our duty, he would say, is to adore the loftiness of God rather than investigate it.

The book is very accessible to any audience and has very few words that need to be looked up unless the reader is a very new Christian and very unfamiliar with Biblical terms.

Some of the first few chapters about Calvin’s life (each written by a different author) have some repeated information. To put it in software terms, I’m not sure if this is a feature or a bug. Meaning, I’m not sure if more editing should have been done or if it was intentional to let each author’s account be left alone. In any case, each account fills in some details that others hadn’t and none of it is conflicting.

For the most part the book is not defensive or polemic. Arminianism isn’t brought up much until the chapter by John MacArthur entitled Man’s Radical Corruption. I’m not sure if he’s the best person to be talking about Arminianism, especially since he calls it a “scheme.” Other than that there is occasional mention of Calvin’s objectors but the book just gives an account of how he counters them.

Since the book is written by contemporary authors, we can get a glimpse of how Calvin contrasts with some of our typical current evangelical thought and vocabulary. A couple of examples:

His language here is strikingly different from that of contemporary evangelicalism. It is hard to imagine him speaking about ‘letting Jesus into my heart’ or ‘praying to accept Jesus’; indeed, for Calvin, the movement of conversion is not ‘getting Christ in’ but ‘getting into Christ.’

Calvin resisted the temptation to redesign the church and followed the Reformation pattern of returning the church to its biblical design and apostolic simplicity. He was convinced the church had a sufficient designer, Jesus Christ, and an effective design, which was delineated in Scripture and displayed in the church of the first century. Clearly, Calvin would abhor the efforts of today’s church leaders to ‘redesign’ the church. He was aware that the Lord does not call us to pray for church designers, since the designer of the church is Christ, but to pray for ‘builders and laborers’ to faithfully build on ‘the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone’ (Eph. 2:20).

This book is not only good for those who aren’t familiar with Calvinism, but also for those who would call themselves Calvinists but don’t know a lot about Calvin himself and what classical Calvinism really is. Since each chapter is relatively short, none of the subjects are gone into in great depth but this gives the reader an idea of whether or not they would like to go further in investigating Calvin and reformed theology. It also sheds light on the fact that he’s not just about theology and TULIP. For myself, I learned how much he emphasizes prayer and will be reading more about that from him.

I enjoyed this book very much and wholeheartedly recommend it.

Also see:

• An interview with Burk Parsons
• Endorsements, Table of Contents, Foreward and Chapter 1 (PDF File)

Book details:

• Hardcover: 246 pages
• Publisher: Reformation Trust Publishing (November 28, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1567691064
• ISBN-13: 978-1567691061
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches

Buy it at:

• Ligonier
• Amazon
• Westminster Bookstore

24/7: A One Year Chronological Bible by Tyndale

This review is of the paperback edition which I received from Laura Bartlett at Tyndale. There is also a hardcover edition available.

I have been thinking that I would like to read the NLT translation the next time I read through the whole Bible. So when Laura Bartlett graciously offered a review copy of 24/7 I jumped at the chance.

The last time I read through the Bible I did so in chronological order. Although some may not like the idea of changing the order of the canon of Scripture, I really benefited from reading in this order. I would never use this as a reference or study Bible, only for reading, although the General Timeline and dates would be useful for anyone who doesn’t have a study Bible.

What does 24/7 refer to? To sum up their page devoted to it: “We hope you enjoy this Bible and find that it challenges you to be a Christian 24/7.”

Tyndale says, “The interior art and square shape were designed to appeal to a younger audience.” I’m not sure why square Bibles appeal to young people. Maybe someone could fill me in on that. The aesthetics certainly appeal to a younger audience but it’s not so ‘out there’ that it wouldn’t appeal to any age group.

Below is a picture of the cardboard cover at the left and the Bible at the right. Remember this is the paperback.

The dimensions are 6.50 X 5.00 X 1.75 inches. You can see the relative size here with the middle Bible being the NLT Slimline Large Print:

The paperback version is relatively light and small and would be good for people on the go who want to read during lunch or on the bus. Please don’t read while driving.

Features of this Bible:

• General Timeline
• One Year Reading Plan
• Transition Statements
• Chronological Dating
• Daily Reading Guide
• Scripture Index
• Verse Callouts (see picture below)
• Historic Christian Symbols*

*The interior art are woodcuts of historic Christian symbols that Tyndale commissioned for the project.

Click for a larger picture

The woodcut images are visual connections with the early church. There is a different one for each month and they are included on each odd numbered page. I’m ambivalent about this. They are a little distracting and with the thin pages there is bleed through on the even numbered pages. On the other hand, there may be a sense of progress and achievement when going from one graphic to the next and they give the reader a sense of time and history.

The font size is fairly small but the kerning (the adjustment of horizontal space between individual characters in a line of text) is more generous than other editions I’ve seen like the regular slimline and pew editions which greatly helps readability. I’m guessing the font size is approx. 9pt if that means anything to you.

As you can see in the picture above the text goes pretty far into the inside margins which has been a complaint of the slimline editions. It’s not as bad as it looks in the picture because the Bible isn’t being held as one would when reading it, but it is pretty close to the inside.

You can also see a Callout Verse in the picture at the left. I wonder if it would have been better to do without these and have more space for the inside margins. The benefit is to have a verse that may be pivotal and give the reader something to remember and possibly memorize. It also leaves some room for note taking but I don’t imagine this Bible would be used for that.

Dates are often included in the Bible as can be seen in the larger version of the picture above under Jehoshaphat Rules In Judah on the left page which is extremely helpful.

Even with the reservations, overall I think this is a great addition to the NLT lineup and I look forward to using it myself.

ISBN: 1414314116 (Paperback)
ISBN: 1414314108 (Hardcover)
Page Count: 2224
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Release Date: October 2008

Buy it from:

• Amazon
• CBD

Also see:

• Review at New Epistles
• Review at Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth
• Review at living the crucified life
• Review at Christian Monthly Standard
• Review at Kouya Chronicle
• Review at Exegete Reflections
• Review at Bible Geek Gone Wild
• Proverbs 31 Women read the Chronological Bible

I have mentioned in the past and have been noticing to a great degree lately that Calvinists and Arminians almost always misrepresent each other in the blogosphere. As Gordon Fee says,

Before you can say, ‘I disagree,’ you must be able to say, ‘I understand.’

As far as I can tell, 98% of people in each group misrepresent the position(s) of the other. And on top of that, the majority of Calvinists don’t really know what classical Calvinism is and haven’t read much of Calvin himself. I would guess the same might go for some who would call themselves Arminians. In addition, Arminianism is very different from Semi-Pelagianism or Pelagianism.

I also don’t believe it’s the job of the Calvinist to convert other Christians to Calvinism. We are to proclaim Christ and the basic sound doctrine clearly laid out in Scripture. There is a place for debate and some are gifted in presenting the case of Calvinism or Arminianism to a contemporary audience for the education of the listener or reader.

I think it’s important for us Calvinists to learn not only what Calvinism really is but also to understand what Arminianism is to dispel any misconceptions we may have and understand their position may not be as different from ours as we may have thought.

I came across this paper and thought I would pass it on:
A COMPARATIVE EXAMINATION OF SEMI-PELAGIANISM WITH THE TEACHINGS OF JAMES ARMINIUS: PRESENTED TO DR. RUSSELL WOODBRIDGE ~ CHR. THEO. I.

This deals with the difference between Semi-Pelagianism and Arminianism but also speaks pretty fairly of Calvinism. It’s interesting to read about how some Calvinists like John MacArthur may misrepresent Arminianism (which I’ve heard myself) but R.C. Sproul seems to have a better grasp of what it really is.

Also of interest is how Arminius admired Calvin’s writings:

Next to the study of the Scriptures which I earnestly inculcate, I exhort my pupils to peruse Calvin’s Commentaries, which I extol in loftier terms than Helmich himself [a Dutch divine, 1551-1608]; for I affirm that he excels beyond comparison . . . in the interpretation of Scripture, and that his commentaries ought to be more highly valued than all that is handed down to us by the library of the fathers; so that I acknowledge him to have possessed above most others, or rather above all other men, what may be called an eminent spirit of prophecy . . . His Institutes ought to be studied after the [Heidelberg] Catechism, as containing a fuller explanation, but with discrimination . . . , like the writings of all men.

I’ve started to read more of Calvin and will have a book review coming up within a week.

THIS BOOK contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveller’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword and the Christian’s charter. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand object, our good is its design and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened in the judgement, and will be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labour, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.

–Anonymous

Somebody on the Bible translation mailing list mentioned this verse but for a different reason than what I’m writing about.

Matthew 19:12 TNIV
For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others have been made eunuchs; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.

I noticed how accept is mentioned twice and sounds redundant in a way but it really is the same two words in the Greek as far as I can tell. The more formal translations retain the use of the same word whether it’s receive or accept.

Matthew 19:12 ESV
For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.

The more dynamic translations make it sound less redundant.

Matthew 19:12 GNB
For there are different reasons why men cannot marry: some, because they were born that way; others, because men made them that way; and others do not marry for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Let him who can accept this teaching do so.

Matthew 19:12 NLT
Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.

I like the idea of keeping the same word just because that’s how it is but is there any meaning lost in the more dynamic translations? I tend not to think so at first glance.

Being sick today I wanted to just write a quick post and you can discuss if you’d like. I’m not being critical of either translation style.

I’ve gone through the book Greek For The Rest of Us by Mounce. It only goes into the alphabet, pronunciation (which set me back because I switched to Koine reconstruction) and basic grammar but it’s also very valuable for learning why translations are different, how to read commentaries and some exegesis lessons.

After that I read another commentary and still felt fairly lost because I have no vocabulary and the Mounce book is so helter skelter or it at least doesn’t conform to my anal retentive need for a systematic order that I’m still having a hard time grasping and retaining the grammar.

I found Machen’s New Testament Greek for Beginners at the library which looks great. It’s very systematic/deductive and includes vocabulary. I wrote about this on my other blog and surprisingly, Mike was looking in and suggested Clayton Croy’s Primer of Biblical Greek instead. If I go on, I will take his advice.

But how far do I want to go? I don’t have a goal because I don’t know what my goal should be. I don’t see myself becoming advanced enough to read Greek by itself. Will having an advanced beginner knowledge do me any good? I don’t want to take too much time away from other reading and Scripture memory (and time will obviously need to be spent reviewing, reading, pronunciation etc. on an ongoing basis because I won’t learn it only to forget it) but I have benefited from what I’ve already learned.

Proverbs 15:22
Plans fail for lack of counsel,
but with many advisers they succeed.

I was tagged by David Ker on his Lingamish blog for this meme. As much as I don’t like memes, this one is at least pertinent to this blog.

Here is what’s required:

Can you write a meme in less than 140 characters, the equivalent of a Twitter ‘tweet,’ that results in a statement that every Christian could confess?

If someone sincerely confessed this creed you would:

1. Consider them to be a brother or sister in Christ.
2. Believe that they are true believers and inheritors of eternal life.

Here is mine:

God Most High, planned before creating all, His wisdom-Christ crucified. He chose us, believe Him, receive His Spirit, 3 in 1, we’re heirs.

Very awkward but I wanted to include the important stuff and had to remove many of the little words that would help it make more sense.

In studying 1 Corinthians 1:17-2:2 I was wondering if this is creedal in some way so I included the wisdom of Christ crucified part.

As is customary here, I will provide Scripture to back up what is said which is always a good exercise for me and essential for making any doctrinal or creedal statements.

Psalm 47:2; Acts 2:22-23; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:4, Romans 5:8; John 5:24; 2 Corinthians 1:22, 2 Corinthians 5:5; John 17:22; Matthew 28:19; John 1:12, Romans 8:16-17

I do not want to inflict any specific persons by tagging them but if you would like to participate please do and let us know. It’s a good exercise. Be sure to see Lingamish’s post to look at others.

This reminds me, I’d like to do some Christian Haiku at some point.

For most of my adult life I’ve hated it when my birthday comes around. Suffering from mental health ailments which also have physical effects have made life difficult. In addition, my back has developed degenerative conditions over the last few years. I’ve had to give up quite a few things, many of which are various forms of exercise I’ve been so serious about since middle school years. (I still do what little exercise I can.)

There are a few reasons I don’t like my birthdays, the main one being that I (used to) wish I hadn’t been born. Life is too difficult and this world is fraught with evil and suffering. I seem to see the world through darkly colored glasses.

Last year at this time I was starting to feel “the dread” because I always get more depressed as it gets closer.

At that time I was going through 2 Corinthians and was looking closely at 4:17 which I’m familiar with in the NIV:

2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

But looking at the verse in other translations gave me a fresh perspective:

2 Corinthians 4:17 NASB
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

2 Corinthians 4:17 NRSV
For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure,

If I were to say that the glory in heaven will be 900 trillion tons and our suffering here, as bad as it can be (and I know mine is much less than many), is like one tenth of a gram, that wouldn’t show enough of a difference because that isn’t “beyond all measure.”

So last year God was teaching me to hope for heaven—when we are clothed with our heavenly bodies (1 Corinthians 15:53-54) and dwell in the new heaven and the new earth (2 Peter 3:13)—and have faith that when that time comes around, it will have been more than worth it and I will be very glad that I was born so that I could be with God forever seeing Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12).

It doesn’t make this life much easier but I need to ask God to give me the grace to have faith that it will be as He says it will be (2 Corinthians 1:20-22) and experience the hope for heaven in this life.

This year God is teaching me that it is His will for me to have been born and to live for Him. In the past, I knew it was His will for me to stay alive. Not to be morbid but what I mean is not to kill myself. That isn’t for me to decide, as much as I wanted to at some points in the past. But now, more than that, He’s teaching me that it’s His will for me to have been born in the first place (Psalm 139:16). And it is His will for me to be born again (John 1:13).

I’ve come to embrace this with joy, even if I don’t usually feel happy. And I’m certain that without suffering God wouldn’t have matured me spiritually as He has so far.

I’m taking a big risk in writing this personal information. Spurgeon and Luther were candid so why shouldn’t I be? I’m certain many of my blogging friends are or were in a place of similar or greater suffering. Some aren’t able to disclose for many reasons.

I’m not writing this for sympathy because I feel like I’ve had the opportunity to grow more than most and as worldly things have fallen away, my zeal for God and getting to know Him through Scripture has increased exponentially.

God works through suffering and I thought I’d write briefly about it here. It’s definitely a subject of interest for me. (I almost wrote that it’s one of my favorite subjects. That’s not quite the right way of putting it!)

I don’t like “Happy Birthdays” but if you’d like to give me a present (other than a book of course*) nothing would be better than praying that God would continue to teach me about Himself (Ephesians 1:17) and to find more and more joy in this (Romans 15:13).

My prayer for anyone reading this post:

Hebrews 13:20-21
Now may the God of peace—
who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—
may he equip you with all you need
for doing his will.
May he produce in you,
through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to him.

All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

I hope this post isn’t too self-centered. I’d like to read it a year from now and thought it might be of benefit to someone else out there.

*I usually hate asking for things but it seems customary for bibliobloggers to make shameless requests for material goods when their birthday comes around, or whenever they feel greedy. (I eschew smilies.) So I thought I’d throw that in there. But really, prayer would bless me the most and be the best present I could get. And don’t feel like you need to comment. E-mail me with any prayer requests you have.