I plan on buying Bruce Waltke’s two volume commentary on Proverbs. Would anyone want to dissuade me from buying this and getting something else? I want something that’s very complete and won’t leave me wanting. I can’t afford any others in addition to this.

Some people have been writing eclectic stream of thought posts and I thought I would give it a try. It’s much easier than trying to write a real and intelligent post anyway.

I had lower back surgery three weeks ago. A double fusion of S4 – S1, laminectomy/decompression and removal of scar tissue from a previous surgery. The doctor said the surgery was textbook. The post op was not. For at least half a day, probably more, my morphine was unknowingly dripping on the floor instead of going into me. So I had no pain medication for quite a while. I’ve never felt so much pain in my life. They also kept getting my other psych meds wrong. I had an anxiety attack and was sweating so much for two days the bed was soaked. I couldn’t sleep much because of pain and people parading through my room at all hours of the day and night. I’m still traumatized by the whole experience.

Since then my mobility has steadily increased, my exercises are improving and the pain has gone down somewhat. I won’t know if the bone is starting to fuse well until three weeks from now when I get the first x-ray.

For the first time in a long time my faith is really being tested. I’m having a hard time trusting God for anything. I’m doing all my devotional stuff and have started doing my ‘extra’ reading again as I become more coherent after surgery but it’s been tough. I’m scared the bone won’t fuse and I’ll have to go back for more surgery. Seems like I’m just scared of everything. I’m praying constantly but not getting much help yet. It’s very inconsistent from day to day.

Friends on Facebook gave me:
“…if we are faithless, he remains faithful– for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13)

In distress you called, and I delivered you; (Psalm 81:7a ESV)

2 Corinthians 12:9
9 But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Robert Jimenez is starting a series called: Has inerrancy outlived it’s usefulness? Part One. Many people are excited about this one. Tune in if you’re interested.

I believe the Bible is inerrant. Meaning I believe all of it is true. I’m thankful that the majority of people on the major Bible translation committees feel the same. It seems that there are many different definitions and modernistic baggage so that it’s not helpful anymore. I’m not always up to speed on how these terms morph, but I’m not really concerned so much. If it’s a dirty word then I’ll just say that I believe all of the Bible is true. It’s not high on my priority list of things to read right now but I did read an article I liked for the most part:
IS THE BIBLE INERRANT?

A verse about me:

For the first time in a year and a half I’ve slacked off on learning Greek. It’s hard to concentrate on anything when in pain and on pain meds (and sleeping a lot) but I think it’s about time I got back to it.

Right now in addition to reading the OT I’m still reading Ryken’s Bible Handbook and Unburdened, which is about worry and is very timely, at the same time. I will eventually be reviewing both of them.

I would really like to be blogging more, especially about what I’m reading in the OT, but it’s difficult right now. I remember “The August Experiment” last year when I posted at least once, usually multiple times a day and the stats went way up. I really don’t care about stats though.

I better stop there or I’ll run way beyond most people’s internet attention span. Thanks for reading.

A while back I mentioned a brief blog post by John MacArthur on Christians and Cremation. Today, Justin Taylor let’s us know about a much fuller treatment of the issue on his post called To Bury or Burn: Christianity and Cremation. He gives a nice summary of a full article by David Jones, professor of Christian ethics at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a link to it.

I love it when Scripture explains Scripture. Whether it’s Paul or the other NT writers expositing the Old Testament, one idea completed in another part of Scripture, a verse explaining what went right before it, etc.

I read a version of the latter–Isaiah 5:7 explaining what goes before it in the first six verses. I feel like it’s a bonus.

Isaiah 5:1-7
Now I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard on a rich and fertile hill.
2 He plowed the land, cleared its stones, and planted it with the best vines. In the middle he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were bitter.
3 Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah, you judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could I have done for my vineyard that I have not already done? When I expected sweet grapes, why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?
5 Now let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will tear down its hedges and let it be destroyed. I will break down its walls and let the animals trample it.
6 I will make it a wild place where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not hoed, a place overgrown with briers and thorns. I will command the clouds to drop no rain on it.
7 The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence.

Comments welcome.