Last night I finished Jane Eyre. I had been excited to finish it since I heard from some friends that the speech at the end by Rochester is excellent. Though I do not know the state of Charlotte Bronte's faith in Christ, she does end a seemingly tragic story with the hope of redemption in Christ. It is a beautiful story, really.
I leave you with my two favorite quotes by Mr. Rochester:
"Jane! You think me, I daresay, an irreligious dog: but my heart swells with gratitude to the beneficient God of this earth just now. He sees not as man sees, but far clearer: judges not as man judges, but far more wisely. I did wrong: I would have sullied my innocent flower--breathed guilt on its purity: the Omnipotent snatched it from me. I, in my stiff-necked rebellion, almost cursed the dispensation: instead of bending to the decree, I defied it. Divine justice pursued its course; disasters came thick on me: I was forced to pass through the valley of the shadow of death. His chastisements are mighty; and one smote me which, has humbled me for ever. You know I was proud of my guidance, as a child does its weakness? Of late, Jane--only--only of late--I began to see and acknowledge the hand of God in my doom. I began to experience remorse, repentance, the wish for reconcilement to my Maker. I began sometimes to pray: very brief prayers they were, but very sincere."
"I thank my Maker, that, in the midst of judgment, He has remembered mercy. I humbly entreat the Redeemer to give me strength to lead henceforth a purer life than I have done hitherto."
We, too, can give thanks to our Creator that in our own lives He graciously remembers undeserved mercy in the midst of a much deserved judgment.
Showing posts with label Summer Reading 08. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Summer Reading 08. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Summer Reading Update: Part 4
Well, my summer reading has taken a slightly different turn. I had five books on my list and I made it through four before I got sidetracked by Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre—not to mention other unexpected summer happenings (excellent books by the way). So I will save Losing Our Virtue for another semester break when I have more time. But, I did finish Evangelicalism Divided, which was a really insightful (and convicting) book. What stood out to me most was the fact that my staying the course is only by the grace of God. My own ability will not keep me from sliding into doctrinal error—God will. This is a humbling and challenging thought. This heightened the importance of the spiritual disciplines for me. If I am not seeking His face I am more prone to backsliding. So even though this book was probably not meant for a “devotional,” it ended up speaking much needed truth to my soul regarding my own walk with the Lord.
I was reminded that there is much to learn from history. The phrase “history repeats itself” is true indeed, and not because of chance, but because human nature never changes. It simply manifests itself in different cultures and contexts. Our propensity to error and sin is always before us. History reminds us of that. We can very easily think that we have arrived at some “new” idea or phenomenon if we are not aware of all that happened before we were even a blip on the radar screen. So, I am grateful to the men and women in the faith who have gone before us. It is encouraging to be reminded that perfection is not required of us because Someone else was already perfect for us. But it is also a sober reminder that the things that make us in such desperate need of that Someone, called Christ, will come back to haunt us if we are not mindful.
So my summer reading list is now complete (with the exception of 80 pages left of Jane Eyre). Now I must tackle a head start on Hebrew vocabulary—and get ready to bury myself in theology until December. Thanks for keeping up with my summer reading! I won’t bore you with the Hebrew vocabulary, but if you have any helpful tips—I would be very appreciative.
I was reminded that there is much to learn from history. The phrase “history repeats itself” is true indeed, and not because of chance, but because human nature never changes. It simply manifests itself in different cultures and contexts. Our propensity to error and sin is always before us. History reminds us of that. We can very easily think that we have arrived at some “new” idea or phenomenon if we are not aware of all that happened before we were even a blip on the radar screen. So, I am grateful to the men and women in the faith who have gone before us. It is encouraging to be reminded that perfection is not required of us because Someone else was already perfect for us. But it is also a sober reminder that the things that make us in such desperate need of that Someone, called Christ, will come back to haunt us if we are not mindful.
So my summer reading list is now complete (with the exception of 80 pages left of Jane Eyre). Now I must tackle a head start on Hebrew vocabulary—and get ready to bury myself in theology until December. Thanks for keeping up with my summer reading! I won’t bore you with the Hebrew vocabulary, but if you have any helpful tips—I would be very appreciative.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Summer Reading Book 3: Seeing with New Eyes
I finished David Powlison’s Seeing with New Eyes last Friday on my flight up to Minneapolis. This book transformed my thinking in many ways, and probably more than I even realize right now. It was intensely practical, yet saturated with biblical truth that maximizes the Gospel and in no way minimizes sin. I have only recently been exposed to biblical counseling, largely because of my time at Southern. The book is a compilation of things he has written on Scripture and biblical counseling.
Here are some things I learned as I read (though it doesn't even come close to doing the book justice!):
- Sin is our fundamental problem.
- Christ is our greatest need and only solution to that problem.
- The Word is where we learn about this solution, and it is sufficient to meet every need that we face.
- The Word contains all that we need to counsel ourselves and others. I must learn to study it and apply it.
- We must learn to ask “probing questions” of ourselves and others in order to get to the root cause of our sin.
While this may seem like “common knowledge” to the believer, so often we don’t live like it is common. Sin and the world entangle us and muddy our gaze towards God. There are so many competing ideologies that promise to supplement the Bible in the sanctification process. Powlison teaches his reader to learn to “see as God sees.” And this can only be done through first knowing his Son through His Word. We need the Bible every day so we can know and see our Savior. We do not need any supplement. Oh how I long to see that perfect Son in greater measure and in all of His glory!
“When our gaze awakens to the gaze of God, we have started to see. Seeing clearly we can love well.”
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Summer Reading Update: A Path Through Suffering by Elisabeth Elliot
As I mentioned previously, Elisabeth Elliot is one of my favorite writers. Reading her writing has encouraged me in so many ways as I have grown in my walk with the Lord. Last week I finished book number 2 on my summer reading list. A Path Through Suffering is a book that I have wanted to read for a while, and it was worth my time. The chapters are really short. So if you don't have a lot of time on your hands, this would be a great book to read little snippets of each day. She uses the theme of the seasons and the process of nature to apply to our suffering. And as always, she challenges and encourages her readers to walk faithfully with God and delight only in him.
I leave you with a few quotes that I liked, though most of the book is quotable!
"Vines must be pruned. This looks like a cruel business. Perfectly good branches have to be lopped off in order for better branches to develop. It is necessary business, for only the well-pruned vine bears the best fruit. The life of the vine is strengthened in one part by another part's being cut away. The rank growth has to go and then the sun reaches places it could not reach before. Pruning increases yield."
"We are not often called to great sacrifice, but daily we are presented with the chance to make small ones--a chance to make someone cheerful, a chance to do some small thing to make someone comfortable or contented, a chance to lay down our petty preferences or cherished plans. This probably requires us to relinquish something--our own convenience or comfort, our own free evening, our warm fireside, or even our habitual shyness or reserve or pride. My liberty must be curtailed, bound down, ignored (oh, how the world hates this sort of thing! how our own sinful desires hate it!)--for the sake of the liberation of others."
She recognizes for many, and even in for herself, that there is suffering that is on a much more painful and grand scale then daily being kind to a hateful person. She speaks to those circumstances, too. One of the most helpful things I gleaned from the book was in the chapter on suffering as a parent. Though I am not a parent, her comments were very applicable and caused me to really think through her words.
She says:
"The deepest lessons come out of the deepest waters and the hottest fires. One of God's greatest gifts, parenthood, always includes the gift of suffering, that we may be humbled and our faith refined as gold in the fire. Again, we are not given explanations but, to hearts open to recieve it, a more precious revelation of the heart of our loving Lord...Occasions of desperation prepare the way for the recognition of Christ himself."
She then goes on to reference biblical passages where people were in great despair and suffering prior to a greater revelation of Christ.
Our culture tells us to flee from suffering. We do everything we can to skirt pain and discomfort. Yet, Elliot shows us that this is not the way of our Christ. He endured the shame of the Cross, the greatest suffering imaginable in order to do the will of the Father and "bring many sons to glory." This book is a reminder of that. It is not a call to stoicism, nor is it a call to self-pity. Neither of these reactions are the way of the Savior. But it is a call to embrace suffering, as Christ did. We should embrace it openly, grieve over it, and know that the story did not end with the Cross. He rose again, and so will we. And then, because of his work on our behalf, our suffering will be over.
I leave you with a few quotes that I liked, though most of the book is quotable!
"Vines must be pruned. This looks like a cruel business. Perfectly good branches have to be lopped off in order for better branches to develop. It is necessary business, for only the well-pruned vine bears the best fruit. The life of the vine is strengthened in one part by another part's being cut away. The rank growth has to go and then the sun reaches places it could not reach before. Pruning increases yield."
"We are not often called to great sacrifice, but daily we are presented with the chance to make small ones--a chance to make someone cheerful, a chance to do some small thing to make someone comfortable or contented, a chance to lay down our petty preferences or cherished plans. This probably requires us to relinquish something--our own convenience or comfort, our own free evening, our warm fireside, or even our habitual shyness or reserve or pride. My liberty must be curtailed, bound down, ignored (oh, how the world hates this sort of thing! how our own sinful desires hate it!)--for the sake of the liberation of others."
She recognizes for many, and even in for herself, that there is suffering that is on a much more painful and grand scale then daily being kind to a hateful person. She speaks to those circumstances, too. One of the most helpful things I gleaned from the book was in the chapter on suffering as a parent. Though I am not a parent, her comments were very applicable and caused me to really think through her words.
She says:
"The deepest lessons come out of the deepest waters and the hottest fires. One of God's greatest gifts, parenthood, always includes the gift of suffering, that we may be humbled and our faith refined as gold in the fire. Again, we are not given explanations but, to hearts open to recieve it, a more precious revelation of the heart of our loving Lord...Occasions of desperation prepare the way for the recognition of Christ himself."
She then goes on to reference biblical passages where people were in great despair and suffering prior to a greater revelation of Christ.
Our culture tells us to flee from suffering. We do everything we can to skirt pain and discomfort. Yet, Elliot shows us that this is not the way of our Christ. He endured the shame of the Cross, the greatest suffering imaginable in order to do the will of the Father and "bring many sons to glory." This book is a reminder of that. It is not a call to stoicism, nor is it a call to self-pity. Neither of these reactions are the way of the Savior. But it is a call to embrace suffering, as Christ did. We should embrace it openly, grieve over it, and know that the story did not end with the Cross. He rose again, and so will we. And then, because of his work on our behalf, our suffering will be over.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Summer Reading Update: Living Faith by Helen Roseveare
Last night I finished Living Faith by Dr. Helen Roseveare. I had been really excited to read this book, as I mentioned previously, and was ready for a slight change of pace from the normal reading I do for my theology classes. This was a nice transition into summer reading. One of the blessings of reading about people’s lives is that you get to see the power of God in the experiences of real people. It gives encouragement to the discouraged to see that the same God who works for them in their situations will work in your life in a similar situation. Helen Roseveare’s life was not without suffering or trials. But, it was also one of joy. This book recounts the events in her life that God used to draw her closer to him and to make her faith in his promises deeper. Here are some quotes that I found encouraging:
“It was hard to learn the lesson. To walk by faith and not by sight had to become a living fact of relationship where the reality of the unseen was more real than the appearance of visible results. Seeking results is often a not-very-subtle means used to prove the reality of one’s faith, when in actual fact it only shows the existence of doubts in one’s mind. Results per se are no proof of the existence of faith, any more than the lack of visible results are the proof of the absence of faith.”
“If I will allow God all rights to my life, to stir me until He sees I am ready to be applied, I can trust God then, in His perfect timing, to know where He wants to apply me. God does not need to tell us ahead of time. Until we are stirred, we are not ready for application.”
“Without faith in God, we shall not seek to obey His command to “pray without ceasing.” We must believe that God is, that He cares and that He can answer.”
“Faith enables us to believe that God has prepared a path for each of us, and that He desires to lead us into and along that pathway.”
I hope that these quotes encourage you like they did me. One of the biggest blessings of this book was the realization that I am not the only one who fears and struggles with trusting God. And it was convicting as well to know that too often my struggles with fear are simply as a result of the rodents overtaking my house or the turbulence of an airplane. Helen Roseveare regularly faced life threatening situations at the hands of the rebel army that sought to take over the Congo. Books like these are good for us. It makes us remember those who have gone before us, but also makes us mindful of the great sacrifice that many of the missionaries of old, and even now, face as they lay down their lives so that the nations might know Him. Thank you, Dr. Roseveare, for your obedience to the Gospel no matter the cost.
“It was hard to learn the lesson. To walk by faith and not by sight had to become a living fact of relationship where the reality of the unseen was more real than the appearance of visible results. Seeking results is often a not-very-subtle means used to prove the reality of one’s faith, when in actual fact it only shows the existence of doubts in one’s mind. Results per se are no proof of the existence of faith, any more than the lack of visible results are the proof of the absence of faith.”
“If I will allow God all rights to my life, to stir me until He sees I am ready to be applied, I can trust God then, in His perfect timing, to know where He wants to apply me. God does not need to tell us ahead of time. Until we are stirred, we are not ready for application.”
“Without faith in God, we shall not seek to obey His command to “pray without ceasing.” We must believe that God is, that He cares and that He can answer.”
“Faith enables us to believe that God has prepared a path for each of us, and that He desires to lead us into and along that pathway.”
I hope that these quotes encourage you like they did me. One of the biggest blessings of this book was the realization that I am not the only one who fears and struggles with trusting God. And it was convicting as well to know that too often my struggles with fear are simply as a result of the rodents overtaking my house or the turbulence of an airplane. Helen Roseveare regularly faced life threatening situations at the hands of the rebel army that sought to take over the Congo. Books like these are good for us. It makes us remember those who have gone before us, but also makes us mindful of the great sacrifice that many of the missionaries of old, and even now, face as they lay down their lives so that the nations might know Him. Thank you, Dr. Roseveare, for your obedience to the Gospel no matter the cost.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
What are you reading?
When I was in elementary school I lived for the summer reading challenge, mainly because I liked getting the big flashy button and the Pizza Hut coupon--which meant that my mom and I could go on a date. Now that I am in seminary, I have once again picked up this challenge. But there is no prize this time, just the sheer pleasure of knowing that I finished the task I set before myself. One of my professors encouraged us to make a reading list for the summer. He said that often we set really high goals for ourselves and then feel discouraged when we don't meet the desired goal. So he advised us to make a reasonable list.
Seeing with New Eyes by David Powlison: In the last couple of years I have been introduced to biblical counseling, and I have heard Dr. Powlison speak but never read his books. I bought this book at T4G and am looking forward to reading it!
A Path Through Suffering by Elisabeth Elliot: I am trying to read every book that she has ever written. This is my newest edition. My friend Gretchen said it is her favorite book by her.
Living Faith by Helen Roseveare: The bookstore on campus had all of her books on sale and I was only able to snag four of them. I am really looking forward to reading about her life.
Losing Our Virtue by David Wells: I read No Place for Truth last summer and am just continuing with this series (I actually don't know if I am even reading them in order).
Evangelicalism Divided by Iain Murray: Another book that was on sale after the T4G conference. I like reading about history.
Fiction:
A Room of One's Own by Viriginia Woolf: I have always wanted to read this book and I figured now was a perfect time. When I took a literary theory class in college everyone said that this book was the staple feminist novel. I figured since I am a recovering feminist it might be an interesting read. :)
The Ways of White Folks by Langston Hughes: I started reading this a while back and haven't finished it. Again, now is the perfect time.
There is my list. I haven't started it yet because I am just now finishing up Biblical Womanhood in the Home and Til We Have Faces. So by the looks of things I have sort of cheated. What can I say, I love books! I will let you know how it goes.
What is on your reading list for the summer?
Seeing with New Eyes by David Powlison: In the last couple of years I have been introduced to biblical counseling, and I have heard Dr. Powlison speak but never read his books. I bought this book at T4G and am looking forward to reading it!
A Path Through Suffering by Elisabeth Elliot: I am trying to read every book that she has ever written. This is my newest edition. My friend Gretchen said it is her favorite book by her.
Living Faith by Helen Roseveare: The bookstore on campus had all of her books on sale and I was only able to snag four of them. I am really looking forward to reading about her life.
Losing Our Virtue by David Wells: I read No Place for Truth last summer and am just continuing with this series (I actually don't know if I am even reading them in order).
Evangelicalism Divided by Iain Murray: Another book that was on sale after the T4G conference. I like reading about history.
Fiction:
A Room of One's Own by Viriginia Woolf: I have always wanted to read this book and I figured now was a perfect time. When I took a literary theory class in college everyone said that this book was the staple feminist novel. I figured since I am a recovering feminist it might be an interesting read. :)
The Ways of White Folks by Langston Hughes: I started reading this a while back and haven't finished it. Again, now is the perfect time.
There is my list. I haven't started it yet because I am just now finishing up Biblical Womanhood in the Home and Til We Have Faces. So by the looks of things I have sort of cheated. What can I say, I love books! I will let you know how it goes.
What is on your reading list for the summer?
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