Alcohol and Isaiah
My Bible reading plan takes me through the book of Isaiah at the beginning of every summer, and one of the things that I have newly appreciated this time around is Isaiah’s versatile use of wine imagery. Isaiah uses wine in at least three major ways, as far as I can tell. First, Isaiah uses [...]
Numbers, Nearness, and Holiness
Biblically speaking, humanity’s nearness to God is more complicated than we often imagine. For example, the hymn “Nearer My God to Thee” would suggest that closeness to God is always a good thing, but this simply is not the case. Rather, the Bible treats nearness to God as a privilege, but also as a responsibility. [...]
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Revival
I have been reading the second volume of Iain Murray’s comprehensive biography on D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, having read the first volume last year. It is a bit tedious at times, but only because Murray made the conscious choice to include more, rather than less, “in part because of the thought that writers on Dr Lloyd-Jones [...]
Blessed Ascension Sunday!
Today is Ascension Sunday, and I was pleased that my church celebrated Christ’s Ascension and included a part of the Heidelberg Catechism on the subject: Question 49. Of what advantage to us is Christ’s ascension into heaven? Answer: First, that he is our advocate in the presence of his Father in heaven; secondly, that we [...]
Reagan vs. Kuyper vs. Obama
As some of you know, I went through a long phase where I was a huge fan of Ronald Reagan. I still am, to a large degree, but I no longer actively collect biographies written about him or things like that. In fact, the more I think about Reagan’s political philosophy, the more I agree [...]
