Faith Defined and Illustrated

Stott puts  H.L. Mencken in his place : )


It comes therefore as a shock that these two spheres of human uncertainty (the future and the unseen) are precisely those in which faith specializes and even flourishes! It is the function of faith to apprehend both the unseen present and the unrealized future. Put simply, faith is the assurance that the future we anticipate will take place and that the present we cannot see is nevertheless real.

Of course, unbelievers scoff at Christian faith. According to H.L. Mencken, the so-called sage of Baltimore, "Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable." It is witty but inaccurate. Faith is not a synonym for credulity or superstition.  It is neither irrational nor illogical. No, faith and reason are never placed in antithesis to one another in Scripture. Faith and sight are contrasted, but not faith and reason. On the contrary, "Those who know your name put their trust in you" (Ps. 9:10 NRSV). They trust because they know. The reasonableness of trust arises from the trustworthiness of its object, and nobody is more trustworthy than God.

Through the Bible: Through the Year; p. 391

Screwtape Explains the Disadvantages of War

Remember that Screwtape is the demon and his perspective is pretty much coming from "the dark side."

Of course war is entertaining... But, if we are not careful, we shall see thousands turning in this tribulation to the enemy [God], while tens of thousands who do not go so far as that will nevertheless have their attention diverted from themselves to values and causes which they believe to be higher than the self.

Consider too what undesirable deaths occur in wartime. Men are killed in places where they knew they might be killed and to which they go, if they are at all of the Enemy's party, prepared. How much better for us if all humans died in costly nursing homes amid doctors who lie, nurses who lie, friends who lie, as we have trained them, promising life to the dying, encouraging the belief that sickness excuses every indulgence...

How disastrous for us is the continual remembrance of death which war enforces. One of our best weapons, contented worldliness, is rendered useless. In wartime not even a human can believe that he is going to live forever.

The Business of Heaven: July 28, p. 192

Your Reputation

Whoa, being "on vacation" has really set me back a bit.... well here we go.  I actually think the following passage is really good advice for the issue of bullying. 


Ignoring a negative comment about yourself is a better remedy than becoming resentful and planning revenge. Contempt for injuries makes them vanish. If we become angry we tacitly admit the truth of the accusation. Fear of losing our good name is the result of not trusting its foundation -- a good life. Souls firmly anchored on Christian virtue can pay little attention to the torrent of a critical tongue.
   Reputation is like a sign. It points to virtue. If your reputation is taken away by wagging tongues, don't be disturbed. Like a beard, it will grow out again. If God permits it to be taken from us, he will either give us a better one or help us with holy humility. -- Francis de Sales: The Devout Life

Near to the Heart of God: July 27

Catching up on some Lewis quotes...

I'm catching up on some Lewis quotes that I'll just put in some short quotes that I liked. -- drs

The longer I looked into it the more I came to suspect that I was perceiving a universal law. ['One converses better when one does not say "Let us converse"'].

Every preference of a small good to a great, or a partial good to a total good, involves the loss of the small or partial good for which the sacrifice was made.

You can't get second things by putting them first; you can get second things only by putting first things first.
-- The Business of Heaven; July 17

The infinite value of each human soul is not a Christian doctrine. God did not die for man because of some value He perceived in him. The value of each human soul considered simply in itself, out of relation to God, is zero. -- The Business of heaven; July 20   Yeah, that really isn't the stuff of our current, feel good, look for the goodness within, pop psych, nonsense.... -- drs

Vocation - perhaps Buechner's most famous quote

Yes, this may be Frederick Buechner's most famous quote. I was nice to see it in it's whole context. Whoa, I just checked the original in Wishful Thinking and Listening to Your Life has changed the original "cigarette ads" to "TV deodorant commercials"... kind of interesting. -- drs

It comes from the latin vocare, to call, and means the work a man is called to by God.
There are different kinds of voices calling you to all different kinds of work, and the problem is to find out which is the voice of God rather than of Society, say, or the Super-ego, or Self-Interest.
By and large a good rule for finding out is this. The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world most needs to have done. If you really get a kick out of your work, you've presumably met requirement (a), but if your work is writing TV deodorant commercials [cigarette ads], the chances are you've missed requirement (b). On the other hand, if your work is being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably met requirement (b), but if most of the time you're bored and depressed by it, the chances are you have not only bypassed (a) but probably aren't helping your patients much either.
Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do. The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.

The Goal of Maturity

If Christian maturity is maturity in our relation to Christ, then the clearer our vision of Christ, the more convinced we are that he is worthy of our commitment.... The truth is that there are many Jesuses on offer in the world's religous supermarkets, caricatures of the authentic Jesus. There is Jesus the ascetic, Jesus the clown of Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus the capitalist and Jesus the socialist, Jesus the founder of modern business, and Jesus the urban guerilla.  All these images are defective; none of them is calculated to win our wholehearted allegiance.

Jesus Christ has double supremacy as head of the universe and head of the church. He is the Lord of both creations. When we see him thus, our place is on our faces, prostrate before him. Away, then, with our petty, puny, pygmy Jesuses! Away with our Jesus clowns and Jesus pop stars, our political messiahs and revolutionaries. If this is how we think of Christ, no wonder our immaturities persist. If only the veil could be taken from our eyes and we could see Jesus as he is in the fullness of his divine-human person of saving work. Then we would give him the honor that is due to his name, and we would grow into a mature relationship with him.

Through the Bible:Through the Year; p. 375

Time off.... Before You Eat

OK, not to rant or anything but I'm away from home this week and I'm trying to log into my account at my wonderful brother-in-law's place and it took me about 1/2 an hour to log in because I can never remember my correct password for one thing and I can't read those goofy squiggly letter password protectors for another.... grrrrrr.  My BOL suggested I write about this frustrating experience and relate it to somehow getting into heaven...I'm sure there is some kind of humorous connection there somewhere.  Also I picked up a Madeline L'Engle devotional for using in the future... probably a worthy successor to Buechner.


When you sit down to eat, pray:   This is a wonderful mystery of your work, O Maker and Governor of the world. You sustain life with food!  How great a thing it is that you sustain so many creatures. "The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing" (Psalm 145:15-16)

I ask you to continue life in my body through this food.
You are a liberal distributor of your gifts. You give us all kinds of good things to use. Because you are pure, the things you give are pure. Grant that I may not misuse them. Don't let what you have given for the preservation of my body become the poison of my soul.
   The meat and drink before me is for my use and not for me to abuse. You have given them to help me and not to hurt me.
-- John Bradford: Daily Meditations
Near to the Heart of God: July 12

Who Do You Say That I Am?

 Relevant Magazine is a really nice resource for keeping up with the Christian world of the 20-somethings.  Their devotional resource is another one I take in every day.
Deeper Walk Devotionals

Today, popular thought holds that Jesus was simply a good man, a gifted teacher, or one of many prophets to grace the earth. Yet, as the commentator Matthew Henry aptly observed, "It is possible for men to have good thoughts of Christ, and yet not right ones, a high opinion of him, and yet not high enough."

Monday, July 11 Deeper Walk Devotional from Relevant Magazine

No Insurance against Heartbreak

This is one of those classic Lewis quotes about the risks of love.


To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully around with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket -- safe, dark, motionless, airless -- it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.

The Business of Heaven; July 9, p. 176

Morning Prayer

Wow, two in a row from Near to the Heart of God; July 7. This one is kind of on the practical side. -- drs

Look for chances to serve God today. Are there possible temptations lying in wait? Do you think something might make you angry or vain?  Resolve to make the best of every opportunity to serve God and increase devotion that comes your way. Prepare carefully to avoid, resist, and overcome harmful things. It is not enough simply to resolve to do this. Make a plan of action. For instance, if I know I will have a conference with an emotional, angry person today, I will resolve to avoid offending him. But then I will try to think of gentle words to speak to him, or try to find someone who can help me by keeping him in good humor...

Then, be humble before God. Admit that you can't do any of this on your own. Offer all your good intentions to God, as though you were holding out your heart in your hands. Ask him to be involved in your plans for the day.

These prayerful thoughts should be taken care of quickly in the morning, before you leave your bedroom. God will bless your day.
-- Francis  de Sales: The Devout Life  

A personal response
Lord, here is my wretched heart. With your inspiration it has made some good plans. It is too weak to accomplish what it wants. Give your blessing through Christ, in whose honor I dedicate today and all the remaining days of my life.

God is Far and Near

Today's devotion talks about two concepts: of God's transcendence and His immanence. I've always found the distinction helpful. -- drs

Even though God is glorious, he is still intimate. God is high and yet low, enormous and yet within us, awesome and yet loveable. Will we ever cease being ignorant of God? When we advise people to look for God in their own hearts, they are as mystified as if we had told them to look in some unexplored territory in a distant land.
A personal response
Command me, Forbid me. What do you want me to do? What do you want me to refrain from doing? Whether I am lifted up or cast down, comforted or suffering, working for you or doing nothing worthwhile, I continue to love you. I yield my will to you. With Mary I say, "May it be to me as you have said." (Luke 1:38)
Francois de Fenelon: Meditations and Devotions

Near to the Heart of God: July 6

Crux of the Matter

Back from the Cornerstone Festival. No rain and hot but very worthwhile as always.  The following meditations (through July 12) are drawn from a 200th anniversary sermon at the Congregational church in Rupert, Vermont.

[What all the people who have attended this church over the years] had in common was that, like us, they believed (or sometimes believed and sometimes didn't believe; or wanted to believe; or liked to think they believed) that the universe, that everything there is, didn't come about by chance but was created by God. Like us they believed, on their best days anyway, that all appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, this God was a God like Jesus, which is to say a God of love. That, I think, is the crux of the matter... In the beginning it was not some vast cosmic explosion that made the heavens and the earth.  It was a loving God who did. That is our faith and the faith of all the ones who came before us.

The Heschel Series - A Universal Perception

The sense of the ineffable is not an esoteric faculty but an ability with which all men are endowed; it is potentially as common as sight or as the ability to form syllogisms. For just as man is endowed with the ability to know certain aspects of reality, he is endowed with the ability to know that there is more than what he knows.

Man is Not Alone; pp. 19-20

The Heschel Series - Experience Without Expression

Always we are chasing words, and always words recede. But the greatest experiences are those for which we have no expression. To live only on that which we can say is to wallow in the dust, instead of digging up the soil.

Man is Not Alone; p. 15-16

The Heschel Series - Philosophy begins in Wonder 2

What fills us with radical amazement is not the relations in which everything is embedded but the fact that even the minimum of perception is a maximum of enigma. The most incomprehensible fact is the fact that we comprehend at all.

Man is Not Alone; p. 14

The Heschel Series - Philosophy begins in Wonder

We may doubt anything, except that we are struck with amazement. When in doubt, we raise questions; when in wonder, we do not even know the question. Doubts may be resolved, radical amazement can never be erased. There is no answer in the world to man's radical wonder. Under the running sea of our theories and scientific explanations lies the aboriginal abyss of radical amazement.

Man is Not Alone; p. 13