Piper and Warren on Doctrine

I found this quite fascinating. I always understood these two giants of the faith to be much further apart doctrinally than they actually are. I was amazed at their similarity. And I was amazed at their mutual humility as men of God who are looked upon by so many as sources of vision, leadership and wisdom. It's a long interview but I just popped in the headphones and listened while I hammered out some administrative stuff at work. You can find this video, as originally posted, on desiringgod.org.

A Prayer for Japan

This is a shameless repost. I was brought to tears by this prayer of John Piper for the people in Japan. Rather than try to come up with something on my own, I'm just going offer this as a prayer that we should all pray and as a reminder that our own lives hang on the perilous edge of a dime's rim. In a moment it can all change. Let's be thankful for every day, every moment we have with those we love.

Here are the words of John Piper (see Desiring God blog for his original post)

Father in heaven, you are the absolute Sovereign over the shaking of the earth, the rising of the sea, and the raging of the waves. We tremble at your power and bow before your unsearchable judgments and inscrutable ways. We cover our faces and kiss your omnipotent hand. We fall helpless to the floor in prayer and feel how fragile the very ground is beneath our knees.


O God, we humble ourselves under your holy majesty and repent. In a moment—in the twinkling of an eye—we too could be swept away. We are not more deserving of firm ground than our fellowmen in Japan. We too are flesh. We have bodies and homes and cars and family and precious places. We know that if we were treated according to our sins, who could stand? All of it would be gone in a moment. So in this dark hour we turn against our sins, not against you.


And we cry for mercy for Japan. Mercy, Father. Not for what they or we deserve. But mercy.


Have you not encouraged us in this? Have we not heard a hundred times in your Word the riches of your kindness, forbearance, and patience? Do you not a thousand times withhold your judgments, leading your rebellious world toward repentance? Yes, Lord. For your ways are not our ways, and your thoughts are not our thoughts.


Grant, O God, that the wicked will forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Grant us, your sinful creatures, to return to you, that you may have compassion. For surely you will abundantly pardon. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus, your beloved Son, will be saved.


May every heart-breaking loss—millions upon millions of losses—be healed by the wounded hands of the risen Christ. You are not unacquainted with your creatures' pain. You did not spare your own Son, but gave him up for us all.


In Jesus you tasted loss. In Jesus you shared the overwhelming flood of our sorrows and suffering. In Jesus you are a sympathetic Priest in the midst of our pain.


Deal tenderly now, Father, with this fragile people. Woo them. Win them. Save them.


And may the floods they so much dread make blessings break upon their head.


O let them not judge you with feeble sense, but trust you for your grace. And so behind this providence, soon find a smiling face.


In Jesus’ merciful name, Amen.

John Piper and Pixels vs. People

This is something I've been noodling on for a while.  We have wholeheartedly embraced social media and technology as culture without really investigating what it's doing to our communication and connectedness with each other.  I often wonder what the hidden "price tag" might be when we put pixels ahead of people. I think Piper is on to something here. Now, more than ever before, we can so easily chose to escape the pain of knowing and being known. Intimacy is is an increasingly rare commodity these days.

Dear Friday

 Dear Friday

Friday, Friday, what it is about you? 

What is it that makes you such a better day

 Than all those other bitter days?

Especially Monday

That decrepit thieving day   

There’s something enchanting about your dastardly week-ending ways

You bring one chapter of my life to an end

And breathe new life into the next

Dear Friday

What is it about your endearing knack for hiding from me

For longer than any other day of the week? 

They all fly by except you, dear Friday

They all have a faster approach than you, dear Friday

4, 11, 18, 25

They're too far apart on my schedule

What is it about your column on my calendar that always awakens a count-down within me?

I await you’re arrival

You come

Then you go

But today you’re here, Dear Friday

Finally

And still it’s only the AM part of you

The cruelest part of you

Because your leisure time treasure trove that I plunder each week

Is yet out of reach for me

But oh, the PM part of you!

The part that exacts your ruthless wrath on my alarm clock while I snore with glee!

The part that gives entry to your kindhearted cohort

Saturday and his friend Sunday

Without you, there’d be no them

That wonderful weekend tandem

Dear Friday

So, I’ll try to enjoy you while you’re here

‘Cause those other days

The weaker week days

They creep up on me

Pushing you aside so carelessly

But they’re just jealous

Because they know that when I’m with them

I’m thinking of you

And counting the days until you’ll be back

Same time next week

Dear Friday