By Farther Steps

Reformed and Reforming, semper reformanda to Christ's glory.

John G. Patton

I was talking with a friend today about John Piper’s biographical sketch of John G. Patton. Here’s a little blurb on it:

Upon hearing Paton’s intention to go, a Mr Dickson exploded, “The cannibals! You will be eaten by cannibals!” To this Paton responded, “Mr Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my Resurrection body will rise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer.” (p. 56) This is the kind of in-your-face spiritual moxie that would mark Paton’s whole life.

I recommned buying the tape, Piper adds his own passion to the story. Failing that, why not read the transcript?

iBook Win95

I decided to install Windows 95 on my iBook. I know, I know. Windows? Right. And, Windows won’t run on a G3 processor, only Intel! Right again. I had to buy a copy of Virtual PC for my Mac so I can use a piece of Windows 3.1 software that is required for classes next term and strongly suggested for this term. So I bought Virtual PC with DOS and installed a legal copy of Win 95b I had kicking around the house. It was a lot cheaper that way.

I gotta say, Virtual PC is very cool, no wonder Microsoft bought it. It sets up and environment for Windows that emulates a Pentium computer. It even uses the devices on my iBook like the modem, the CD drive, and the USB port.

So now my iBook can boot to OS X and run OS 9 and Win95.

TEDS Friendly

Last school year was sort of tough. I felt overwhelmed with work and isolated. I didn’t know many people at school because I’d just started. I didn’t know many people at church because I couldn’t get too involved. I knew everyone at home but spent little time there. This year seems like it might be different.

I stopped by today to take care of some paperwork. On the way to the office I ran into a guy I meant last year in Suicide Greek. We chatted as we walked, catching up on what we’ve been doing this summer. When I got to the office, Dr Janiszewski knew me by name. He was glad to see me and we chatted for a bit. When I’d finished, I headed to check my mail and passed Dr. Roy‘s office. He, too, knew me by name and took time to talk.

I’m not name-dropping here, it was just good to be known. I’m hoping that the workload won’t be as devistating as it was last year (though I am doing Hebrew) and I can plug in more.

Don’t Shut Out the Church!

I’m ripping this off from a friend, but it cracked me up!

Two church members were going door to door. They knocked on the door of a woman who clearly was not happy to see them. She told them in no uncertain terms she did not want to hear their message and then slammed the door in their faces.

To her surprise, the door did not close. In fact, it bounced back open.

Seeing the two church members at the door frustrated her. She stormed back to the door and flung it shut.

But the door still didn’t close. Furious, she grabbed the door with two hands and shoved it as hard as she could. But again, the door wouldn’t shut.

Convinced one of these rude church members was sticking a foot in the door, she reared back to give the door a slam that would really teach them a lesson.

Just then, one of the church members said, “Ma’am, before you do that again, you might want to move your cat.”

What really had me going was that I actually went door to door with the man who sent me this, so I know he does it.

Pray

For, as for my heart, when I go to pray, I find it so loth to go to God, and when it is with him, so loth to stay with him, that many times I am forced in my prayers, first to beg of God that he would take mine heart, and set it on himself in Christ, and when it is there, that he would keep it there. Nay, many times I know not what to pray for, I am so blind, nor how to pray, I am so ignorant; only, blessed be grace, the Spirit helps our infirmities (Psa 86:11). – John Bunyan

When I read that, I knew it sounded familiar. I had just read something very similiar in J. Oswald Sanders’ book Spiritual Leadership:

“When I go to prayer,” confessed an eminent Christian, “I find my heart so loath to go to God, and when it is with Him, so loath to stay.” Then self-discipline has a role. “When you feel most indisposed to pray, yeild not to it,” he counseled, “but strive and endeavor to pray, even when you think you cannot.” – Sanders, p. 86

At any rate, Sanders & Bunyan are right, prayer is work. It is hard to get started and hard to remain in once it has been started. Bunyan’s perspective, which didn’t come through so clearly in Sanders, is that without the Spirit, we cannot pray. We don’t know how we should pray, we don’t know what to pray for and without the Spirit, our prayers cannot be acceptable to God any way. Even then, it is still a difficult thing. I needed to remember this to spur me on to struggle into prayer more regularly.

Me ‘n Me Boy

Here’s a pic of me and my son Benjamin (I’m the one with the gotee) at the Michigan Ave. Apple Store in Chicago. Cool store. We took the pic via an iSight on a 12″ Powerbook. I’m posting this via my iBook and their Airport network. Technology is so cool. Next stop today is Moody Bible Institute library.

BTW, Ben got the shiner from a friend. They were acting in a movie when he got biffed, as in biffed.

For the Sake of the Elect

Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

2 Timothy 2:10

Long ago when I was doing a local radio program, I had an Arminian caller gently point out that the term “elect” in Ephesians 1 could be describing the position of being “in Christ” and not particular individuals. We had a pleasant exchange and when we were done, he hung up. Since it was my show, I got to continue to discuss it. :)

I was not convinced that elect is a position and not a people. This verse from 2 Timothy seems to reinforce that point (wish I’d have had it handy back then). How can a position of being in Christ “obtain salvation”? Isn’t that what being in Christ means? To maintain the Arminian position, I guess you’d have to say that God had no one in particular in mind when he elected ‘them’ to salvation.

Another potential interpretation is that “the elect” is referring to ethnic Israel. After all, Paul says, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” (Rom. 9:3) so he had genuine concern for the Jews. In 2 Timothy 2:13 he says “if we are faithless he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself.” God remains faithful to Israel even though the rejected the Messiah, right? To get that from those verses, you have to import a bunch of presuppositions that just aren’t present in 2 Timothy. Also, right after that, Paul tells Timothy to “remind them of these things.” Timothy was in Ephesus, a largely gentile city, so God’s faithfulness to apostate Israel probably wasn’t their major concern. It just doesn’t fit.

What seems to make more sense is that Paul is pursuing those God has chosen from the foundation of the world. He preaches the gospel so that they may come to faith and be saved. He preached it indiscriminately because we don’t know who the elect are till they believe and persevere to the end.