The Goodness of God and the Reality of Evil – Dr. Mohler reflects on the tornado in Oklahoma: “Every thoughtful person must deal with the problem of evil. Evil acts and tragic events come to us all in this vale of tears known as human life. The problem of evil and suffering is undoubtedly the greatest theological challenge we face.”

The Mystery of Suffering and Sovereignty – Sam Storms, who pastors in Oklahoma City, also reflects on the tragedy.

Christian Adoption – John Piper responds to some recent criticisms of evangelical adoptions with a series of disavowals and affirmations.

14 Ways to Use the Bible – Here is a list of 14 ways to use the Bible.

Complaining to God – R.C. Sproul provides an answer to this question: “Is it Ever Legitimate to Complain to God or to Express Anger to God?”

Sanctification by Time Travel – “The Bible encourages us to spiritual time travel. The believer uses faith to transport herself into the future, a spiritual experience that has significant sanctifying impact on the present (2 Peter 3:11). And in Romans 6, the believer uses faith to transport himself back in time, again with significant present impact.”

The saints are chastened and the sinners are enriched: this is no small trial of faith. —C.H. Spurgeon

And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken:
for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
— Exod. 33:17-18

But God said to Moses “No man shall see Me and live”
So God had to hide Moses in a clift of a rock as He passed by!
!!!
However, when you read the Book of Revelations,
John describes the splendor of God’s throne room …
… and the brilliance and beauty that surrounds God …
So, what about seeing God’s Glory?
Is that at all possible?
???
Jesus said this to Martha, Lazarus’ sister …

Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that,
if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
— John 11:40

So, according to Jesus … it is possible to see God’s Glory!
Maybe not the way we expect to … in the physical,
But in the true glory of God … in His character, in life and in love!
!!!
What was Jesus referring to when He spoke to Martha …
Martha’s brother Lazarus had died and Martha had said to Jesus …
“Lord if You had been here my brother would not have died!”
… and Jesus answered her …

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live:
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
— John 11:25-26

So what is Jesus saying that the glory of God is?
God’s manifest character … in our presence and in our lives!
His Love and Life eternal in abundance … in us!
!!!
… and that is exactly what God already did when He created man …

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou ……. hast crowned him with glory and honour.
— Psalm 8:4-5

As you put your trust in God’s Word and seek His presence
His glory manifests in your presence!

… Read …
John 11:1-44

Young man! Being single is bad, and you are frustrated and lonely, but marrying an odious woman is worse. Save yourself! Marrying a difficult woman can give you more grief than you can imagine. Do not get near a woman that likes to debate or has a temper.

The Bible is not just theology. God created women and ordered how they should behave, and Solomon had seen and felt the pain of bad wives, so they warned you often to avoid certain women (Pr 12:4; 14:1; 19:13; 21:9,19; 25:24; 27:15-16; 30:21-23; 31:10-12).

Solomon knew what he wrote about. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines (second-class wives). The grief of a contentious and angry wife for one day can cure a man of desiring marriage. Solomon had 1000 women! God inspired this expert to give you marriage advice: do not marry a disagreeable woman. Marriage can be worse than being single.

Young man! Do you like camping in a hut in the woods by yourself? If you do not, you are normal. Most men would dread such a lonely situation. But remember, such camping is better than living in a fine home with luxurious furnishings and fare, if the woman in that house with you is a critical, negative, overbearing, tense, or easily-irritated woman.

What is a contentious woman? One that likes to contend – who likes to argue, criticize, disagree, fight, oppose, or question. She is full of questions, reminders, and suggestions – all to help, of course. Rather than dote on you, she will nag; rather than sweetly agree, she will question and suggest alternatives – until you wish you were single in the woods.

What is an angry woman? She cannot rule her spirit and likes to fight. She is easily angered, dissatisfied, irritated, negative, or resentful. She can find something negative about any event, and she frets and talks most about that. She is not satisfied. She is hardly ever content, seldom your sweet lover, but always irritated and stressed about something.

Young man! These odious women – hateful and repulsive – will deceive you (Pr 30:21-23). They will lure you into marriage, and then it is too late. Solomon warned that they can appear nice when courting and dating, but then the marriage trap shuts on your neck. You need to be very wise by knowing both positive and negative traits to measure.

Remember the rule of ten. Any hint of a difficult or overbearing spirit before marriage will be ten times worse afterward. Test her. Ask her to do something she dislikes. If you see her face fall, detect negative body language, or even smell irritation, run for the woods. Be single for life rather than married to her. Let her be single until she grows up.

No wonder the apostles responded the way they did when Jesus taught His strict rules about divorce. In light of little room for divorce, it would be better not to marry. They were afraid of getting trapped in a marriage with a contentious and angry woman. Young men should consider the grave seriousness of marriage and carefully examine a prospect.

There are many agreeable, cheerful, gracious, submissive, sweet, and reverent women. They can make you feel like a king in seconds, and marriage to them is royal bliss. They are warm, kind, charming, and pleasant. They have no harsh or rough edges. Reject any woman that is even slightly critical, moody, opinionated, or questioning. She does not deserve a husband. You do not deserve such pain. You deserve a real woman. Find one.

The odious woman cannot smell herself. She thinks she is helpful by prodding, asking questions, stressing over details, giving reminders, expecting perfection, or disliking a choice. If you were to ask her, she would say she is a good woman and wife. If you were to ask her mother, she would praise her as well (Ezek 16:44). But all others must hold their noses at the smell her husband cannot hide to his own shame (Pr 27:15-16)!

Here is the first rule to save you. Only consider or date a girl or woman that has an independent fear of God. Do not be influenced by her looks or kindness (Pr 31:30). This girl or woman loves God and will live by the Bible in every part of her life with or without your help. She loves Jesus Christ, godly living, hard preaching, and hates worldliness. She will treat you for her entire life the way the Bible tells her. You win!

Here is the second rule to save you. Learn the character traits of godly women from the Bible and expect all of them. Look for extreme diligence or hard work (Pr 31:13-27). Look for graciousness, especially in speech (Pr 11:16). Look for great respect to her parents (Eph 6:1-3). Look for love and kindness to others without any critical edges (I Cor 13:4-7). Look for a forgiving spirit that overlooks the faults of others (Col 3:12-15).

Young man! Your future is at stake. Learn the warnings in these proverbs about odious women. Believe them. Fear the pain of marriage to such a creature. Be prudent. Test a prospect, and watch her reaction closely. Is her mother a charming, desirable, and gracious woman, or not? Ask married men their opinions, for their sense of smell is finely tuned. Do not rush to marriage. Never take a chance with a fifty-year, horrible fate!

Christian girl or woman! Learn to love your place and role in the world – you were made for a husband (Gen 2:18; I Cor 11:9; I Tim 2:13). Get rid of your own opinions, for your desires are to be your husband’s (Gen 3:16). Learn and maximize graciousness, and you will always be loved (Pr 11:16). Learn the wisdom of Abigail (I Sam 25:21-35). Godly women do not contend with their husbands; they submit, obey, and reverence them (Eph 5:22-24,33; Tit 2:3-5). Godly women are not irritable or negative (Pr 31:26; I Pet 3:1-4).

Christian parent! It is your duty to train your children from Solomon’s proverbs to learn wisdom for great marriages and great families. Boys should be taught and shown by clear examples the differences between a gracious woman and an odious woman, so they will know what kind to marry. Girls should be shown and taught the same differences and required to live the godly way, so that some noble prince of a Christian man will want to marry them. Lead and rule their marital decisions in light of this wisdom for their profit.

Description:
When we are in the wilderness, our questions are always the same. How did I get here? And whose fault is it? But in the wilderness, none of that matters. Blaming others, ourselves or God won’t help. Besides, God’s purposes for the wilderness are always the same–to bring intimacy and humility. We have to stop asking how we got here, and ask God what He has for us right here, right now, in this wilderness place.

If Isaac Watts is known as the father of English hymnody, William Williams (1717-1791) is considered by many to be the father of Welsh hymnody.

In 1738 Williams heard a sermon by the revivalist preacher Howell Harris, a fiery Welsh layman who had been influenced by the Methodist movement in England. It was through this sermon that Williams discerned his calling to go into the ministry.

Williams first pursued becoming an Anglican priest (in the Church of Wales) and entered as a deacon in 1740. However, he soon came to discover that his heart was with Harris and his itinerant work, and before long he left his small curacy in the mountains to join with the traveling Methodist preachers.

The revivalists realized that the Welsh language was lacking in hymns–the church in Wales was still primarily singing metrical psalms in their worship services. In order to promote the creation of hymns, Harris put together a hymn-writing competition between the different preachers.

As Louis Benson relates, “the prize fell easily to Williams Williams, who had the poet’s passion and a gift of verse-writing. Therefore it was not very long before he was recognized as poet laureate of the Welsh revival.”

Williams would go on to write many hymns in both Welsh and English. “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” appeared in Welsh in 1745. Twenty six years later, in 1771, a Rev. Peter Williams translated the first verse into English, prompting William Williams to translate the rest of it into English as well.

It is fitting that Williams should be the author of a hymn about the Christian’s pilgrimage on earth since as a traveling Methodist preacher, he was a pilgrim in both the spiritual and physical sense.

Williams made an extraordinary record as an itinerant evangelist. He took the whole of Wales for his parish. His travels for forty-three years are said to make an average of 2230 miles a year, at a time when there were no railroads and few stage-coaches. In this way the greater part of Williams’ life was spent, not in a preacher’s study, but in the great world of out of doors. …

It was a picturesque life, but it was not an easy one; for nature is not always kind. It involved much exposure and constant fatigue. It incurred also that menace of the mob of which all these revival preachers were victims. …

Such self-sacrificing years of evangelism and those weary thousands of miles sum up the remainder of Williams’ life.

Here is the English text of the hymn (which is known also as “Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer”):

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
Hold me with thy powerful hand:
Bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through:
Strong deliverer,
Be thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of deaths, and hell’s destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan’s side:
Songs of praises,
I will ever give to thee.

Two stanzas have since been added. One appears to have been added by Williams when he translated it to English (“Musing on my habitation…”). I am not sure about the other.

Lord, I trust Thy mighty power,
Wondrous are Thy works of old;
Thou deliver’st Thine from thralldom,
Who for naught themselves had sold:
Thou didst conquer, Thou didst conquer,
Sin, and Satan and the grave,
Sin, and Satan and the grave.

Musing on my habitation,
Musing on my heav’nly home,
Fills my soul with holy longings:
Come, my Jesus, quickly come;
Vanity is all I see;
Lord, I long to be with Thee!
Lord, I long to be with Thee!

The hymn is especially powerful when sung by a choir and has been recorded many times. Here is a good example. You can see a lot of really bored-looking people singing it at the royal wedding of Prince William. Several people have rewritten the melody but, between you and me, I don’t think any of them touch the power and beauty of the original. Having said that, Whitney Houston’s way-too-short rendition sounds like it would have been special, though it also would have been about 20 minutes long.

Here are the best of the current Kindle deals: Praying Backwards by Bryan Chapell ($1.99); the Trailblazers series (biographies for teens) is on sale for just $2.99 each: Helen Roseveare: On His Majesty’s Service, George Whitefield: The Voice that Woke the World, David Brainerd: A Love for the Lost, John Newton: A Slave Set Free, and Joni Eareckson Tada: Swimming Against The Tide. Bruce Shelley’s Church History in Plain Language ($4.99); Luke – Acts in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary set ($7.59); John – Acts in the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary ($7.59). The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak, Dave Runyon ($4.99); The Holman Bible Atlas ($4.99) and The Holman Illustrated Guide to Biblical History ($4.99).

Why Have Babies? – Candice Watters offers a really helpful take on this question: Why have babies? “You may think your reasons for having babies are biblical, but if you’re like me, you’ve absorbed a lot more culture and a lot less Bible than you realize.”

Aiming at Heaven – A missionary seems particularly able to speak to this subject: “If there is one thing this life has taught me, it’s that I must hold loosely to everything. Everything. I can’t put down roots anywhere; I will never find stability.”

An Act of War – Going to church is an act of war. Here’s why.

The Personal Purgatory of Kevin Tunell – “In the early hours of Friday, January 1, 1982 the seventeen year-old Kevin Tunell made the biggest mistake of his life. At a New Year’s party near Washington DC, he got very drunk; his friends urged him not to drive but he insisted, ‘Nothing will ever happen to me’.” A tragic and strange story unfolds.

A Biblical and Scientific Adam – “As the battle between Darwinism and the Bible rages, some evangelicals have backed away from maintaining that Adam and Eve were real, historical individuals created in the way Genesis 2 relates.” Vern Poythress recently wrote a long article explaining why such a surrender is wrong biblically and scientifically.

If God should have no more mercy on us than we have charity to one another, what would become of us? —Thomas Fuller

Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village:
and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said,
Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?
bid her therefore that she help me.
— Luke 10:38-40

Martha received Jesus into her house …
… and Jesus ministered to everyone who was there in her house!
But what about Martha? … Did she stop and spend time with Jesus?
No! … but she had a good excuse … She had to prepare food for Jesus!
Good reason?
Well let’s see what Jesus said about that!

And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha,
thou art careful and troubled about many things:
But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part,
which shall not be taken away from her.
— Luke 10:41-42

Sure everyone needs to eat, but get your priorities right …
… Jesus said to Martha …
Look at Mary, she has chosen the good part,
and it will not be taken away from her ….
What was Mary’s choice?

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you.
— Matt 6:33

What was Jesus saying to Martha?
Take your eyes off your problem, and trust Me for an answer?
Spend time with Me instead of with your problem!
Stop trying to make it work in your own strength, let Me do it!
Put aside all of those things that are stealing your time, and spend it with Me!
Let Me in, like Mary did … I want to help!

… If Jesus came to visit today …
… would you try to impress Him, or just receive from Him?
… would you be running around doing for Him … or simply just listen to Him?

… If Jesus comes to visit today, and He will …
… throw aside all that keeps you busy and away from His presence …
… spend time with Him … TODAY!
… and receive from Him … TODAY!

Stop fighting! Life is too short. Peace is too precious. Noble men end fights and conflict. Love and unity are godly and profitable. Are you a peacemaker? Do you hate quarrels, strife, and trouble? Do you love quietness, rest, and harmony? End every fight you can.

Godly men hate fighting; they back out of conflicts involving themselves; they help bring peace when others are fighting. It is a credit to their reputations and religion. It is their glory (Pr 19:11). But fools, being void of godly character and integrity, provoke others in various ways to continue conflict and strife. They are obnoxious nuisances in the world.

The proverb’s clauses are contrasted by “but.” The fool of the second one is contrasted to a wise man in the first. The first clause does not state it is a wise man, because that is unnecessary, given the second clause. By the same method of contrast, the meddling of the second clause is a fool’s conduct and speech that cause or increase fighting. Furthermore, in contrast to the wise man’s deserved honor, the fool should be despised.

Strife is fighting. A wise man avoids fights. He knows that strife, even in his heart, is devilish confusion and evil from hell (Jas 3:14-16). He knows that God condemns strife and commands peace (Rom 13:13; Gal 5:19-23; Eph 4:1-3; Phil 2:3; Jas 3:17-18). He knows at best that fighting marks a carnal Christian, but most likely a child of hell (I Cor 3:3; Titus 3:3; Jas 4:1). He chooses the blessed course of a peacemaker (Matt 5:9).

A wise man is honored for not fighting. It is his glory to pass over a transgression (Pr 19:11), to be slow to wrath (Pr 14:29), to rule his spirit (Pr 16:32), to avoid fights altogether rather than end them later (Pr 17:14), to proceed slowly with adversaries (Pr 25:8), and to discuss personal offences in private without telling others (Pr 25:9-10).

But a fool is to be despised for causing conflicts. He is hated for quick anger (Pr 14:17), pride (Pr 13:10), repeating offences (Pr 17:9), and sharing them with others (Pr 16:27-28). Good men want to take these troublemakers and flog them (Pr 18:6)! Such fools meddle in controversies by stirring things up that would otherwise settle down to peace.

Worldly men believe fighting is manly, because they cannot think higher than junkyard dogs. It takes far more character, discipline, and strength to resist fighting than it does to give in to the childish emotions and devilish urges that call for it. God surely inspired this proverb. Men think honor must be defended by fighting, but God honors the man who will not fight! Only proud, wicked beasts feel they must strike another blow at another.

The Pharisees, religious fundamentalists for man’s basest lusts, taught, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,” by applying a civil law to personal offences (Matt 5:38). But Jesus praised the godly man, who turns the other cheek to the man who smites one (Matt 5:39). Only base fools think they must protect their person and reputation by biting others for any hurt. Great men end controversies, forgive injuries, and befriend even enemies.

Where is fighting and strife in your life? Is it in your marriage, because neither spouse will back down and make peace? Learn the lesson of this proverb and do something honorable – humble yourself and make peace. Is there conflict between you and your children? You are the parent! Take the high road and end the conflict by making peace.

How honorable are you? Can you return a soft answer to an angry man, even when he is wrong (Pr 15:1)? Are you a little child in malice (I Cor 14:20)? Can you forgive everyone, even those quarreling with you (Col 3:12-15)? Do you hate bitterness and love tenderheartedness (Eph 4:31-32)? Can you recognize that most fighting for “principle” is really only for pride (Pr 13:10; 21:24)? Are you willing to be defrauded (I Cor 6:7)? Do you follow your heavenly Father and seek good for your enemies (Matt 5:43-48)?

If you know you offended someone, even long ago, go to them to restore the relationship (Matt 5:23-26). God will not accept your worship until you do this. If someone has offended you, the best choice is simply to forgive and forget it (Pr 19:11; Col 3:13). But if you cannot forgive them, then gently confront them alone about it (Matt 18:15-18).

Consider the greatest mediation, peacemaking, and reconciliation in history. The holy and just God of heaven was angry at all men for their sins (Ps 5:4-6; 7:11; 11:4-6). And men were filled with pride and contempt against Him, for they had chosen to follow His enemy the devil instead (Ps 10:4; 14:1-3; Eph 2:1-3). The blessed God in infinite wisdom sent the Man Christ Jesus, who stepped between both parties and took their full rage, forever making peace between God and His chosen children (Eph 1:3-14; Rom 5:6-11).

The Problem of Evil is Hanging in Your Closet by Zack Hunt for Deeper Story’s monthly The Politics of Faith column

The Full Circle by Andrea Levendusky for A Deeper Story

Is God’s Presence Limited to Scripture? by Rachel Held Evans

You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to be Loved by Danielle of From Two to One

Be the Nosy Neighbour by Shayne Moore for Her.Meneutics, Christianity Today’s blog for women

Examining Adoption Ethics by Jen Hatmaker

Heather by Heather Kopp for Momastery

Dear Mrs. James… by Carolyn Custis James

Where Have All the Women Gone in Movies? by Rebecca Keegan for The LA Times

Jada and Jon Swanson: “One of the greatest gifts we have given each other is the gift of dreaming BIG!” by Jada Swanson

The Anonymous Project with Jennifer Luitweiler

Beyond a Single Story by Idelette McVicker for J.R. Goudeau

Now is the Springtime of My Discontent by Bill Kinnon

12 Things Your Daughter Needs You to Say by Emily P. Freeman

Deciphering Missions by Jamie the Very Worst Missionary

Greatest Moments of “The Office” in 2 Minutes at Mashable

38 Reasons Everything is Way Better in Canada at Buzzfeed (a bit off-colour)

50 Tattoos Inspired by Books at Buzzfeed

When I think I’m done editing at What Should We Call A First (Christian) Book

Yet, I distribute these words like a street vendor to anyone who will take them. I have rarely sold them. They are cheap and they are easy to shape. I give them forms like balloon animals, some in the shape of sermons, some in the shape of books, in the shape of small talk, in the shape of 140 characters or less. I spit on them, sweat on them, bleed on them, cry on them. I give some away too recklessly and some far too cautiously.

I assign them to different people for different purposes; I assign them with meaning. I cast them off, I let them go, I watch them fall.

I do not expect them to be immortal. I do not think they need to outlive me. Yet. I cannot help but feel a pang of sadness, because all of my favorite words are dying. So many of them have not been written in greeting cards or recorded into microphones or tucked away in files. These undocumented words were the ones that meant the most, the words that most embodied my hope and love and fear. For a few moments, they contained my soul. Ever so briefly, they contained me—they were how I existed.

And then as quickly as they came into existence—they evaporated. Cleared out at the end of the day along with the garbage. I do not know where they went or how to get them back. I cannot remember the ones I loved the most, much less resuscitate them.

An artist paints thousands of pieces; the masterpieces endure and the lesser works are forgotten. The best of them left behind for someone to admire. But I am no artist and I am no architect—so much of the work I feel most deeply about does not live on; the mediocre ones do. I do not wish to make too much of this, but you must understand my sorry state of affairs—all my favorite words are dying, and no one will ever see them again.

The New Testament says that “Every idle word will be subject to judgment,” so I assume the idle ones may live long enough and travel far enough to arrive unharmed on judgment day. The words I love the most are not idle at all, yet I do not think they have the velocity to get them very far.

What of these non-idle words that most embodied my heart—but died so young and could not grow? What about all of the life and love in them? Is there any chance they could not all be scrubbed at the end of the day, and some of them might make it to Kingdom Come, too?