Month: October 2013

Finney: The Motive for All of God’s Actions

Why does God do what He does? Is He aiming at something in all His actions? Is there a “good” at the end of His actions or is whatever He wills “good”? While this may sound rather picky, it does affect our view of God’s character. Charles Finney believes, God’s ultimate end, in all He does, or omits, is the highest well-being of Himself, and of the universe, and in all His acts and dispensations, His ultimate object is the… Read more »

Lewis: On Knowing God’s Will

Life lived outside of the will of God is not really life at all. That’s something I’ve learned from experience. C. S. Lewis, in a pithy comment in his science fiction book Perelandra, puts it this way: “To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere.” That goes beyond truth; would it be permissible to call it “true truth”? Christians should always be examining themselves to ensure they are not wandering around in “nowhere” territory. One of the… Read more »

The Ultimate Hope

The whole country is breathing a sigh of relief now that the government is fully funded again. We’re comforted by the thought that all things are up and running once more. But I’m reminded of the time when Ronald Reagan was recuperating from the assassination attempt back in 1981. His top cabinet officials all came to see him at the hospital. At the time, he had a tube going down his throat and couldn’t yet speak, but he was writing… Read more »

Let Us Not Lose Heart

Today’s commentary is more personal. If you would rather find something about the shutdown or the debt ceiling, you won’t find it here today. Now’s your chance to go elsewhere before you read any further. Okay, too late—you must now continue. Professors are people, too. Sometimes we get discouraged. Even those of us who are doing this as a ministry and sense the call of God on our lives to teach can, at times, wonder what we are accomplishing. Although… Read more »

On Barrycades & the Fantasy of Obamaworld

Did you see pictures of what happened yesterday? Veterans groups descended on Washington, DC, and picked up and carried the “Barrycades” from the WWII Memorial to the White House. Here’s some photographic evidence: The second photo shows the “Barrycades” being deposited on the lawn in front of the White House. Looks like some people have had enough. This administration’s attitude toward veterans has become one of the lightning rods of this “slimdown.” As I’ve noted in previous posts, there’s no… Read more »

Finney: Communicating the Gospel Effectively

Charles Finney often went against the conventions of the day in his teaching and preaching. Some of his most vociferous critics were fellow ministers who had been formally trained in the colleges. Finney had been largely self-taught and was therefore thought to be ignorant of the proper manner of speaking. Yet he had results where others did not. In his autobiography, he provides some detail on this controversy: All through the earlier part of my ministry especially, I used to… Read more »

Lewis: The Dusty vs. the Clean Mirror

God does take the initiative to reach out to us, yet His impact on our lives depends on our willingness to reach back. C. S. Lewis touches on this in his Mere Christianity: When you come to knowing God, the initiative lies on His side. If He does not show Himself, nothing you can do will enable you to find Him. And, in fact, He shows much more of Himself to some people than to others—not because He has favourites,… Read more »