Fear and Trembling

Ligonier Ministries has a wonderful entry by Greg Bailey on John Calvin’s response to the plague. Here’s a quote referenced in the post: During Calvin's ministry, Geneva was terrorized by the plague on five occasions. During the first outbreak, in 1542, Calvin personally led visitations into plague-infected homes. Knowing that this effort likely carried a death sentence, the city fathers intervened to stop him because of their conviction that his leadership was indispensable. The pastors continued this heroic effort under Calvin's guidance, and they recounted the joy of multiple conversions. Many pastors lost their lives in this cause. Unknown to many, Calvin privately continued his own pastoral care in Geneva and other cities where the plague raged. Calvin's pastoral heart, already evidenced by the provision of hospitals for both citizens and immigrants, was further revealed as he collected the necessary resources to establish a separate hospital for plague victims. When ...

Ligonier Ministry’s blog has a series of posts from John Gerstner on the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ. You can find the first three here , here , and here . The last post above contains great examples of Christ’s influence on the world. Here’s an excerpt from the summary: We are fully aware that to attribute Godhood to any man is a colossal affirmation. It borders on the incredible--the impossible. But when we consider the impression of Christ's humanity, the great claims He made for Himself in the most humble way, the unrestrained adoration and worship of those who knew Him, the miracles associated with Him whose life was a "blaze of miracles," and the constant recurring miracles of grace which have attended the heralding of His name throughout the world, we propose that (if it is difficult to believe that a man was also God) it is impossible to deny Christ's deity. It is difficult to believe; it is impossible to doubt.

Thanks to the guys over at Extreme Theology for the hilarious video posting . It’s a satire on the modern church’s propensity for trying to please everyone. It’s a great laugh, but after thinking about it for a few minutes I had to ask myself: is this the way our culture views us from the outside? Is this what we have to offer? I hope not ( 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ).

I was very ill as a young child. I had a lung disease that left me breathless after walking a few feet, much more out of breath when trying to run, climb, or jump. I was thirteen before I began to grow out of it, but I had been through a lot before then. My illness always hit me hard when it came time for PE, physical education, class. That was when we divided up into teams to play sports. I was never the first one chosen for the team. I was usually chosen last. Everyone knew I would have little to contribute. My best contribution would be just to stay out of the way. Little League Baseball was more than a sport in my hometown. It was more like a religion. Parents had a lot to say about the make-up of the teams, and they organized try-outs. I tried hard, but I was never picked to be part of the best team. I always wanted to be part of the winning team. Christianity offered me the chance to be a part of the winning team , to be part of the group that will make a real difference ...