Justin Taylor's Blog, page 360

O God, You Are My God . . .

John Knight:

Back in 1995, God gave Dianne and me a boy who is different than any other boy I've ever heard of. I mean that literally; he has an unusual mix of disabilities. God has used that boy to reveal more of his grace and power and mercy than I ever could have imagined.

And he has made the Bible more precious than I could have thought possible. . . .

If you are new to this blog, this is the boy who God uses to keep me dependent on him. Paul sang this song following the Easter service in April 2010. He is 14 years old in this video:Over the past several months, he has been plagued by mysterious, seizure-like episodes that have discouraged these spontaneous expressions of praise. God has helped us through these hard months, and we continue to pray for answers.

But Saturday we were given a little gift of the old singing.

Paul is a gift. So are all the other children and adults with disabilities God has given to his church. The world needs to know that.

We'll keep telling that story until we run out of things to say. It might be a while.

To God be the glory. Great things he has done!

Here are the two videos of Paul singing to his Savior:

T4G Plenary Speakers in 2012

"The four long-time friends, Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, C. J. Mahaney, and Albert Mohler, have asked several friends to join them in 2012. Thabiti Anyabwile and John Piper will return. And joining all of them for the first time for main sessions will be Matt Chandler, Kevin DeYoung, and David Platt."

Advice on Reading Strategically

Fred Sanders:

The most important advice I can give about reading is to make decisions in advance about what you want from the book you're about to read. You've got to stay in charge, and not just let yourself accidentally fall into the reading experience.

Before you really engage the book, decide if it's the kind of book you need to read slowly, repeatedly, taking notes, and pondering.

Or is it the kind of book that covers familiar territory and will only offer a few new details?

Is it a book you want to immerse yourself in and get lost in, or the kind you want to dip into for bits of information?

Or is it a book that you need to figure out so you can put it on your shelf and know how to use it for reference later on?

Some books contain analysis and perspectives that are brand new for you, and require slow assimilation.

But others just confirm, deepen, or extend things you already know.

And it's fine to read for fun and entertainment, or even to read haphazardly. But you need to have made a decision that you're going to do so. There are some books that I'm done with in 90 minutes, because I already knew what was in them before I picked them up, and I got everything I needed from them in a short encounter. I'm not an especially fast reader, but I do read strategically.

You can read the whole thing here.

For more counsel on reading well, keep an eye out for Tony Reinke's excellent book, Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books, coming this Fall.

Kindle Update: Page Numbers to Match the Printed Book

You can download the update at Amazon.

HT: @AlbertMohler

Note, as pointed out in the comments below, this update is only for the Kindle 3.

Translating "Son of God" for Muslims

Collin Hansen's cover story for Christianity Today is an excellent example of theological journalism. He looks at the phenomenon that many Muslims seem to be coming to faith, in part because they are reading more periphrastic translations that avoid "son of God" terminology.

Here's an excerpt:

The results may be encouraging, but the scholarship is flawed, according to several accomplished academics whose expertise spans both testaments. The scholars, including Darrell Bock (Dallas Theological Seminary), Jack Collins (Covenant Theological Seminary), and Vern Poythress (Westminster Theological Seminary), doubted they could endorse any alternative to "Son of God." They expressed sympathy with missionaries who want to dispel mistaken notions held by Muslims. But they found fault with alternatives, particularly using Christ where "Son of God" originally appeared. If "Son of God" and Christ are strict synonyms, they note, then usage of both terms in Scripture is redundant; Peter did not confess, "You are the Christ, the Christ."

" 'Messiah' is not an adequate substitute for 'Son of God,' " Poythress wrote. "Both have the same referent, namely Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. But they do not have the same meaning. . . . The Greek expressions for 'Messiah' and 'the Son of God' do have similar meanings, in that both, in many contexts, indicate something about Jesus' role as kingly ruler under commission from God. Moreover, both expressions evoke what people know or think they know about the great deliverer sent by God. But 'Son of God,' unlike 'Messiah,' indicates an analogy with a human family relationship. And it also has the potential to connote personal intimacy and love."

One of My Favorite Descriptions of the Christian Life

I am not what I ought to be.

Ah! how imperfect and deficient.

Not what I might be,

considering my privileges and opportunities.

Not what I wish to be.

God, who knows my heart, knows I wish to be like him.

I am not what I hope to be;

ere long to drop this clay tabernacle, to be like him and see him as He is.

Not what I once was,

a child of sin, and slave of the devil.

Thought not all these,

not what I ought to be,

not what I might be,

not what I wish or hope to be, and

not what once was,

I think I can truly say with the apostle,

"By the grace of God I am what I am."

—Cited in Letters of John Newton, p. 400.

$1 ESV Bible

Crossway has now produced an ESV paperback Bible that is only $1, if bought in bulk.

Churches and ministries that want to have Bibles on hand to give to people might want to look into this.

Information and description below:

Size: 5.375" x 8.25"
7-point type
688 pages
Black letter text
Article on What the Bible Is All About
Reading Plan
Article on the Plan of Salvation
Less than 1" thick

"With the ESV Economy Bible it's easier than ever to impact lives through the distribution of the Bible. The most affordable Bible on the market, the ESV Economy Bible features the clear English Standard Version text, making it compelling and readable to those receiving a Bible for the first time.

"This paperback edition of the full ESV Bible is ideal for bulk distribution. The ESV Economy Bible has a suggested retail price of $2.99, but is available for only $1 per copy when ordered in this pack. The only $1 Bible currently on the market, the ESV Economy Bible features not only the full text of the ESV Bible, but also an article on What the Bible Is All About, a reading plan, and a plan of salvation. Highly affordable and designed especially for outreach, the ESV Economy Bible is a great resource for reaching the world with God's Word."

"How to Write a Sentence" Reviewed

Louis Markos's very insightful review of Stanley Fish's How to Read a Sentence (a) will probably make you want to read the book, and (b) gets to the heart of the eternal issues lurking beneath the surface of the prose.

Sorrow Overload

David Murray reflects on how digital technology has made us even more aware of suffering saints all throughout the world.

He writes, "To be quite honest, I'm absolutely overwhelmed with the sorrow of it all at times."

Here is his conclusion:

All this leads me again to worship at the feet of the Lord Jesus who voluntarily came from his perfect peaceful home to this world of trouble and turmoil; who actively sought out sad people to sympathize with; who "bore our griefs and carried our sorrows"; "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."

Behold the Man with unlimited sympathy and empathy. Behold his huge and unlimited heart. Behold his tender and sensitive love!

I come to Him, weary and heavy laden, saying: "Lord I cannot cope with all these sorrows. But you can. I have no more capacity, but you have. My sympathy reserves are empty, but yours are ever full. My heart is narrow and limited, but yours is immeasurably wide. Please take these sorrows and extend your sympathy. And more than that, add your power to your pity; add your hand to your heart. Feel what I cannot feel. And do what I cannot do."

I come to Him, weary and heavy laden, saying: "Lord I cannot cope with all these sorrows. But you can. I have no more capacity, but you have. My sympathy reserves are empty, but yours are ever full. My heart is narrow and limited, but yours is immeasurably wide. Please take these sorrows and extend your sympathy. And more than that, add your power to your pity; add your hand to your heart. Feel what I cannot feel. And do what I cannot do."

Keller on Why Jesus Said the Little Girl Was Sleeping Instead of Dead

Tim Keller, King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus, pp. 67-69, commenting on Mark 5:38-42:

Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, "Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, "Talitha cumi," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.

Do you think it is odd that when Jesus arrives at Jairus's house he says that the girl is just sleeping? The parallel account of this story in Matthew and Luke's Gospels make it clear that Jesus understands she's dead. She's not mostly dead; she's all dead. Then why does he make that reference to sleep?

The answer is in what Jesus does next.

Remember, Jesus sits down beside the girl, takes her by the hand, and says two things to her.

The first is talitha. Literally, it means "little girl," but that does not get across the sense of what he's saying. This is a pet name, a diminutive term of endearment. Since this is a diminutive that a mother would use with a little girl, probably the best translation is "honey."

The second thing Jesus says to her is koum, which means "arise." Not "be resurrected": it just means "get up." Jesus is doing exactly what this child's parents might do on a sunny morning. He sits down, takes her hand, and says, "Honey, it's time to get up." And she does.

Jesus is facing facing the most implacable, inexorable enemy of the human race and such is his power that he holds this child by the hand and gently lifts her right up through it. "Honey, get up."

Jesus is saying by his actions, "If I have you by the hand, death itself is nothing but sleep." . . .

. . . There's nothing more frightening for a little child than to lose the hand of the parent in a crowd or in the dark, but that is nothing compared with Jesus's own loss.

He lost his Father's hand on the cross.

He went into the tomb so we can be raised out of it.

He lost hold of his Father's hand so we could know that once he has us by the hand, he will never, ever forsake us.