Afterwords -- week 9
“May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works..."
(Psalm 104:31 ESV)
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February 21, 2022
Dear friends, this is a crunch week for me as I seek to whittle down and organize my studies on the glory of God into three coherent, succinct messages for our Spiritual Life Conference. Prayer would be appreciated, as often I am not always coherent and succinct! Pray also for our congregation, and others who attend, that we all would experience "a season of refreshing" (Acts 3:19) from the Lord. Consider this prayer...
“Blow away the ashes of unbelief by thy Spirit’s breath
and give me light, fire, and warmth of love.
I need spiritual comforts
that are gentle, peaceful, mild, refreshing,
that will melt me into conscious lowliness before thee,
that will make me feel and rest in thee as my All.
Fill the garden of my soul with the wind of love,
that the scents of the Christian life may be wafted
to others;
then come and gather fruits to thy glory.
So shall I fulfill the great end of my being--
to glorify thee and be a blessing to men.”
-- From The Valley of Vision (Banner of Truth Trust, 1975)
A PRESIDENT'S DAY ANECDOTE. I have read various versions of the following story, but this is the basic gist: Peter Cartwright was an itinerant preacher in the early 1800s (in those days called a circuit rider) who traveled and ministered primarily in Kentucky and Tennessee. He was noted for his plain and direct sermons. In 1830 he was preaching a revival at a church in Washington, D.C., and it was announced that President Andrew Jackson would attend the Sunday morning service. The church leaders were excited about this, and they cautioned Cartwright against saying anything that would be too offensive to the president. That morning Jackson attended the service and Cartwright stepped into the pulpit and began by saying, "I understand that the President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, is with us this morning. I have been asked to be guarded in my remarks. But the truth is, Andrew Jackson will go to hell if he doesn’t repent." Most accounts of this story report that Jackson wasn't upset, and in fact told the preacher, "If I had a regiment of men like you, I could whip the world." Repentance and faith are required for all people, great and small. Jesus said, "...unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3, 5).
THE PROBLEM OF CIVIL AUTHORITY. How can a modern democracy maintain a proper notion of authority? "We live in lawless times. But what else is new? Our time may be more lawless than recent decades, but lawlessness is a problem as old as human existence." Here's a review of a new book on this topic.
I JUST BEGAN READING Rethink Yourself, by Trevin Wax (B&H Books, 2020). Today’s quote: “How do you come to understand what you really want out of life? People often think that looking into your heart to figure out your desires is the easy part; it’s the pursuit of happiness—of fulfilling your deepest desires—that takes so much energy. But that’s simply not the case. The truth is, you don’t know what will make you happy.”
IMAGE ABOVE is a detail from "Grace Foretold" by Makoto Fujimura, painted in a Japanese style with mineral pigments. I enjoyed meeting Fujimura a few years ago when he came to Roanoke College for an exhibition of his work. You can read his bio here. View more of his art here.
THIS WEEK I'm taking notes with a Franklin Christoph fountain pen, FC-03 Iterum (below), made in North Carolina. It's filled with Private Reserve "Midnight Blues" ink. If you're ever shopping for a fountain pen you may want to check out the recommendations by The Gentleman Stationer or by Brian Goulet (a Hokie alum).
Have a good week!
Sandy
