Mining Grace - the weblog of Joe Holland

July 3, 2009

Right Where I Should Be

Well we didn't get the rental we were hoping for in Culpeper. My sweet wife—trying to encourage me—forwarded me the following Spurgeon quote from the Girl Talk blog.

“Unerring wisdom ordained your lot, and selected for you the safest and best condition. Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there. You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances. Be content with such things as you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your good.”
— CH Spurgeon

And in case you were wondering, the encouragement worked.

Filed under // candid quote

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July 1, 2009

Sam Storms - What makes Calvin unique?

This is one of the promo videos for this year's Desiring God National Conference focusing on the life and work of Calvin. Remember that there are only a few more days before the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birth.

Filed under // quality

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June 30, 2009

Gullible with a smile

(download)

Here is a quick video from our trip to VA of Charlie with his uncle (first-cousin-twice-removed) Greg. Charlie consistently and joyfully spent the evening falling for the old "What's that under your arm?" gag. There is nothing like the laughter of a 2 year old.

Filed under // candid

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June 28, 2009

Rest now rest later

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. — Hebrews 4:9

What do your Sundays look like? How do you plan to spend each first day of the week? Do you think about making it a little like life will be like after the return of Jesus?

When the author of Hebrews thinks about Sabbath rest he thinks about the coming culmination of Christ's kingdom — the return of Jesus. Sabbath is not primarily looking back to the 4th commandment but looking forward to the author of the commandment.

What will this heaven — culminated kingdom — look like? It will be the full enjoyment of the restored rest-peace between God and men and between men and men. This restoration is accomplished through the atoning work of Jesus. It is Christ-centered.

Now returning to your Sundays. Are they days you set aside to worship God through the blood bought rest-peace of Christ? Are they days you reserve for fellowhip with other Christians with whom you are reconciled? Are they days you set aside to cultivate a healthy anxiousness for the return of Jesus? Are your Sundays a taste of heaven — appetizers to the wedding feast of the Lamb?

If not, how could you lead your family into fuller enjoyment of the rest that God has provided for you in Christ?

Filed under // commentary

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June 27, 2009

Hospitality

My wife forwarded me this CBMW article on hospitality. It is a short article that clearly explains the difference between biblical hospitality and entertaining. Hallie and I have really enjoyed learning how to open up our home to others.

Read and enjoy.

Not Just Good-Housekeeping: A Case for Christian Hospitality (Part 2)

Filed under // quality

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June 26, 2009

Leaving for home

We've finished up our week in VA and are still waiting to hear back on the house we put an offer on. I can't wait to officially call VA home and put down deep roots in Culpeper. For now though we're looking at 2 days of travel back to MS. In the midst of packing this morning we were able to sneak in a little fishing trip. David, Joseph, and Will each caught a brim on bait they caught themselves.

Goodbye Virginia, for now…

Filed under // candid

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June 24, 2009

Trying to wait like a Calvinist

Hallie and I spent the last two days in Culpeper trying to find a house to buy. With our support raising almost finished we're now trying to get to Culpeper as quickly as possible.

But that means we've got to deal with the banks. It is supposedly a buyer's market but that is if you're willing to take a chance on a foreclosure or short-sale property. Either way you find yourself negotiating with a bank which is kind of like negotiating with a parking meter.

We ended up putting an offer on a house that we think will suit our needs. It is a foreclosure property. The previous owner - apparently miffed at being foreclosed on - started removing items from the house to sell off. She even took the kitchen sink - literally. Hallie and I are still laughing about that.

It's times like this that I'm glad I stand with Calvin on the sovereignty of God. My God has no plan B. He turns banks like he turns rivers, pointing them wherever he wants. Last night Hallie and I sat on the back porch of her family's country home. We looked out over the field at the flora and fauna saying to one another, "If God takes care of those birds and wild flowers so well then he will surely take care of us too."

If he did not spare his own son how will he not move us to Culpeper too?

Filed under // candid

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May 21, 2009

John Piper - What is Preaching? (via DGJohnPiper)

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May 19, 2009

Without the history of Israel, we have no conceptual tools with which to grasp the meaning of the incarnate Son of God and His work. One cannot truly understand Christ and His salvation without some grasp of the whole Levitical system, the story of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and the prophets and wisdom literature. Without the Levitical system, one could not understand the cross of Christ. Without the Old Testament the New Testament would be bodiless; without the New Testament the Old Testament would be headless.

Douglas Kelly, Systematic Theology: Volume 1, (Ross-shire: Christian Focus, 2008), 420.

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