Add a Little Extra Beauty
The sky was still dark as I left the house this morning. When I went overseas just three weeks ago the sun had already risen by this time and I was walking in dawn’s early light. But summer has given way to fall and the nights have quickly grown longer. I press “play” in my Bible app and set out.
I round a bend and in the corner of my eye see an unusually bright star in the southern sky. I make a note to look it up when I return, though I know I’ll probably have forgotten by then. I realize my mind has wandered and while I still hear David Cochran Heath’s voice in my AirPods, I have lost track of chapter and verse. “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,” I hear him say, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch…” Ah yes, Jeremiah 23, one of the sweetest chapters in the whole book. “And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’”
My plan prompts me to skip ahead to Jeremiah 26, then to Psalm 77 and James 2. When I’ve heard “for as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” it is time to pray and, as it happens, to turn to the southeast. I begin to thank the Lord for giving me the precious gift of faith and to ask him to help me be diligent in showing my faith by my works. As I glance toward where the sun will soon rise, I see that the sky has begun to turn shades of pink and purple.
I spend some time confessing sin and making requests on behalf of family members, and while I do so the sky continues to brighten. As I begin to pray for the people in my church, the pinks and purples push higher into the sky while the horizon begins to glow a dull and then bright orange, like someone is slowly turning a dial to increase the intensity of the colors. It is quickly turning into one of the most stunning sunrises I have ever seen.
I am now into the final blocks of my walk and, though I have to head west, I can barely bring myself to turn my back to the wonder of that rising sun. Again and again, I stop to turn around and admire it for a few more moments. I am tempted to snap a photo, but I know there is no camera sensor in the world capable of capturing so many colors and such dynamic range. I find myself wondering about the human eye and about how much of the beauty is escaping me because of the limitations of my humanity. I wonder if God is laughing with joy right now at the wonder of what he has created, of what he has painted across a southern Ontario sky.
And as I approach my home I have this thought: God loves to add a little extra beauty. God could have made every time of day the same, but he gives sunrises—he adds a little extra beauty. He could have made every drink as plain as water, but he gives us coffee—he adds a little extra beauty. He could have made every piece of music have just a melody, but he gives us harmony—he adds a little extra beauty. He gives us peacocks, rainbow boas, and parrotfish, he gives us orchids, hibiscus, and bird of paradise flowers, he gives us the seasonings that combine to make Thai red curry, to make Vietnamese pho, and, best of all, to make Indian butter chicken. He adds a little extra beauty to excite our senses and delight our hearts.
Today I am delighting not only in beauty, but in that extra little bit of beauty God so often chooses to display. And I find the challenge growing within: If God chooses to add a little extra beauty, shouldn’t I? In those matters God calls me to do, shouldn’t I go beyond merely getting them done and instead add an extra bit of effort? Wouldn’t I be most closely imitating him if I went beyond merely completing the task and chose instead to do it with joy, with excellence, with a desire to in some way make it beautiful? With that on my heart, my walk closes with a prayer: “God, in whatever it is you call me to do today, let me add a little extra beauty.”
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A La Carte (July 12)
May the God of love and peace be with you today.
(Yesterday on the Blog: A Tragedy at Sea)
Making Sense of Hebrews 6:1–2
I appreciate David Mathis’s perspective on Hebrews 6:1-2. “Most commentators read this command as a summons to advance beyond basic Christian teachings. A close look at Hebrews 6:1–2 within the context of the whole letter, however, uncovers several problems with the typical interpretation.”
We need to be more sparing about when we shout ‘fire’
Stephen writes about “a certain brand of Christian. They rarely need much encouraging to get all in a lather about something. And it is especially easy to work them up if you mention ‘the government’ or ‘law’ in the same sentence. Any supposed government plan to do almost anything inevitably leads to shrieks and horror.”
Our Father in Heaven
We must never lose the wonder of calling God our Father!
The preciousness of Christ to his people above everything
“In this article, I am going to give a glimpse of why Christ is indeed the greatest treasure to believers above any earthly treasure.” We could all use that reminder, I’m sure.
Bad Spies
“Do you ever secretly scoff at Israel’s failures in the wilderness, thoroughly convinced that you would’ve done so much better? They were firsthand witnesses to so many instances of God’s saving power and miraculous and faithful provision. ‘Come on now!’ we may think. ‘What is their problem?’ How could they so easily drift from obedience into ungrateful rebellion?”
How to Handle the “Why” Questions
“However we frame it, we want to know why—why me, why you, and why does a loving God allow His people to suffer at all?” This is truly one of the most pressing questions for all of humanity.
Flashback: Dusting When the Light Is Dim
We learn that while we sin against our better judgment, God forgives in a way that is only ever consistent with his perfect judgment. We come to realize that his desire to forgive us our sins is far greater than the desire of our hearts to commit those sins. We come to know that the light has come and the darkness can never overwhelm it.We can take as much credit for our regeneration as a new-born baby can take for its birth. —Will Dobbie
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Weekend A La Carte (January 14)
My thanks goes to Reformed Free Publishing Association for sponsoring the blog this week to tell you about their children’s magazine, Ignited by the Word.
There is quite a good collection in today’s Kindle deals. I have it on good authority that we will see plenty of good deals next week.
Westminster Books has a deal on a neat new family devotional.
(Yesterday on the blog: And Then There Was One)
The Chosen and The Word
This article is worth reading and considering. “As I gazed at the smiling, gentle face of Jonathan Roumie, I felt uneasy. This actor who portrays Jesus in ‘The Chosen’ was different to any other Jesus actor I had ever encountered. He had the right skin colour for a start. But more than that, his face somehow simultaneously conveyed a strength and kindness that attracted and drew me in. I felt the need to remind myself that he wasn’t Jesus, and that thought gave me pause.”
The Ultimate Balanced Guide to Arminianism (from a Calvinist)
This is a kind and clarifying explanation of Arminianism.
A Family Vacation, a Broken Transmission, and a God Who Is with Us
I always enjoy reading stories like this one. “Recently, I said these words to my wife as we began to panic about twenty-five miles north of Jackson, Wyoming: ‘God is with us. He will help us and provide for us. This is no surprise to him. We need only to be faithful and not lose heart.’”
I Was Preaching to My Twitter Feed
“I noticed the problem when my joke didn’t land. I thought it was a witty take on a major cultural issue, but no one had any idea what I was talking about. My wife, who usually laughs politely at my humor, stared blankly. I was astonished, because this issue was all anyone had talked about for days . . . on Twitter. That was the problem.”
Don’t Women Need Access to Abortion for Rape?
“You don’t have the right to tell my fourteen-year-old daughter she has to carry her rapist’s baby.” Andy Naselli considers this common argument for the right to abortion. (See also: An Open Letter to a Young Woman Contemplating an Abortion)
Being Made New
“In His hands, our worst sins, pains, and sorrows are re-woven into a new and glorious creation. Every broken relationship, illness, tear, and sin is bound together in God’s redemptive way and made beautiful in Christ.”
Flashback: The Easiest Sin to Justify
When it comes to the sin of anger, we can always find an explanation that exists outside of us. We can always dump this sin in the lap of a husband or wife, a child or stranger. Failing that, we can plead fatigue or hormones or waking up on the wrong side of the bed or something—anything!—else.You will never be smarter than God, your plan for your life will never be better than God’s plan for you, what you want for you will never be better than what your Savior has died to give you. —Paul David Tripp
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Weekend A La Carte (November 12)
I am grateful to my good friends at 20schemes for sponsoring the blog this week as they celebrate 10 years of ministry. It has been a joy to see the Lord working in and through them through this past decade.
Over at Westminster Books you’ve find a “buy one get one free” deal on Tim Keller’s new book on forgiveness.
Today’s Kindle deals include a number of titles.
The Greater Love Declaration
This is a helpful declaration meant to affirm Christian teaching on marriage, sex, and identity.
Calvin University Votes to Allow Faculty to Embrace Heretical Views on Sexuality
Joe Carter: “The trustees of Calvin University voted to keep faculty who reject the Bible’s clear teachings on what constitutes sexual immorality. Will the denomination step in, or will they allow the school to embrace heretical views?”
Pastor, Don’t Forget to Add Personal Evangelism to Your Crazy Schedule
“The rhythms of pastoral ministry can work at cross-purposes with regular evangelism. Sermon preparation, pastoral care, member hospitality, hospital visits, funerals, and weddings, can confine a pastor to a monolithically Christian circle. Furthermore, if their kids are homeschooled or attend Christian school, and their spouse stays home, a pastor can easily go months without speaking to a non-Christian.”
Church History
Simonetta Carr’s Church History provides a thrilling overview of God’s work in His people. Readers young and old will learn from this beautifully illustrated story of our Christian heritage. Check out Free Stuff Fridays this week for a chance to win a free copy of Church History! (Sponsored Link)
Can Cancer Be God’s Servant? What I Saw in My Wife’s Last Years
Randy Alcorn writes about God’s purposes and sovereignty in the death of his dear wife.
When You Feel Overwhelmed
Lauren Washer: “I’m sure there are coping mechanisms and skills to learn which would help in times such as these. But I am not a counselor, or a therapist. And while it is on my to-do list to find a good one for my own well-being, I needed to do something about the stress in my life.”
How Should Christians Speak in Public?
Tim Keller writes out “a proposal for a way to do public engagement now which differs not only from the seeker-sensitive approach but also from the new (and admittedly under-developed) ‘just tell the truth’ approach.”
Flashback: God Actually Spoke To Me
The sufficiency of the Bible means that we can be supremely satisfied in the voice of God as it comes through the Word of God. We don’t need to yearn for anything else.Most of the grand truths of God have to be learned by trouble. They must be burned into us with the hot iron of affliction; otherwise we will not truly receive them. —C.H. Spurgeon
