ryan.the.calvinist

Catching up on my Scripture reading according to the ENGAGE plan from The Journey in St. Louis, I came to Genesis 10.  A genealogy.  A long list of names of members in the family.  So and so begot so and so.  This guy has 3 sons, A, B, and C.  To A was born G and H, from which the Ginitites were from.  ... etc.  When arriving at one of these genealogies, there is GREAT temptation to skip over it... or skim over it.  I did read it... but I admit I had the help of the ESV Listener's Bible on my iPod as I read along.  This made it easier to read through, for certain. Yet there is no denying the importance of these genealogies.  It is part of what separates the Bible from fairy tales and folklore in many cases.  When you sit down to hear the story of Hansel and Gretel, there is no mistaken it is a mere fable.  These stories are set, for good reason, Once Upon A Time, In A Land Far, Far Away... (George Lucas would masterfully remix this famous opening to: "A Long Time Ago, In A Ga

While attending The Journey this summer, I received several inserts in bulletin inserts containing amazing quotes.  Currently I am using one of these inserts to read CS Lewis' Surprised By Joy:  The Shape of My Early Life .  In any case, this particular collection of quotes are amazing reflections/insights into the importance of the cross of Christ, where the gospel resides.  I will proceed to post these as status updates on facebook, but I wanted to write them down in a more organized location also.  Here they are, in the order presented on the page. "The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man.  Man... puts himself where only God deserves to be;  God... puts himself where man deserves to be." - John Stott, The Cross of Christ. "Learn to know Christ and him crucified.  Learn to sing to him and say, Lord you are my righteousness, I am your sin.  You took on you what was mine; yet set on

This was the responsive reading today @ Boulevard Baptist, where Kacey and I currently attend.  When I sat down this evening to read 1 Tim, I did not know that I would choose this verse, necessarily, to write about on here.  Interesting. I will not take the time to quote the verse in length... feel free to look it up yourself and then proceed.  As always, I recommend the ESV, but also see the benefit in the NIV, NASB, and NKJV, depending on the verse. I do want to focus, however, primarily on verse 15:  "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost."  This seemingly simple statement boldly proclaims why Christ came in his humble incarnation, which many Christians around the world celebrate between December 25 - January 6.  It wasn't to merely show us an example of how to live and love.  Did he live a perfect life, free from sin?  Absolutely.  Did he also love perfectly?