Sign of Spring

 Copyright © 2007, Andrew Stark. All rights reserved.

I’ve caught spring fever and thought it was about time to post a photo of one of the signs of spring at our house.  We’ve no trees in bloom, no lush green grass, no bright coloured tulips, but we do have this. Those who want to see the beauty in closer detail can click on the photo for a larger view.

 

And in case you haven’t seen photos of the Landcruiser previously, it’s supposed to look like this.

 

Copyright © 2006-2007, Andrew Stark. All rights reserved.

 

Yep, it’s spring in the Yukon, when green turns brown.

Sunday's Hymn: William Cowper

One more hymn of hope from someone who often felt he had no hope.

The Saints Should Never Be Dismayed

The saints should never be dismayed,
Nor sink in hopeless fear;
For when they least expect His aid,
The Savior will appear.

This Abr’am found: he raised the knife;
God saw, and said, “Forbear!
Yon ram shall yield his meaner life;
Behold the victim there.”

Once David seemed Saul’s certain prey;
But hark! the foe’s at hand;
Saul turns his arms another way,
To save th’invaded land.

When Jonah sunk beneath the wave,
He thought to rise no more;
But God prepared a fish to save,
And bear him to the shore.

Blest proofs of power and grace divine,
That meet us in His Word!
May every deep felt care of mine
Be trusted with the Lord.

Wait for His seasonable aid,
And though it tarry, wait:
The promise may be long delayed,
But cannot come too late.

Other hymns, worship songs, etc. posted today:

• Happy the Home When God is There at Above the Clouds
• The Covenant at The Thirsty Theologian.
  
• Shall We Gather at the River at IMD 2.0.
• O Mother Dear, Jerusalem at John Dekker’s Journal
• Be Still, My Soul at Seasonings of the Heart
• God, Who in Various Methods Told at joythruChrist
• The Collect for the Fifth Sunday after Easter at Magic Statistics

Have you posted a hymn this Sunday and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by emailing me at the address in the sidebar, and I’ll add your post to the list.

One is the Onlyist Number of Sovereignty

the … only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords …

(1 Timothy 6:15) 

sov·er·eign·ty (sŏv’ər-ĭn-tē)
n., pl. -ties.

1. Supremacy of authority or rule as exercised by a sovereign … .
   

By definition, to be sovereign over something means to have the highest (or supreme) authority or rule over it. Therefore, there can be only one sovereign over any one thing, and sovereignty over any one thing can’t be shared, since there can only be one supreme authority or rule over any single thing.

If you accept this definition of sovereignty (and you should, since both the dictionary and the verse say so), and you believe that there is one Sovereign over all the universe (and you should, since this verse and others says so), then you must believe that this one Sovereign has the highest authority over every single thing in it. 

Given this definition of sovereignty and that God is the one Sovereign over all the universe, here are few absurd phrases seen on the Baptist Board this week in regards to God’s sovereignty:

• Limited sovereignty. God’s sovereignty cannot be limited, because, first of all, he is sovereign over every single thing in the universe, so his sovereignty cannot be limited in regards to the number of thing he is sovereign over. Secondly, God’s sovereignty cannot be limited in regards to the extent of his sovereignty over any one thing because highest rule can never be less than highest rule and still be highest rule.
  
• Shared sovereignty. God can’t share sovereignty, because he is sovereign over every single thing, and sovereignty over any single thing can’t be shared, since …well …there is only one supreme ruler over every single thing.
  
• Remitting sovereignty. God cannot remit sovereignty, because to remit sovereignty over any one thing would mean that  someone or something else would be sovereign over that one thing, and God would not be the one Sovereign over all the universe.  And if he were not the one Sovereign over all the universe, he would not be the one God of the Bible.
• Allowing others to have sovereignty. God cannot allow others to have sovereignty. Everything said about God remitting sovereignty applies here as well, since the ideas are the same.  There is only one with sovereignty because there in only one Sovereign.
  

Elementary math, you might say: More than one can’t be supreme; more than one can’t be highest; universal sovereignty can’t be divided.

 

But if it’s such a simple idea, why is it so hard for people to understand it?