Thankful Thursday

I’m thankful for a full tank of oil and a furnace that works. I’m thinking of this today because my daughter and her family continue to have difficulty with their propane furnace. It quits working every month or so and no one seems to be able pinpoint the problem. The company who installed the furnace says it’s a propane supply problem and the propane supplier says there’s a problem with the furnace. I’m sorry that they have to go through this ordeal, but I’m thankful that my trusty furnace gives them a warm place to go when their own house is cold.

I’m thankful that my schedule has slowed down now. The parties, concerts, etc., are over (I’m thankful for them, too, but happy for a break.) and all that’s left is our family Christmas celebration. I’m thankful that my gift shopping is done, too, so I can stay out of the stores, except for the grocery store. 

I’m thankful for lights: candles, lights on the tree, outdoor lights, just my ordinary household lighting. I can’t imagine living where I do without lights to curse the midwinter darkness. I’m also thankful for the Light who shines in the darkness.

Theological Term of the Week

semper reformanda
Latin for “always being reformed,” short for ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda (“the church reformed and always being reformed”), a slogan associated with the Protestant Reformation.

• From scripture:

… Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25-27 ESV)

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Linked Together: Reading the Bible

Not So Simple
Yes, the Bible is perspicuous, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy read.

When we stress the Bible’s “easiness,” we lead our people into two wrong directions. Some will throw up their hands and say, “I must be really stupid because this seems very dense.” Or, even worse, we train people to only look for the easy parts, to be satisfied with daily nuggets of wisdom and never wade deep into the Bible’s waters. Either way, you wind up with people who never feel the satisfaction of studying the Bible on their own.

Instead, I suggest we be upfront about the demanding nature of the Bible. Let your people know that it’s hard work. It’s a challenge.

Read all of Trevin Wax’s How to Get People to Read the Bible Without Making Them Feel Dumb. 

Where to Start
Four practical steps to take to begin becoming Biblically literate. 

1. Read your Bible and pray.
2. Read large sections of the Bible at a time.
3. Read Scripture in community with others in the local church.
4. Sit under good preaching of God’s Word.

(Matthew Barrett at Credo Magazine.)