God’s Dwelling Place in a Pandemic

It doesn’t feel a stretch to think of living in a growing pandemic as being like entering a wilderness – it’s full of unknowns, there’s a harshness about it, it’s a place of isolation. And it can also involve loss. I don’t mean loss of life, though that’s a reality, but I mean a loss of what’s familiar or comfortable, kind of like when the Israelites left the steady diet of Egypt (even if it was a slave’s diet) to follow Moses into a wilderness. A pandemic can also involve the loss of familiar things that we, too, may have been slaves to – entertainment, sports, even financial pursuits.

I think that’s why it felt like God got my attention as I read about him giving Moses instructions regarding a Tent of Meeting in the wilderness – a place for God to dwell with his people in an unfamiliar place. At the end of Exodus 29, the Lord says, “And I shall abide in the midst of the Israelites and I shall be God to them. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt [why?…] for me to abide in their midst. I am the Lord their God.” He brought them into the wilderness so that, with all the trappings of slavery left behind, he could dwell unhindered with his people.

That’s who Yahweh, the Lord, is: a relational, covenant-keeping God who draws near to his people. He rescues us to abide with us – and us with him. And even though we’re prone to sin much like Israel was, God still longs for relationship with us – to abide in our midst. And instead of a Tent of Meeting, we are his dwelling place now. For those who know Jesus, he abides in our hearts. He's with us. And he genuinely wants to be. That’s why he saved us. Because he loves us. That’s why Jesus willingly took the punishment for our sin upon himself so that we could be forgiven – only then could the Lord be the God who draws near to dwell with us – even in a pandemic.

© 2020 by Ken Peters

Reading List 2019

I love reading. I can't recall the last time I turned on our television, as I'd much rather read. And with no cable or Netflix, or any other television service available in our house, it's an easy choice. My wife Fiona reads even more voraciously than I do, as my pace is greatly hindered by all my pauses to underline things I want to be able to refer back to, but our idea of an ideal evening together is to stay home and read. I continue to try to be intentional about regularly including the following genres in my reading material...

• Theology
• Devotional / Christian Living
• Missions / Evangelism
• Biography / History
• Leadership / Pastoral Development
• Classics / Pre-20th Century books

This year, as I read books representing all of those categories, I may have ended up tackling more Big Books of 400+ pages than usual. I read four books of 400+ pages in 2019, the longest appearing to be 581 pages. I say "appearing" because one textbook-sized book that I read this year has since been published in three separate paperbacks of more normal book dimensions, and those three paperbacks are a total of 816 pages (though I liked having them all in one big textbook-sized version). 

Anyway, as usual, I'm also including my reading lists from 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2011 and 2010 (this blog was totally dormant for 2012 and 2013), just for the record.

Apart from the books listed here, I consistently read my Bible throughout the year (this year choosing the New American Standard translation). I believe the Bible is God's inspired Word to us, and of all the things I read, I see the Bible as what is most essential for me to be feeding on.

Here are the books that I've read this past year...

1. If You Want to Walk on Water You've Got to Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg. John Ortberg wrote this book about 18 years ago, and the reason it took me so long to read it was not because I’d never heard about it. It was because I felt annoyed by the title. It felt trite and pretentious. It felt ridiculous. Looking back, I can’t decide whether it made me feel too inferior to dare to believe I could live up to such a title, or too smug to read a book with a title that felt so cliche. Then I finally read the book. And I found every chapter spoke directly to where I was at — and in a way that felt both grace-based and challenging. As Ortberg mines this story, he uncovers so many gems that I want to read it all over again. It was immensely practical, and so consistently God-focused, that it gave me hope that maybe I actually can grow in this area of faith the way Peter surely grew on that eventful day!
2. Forbidden Sands: A Search in the Sahara by Richard Trench. I was captivated by this book — perhaps because I once lived for a year in the desert of northern Sudan, and this book touched a sentimental chord in me. But even if that’s true, it must also be because Richard Trench has a beautiful way of describing his travels, and the desert he was tested by, and the extraordinary people he grew to love. I found myself sometimes laughing aloud at his responses to experiences I could relate to, or sometimes captivated by his descriptions of an environment I share his fascination with. It was a rich read about an amazing journey, and I’m grateful to have discovered his book.
3. Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory and Irvine by Jochen Hemmleb, Eric R. Simonson, and Larry A. Johnson. I love reading books on Everest, as well as reading history, so it’s difficult for me not to love this book! The authors did a fabulous job of writing parallel accounts of the fated 1924 climbing expedition and their 1999 research expedition, and I appreciated how careful they were with the conclusions that they came to. Along with so many others, I’m also fascinated by the memories of who George Mallory was and what he accomplished on Everest, and so I found it hard to put this book down. This was a great diversion. It was so well written that it helped me to better understand many details of the north side of Everest.
4. The Transforming Power of Grace by Thomas C. Oden. I found this book enormously helpful, as there seem too few books out there offering a non-Calvinistic view on Biblical grace (and I had never read one before). To hear Calvinists referring to Reformed Theology as a Theology of Grace, as if any other position in the history of the church neglects grace, makes me wince. Oden does a magnificent job of drawing thoroughly on the historical ecumenical consensus regarding Biblical grace in order to celebrate how grace has long been emphasized throughout church history. Oden is clearly Arminian in his convictions, and having read this book, I will never again think of Arminianism as man-centered or works-based. This book very capably explains a God-centered grace-based theology that allows for the exercise of our free wills to receive it or reject it, and documents how the Church has held such positions (with notable exceptions) since the early Church Fathers. Make no mistake, this is not a devotional book, but one more tilted toward academic use, but I found it truly edifying.
5. Created to be God's Friend: Lessons from the Life of Abraham: How God Shapes Those He Loves by Henry T. Blackaby. There were a few ways in which the contents of this book seemed to speak directly to my situation, and felt like the word of the Lord to me. And yet there were also too many ways in which this book just seemed very average, and even hurried and shallow in how breezily Blackaby seemed to simplify aspects or applications of Abraham’s story. Overall, this book was a disappointment.
6. Arabian Travellers: The European Discovery of Arabia by Richard Trench. This is a wonderful book. It’s full of amazing colourful characters who travelled amidst a hostile though beautifully austere landscape among an ancient and fascinating people. It’s beautifully illustrated, well-researched, and written with a genuine fondness for most of whom it describes. My only regret is that in its breadth as an historical account of so many people, it left me wanting too often in terms of just a little more depth, and somewhat confused by some of the hurried accounts of their lengthy and circuitous travels in the deserts of Arabia. But apart from those few moments of uncertainty, I found this book a genuine pleasure to read.
7. Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God, a Broken Mother's Search for Hope by Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan. I was asked to read this book to assess whether it’d be a good book for teenagers to read. And though certain parts of the story went into more detailed descriptions than I was totally comfortable with, it was never gratuitous, and ultimately led to an incredibly encouraging outcome of God’s love and redemption being whole-heartedly embraced. I found this life story both moving and encouraging, and would recommend it to older teenagers and adults alike.
8. Against the Flow: The Inspiration of Daniel in an Age of Relativism by John C. Lennox. The last couple times I read Daniel, I found myself wishing that I had a scholarly yet non-technical and readable book written to provide some context and explanation that would help me make sense of the visions and prophecies. Well this is that book! It not only helped me to understand the book of Daniel better, but Lennox does a great job of explaining the relevance of the message of Daniel in today’s world — as well as in my own personal life. It’s extremely well researched (the various appendices are well worth reading), but still written in a very readable and accessible style.
9. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative by Christopher J. H. Wright. I picked up this 535-page hardcover based on how a one-sentence quote from it impacted me, and then I found the cumulative effect of its myriad sentences totally awe-inspiring! The scope of this book was more than I bargained for. Christopher Wright has provided us with what reads like a masterwork that reveals the Mystery of the ages, and in some ways seems to make sense of everything. It’s thorough. It’s earnest. It’s relevant. And it feels like the magnum opus of a theologian and writer who wanted to leave the world with a precious key to unlocking the Bible’s grand narrative (to quote the subtitle). I completed this book feeling both enriched and edified!
10. A Rope from the Sky: The Making and Unmaking of the World's Newest State by Zach Vertin. I found this book enormously informative. As a reader who has lived and worked in northern Sudan, and who has visited the interior of South Sudan with a South Sudanese friend, I really appreciated Zach’s obvious heartfelt concern for the people, and his extraordinarily broad exposure to and understanding of the situation. I mean, he was directly involved in trying to hammer out peace deals, for crying out loud! I only found that amidst the many characters he had to introduce, and with so many thematic angles he needed to view the situation from, and amidst the frequent zigzagging from one time period to another and back again, I got a bit confused from time to time. But that aside, I felt grateful for the opportunity to learn so much from Zach’s experiences and insights.
11. Wisdom from the Homeless: Lessons a Doctor Learned at a Homeless Shelter by Neil Craton. I'm glad to have read this book, for as the author reminds us in his closing thoughts, the challenges of the homeless are so complicated that we may be inclined to just ignore them, and I can relate to that response. The goal of this book isn’t to offer complex solutions to complex problems, but to simply offer a collection of anecdotes that bring these precious people to the reader’s attention. The subtitle speaks of personal lessons learned, but I found the varied lessons that the author shared far less compelling than his valuable example of faithfully serving people in such need. The book then leaves me asking myself, how will I respond? And I’m grateful for such a simple book that reminds me of that important question.
12. The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King. I found this book to be informative and provoking in ways that I truly wanted and needed it to be. Though King insists that it isn’t a true historical account (and it’s not), he does manage to include an enormous amount of history in the many stories he tells. But by King’s own admission, it’s an account that “goes in circles,” which (as a linear thinker) I found a little difficult to follow. It was worth persevering through though, as I want to be more aware of the issues that so many first nations peoples with whom I share this land are daily grappling with. But given the harshness of the history King so painstakingly unpacks, being more aware just doesn’t feel enough... I want my heart to be affected by the heart with which Thomas King has passionately penned this “curious account."
13. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller. There certainly were some interesting insights in this book as the author explored Psalm 23 phrase by phrase. I found the first chapter’s unpacking of “The Lord is my shepherd” to be quite impacting as I considered how the Creator of the universe condescends to be my Shepherd. One emphasis the author made that I had never before considered was that this initial phrase of the psalm was potentially a boast — The LORD Himself is MY Shepherd! What an exciting privilege! But as the book progressed, I felt that the author too often drifted into speculation about the psalm’s meaning, and ended up over-examining and over-stating the shepherd-sheep analogy. I personally feel that shepherding is not the only imagery of Psalm 23, and I was disappointed by how this author misrepresented the latter half of the psalm, missing out on some valuable applications.
14. Jacob Arminius: Theologian of Grace by Keith D. Stranglin and Thomas H. McCall. Though this book is quite technical and academic in nature, I found it extremely compelling reading. Its thorough explanations of Arminius’s writings totally shattered the distorted caricatures that I had naively made of Arminianism, and it replaced them with rich and encouraging explanations that emphasized the goodness and grace of God! I found the authors to be extremely persuasive in showing me how Arminius’s theology and soteriology is thoroughly Biblical. No longer do I see Arminianism as in conflict with an evangelical understanding of God’s sovereignty, or with salvation by faith received by God’s grace, or with having a solid assurance of salvation (among many other topics). This book has provided me with a very helpful education that I obviously needed.
15. My Nigeria: Five Decades of Independence by Peter Cunliffe-Jones. Never having previously read much about Nigeria, I learned a great deal from reading this book. As an historical account, it seemed well laid out, and the author seemed to strike a good balance between being brutally honest in his assessments and being hopeful about Nigeria’s future. That said though, I did find that because this book is partially a family memoir regarding the author’s grandfather having a role in Nigeria achieving independence on what felt like very unstable footing, I grew weary of the feeling that the author was trying to absolve himself of his family’s sins by repeatedly slamming the British role in Nigeria’s history. Yes, we get it — Colonialism was very bad. But the British are gone now. Move along. But I did eventually appreciate the author’s trial-and-error journalistic attempts at diagnosing why Nigeria has continued to struggle in the ways it has, sharing many perspectives of Nigerians themselves without getting bogged down in technical details that would’ve lost me.
16. Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church by N.T. Wright. This book describes the hope that a follower of Jesus can have for what comes after our life in this world, and how that future hope should impact how we live our present lives in this world. I was eager to read it, as I have long felt very ill-equipped to discuss what the Bible says about a Christian’s eternal future. What N.T. Wright has to say on this topic was both challenging for me to wade through as well as rewarding in how much it got me thinking. Part of the challenge was how much Wright got me thinking about many implications of Jesus’s resurrection that I had never ever considered before. I’m not sure how I feel about every implication he presented, but I do feel that I learned a great deal from this book that I hope will impact my life in the here and now!
17. No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 by Graham Bowley. It’s obvious that Graham Bowley put a great deal of journalistic research into writing this book, and his book feels very much like a blow-by-blow account of a very compelling story. I particularly enjoyed how well his epilogue capped off the book with some heart-wrenching descriptions of how challenging it was to interview some of the survivors of the ordeal. But as much as I truly enjoyed reading yet another book about extreme mountaineering, I felt somewhat distracted by Bowley’s narrative approach (in contrast to a documentary approach), and couldn’t help but feel that something important but intangible was missing due to this account being written by a writer with absolutely no mountaineering experience or background.
18. The Man Without a Country by Edward Everett Hale. While browsing in a used bookstore, I couldn’t resist buying an 1898 edition of this little book as I recalled being quite moved by a film adaptation of it that I saw as a boy living in Michigan. I can see why this book was made a textbook in many American schools, as it very pointedly promotes a strong patriotic sentiment, which would’ve been important at the time when it was first published in The Atlantic in 1863 during the Civil War. That said, I wasn’t as impacted by reading it as I was by watching the film as a boy, and the choppy and fragmented plot-development in its old magazine-column style format certainly didn’t help. But I’ll admit that the simplicity of its patriotic message still has a certain appeal amidst the unpleasant political drama of the present day, when things feel almost as politically volatile as they were in 1863.
19. Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City by Timothy Keller. As I began this book, I felt like I was reading a very thorough textbook, but as I drew near to the end of it, I felt like I had just completed an incredibly valuable course! This book is a rich resource that I will refer back to again and again, creating organized notes based on underlined portions, and then discussing with a church planting leadership team I’m on! This book has so many practical insights based on such well-researched foundational principles that I recommend it to any who want the church they’re a part of to become more effective in their community.
20. A Teacup in a Storm: An Explorer's Guide to Life by Mick Conefrey. This book seemed more of a novelty than informative. I enjoyed some of the anecdotes, and appreciated the various obscure details about exploration, but too much of this book felt too abbreviated and thus, sketchy. And though as an avid reader of the explorers/climbers genre, I still learned a few things about events I’d already read extensively about, I was occasionally distracted by details that just felt inaccurate due to the brevity of the stories told. But that said, kudos to Conefrey for writing such a unique book with such a varied collection of tales.
21. The Emotionally Healthy Leader: How Transforming Your Inner Life Will Deeply Transform Your Church, Team, and the World by Peter Scazzero. This book is so packed with valuable applications that it’s difficult for me to imagine ever being able to apply it all to my life and leadership. The book is so dense that it took me nearly a year to finish reading it, but now that I’m done, I know it’ll take me way more than yet another year to apply what I’ve learned. I found the first half of the book on the leader’s inner life to be the most impacting, though the latter half on the outer life never failed to include mention of the importance of keeping one’s inner life in mind when addressing the external and visible aspects of leadership. What I most appreciated in this book was the sense of urgency regarding my union with Jesus, my intimacy with my wife, and the pace and balance of my life. Just the simple phrase, “slowed down spirituality” gave me great encouragement for my ongoing life with God.

Please keep reminding me!

I continually forget how radical God’s grace is. It’s like the thick haze of my own regrets makes it difficult to see clearly as I squint amidst the clutter of my own bad attitudes and blunders. God’s grace just doesn’t compute in such circumstances. That’s why I need regular reminders of how amazing it is!

So consider this… When writing to the believers in Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul prayed that Jesus would establish their hearts as “blameless in holiness before our God and Father” (1 Thessalonians 3:13). Literally “blameless in holiness”! Remember, Paul is writing about the human species here – about people much like you and I, who fail daily, or even hourly, or even… I actually have no idea how prevalent some of my most stubborn sinful thought-patterns are! The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). But Paul wrote that when we come before God, he wants us to be assured that because of what the Lord Jesus has done for us on the cross, an infinitely Pure and Holy God will see us as blameless rather than as sinful – and as holy (meaning, set apart for Him) rather than as tainted by this world!

And because I’ve accepted by faith what Jesus did for me on the cross, when God now looks at me, He isn’t staring at my sin, because He literally took away my sin, and the righteousness of Jesus is now credited to me (check out Romans 4:22-25)! He’s not frowning at my flaws, but is smiling at my sinlessness after having nailed to the cross that “certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us” (Colossians 2:14). Paul takes his terminology even further in his letter to the Colossians as he explains how Jesus presents us before God as “holy and blameless and beyond reproach” (Colossians 1:22). Imagine that... Whatever we’re struggling with in our walk with God, we should consider ourselves totally out of reach from the clutching claws of reproach (which includes self-reproach!).

Thank you, Lord Jesus! That is what I continually need reminding of, and is why we have reason to be confident and joyful every time we approach God’s Glorious Throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:16)!

© 2019 by Ken Peters

Enjoy the View!

As I began reading Psalm 125 this morning, the first verse gave me the impression that my life is only as stable as my capacity to trust in the Lord. In other words, it sounds like it’s all up to me: “Those who trust in the Lord are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.” (verse 1). If my security is based on my capacity to trust God, then — knowing my fickle heart — I'm definitely not going to feel like I cannot be moved.

But then — suddenly — it’s like an awe-inspiring panoramic view opens up before me as I continue reading — “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever!”

The psalmist isn’t saying that my stability depends on my capacity to trust the Lord, but rather, on the One who forever surrounds me, in whom I’m invited to put my trust!

He’s saying look up — look around — the Lord is like a mountain range all around you! Mountains that cannot be moved, and that will not be moved — and THAT is why you can trust Him so much that you’ll feel like a mountain in His midst that cannot be moved. To move you means an enemy would need to move the Lord who surrounds you with immovable strength.

So it turns out that my stability depends on God’s ability to surround me today, and forever! And as I consider such a panoramic view, I imagine that an impressive Himalayan mountain range must be quite small in comparison!

© 2019 by Ken Peters

A Hope that defies the storm

Imagine this with me... 

A great galleon has battened down and stowed its sails amidst the tearing winds and driving rain of a raging storm. As the winds roar and the ship rises and falls upon the heavy seas, a stout chain of impressive length glimmers in the spray as it vanishes beneath the angry waves. Deep below, in the dark and muted waters, at the other end of that massive chain is an ancient sea anchor, a mass of tempered steel, that firmly grips the ocean floor. Back at the tumultuous surface of the sea, the boat’s crew is safely below deck, eager for the abatement of the storm, though confident that their anchor in the depths below will keep them safely parted from where the rushing waves loudly crash upon a rocky shore.

It’s a scene of great noise and upheaval. Furious winds, heaving waves, and creaking masts. But in the depths beneath the waves, amidst a reassuring stillness, that long slowly swaying chain of steel leads to an immense unflinching hook, steadfast in its tireless hold despite the storm above. This immovable anchor represents the life-sustaining hope that we can have in a covenant-keeping God who has shown us through Jesus how far He will go to keep His promises to a rebellious human race. It is a hope “both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:19a).

But look back with me again to that great galleon in the storm. Every sailor on that ship, however certain they may be of their trusty anchor, will still be feeling rattled and storm-tossed by the heaving waves (and maybe even a little sea-sick). So I’m thankful that the writer of Hebrews provides an additional metaphor of the hope we have in God.

Imagine being aboard that ship amidst such stormy winds and rain, enduring the constant turbulence and tumult, and then suddenly!... All the noise and motion abruptly cease even as the storm outside continues to roar. It’s as if all disruption aboard the ship has suddenly been forcefully evicted from your cabin by an overpowering Presence of peace and awe while at that same moment, you sense you’re not alone. Someone Great but quite unseen feels very near. You also see that you’re now standing inside a curtain that stretches from floor to roof creating a small private chamber with just enough room for you and the wonderful Presence that has suddenly given you complete peace and stability amidst the storm.

Welcome to the “inner place behind the curtain” (Hebrews 6:19b, ESV) — the holiest place of all the holy places in the Old Testament tabernacle — where only the high priest could enter, and only after great sacrifice and ceremony. It was the place of God’s presence — a place of intimate communion with the living God, but also a place of fear and dread as sinner-priests drew near to a holy God. But with Jesus having taken the penalty for all our sins upon Himself, God now invites us to find a reassuring hope in our loving communion with Him behind that veil, whatever storms may rage all around it.

So anchor your soul in what Jesus did for us on the cross, and then pass through the curtain to fellowship with Jesus in the Holy of Holies, where waves and wind cease; and where we find hope amidst the upheaval of this world.

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil” 

Hebrews 6:19

© 2019 by Ken Peters

Lacking in Nothing

What would it be like to lack nothing at all? I’m not talking about possessions you can buy, but about what’s on the inside – our character. What would it be like to lack absolutely nothing in terms of character and maturity? It sounds like a ridiculous question, but the Apostle James actually points us in that exact direction. Simply put, he appears to say that if we want to lack nothing, we have to be willing to give up everything!

He begins by saying, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials...” (James 1:2). Trials. By that, he means troubles – difficulties and dangers – hard times. He’s talking about having JOY in the face of BIG problems. Seriously. Remember, the people he was writing to were experiencing a measure of persecution for their faith. The trials they were going through may have included prison and the loss of property such as what the writer of Hebrews describes in Hebrews chapter 10. And James suggests that they “consider it all joy” to go through such trials, just as the writer of Hebrews says that his readers “joyfully accepted the plundering of [their] property” (Hebrews 10:34)! Wow. There’s an picture of a people prepared to give up everything.

In our 21st century North American lives, trials are more likely to be a health issue, a fractured relationship, or crisis situation at work, which can leave us feeling like we’re giving up a sense of security or stability or certainty.

James then goes on to write “…knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” Here we begin to see the connection between giving things up and yet lacking nothing. James reminds us that external troubles can actually strengthen us internally. When our physical muscles are tested with the resistance of heavy weights, we get stronger. And when our faith is tested by heavy trials, we grow in character – endurance being an expression of our character. And that’s the reason to “consider it all joy.” Trials may result in a loss of things – such as security, stability, or certainty, or even property – but they can also result in the development of character – such as, growth in endurance.

James continues: “And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:3-4). That last phrase gets my attention every time! What would it be like to truly be “lacking in nothing” in terms of my character development? It seems so lofty to even aim for that I find it jarring to see James suggesting it. But I think it’s the very same thing that the Apostle Peter was talking about when he wrote, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7). Yes, trials can lead to the loss of earthly things, but trials can also produce spiritual formation in us that leave us with a faith that’s more precious than any of those things – a faith that allows us to praise and glorify and honour Jesus even as we endure significant trials!

And when our faith in God, our hearts being fully assured of His love and faithfulness, we’re expressing what I think James meant when he said we’d be lacking “nothing.” If I know God is truly for me, I will endure – and not with gritted teeth, but with an abundance of the hope, joy, and peace that all come from believing God (Romans 15:13). Though it’s never easy, the challenges of trials don’t need to feel a threat – because the losses we incur can be far surpassed by the work God wants to do in us, causing a growth in us to believe God for so much more!

© 2019 by Ken Peters

Never too messy for Him

Genesis chapter 4 is such a mess. Cain murdered Abel, and then he's exiled, the First Family of Creation so soon divided — fractured — followed by Cain’s offspring, Lamech, murdering a man and a boy, and then boasting of it to his wives. We're told that Eve found some solace in the birth of Seth, but the mess had been made, beginning with Adam and Eve’s initial disobedience in the Garden, all so very quickly after God had previously called His spotless creation “very good." Three chapters and a few generations later, all I can see is very messy.

Then, surprisingly amidst the prolonged focus on the growing mess of mankind, Genesis, chapter four, ends with, “Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD.” So that too had been part of the mess — God’s creation had forgotten Him and had stopped calling out to Him. But amidst all that, we're told that God drew them back to Himself once again, to call out to Him. God drew near to them, amidst the mess. 

And the same is true today. Today's world is a mass reflection of Genesis chapter four, and yet God is continually drawing near to people in every dark corner and on every lonely road. No matter how messy it gets, and no matter how far a person has drifted away, God is truly among us. He is Emmanuel, God with us — even amidst the mess. And He wants to save us from our messes. 

Maybe you're praying for someone who has gotten lost in the messiness of this world. Or maybe you feel that you've contributed a little to the mess that began in Genesis. Whatever the case, whatever pigpen that anyone is in, we can be certain that God is still causing sin-stained people today to "call upon the name of the LORD." Praise God for His infinite grace!

© 2019 by Ken Peters

Reading List 2018

I didn't read as many books as usual this year, but I did read several books quite unlike anything I'd ever read before. Some of the firsts this year included space travel, north pole exploration, character studies of women in the Bible, and theological studies in Arminianism, not to mention a full blown 613-page book on the history of Christian theology. Other obscure genres included a book on hermeneutics, a book on grief-support, a biography of an little-known (by most) 19th century missionary, and a terrific book that I still struggle to explain the theme of despite how helpful it was (see the third book below!). 

This year, I decided to become much more intentional about the kinds of books I included in my reading. I resolved to regularly include the following genres in my reading list (some of which will overlap, depending on the book):

• Theology
• Devotional / Christian Living
• Missions / Evangelism
• Biography / History
• Leadership / Pastoral Development
• Classics / Pre-20th Century books

All these genres can be found in my 2018 reading list, and all of them will be found in my 2019 reading list as well. And as usual, just for the record, here are my reading lists from 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2011 and 2010 (this blog was dormant for 2012 and 2013).

Apart from the books listed here, I read my Bible throughout the year. I believe the Bible is God's inspired Word to us, and of all the things I read, I see the Bible as what is most essential for me to be feeding on. Most of the postings I add to my blog are a result of my time spent reading God's Word.

Here are the books that I've read this past year...

1. How to Forgive Ourselves – Totally: Begin Again by Breaking Free from Past Mistakes by R.T. Kendall. I needed to read this book. It’s not a theologically dense book, or a book that explains profound mysteries. But it is a book that has potential to have a profound impact on its readers. And it does so by speaking plain truth in plain language in order to get an important point across as clearly as possible. And I needed to hear that message without the distraction of a bunch of philosophical mumbo-jumbo. R.T. Kendall has the unique gift of writing as a teacher who is also very pastoral. And that may be why I found this book so challenging as well as so reassuring. Like I said, I knew that I needed this book because of my own struggles in the area of forgiving myself, and I found it to be immediately relevant and immensely practical.
2. Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly. I was fascinated by many details of this book, some having nothing to do with outer space. In fact, I think what impacted me most was Scott Kelly’s description of his growing up years and of his university years. The challenges he faced (some self-inflicted), the crucial and timely influence of his twin brother, and the tenacity Scott showed once he had the bit between his teeth were all inspiring to me. The part about going into orbit was simply bonus material for me. But I enjoyed learning about the space station and about the incredible challenges of prepping for and participating in spacewalks. Clearly Scott Kelly is an exceptional man, and a very capable writer.
3. Upended: How following Jesus Remakes your Words and World by Jedd Medefind and Erik Lokkesmoe. As I began reading the early chapters of this book, I had no idea what it was about, and yet I felt hooked. The reason I knew it was good was that I found myself recalling everyday situations to which the content of the book clearly applied and then found myself changing my behaviour. It was immediately influencing my everyday life. And then the more I read, the more compelling the book became! This book is (in my words) all about how we go about *being* an apprentice of Jesus, expressing Jesus’s heart to this world more effectively, as opposed to simply busying ourselves with the myriad demands that try to jostle us into just *doing* more for Jesus. But lest this sound like it lacks relevance for those of us wanting to live in a way that makes a definite difference in this world for Jesus, the alternatives offered to the incessant *doing* were extremely practical, applying to our everyday interactions with the people and situations around us, and were so refreshingly purposeful that I have great hope that what I put my hand to from the lessons of this book will help me to be far more fruitful than any of the me-centred alternatives that I can be prone to. This book left me inspired and encouraged because the lessons of this book are both accessible and well worth pursuing. Filled with many real life illustrations, and extremely well written, I highly recommend this book.
4. Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life by Henri Nouwen. Henri Nouwen understands people. He understands the human condition. He recognizes that if left alone, we’re prone to “become low-hearted because of constant self-rejection.” And so he understands the need for coming out of solitude. But he also understands the need for solitude — a “quiet center” in which we commune with God, and that we then come out from. And when we come out of solitude, Nouwen rightly encourages us to look for ways to share what we received — to care for others. This book ministered to me like a warm hug from a loving father.
5. True North: Peary, Cook, and the Race to the Pole by Bruce Henderson. I really wanted to like this book more. I really did. It’s an engaging tale. But it began to feel just a bit too personal — personal as in the author just having an axe to grind. I’m prepared to believe he might be right in his conclusions, but I’m not prepared to say he did an adequate job in proving them. This book contradicts the generally accepted historical narratives, so you’d think Henderson would at least say something about people’s many objections to his counter-narrative. But no. All Henderson does is state alternate-facts as if the many documented objections to them deserve absolutely no attention. Sorry. I need more than that. I need more than his vilifying of Peary, and his adoration of Cook. I need some concrete responses to the many objections to his premise. Otherwise this book ends up being a personal vendetta rather than an historical account.
6. Gospel Fluency: Speaking the Truths of Jesus into the Everyday Stuff of Life by Jeff Vanderstelt. There are portions of this book that I actually saved on my smartphone so that I’d be able to prayerfully review them as needed. In fact, nearly every day in my devotions, I prayerfully review the five brief points that Vanderstelt provides for preaching the gospel to ourselves! I’ve taken his advice in daily rehearsing these gospel truths. And his emphasis on “the war of the mind” is fantastic! He stirred me to be less passive in this battle, more alert to gospel-contradicting lies, and more intentional about refuting them. This book has been a wonderful resource to me.
7. Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I found many wonderful insights in this book. Bonhoeffer had an anointing to cut deep into the truths of the Christian life, but I must admit, there were times when I wondered if either he or I were missing the point on some pages. But then I’d suddenly find one sentence after another hitting home, feeling relevant, and offering me light for my Christian walk. I’m grateful for the friend who persistently recommended this book to me.
8. The Guns of August by Barbara W Tuchman. Wow. A stunning work that left me aghast, and yet filled with wonder at the huge implications of all the intricate ifs and becauses that Tuchman explores. There’s an inescapable grief woven throughout this entire narrative so that the historical facts are continually mingling with a sense of mourning, until finally, in the Afterword, Tuchman almost becomes poetic in her lament of what the world became because of the events of August 1914.
9. The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun by Paul Hattaway. As I read this book, I felt more challenged than informed, and more adjusted in my attitudes than entertained by a story. But what a story it is! I found it riveting to see how Brother Yun went from one great trial to another, always finding the grace to truly trust God in the midst of them. It caused me to frequently pause as I read his story as I considered how poorly I’ve often responded to much smaller adversities. But rather than feeling discouraged, I found Brother Yun’s faith so infectious that I felt hope that I too could find the grace to trust God in whatever circumstances He allows in my life! This book is quite inspiring in that way.
10. Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God by Timothy Keller. This was, for me, a fresh look at what have become to me very familiar passages. There were a couple chapters in this book that personally felt well worth the price of admission! I even photographed one paragraph so that I could more easily refer to it and reread it back to myself again and again in days to come. Keller has a way of discovering head-turning insights that make me wonder anew at many of these Gospel stories, and that’s the primary reason I would recommend this book.
11. Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities by Roger E. Olson. I found this a very helpful book, clarifying many significant misconceptions I had about Arminianism. Drawing heavily and directly from many Arminian (as well as Calvinist) sources, Olson persuasively argues for a more charitable consideration of Arminianism. I for one was persuaded, and have found this book to be both very timely and hugely influential in my spiritual journey.
12. Shackleton's Boat Journey by Frank A. Worsley. I’m in awe of the tenacity of the men who survived the adventure this book describes. Their irrepressible hopefulness and the determined resourcefulness is an incredible example to me. It’s truly amazing that they survived such a journey, and the suspense in Worsley’s telling of the tale never lets up until the very last page. I’ve read Shackleton’s own account of this same journey, but I loved this book even more!
13. Lost Women of the Bible: The Women we Thought we Knew by Carolyn Custis James. I was encouraged to read this book that my wife had bought and read, and I am so glad I did. It is delightfully well-written, and is packed with well-researched insights that make the messages of ten biblical women’s lives incredibly relevant today. I found this book not only encouraged me in my own walk with God, but it was also something I could easily see abundant application for in my own marriage and in pastoral ministry. This is not just a book about women for women, but is also a great book for men who want to grow in their understanding of God and in their appreciation of women!
14. Henry Martyn of Persia by Jesse Page. For many years, I’ve had a vague notion about who this man was: an early pioneer missionary to Muslims who was especially remembered for his zeal and for the impact that he had. But what I didn’t know was that his fame is based on a mere 6 1/2 years of overseas service (from 1806 to 1812) before he died at 31 years of age, and that his short time overseas was split between time in India and Persia. But because Henry Martyn was so godly in his character and so determined in his translation work, he has been an inspiration to many and has had a long-term impact. While I expected this 1895 biography to be admiring in its portrayal of Martyn’s devotion and zeal, I found that it also provided a very warm view of his flawed humanity as an extremely introspective self-deprecating man who was also known for his personal warmth and cheerfulness despite going through great hardships.
15. Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness by Richard B. Hays. This is a book like no other book I’ve ever read. Hays is enthusiastically endorsing a hermeneutic that is brazenly contrary to principles of hermeneutics that I’ve long considered to be inviolable. And yet he does so with such scholarly persuasiveness that he’s won me over. It’s probably because in his meticulousness, it’s also clear that he has a love for God’s Word that recognizes its poetic artistry and its strong sense of story. This is a book about recognizing the “story, metaphor, prefiguration, allusion, echo, reversal, and irony” in our reading of Scripture. I doubt I’ll ever read God’s Word in quite the same way again.
16. Don't Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart: How to Relate to Those who are Suffering by Kenneth C. Haugk. As a pastor, I feel that I’m ever learning how to be helpful to people who are experiencing difficult times, and even though I feel I’ve grown in this area over the years, I know I have so much more I could learn. It seems that with every crisis that comes up, I get in touch with how important it is to be gentle and sensitive and attentive in how I care for people, but also with how easy it is to cause hurt while trying to help. That’s why I appreciated this extremely practical book. It doesn’t try to say too much in the theoretical realm, but keeps things in real-life situations, providing many helpful tips and steps in each brief chapter. There’s a lot here worth remembering, and I appreciated the sensitivity with which it was written.
17. The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition and Reform by Roger E. Olson. Before reading this lengthy book, I had felt a growing desire to reacquaint myself with some of the significant historical moments of church history. I chose this book for several reasons: it focuses on church theology rather than church events, it’s written as a story rather than as systematic theology, and it’s written by an historian with an Arminian background rather than a Calvinistic background (something I’d never encountered before). I enjoyed the book, sometimes finding it difficult to put down, probably because I felt I was learning so much about things I’d only been vaguely aware of previously. It connected a lot of dots for me in regards to how one thing led to another, and I think that’s why I liked the story-approach. But like any historical account, it’s affected by a writer’s biases, and is forced to be selective in what it covers. But because I assume that will be true of any history book, I felt quite satisfied with reading this one.

I want a new meme

I’ve heard it said that courage is not a lack of fear, but is carrying on despite our fears. Many variations of this quote have been attributed to Mark Twain, Nelson Mandela, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Bruce Lee (among others). I particularly like the version attributed to John Wayne: “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.”

There’s a good deal of truth to this idea that it’s courageous to press on despite being afraid. A Christian might even be tempted to think that God wrote the original version of that quote. But if God made a meme of what He had to say about fear, is that what He’d write? I wondered that today as I read a verse that said, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9). Notice it doesn't say, Be courageous even though you're frightened and dismayed. No, it simply says: Don't fear!

Another verse came to mind as I considered that. "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). Is God actually defining courage in these verses as the absence of fear, contrary to the definitions that our culture provides in various memes out there? Does God actually want us to have a courage that's fearless because of how big and how strong and how faithful we believe our God to be?

What these two verses (and many other Bible verses) have in common is that they literally command us to have no fear and then they change the focus from fear (or from what we're afraid of) to a focus on God. In other words, by focusing entirely on God instead of on circumstances, it's possible for fear to vanish and for us to be left standing there with Almighty God, facing the same situation that we'd previosly been so frightened of, but no longer afraid. How is that possible?

The only way it's possible is if we personally know the God of the Bible for who He really is. When Joshua was told, "for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go", Joshua was meant to remember the God who had already provided Israel with a mighty deliverance from Egypt and with faithful care in the wilderness. When we take our eyes off of what scares us and choose to truly focus on the mighty and faithful God who is with us, God expects fear to flee away. In this way, if we know God for who he really is, and keep our spiritual eyes on him in all circumstances, courage can actually be the absence of fear.

But this will all be a pipe dream if God is just a theological construct in our minds. It’s when we’re convinced that God is always with us, know Him for who he really is, and continually look to Him for help that we can adopt a new definition of courage in our lives (which is actually a very old definition):  Courage is the absence of fear when we’re focused on the mighty God who is always with us!

© 2018 by Ken Peters

A Contrast to keep in mind for the New Year

As you begin the year 2018, encourage yourself with the wonderful contrast found in Psalm 147! The psalmist wrote in verse 3 that the LORD “heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds” (or literally, “their sorrows”), and then immediately added that God also “counts the number of stars; He gives names to all of them” (verse 4). Tenderness and awesomeness, side by side. The comforting arms that hold us capably hold the universe as well.

The psalmist wanted us to know that the same God who tenderly and caringly draws near to the struggling, the hurting, the discouraged and the disappointed is also the God who is great enough to name every single star in the universe.

Scientists have concluded that there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on this planet. Estimates put the score at about:

Sand:          7,500,000,000,000,000,000

Stars: 70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

And God calls each of those stars by an individual name. No wonder the very next verse in the psalm says, “Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite!” I can hardly remember one person’s name just 2 minutes after being introduced to them! Yet God can recall the names of 70 thousand million million million stars!
But this contrast goes even further. Even though God may know all the stars by name, He has much more than mere knowledge of our sorrows and disappointments. The psalmist writes that He “heals” those who are hurting, and carefully “binds up” their wounds and heartaches. Consider this! He tenderly touches us with those same strong hands that hold every massive star in the universe. And on top of that, because “His understanding is infinite,” we can be sure that we can trust His wisdom. He knows what He’s doing as He leads us through whatever we're going through.
So if you’re wearily carrying heartfelt sorrows or deferred hopes into this new year of 2018, take heart! The same God who has every star in the universe accounted for according to His infinite understanding and strength, is also attentively looking after our hearts.

© 2017 by Ken Peters