Musings of a Snickerdoodle

This book,"Christ: Chronological" is a sort of chronological parallel Bible.  Using the Christian Standard Bible translation the Gospel accounts, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are arranged in a chronological order and they are placed alongside each other in parallel columns when dealing with the same account. The text from each Gospel is in a different color, blue for Matthew, Green for Mark, a reddish color for Luke and purple for John.  Along the very bottom of each page is a 'color code' key as it were, reminding you which color represents each Gospel. Very nicely bound (a hardcover book, and wider than a typical Bible - it's in a square shape), the book lies quite flat when opened, so you can easily lay it down on a table while reading it without keeping one hand on it to make sure that the pages won't turn on their own.   The font is easy to read, a good size, and also, despite the font being various colors, they are bold colors and ...

I am consistently struck during my travels how a bond is immediately created with other believers, regardless of the cultural, ethnic, and linguistic differences between us.    In many respects, this bond is stronger than the biological bonds that exist between father and son, or mother and daughter.  In face, Jesus plainly says that his advent will break such biological bonds, and if we are not willing to forsake these natural relationships when necessary, we have no business seeking a supernatural relationship with Christ.     - Victor Kuligin Quote from his book : The Language of Salvation:  Discovering the Riches of What it Means to Be Saved See more quotes on my quote collection blog:   https://snickerdoodlesquotes.blogspot.com/

I was talking with one of my uncles some months ago and he was lamenting the lack of good Christian books out there, pointing out that the only good 'Christian' books are the ones that lead you to read the Bible itself instead of more books about the Bible.  God with Us: Exploring God's Personal Interactions with His People Throughout the Bible by Glenn R. Kreider is one such book.  I don't believe that I had heard of this book before, or at least if I had it didn't catch my attention at the time.  A friend gave it to me and I ended up being very pleased with it. In the book, Kreider focuses upon the humility of God.  He goes through the different periods of Biblical history pointing out many instances of God's graciousness towards mankind.  I'll list some particular snippets that I found fascinating: First, in his section on Abraham Kreider points out that God could have responded in anger for Abraham's asking how he would know that he w...

From Heaven:   A 28-day Advent Devotional with excerpts from the works of A.W. Tozer, is one of the strangest devotionals I have ever encountered (though I haven't looked at or read many).   Strange in a good way though.   When I think of devotionals, I think of generally light portions of readings per day, with a verse of Scripture that is contemplated at a high level and that is then meant to be applied to oneself in an extremely personal way.   Tozer's devotional, like any devotional, has a small reading for any given day, but the content of the reading is anything but small and goes much further than provoking one to mere introspection, it provokes one to contemplate the true awesomeness of our God and His love and grace. There are things in this devotional that I was delightfully surprised to see in a Christmas devotional (or any devotional for that matter), like, " Put the emphasis where the Bible puts it, on the Christ at the right hand of God, not on the...

Recently there seems to have been a trend towards a Christocentric hermeneutic, and  an overall focus on Christ altogether in Christian circles.  It has been frustrating to see, as the focus of the Bible is not on Christ, but on the Father.  Christ Himself points to the Father!   When I saw the title of this book, it intrigued me…that's exactly what I and my dad(a pastor) have been talking about: people forgetting about God the Father.  As Mr. Smail writes, "God the Father "has been regularly and ritually confessed, but his being and work as Father has been out of the centre of concern.  It is of course true that in recent years there has been a great deal of concentration on God.  It has, however, been a mainly apologetic concern, about the basis, possibility and meaning of speaking about God at all, rather than a properly dogmatic discussion with in the Christian family on the basis of shared faith about the nature and character of the God who...

This is an excellent song! You can listen to it here: http://www.bjupress.com/product/279752 His robes for mine: O wonderful exchange! Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered ‘neath God’s rage. Draped in His righteousness, I’m justified. In Christ I live, for in my place He died. Chorus: I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost: Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God. Bought by such love, my life is not my own. My praise-my all-shall be for Christ alone. His robes for mine: what cause have I for dread? God’s daunting Law Christ mastered in my stead. Faultless I stand with righteous works not mine, Saved by my Lord’s vicarious death and life. His robes for mine: God’s justice is appeased. Jesus is crushed, and thus the Father’s pleased. Christ drank God’s wrath on sin, then cried “‘Tis done!”Sin’s wage is paid; propitiation won. His robes for mine: such anguish none can know. Christ, God’s beloved, condemned as though His foe. He, as though I, ac...

"God , after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways , in these last days has spoken to us in His Son , whom He appointed heir of all things , through whom also He made the world ." Hebrews 1:1-2 NASB Christ is the source of revealed Truth - This is in direct contrast to the competing, "would-be" points of greatest influence.   We are only truly informed as our source of information (what is the bias, the frame of reference, the limitations of our sources of   "truth"?)   Our sources of information have control/influence on our priorities, goals and ultimately become agenda-setters for our lives.   We are more what we "think" than what we eat.    Practically speaking, we are (act/live) the summation of our thoughts/thinking.   "For as he thinketh within himself, so is he:  Eat and drink, saith he to thee; But his heart is not with thee." Proverbs 23:7 ASV   As we ...