Calvin Thoughts, Institutes 1.7.4-5

We ought to remember what I said a bit ago: credibility of doctrine is not established until we are persuaded beyond doubt that God is its Author. Thus, the highest proof of Scripture derives in general from the fact that God in person speaks in it. The prophets and apostles do not boast either of their keenness or of anything that obtains credit for them as they speak; nor do they dwell upon rational proofs. Rather, they bring forward God’s holy name, that by it the whole world may be brought into obedience to him.

The testimony of the Spirit is more excellent than all reason. For as God alone is a fit witness of himself in his Word, so also the Word will not find acceptance in men’s hearts before it is sealed by the inward testimony of the Spirit. The same Spirit, therefore, who has spoken through the mouths of the prophets must penetrate into our hearts to persuade us that they faithfully proclaimed what had been divinely commanded.

It is God’s Holy Spirit that makes the words of Scripture the Word of God. Without the illumination of the Holy Spirit, the Bible is words on a page. The conviction that these words are indeed God’s Word is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Can I tell you this is why I question the wisdom of those within the church who appeal to Scripture to call the secular world into obedience to God? A non-believer, one who has not been called by God and gifted with his Holy Spirit does not give a whit what it says in the Bible. They will not be persuaded by our argument, reason, or logic simply because it is rooted in Scripture.

Calvin says earlier in this same paragraph, “Yet they who strive to build up firm faith in Scripture through disputation are doing things backwards.” When I first read it, I was hearing it speak to those who are trying, for themselves, to build up their own faith in Scripture through debate intended to reveal the truth (disputations). But now I’m hearing it speak to those who try to convince non-believers that they need to do what the Bible says, arguing in the context of an informal debate over morality they wield the Bible as the source of Truth. And Scripture is the source of Truth. But these folk are, in the words of Calvin, doing things backwards. The truth of Scripture does not lie in its words, nor in our ability to convince someone of its truth. Rather the truth of Scripture lies in the gift of God’s Holy Spirit bestowed upon his believers (I would say, his elect, but I don’t want to get into that just yet). And it is the Holy Spirit who inwardly convicts a person of the truth of Scripture, illuminating his mind and heart, quickening his will to obedience. That’s God’s work. Not ours. And, I think, as long as believers keep appealing to Scripture in their debates, they’re going to keep coming up empty. Because the non-believers are empty. Of God’s Spirit. First one must be convinced of the Gospel, convicted by the Truth of God in Jesus Christ, before they will be convinced or convicted by that same God into a life of obedience.

Let us first pray for those whose hearts are not illumined by the Holy Spirit, who live apart from the truth of Scripture and the obedience thereof because they live apart from God. They wallow in misery that goes far beyond their lifestyle choices or the visible consequences of their grave sins. They languish unknowing, unbelieving of the grace of God in our Lord Jesus Christ who provides the way out of their misery. Let us first witness to that truth. May we pray “Lord, illumine their hearts, draw them to you, give them the gift of faith in you. Use me. Use me as a witness to your saving grace. A witness to your grace, that by your power they would come to know you, and by knowing you be released from the bonds of their sins.”

Something like that, anyway. Because until a person is enlivened by the Holy Spirit, all our appeals to the Bible are merely Bible thumpin’. Banging our hands on a book.

Cross-posted at Life as I Think It

berfday

this week between birthdays, the birthday of henry, the birthday of jude, is always a busy week, busy from the beginning. jude was born five weeks early, henry barely two, barely talking, barely a curl on his head.  jude was white and pinkish and was very beautiful.  i thought he would be a girl and am glad he was not.  it’s nice to have brothers back to back, friends most days, and brothers close forever.

we were worried about you, jude. you were little and you were early and people were rushing around in the room with the whitest shiniest tiles i’ve ever seen.  the special doctor came just for you and you were fine. perfect.  i was so happy when you were born. i was happy even though you were born by c-section. i was happy because i didn’t need to be worried. i was happy because you were so beautiful and perfect and so very tiny. they gave you a sweet little knitted white hat to wear and i never thought i could be so happy to hold such a wonderful little thing in my arms.

for jude’s birthday we celebrated early (more pictures from this day can be seen here!) as ernie was shooting a wedding on the actual day. grammy and judson came to town and big daddy had a birthday (80!), too, the day after jude’s. so we all ate curry and walked the zoo together. we got the howler monkeys to howl. they only do this if you clap and cheer and make howling sounds for them. you have to do this for a good five minutes and then they will swing in the cage and bellow at each other. no one ever wants to make them howl with me. it’s embarrassing to stand there clapping and cheering for so long when no one knows why you are doing such a ridiculous thing. i am only mildly embarrassed. it’s worth it in the end, as are many things that make you look foolish for a time. after the zoo we went home for cake.  i didn’t put a monster truck into the cake this year as last year jude was very offended by my doing just that.  he reminded me several times this year to “only put candles in the cake, don’t stick any toys or anything else in there.”  he is very particular.  sometimes this is annoying. many times it is annoying. mostly i try to remind myself that attention to detail is something good and right. sometimes the details to which he has paid attention amaze us.  his memory alone is astounding and i should, of course, for the sheer sake of his memory alone, stop myself from being unkind more often than i do.  knee jerk reactions and all that, you know.

saturday, jude’s actual birthday, we went to ernie’s aunt’s house far and away and then even farther away until you think that you can’t go any farther and then a little bit farther away, then around a corner and up and down a few hills and a farther and farther and farther away until everyone in the car has asked their allotment of “are we there yets.” in the woods, they live.  with a creek in which we had anticipated wading. it was not to be. too much rain and the thing was rushing away, the loud screams of it heard from the top of the hill as we got out of the car. henry ran off with the big boys (!) and i only worried a little bit.  they walked through poison ivy (didn’t get any, though. amazing!) and played in milder water, though had i been there i might have said no way! there were many orange puddles and this made jude happy. it also made his sneakers too wet to enjoy wearing so he took them off. and then he came home with scratches on the bottoms of his feet and had a hard time finding shoes, even flip flops, to wear on sunday that didn’t hurt. but it was worth it, as painful things sometimes are.

tonight, jude is sleeping by the fan. he has a sunburn on his shoulders that hurts and he was sad until he fell asleep to alex giving answers and the rest of us shouting questions at the tv.  he is taller than ever, long legs, skinny torso and arms. his hair needs a cut, a trim, the curls in his face, the back fluffy and weird. today he watched the neighbors we don’t know splashing in their pool and then played with the hose until it just had to be turned off.  he is a light in the house, funny jokes and an undercurrent of energy that is hard to match.  he is sensitive and smart and without him, what would we do? we do not know, nor wish to know.

jude, i love you more than you can ever know. i love your freckles, each one multiplying as the summer begins, continues. i love your smile, your silly faces, but especially your smile that starts and spreads across your face and makes me smile and laugh a little myself. i love your hugs, the real hugs that you give that lean all of your weight into my body. thank you for being you, for being one of the most important people i know or ever will know or ever will care to know. how did you happen to me?

thank you God, for jude. thank you for his ready smile, for his infinite imagination.  thank you for making him sensitive and loving and smart. thank you for letting me be his mother, of all the women in the world, you entrusted him to me! show him how much you love him.  help him understand the gift of your grace and mercy that is deeper and greater than he can ever know.

Cross-posted at Fresh Milk Delivered Daily

Rhubarb Muffins

I made some very yummy rhubarb muffins today. The kids even liked them. The recipe is an altered version of a recipe in Muffins by Elizabeth Alston:

1 1/2 cups diced fresh rhubarb
2 cups flour ( I used part all purpose and part stone ground whole wheat)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 large egg
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons Strawberry Jam (or a little more if you want)
1 cup milk
4 Tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 375. Greece or line muffin cups, the recipe makes about 14 regular size muffins. I use one mini-muffin pan, and then put the rest of the batter in a little loaf pan.

Mix flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. In another bowl whisk egg, sugar and jelly until smooth. Whisk in milk, butter and vanilla. Then stir in rhubarb. then poor wet over dry and fold together. Fill muffin cups and cook for 20-30 minutes and turn out on a rack to cool.

Yum.

Cross-posted at BringingUpThree

Because Food Blogging is Fun

After dreaming and dreaming about it, we finally signed up for a CSA share.* I’d like to say I’m excited about supporting local agriculture (and I am! that’s very close to my heart, actually), but I think I was a tad more excited about being presented with a box of food that I can cook with but that I didn’t have to exert the brain power to actually choose. It’s really hard for me to feel inspired when I look at a blank piece of paper that says “Menus for the Week.” I cringe every week. I never do it. My brain is totally dysfunctional lately in terms of food planning. I’ve bought magazines, surfed the internet, read through old cookbooks, desperately trying to find that little bit of inspiration. Totally stymied. So I will freely admit, I was looking toward the advent of the CSA box with messianic proportions. Save me from the ennui!

Today I went to pick up our first box. Beautiful!!! Green!!! GREEN!!!!!! I brought it home and opened it. Reveled in it. Smelled the herbs which actually had scent and flavor! I held a head of green leaf lettuce that was like a foot in diameter. I wouldn’t have known it was spinach if they hadn’t said so. So robust! Hubby came into the kitchen and witnessed my madness, “So, you geeking out?” Yea, pretty much.

I mean, look at these beautiful radishes.

All of a sudden I can think of a few meals to make. (Well, something besides pizza, taco salad, and spaghetti.) My buddy Joanna is going to be blogging about her CSA box and what she’s making with it. I think it will be cool to do, too. Since the stuff we get comes at its season, it’ll be interesting to see how roughly the same ingredients we’ll be getting changes throughout the spring and summer. And Joanna has some pretty cool food blogging anyway.

So here’s my first contribution, which is actually, recently, becoming a quick favorite meal in our family. I love it for it’s speediness and versatility.

Boil some pasta (I use penne).
In a pan saute some onions and garlic (like one small onion and 1-2 garlic cloves)
Add some meat or white beans or chickpeas or lentils (versatility: vegetarian options)
Add some herbs (basil, rosemary, cilantro all good choices; tonight I used cilantro from teh box)
Add some lemon juice, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper (to taste) (if I have an actual lemon on hand, I grate some zest, too).
Add some tomatoes (crushed, diced, or sundried–I prefer the sundried tomatoes that come in a paste in a jar)
If the mixture is a little dry, add some of the pasta water before draining.
Drain the pasta and toss the noodles in the pan (leaving some out for your very picky kid who doesn’t like sauces).
Add fresh spinach and toss until it becomes wilted.
Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

From the box: cilantro, spinach, and our side salad of spring greens.

*CSA=community supported agriculture. it works by buying a share in a local, organic farm, and every week during season, you get a box of whatever produce is in season.

Cross-posted at asteroidb612

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