A day of Refreshment in a week of Discouragement

The last couple of days have been magical.  Daughter Ashley brought the children for an overnighter at Briarwood, also known as "Grammy's House."  It was a time filled with horses and play and pizza and movie night, and more horses, and all of the wonderful fantasies two happy little girls could muster. (Little George at this point is more interested in eating dog food and playing with electrical cords than in experiencing wonder of any kind!) Rebecca and Ashley managed to get the spinning wheel working and started on the first crop of Scottish Blackface wool from Dayspring Farm. Here are a few pictures of the event.



playing horses

the real thing

and more!

Momma with Little Princess, her retired hunter jumper

Spinning the first wool from the Canter's flock of Scottish Blackface Sheep

Lunch!

Playing St. Michael in the Briarwood Chapel

I thank God for times like this.  The last couple of weeks have been very stressful.  Diocesan Convention, interactions with several colleagues, and the recent political infightings in our country have conspired to remind me of how much of the old order has passed, and of how little I like that which currently holds sway in this great and wide world of ours.  Added to some very difficult administrative decisions of late, it has all made me very tired emotionally and spiritually.  But when I look into the eyes of my grandchildren, and when I survey the wonder that is all around me, I feel refreshed and renewed...ready to face the morrow.  And so I close with a snapshot of Little Princess and Oscar, whose presence reminds me that all is not concrete and asphalt, and that there is still beauty defined by function and nature; beauty which participates in and grows from that which we have all known instinctively from the beginning; that which is unchanging and in which we see the very face of God.

As God shows forth his character and person in the wonder and purpose of creation, so he shows us the fullness of his glory in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, of whom the Holy Bible is the sure and verified record.
To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Marks of True Christian Faith

The Rev'd John R.W. Stott, M.A., D.D.

Our Wednesday morning Bible study at St. John's is currently focusing on the Epistles of St. John.  Many volumes have been written on these well organized and practical books, but I am regularly drawn back to the writings of the late John Stott in the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries and in Men With A Message, his brief introduction to the New Testament.  I have always found his "tests of assurance" to be particularly helpful as I evaluate my own faithfulness to Christ.

1. First is the "christological test" - "This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every Spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. (I John 4:2)"
2. Second is the "moral test"  - "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God. (I John 3:10)"
3. Third is the "spiritual test" - "We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. (I John 3:14)" "This is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. (I John 3:24)"

By applying these tests to my life, I can pretty readily determine whether or not Christ is making a difference in my life.  And from the evidence, I can gain a rather high level of assurance of the reality of my walk with the Father through the Son and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

But the Rev'd. Mr. Stott also points out that St. John reversed these same affirmations to name and define the spiritual liars such as the Cerinthians who sought to lead the faithful and unsuspecting astray.

1. "Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. (I John 2:22)"
2. "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie. (I John 1:6)"
3. "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. (I John 4:20)"

"These are the three proofs of genuine Christianity. John brings them all together at the beginning of his fifth chapter: 'Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.  this is how we know that we love the chldren of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands' (5:1f.).  Unless Christians are marked by right belief, godly obedience, and brotherly love, they are counterfeit. They cannot have been born again, for those who are 'born of God' are those who believe (5:1) and obey (3:9) and love (4:7)."

Well said Brother Stott.  You leave little space or time for some of the stark denials of the faith received that are in the world today (No more than did St. John the Beloved for those same stark denials which abounded in Asia Minor in the first century.)  Might we all apply the truths revealed by God to Blessed John the Evangelist to our lives this day.  If we find in that application vindication and proof of our faith, might we give thanks with humility and purpose to continue in the faith received.  If we find ourselves wanting in the application, might we humbly submit to God's Word written and ammend our doctrine, and our behaviour, and our lack of love.

all quotations and paraphrases are drawn from Men With A Message by John Stott as revised by Stephen Motyer in 1994.  Published in the US by Eerdmans Publishing Co. in Grand Rapids