An Ark For All God's Noahs

From the end of the section "On How to Make God our Portion":

"To prevent mistakes, before I close up this direction, remember that by use of holy means, I only mean such means that God himself has appointed, commanded, instituted, and ordained. As for those means that are of men's inventing, devising, prescribing, commanding, and ordaining, a man may wait till doomsday in the use of them, before ever he will gain God for his portion; and therefore they are rather to be declined, yea, detested and abhorred, than any way to be owned, minded, or used by any that would have God for their portion. Look, as all the worshipers of Baal got nothing by all their wailing and crying out from morning to night, 'O Baal, hear us!' 1 Kings 18, so they that wait upon God in invented and devised worship will never get anything by all their waiting, no, though they should wait from morning to evening, and from evening to morning, and cut and lance themselves till the blood gush out, as those foolish worshippers of Baal did. And therefore, as ever you would have God for your portion, be sure that you wait upon him only in his own ways, and in the use of his own means."

An Ark For all God's Noahs In a Gloomy Stormy Day by Thomas Brooks

©Banner of Truth Trust, 2020, p.224-225 

(First published in London, 1666)

To Take a Bit of Time

Maybe it's the internet and maybe it's human nature and maybe it's both, but people seem to respond (react) to things very, very quickly, especially online. They don't wait for more information or clarification; they hear and respond. It sometimes seems to be the negative things, but I see it with things that look positive as well.

The problems, from what I can tell:

1. The first news is not always all the news, and the news is by nature designed to get your attention. The other stuff, less shocking or more balanced, comes later. A different perspective comes later. The other person's side of the story which may change a lot comes later. A wider angle lens comes later. Background information comes later. But often later is too late and damage has been done.

2. There is a reluctance to change or update the response when new information comes. Either people don't want to admit that they jumped the gun or that they made a mistake, or they have moved on, or they don't care that they have done damage to someone (or some combination thereof).

3. The corrected information never reaches the full audience that the partial or incorrect information has reached.

4. Whether or not there are actual errors in the information, a quick reaction is often based on emotion, not careful consideration or introspection. This makes it very difficult to have any sort of discussion because you're dealing with emotion, not facts.

5. People who respond quickly tend to judge those who wait for more information or to think things through before responding. They view these people as not caring about people or issues, whereas some people prefer to take their time to make sure they have all the facts.

6. Once someone has thought about the issue and is ready to discuss it, the quick-responders view it as old news and don't really care to hear about it. After all, why keep harping on the past?

I'm a quiet processor; I don't often talk to think things through (although sometimes I write it all out, but just for myself). I also don't trust the first news report of things until I have time to investigate and/or talk with the people involved. As a result, I rarely discuss current events as they tend to be less current when I think I have all the information (or I just don't want to try interacting with people who have made up their minds and don't want to be inconvenienced with opposing ideas).

This is not just about news reports or the like; it can be about anything that comes up in life. I like to have some time to process before I talk about things and that means that I have often not been able to talk about my thoughts or feelings because I wasn't ready when everyone else was. I am thankful for people in my life who understand this and who are willing to accept "I need time to process this" and walk with me through the issues when I'm ready, or who just understand that I will need time and will talk when I'm ready, and who are ready to listen when I am ready to talk.

My point, really is this: It's okay to take time to respond to anything. It's even good to take time to think before talking (or writing). Stop, think, pray, then talk. It will likely save a lot of trouble.

John MacArthur (1939-2025)

John MacArthur went home this week and is now with the Lord. He was a faithful minister of God's Word in his preaching and speaking and writing. He was a faithful pastor who cared deeply for his flock. I don't think we can measure his influence: his sermons, books, and conferences have reached incredible numbers of people; the university and seminary have trained up generations; missionaries and training centres around the world have helped train up local men for ministry.

It's the trickle-down effect in practice. John MacArthur taught and preached and trained men; these men to on to teach and preach and train other men; those men.... You get the picture. Churches and families and individuals around the world are taught and changed and sanctified through the on-going influence of his ministry.

In my own life, John MacArthur's influence was mostly indirect. I sat under his preaching one Sunday many years ago, I've read some of his books, and I hear him on the radio sometimes. Mostly, though, his influence on me is seen through the faithful pastors in my life. Many years ago I had pastors who had not been trained in The Master's Seminary, but who had still be taught by him through conferences and books. Now I have pastors who were at the seminary and who learned to faithfully bring the word of God to us every week, so I too am blessed by his ministry.

I am sorrowful that the world has lost John MacArthur. At the same time, his books and sermons will continue to teach and encourage the sheep, and maybe reach more of the lost sheep. And his legacy will continue through the men he trained up to carry on the work.

Sunday Stuff

Summer service timings are a bit different at church. Most of the year we have first service from 9:00-10:30; Sunday School from 11:00-12:00, and second service from 12:30-2:00. During the summer there is no Sunday School and second service starts at 12:00. It's still a good break in between for the people involved in the service (pastor and music team probably need it most), but everyone can get home a bit earlier as well.

I used to be a second service person, but my ride changed and now I'm a first service person (along with probably 2/3 of the church body). That means first service and Sunday School, and home between 1:00 and 1:30, depending on how long we stay to fellowship and visit. Yesterday, I was home before noon, which seemed very early!

Summer Sundays are less busy at church because I'm not taking care of and teaching Sunday School. On the other hand, yesterday I took care of the church library, confirmed the willingness of two more Sunday School teachers, and cleaned off the bulletin boards in my classroom.

Also: I admired babies, talked and laughed with friends, got some hugs, had someone hand me a sandwich (on a cheesy bun) and a baby cheese, and enjoyed some good fellowship.

I worshiped with my church family in song and Scripture and prayer and preaching. I learned and was reminded of truths and was refreshed.

I absolutely love Sundays with my church family.

Audio Books

In the past year or so I've started listening to audio books. I haven't listened to many and I still prefer reading books, but when I'm busy with mindless tasks or handicrafts or can't find the book in paper form at the library, I enjoy listening to books.

I usually enjoy listening. There was one book where the narrator was so boring I gave up. (I really wish the site the library uses would allow a preview of the reader's voice so I don't check it out and waste one of my 5-items-per-month that Hoopla allows).

On the other hand, the others have had great narrators. The ones by Corrie Ten Boom had a narrator with a Dutch accent which was exactly right.

My current listen is a bit more of a mixed bag. The story is read well and the character's voices are distinguishable (and the grandma who was born in Ukraine has an accent). The problem is that I found one character very whiny. Then I listened to her words instead of her voice and determined that I would not likely have read it that way. Her whininess could be read as concern, frustration, or even just normal speech. The narrator chose to have her sound whiny when I would not. And no, I don't know which one of us is correct in our choice.

It's interesting just how much difference the voice makes. And how we different readers can view the characters.

My People

Last week was rough. There's a thing involving church and friends -- people I love -- and it's messy and heartbreaking. I spent a lot of time trying to process events and thoughts and feelings.

But...

1. I have help running Sunday School this year. I've needed it for a while (since the church doubled in size practically overnight), but I didn't really think about it. Mostly, it seemed that everyone expected me to be able to handle everything on my own. Now someone at church has stepped into the role of my assistant (completely unplanned; it just happened). We met to discuss curriculum and memory work, and she will do some of the stuff.

2. I have an Elder of Sunday School who listened to me try to explain how things were and how I want them to be and understood and supported me. And he offered to do some of the tasks that came up in our discussion so I don't have to do all the things. More to the point, I can trust him to do them.

3. While I'm pretty sure he had a lot on his plate already, one of the pastors took the time to answer my emails when I sent him so many questions and thoughts about what was happening as I tried to understand where things go from here.

4. The friends who drive me to church made their decision to not stay for the monthly pot luck based at least in part on their thought that I probably wouldn't want to stay (because long days and large crowds can be a bit much).

5. I have a very good friend that I could also talk things over with and then we could get distracted by other thoughts and I would feel better about life. 

6. While I am not always up for hugs, I needed them more this week and got my entire fill on Sunday. At the same time, when I really, really did not want anyone touching me one week (it had been a very people-filled few days and I just wanted to get home and nap under my weighted blanket), my dear friend who always gets to hug me was willing to back off for one week (and I promised -- and delivered -- two hugs the following Sunday!).

7. I was at a friend's house and there were kittens! The kittens are not actually my people, but the friends who understood my need for kittens are greatly appreciated!

So: A rough week with some messiness, but also filled with the people God has given me. And I am thankful for His blessings.

Curriculum

It is July, so it is time to think about Sunday School curriculum! I continue to be very picky about what we teach and to have issues with every single curriculum I can find, even the good ones. I always want something more or different or better.

This year the plan is to rearrange our current curriculum somewhat. One program (for the 4-7 year old gang) will be reduced in parts, combined in places, and expanded in the final year. We're turning a 3-year curriculum into a 4-year curriculum that meets our needs better. And to be clear, this is a very good program; it's just not entirely right for what I want. The other program (for the 8-10 year old group, which is actually only two classes until we have more room) will be adjusted as well to make things flow more smoothly. And I will be starting on a whole new curriculum for the upper half of Sunday School, trialing it with my 10 and 11 year old class.

And even the new curriculum that I'm writing myself won't be perfect, but it should meet our needs better. Also, once it's done, we won't have to pay licensing fees, and that's always nice.