Your King Has Come! Psalm 45

Introduction
Every girl has a dream, my little girl, who is two-and-a-half, will one day have this dream, that a man, strong and mighty, noble and handsome, will come and rescue her, marry her, and they would have a family of their own. Every girl looks forward and anticipate their wedding day, glorious and bright. They imagine the ideal: the ideal man, the ideal day, the ideal wedding dress, the ideal family to follow.

Every boy has as a playground where the bad guys are on the loose and they are the hero. Every stick is a sword and they defend the weak and capture the great nemesis of the world. And when they get a little older, the weak is swapped out for that girl, who longs to be rescued. They look forward, anticipate, imagine their heroic day. Glorious and bright.

Taking these dreams of little girls and boys, you might just pass them by as “childish” or wishful thinking. Yet, it is amazing how profound those dreams are as they fit into the great story of God. As one children’s catechism goes,

“What is the whole point of the Bible?” 

Slay the dragon, get the girl.

Today, in Psalm 45, we read a dream. Yes, it more than a dream, but a prophetic foreshadowing of things to come. It is a love song pinned to dream up the Psalmist ideal royal wedding which he hope for in the King of Israel, descendant of David. The Psalmist here looks forward, anticipates, and imagines when the Great hero, King Jesus, would come, rescue His bride-to-be, and take her hand in marriage.

Let us read Psalm 45.

Psalm 45:1–17 (ESV)

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah; a love song.

¹  My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;

I address my verses to the king;

my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.

²  You are the most handsome of the sons of men;

grace is poured upon your lips;

therefore God has blessed you forever.

³  Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,

in your splendor and majesty!

⁴  In your majesty ride out victoriously

for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;

let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!

⁵  Your arrows are sharp

in the heart of the king’s enemies;

the peoples fall under you.

⁶  Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;

⁷  you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

⁸  your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.

From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;

⁹  daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;

at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

¹⁰  Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:

forget your people and your father’s house,

¹¹  and the king will desire your beauty.

Since he is your lord, bow to him.

¹²  The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,

the richest of the people.

¹³  All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.

¹⁴  In many-colored robes she is led to the king,

with her virgin companions following behind her.

¹⁵  With joy and gladness they are led along

as they enter the palace of the king.

¹⁶  In place of your fathers shall be your sons;

you will make them princes in all the earth.

¹⁷  I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;

therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.  

For those who are taking notes, here are my points: First, we will look at the Ideal Royal Groom from verses 2-9. Then, we will look at the Ideal Bride from verses 10-15.

The Ideal Royal Groom (vv. 2-9)
Poured out from the heart (v1), the Psalmist puts down on paper a love song to his king, who is the ideal royal groom. He magnifies three characteristics of this royal groom. The first characteristics of the royal groom is his excellent beauty. Look with me at vv2-3, “You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty!”

Now, today, as we read the words, “most handsome”, we might think of People magazine “Sexiest man alive” award in the likes of a Brad Pitt or George Coloney, but this is not what the Psalmist seeks to portray.

External beauty truly comes from an internal one as we know when God chose from the house of Jesse a king for Israel, “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). David was said to be “handsome” and I would assume other Israel kings were as well given that royalty uses cares for their outward appearance, yet the Psalmist describes the external beauty from the king’s words and works. Gracious words come from the lips of the king. Truth, meekness, and righteousness is the king’s speech. And he stands confidently behind those words with his works. He is willing to defend them with his sword on his thigh and his previous victory wrapped around him in splendor and majesty. This connects with the Psalmist second characteristic of the royal groom which is his military prowess.

The king is a mighty warrior. He is the champion for what is important to the Lord and his covenant people. He fights for truth, meekness, and righteousness. These mirror the kingdom of God in fidelity and righteousness. And this king has been blessed by God forever, which is the third characteristic. In v. 2, God has blessed the king forever. And in v. 7, God has anointed the king with the oil of gladness. The king does not live for himself nor go to war alone seeking fame and glory for himself, but God, the mighty one, goes with him and blesses him. This is the key to his characteristics and his kingdom, the blessing of God. But the writer here takes us higher as he writes, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” Now, we speak a divine-human king where throne is forever and his kingdom is forever.

So, the picture of the ideal royal groom is desirable, picture perfect. Yet, the question which commentaries seeking to answer and you are probably asking is, “who is this Royal Groom?” Well, we don’t know which earthly king and bride it was originally composed for. We know that the language here is idealized harking back to God’s covenant with David in 2 Sam. 7. There, God promises David’s offspring to establish his kingdom and his throne. As it says in 2 Sam. 7:16, “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” Furthermore, God promised Judah, the one the royal line will come through, in his blessing from his father, Jacob, that “the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples” (Gen. 49:10). And so, we look at the line of David. Is there one like this?

Problem: Historical Kings
Well, there is one constant theme in the line of David. And what is it? Failed. All the kings failed. They are failures, royal mess-ups. There is a long of line of failures. This is the story of human history whether we, that is all of us, are royalty or not, there is one constant truth for us and that is we all fail to match perfection. No king nor common man fits this exalted language. None of us are divine and too many of us are too human if “to err is to be human”.

There is talk in the commentaries that it could reference the marriage of Ahab of Israel and Jezebel of Tyre since the Psalm refers to the people of Tyre in v.12. But let’s look at Ahab’s track record? 2 Kings 16:32, “He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, (F) which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made an Asherah. (F) Ahab did more to provoke the Lord than all the kings of Israel who were before him. (F)” And do you remember the duel between Elijah and the Baal worshipers on Mt. Camel? That was under Ahab’s reign (F). Another option, a more likely one, is Solomon. Yes, we see glimpses, or types, in him. Solomon, he was a man of wise words. We have two books of wisdom in the Bible where he is the author or co-author. Yet, he failed. He didn’t apply the wisdom to his life and it ruined his life and family (See 1 Chr. 11). But, what does the NT say... "something greater than Solomon is here" (Matt. 12:42).

Fulfillment: Christ (Hebrews 1:8-9)

“Where earthly kings could never tread, 

Christ our King came instead.” 

The ideal promised Royal Groom whose perfect and eternal reign found in the fairest of them all, Lord Jesus. You don’t need to take my word for it. The author of Hebrews, when showcasing the Son is greater than angels by virtue of His eternal reign, declares Christ as the royal groom by citing Ps. 45:6-7 (Hebrews 1:8-9). Once we realized that this Psalm is about Christ, does it not just sing in our hearts?

O Church, Bride of Christ, your King is your Bridegroom. He loves you, O church, and washes you with the water of His words. His words are gracious as He is gracious. When Jesus walked on this earth, one of the common reactions from the crowds were about his words. After his first sermon, announcing His ministry, the reaction was, “And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth” (Luke 4:22).
Here in verses 8-9, the talk of oils and fragrances and instruments are the preparation of a wedding ceremony. Christ, in his beauty and splendor, rode out, slayed the dragon and has established His throne. Now, He graciously invites you to be his spouse, v10, “Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear.” Do you know Him as your Bridegroom?

O Church, Bride of Christ, your King is your warrior. He rides out victoriously. Revelation portrays Christ, as our Bridegroom, who rides out on a white horse from His heavenly throne, in His majesty called Faithful and True, and comes to the earth to speak truth and to care for the meek by spreading justice, and stakes righteousness in the ground. But not only does He prompt truth, meekness, and righteousness, King Jesus subdues all his and our enemies. He slays the dragon, the serpent of old. Ever since the Fall, there has been an all out war between the seed of the serpent and the seed of woman. And King Jesus, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Col. 2:15). King Jesus binds up Satan and throws Him into the lake of fire, and there Satan and all our other enemies “will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). Do you know Him as your Warrior?

O Church, Bride of Christ, your King is on the Throne. As the Psalm states, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” King Jesus in on the throne of God reigning as God because He is God. This is a king who conquered the chaos of sin, Satan, and death. And He did this by dying for us. This is a King who gave us his life. This is a KIng who died for us. This is a King who rose to create life in us and started a kingdom for us which we can have our sin forgiven, we can have our eternity altered, we can feast with him, and He is our King who is our Groom. And we belong to Him. If we submit to him, and if we follow him, and if we repent of our sins, and trust in Jesus, as this King has invited us, then all that is his is ours.

To summarize, C. S. Lewis puts it so eloquently, “The birth of Christ is the arrival of the great warrior and the great king. Also of the Lover, the Bridegroom, whose beauty surpasses that of man. But not only the Bridegroom as the lover, the desired; the Bridegroom also who makes fruitful, the Father of children still to be begotten and born” (Reflections from the Psalms, p. 130)

The Ideal Bride (vv. 10-15)
Now, that we have seen who is the royal groom, ultimately being Christ himself, who will he marry? Again, we don’t the historical figure the Psalmist could be talking about if he even means to speak of a particular event. We do know, like any bride on their wedding day, she is radiant and beautiful. “The king will desire your beauty” (v11), “All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold. In many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her.” This ideal bride is gorgeous and pure.  Let me go directly to talk about Christ’s bride.

Problem: the harlot church (Hosea 1-3)
The description of this bride of Psalm 45 does not do justice to the bride of Christ. Not because it speaks to little of her, but way too much of her. How is the church, the bride of Christ, pictured? Well, consider the prophetic parable of Hosea. God calls the prophet Hosea, the man of God, and says to him, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” Or, consider Ezekiel 16 where the Lord God at the age for love made a vow to the church, entered into a covenant with them and they became his. He lavished them with fine clothes and oils. They are called “exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty” (v13). But, the truth doesn’t stop there. “But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore” as they made idols of the nations (vv15-17). The truth about the church is that. It is the disreputable woman, the harlot.

So, how can we square with Psalm 45? One word. Grace. The whole story of the Bible is God the Father has chosen a bride for His Son. But, this bride is not spotless and white, but stained and sinful. So, the Lord Jesus, the royal Bridegroom, when he first comes to you, finds you full of sin and pollution; you are deformed, defiled, enslaved, poor, miserable and wretched, very despicable and loathsome, by reason of sin; and he make His choice of you, not because of your holiness, nor of your beauty, nor of your being qualified for them; no, the Lord Jesus puts these qualifications upon you, as may make you meet for his embrace; and you are drawn to make choice of the Lord Jesus Christ because he first chose you.

This is why in Christian marriages, the bride wear white symbolize purity. But, how many Christian brides come into the marriage with a disreputable past? How can they still wear white? The Gospel. That is, our righteousness is not something of and in ourselves (an infused righteousness), but given to us (an imputed righteousness). It is a perfect picture of the righteousness of another. The Christian bride wear white, not because she is pure, but because Christ has given her his purity for her sin. And this picture at any wedding captures a glimpse of the greater story of the Bible.

Fulfillment: The Redeemed Bride
The Gospel today is that Jesus came to save through marriage. That we, the church, are a collection of mess ups, sinners, loser, and disreputable women with a disreputable past. And Jesus came to save us. To have our ears inclined, listen to His gracious words to forget the past and our father’s house, and come be with him. But not just to save us, but to marry us. And over our messed up lives, He gives us robes of purity. The bride is presented clothes with linen bright and pure. Jesus has provided everything that the bride need by sanctifying her, cleansing her with washing of water with the word, and by presenting the church to himself without spot or wrinkle.

Do you desire to be loved? Come to Jesus, our Royal Groom.
Do you desire to be redeemed? Come to Jesus, our Mighty Warrior.
Do you desire to live with Jesus? Come to Him and live in His forever kingdom.

Sermon preached on 07-08-2012 at First Pres. in Wanyesboro, Ga.

Mommy Thoughts (Part One Million or so)

As a mom, I worry about how I'm doing...as a mom.

Is my daughter (soon to be daughters!) too sensitive, too clingy, not adventurous enough, whiny, moralistic, etc? Worse, is it because of me? Did I parent her in such a way that leads her to be ....well, not perfect?

Last night, Brian and I were talking about Lydia, parenting and independence. [By the way, all our parenting conversations start with the realization that Lydia is so good, loved and surprisingly well-rounded]. Am I indulging her too much? Or am I being too harsh...expecting her to act like an adult? You see, my fear is that my sweet, introvert, sensitive girl (whom I am very very far from understanding) is not independent enough. Maybe she's a bit too clingy. Maybe I'm setting myself up for a huge breakdown (or a series of many) when her little sister comes and steals much of Mommy's attention, time and her spotlight.

But leave it to my sweet, introvert, sensitive husband (whom I am very very far from understanding) to lead with love and speak truth. "Independent? She's two."
"And maybe she is a little clingy...but she likes you. Isn't that a good thing?"

I suppose so. Yeah, I really think so. I do want to teach her to be independent, responsible, clear-headed, adventurous and wise. I don't want her to think that she is the center of the universe. But, I don't think you do that by showing her that I am.

God give me grace. 

"It's Skyline time!"

It just happens to be that as I type this post, I am wearing my "official" Skyline t-shirt from the Glenway restaurant. Lets face it: Skyline Chili is world's best. There is no better combination than a steamed hot dog, Skyline Chili, and a mound of cheddar cheese. The best! We love it there. But, there is one sad truth. It is really only it the Cincinnati metro area (they are expanding). So, whenever we vacate to Cincinnati to see Mandy's dad, there's got to be a trip (or more) planned to Skyline. Also, our "little chili" loves it too. Lydia can down a coney as fast as her mommy. To prove how much we love Skyline, we decided to take some pictures of our experience.

The perfect appetizer for the food to come!

"What to order? Every rocks, but since we only have one trip a year, we stick to the classics." 

Our "little chili" is excited!

The food has arrived... no time to wait!
Here is what the Stock family ordered:
Daddy: 3 cheese coneys with onions and mustard AND a 5-way (spaghetti, Skyline chili, diced onions, beans, and lots of cheese!)
Mommy: 3 cheese coneys
Lydia: 1 cheese coney

 By the end, there were no leftovers and we were full! But, that didn't stop us from getting Putz's ice cream an hour or so later!

Just saying...

Kids say cute things. Cute kids say even cuter things (in our opinion). Here are a few:

Me: Well, yes, your little sister will probably slobber on your toys [a big concern in Lydia's book], but you'll have to give her grace.
Lydia: Mommy, I will give her grapes. She can slobber on them. 

[upon passing a cemetery]
Lydia: Mommy, what is that?
Me: That's where people's bodies go when they die. Some people's souls get to go be with Jesus in Heaven. Isn't that great?!
Lydia: Jesus is in Heaven?
Me: Yes sweetheart. That's where He lives. Some people get to go live with Him there. 
Lydia: Do we have to wear pants there?

Lydia: Mommy, be careful...don't fall out of your bathing suit. 
Me: Ok...thank you Lydia.

[Brian and I were attempting to explain what lying is to Lydia, and why she should not do it]
Lydia: It's like a lion?
(What do you say to this?)

[Brian and I discussing a theological heresy that many believe...]
Me (to Brian):Why do people believe this sort of stuff?
Brian: It's just Paganism.
Lydia: Not "Piganism"...that would be funny. 
Brian: Yes, but that would make more sense....


More, I'm sure, to come.

Tuesday at the Stocks

Every Tuesday during the summer, things are a little different at the Stock household. And we love it! We are hosting/leading a book study on marriage. Six to eight couples join us as we learn and discuss together how to live God-honoring marriages. Another family from church live right down the street and we let the kids run wild down there while we peaceably adult conversation on matters life and world events.

Here are some great quotations from chapter 1:

"To conduct a Me-Marriage requires two completely well-adjusted, happy individuals, with very little in the way of emotional neediness of their own or character flaws that need a lot of work. The problem is—there is almost no one like that out there to marry!' (p. 26).

"After all, our culture makes individual freedom, autonomy, and fulfillment the very highest values, and thoughtful people know deep down that any love relationship at all means the loss of all three. You can say, “I want someone who will accept me just as I am,” but in your heart of hearts you know that you are not perfect, that there are plenty of things about you that need to be changed, and that anyone who gets to know you up close and personal will want to change them. And you also know that the other person will have needs, deep needs, and flaws. That all sounds painful, and it is, and so you don’t want all that' (p. 28).

"But if you avoid marriage simply because you don’t want to lose your freedom, that is one of the worst things you can do to your heart. C. S. Lewis put it vividly:
'Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation'" (p. 28).

"The Christian answer to this is that no two people are compatible. Duke University ethics professor Stanley Hauerwas has famously made this point:
'Destructive to marriage is the self-fulfillment ethic that assumes marriage and the family are primarily institutions of personal fulfillment, necessary for us to become “whole” and happy. The assumption is that there is someone just right for us to marry and that if we look closely enough we will find the right person. This moral assumption overlooks a crucial aspect to marriage. It fails to appreciate the fact that we always marry the wrong person. We never know whom we marry; we just think we do. Or even if we first marry the right person, just give it a while and he or she will change. For marriage, being [the enormous thing it is] means we are not the same person after we have entered it. The primary problem is . . . learning how to love and care for the stranger to whom you find yourself married'" (pp. 29-30).


"Any two people who enter into marriage are spiritually broken by sin, which among other things means to be self-centered—living life incurvatus in se (to be curved inward on oneself)" (p. 32).


"This is the secret—that the gospel of Jesus and marriage explain one another. That when God invented marriage, he already had the saving work of Jesus in mind" (p. 39).

"Is the purpose of marriage to deny your interests for the good of the family, or is it rather to assert your interests for the fulfillment of yourself? The Christian teaching does not offer a choice between fulfillment and sacrifice but rather mutual fulfillment through mutual sacrifice" (p. 39).



"The reason that marriage is so painful and yet wonderful is because it is a reflection of the gospel, which is painful and wonderful at once. The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope. This is the only kind of relationship that will really transform us. Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. God’s saving love in Christ, however, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us. The merciful commitment strengthens us to see the truth about ourselves and repent. The conviction and repentance moves us to cling to and rest in God’s mercy and grace" (p. 40).

Trips to the Carolinas

In less than a month, the Stock family traveled to the Carolinas, both North and South, three times. The first two times were spent up in the lovely city of Brevard, NC where Mandy's parents have a cabin in the woods. Well, its more like a log mansion. While we took in the crisp mountain air, we love to go to Brevard's artsy downtown. They always have something going on and during our second visit, they had their famous white squirrel festival. Fun times!

The talking dragon-snap! "Hello, Lydia! Its a pretty day. Ain't it?"

An artist and model in the making. While Lydia was drawing on this chalkboard, being her cute self, a photography crew came up and asked if they could take Lydia's picture for a travel guide to Brevard. Mommy signed a waiver and a star was born!

Daddy, Lydia and "Whitey" are listening to some hometown musicians.

"Bounce! Bounce!"

Chocolate dipped, vanilla ice cone from Dollys - yummy and messy! 

Hiking pictures! Lydia in the backpack, beauty waterfalls, and "playing" in the water.

Our third trip to the Carolinas was for support raising. We spent Saturday morning in downtown Greenville. One of the picturesque and lively downtowns in the States with a river/waterfall running right through the middle. They have really done some nice work. My comment was "God made it glorious and Greenville made it accessible." 

How could you not smile!

So, we are walking along and we found this awesome tree which one can stand it. Each Stock member expressed their personally.

Lydia - cute and smiley

Mommy- Beautiful and resting
Chicken Noodle - sleeping

Daddy - Exuberant and Wild

Cool the feet off and make some splashes!

Daddy and Lydia couldn't pass up this small water park.

For lunch, we enjoyed a delicious meal with the Johnson family. Lydia warmed up to Lucy and B really quick!

We are all done for now... time to go home! Let's go Mr. Pig and Whitey!

Books for May: Government, Servanthood, True Revival, and the Prosperity Gospel

How Christians Should Relate to Government by Wayne Grudem
My normal response to people about politics is "I'm not policital." Well, really that is not possible. My answer should be, "I really haven't taken the time to seriously think about a comprehensive and coherent understanding of my view of government and politics." As the Presidential elections are coming soon, I thought what better time than to start now. So, I picked up this little introduction to being formulating my view. The short work (81 pages) has been pulled from the author's large work, Politics (625 pages). Grudem seeks to answer the title of his work. He does so by first presenting five wrong ways which Christians have used in the past and then presents a better solution (Christians should influence the government) to the posed question. Overall, the book was persuasive and helpful. I give the book a 7 out of 10.

Servanthood as Worship by Nate Palmer
Ever been burnout serving at church? That is an easy answer. Drawing from experience of burnout, author Nate Palmer gives us a helpful book to promote serving at the church as worship to God. The book seeks to shape the reader's mind and heart with the theological truth and motivations to serve for the long haul. Serving from salvation that God has provided in Christ, not for it, is the key to proper service. The book is short (108 pages) and helpful in promoting a vision of servanthood in the local church written for church members. I could see pastors giving this book as a handbook to their flock. I give the book a 8 out of 10.



Dynamics of Spiritual Life by Richard Lovelace
One year. That is how long it took me to read this book. I started the book on our vision trip to South Asia, read about halfway through it, and then, other needs came up. So, this month, I set a goal to finish and read it. The book is long (435 pages) and dense. Richard Lovelace gives a history of spiritual renewals in light of biblical models. It gathers and recounts the spiritual awakenings from the past. His analysis is grounded in Jonathan Edward's writings on revival. The book seems more to tell what happened (Lovelace is a church historian) than solve or pose solutions. Honestly, I need to read much of it again. I give the book 8 of of 10.



Health, Wealth, & Happiness by David W. Jones & Russell S. Woodbridge
"Accept God and He will bless you--because you deserve it!" This is the message of the Prosperity Gospel and it is rampant through the American church and has been exported all over the world especially to the country were we are missionaries. However, it is no gospel at all. Jones and Woodbridge expose this false gospel for all of what it is worth. This is one of the clearest and straight forward books I have ever read. It presents where (theologically) the prosperity gospel came from, clearly articulates its beliefs and accurate represents the opponents of this false gospel. The book is well written and reads quickly (165 reading pages). I give the book 9 of out 10.

Lydia Sightings

SETTLING IN OUR NEW PLACE

The Internet was just turned on, so Lydia and Daddy decided to try it out with a Sesame Street video. "1, 2, 3, 4" song is a favorite!

"I've got mommy flip-flops on!" Like mommy, like daughter.

BAKING TIME

The Mobleys are coming over tonight! What should we make for dessert? No fear, Lydia to the rescue. "I'll make my yummy Reeses-pieces, peanut butter cookie bars! What do you think Whitey?"

 All good bakers try their creations. "Yummy, this is good!!!"

Bring out the Kitchen-Aid Mixer.

Go mixer! Go! They are going to be delicious!

POOL TIME

... and all my friends are invited (if they have a bathsuit). Looks like 'Mingo will be joining us!

Mr. Pig is all suited up! And look, "I'm wearing mommy's bathsuit."

Its a party wherever me and my friends are!

Books for April: Sexual Assault, Calvin, and Beauty

Rid of My Disgrace by Justin and Lindsay Holcomb
April... isn't this a little late to post? Well, all for good reason. As I was reading Rid of My Disgrace, I knew this work needed a full review. I emailed my friend, Jeff Shaw, who started a hotline for trafficking victims in Atlanta called Out of Darkness, to see if he would post a full review on his website (www.outofdarkness.org). He was gracious enough to accept my offer and I am thankful he posted it. The book review can be found here. Rid of My Disgrace by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb is a tender, compassionate and biblical response to help sexual assault victim. The book is so much better than the review. If you know anyone who has this painful experience in their past, or anyone who helps those who do, this book is the place to start. I give the book a 10 out of 10.

Light for the City by Lester De Koster

There are three streams of Reformed Theology flowing out of the Reformation: doctrinalist, pietistic, and culturalist. Light for the City seeks to explain and expand Calvin's influence from the third.  The author reads Calvin's major work, the Institutes, backwards pulling only from a few sections of Book IV, this work overemphasizes a small slice of Calvin's influence. Calvin is portrayed more as a politician than a pastor, a statesman than a preacher. Calvin (and Calvinism) is a city builder and preaching the Word was his mechanism. Furthermore, it seemed the author reads history backwards as well. His logic is, "Look! There are Calvinist/Puritanical cities all across Europe and America. This means Calvin lived and died to make it happen." The cart before the horse? Or, how Marx and Calvin are somehow best friends? Really? My question for myself is "have I been reading Calvin improperly?" Or, "is this a misguided caricature of John Calvin wrapped in masterful stitched prose?"

There is much in this volume about Calvin's kind of preaching which was outstanding. Here is a great quotation, "At least, for now, this for the preacher: just be brave enough to give vocalization to the Word incarnate in the Bible, text by text--preaching what God through his Word declares and implies. Behavior will follow. Thus Cities can be created. And were" (79). All and all, the 130-page book could have been three good, long chapters on Calvin's preaching. That would have been worth my reading. I give the book a 4 out of 10.

Jonathan Edwards on Beauty by Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney
The second installment in the Essential Edwards Collection and the topic this time around is beauty. Most people do not understand Christianity, and the God behind it, in terms of beauty. Edwards did. Truth included more than historical events or propositional sentences for Edwards, but seeing God for who He really is and being utterly awestruck through truth. Staring at God's excellencies (Edwards' word) displayed in who He is (being), what He revealed of Himself (His Creation in general and in Christ particularly), and what He reflects to (His Church) like capturing a human smile or taking in a breathtaking sky is the task of the Christian. The Christian is given a "divine and supernatural light" in their very heart which awakens true beauty, the source being God himself. This little book captures a slice of Edwards' vivid works on the beauty of God. Like the first book, it is relatively short and is packed full of Edward's quotation, helpful commentary and application. I give the book a 8 out of 10.

Six Years: One Face

This Sunday, May 13th (which also happens to be Mothers' Day this year) marks Brian and my 6th anniversary of wedded bliss!

Yep, 6 years ago I said yes to this face. 

Well, maybe not exactly THAT face...he was looking a little different on our wedding day. Surprisingly, it wasn't only his stunning good looks that drew me in love with Mr. Brian Stock. 

You see, Brian is funny. He made me laugh. He never laughs at my jokes (which I think are funny) and his are not, but he still makes me laugh...usually when he's not trying to be that funny...or when he's laughing himself. He's the first one who made Lydia laugh (by singing and dancing) and so at least we agree. 

Brian is diligent. I know he wants to spend more time preaching and reading and doing ministry. I know he wants to write more. Yet, he works to provide for us. He does what he is doing now well. He looks ahead but does not become entranced with the future. 

Brian is constantly seeking to be better, do better, love God better, enjoy Him more...he's a man on a mission. I love that he is never stagnant, though not a busybody like I am prone to be. 

Brian is self-aware. When there is a problem, he looks to himself first to root out sin. He assesses situations with grace and clarity. 

Brian casts vision. For a gal who gets so wrapped up in the small stuff, it is a relief and a joy to have a leader who can actually LEAD and see what is ahead...or at least a little further than I can see. 

Brian loves the Lord and loves his family. I have no doubt in my heart or mind (because I have seen it in his actions and plans) that Brian will always seek to provide for us. He will serve us so we can flourish and nurture our love for God as He comes to the Great Gardener to be pruned himself. 

Brian is frugal. Brian is punctual. Brian is a planner. Yep, those are the minors but when they match up to my minors it makes a major difference. 

Plus, I still think he's pretty good looking!

Six years isn't a very long time by some standards; in some ways it feels like we've been together my whole life and in some ways it feels like we are just beginning. At our wedding we danced to "Depths of Mercy", which truly describes how I feel about Brian. I do not deserve him. I do not try to, so I thank God for His deep mercy that calls me into this sweet covenant of marriage with my best friend. 

Our engagement photo. You may have seen it in the Sumter "Item" newspaper...

However you slice it, I hope to have sixty more years with this one face. 

This Momentary Marriage

You can find This Momentary Marriage by John Piper here.