Between Two Worlds

Posted on AlbertMohler.com:

Dr. Mohler's health has sustained a setback. Over the past 36 hours Dr. Mohler has suffered from unrelenting pain. This unusual degree of pain signaled concern for the attending physicians and prompted additional tests this afternoon. In the past hour these tests have revealed that Dr. Mohler is suffering from pulmonary emboli in both lungs. His condition is quite serious and he has been moved to the intensive care unit of Baptist East Hospital in Louisville, KY for immediate treatment.

Please make this a matter of urgent prayer. Thank you once again for your concern and support during these days.

From WebMD: "Pulmonary embolism (PE) is an extremely common and highly lethal condition that is a leading cause of death in all age groups. A good clinician actively seeks the diagnosis as soon as any suspicion of PE whatsoever is warranted, because prompt diagnosis and treatment can dramatically reduce the mortality rate and morbidity of the disease."

Update: Good news via Russell Moore's blog:

I just left from visiting Albert Mohler at the intensive care unit of Baptist East Hospital here in Louisville. I am glad to report that he is doing much better than he was when I spoke to the radio audience of the program about this at 5:05 PM.

While his situation is still very serious, it seems that the doctors have his treatment well underway and he is recuperating well. Pulmonary emboli represent a serious concern under any circumstances but it seems that RAM is responding excellently to the treatment. We can all be grateful the doctors found this development so quickly.

The President is talking and in good spirits. Despite his incredible pain and having just lived through the scare of his life, he was actually able to discuss a book I brought to him the other day about, of all things, the life of Wendell Willkie.

Dr. Mohler still needs your prayers, as do Mary, Katie, and Christopher, so please don't stop them. But I am happy to say that I think his treatment is going well and I expect that he will be back to his life as normal sooner rather than later.

The latest issue of Tabletalk is devoted to the mortification of sin.

From the Resurgence blog:

In 2007 will start a second podcast feed from Resurgence. This second feed will be called the “Heidelberg Project.” We are having pastors, professors and other godly men and women read a section of the 52 sections from the Heidelberg Catechism. The actual words and some very helpful verses for each of the questions will be available online to look deeper into each question as a devotional piece.

On the first podcast, Pastor Gary Shavey (of Mars Hill and Resurgence) introduces the Heidelberg Catechism, and Bruce Ware reads the entries for Lord's Day 1.

Some quotes from Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King, Jr.:

"How can the ‘Dream’ survive if we murder the children? Every aborted baby is like a slave in the womb of his or her mother. The mother decides his or her fate."

"Because I am a civil rights activist I have to fight for the rights of the unborn."

"We've heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true."

Robert Wilensky, speech at a 1996 conference (via Quote of the Day)

Colin Adams blogs about Tim Keller's sermon on the Prodigal Son of Luke 15 (delivered at the Tron in Scotland), and in so doing, models "good listening"--asking good, simple questions as we listen to and review sermons.

Michael Spencer remembers, thanks God for, and applies gospel lessons from the stutterer.

Doug Wilson posts about volume three of their ongoing Omnibus project. The multi-volume series will work through cultural history (Ancient, Medieval, Modern) twice, integrating Theology, History, and Literature.

To order, see volumes 1, 2, and 3.

Speaking of classical resources, I'd be curious if anyone out there has any familiarity with Susan Wise Bauer's The Story of the World series?

Arminian style:

This looks like a very good book. For more, see George Grant, via David Wayne.

“… one of the most significant moments in the history of college football” - Stewart Mandel (Sports Illustrated)

“… a game unlike any college football has ever witnessed” - Pat Forde (ESPN)

“… one of best games in college football history” - Arash Markazi (Sports Illustrated)

Here are some video clips of the 2007 Fiesta Bowl between Oklahoma and undefeated Boise State.

10 minute version (all the plays in the last 2 minutes of the game + overtime)



2 minute version (highlights of the same):



(HT: Denny Burk)

"BibleMap.org integrates Google Maps and the ESV text to create an interactive Bible atlas."


For a summary, see the ESV blog.

Mark Lauderbach:

I wonder why my own heart has to qualify every commendation. Why can't I rejoice in God's work in my children without qualification? Why can't I be glad for new works of God that are faithful to the Gospel even if they are not yet as mature as I think I am? (oops, maybe there is the reason) Why can I not trust God to work in someone else and encourage them to pursue the Lord with all their hearts?

I have much to learn from Barnabas.

Read the whole thing.

Time Magazine publishes a letter from a solider in Iraq. Very helpful for getting a first-hand account of what day-to-day life is like for our troops.

Joe Carter offers a helpful summary regarding the faiths of the founding fathers.

Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains,
sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from thee,
but may rely on thy Spirit
to supply every thought,
speak every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire
to show forth thy praise,
testify thy love,
advance thy kingdom.

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my harbor,
(with) thee, O Son, at my helm,
(with) thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.

Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to thy calls,
my heart full of love, my soul free.

Give me thy grace to sanctify me,
they comforts to cheer me,
thy wisdom to teach,
they right hand to guide,
thy counsel to instruct,
thy law to judge,
thy presence to stabilize.

(Valley of Vision, p. 112)

(HT: Irish Calvinist)

The editors of Touchstone Magazine write:

Because ours is a journal ecumenical in structure, we are rarely apodictic in our views of public matters. In general, we have endeavored to be more Socratic than prophetic. Most of the subjects encompassed by our interest, after all, are open to more than one legitimate approach. . .

With respect to abortion, however, the strictures imposed on the Christian conscience are necessarily decisive and severe. There are no circumstances that justify the deliberate, direct, intentional taking of an innocent human life, including the life of the child still carried in the womb. “Indeed, Holy Scripture obliges us to address this question with absolute clarity and, as charity permits, a certain measure of rhetorical force. Because the accumulated wisdom of humanity testifies that the most elementary duty of the state is to safeguard the lives of its unoffending citizens–and because we believe the righteous judgment of God will lie heavy on the nation that neglects to do so–we continue to exhort our fellow countrymen to give heed to the clarion voice of conscience in this matter of abortion. . .

“With respect to abortion, . . . we are convinced that there cannot exist, among Christian minds, more than one legitimate position, either in moral theory or in political application. Only rarely should a journal of ecumenical discussion venture into the realm of prophecy and apocalyptic caution, but the matter of abortion is such an instance.

For this reason the editors of Touchstone join our modest voice to the ringing challenge that Elijah, nearly three thousand years ago, hurled against his compatriots who were complicit in baby-killing Baalism: "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him."

We anticipate no unseemly ‘halting’ in the anti-abortion marches this year, and we ask our brothers who have halted between two opinions–for there are believing Christians who have found reasons (by necessity bad ones) to mute their voices here–to follow the Lord God. The brutal murder of the most innocent and helpless among us, the unborn children, is not a point on which we are permitted either compromise or silence.

(HT: Denny Burk)

When and if to purchase a new book.

(HT: iMonk)

Those who enjoy the audio work of Max McLean (who has a number of audio Bible products) may be interested in his CD about Luther's historic "Here I Stand" defense before the Diet of Worms:

In the late afternoon of April 18, 1521, in the city of Worms, Germany, Martin Luther, a 37 year-old Catholic monk was called to defend himself before Charles the Fifth, the Holy Roman Emperor. The speech he delivered that day, Here I Stand, marked the beginning of the Reformation, a critical turning point in Christian history, that decisively altered the spiritual map of the world.

In this recording, Max McLean introduces the events leading up to the Diet of Worms: Martin Luther’s prayer the night before he delivered his speech; Luther's stirring defense; the Catholic church’s rebuttal; and, Luther’s final heartfelt response.

Track Listing
1. Introduction
2. The Road to Reformation
3. Luther’s Prayer
4. Here I Stand
5. Eck’s Response to Luther
6. Luther’s Final Response
7. Conclusion
8. Sources and closing comments

Here I Stand (sample) (7 mins)

Available for purchase here.

Colin Adams (a pastor at Charlotte Baptist Chapel in Edinburgh) has a new blog, Unashamed Workman, that is well worth bookmarking. He explains the "why this blog?" question as follows:

There are several preaching blogs already which I appreciate (see my links). Nevertheless, there is still fairly little blogging being done relative to such an important task as preaching. I hope this blog will help fill in this gap. From a personal level, its a space for me to think through how I can be a better “workman” who “correctly handles the word of truth.” I speak as a student and learner of preaching, not as a teacher and expert.

Check it out.

The Wall Street Journal Online edition is available for free today as a preview. They are also giving away over half a million print editions in newstands.

Publisher L. Gordon Crovitz, in a letter to readers, issues a report on the Journal as well as an explanation for changes they are making:

Change and tradition are twin themes of this update, trends reflecting both the Journal and the broad business world we cover. At first glance, the newspaper you hold in your hands has changed more than perhaps on any day in the Journal's history. There are new features and new ways to find and consume the news. These innovations are meant to establish the Journal as the first newspaper rethought for how readers increasingly now get their news, often in real time, from many sources, all day long. A separate section, "Readers' Guide," details the newspaper of tomorrow that begins today.

What hasn't changed is the Journal's central tradition: Our commitment to delivering the highest quality journalism. This means authoritative, accurate and fair reporting, as well as providing exclusive analysis, context and perspective designed for our community of readers.

Ah, sweet encouragement from the New York Times:

An anti-anticlutter movement is afoot, one that says yes to mess and urges you to embrace your disorder. Studies are piling up that show that messy desks are the vivid signatures of people with creative, limber minds (who reap higher salaries than those with neat “office landscapes”) and that messy closet owners are probably better parents and nicer and cooler than their tidier counterparts. It’s a movement that confirms what you have known, deep down, all along: really neat people are not avatars of the good life; they are humorless and inflexible prigs, and have way too much time on their hands.

And lest the DavidAllen-ites amongst you mock:

It was the overall scumminess of Alexander Fleming’s laboratory that led to his discovery of penicillin, from a moldy bloom in a petri dish he had forgotten on his desk.

(HT: Susan Wise Bauer: link fixed)

By the way, here's one of my favorite pictures on the web. Athesitic philospher Quentin Smith looking for something in his faculty office:


See also: Kings of Chaos (the six messiest desks at the University of Chicago) and What Does Your Desk Say About You? (people with messier desks tend to have more education and make more money).

Joe Thorn has been doing a helpful ongoing series on the importance of "quiet times" (or private worship). Here are the posts thus far:

1. Not a Cleansing Rite
2. Defined
3. My Failure
4. What is it Good For?

And here is Joe's aim: "In these posts I want to flush the cleansing rite mentality while laying out what a quiet time really is, why it is important, how it fits into a Christian’s life and then give practical suggestions for beginning and maintaining this very important set of morning disciplines."

If you want to search a blog/website that doesn't have a search box, go to Google.com and type in
site:url.com (where the URL is the site you want to explore), followed by your query.

Very helpful!

(HT: Joe Carter)

From the ESV Blog:

Sign up for any of our one-year Bible reading plans and get them delivered to your email each day starting January 1, 2007.

But you should think about signing up for our daily RSS feeds instead because technology has made daily email newsletters largely obsolete.

Let’s Talk RSS

RSS is a technology that lets you subscribe to lots of different sites and have the information you want delivered to you. You don’t need to worry about giving out your email address or making sure that the emails don’t get caught in spam filters somewhere: your subscriptions get delivered to you automatically whenever an update is available, and you can peruse them at your leisure. An updated post doesn’t cry out for attention the way a newly delivered email does.

The latest versions of Internet Explorer and Firefox have RSS reading built-in. So do the latest version of Outlook and many other email programs. Don’t want to use new software? No problem! Websites like Bloglines and Google Reader let you manage subscriptions from your current browser. It’s fast and easy.

Do you read this blog in your browser? We have an RSS feed that you can subscribe to, eliminating the need to visit this site to check for new posts. As always, all our reading plans are available as RSS feeds.

RSS hasn’t quite hit the mainstream yet, though its popularity in technical circles is undeniable. You’ll be surprised how many sites offer RSS feeds once you start looking for them. RSS makes it faster to get your daily dose of news (or whatever you’re interested in), especially if you visit a regular cadre of websites.

In short, RSS gives you all the advantages of email newsletters without the privacy implications or your having to jump through hoops to cancel your subscription. We encourage you to give it a try if you haven’t yet.

Not interested in trying something new? That’s fine, too. Feel free to subscribe to our new daily emails.

For what it's worth, I'll make a confession: I'm one of those people who has never successfully made it through a one-year Bible reading plan. This year I'm going to try to incorporate listening to the Bible as part of my daily reading.

For example, here is the Daily Reading Bible Plan entry for January 1. Note that there is an option to "listen" to each text. You may want to consider incorporating audio into your plans as well.

I listened this morning to Genesis 1-2, Psalm 1, and Matthew 1-2. One of the advantages to listening to the Word is that it works against the tyranny of distraction. It's easier to be distracted in reading something than it is when someone is talking to you! Second, it causes you to slow down and not race through or skim a reading. As an example, I am always tempted to fly through the genealogies--but listening and reading together forced me to slow down. Third, listening sometimes highlights repetition and allusion that might have been missed during a reading. Fourth, reading and listening--rather than reading alone--helps to aid comprehension and retention. Fifth, it's portable (e.g., you can listen to it on a commute). [Here's an interesting factoid: the entire Bible in audio is usually about 75 hours (or 4500 minutes). If you commute to work 5 days a week, that's about 260 days a year. If you listened to the Bible for 17 minutes each workday, you'd get through the Bible in a year.]

Happy reading--and listening!