The Women who Made a Difference

This week's Telegraph ran an article: The Women who Made a Difference. It focussed on five women who have made their mark on the world in very different ways, and as such were named Women of the Year 2006. One winner is quoted as saying: "I have a lot of respect for these awards because they recognise ordinary people who do extraordinary things, and they're one of the best for recognising what's really important."

While these women are no doubt worthy of their accolades, I would suggest that ordinary Christian women, past and present, have also made extraordinary contributions, leaving their mark on the world. None more important are those women in the bible who God chose to use in the unfolding of redemptive history. I've been reading about these women in Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible and What He Wants to do With You, by John MacArthur.

These twelve women were ordinary in one sense, but extraordinary in another. MacArthur writes: "Most of them were unremarkable in and of themselves. They were ordinary, common, and in some cases shockingly low-caste women... All these women became extrordinary not because of any natural qualities of their own, but because the one true God whom they worshipped is great, mighty, glorious, and awesome, and He refined them like silver....They therefore stand as reminders of our fallenness and our potential."

What is even more remarkable in reading this book is how it presents, and rightly so, the way in which the bible exalts women, contrary to many who say otherwise. MacArthur says: "Far from ever demeaning or belittling women, Scripture often seems to go out of the way to pay homage to them, to ennoble their roles in society and family, to acknowledge the importance of their influence, and to exalt the virtues of women who were particularly godly examples."

May we also seek to make a difference in our world, not just with natural qualities and abilities, but with the potential that God alone can bring to fruition in our lives. And let us not forget that it is in our different-ness, as women, that those around us can see what is really important.

Educating for Hope

We had the second meeting of our MuMS group on Tuesday night where we listened to the talk Education for Hope, the second talk in the series Raising children who hope in the triumph of God from Desiring God ministries. You can listen to the talk here.

Piper bases his talk around Psalm 78:1-8, where Asaph introduces his Psalm recounting the history of Israel and God's faithfulness to them. Piper splits the talk into three headings: God's work, Asaph's act and God's aim.

Piper explains that God has given us a testimony that we can look to in educating our children about him, namely his law. Yet how often do we as parents look everywhere else for advice on bringing up our children instead of examining what God says in his word or going to him in prayer?

Aspah acted on God's command to tell future generations about him by writing this psalm; in the psalm, he focuses on the deeds of God before the commands of God and Piper urges us to impart to our chidren a true and full picture of who God is so that they can understand who they are to obey.

Finally, the aims of this education that Asaph is continuing are to impart knowledge of God so that our children can love him, to encourage our children to put their hope in God and to result in our children obeying God's commands.

The need for us to help our children to obey God was brought home to me afresh yesterday morning as I read Spurgeon's commentary on 1 Samuel 15:22 in Morning and Evening. Here Samuel is reprimanding Saul who has disobeyed the express command of God. He says "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to listen than the fat of rams."

Spurgeon states: "Be it ever in your remembrance, that to keep strictly in the path of your Saviour's command is better than any outward form of religion; and to hearken to his precept with an attentive ear is better than to bring the fat of rams, or any other precious thing to lay upon his altar. If you are failing to keep the least of Christ's commands to his disciples, I pray you be disobedient no longer. All the pretensions you make of attachment to your Master, and all the devout actions which you may perform, are no recompense for disobedience."

We must teach our children about God so that they can grasp the full glory of his character and understand who it is that demands their obedience.

People with a Special Calling

This month in Evangelicals Now there is an article by Jacqui Wright called Christian Single Parents: People with a Special Calling. It looks at the different phases in family life: crisis; survival; setbacks; stability and service, before describing what it's like being a Christian Single Parent. For those of us who don't find ourselves in this position, ponder these words:

"Christian single parents are real people living in a real broken world who have to face the consequences of the brokenness, for themselves and their children. The majority are unwilling divorcees having to deal with a Christian spouse’s wrong choices and actions. Others are widowed or were unmarried. But the reality of Christian single parenting is the same for all. It is a hard task for we are not ‘Superdad’ or ‘Supermum’, but weak and frail human beings with needs and desires, like everyone else.

Often we are caught in between two groups in the church: married people raising children, who do not face the unique problems we do, and single people, who may never have married and do not fully understand child rearing. So we are a ‘parent’, but not married, and we are ‘single’, but not footloose and fancy free. Christian single parents, and their children, need non-judgemental understanding and support from both sides: the married parents and the singles without children, and from the whole church family. Most of all, they need unconditional love and acceptance."

You can read the rest of the article here.

The Cross Centred Life

I've just finished reading Living the Cross Centred Life by C.J. Mahaney and I'd thoroughly recommend it. In the introduction, Mahaney asks:

"What really is the main thing in your life? Only one thing can truly be first in priority; so what's at the top of your list, second to none? Or let me put it this way: what are you most passionate about? What do you love to talk about? What do you think about most when your mind is free?"

I guess we would all have a range of answers to these questions, but Mahaney argues in this book that, for the Christian, the central thing in our lives should be the cross of Christ. He brings us near to the cross by taking us through the main events of the death of Jesus and then shows us that we should never move on from this. We should make a conscious effort each day to bring the message of the cross into our lives. In one very helpful chapter, Mahaney gives practical suggestions for how we can do this by memorizing the gospel, praying the gospel, singing the gospel and reviewing how the gospel has changed you.

This is not a long book and I read it in a couple of days - I encourage you to read it for yourselves as it is time well spent.

"Oh the precious blood of Christ the crucified;
It speaks for me before Your throne where I stand justified."

Peter Gagnon, The Precious Blood

A Monday Morning Prayer

If you are anything like me, after the 'high' of Sunday, you may find yourself dreading the start of a new week and prayer seems the most challenging of tasks. In such situations, using the prayers of past saints, which are both doctrinally and devotionally rich, can be a helpful spur to the discipline of prayer. Here is one such prayer that I commend to you, tailored specifically for those slow-start mornings. It is taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions. You can access these prayers online here.

Morning Needs

O God, the Author of all good,
I come to Thee for the grace another day
will require for its duties and events.
I step out into a wicked world,
I carry about with me an evil heart,
I know that without Thee I can do nothing,
that everything with which I shall be concerned,
however harmless in itself,
may prove an occasion of sin and folly,
unless I am kept by Thy power.

Hold Thou me up and I shall be safe.
Preserve my understanding from subtilty of error,
my affections from love of idols,
my character from stain of vice,
my profession from every form of evil.
May I engage in nothing in which I cannot implore Thy blessing,
and in which I cannot invite Thy inspection.

Prosper me in all lawful undertakings,
or prepare me for disappointments.
Give me neither poverty nor riches.
Feed me with food convenient for me,
lest I be full and deny Thee and say, Who is the Lord?
or be poor, and steal, and take Thy name in vain.

May every creature be made good to me
by prayer and Thy will.
Teach me how to use the world and not abuse it,
to improve my talents, to redeem my time,
to walk in wisdom toward those without,
and in kindness to those within, to do good to all men,
and especially to my fellow Christians.

And to Thee be the glory.

Above All Earthly Powers

Today's post, as you will see, is not exclusively for women but valuable for all believers. Recently, the 2006 Desiring God conference took place: Above All Earthly Powers featured a superb line up of speakers including D.A. Carson, Tim Keller, David Wells, Voddie Baucham, Mark Driscoll and John Piper.

The general theme is how we proclaim Christ in a postmodern world. Some highlights include a talk on 21st century evangelism by Tim Keller, and two panel discussions dealing with this same theme. Among the other talks, Carson (profound), Driscoll (amusing), and Piper (enthused) are well worth a listen. If you don't have time to listen to the talk in full, listen to some of the highlights of each talk, courtesy of Desiring God.

David Wells

"The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World"

> Christ's Supremacy In The New Testament
> Christianity Is Becoming De-Westernized
> Fear In The West Is Not Of Being Unsafe, But Unsuccessful
> Risk In The West Is Not Of Danger, But Distraction
> Contextualisation And Foreign Missions
> Contextualisation And Preaching
> What Christianity Has To Offer

Voddie Baucham

"The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern World"

> Four Questions Everybody Asks
> Question #1: Who Am I?
> Question #2: Why Am I Here?
> Question #3: What Is Wrong With The World?
> Question #4: How Can What's Wrong Be Made Right?
> The Supremacy Of Christ In Education
> Argue For The Bible From The Bible
> The Risk In Racial Diversity
> Racism In Christian Cultures

Tim Keller

"The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel in a Postmodern World"

> All Theology Has To Be An Exposition Of The Gospel
> If You Think You Understand The Gospel, You Don't
> The Gospel Must Be Urbanized To Reach The Culture
> Contextualisation makes The Gospel Plausible
> We Must Confront Unbelievers With Compassion
> Argue Against A False Worldview Using Its Presuppositions

Mark Driscoll

"The Supremacy of Christ and the Church in a Postmodern World"

> The Bible Is True For Everybody
> Without The Virgin Birth There Is No Jesus
> Christ's Death Saves Us From God
> Jesus Is The Only Way To God
> We Must Stress Both Christ's Humanity And His Divinity
> Everybody Believes In Hell
> Contextualising The Theology We Contend For
> John Calvin's Contextualisation
> Relativism vs. Relevantism

D.A. Carson

"The Supremacy of Christ and Love in a Postmodern World"

> Encouragment To Press On When You Feel Unsuccessful
> The Value Of Preachers Listening To Other Preachers
> How To Contextualise A Church Service
> Christian Unity Shows The World What God Is Like
> We Must Know Truth To Be Holy

John Piper

"The Supremacy of Christ and Joy in a Postmodern World"

> Encouragement For Pastors Of Small Churches
> Missions And Seeker-Sensitive Contextualisation
> The Personal Effect Of Writing What Jesus Demands From The World
> Affection For Emergents
> The Supremacy Of Christ And Joy In A Postmodern World: Short Version
> Why You Should Be Happy That You Are Less Valuable Than God

Speaker Panel
Various

A Conversation with the Pastors
Various

You can also watch video of the speaker interviews here

A Challenge to Women

Are you wondering how you might profitably spend some of the spare moments you may have in a day? A few minutes, hours even, can be spent fruitfully looking through the resources that are on offer at Desiring God. This morning I was reading some challenging words to women from John Piper. It didn't take long, and yet it has given me much to think about. Have a read here.

What Makes a Strong Family?

The Family Room is a recent initiative of Covenant Life Church, (where Joshua Harris is the Senior Pastor) to equip its members to build God-glorifying marriages and familes. Their tag
line is: "Because strong families don't just happen." The Family Room has a blog, where those who are not immediate beneficiaries of the ministry can log on and listen to talks given each month. Last night I listened to the first of their talks: What Makes a Strong Family? Three things were mentioned:

1. A strong family finds purpose in God (Eph 3:14).
2. A strong family finds hope in the Gospel (1 Cor 15:3-4).
3. A strong family finds a home in a local church (1 Cor 12:18)

However, what I took mostly from the message was the practical ideas that would help towards such a goal. One such tip is ordering a schedule. The idea behind this is that we are all naturally busy, but are we fruitful in our busyness? Are we busy doing the right things, or are we crowding out the important, essential things? Here is a list of essentials which need to take priority in our lives:

1. Meeting with God.
2. Date Night (spending uninterrupted time with our spouse).
3. Family Night (spending uninterrupted time with our children).
4. Training our sons and daughters.
5. Meeting with God's family.
6. Working diligently in the jobs that we have, either at home or in the workplace.

It is only then that we should find time for the other things in life, such as meeting friends, shopping, going to the dentist and other stuff. The lesson is that we must pre-determine when we shall do the important things as it won't always happen spontaneously. In order to do this, we should take 10-30 minutes at the beginning of the week to write down and plan our days. This is something that I don't do well, I certainly don't write down a plan for each week. I find myself going from week to week and day to day reminding myself in my head of the important things that need doing. Colin is better than me! He has a plan for the week ahead, and for each day! Catriona (my fellow blogger) has also informed me that this is something that she has started doing. I'm glad to say that both of them find this a very helpful exercise and something worth making the effort to do.

If you want to listen to the talk, click here. It is also worthwhile looking at the talk outline where it gives an example of someone's planning for the week and the application questions that go along with the talk.

The Nativity Story

One Family. One Journey. One child, who would change the world. Forever.

This is the tag line to the film, The Nativity Story to be released in December this year by New Line Cinema. As the title suggests, the film is about the nativity, focussing on the lives of Mary and Joseph up to the birth of Christ, and two years beyond.

One element of the film that will undoubtedly produce discussion is the way in which Mary, the mother of Jesus, is portrayed. In that vain, I've been reading this week John McArthur's book, Twelve Extraordinary Women. This is what he says of Mary:

"Of all the extraordinary women in Scripture, one stands out above all others as the most blessed, most highly favoured by God, and most universally admired by women. Indeed, no woman is more truly remarkable than Mary. She was the one sovereignly chosen by God - from among all the women who have ever been born - to be the singuar instrument through which He would at last bring the Messiah into the world. Mary herself testified that all generations would regard her as profoundly blessed by God (Luke 1:48). This was not because she believed herself to be any kind of saintly superhuman, but because she was given such remarkable grace and privilege.

While acknowledging that Mary was the most extraordinary of women, it is appropriate to inject a word of caution against the common tendency to elevate her too much. She was, after all, a woman - not a demigoddess or quasi-deiform creature who somehow transcended the rest of her race. The point of her "blessedness" is certainly not that we should think of her as someone to whom we can appeal for blessing but rather that she herself was supremely blessed by God.

She is never portrayed in Scripture as a source or dispenser of grace, but is herself the recipient of God's blessing. Her Son, not Mary herself, is the fountain of grace (Psalm 72:17)....She is certainly a worthy woman to emulate...Her life and her testimony point us consistently to her Son. He was the object of her worship. He was the one she recognized as Lord. He was the one she trusted for everything. Mary's own example, seen in the pure light of Scripture, teaches us to do the same."

There has been an unofficial blog set up following the production of the movie until its release and an interview with Mike Rich the writer of the film in Christianity Today. You can also see a trailer of the film by going to the official website here.