9 October 2009

Day 4 of vacation. Everyone took the cars so I was left at home with no transportation, which was fine with me. I didn't have anywhere to go anyway. I practiced the drums for a while, then did some initial study since I'm preaching on the evening of the 25th, I think I'm going to preach on Proverbs 25.2. Took a nap in the afternoon, met with an insurance guy for the church and then watched some Psych episodes with Cherie before reading for a while. Ben came in at 10.30 and talked for a little while, then Kelly came in just before midnight. Then finally...sleep.

Bonnie Opper had her bone marrow transplant today. The operation went well, but now the waiting and seeing how bad the GVHD (Graft Versus Host Disease) will be. Her husband, Steve, has done an excellent job of keeping everyone up to date on her treatment. They will be in Detroit for several months. Their experience is, in part, why I am preaching on Proverbs 25.2. If Bonnie recovers (and we pray that she will), the Oppers, and we, will praise the Lord for healing her. A skeptic will look on and point out, "wait a minute, it was science that saved Bonnie, not God." So how can we praise God when the actions of modern medicine saved her? Where was God in the centuries leading up to modern medicine? A good question.

This is where Proverbs 25.2, and the wisdom of Solomon come in. It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. What does Solomon mean here? I believe he means that God's glory is demonstrated in a more powerful way when he does not reveal everything. As we discover, over the centuries, more and more about the order in nature and the intricacies of creation, and the power of science to heal the sick through antibiotics and bone marrow transplants, we learn more and more about the character and power of God. It is this unfolding, these new discoveries, that demonstrate God's glory more and more. A child is more impressed in the searching for and finding Easter eggs, then he would be if you just piled them up onto a table and gave them to him all at once. Where would be the joy of discovery in that?

If Bonnie is healed, it will be of God, through the marvelous power of modern medicine, which harnesses the discoveries of God's creative acts.

21 September 2009

I had to get up at 0450 to make a 0915 departure for Denver so that I could get a line check on the way back from Denver. This was day of work 8 out of 9. I'm on call today, but hopefully I won't have to go in. At least the weather was gorgeous. The check pilot was Rainier Jennings who I know pretty well. He is a good guy. The line check went great and I was back home by 1900, tired. Watched some of the Cowboys/Giants game and then went to bed at 2200.

I woke up this morning at 0450 when my alarm went off for yesterday. Doh!

John Piper sent out the following tweet last week which made me put my thinking cap on. "God is the only Person for whom self-exaltation is an act of love. "He exalts himself to show mercy to you" (Isaiah 30:18).

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.

For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

Just so. Hard to get a handle on at first, but the Scriptures mean exactly what they say, and Piper is exactly correct. For any other being in the universe self-exaltation would be an act of sin. Since God is the highest being, self-exaltation for him is good and right because their is nothing higher or greater or mightier or more praiseworthy than himself.