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But thankfully, the past decade has been a process of reengaging with Scripture and the God of Scripture—and meeting a lot of dear friends who are on the same journey. Here are four redefining elements of my Bible study over the past decade that have restored both my joy in and practice of yearly Bible reading.
Can Cancer Be God’s Servant? What I Saw in My Wife’s Last Four Years
That reader is not alone in trying to distance God from suffering. But by saying sickness comes only from Satan and the fall, not from God, we disconnect Him from our suffering and His deeper purposes. God is sovereign. He never permits or uses evil arbitrarily; everything He does flows from His wisdom and ultimately serves both His holiness and love.
What we are speaking about is oppression in marriage. What it looks like from one marriage to the next will be cloaked in many different garbs—constant conflict, a depressed and docile wife, isolation, perpetual walking on eggshells in the home, and the list goes on. But what is central to all of them is the notion that the wife must serve the wants, desires, needs, and whims of her husband. In other words, men who control their wives.
Things for Christian Men to Think About
Tim Challies offers some direct but helpful words for men. Applicable for men, obviously, but also for anyone raising a boy or anyone part of a church containing boys.
On the WPCA Blog This Week
This week on the blog we published an article written by Sarah Wisniewski called Movie Recommendation: The Star (2017). If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!
Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.
Sometimes your kids out-Christian you. It’s a complicated emotional moment, because on the one hand, you’re a great parent since your kid did the good Jesus-y thing! On the other hand, you didn’t.
So when my daughter eliminated all of my Santa-themed Christmas movie options and insisted on something about “the real reason for Christmas,” I had to scramble a bit.
I landed on The Star, a 2017 film about the Christmas story from the animals’ point of view. It looked like nativity-meets-Madagascar. It has a cast full of big to mid-sized names, such as Keegan Michael-Key, Zachary Levi, Tyler Perry, Tracy Morgan, both Kelly Clarkson AND Mariah Carey, and even Oprah. Weirdly, Joel Osteen makes an appearance voicing one of the wise men.
The story follows a donkey named Bo who dreams of doing something truly great. He ends up in the company of Mary and Joseph and has to choose between staying with this lowly couple or pursuing his dream of greatness. There’s a veritable heavenly host of funny animal companions, from a tiny jerboa to three camels from the East who can’t agree if they’re on their way to a baby shower or a birthday party.
It was delightful! The movie is playful with the story, but it’s overall faithful to both the plot points and the themes. Mary and Joseph clearly state that the baby will be the Messiah foretold by the prophets. The baby is also identified as the Son of God, though a comic relief character dismisses the statement. True biblical scholars will quibble with the timeline of the wise men and the age of Joseph. I liked the other-wordly representation of angels and that the characters’ skin tone is, well, Middle Eastern.
I was impressed by how the movie handled Joseph learning of Mary’s pregnancy. Parents and Sunday school teachers know that this can sometimes raise questions we’re not prepared to answer. The Star sidesteps questions of adultery and instead focuses on the significance of the coming baby. Joseph’s distress in the film is more about his overwhelm at the responsibility of raising the literal Messiah and King.
You won’t hear a clear gospel declaration in this movie, nor will you hear the words “sin” or “savior.” But, there is what I would call a gospel moment near the end of the film. It’s a slight spoiler so I’ll put in a paragraph break if you want to skip.
In this retelling, Herod sends a hunter with two evil dogs to find Mary and destroy the soon-to-be newborn king before he’s even born. In a final showdown, the good animals knock the hunter and his dogs over a cliff. Bo saves the dogs and pulls them to safety, releasing them from their chained collars. One of the dogs, Rufus, says, “We’re bad dogs.” Bo tells them, “You don’t have to be. You’re free now.” As the dogs approach the newborn Jesus, Rufus asks, “Are we good dogs now?” to which the other dog responds, “We have to try.”
Watching this scene in view of the whole of Scripture, we can see the full journey from repentance to justification to sanctification. They acknowledge their wrongful actions–and even that their sin sits at the root of their identity. As they approach the infant Savior, they are forgiven and reconciled to the other animals and, in response to the grace they’ve received, they want to be better.
It’s the story of Saul on the road to Damascus in miniature: They were trying to kill the baby Jesus, but now that they’ve seen him, they want to serve him. It’s the biblical image of the chains of sin being broken and the forgiven sinner being freed to a new life in Jesus.
You probably won’t watch The Star unless you’re watching it with children, so a quick content note: This is a remarkably clean movie. No bad language, no adult innuendos. There are some mild poop and butt jokes. The mean dogs were a little intense for my two-year-old, but he stuck it out.
We watch the original animated Grinch at least once each Christmas, and my husband just introduced our kids to the 1964 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I think our oldest girl will love White Christmas this year (the costumes! the dancing!). But if you’re looking for a fun family flick about the real reason for Christmas, you could do a lot worse than The Star.
The church fathers appealed to the virgin birth as proof, not that Jesus was truly divine as distinct from being merely human, but that he was truly human as distinct from merely looking human as ghosts and angels might do, and it was probably as a witness against Docetism (as this view was called) that the virgin birth was included in the Creed. But it witnesses against humanitarianism (the view that Jesus was just a fine man) with equal force.
In what follows, I will try to stick to what the Bible does say, but I will fill in some details from my reading of history and my experience of living in other cultures around the world. What results, is – I believe – a more believable story and hopefully, one which is closer to the reality than our traditional reading.
Mary Consoles Eve
I ran across a lovely piece of art recently. It pictures a pregnant Mary standing next to Eve. Here’s an interview with the nun who drew the picture (and you can see the picture in the middle of this article).
I never intended to share the picture with anyone outside the monastery, but I liked it well enough, so I showed it to some of my sisters. Sr. Martha asked if she could use it for making the community Christmas card. I was surprised, but told her if she wanted to use it, she was welcome to it. A few people who received our card started posting images of it online. It has been both surprising and touching to see how the image moves people.
Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.
Deuteronomy 19:15 decrees that “a matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses,” a theme that can be traced throughout the Bible. We need both Simeon and Anna in our Advent imaginations because they are placed there to establish a credible witness. Together, they testify to the fulfillment of God’s promise, a promise given thousands of years earlier to another man and woman.
Why? Because God in heaven has come to be with his creation. God in the manger is God who stoops. God who gets into the dirt. God who comes and sits in the ash heap with the mourners. God who comes and sits in the dark with the sufferers. God who joins the work party with the oppressed. God who sits in prison with the captives. God who associates with the blind and the lame and the leprous and the tax collector and the adulterer and the one society calls a sinner.
The Bethlehem Story
This is cool. The Bethlehem story is an animated Christmas poem. It begins by stating that every culture has two types of city—a city of kings and a house of bread. Which one would we expect God to visit? This is a 4-minute video, appropriate (and helpful) for all ages.
On the WPCA Blog This Week
This week on the blog we published an article written by Maggie Amaismeier called Christmas Music Recommendations. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!
Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.
I love music. I love that it can change my attitude and refocus me so quickly. Christmas music is no different for me. I love it all: from Rudolph and Frosty, White Christmas, and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas to songs and carols with deep, soul-touching lyrics; songs that remind me of singing in choirs throughout the years, songs I remember from childhood, songs that make me remember those I loved who are no longer here; songs that have the power to bring me to tears as I realize my need for a Savior, His amazing grace, and His love for me.
Here are some of the albums I have been playing on Amazon Music this month. (I have included Spotify links below, but most of these albums are available widely.)
Disclaimer: This list is not exhaustive and you should put it through your own theological vetting process. (I may not be as reformed as some in my musical selections. 😉)
When we live in Advent darkness we live with the tang of our salted tears in our mouth, but we live knowing that a day is coming when he will do precisely what we long for. Except, more fully and more wonderfully than we had hoped. The world will be fixed. Our tears will be shed for the last time. Our own hearts will be sifted and refined to rip from them hell’s root, and sin will be banished to the outer darkness.
We have seasons like this as Christians. You’ve been there, I’m sure. You probably don’t even know why or how you got there. Things were going fine until one day you noticed you didn’t feel the same fervor for the Lord that you usually do. Perhaps your heart feels cold. Or dry. Dull. Apathetic. Or as my friend, Dora, calls it—flat. Spiritual dry spells can hit us when we least expect, and they can last longer than we thought possible. Maybe you’re doing all the “right” things: reading your Bible, trying to pray, going to church as usual. Yet, you feel far from the Lord. Your heart just won’t engage. What do we do with these spiritual slumps that flatten out our affection for the Lord? Can any good come from them?
How to Keep Praying
Here’s a helpful look at some of Jesus’s teaching in the sermon on the mount that will help us to pray.
And one of the best ways we can remember is by listening to what Jesus himself says about prayer. So much of our Lord’s teaching on prayer is designed to help us “always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). In the Gospels, Jesus comes to pray-ers like us — discouraged, distracted, willing in spirit but weak in flesh — and he gives us a heart to pray. Of the many reminders we could mention, consider four representative lessons.
Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.
Jesus didn’t look like a King, either. His appearance was marred with no form, majesty, or beauty that would have captured our attention as he walked past (Isa. 52:14; 53:2). His face carried the marks of tears and grievous afflictions. We would turn our faces away and fail to esteem him as we ought (Isa. 53:3). Our Savior knows the depths of rejection and sorrow since the very people he came to save are the ones who rejected him (John 1:11). We all rejected him—at least until he opened our eyes to see how great he truly is.
To me, the most important aspect of Dash’s post was what you do on the last day you read a section. He advises that you go through a write a one-sentence summary of each division in the section you are reading. You might do this by paragraph or by section, but it is a necessity that you do this. There is something about writing that helps us gain a grasp of what we have read. In addition, when you go back and look over what you have written, it refreshes your mind about what is in a passage.
New Advent Resources: 75-Song Playlist, Books, and More
This week on the blog we published an article written by Zack Wisniewski called Truth and the Silver Screen. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!
Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.
I loathe this saying. Maybe I’m being overly sensitive, but I think I have some good reasons. Book lovers are already squirming in their seats and readying their arguments. But hear me out. We can still be friends.
These are totally different forms of storytelling. Apples and oranges. Film combines too many mediums of communication to be compared to books. Pretty much all forms of art are encompassed in film, from photography and theater to music and dance. A good film will feed your eyes and ears information in ways and at speeds that a book never could.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a 90-minute film at 25 frames per second is 135,000,000 words, or reading the Bible (757,439 words) 178 times! Or reading the entire Bible once every 2 minutes!
“I liked the book better.”
Or “The book was a better book than the movie was a movie.”
Either of these are fine. You’re allowed to like books more than movies. And there are a lot of bad movies out there. Both books and movies are trying to tell a story, and both can succeed or fail. And maybe that’s all people mean when they say the book was better. So I might be splitting hairs. Either way, I hope we can agree that films are different from books and therefore deserve their own conversation.
“Christian film” and Innocence
I’ve seen two main schools of thought when people try to define the category of “Christian film.” The first is whether it’s explicitly Christian, often determined by the explicit gospel doctrine in the film. For instance, some would say it’s not a “Christian film” unless the gospel is proclaimed. Christians debate this. I can go either way with the definition.
The second characteristic is how “clean” the film is. This is often the bigger conversation when selecting a film, and with good reason. Should Christians watch movies with sex scenes? Or swearing? What about drug use? Or violence? Or tragic themes? Or (fill in the blank)?
If you only watch “Christian” films then these questions are easier to answer. But the vast majority of films out there present more of a challenge. Most are a mixture of good and questionable content. How much questionable content can a film contain before it is “bad?” Conversely, does a simple lack of questionable content automatically make a film “good?”
I’m not going to answer these questions for you. Rather, I want to back up a bit and consider the more fundamental concept of innocence.
I’ve never done drugs. I am naïve to that experience. And while films are powerful, I’m not going to get a high from watching the wrong movie. But there are legitimate ways in which we as Christians may have our innocence threatened by a movie. Their power may be limited but they are powerful nonetheless. We must therefore be careful when selecting the culture we consume because innocence is quickly lost and often lost for good.
This is a familiar struggle for parents. Right now my kids are young and largely oblivious to foul language. That is going to change as they grow older, but I don’t want it to come before they are equipped to handle it, nor do I want it to come because of my negligence.
This is important because there are many well-made films out there that contain content with the potential to change our levels of innocence. We must be discerning in how we select films for ourselves and our families. It’s okay to not watch a film.
How should we watch?
But maybe you like watching films. Let’s assume we aren’t watching anything inappropriate. Now, how should Christians watch movies?
Every film asks the viewer to suspend their disbelief in some way. The creators want us to set aside our skepticism and enter into the story. They tell us how their world works and we need to believe it if we want to enter in. It can be something easy, like forgetting that these are actors; or something hard, like acknowledging superpowers. The key here is that disbelief is suspended, not eliminated, as if you left it at the door or set it on the shelf for a time. We all enter back into our world at the end of the film and reinstate our disbelief.
Sometimes we want to escape our reality, turn off our brains, and get lost in the silver screen. Sometimes we want to feel something more deeply, be it humor, fear, triumph, loss, love, etc. Whatever your mood, I encourage you to start by looking for the value declarations and compare them to the truths of Scripture. Not everyone wants to be so critical of each and every film they watch but consuming films mindlessly is dangerous. Why? Because entering these worlds is always an intimate experience where we intentionally lower our guard.
Value declarations are statements of how the world works or should work. Sometimes they are insightful and profound. Other times they are shallow and misguided. We need to be careful that we don’t casually adopt poor values into our lives simply because we’ve seen them promoted in film. Watching movies with other Christians, or talking about films you’ve both seen, is one way to do this better.
I especially enjoy films that manage to hit on deeper biblical truths, such as the consequences of wrong action, the emptiness of success, or the beauty of sacrifice. Usually this is simply due to an honest portrayal of the human condition and the consequences of actions. Films can immerse us in real human experiences, offering brutally honest critiques. Unfortunately, apart from the gospel, most films fall short when they try to provide good solutions to these critiques. I leave those solutions to the Bible… okay so maybe that book is better.
A Few Recommendations
Here are some movies that have resonated with me over the years.
1. North to Alaska (1960) – John Wayne, Capucine
A comedy out of time. Let’s talk about toxic masculinity, using privilege to stand up for others, no means no, and how we treat those with immoral reputations. This film contrasts with the “typical” John Wayne film in many ways but I suggest comparing the final chase scene with that of Donovan’s Reef (1963) or McLintock! (1963).
This film is confusing, and therefore many people don’t like it. But at its core it is a heartfelt story of a despairing man and a sweet child. The beautiful cinematography invites you to see the world through the imagination of a little girl while the themes of trust, manipulation, and suicide are tackled above her head. As a dad it made me cry.
3. The Thin Man (1934) – William Powell, Myrna Loy
This husband and wife duo stand out in this 1930s masterpiece. I’m always struck by how much fun these two have in a time when marriage was usually the butt of the joke. Solving murders, personal vices (alcohol), or former girlfriends—nothing can get between these two. The best part is that they made five sequels!
4. Surf’s Up (2007) – Shia LaBeouf, Zooey Deschanel
A kids movie on the heels of big blockbuster Happy Feet (2006). But this ripoff is so much better. Chasing your dreams, meeting your heroes, making friends, seeking fame, and what really matters are all questions this film asks. Stylishly told through a reality TV camera. Also the water is beautiful in that end scene!
This is a pre-Advent version of our regular links post. Advent begins on Sunday, November 27, so the Discipleship Committee has put together some recommendations. (Thanks, Discipleship Committee!)
Good News of Great Joy
Good News of Great Joy, available as a free download or to purchase, is a collection of short Advent devotionals by John Piper.
The Christmas Promise Advent Calendar
This family-focused devotional contains Scripture verses and discussion starters for each day of Advent. The daily sessions are brief and can work for a variety of ages.
The Jesus Storybook Bible: A Christmas Collection
This interactive collection is recommended for children ages 4 through 8. It includes songs, narrations, Scripture, and activities.
Love Came Down at Christmas
Love Came Down at Christmas is a daily devotional by Sinclair Ferguson. Not typically a Christmas text, 1 Corinthians 13 becomes a fresh lens through which we can view the arrival of Jesus.
This week on the blog we published an article written by Sarah Wisniewski called When Shall We Fold Socks? If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!
Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.
There’s always laundry. And dishes. And crumbs on the floor. I feel the constant pressure to do the next chore to keep the house in order. Then my child asks me to read a book. But, the laundry!
This is when senior parents say, “Enjoy your children while you can! The laundry can wait.”
It’s so well-meant. It usually comes from people who dearly love their own now-grown children and miss the sweetness of soft toddler snuggles, the warm feeling of a child pressed against you asking for one more chapter. They want to free young parents from the tyranny of maintaining Insta-perfect homes to enjoy their children. Read the book; the laundry can wait.
Unfortunately, my laundry has already waited, and so have the dishes. If a young parent has expressed distress about the pressures of housekeeping and childcare, they have already let the dishes go. Eventually you’re out of sippy cups and clean underwear.
Stress and overwhelm aren’t unique to parenthood, and neither is dismissive advice. We tell overworked friends, “Just leave work at work.” We tell lonely teens, “It’s just high school; you won’t care in a few years.” Unfortunately, being told “don’t worry” doesn’t solve our problems.
Do Not Worry about Your Laundry
“Enjoy your children,” spoken to a parent who feels overburdened, or “Just leave it at work,” spoken to someone against a deadline, can feel like an added pressure. Not only must you meet your ordinary responsibilities, but you must also have a sense of peace or appreciation about it all!
And yet, Jesus taught his followers, “Do not worry”:
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25)
Although it’s phrased as a command, the tone of this section of the Sermon on the Mount is not a burden laid on a shoulder already heavy with anxiety. Instead, it’s a gracious release. We don’t need to worry about even our basic needs, because “your heavenly Father knows that you need them all” (Matthew 6:32). We are God’s children, adopted in love, redeemed at the dear cost of his Son’s blood. If God provides for the lilies and the birds, we can be assured that he will also care for us, his beloved children.
God provides for his children in many ways. A primary way is through the church body, the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. When we see another member of the body struggling, it’s a call to action.
When explaining the vital connection between faith and works, James highlights the importance of putting action behind our words. “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” (James 2:15-16). Jesus Christ is the ultimate display of this: He not only met many physical needs during his earthly ministry, but he also put aside his glory and laid down his life to meet our deepest spiritual need, atoning for our sins on the cross. Following his example and empowered by his Spirit, we are also to meet one another’s needs as we are able.
Telling young parents to enjoy their children, without also offering to help with the dishes, or telling a student to ignore hurtful remarks from classmates, without also helping them find a safe community, places the burden back on the suffering person. Instead, we are called to “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
Please don’t hear me wrong. Telling people to enjoy their children and suggesting healthy work/life boundaries are not bad things to say. Tone and timing go a long way in making advice land well where it’s needed. All I’m saying is, if you’re about to tell a young parent to let the dishes go, maybe be prepared to pick up a dishrag.
But Seriously, Do Not Worry about Your Laundry
But Jesus really did say, “Do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’” or “When shall we fold socks?” (Matthew 6:31). Okay I added that last one.
So if you’re the parent putting off laundry, or the employee under deadline, or the kid dreading school tomorrow, how do you just … not worry about it?
First, take comfort. Your heavenly father knows your needs, and he cares about you (Matthew 6:32).
Second, check your motives. Jesus tells his followers to, instead of worrying, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Do you want to keep a clean house because you want to feel good about your own ability to do it all? (That’s my hand raised, it’s me.) Or do you want to keep a clean house because God has placed this home and this family in your care, and you want to serve them well?
When our eyes are set on the kingdom of God, our measure of success changes. The cleanliness of the house takes second place to whether my kids see the gospel in me as I love and serve them—which includes providing a safe and comfortable home. Meeting the deadline takes a backseat to doing your best work, not for man but for God (Colossians 3:23). Getting treated badly at school will always feel awful, but it becomes an opportunity to model grace in a setting where people expect cruelty.
Finally, use your resources. God has promised to provide for you! Now, God doesn’t always play by our rules. He may not provide a maid; or an extension; or a comedic series of harmless accidents that leave your bully hanging from the school flagpole by a wedgie, leading to a heartfelt reckoning where enemies become friends.
God has provided a community in his church. All those people who told you to let the dishes go might just be willing to scrub a pot because they know from experience how precious it is to spend time with your kids! They’re only little for a little while, so I’m told.
Asking for help is hard, both logistically and in principle. We live far apart from one another, often siloed in our single-family homes. Our culture prizes independence and personal responsibility; we don’t dig around in other people’s private lives and problems, and we expect the same from others. That’s not God’s model for his body!
Immediately before he laid down his own life for his bride, Jesus washed his disciples’ dirty feet and instructed them to serve others as he did. Asking for help gives others the opportunity to serve like Jesus.
