Who May Be Saved?

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Christ, Church, Covenant theology, Gospel, Nature, Salvation, Savior, Westminster Larger Catechism, Word of God

Westminster Larger Catechism in modern English question number sixty:

Q. 60. Can those who have never heard the gospel and so do not know or believe in Jesus Christ be saved by living according to the light of nature?

A. Those who have never heard the gospel and do not know or believe in Jesus Christ cannot be saved, no matter how diligent they are to frame their lives according to the light of nature or the laws of the religion they profess. There is no salvation in any other but in Christ alone, who is the Savior of His body the church, only. 

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Sounds of September…

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Animals, Fall, Florida, Nature, September, Sound, Weather

I have been a little remiss about posting here of late–not that anyone besides myself has really noticed–but there really have been good reasons. But I’ve been thinking recently that September is upon us–yes, upon us and almost gone already….

Something I have particularly noticed about this September in Florida is that it sounds different from September in states further north. It even sounds different from August in Florida….

First, there has been a lot of rain…slow, drippy rain, dropping gently without pushing winds…heavy downpours illumined by many bold lightening strikes and shoved around by hearty gusts…soft spatters splashing off the windshield on the way home from grocery shopping…

There have also been a pack of coyotes howling out in “the rough”–yipping, calling, brazen dogs making their presence known in the midnight hour–I shudder at the thought of what wolves would sound like out in the woods and frozen creekbeds on a cutting winter’s day…

And let me not forget the bulls, one black, one white, snorting and shouldering one another around under the light of the cobweb moon, stamping the earth, causing it to rumble under their hooves and up into the walls of the house nearby…

Speaking of the cobweb moon–because the breezes have been rather quiet this month, the spiders–full-grown now, hairy kneed, ugly, and menacing–have strung up their marvelous webbing from eave to ground, ornamented with a large white zigzag upon which they sit as upon a throne of tranny…under every low-hanging oak limb…in the pole barn between the rafters, the rusted-out lawnmower, the rust-colored toolbox, and the now rust-covered come-along…stripy or spiny, brown or black, the mere thought of these arachnids is enough to make my skin crawl…

Swooping through the evening sky, and again lifting up their wings in the sunrise fog, the bubbling call of the sandhill cranes has returned, as these walking shadows have come to grace us with their long-legged presence and strangely beautiful cries once more…

The vicious sawing of the cicadas has quieted down here recently–though I still here them from time to time…soon they will be silenced again…

Kittens–growing up quickly–are learning their mother’s mewing early–little fuzzballs of black and white and grey, children of an old barn cat who has returned to her former home…

The twinkle in my Granddaddy’s eyes is often a prelude to one of his little snorting laughs–or merely that quietly amused shaking of his head–coming every now and again to delight my heart in his once more taking interest in life…

Yes, surely fall is come…and I have much to be thankful for…

A Small Adventure

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Adventure, Hawk, Life, Nature, Oak, Shade, Story, Walking

Are you familiar with that odd little feeling that feels like someone is watching you? I had a small adventure today in which that feeling had a prominent role.

As I was walking in the driveway this afternoon, I came in under the sweeping shade of a large live oak. As usual, I was looking at the ground, trying to avoid fireants and stubbing my toes on chunks of rock left over from when the driveway had once been paved. I wear flip-flops most of the time, so my toes percieve those abrasive pieces of cement and shell as threats!

Anyways, as came into the shade with my eyes cast downwards, I had that odd feeling that someone was watching me, so I quickly looked up–and came eye to eye with a hawk that was sitting on a fence post, staring at me. I have seen him before, but this time he hadn’t flown away–he merely continued his cool observation of me. It is almost an ominous feeling to be studied by a bird of prey.

I stopped in my tracks to watch him back. I don’t know what kind of hawk he was, but his big black eyes blinked when he began looking around as I spoke to him. I talk to animals. Usually they don’t seem to mind–I often seem to get a moment of curiosity from them, or a split second of recognition, before they run away. This hawk stayed longer than most others as I stared back at him.

Then, as I continued speaking gently, I took a step towards the fence. Without warning, he lifted his wings–and he was gone–out of my sight, out from under the spreading oak, out from the shade of the waving moss.

I smiled, I am sure, as I looked at the empty fence post for a moment before I turned to continue my walk.

Florida Breezes

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Cold, Florida, Heat, Nature, Summer, Wind, Winter

The air has been lovely today–the soft breeze coming through the open window has felt beautiful after several days heralding the nearing of summer. Does a warm winter warn us of an unbearablely hot summer? We shall see….

On days like today I certainly know why the Yankees have come to Florida in the wintertime for so many years.

On days when it is impossible to get warm, I remember my Grandma’s story about the coldest trip she ever took–that trip was a childhood journey to Florida.

On days when it is nearing ninety in February, I puzzle about those people who love the heat and humidity, since it tend to “suck the life out of you,” as we say around here.

Regardless, it has been a beautiful day today, for which I am thankful.

Nature and Revelation

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Christian Education, Christianity, God, Holy Spirit, Knowledge, Nature, Revelation, Scripture, Westminster Larger Catechism

Westminster Larger Catechism in modern English question number two:

Q. 2. How do we know that there is a God?

 A. The witness of the nature of human beings, together with the works of God, plainly declare that there is a God; but it is only His Word and His Spirit that sufficiently and actually reveal Him to men and women for their salvation.

What is Beauty?

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Beauty, Culture, Design, Edification, Excellence, Glorifying God, God, Joy, Nature, Scripture, Unity and Diversity

Beauty has eluded the reception of a firm definition throughout history, even though we all know what it is…or do we? For instance, we all know that…

There is one beauty of a waterfall, yet another beauty of a desert.

There is one beauty of a child, yet another beauty of a elderly person.

There is one beauty of a woman, yet another beauty of a man.

There is one beauty of the written word, yet another beauty of the painted picture.

There is one beauty of appearance, yet another beauty of spirit.

There is one beauty of sound, yet another beauty of sight.

There is one beauty of architecture, yet another beauty of nature.

And this list could go on and on…

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What then is “beauty”? Is there but one standard of beauty? Why do different people call different things beautiful?

Here are a few of the elements that constitute “beauty”…

Unity and diversity: true beauty is the harmony of variety.

Excellence: true beauty involves skillful craft, purposeful design and order, and adherance to consistent standards.

Edification: true beauty builds up, motivates, challenges, enlightens, and pleases the heart of men and women.

Cross-cultural: true beauty is not relative to specific cultures because desiring and taking delight in beauty is part of the image of God in man.

These are some of the qualities that are essential to or accompany something that can be truly called beautiful. The Scriptures are not silent on the topic of beauty–indeed, the concept occurs rather frequently. (For some examples, see Exodus 28:2, Philippians 4:8, Proverbs 31:22, 25, Ecclesiastes 3:11, Song of Solomon 4:7, Isaiah 52:1, Ezekiel 16:10-14, Mark 14:6, et al.)

The Word of God portrays beauty as something desirable, something to take delight in, something to cultivate, something to glorify God, something to add dignity to humanity. Because beauty is a good gift of God, it, like every other good gift of God given to us in the natural and cultural realm, can be abused by either corruption of it or worship of it. If a thing is no longer excellent in virtue, in quality, in harmony out of diversity–it is no longer edifying and thus can no longer truly be called beautiful, but would better be described as an abuse of beauty.

Something that is truly beautiful can bring the strong joy of truth to the heart of the godly person, even if the craftsman who formed it is not himself godly. It is true that the godly person sometimes rejoices in things that are not edifying–but when this happens, he reveals where his standards are false.

Also, of course, not everyone recognizes the same things as beautiful–but this division is usually based on false standards of beauty, as much, or more so, than on personal preferences.

Why? Because one’s preferences are based on one’s standards. Everything comes back here, doesn’t it?

So, what are your standards of beauty?