glorycloud's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- worldiness don't you SEE It is Saturday morning in the short history of my american life. I got up at 7:54 AM to face my day off from work. I found Carol home from work looking through the morning paper when I got up. It is now 8:35 AM and Carol has gone to bed and I am cooking breakfast to the music of Red House Painters. I cleaned the kitchen when I got up this morning. I hate a dirty kitchen! I am a clean freak. I do not mine dust but not chaos in my home. It is a blessing waking up to a house free of chaos. It is a blessing from the Lord to wake up to a house full of family love in a world gone mad with greed and hate. It is a blessing to eat a meal in a world full of starving millions. I will close to go eat breakfast. Time Has Passed It is now 9 o'clock AM I ate breakfast and looked through the morning paper. I might watch college football today? Josiah mentioned last night he might go for hike by the Lake this afternoon. Bethany goes to work at 2 o'clock PM. Carol wants to load the van up with stuff to take to Bibles For Mexico this afternoon. I need to locate my brain and try to read my books today. I do have stuff on my mind that I could write about, but it is been written down before so why be a broken record? Well I will close with this verse from the Gospel of John "And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." JN 9:39 worldiness I just remembered there has been something on my mind that I can record in case I drop dead today. The other day I got a letter from my pen pal who lives in Wales United Kingdom. My friend wrote something that has been bothering me for days-I will quote from the letter "If you are a classic example of American spirituality then you differ considerably from the classic spirituality of reformed evangelicals in this country. Most believers when converted turn their backs on the movies, rock/pop music, country & western, jazz etc. The same to a large extent applies to sports. There is an organization in this country known as 'Christians in Sports', which sums to me to be a contradiction in terms. The clarion call of the Bible is 'Come ye out from among then and be ye separate said the Lord'. One of the most challenging modern writers comes from your country A.W. Tozer. I shall never forget reading 'The Modern Smooth Cross' which I discovered later was written by him, but has appeared anomymously in some publications. . ." I have been bothered by those remarks because I think my friend is calling me worldly because I listen to music-Red House Painters for example. I am worldly because once in awhile I watch a movie or watch a college football game. I have never considered myself in love with the things of this world. If anything I hate the world system. I do not see myself chasing after the things of this world. I see myself just living a simple Christian life. I work 40 hours a week. I come home clean up and then eat dinner with my family. I then read or write in my diary. I might watch a television show but that is not the norm. Usually I prefer sitting in my house in the dark enjoying being in the presence of God when I am done with a day of hard work. I wish I had the energy to read the books on my desk, but work usually leaves me dead tired. I do not think it is worldly to listen to indie music. My heart is fixed on God. I love God and it bothers me that someone I have been writing to for 23 years thinks I am worldly. I do not think my livejournal reflects a worldly man. If anything my writings reflect a man who loves the things of God. I love the Word of God and my supreme desire is to live for God in this sin cursed world. On my desk right now I have these books to READ "The Brothers Karamazov" a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky "The Message Of Creation" by Derek Tidball "Edwards In Our Time: Jonathan Edwards And The Shaping Of American Religion" Edited by Sang Hyun Lee & Allen C. Guelzo "The Supreme Harmony of All: The Trintarian Theology of Jonathan Edwards" by Amy Plantinga Pauw "The Search for Order: Biblical Eschatology In Focus" by William J. Dumbrell "Practical Exposition Of The Ten Commandments" by James Durham "The Church: Sacraments, Worship, Ministry, Mission" [Christian Foundations] by Donald Bloesch "Charles Hodge Revisited: A Critical Appraisal of His Life and Work" Editors John W. Stewart & James H. Moorhead "Exploring the New Testament: A Guide to the Gospels & Acts" Volume One by David Wenham & Steve Walton "Exploring the New Testament: A Guide to the Letters & Revelation" Volume Two by I. Howard Marshall, Stephen Travis & Ian Paul "The Literary Structure Of The Old Testament: A Commentary On Genesis-Malachi" by David A. Dorsey "Encounters With God: An Approach to the Theology of Jonathan Edwards" by Michael J. McClymond. Does a worldly man read such books? I personally know of no Christian who reads the above books or even their Bibles. I know of no Christian in my church I can have spiritual fellowship with because they know nothing about God or the Bible. Most Christians I come into contact with consider me a freak because all I want is God. I do not want anything else but a close walk with God. (It is true among the Calvinistic orthodox you can find people who can discuss Reformed Theology or small town Calvinistic piety-but they can not talk about the above subjects.) Most Christians I come into contact with basically live like most Americans except they go to church and home school their kids or sent their kids to a Christian school. So who is worldly? I told Carol if I was worldly by now I would be a successful Presbyterian minister attending theology conferences in the United Kingdom. While attending these conferences in the United Kingdom I could buy first edition Puritan works and discuss Reformed Dogmatics with other ministers. But instead I find myself working 40 hours at the Hamilton Farm Bureau-Egg Division waiting to go to heaven. It is because I am not worldly that I find myself at the bottom of the egg pit. Yesterday at work Phin Lo asked me What is the hardest thing for a Christian?" I answered Prayer. I told Phin Lo the hardest thing for a Christian is living a life of prayer. Phin Lo thought the hardest thing for a Christian was to be humble and patient. I said if one wants to be humble and patient work at the bottom of the egg pit for 10 years. If one wants to be driven to their knees then work at the egg pit. My job drives me to my knees constantly. I know it is God that keeps me going down the road of death. I am not living for this world. I am waiting for death and in the meantime I will do the will of my heavenly Father. I just remembered TODAY on November the 9th nine years ago I started working at the Hamilton Farm Bureau-Egg Division. So for 9 years I have been at the bottom of the egg pit seeking the face of God through pain and egg slop. God is faithful. I was thinking of sending my pen pal two books that I have recently been looking at when not wasted from work-these two books "A Treatise of Earthly-Mindedness" by Jeremiah Burroughs (1599-1646) and "The Zealous Christian" Christopher Love (1618-1651). Well I will close to seek the face of God. I need to rest today, soon the egg pit will be screaming for my life force. 10:26 a.m. - 2002-11-09 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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