Eugraphia

If God is Sovereign, Why Pray?

"It is our full belief that God has foreknown and predestinated everything that happeneth in heaven above or in the earth beneath, and that the foreknown station of a reed by the river is as fixed as the station of a king, and "the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses." Predestination embraceth the great and the little, and reacheth unto all things; the question is, wherefore pray? Might it not as logically be asked wherefore breathe, eat, move, or do anything? We have an answer which satisfies us, namely, that our prayers are in the predestination, and that God has as much ordained His people's prayers as anything else, and when we pray we are producing links in the chain of ordained facts. Destiny decrees that I should pray—I pray; destiny decrees that I shall be answered, and the answer comes to me."

-Charles Spurgeon

How to Build a Cold Frame

A cold frame is a tried-and-true historical gardening device which allows a gardener to extend the vegetable growing season by providing what is termed a "microclimate."  This microclimate is created by the cold frame's greenhouse effect; it captures the sun, heats the plants inside and insulates it from wind.  Here's how I built a cold frame:

 

First, I built the basic box frame.  The dimensions were dictated by the size of the glass window I had purchased, in this case an 18 1/16" x 32 3/16" basement storm window.  But, I had to take into account that the glass will be at angle, preferably in the 30-45 degree range.  Due to my window size, I had mine at about 23 degrees, because at 30 or 45 degrees, the frame would be prohibitively narrow.  The final dimensions were 16 9/16" x 32 3/16".  I used 1 1/4" wood screws at the corner joints, which made a much sturdier frame than the nails I used in my first attempt.

 

Second, I took a 16 9/16" piece (remember, this is the width of the box), and sliced it diagonally to fabricate two pieces that had the aforementioned 23 degree slant. 

I took these pieces and glued them to the box frame.  The glass will rest on these. 

Next, I cut some lengths of 2x2's to screw to the corners of the box in order to provide some extra strength and bracing.  Note that I also had to give the tops of the 2x2's the same slant to match the sides.

Now the back board I cut the same length as the foundation frame.  Then I put it on the table saw and ripped a 23 degree edge all the way down, as shown above.

After I screwed the back board on, the structure of the box was complete!

Now to the glass.  Since this was a basement storm window, I scored around the inside to rid it of the screen.  Then I set on the cold frame structure and attached two hinges and a handle.

Aaaand....we're done!

Now I can give it to the gardener in my family, so she can start with some early planting! :)

-Jonathan

The Power of Prayer

"Nothing seems to be too great, too hard, or too difficult for prayer to do. It has obtained things that seemed impossible and out of reach. It has won victories over fire, air, earth, and water.

Prayer opened the Red Sea. Prayer brought water from the rock and bread from heaven. Prayer made the sun stand still. Prayer brought fire from the sky on Elijah's sacrifice. Prayer turned the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. Prayer overthrew the army of Sennacherib.

Well said Mary Queen of Scots, "I fear John Knox's prayers more than an army of ten thousand men." Prayer has healed the sick. Prayer has raised the dead. Prayer has procured the conversion of souls. "The child of many prayers," said an old Christian to Augustine's mother, "will never perish." Prayer, pains, and faith can do anything."

 

-J.C. Ryle

Africa

Africa is a hymn written by one of America's greatest (and almost unknown) composers, William Billings.  Billings was responsible for developing a new style of American hymnody and psalmody in the 18th century.  I have a recording of this song by His Majestie's Clerkes.  The words are by Isaac Watts.

 

Now shall my inwards joys arise,

And burst into a song;

Almighty love inspires my heart,

And pleasure tunes my tongue.

God on his thirsty Zion-Hill

Some mercy-drops has thrown,

And solemn oaths have bound his love

To show'r salvation down.

Why do we then indulge our fears,

Suspicions and complaints?

Is he a God, and shall his grace

Grow weary of his saints?

Can a kind woman e'er forget

The infant of her womb,

And 'mongst a thousand tender thoughts

Her suckling have no room?

Yet, saith the Lord, should nature change,

And mothers monsters prove,

Zion still dwells upon the heart

Of everlasting love.

Deep on the palms of both my hands

I have engrav'd her name;

My hands shall raise her ruin'd walls,

And build her broken frame.

 

Wuv

 

Psalm 133: Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when brothers [and sisters] dwell in unity!

It is like the precious oil on the head,

running down on the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

running down on the collar of his robes!

 It is like the dew of Hermon,

which falls on the mountains of Zion!

For there the LORD has commanded the blessing,

life forevermore.

 

-Jonathan

Corollary to the Sovereignty of God

If your knowledge of doctrine does not make you a great man of prayer, you had better examine yourself again. —Martyn Lloyd-Jones

 

The natural, Biblical result of knowing the doctrine of the sovereignty of God is complete dependence on Him.  How do we show dependence on God?  By going before the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.  What are we saying about ourselves and God when we do not pray?  We are essentially saying,

1) I can handle this situation on my own.

2) I can't handle this on my own, but neither can God.

3) I can't handle this on my own; I believe that God can help, but He won't want to do anything.

 

All of which betray a lack of faith in God's sovereignty and goodness (I've pretty much said all the above myself, by the way!). So when we see God's character in the Word of God, it should not be a dry intellectual exercise; it should drive us to our knees.

-Jonathan

10 Evidences of the Sovereignty of God

In my personal devotions, I use a "system" that has been very helpful in providing a disciplined schedule of Bible reading.  I heard about it a year ago and have been pleased with the results.  Essentially, the Bible is broken up into 10 different book lists, e.g. The Pentateuch, The Gospels, Psalms, Proverbs, etc.  Each day, one chapter from each list is read.  I enjoy this method because it not only helps me to have a known reading goal for the day, but also provides me with passages from all over the Bible in all its different genres, authors, and audiences.  I recommend it highly.

Another benefit is seeing the same theme repeated in many different places in Scripture.  The other day I was reading the Bible and the sovereignty of God shone through in every passage.  We can rejoice in our Lord's power, control, and providential care.

The Sovereignty of God can be seen through:

1) His gracious provision for orphaned daughters (Numbers 27:1-7)

Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father's brothers.”  Moses brought their case before the LORD. And the LORD said to Moses, “The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father's brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them."

2) His answering King Hezekiah's prayer and obliterating the Assyrians (2 Kings 19)

 So [Rabshakah] sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’” Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD and spread it before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD..."

So things look extremely grim for Jerusalem, because the Assyrians have conquered everyone else and they think that God is the same as the other gods of the kings.  Not so much.  Look at what God tells the Assyrians through the prophet Isaiah:

“Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should turn fortified cities into heaps of ruins, while their inhabitants, shorn of strength, are dismayed and confounded, and have become like plants of the field and like tender grass, like grass on the housetops, blighted before it is grown. But I know your sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against me. Because you have raged against me and your complacency has come into my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came."

And so,

And that night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.

3) Job's testimony of His complete omnipotence over mankind (Job 12:13-25)

With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding. If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open. If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land. With him are strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his. He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools. He looses the bonds of kings and binds a waistcloth on their hips. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty. He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders. He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong. He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light. He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away. He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a pathless waste. They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.

Of course Job is speaking truth, but in the surrounding context of his situation one almost gets the sense that he doesn't feel it in his heart and he is using God's sovereignty as an accusation against God.  It isn't until the end of the book that he repents and says,

 

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted." (Job 42:2)

4) His generous mercy to the lowly and oppressed (Psalm 146:5-10) 

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever;

So we see the psalmist professing faith in the Creator God of his fathers who is unchangingly good and gracious.  How is He good and gracious?  The psalmist expands:

who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!

5) In providing spouses (Proverbs 18:22)

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.

This isn't normally what people think of when talking about the sovereignty of God. But in all reality, we would be hard-pressed to cite a better example of His absolute control and absolute covenant love than His bringing a man and woman together in marriage.

6) His promise of restoring Israel with the New Covenant (Ezekial 16: 60-63) 

“For thus says the Lord GOD: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord GOD.” 

Another prime example of God's power throughout the ages is His continual promises in the Old Testament to restore Israel with an everlasting covenant.  In the previous 59 verses, God gives Israel a parable (a rather lurid parable at that!) about their own unfaithfulness. But God in His mercy did not cast Israel away, but instead promised something greater.  God fulfilled these promises by sending Jesus Christ to redeem His people, both Jews and Gentiles. 

7) His gracious answers to the prayers of His children (Luke 11: 9-13)

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

 It is not only amazing that an eternal, holy God would even think of answering the requests of finite, sinful humans, but it is also staggering to think that God folds our prayers into the fabric of His perfect sovereign will.  In other words, He has decreed that He will many times work through our prayers, so our prayers doubly fulfill both His predestining of the act of prayer itself and also the predestining of the purpose of the prayer.  We can absolutely trust our wise Father knowing that He knows exactly what He has decreed and exactly how He uses our prayers--stumbling as they are--to accomplish His decrees.

8) His purposeful plan of redemption (Acts 2:22-24)

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it."

I really like this passage because it shows God's pre-creation planning even in the death of Christ.  The death of Christ was not a surprise or even a course-correction for God. Rather, it was something the Godhead had planned from eternity past in the council of Their own will.  This logically supports and correlates to the doctrines of election and actual atonement (both of which I hope to cover in future installments of my long-neglected Calvinism 101 series).

9) His rescuing, redeeming, and forgiving sinners (Colossians 1:12-14) 

[The Father] has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 

 Right on the heels of the previous passage comes this chapter in Colossians.  We could really lump the entire chapter as an example of God's power but these verses especially demonstrate it.  If we really understood the catastrophically evil nature of our sin, as well as Satan's power (the domain of darkness) we would properly understand God's utter omnipotence in forgiving our sin, obliterating it on Jesus Christ, and taking us from Satan's bondage.  Thanks be to God's grace!

10) His victory over Satan's minions at the Day of the Lord (II Thessalonians 2:8-10)

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

Paul says there will come a time in the future, before the Lord returns, that a "man of lawlessness" accompanied by "the" apostasy will be on the earth.  He will be characterized by Satanic power, seemingly-convincing miracles, and outright deception.  He is certainly not someone I would care to meet.  But look at how God will personally destroy him: not with huge weapons or great fanfare, but simply with the breath of His mouth!

 

 

Rose of Alabama

Here's an old Civil War song called "Rose of Alabama."  I have split it up into three sections: a march tempo, a faster reel, and finally a lament.  This tune gave me a chance to practice, play, and record on my new instrument: a mandolin! :)

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh brown Rosie

Rose of Alabamy

Sweet tobacco posey

You're the Rose of Alabamy."

 

Not so deep lyrically, but a good tune nonetheless.

 

-Jonathan

Dunlap's Creek

Here's a new hymn we're learning taken from the 1854 Southern Harmony hymn collection.  The tune name is called Dunlap's Creek and is named after Dunlap's Creek Presbyterian Church which is near where the tune originated.

 

My God, my portion and my love, my everlasting all,

I've none but Thee in heaven above, or on this earthly ball.

 

What empty things are all the skies, and this inferior clod!

There's nothing here deserves my joys, there's nothing like my God.

 

In vain the bright, the burning sun scatters his feeble light;

'Tis thy sweet beams create my noon; if Thou withdraw 'tis night.

 

And whilst upon my restless bed, amongst the shades I roll,

If my Redeemer shows his head, 'Tis morning with my soul.

Lord, teach [our children] how to pray

The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.  Since we are His disciples too, we also should ask Him to teach us how to pray.  There are obviously types of prayer that God is displeased with: prayer with meaningless repetitions (Matt. 6:7), prayer while holding a bitter and unforgiving spirit (Mk 11:25-26), prayer without faith (Jas 1:6-7:), prayers made for appearance sake (Matt 6:5), etc.  Additionally, there is prayer that God loves to hear and loves to answer: prayer made in secret (Matt 6:6), prayer made in faith (Jas 1:5-6), prayer made with fervency (Jas 5:16-17), and persistent prayer (Lk 11:5-9).  These are the types of prayer we should strive for, not so we can push the right buttons on the divine vending machine, but so we can obey the commands of Christ, come into a closer relationship with Him, and experience the blessings of answered prayers.

However, we should not be content to attain to Biblical prayer just for ourselves; we should want it for our children as well.  In my case, as I do not have a wife or children yet, it's something that I hope for my potential children.  Moreover, it's something that I want to plan for and deliberately intend to inculcate in my children should God allow them to come along.

I was pleased to see this article on teaching children how to pray by Burk Parsons at The Gospel Coalition. Some salient points that I thought were noteworthy:

In all that we teach our children, the greatest and most fundamental thing we can do is model a praying life before their beautiful little eyes and their perceptive little ears. 

Let them see that prayer is grounded in the Word. Prayer is nourished, and strengthened by God’s Word. E.M. Bounds wrote, “The Word of God is the food by which prayer is nourished and made strong.”

Let them see that God is not simply responding to our prayers, he is responding to us his children through the means of prayer. He doesn’t simply answer prayers. He answers us, his people, and he always answers us, sometimes saying yes, no, wait, or yes but even greater than you could have imagined.

Let them see that we pray not just in generalities but in particulars, as we fervently keep asking, seeking, and knocking as we go to our Father who wants to hear us and commune with us as we ask him for even the littlest things in life as we focus on his glory and our enjoyment of him.

Let them see that our words of prayer don’t necessarily need to be complicated and weighty and poetically beautiful in order to be genuine, but that they can be short and simple, especially when our children are young so that we are not exasperating them. And let us be careful not to instill cleverly worded rhyming prayers that they may simply memorize them for the sake of a quick cute prayer that can easily become a prayer of meaningless empty platitudes. Samuel Chadwick wrote, “Prayer is not a collection of balanced phrases; it is the pouring out of the soul.”

Let them see that our communion with our Father is the most important and the most enjoyable engagement of our day because it is the occasion when we get tell our Father we love him, trust him, and need him—just as our children want daily to express their love, trust, and need of us. Let them see that while we pray throughout our day, we also have a regular habit of scheduled daily prayer. J.C. Ryle wrote, “Oh, dear friend, if you love your children, I charge you, do not let the early impression of a habit of prayer slip by. If you train your children to do anything, train them, at least, to have a habit of prayer.” 

You can read the entire article here.

Al Mohler on the Family and Church

"I think the one great lesson the Lord has taught me over these years is that the importance of the family and the local congregation supersedes every other relationship to which the Christian is called. Christians demonstrate the glory of God and the power of the gospel by the way we marry and stay married, by the way we raise our children, by the way we love each other, and by the way we live faithfully in the congregation of believers. In the end, I fear that far too much energy is devoted to and far too many hopes are invested in institutions, programs, and projects that will not last. The centrality of Christ’s purpose to glorify himself in His church and the blessings of God that are directed to the precious gift of the family — these far exceed our other allegiances."

 

I think this is so important.  A huge part of our lives are lived out with our family and our church.  If we fail to apply the Word of God to the relationships we have in these spheres then our relationship with God will suffer (cf. 1 Peter 3).  However, it is, as Dr. Mohler says, a glorious thing when husbands love & lead their wives as Christ does the church, when wives submit to their husbands as unto the Lord, when children obey their parents, when fathers (and mothers) raise their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, when the body of Christ bears one anothers burdens.

These relationships are NOT ends to themselves, but should serve to glorify Jesus Christ and proclaim His name to an unbelieving world.  A godly family and a godly church are some of the most powerful witnesses that exist.

Jonathan

Always Obey the Impulse to Pray

"Above all—and this I regard as most important of all-always respond to every impulse to pray...I would make an absolute law of this—always obey such an impulse. Where does it come from? It is the work of the Holy Spirit; it is a part of the meaning of, ‘Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure’ (Phil 2:12-13)...Such a call to prayer must never be regarded as a distraction; always respond to it immediately and thank God if it happens to you frequently."

--Martin Lloyd-Jones

Doggie Theology #1

 

"Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a doggie to the hand of her human, so our eyes look to the Lord our God until He is gracious to us."

-Psalm 123:2 (slightly revised) :)

It's the Christmas Season...

...and as such there are a lot of Christmas cookies and/or other desserts hanging about.  Here's how I determine whether or not to eat one.

 

-Jonathan

Sally Goodin

Well, what's a guy to do when he has extra time on his hands, a guitar and banjo just waiting to be strummed, and some recording equipment lying around?  Why, record a good ol' fashioned fiddle tune, of course!

So the story goes that there once was a lass called Sally Goodin.  Well, she must have been a fine gal, because two young men were fighting over her.  So she proposed that there be a fiddle contest between the two and she would marry the winner.  I don't know what the loser played, but the groom-to-be composed this fiddle tune and won himself a bride. :)

I just learned Sally Goodin off a mandolin player at work and arranged it for guitar and banjo.  Enjoy!

 

-Jonathan

Reformed Humor

The God of Glory THUNDERS!

Psalm 29:3-4:

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God glory thunders, the Lord is over many waters.  The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is majestic.

Wow, how true that is!  I definitely could see that illustrated at our family trip to Niagara Falls.  His creation was awesome to see!  And with that in mind:

Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.  Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in holy array.

Psalm 29:1-2

More pictures to come soon!

-Jonathan

John Piper: 8 Reasons to Memorize Scripture

Not too long ago I watched this sermon by John Piper on Scripture memorization.  After a stunning 15 minutes straight(!) of reciting many different Scripture passages, Mr. Piper gave 8 good reasons why a Christian should memorize the Bible.  

1. Memorizing Scripture makes meditation possible at times when I can’t be reading the Bible, and meditation is the pathway of deeper understanding.
2. Memorizing Scripture strengthens my faith because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ, and that happens when I am hearing the word in my head.
3. Memorizing Scripture shapes the way I view the world by conforming my mind to God’s viewpoint.
4. Memorizing Scripture makes God’s word more readily accessible for overcoming temptation to sin, because God’s warnings and promises are the way we conquer the deceitful promises of sin.
5. Memorizing Scripture guards my mind by making it easier to detect error—and the world is filled with error, since the god of this world is a liar.
6. Memorizing Scripture enables me to hit the devil in the face with a force he cannot resist, and so protect myself and my family from his assaults.
7. Memorizing Scripture provides the strongest and sweetest words for ministering to others in need.
8. Memorizing Scripture provides the matrix for fellowship with Jesus because he talks to me through his word, and I talk to him in prayer.

The motive should not be to impress people with our superior brain power ("Oh yeah?  Well I just memorized the geneology of the antediluvian patriarchs and the entire book of Leviticus!!"), but rather to know God more, love Him and be conformed to His image more, and minister to others with His love more.

Sadly, this is an area where I need growth in.  There was a time where I did indeed have entire books memorized, but due to lack of diligence, I have forgotten them.  I think I'm going to bite off smaller chunks--perhaps a 3 to 5 verse passage every month.  In a year's time, I should have around 50 verses memorized.  I think it's a good start.

Jonathan

Family Encouragement Weekend 2010

Last weekend we had the opportunity to attend the fourth annual Family Encouragement Weekend. It was started by the Wilkes family whom we had met a few months ago at a hymn sing in Northern Virginia. One of the chronic disappointments my family has is the small number of like-minded godly families in our area so we were thrilled to see the invitation to the "FEW."  

Contrary to the conference's acronym, there were about 200 people in attendance--quite the crowd!  It was great to meet so many different families from Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Georgia.

Before we began on Friday night, we sang a lot of hymns, led by the homeschooled orchestra!

Both on Friday night and all Saturday, there were several different speakers, including an overview by Mr. Wilkes, "Family Oneness" by Mr. Hynes and "From Completeness to Maturity" by Mr. Neely.

It was encouraging to taste this spiritual food. I think it is great for even godly, committed Christians to hear continual exhortation toward spiritual maturity and growth. Personally, I know it is easy for me to lapse into Christian Autopilot Mode and not actively seek Christ more.

In addition to spiritual food, there was physical food as well! The doctrine of cookies was well expounded upon, to the edification of all.

There were also multiple times throughout the weekend in which families were arranged in 3 or 4-household groups for mutual prayer. Family members prayed for each other, families prayed for other families, and everyone prayed for those in authority over us, especially our federal government. These were great times; Mr. Wilkes shared, "This is the best part of the Family Encouragement Weekend."

What could be better than preaching of the Word, prayer, singing, and fellowship with like-minded believers?

~Jonathan

Christ was all anguish

...that I might be all joy, cast off that I might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend, surrendered to hell’s worst that I might attain heaven’s best, stripped that I might be clothed, wounded that I might be healed, athirst that I might drink, tormented that I might be comforted, made a shame that I might inherit glory, entered darkness that I might have eternal life.My Saviour wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes, groaned that I might have endless song, endured all pain that I might have unfading health, bore a thorned crown that I might have a glory-diadem, bowed his head that I might uplift mine, experienced reproach that I might receive welcome, closed his eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness, expired that I might for ever live. 

-From The Valley of Vision