“…there is always a tendency towards traditionalism and conservativism. Because this, that or the other doctrine has been believed, or because this, that or the other practice has been followed, such must still be the case. This can only lead to aridity and pharasaism which will bring the Church to the grave.

The greatest danger, however, amongst present day Christians, is in the other direction. They tend to disregard the Church’s history. They adopt the attitude that it is unimportant “Let’s not have Calvin or Wesley or Machen,” they say, “But let us get back to the Scriptures. Only then shall we know the truth.” In this way they are adopting the position, that before this age no one has ever really wrestled with problems of the faith, and what is even more important, no one has ever found a solution. They imply that their problems, their needs and their ideas are absolutely new. Therefore history cannot help.”
William Stanford Reid, Reformation Today — Volume 2, Number 4, February, 1953 (via PCA Historical Center)

The holiday and occasional cards from CCO are superior (in more ways than one) to anything marked “Religious” in the retail store rack, plus the proceeds benefit an evangelical college outreach ministry.

“The greatest tribute we can pay to those who have perished in the past 9/11’s of the world is to believe that “not a hair of our heads will perish,” even if we are beheaded; and then to use that utter security to risk our lives in the service of people who suffer and are on the brink of eternal suffering.”
John Piper, Three 9/11′s We Need to Know

The other day I dropped off our video camera to a friend who works at a chain coffee store. As a thank you she gave me a free cup of coffee. For the record, I do not prefer this brand of coffee (unless I am traveling: it is safe), but I am also not one to turn down free coffee (unless it is church coffee).

If you are familiar with this brand (who is not?), then you have probably seen the quotes that they put on the sides of their cups. It is way better than a story about how my beans traveled from Central America all the way to the coffee in my cup, but not quite as fun as poker cards. But I digress.

This particular cup has been sitting on my desk for over a week now. Since I am cleaning up in order to move cubicles, I need to throw away the cup. Below is the quote that caught my eye. I think it is spot on, whether you have a “spiritual belief system” or not (i.e., even Christians find themselves digging broken wells).

The Way I See It # 192

Many people lack a spiritual belief system and fill that void with obsessions about celebrities. The celebrities are raised to the rank of gods, and these earthly gods will always fail the expectations the masses have set for them. The cycle runs thusly: adoration turns to obsession, obsession turns to disappointment, and from disappointment it is just a short emotional jump to contempt.

– Donna Phillips, Freelance writer. She lives in Claremont, California.

I find myself nodding in agreement, as this has been my observation as well. “Whew, glad that is not me,” I say! However, when I am honest with myself, I question if this is not how I often relate to God? I do not mean the living and true God as revealed in Scripture, but the one that I shape, mold and put into my own little box. When I remember who God really is, that he is not boxed or limited by anyone, then the cycle runs thusly: contempt turns to faith, faith to repentence, and from repentence comes restoration. It is a continual cycle, too, one that will last throughout all of my earthly days.

I have been away from this blog for a few weeks now (longer if you do not count the previous random and sarcastic post). As an aside, I have been twittering the whole time! During this layoff Transformatum was not the only blog to suffer. My family site was also silent. While I imagine that my readership has dwindled (greatly), hopefully the harm is not irrepairable.

1. People talk about television addiction, but what about internet addiction? Imagine seeing a “Kill Your Computer” bumper sticker.
2. I used to think that wheeled business briefcases (like these) were dorky. Then I traveled for three weeks; through four airports; taking twelve flights; carrying a laptop and a bunch of gear; in a backpack; all on one shoulder. I went with this brand’s sportier model.
3. Blake Lewis could not have received a worse fate than having to sing the song that won American Idol’s Songwriter competition. “This is My Now” was written exclusively for voices like Jordin Sparks’. It would have been far more interesting to see her matched up with Melinda last night.
4. I have heard increasing reports of PCA churches with serious leadership versus congregational struggles. This is deeply disconcerting.
5. There are several rock band reunion tours this summer. I would love to see Genesis or The Police, but will probably have to settle for the perennial Riverbend has beens (Alan Parsons Project, Steve Miller, etc.).
6. Floyd Landis may end up keeping his Tour de France title, but, after the mess last week at his USADA hearing, I am sure glad that I did not give any money to the Floyd Fairness Fund. I almost bought a t-shirt.
7. I start a (sort of) new job in a week and a half. I have worked in healthcare underwriting for several years (support, Policy & Procedure and most recently, Training), but never before as a line underwriter. I am looking forward to taking on a more customer facing role.