A Perfect Church

   Over two years ago I wrote a blog post about A Christian Home. I was inspired by the description of a nearly perfect home to turn our attention to the only One who is truly perfect. After quoting a verse from the hymn by Barbara Hart with the same title (A Christian Home), I wrote:

   "God in his word speaks to every person as an individual, regardless of his circumstances.  We desire to have Christian homes, but the first thing is to have Christ and to be Christ's ourselves.  I thank God that Christianity is not dependent upon having a Christian home, Christian neighbors, or a Christian nation.

   "Too often, while looking to have perfection in our surroundings, we fail to overcome in the little things of life.  Someone else becomes impatient in turmoil, and we get discouraged.  Someone else fails to remain calm and courageous in a time of trouble, and we are disgruntled.  Those in our home don't seem to find any joy in serving others, and so we excuse ourselves for being the same way ~ and we wonder what happened to love in the days dark and grim.

   "The trouble is that we are looking too much for results and have lost our focus on the Savior. Oh, to maintain high aspirations and to expect great things from God, including great changes in ourselves and our family, without taking our eyes off the one and only, the Lord Jesus Christ!

   "None of us is without sin, and no family is perfect. Some are beautiful and worthy of imitation, but all have their blemishes. If we look upon the blemishes, we may become disheartened and justify our own wayward behavior, even thinking, perhaps, that we must have a certain kind of Christian home in order to be the sort of Christian we desire to be ~ when the exact opposite is true. Our power to live a Christian life is in Christ, and in him alone.  And only in discovering this can we do our part to make a Christian home.

  "A Christian home where others behave as they ought to will diminish our temptations, but it will not give the power to become the sons of God.  It will not give us the victory of faith.  Those things are available only in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are available whatever our circumstances, and regardless of what sort of home we have."

   Today I add that Christianity, not dependent on a perfect family, is also not dependent on the perfect church. Each of us has the responsibility to fellowship with a church which is as much conformed to the Scriptures as possible, but even the best of those will have its blemishes. 

   All the things said about the Christian family also pertain to the family of Christ. We are each of us responsible for ourselves, for our own relationship with the Father, with the head of the church, and with each other. We can choose the best church possible, and we should, but when our brothers and sisters in Christ fail to be patient, calm, courageous, joyous, and servant-like, it is no excuse for us also to become so. 

   We have no business to become discouraged or to blame our church for our own failures. Our strength is still where it always was (or should be) ~ in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  No matter how weak and failing our church or our family may be, we have the power in Christ to be conformed to His image; to be one of those who hears what the Spirit says unto the churches and to overcome.

Impromptu Fair Isle

What do you do when you get up the the armpits on a raglan sweater and realize you don't have enough blue yarn to finish?

You get out your scraps and make random fair isle patterns!

Second question: Will the six year old like it?

Strong Meat Casserole

My husband calls me a queen of leftovers. He used to tease that I bought my groceries in the left-over isle at the grocery store. But he also admits that the casseroles I concoct out of leftovers are sometimes as good as the original meal.

This past weekend I attended a conference called "Strong Meat." I took home a few of the morsels preached by Al Bulow and threw them in my crock pot. After they had cooked a little and I had stirred them a few times, I pulled this out:

Food in Egypt

Ah, yes, there's food in Egypt,

   But what will be the cost?

What troubles will you find there?

   What virtue may be lost?

For no one goes to Egypt 

   But that he has to pay.

It costs a man to eat there,

   However short the stay.

When Joseph during famine,

   Earth's food supply controlled,

It wasn't free for taking ~

   No,every grain was sold.

And thus the starved Egyptians

   Were brought to servitude.

They gave their lands and cattle,

   Then sold themselves for food.

And even Joseph's brothers,

   Who came to him for bread,

Left children under bondage

   Long after they were fed.

The land is dry in Egypt

   Where rain does not abound,

And those who till and water

   Look down to work the ground.

Not so the Land of Promise

   Where God has set His eye.

He rains His blessings on it

   In bounty from the sky.

So, ye who thirst and hunger,

   Look up, and taste, and see:

The bread that comes from heaven,

   The living bread is free.

New Slippers

See my new slippers! This time my mom made them for me.

She used my pattern: Felt slippers.

The Pride of Life

  The pride of life is as much "the world" as the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes.  the things man desires in order to be fulfilled in this life are what the Bible warns against when it says "Love not the world neither the things that are in the world."  (1 John 2:15.)


   The pride of life ~ in other words the pride of attainment ~ may include an Olympic gold medal or the state championship, a degree from a prestigious school, a list of letters after your name, association with famous people, a high post in business or government.  These are things which are highly esteemed among men.  What does the Bible say about them?  They are an abomination with God.  At best He cares nothing for them.  They aren't any more sin than the strength of a horse or the legs of a man (Psalm 147:10.) ~ but if you love them, you love the world, and the love of the Father is not in you.

Yellow Baby Afghan

This baby blanket is adapted from the afghan pattern Daffodil Dream. Because it is knit on large needles, it has an extra soft texture and also knits up quickly.

SIZE
30 x 36 inches

MATERIALS

1 ball Lion Brand "Pound of Love"

Size 10 1/2 circular needle

MODIFICATIONS

CO 112 stitches

Knit 8 rows garter stitch. (Four ridges) Then work pattern to desired length. Omit fringe.

Freedom Is Good

Freedom is good. But so are rules -- and the two are not mutually exclusive. There is nothing wrong with an institution having rules, be it a nation, a school, a church, or a family. Every Christian parent knows this. Rules actually increase freedom in a family. Yes, they put boundaries on that freedom, and often they infringe on freedoms that children wish they had --- but the existence of rules does not indicate the absence of freedom. And it is certainly not equivalent to legalism.

It has been brought to my attention that one of the large evangelical schools in our country has withdrawn its ban on alcohol. This is being heralded, even among some who call themselves conservative, as an advancement in freedom. In a sense, I suppose it is. Many of the things said on this head are quite true. Alcohol is not intrinsically evil. The Lord Jesus drank it, and some Christians may drink it. But is this advance in freedom actually an advance in the spirit of Christianity?

Freedom goes both ways. One man may say he is free to drink. Another may say he is free NOT to drink --- and free to make rules for those under his authority. When schools who bear the name of Christ lose the freedom to take stands that are unpopular with the world, I find it hard to see it as a good thing -- even if they have some doctrinal truth on their side.  The freedom that the Bible tells us about frees us from legalism -- which is trying to be saved by following rules --, but it is much more than that.

        Free!

In Christ I have sweet liberty.

From condemnation I am free,

From fear of death, and from its sting,

From minding every fleshly thing,

From fear of man, and pride of life,

From worldly sorrow, lust, and strife.

I’m free from worry, free from care,

Free from the yoke that none could bear,

From ordinances that would bind,

And bondage of a worldly kind;

Free from the fruit that sinning buys,

The ways of death, and Satan’s lies.

By faith in Jesus Christ I’m free

To serve the law of liberty.

I’m free to fear my God above,

And serve my fellow saints by love,

Deny myself without restraint,

Deferring to a weaker saint.

I’m free to practice holiness,

And yield myself to righteousness.

I’m free to walk in peace and joy,

And all the Spirit’s gifts employ,

To walk in works that God ordained,

And life that Christ by death obtained.

I’m free the Bible to obey,

To follow what the Scriptures say,

The promises of God believe,

And all his blessings to receive,

To trust my Saviour knows what’s best,

And in his presence to find rest.

~Nita Brainard 2007