Once upon a time a very young angel was being shown round the splendours and glories of the universes by a senior and experienced angel. To tell the truth, the little angel was beginning to be tired and a little bored. He had been shown whirling galaxies and blazing suns, infinite distances in the deathly cold of inter-stellar space, and to his mind there seemed to be an awful lot of it all. Finally he was shown the galaxy of which our planetary system is but a small part. As the two of them drew near to the star which we call our sun and to its circling planets, the senior angel pointed to a small and rather insignificant sphere turning very slowly on its axis. It looked as dull as a dirty tennis-ball to the little angel, whose mind was filled with the size and glory of what he had seen.

“I want you to watch that one particularly,” said the senior angel, pointing with his finger.

“Well, it looks very small and rather dirty to me,” said the little angel. “What’s special about that one?”

“That,” replied his senior solemnly, “is the Visited Planet.”

“Visited?” said the little one. “you don’t mean visited by ——–?

“Indeed I do. That ball, which I have no doubt looks to you small and insignificant and not perhaps overclean, has been visited by our young Prince of Glory.” And at these words he bowed his head reverently.

“But how?” queried the younger one. “Do you mean that our great and glorious Prince, with all these wonders and splendours of His Creation, and millions more that I’m sure I haven’t seen yet, went down in Person to this fifth-rate little ball? Why should He do a thing like that?”

“It isn’t for us,” said his senior a little stiffly, “to question His ‘why’s’, except that I must point out to you that He is not impressed by size and numbers, as you seem to be. But that He really went I know, and all of us in Heaven who know anything know that. As to why He became one of them—how else do you suppose could He visit them?”

The little angels face wrinkled in disgust.

“Do you mean to tell me,” he said, “that He stooped so low as to become one of those creeping, crawling creatures of that floating ball?”

“I do, and I don’t think He would like you to call them ‘creeping, crawling creatures’ in that tone of voice. For, strange as it may seem to us, He loves them. He went down to visit them to lift them up to become like Him.”

The little angel looked blank. Such a thought was almost beyond his comprehension.

“Close your eyes for a moment,” said the senior angel, “and we will go back in what they call Time.”

While the little angel’s eyes were closed and the two of them moved nearer to the spinning ball, it stopped its spinning, spun backwards quite fast for a while, and then slowly resumed its usual rotation.

“Now look!” And as the little angel did as he was told, there appeared here and there on the dull surface of the globe little flashes of light, some merely momentary and some persisting for quite a time.

“Well, what am I seeing now?” queried the little angel.

“You are watching this little world as it was some thousands of years ago,” returned his companion. “Every flash and glow of light that you see is something of the Father’s knowledge and wisdom breaking into the minds and hearts of people who live upon the earth. Not many people, you see, can hear His Voice or understand what He says, even though He is speaking gently and quietly to them all the time.”

“Why are they so blind and deaf and stupid?” asked the junior angel rather crossly.

“It is not for us to judge them. We who live in the Splendour have no idea what it is like to live in the dark. We hear the music and the Voice like the sound of many waters every day of over lives, but to them—well, there is much darkness and much noise and much distraction upon the earth. Only a few who are quiet and humble and wise hear His Voice. But watch, for in a moment you will see something truly wonderful.”

The Earth went on turning and circling round the sun, and then quite suddenly, in the upper half of the globe, there appeared a light, tiny but so bright in its intensity that both the angels hid their eyes.

“I think I can guess,” said the little angel in a low voice. “That was the Visit, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, that was the Visit. The Light Himself went down there and lived among them; but in a moment, and you will be able to tell that even with your eyes closed, the light will go out.”

“But why? Could He not bear their darkness and stupidity? Did He have to return here?”

“No, it wasn’t that” returned the senior angel. His voice was stern and sad. “They failed to recognise Him for Who He was – or at least only a handful knew Him. For the most part they preferred their darkness to His Light, and in the end they killed Him.”

“The fools, the crazy fools! They don’t deserve —”

“Neither you nor I, nor any other angel, knows why they were so foolish and so wicked. Nor can we say what they deserve or don’t deserve. But the fact remains, they killed our Prince of Glory while He was Man amongst them.”

“And that I suppose was the end? I see the whole Earth has gone black and dark. All right, I won’t judge them, but surely that is all they could expect?”

“Wait, we are still far from the end of the story of the Visited Planet. Watch now, but be ready to cover your eyes again.”

In utter blackness the earth turned round three times, and then there blazed with unbearable radiance a point of light.

“What now?” asked the little angel, shielding his eyes.

“They killed Him all right, but He conquered death. The thing most of them dread and fear all their lives He broke and conquered. He rose again, and a few of them saw Him and from then on became His utterly devoted slaves.”

“Thank God for that,” said the little angel.

“Amen. Open your eyes now, the dazzling light has gone. The Prince has returned to His Home of Light. But watch the Earth now.”

As they looked, in place of the dazzling light there was a bright glow which throbbed and pulsated. And then as the Earth turned many times little points of light spread out. A few flickered and died; but for the most part the lights burned steadily, and as they continued to watch, in many Parts of the globe there was a glow over many areas.

“You see what is happening?” asked the senior angel. “The bright glow is the company of loyal men and women He left behind, and with His help they spread the glow and now lights begin to shine all over the Earth.”

“Yes, yes,” said the little angel impatiently, “but how does it end? Will the little lights join up with each other? Will it all be light, as it is in Heaven?”

His senior shook his head. “We simply do not know,” he replied. “It is in the Father’s hands. Sometimes it is agony to watch and sometimes it is joy unspeakable. The end is not yet. But now I am sure you can see why this little ball is so important. He has visited it; He is working out His Plan upon it.”

“Yes, I see, though I don’t understand. I shall never forget that this is the Visited Planet.”

HT: Justin Taylor

purgeon wrote this credo

I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes—

that every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit, as well as the sun in the heavens—

that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses.

the creeping of an aphid over the rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence—

the fall of sere leaves from a poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche.

HT: Between Two Worlds

This passage about the privileges of full-time pastors is my favourite from the book:

Others are glad of the leisure of the Lord’s day, and now and then of an hour besides, when they can lay hold upon it. But we may keep a continual Sabbath. We may do almost nothing else, but study and talk of God and glory, and engage in acts of prayer and praise, and drink in his sacred, saving truths.

Our employment is high and spiritual. Whether we be alone, or in company, our business is for another world. O that our hearts were but more tuned to this work! What a blessed, joyful life should we then live! How sweet would our study be to us! How pleasant the pulpit! And what delight would our conference about spiritual and eternal things afford us!

To live among such excellent helps as our libraries afford, to have so many silent wise companions whenever we please – all these, and many other similar privileges of the ministry, bespeak our unwearied diligence in the work.

– Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor

HT: A Common Place Blog

Not Ashamed is a campaign to celebrate this and for individual Christians to declare that they are not ashamed of Jesus.

Jesus Christ is good news not just for individuals or for the church but also for our nation as a whole. He is the only true hope for our society.

– Not Ashamed leaflet

It is a good reminder that it is essential that we be able to speak about Jesus openly, because Jesus is the only hope for people all across the UK.

credit: auro.That is an extraordinary statement to make. How can one be confident that God will keep you going as a Christian? We don’t know what the future holds, after all. But of course if we are not trusting in God’s power to keep us going, we will inevitably trust in our own faithfulness.

For sinful people like me, one’s own faithfulness is the very worst thing to trust. You can imagine the enslaving power of living like that, terrified of your faith or discipline one day not measuring up.

It is such good news that, as Paul Tripp puts it, “we are not kept in the faith by our own discipline and resolve, but by the loving chains of faithful, rescuing grace.”

Let me heartily recommend a video on lessons to be learned from George Whitefield on Spirit-filled ministry. The speaker is Vaughan Roberts at EMA 2010:

Dan Green outlines Vaughan’s four points:

1. Spirit-filled ministry is shaped by the miracle of the Spirit in conversion
2. Spirit-filled ministry depends on the power of the Spirit in preaching
3. Spirit-filled ministry expects the fellowship of the Spirit in Christian living
4. Spirit-filled ministry maintains the unity of the Spirit in relating to other Christians

HT: The Proclaimer

Indeed, if there is any real evidence of the decline of Christianity in the West, the evidence resides precisely in the eagerness of so many professing Christians to employ the state to advance the Christian religion…. [It] resides not in the presence of other religions (including secularism) in our culture, but in the Judge Moores, the hand-wringing over “under God” in the pledge of allegiance, and the whining about the “war on Christmas.”

If professing Christians believe our religion is advanced by the power of the state rather than by the power of the Spirit, by coercion rather than by example and moral suasion, then perhaps Christianity is indeed in decline. If we can no longer say, with the apostle Paul, “the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly,” then perhaps Christianity is indeed in significant decline. If we believe we need Christian presidents, legislators, and judges in order for our faith to advance, then we ourselves no longer believe in Christianity, and it has declined.

Christianity does not rise or fall on the basis of governmental activity; it rises or falls on the basis of true ecclesiastical activity. What Christianity needs is competent ministers, not Christian judges, legislators, or executive officers.

– T. David Gordon, “The Decline of Christianity in the West?”

HT: Old Life Theological Society

Calvin has developed an increasingly rich set of visual metaphors by which to describe the ways in which the invisible God makes [himself] somewhat visible in the universe.

1. The universe may be described as a “mirror or representation of invisible things” (Heb 11:3).
2. The world may also be described as the theater of God’s glory, which, when we behold it, should lead us to the knowledge of God who created it.
3. The universe is the living image of God, in which God represents [himself] to us.
4. The world is the clothing that the invisible God wears so that we might behold God therein.
5. Because the invisible God appeares to us in the fabric of God’s works, the world is also the school in which we should be taught to know the God who created us.
6. Finally, the universe is the speechless proclamation or the mute teaching that would instruct us in the true knowledge of God, who is the Author of all things.

– Randall C. Zachman, Image and Word

One helpful excerpt:

Students often develop a particularly intense relationship with those faculty members who who teach the Scriptures directly… Because of the special bond that exists between seminary students and their biblical studies faculty one might expect that student reaction to the board’s decision might be particularly intense… let me urge upon WTS/P students (and students in other institutions) some caution. Over the years many students have said to me “Well I heard….” and then have proceeded to announce as fact things that we completely contrary to fact. The falsehood of the reports, however, did not prevent them from spreading among the students. Sometimes these reports can be quite damaging both to the students and to the institutions where they study and to the persons involved in whatever controversy exists. The reality is, in situations such as these, that it is virtually impossible for students to know as much as they think they know.

He also gives a helpful (presbyterian) analogy to the church discipline that lies in the future of many students at theological college:

There is a good analogy for this situation: the church discipline process in the local congregation. Some of the students at WTS/P will one day be pastors. They will sit in session (consistory) and presbytery (classis) meetings where matters of church discipline will come before them. As pastors they will likely counsel with folk who, sadly, will reject their counsel and persist in sin and rebellion requiring the session (consistory) to begin disciplinary proceedings. The congregation may or may not know what is happening and things may look very different in the pew than they do in the session (consistory) meeting. There will be particulars that members of session (consistory) know that members of the congregation will never and should never know. Some members of the congregation may even regard the session (consistory) with suspicion for bringing “such a fine member of our congregation” under discipline. As a minister you will know a different story but you won’t be able to explain. You must simply stand there and “take it.” That member may never regard you the same way again and there’s nothing you can do about it. Your duty to Christ is greater than your reputation. Welcome to the ministry.