Sundays are a good time to ponder who God is. He is worthy of service and worship. We have been taking a look at God’s attributes each Sunday. Links to previous weeks are below. Most definitions are taken from Tim Challies’ visual theology chart of the attributes of God.
Remember, God’s attributes are not parts that make up a whole. Everything good that there is, is 100% contained in God. He is 100% beauty, 100% aseity, 100% omniscient, etc. He is complete in Himself.
Tim Challies explained: “To study God’s attributes is to study his character, to answer questions like, Who is God? and What is God like? A typical classification of God’s attributes divides them into those that are incommunicable (those that he does not share or “communicate” to anyone or anything else) and communicable (those that he shares with other beings). Like most theological classifications, this one is imperfect but still helpful as we seek to understand what is so far beyond ourselves. God’s communicable attributes can be further categorized into: attributes of God’s being, mental attributes, moral attributes, attributes of purpose, and “summary” attributes (attributes that, in a more particular way, modify each of the others).”
PEACE Moral attribute. God, in his being and actions, is separate from all confusion and disorder.
Jonathan Edwards on peace: “My peace I give unto you.” Christ by calling it his peace signifies two things,
1. That it was his own, that which he had to give. It was the peculiar benefit that he had to bestow on his children, now he was about to leave the world as to his human presence. 2. It was his peace that he gave them, as it was the same kind of peace which he himself enjoyed. The same excellent and divine peace which he ever had in God, and which he was about to receive in his exalted state in a vastly greater perfection and fullness.
John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.”
RIGHTEOUSNESS Moral Attribute God is the final standard of what is right and he always acts in accordance with what is right. (This is also known as God’s justice).
RC Sproul on God’s righteousness: “His righteousness is of two sorts. We distinguish God’s internal righteousness from His external righteousness. What God does is always consistent with who God is. He always acts according to His holy character. God’s “internal righteousness” is the moral excellence of His character. It is rooted in his absolute purity. There is no shadow of turning in Him. As a holy God, He is utterly incapable of an unholy act. Only unholy beings commit unjust and unrighteous acts.“
Psalm 11:7, “For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will see His face.“
PERFECTION Summary Attribute God fully possesses all excellent qualities and lacks no qualities that would be desirable for him.
Charles Spurgeon on God’s perfection: “Perfection, indeed, seems to be the sole prerogative of God. He is perfect in everything. In all his attributes there is no lack; from whatever point of view we regard him, he is without blot or blemish; and no man, speaking truthfully of God, can say that there is aught of imperfection in him.”
Matthew 5:48, “Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
I love church. I love the music, hymns & songs connecting me to my ancestors in the faith, all the way back. I love the sermons, God’s word expositionally preached is thrilling and fascinating every moment the preacher speaks truth to his flock. I love the people, singing praises to the Lord and singing His attributes to each other. Communion is an especially sweet time with the Lord. Just the thought that I can pray to Him asking for forgiveness of sins, and He will forgive them, is humbling. Dipping the bread into the wine is an act that Jesus performed as His last supper, when He instituted the ritual. My arm picking up the bread and dipping it feels like a long line holding me to time past, and in between, and the now with a oneness with all the other believers who have done the same thing. Continue reading “Art and beauty have a place in church”→
The Veith title and the essay itself is based on the work of Robert Putnam, “a very important social scientist”, who has written a new book called Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis. It deals in part with what happens to a society that refuses to hold anyone else to a moral standard. The collapse of moral standards (in the face of unwillingness to call out bad behavior and set expectations for good behavior) is causing a crisis among families. We do feel sympathy for latchkey kids, abused kids, families split, drug culture ruining lives. NY Times columnist David Brooks opined about “Our Kids”,
But it’s increasingly clear that sympathy is not enough. It’s not only money and better policy that are missing in these circles; it’s norms. The health of society is primarily determined by the habits and virtues of its citizens. In many parts of America there are no minimally agreed upon standards for what it means to be a father. There are no basic codes and rules woven into daily life, which people can absorb unconsciously and follow automatically.
Reintroducing norms will require, first, a moral vocabulary. These norms weren’t destroyed because of people with bad values. They were destroyed by a plague of nonjudgmentalism, which refused to assert that one way of behaving was better than another. People got out of the habit of setting standards or understanding how they were set.
I referenced Putnam’s earlier work from Bowling Alone in a blog essay, Churching Alone: The Collapse of American Churches. I’d written about the lack of a thriving biblical presence in communities, the Christian parallel to what Putnam had been saying about civic responsibility in his 2001 book. However, his new book “Our Kids” actually touches on the Christian relativism, ‘judge not’ mentality problem even more insightfully, albeit unknowingly. There IS a cost to relativism that affects both the secular society AND the biblical church. Let’s see from the Bible what the cost to the church is when it sinks into ‘non-judgmentalism.’
We see that clearly in the letter from Jesus to the Church at Thyatira. The church there had refused to set moral, biblical standards. Jesus was angry that they were tolerating sin. They were too tolerant, just like the ‘judge not!’ crowd screeches at the Christian who attempts to set biblical standards of morality. We all know Jesus did not mean for that to become a cover for their own immoral behavior.
The church at Thyatira was commended for being loving, faithful, having a service-oriented attitude, and for their perseverance. They were the only church to be so heartily praised in such a wide range of attitudes. (Revelation 2:18-19)
The problem at Thyatira was that they were tolerating a false prophetess. They were tolerant. This false prophetess, metaphorically named Jezebel, was declared to be leading the Thyatirans to idolatry, apostasy and infidelity (of the Lord).
Being busy, serving, loving, and persevering is not enough, if sin is allowed to take hold. The situation was so serious, Jesus promised that unless the Jezebel false prophetess repented and her followers with her, He would —
–throw her onto a sickbed,
–and those who commit adultery with her He will throw into great tribulation,
–and He will strike her children dead. (Revelation 2:20-23)
THAT is how seriously Jesus takes sin in the church. Tolerant love is no love at all, if it includes allowing false wolves to lead people away from Jesus.
Within the church, failure to set a moral standard based on His word brings death, either through the wages of sin or via direct intervention from Jesus. Outside the church, even secular people wonder about the long-term effects of a general lack of agreed-upon moral standards, as Mr Brooks stated in his NY Times article here,
People sometimes wonder why I’ve taken this column in a spiritual and moral direction of late. It’s in part because we won’t have social repair unless we are more morally articulate, unless we have clearer definitions of how we should be behaving at all levels.
Yet of late, the rapid decline in morality has occurred precisely because of a general refusal- in the church and out- to define morality and to stick by the standards. It must be acknowledged that in order to function effectively, a society needs to have moral standards, and these standards need to be agreed upon. Where does on obtain a moral standard? They ALL originally came from God.
At no time in any epoch and at no place upon the earth did all people ever agree on the truth…but enough people agreed so that the false ones felt pressure to conform at least superficially to the moral standards the bulk of society lived out. Now, since no one agrees even upon the basics, such as ‘what is marriage?’, it’s a free-for-all.
Yes, failure to “judge” immoral behavior in the church angers Jesus. That was a problem in Corinth. Paul charged the Corinthians for failing to specifically articulate a moral standard about incest and adultery. A man had his father’s wife, and all the church AND the pagans knew it. (1 Corinthians 5:1). The Corinthians ‘did not judge,’ and the problem grew scandalous and destroyed their witness. Failure to live by Christian boundaries then leaks over into the world, where even the peer pressure to even pretend to be moral declines and eventually evaporates. Pretty soon, the tipping point is reached where no one will stand up for any standard at all, and all is deemed good and acceptable.
We are called to be a holy people so as to be pure for Jesus and to be an example to the people of the world. (Romans 11:13-16; 1 Corinthians 10:33). A young Christian lady who remains a virgin is committing a moral act, all the brighter for the darkness that surrounds her. A married Christian man who doesn’t look at porn, or tell dirty jokes at work, is committing a moral act. Couples who stay together and don’t divorce are performing a radical, moral act.
In a healthy society, social morality is comparatively “thick.” One consequence of the cultural revolution of the 1960s was a weakening, a thinning out, of social morality. The result is that the standards of right and wrong are reduced to the minimalist test of whether a particular action is legal. This is an unthinkable degradation of standards from the America of earlier periods, when society assumed that an individual’s moral responsibilities encompassed far more than merely observing the law. The decline in social morality and the rise of legalism are illustrated in Figure 1.2 below. (Source)
Christians who speak out against sins like fornication, homosexuality, divorce, gossip, anger, impetuousness, fiscal irresponsibility … are doing Christ’s work by pointing to His moral lines He has set. Further, as Putnam said, we need a moral vocabulary. In the Christian world, call sin as sin, not a mistake, or a stumble. It is up to us to set the lines and stay behind them, because we know where they are.
–we have an absolute line, it does not move nor does it change with the culture. Share it.
–call sin what it is: sin. Use the word.
–call it out in the church. When Ananias and Sapphira were killed by Jesus on the spot for being hypocrites and liars, all who heard of it feared greatly. The church grew. (Acts 5:1-10, Acts 6:1). Paul opposed Peter to his face. (Galatians 2:11). Peter called out Simon the magician and exhorted him to repent. (Acts 8:20).
–live morally in the world. We are meant to be the Light in the world, our own sin and non-judgmental tolerance doesn’t help anyone. Tolerating sin dims our Light.
Non-judgmentalism has a cost. Yes, we are living in a time that is pretty bad, morally speaking. Perhaps even worse than the well known immorality of the Corinthians lived among. Pastor Phil Johnson thinks so. I do too.
Again, as Mr Brooks said in his review of Putnam’s book,
The health of society is primarily determined by the habits and virtues of its citizens…They were destroyed by a plague of nonjudgmentalism, which refused to assert that one way of behaving was better than another.
My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; 10 for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
Mike Riccardi at The Cripplegate began an excellent essay on the times in which we live this way:
The last few months have been emotionally tiring for Christians in America.
You can say that again.
The last few months have been emotionally tiring for Christians in America.
Weary with burdens? Climbing an endless mountain?
Let the Lord refresh you. (EPrata photo)
I don’t need to go over it all, we know what Pastor Riccardi means. We all know we are living in a sinful world, we all know we contribute to the sins that are piling up to heaven (though thank the Lord we are forgiven for them.) We are tired and we are weary. And it has only just begun.
The love of Jesus is a mystery in its depth and breadth and height and width and its eternality since before time began. This love given to us from heaven is incomprehensible and would overflow us if we received it openly in unglorified bodies.
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge…(Ephesians 3:17-19a)
Similarly, the hatred of satan is a mystery to us. We are unable to fully comprehend its evilness. We all know that the depths of sin and its ugliness is still a mystery to us, until some heinous acts are then exposed and we very nearly succumb to the shock. Remember, these heinous acts have been ongoing since the beginning of the world. Yet Christ in His mercy doesn’t reveal them all to us at once, else we would veritably collapse from emotional exhaustion and spiritual despair. The last month has been hard enough.
the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. (Matthew 12:35a)
But it’s still difficult to deal with when we see previously unrevealed depths of depravity.
So what can we do when faced with incomprehensible evil? We can remember we are missionaries, aliens and strangers and this is not our home.
Our home is over yonder. EPrata photo
For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. (1 Chronicles 29:15)
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; (Philippians 3:20)
We all know the summary of the verse at John 17:16, ‘we are in the world but not of it.’ In practical terms, I heard it explained best by Alistair Begg, “The boat is supposed to be in the water, but the water isn’t supposed to be in the boat.” ~Alistair Begg.
What can we do to get the water out of our boat?
Take a missionary leave to heaven. Yes, enjoy some heaven tourism. All missionaries get leave to go home once in a while. We all need a vacation from our daily grind. So go home to heaven. Here is how to do it:
First, pray. The Lord will call us home bodily in His good timing. But every day we can visit our home through prayer. When your kids go on mission, or go to college, or move a distance away, don’t they Skype with you? Don’t they call? They are not there in body to be with their father but they communicate with home base. Who doesn’t remember being a shaky, tearful kid alone at college, or on the Army base, and calling home to receive some love from Dad or comfort from Mom?
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (Romans 8:26)
Stuck on this planet, our friends and colleagues perhaps have made it back home before us, lonely, shaky, tearful wanderer, pray. It is the “ET phone home” of Christianity.
Next, read the Bible. It is the security blanket the alien and stranger on this planet needs to stay warm, stay energized, stay effective. It is the energy pill, immunization shot, protein drink we need as we go out and complete our missionary tasks on planet Earth. When we are overcome with darkness because of the world, then overcome darkness with Light! The light is reading God’s word and seeing the face of Jesus. We can’t actually go to heaven and see Him yet, but we can behold His countenance by reading His words and having the Spirit point us toward Him. Behold His glory through the Word.
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Third, wash yourself, wrap yourself in the Word by listening to a good sermon. Stay away from secular radio, avoid even Christian radio. Most times even Christian radio with its sad news coupled with songs that are only doctrine-light will not uplift you but bring you down. There is no better refreshment than the Living water to enliven the weary traveler, as we are. When you listen to a good expositor plumb the beauteous depths of God’s word it washes over you like a flood of love and light. When you do this you are wrapping yourself in liquid sunlight, chasing away the vaporous darkness and illuminating the corners of your soul with heavenly love. Choose sermons that exegete verse on the beauty of heaven, or the strength of Jesus’ love, or the promises of things to come. I can heartily recommend John MacArthur for this purpose. Phil Johnson on the Psalms is a wonderfully encouraging resource. Or choose another expositor who preaches verse by verse the word only. We do not want to hear some silly personal story from the pulpit when we’re faced with depths of sadness and are crying out to God. We don’t need practical tips for living, or topical studies. We want THE WORD, for that is the only ticket us expatriates require when it’s necessary to go on temporary leave to heaven.
Another good resource is just listening to an audio book that speaks the word. I listen to RefNet and at times they read aloud huge segments of the Bible. The word fills me and its vapors stream from the radio to my ears to my mind and glide along my veins and fill my innermost parts. It is His word that encourages, uplifts, transforms. When you want to visit heaven on a missionary reprieve, listen to a narrator read His eternal word. It is a living and active word, thus you WILL be refreshed. Listen to hymns. Let strong, doctrinal music flood your soul, cleaning out the leaves and twigs that have accumulated in the corners of our our soul. Let good music wash away the despair and cleanse our mind. What a balm to bask in pure words from heaven! Choose your music carefully, and make a playlist that encompasses encouraging lyrics which include verses as straight from the Bible as you can. Again it is communication with heaven that we are after in order to visit heaven, they have to be His words, not man’s. Here is a list of good, doctrinal hymns from Religious Affections Ministries. They are grouped by category.
EPrata photo
So pray, read the Bible, listen to the Word, and enjoy good, doctrinal music. We are aliens on this planet. Taking time each day to temporarily visit home will please the Father, who sent us abroad. It will liven our heart, to further Jesus’ kingdom. It will allow us to partake of the peace, that Jesus gave us. Be encouraged, Brother, be heartened Sister, be strong Pastor…
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. (Proverbs 18:10)
I was reading Genesis 16 & 21, Hagar. I love the Hagar scenes. I admit that the Woman at the well and the Hagar scenes are dear to me and I love those passages. I am amazed with how wonderful the Savior is.
Two of my favorite scenes in the Bible are the Woman at the Well, and Hagar in the Wilderness. In the former, the Lord ministered to a marginalized woman whose sins had given her an illustrious reputation which preceded her wherever she went.
Hagar was Abraham’s slave and her sin was forced upon her: Sarah (Sarai) concocted a plan to hurry-up God’s plan to get the promised child. She convinced Abram to use Hagar as the maternal vessel. When Hagar became pregnant, Sarah’s jealousy grew, and Sarah death harshly with Hagar.
“But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” (Genesis 16:6-8).
The Angel of the LORD is interpreted to be Jesus, pre-incarnate. He told Hagar to go back and to submit, and she did. Genesis 16 has the full account.
The child born to Abraham and Hagar was Ishmael, but as Ishmael grew, Sarah became jealous again. Dissension came up between the two women. Sarah expelled Hagar from the community and with her child, Hagar fled to the desert.
The wilderness is a harsh place and when the water in her pouch ran out, Hagar knew that death would soon come. She placed the boy down near bushes and went to die herself a little ways off, not bearing to see the death of her child.
Again The LORD came to Hagar, this time by voice, and comforted her.
“Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.” (Genesis 21:16-19)
“Hagar and Ismael’ by Jean-Charles Cazin. 1841-1901, work painted before 1880. Musée d’Orsay artwork ID: 69708. Source Wikimedia Commons
Can you imagine? Being a slave? The owner taking you sexually? The wife mistreating you? Preparing to die in the desert? Worst, preparing to watch your son die in the desert? And you thought you had a bad day!
Both times Hagar was in the wilderness, God immediately heard the plea of her heart and the piteous lonely cries from her mouth. He asked her a similar question as He had asked Adam, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9, Genesis 16:8). Both times Jesus was dispatched to provide life to her, with water. Jesus is the Living Water. He gives life and He sustains life.
Our God is mighty. He is sovereign. He has His plan, which none can thwart. Yet He is tender, and caring, and gentle with His people. I hope the beauty of the painting and the even greater beauty of the Word comforts you today. Cast all your cares upon Jesus, who is the Living Water.
“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:38)
Though I write every day on the blog, on Sundays over the years I’ve rested and did not write much. I’ve also presented content that is more aligned with a day of rest and reflection on Christ and His word. I’ve posted Kay Cude’s poetry. I’m currently doing a series on God’s Attributes. In the past I posted excerpts from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.
Sundays are a good time to think about those who preceded us in death for the cause of Christ.
There are other entries in the Sunday Martyr Moment in the series. Just search using the title I just named and search bar above at the right. After you read enough of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, your heart clenches and you gain perspectives about Christ’s power in dire circumstances to give courage, about the dedication of those who died, and of man’s inhumanity to man. I pray-
Lord, we know that the unregenerate heart and unsanctified mind can devise horror after horror. The Holocaust showed us the depths of man’s inhumanity to man and the future Tribulation will exceed even those horrors. It’s unimaginable what the Christians who preceded us went through, but thank You for your grace and comfort to them while they were under trial. I know that many hearts were converted upon seeing their courage, which was the strength of the Holy Spirit in them. As this time at the end of the Age of Grace draws to a close, I pray You deliver the same strength and courage to today’s martyrs. So that once more, many hearts are converted as they see dark evil of hate and torture against Your light of holy eternity in pure hearts proclaiming Your name even as they die under the sword.
There are a lot of animals, plants, and activities in the Bible that I have little knowledge about. It was fun learning the process for creating purple dye from murex shells. Or the process of plucking reeds growing along the Nile to make into linen garments. And what was it about the sweet onions that the Wandering Hebrews complained that they missed them so much? I wrote about that one some years ago.
I’ve been thinking about donkeys. Ever since I read in Charles Swindoll’s book on Job in the Bible that a delicacy of the day was donkey milk. Wait, wut? And that was ALL he said about it! I’m intrigued, Mr. Swindoll, intrigued.
The other day I saw a meme on Twitter, of a hypothetical conversation between God and an Angel. God remarks on the slew of people these days drinking almond milk. The angel says the people are getting milk from almonds now. God says I sent them like 8 animals to get milk from! The angel replies, “They don’t like that milk”.
I’ve often mused on the strangeness of getting milk from almonds. It makes a funny imaginative picture in my mind, milking an almond. Of course I know that’s not how they get almond milk, it’s a totally different process, but it still gives me a chuckle.
Donkey milk. What’s up with that? First I looked up donkeys. Donkeys are mentioned in Old Testament 133 times.
And in the New Testament 7 times. Matthew (3) Luke (1) John (2) 2 Peter (1)
In Genesis 32:15 female donkeys (called a jenny/jennies) are mentioned. When Jacob was preparing to reunite with Esau, unsure of the reception he’d receive, he collected his best milk animals to give his brother, in case Esau was still intent on killing Jacob.
Then he selected from what he had with him a present for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. (Genesis 32:13-15).
Donkeys are first mentioned in Genesis 12:16. It was when Abram met Pharaoh and Pharaoh liked the look of Sarai and took her, believing as per Abram that she was Abram’s sister, not his wife. Pharaoh gave Abram some gifts in exchange for Sarai, including male donkeys and female donkeys.
Wild donkeys are good hunters, aggressive if challenged, defend themselves with hard kicks, and are perfectly suited to the desert. They can go without water for days, and have acute vision, hearing, and smell.
Further, wild donkeys have been found to be great well diggers in the desert! (wild horses too). NatGeo writes,
As described in a paper published April 29 in the journal Science, the animals use their hooves to dig more than six feet deep to reach groundwater for themselves, in turn creating oases that serve as a boon to wildlife.
It makes sense, then, that donkeys were domesticated. By 4000 BC the tribes living in what we now call Saudi Arabia had them in flocks. They were used on farms and in caravans as beasts of burden. The cave paintings in Egypt’s Beni Hasan, estimated to have been drawn at about 1890 BC, depict one such caravan.
What are the animals the Bible people actually got milk from?
A female donkey is a jenny. She produces 1 liter per day of delicious milk. Why was donkey milk such a delicacy? First of all, donkey milk most closely resembles human breast milk. This is highly convenient for nursing.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports, In the last few decades, there has been a renewed interest in donkeys by the scientific community involved in the recovery of biodiversity, in the rescue of some donkey breeds that have become almost extinct, and in the rediscovery of donkey milk. In addition, due to the increase in food allergies, attention has been focused on the need for a “natural” milk with a good taste, which could be used in some childhood illnesses such as allergy to cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA). Donkey milk is very similar to human milk, especially in terms of its protein profile and lactosecontent.
It’s not only nutritious and delicious, but it’s medicinal too. USDA says,
“The high content of lysozyme in this milk favors selective action against pathogenic microorganisms. In addition, the mineral content (such as calcium) and liposoluble vitamins make it an excellent nutraceutical product.” A neutraceutical product is a pharmaceutical alternative which claims physiological benefits. A drug substitute.
Donkey with pack saddle unchanged from Incan times, Papallacta, Ecuador. EPrata photo
Donkey milk was characterised by high lactose content, low caseins, low fat, higher levels of unsaturated fatty acids compared to ruminant milks. Unsaturated fatty acids and omega 3 fatty acids in particular have become known for their beneficial health effect, which is favourable for human diet. These characteristics make it suitable for infants and children affected by food intolerance/allergies to bovine milk proteins and multiple food allergies as well as for adults with dyslipidemias. It is also recommended to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
The ancients knew it was medicinal. The National Library of Medicine reports, “Hippocrates (460–370 BC.), the father of medicine, was the first to describe the medicinal virtues of donkey milk. He prescribed donkey milk for numerous ailments, such as liver problems, edemas, nosebleeds, poisonings, infectious diseases, the healing of sores, and fevers.“
Further, we read that In Roman times, donkey milk was used as a universal remedy: Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD), in his encyclopedic work Naturalis Historia, has widely described its health benefits. In particular, Pliny writes about 54 medicinal uses of donkey milk, ranging from its use as an anti-venom or as a relief for external irritations (itching) to the use of it in a pomade (ointment) for the eyes. He states that donkey milk is the most effective as a medicine, followed by cow’s milk, and then goat’s milk. (Source).
I wonder if donkey milk was prescribed for Paul’s problem with his eyes…
So far we learn that donkey milk has great food properties, super medicinal qualities, and, now we turn to cosmetics. Ancient documents record that Cleopatra, Nero’s wife Poppea, Emperor Claudius’ wife Messalina, and Paolina Bonaparte (Napolean’s sister) used to bathe in donkey milk or otherwise use it to keep their skin looking supple and unblemished. Masks of donkey-milk soaked bread slices would be placed over the face. It helped eliminate wrinkles, it was said by Pliny the Elder. Riddle: If a jenny yields a liter a day, how many jennies does it take to fill a bathtub every day? Upwards of 700.
We note that Job initially had 500 female donkeys (Job 1:3). By the end, the LORD had doubled them and Job finished with a thousand female donkeys (Job 42:12). Maybe Mrs. Job liked to bathe in donkey milk or put donkey milk-soaked bread slices on her face, lol.
In any case, donkeys are a valuable animal. They served our Bible forbears well and they serve us well today. Donkey milk. It does a body good. (For those of an age, this was a long-lasting milk tagline to a series of commercials in the 1980s. It must’ve been effective. I still remember it 40 years later!)
Screen shot from 1980s ad campaign for milk with my added word: donkey!
I’d like to finish with a praise to the Lord. He created every star, planet, land mass, plant, bird, creeping thing, and every animal in just 6 days. As I wrote last week about the wondrous properties for humans in barnacles and horseshoe crabs, the lowly donkey also has some properties which are terrific benefit to humans.
The Lord gave us the common grace of the world. He gave us a charge to work the garden and subdue it. Though the cursed ground now temporarily makes that difficult, He still is an amazing Sovereign who gave us wonderful plants and animals to help us complete that charge. God is great.
Sundays are a good time to ponder who God is. He is worthy of service and worship. We have been taking a look at God’s attributes each Sunday. Links to previous weeks are below. Most definitions are taken from Tim Challies’ visual theology chart of the attributes of God.
Remember, God’s attributes are not parts that make up a whole. Everything good that there is, is 100% contained in God. He is 100% beauty, 100% aseity, 100% omniscient, etc. He is complete in Himself.
MERCY
Moral attribute: God is good to those in misery and distress and he is good to those who deserve punishment.
OMNIPOTENCE
Attribute of purpose: God is able to do all his holy will. (This is also known as God’s sovereignty).
OMNIPRESENCE
God has no size or shape and is present in all places with his entire being.
Here are a few links for you that I pray you find interesting and edifying. May the Lord shine upon you this week in ways that display His glory, love, and power.
Sam Chan asks Why Do We Make Our Kids Do Weekend Sports? In the South, sports can be an idol, or it can be a character building enterprise, or both. Tune in to see this author’s opinion.
It’s not only back to school for elementary and high school kids, but college students too. It’s scary to send them off. Cara Ray at Pursuing Otium Sanctum has some thoughts on Now What? How Parents Can Pray for Their College-Aged Kids
University of Maine, Fall 1978
Susan Lafferty has a short devotional on Obadiah. I love Obadiah. It’s an overlooked and little remarked-upon book. If you’ve been afraid to delve into this dense but short prophetic Old Testament book, now’s your chance.
Finally the long, hot Georgia summer is letting go and we are experiencing cool mornings and bearable afternoons. Fall in Georgia really is glorious. It lasts a while, which is one of the many reasons I enjoy it. The Fall season in Maine is about 2 weeks long, I’m not joking. In Georgia it’s about 8 weeks and the slow slide into ‘winter’ is beautiful with clear skies, low humidity, and turning leaves. I put winter in quotes because even after 16 winters in Georgia the fact that winter temps rarely even get below freezing overnight, and usually remain in the 40s and 50s during the days, is not winter to me but a Maine Spring, lol. On to today’s news-
Of course, discernment essays are the ones that people view the most. I don’t know if that is good or bad. I think it is good. People need discernment. John MacArthur has regularly said over the years that lack of discernment (which is caused by biblical illiteracy) is the biggest threat to the church.
I recently mentioned that I’ve enjoyed Todd Friel’s Wretched series called “Drive By______”. Drive By Marriage, Drive By Biblical Counseling, Drive By Theology, Drive By Discernment, etc. These are short, systematic lessons in audio, focusing on the topic, that anyone can listen to as they drive to work. (Or listen to anywhere). Audio lessons range anywhere from 10 minutes to 15 or so. They are short.
I’ve listened to several of these series and I especially enjoyed the series on discernment. Discernment as a biblical skill and applied to practical life is rarely explicitly taught. But Hebrews 5:14 says,
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (ESV).
So we CAN practice discernment and train up in the skill, even if we are not blessed specifically with the gift of discernment as some possess. Bottom line, discernment is for everybody.
I saw that the Drive By Discernment bundle at Wretched is on sale. The team has put together a bundle of excellent resources with the Drive By Discernment audio lessons, which includes some great stuff. Normally this bundle would sell for $96.00. The bundle is now for sale for not much more than the lone Drive By lectures would be, $39.00. Their blurb says,
This bundle is the perfect arsenal to help you defend the truth and refute false teaching. Each resource has been carefully selected and is guaranteed to strengthen your discernment. The bundle includes the following:
Joel Osteen “This bundle is giving me my worst life now.”
Benny Hinn “This bundle makes me so mad I want to whack someone with my coat.”
Kenneth Copeland “I found the one thing scarier than my soulless stare, this bundle.”
Creflo Dollar “Don’t spend your money on this bundle. Give it to me instead. My jet needs new gold platted seatbelt buckles.”
Steven Furtick “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
LOL, to be clear, if you are not familiar with Todd Friel’s jocularity, those reviews are Wretched-type witticisms of course, not real reviews. But they are pretty funny. The lectures are not given by Friel, there are a variety of noted speakers who give each lesson, many of which are from the Psalm 119 Conferences. Lecturers like Justin Peters, Phil Johnson, James White, Tim Challies (who wrote a book on discernment, see below) and others. In the Drive By Discernment series of lectures alone, there are 63 lectures. In the Drive By False Teaching series included in the bundle, there are 79 lessons. (Remember, each one is short enough to listen to on a short commute, like 15 minutes).
But I am serious when I say it would be worth it to look into either this bundle, or at least one or more of the items in it separately. If you are serious about training up in discernment and you regularly already read your Bible, this is a good deal. And for the record I am not a Wretched employee nor do I receive compensation for this. I am simply always on the lookout for credible and edifying resources, and discernment resources are scarce. When they come to my attention, I like to pass them on to you, my sisters. 🙂
Other Resources in discernment
The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. Challies said: “Written for the general reader and in a way that is suitable for a wide audience, the book teaches people to think biblically so they might act biblically. It appeals for discernment, teaching the importance of this discipline in guarding the good news God has entrusted to us.“
“In its simplest definition, discernment is nothing more than the ability to decide between truth and error, right and wrong. Discernment is the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. In other words, the ability to think with discernment is synonymous with an ability to think biblically.”
“Over the past several months, we’ve seen how quickly news and social media can elicit fear, provoke anger, and fuel movements. This information overload is sometimes more than we can bear and has sent believers and unbelievers alike spiraling into despair and hopelessness as we’re simply trying to discern what to believe.“
Podcast by Alistair Begg: Who is Wise? part 1 of 2. Description-
“What’s the proof of wisdom? Is it found in the diplomas you have, the books you’ve read, the knowledge you’ve gleaned? Well, on Truth For Life, Alistair Begg demonstrates the biblical measure of wisdom and discernment.“
“Education can provide important facts, but it can’t offer us wisdom. On Truth For Life, Alistair Begg says it’s not intelligence, but faith, that makes a person wise. Hear how to employ wise discernment by trusting in God’s Word.“
the-end-time.org 