From Daniel Wallace’s devotional on historical aspects of the birth of Jesus.

Shortly after the birth of the Messiah, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem and inquired of king Herod where the real king of the Jews was to be born. The theologians of Herod’s court knew the Scriptures well–in ‘Bethlehem’ they recited. Ironically, though they knew the Scriptures, they did not believe them! They did not even bother to travel the five or six miles to Bethlehem to see their Messiah.

But Herod believed the Scriptures! That is why he sent a corps of butchers to Bethlehem to slaughter innocent children, in hopes of destroying this rival to his throne. But he was too late. The magi had come and gone and Jesus was by now safe in Egypt.

And the magi believed the Scriptures. They had traveled several hundred miles to worship this Babe. They were guided to Bethlehem by a supernatural celestial phenomenon–and by the Scriptures. Apparently, their ancestors had been instructed by Daniel the prophet about the coming Messiah. . . When they saw the child, they fell down and worshiped him. This was God in the flesh. They could do no other.

The theologians of Herod’s court did not believe the Scriptures. They were fools. Herod believed, but disobeyed. He was a madman. The simple shepherds and the majestic magi believed in this infant Savior–and it was reckoned to them as righteousness. May we follow in their train.

The Read and Share Bible DVD (Volume 1) tells thirteen Bible stories from the Old and New Testaments. The vignettes, each of which are about three minutes long, include the stories of creation, Adam and Eve, The Flood, Abram, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Esau, Rachel (I almost had to explain polygamy to my four-year old), the birth of Jesus, John the Baptist and Jesus’ baptism, the temptation of Jesus, miracles of Jesus, and the parable of the Prodigal Son.

The video is very well done. The animation style was interesting and colorful. The narration and background music was pleasant. I found the whole presentation peaceful, unlike so many of the loud and hyperactive cartoons common today. Even so, it did keep the attention of a two-year old, a three-year old (although he left about halfway through), a four-year old, and a six-year old. My twelve-year old even watched for a while.

The stories are obviously abridged for time and age-appropriate content, but the basic information is there and can help make kids familiar with Bible characters. Check it out here.

I reviewed this DVD as a member of Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Blogger program. For more information visit brb.thomasnelson.com/.

Here is a quote that I read at the Cleansing Stream class last night. The author is commenting on Psalm 42.

“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc.

Somebody is talking. Who is talking? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul?’ he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: ‘Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you.’…

The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. You must say to your soul: ‘Why art thou cast down’– what business have you to be disquieted?

You must turn on yourself, upbraid yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and say to yourself: ‘Hope thou in God’– instead of muttering in this depressed, unhappy way. And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do.

Then having done that, end on this great note: defy yourself, and defy other people, and defy the devil and the whole world, and say with this man: ‘I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance, who is also the health of my countenance and my God.’”

–D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Its Cure(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965/2002), 20-1.

(found at Tolle Lege)

I posted part of this quote once before.

The other book I read from was A Gospel Primer: Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love.

A hymn by Edward Mote

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Download a copy of this song at NoiseTrade.

A hymn by Elvina M. Hall

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

When from my dying bed
My ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
Shall rend the vaulted skies.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down
All down at Jesus’ feet.

Download a free Mp3 of the song from Sovereign Grace Music.

Check out this World War 2 era field manual on how to engage in simple sabotage.

The suggestions for General Interference with Organizations and Production (starting on page 32) and General Devices for Lowering Morale and Creating Confusion (pages 35-36) are classic. There seems to be many simple saboteurs in our government and businesses.

A few examples:

• Make “speeches.” Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your “points” by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences. Never hesitate to make a few appropriate “patriotic” comments.
• To lower morale and with it, production, be pleasant to inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions. Discriminate against efficient workers; complain unjustly about their work.
• Hold conferences when there is more critical work to be done.
• Pretend that instructions are hard to understand, and ask to have them repeated more than once. Or pretend that you are particularly anxious to do your work, and pester the foreman with unnecessary questions.
• Give lengthy and incomprehensible explanations when questioned.
• Act stupid.
• Be as irritable and quarrelsome as possible without getting yourself into trouble.

God glorifies Himself toward the creatures also in two ways: 1) By appearing to . . . their understanding. 2) In communicating Himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in and enjoying the manifestations which He makes of Himself . . . . God is glorified not only by His glory’s being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it. His glory is then received by the whole soul, both by the understanding and by the heart.

Jonathan Edwards – The “Miscellanies” (quoted by John Piper in his message, How My Pastoral Ministry Shapes My Pulpit Ministry)

We stopped at the Danish Windmill in Elk Horn, Iowa on the way home.

Here’s what our backyard garden looked like when we got home. We’ve got pumpkins and cantelope.

More pictures have been posted on my Facebook page.

Here’s a picture after an evening of backyard fun on Father’s Day.

Here are a few pictures from our trip to the world headquarters of John Deere, where Kari’s mom works.