Ben Zornes

Living and Dying to Show the Preciousness of Christ

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Ben Zornes

Waxing Autobiographical

Waxing Autobiographical

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Let me wax autobiographical for a moment and share some personal developments in my life. I now have edwin-elsje-ben-zornestwo children, my second being born about 3 weeks ago. He’s a healthy, chubby, little boy named Edwin Oliver and has already proven to be a great baseball player, and is clearly the most intelligent little boy born this century. As you can tell, I am overjoyed at the blessing of this son.

These last few weeks have been short on sleep, full of ironing out the wrinkles that come with the addition of a new family member (especially helping a lovely little 2 year old understand and navigate all this), and all around wonderful as my wife and I get to look at each other and see how our love is blooming all around us. The blooming involves dirty diapers, messes with spaghetti noodles, and moments when our children prove they’ve inherited the Ben Zornes knack for an abnormally loud volume level.

It has been fantastic.

Hard.

Chaotic.

Joyful.

Good ol’ fashioned fun! [Read more…] about Waxing Autobiographical

The Natural Habitat of Charlatans

The Natural Habitat of Charlatans

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It’s been a while since I’ve chimed in on what is going on in the political world, and I think it is high time to

Monument to the Forefathers
Monument to the Forefathers

do so. If you haven’t been paying attention, there is no shortage of material to deal with here. Let me provide some color commentary on all the action.

First off, as Christians our affirmation that “Jesus Christ is King” is not merely something that happens to fit nicely in a toe-tapping song, it is a socio-political statement that has bearing on every last aspect of human existence and experience. The political cycle in front of us is not about leaving all our gods at home, it is actually about which god we, as a nation, will worship. [Read more…] about The Natural Habitat of Charlatans

It Begins At A Tomb

It Begins At A Tomb

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And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

—— Genesis 23:19——

Abraham’s beloved wife, who had travelled with him through all his sojourning, endured the testing of God alongside of him, and walked through trial and temptation with him, was dead. The freewoman (Gal. 4:23) had borne the promised seed through whom the Messiah would come, and now like Eve before her, succumbed to the death which sin brought into the world. The womb, which had been cursed at the fall, was yet the means whereby God would redeem the world.

Yet now Sarah and her womb were dead. Abraham, we are told in Genesis 23:2, grieves over her, and seeks a burial place for her among the sons of Heth (vs. 3-4). The sons of Heth haggle for a bit, and finally Abraham convinces them that he must purchase the field of Ephron for 400 shekels of silver, and use the cave of Machpelah as his burying-place (vs. 5-16).

[epq-quote align=”align-right”]The very first plot of ground which the father of faith owned in God’s promised land was a tomb.[/epq-quote]For the first time since God had promised the land of Canaan to him and his descendants, Abraham possessed territory in the promised land. Until that point, he had only been a nomadic sojourner, and treated as such by all the surrounding nations. However, the very first plot of ground which the father of faith owned in God’s promised land was a tomb.

The lesson for us is this: the blessings of inheriting the promised land always begin at a tomb. Would we have the blessing of tasting the fruit of God’s Spirit? Then we must reckon ourselves buried with Christ, dead with Christ, entombed with Christ, yet also risen with Christ. All things must be counted loss–as it were, beloved Sarah must die and go to the grave–before the blessings of the Promised Land are to be enjoyed. It is no accident either that the Christian eon began at a tomb as well and Christ’s rulership over all things began there.

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Book Review: A Serrated Edge by Doug Wilson

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A Serrated Edge: A Brief Defense of Biblical Satire and Trinitarian SkylarkingA Serrated Edge: A Brief Defense of Biblical Satire and Trinitarian Skylarking by Douglas Wilson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m grateful for mentors like Doug Wilson, who challenge me to think biblically, write winsomely, and stand for truth unflinchingly. I’ve been convinced for several years now that one of the most lacking things in modern evangelicalism is the gruff voice of the prophet. Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal, but many of us Christians act more like mice in a library.
In “Serrated Edge”, Wilson casts a vision, and provides instruction for using satire in the communication of the Gospel. We ought not to be afraid of godly insults, nor should we equate “being loving” with a “Jane Austen-y” romanticism. Sometimes the most loving thing to do is tell someone they are a “whitewashed tomb”. The prophets of old were unafraid to mock heresy, idolatry and the like, Christ was notorious for lambasting the hypocrites, the Apostle’s knew how to make their point satirically, and godly men throughout history have been known give some well-placed rhetorical upper-cuts to the heretic’s jaw.
I really enjoyed this book, and highly recommend for writers especially.

More of my Book Reviews

The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien

Live Like a Narnian by Joe Rigney

William Tyndale by David Daniel

The Poetic Wonder of Isaac Watts by Douglas Bond

The Puritan Hope by Iain Murray

Gleanings from Lloyd-Jones

Gleanings from Lloyd-Jones

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I’m currently working through Lloyd-Jones’ book “Preaching and Preachers”. Thus far am really grateful 220px-Martyn_Lloyd-Jonesfor the insightful wisdom he gives to the topic. Here is a gleaning of some of my favorite quotes thus far:

—He has been sent, he is a commissioned person. In other words he is not there merely to talk to them, he is not there to entertain them. He is there—and I want to emphasis this—to do something to those people; he is there to produce results of various kinds; he is there to influence people. He is not merely to influence a part of them; he is not only to influence their minds, or only their emotions, or merely to bring pressure to bear on their wills and to induce them to some kind of activity. He is there to deal with the whole person; and his preaching is meant to affect the whole person at the very centre of life. Preaching should make such a difference to a man who is listening that he is never the same again. Preaching, in other words, is a transaction between the preacher and the listener. It does something for the soul of man, for the whole of the person, the entire man; it deals with him in a vital and radical manner [Read more…] about Gleanings from Lloyd-Jones

Book Review: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis

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The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Elsje and I read through this together, and it was Elsje’s first time through Narnia. Needless to say, we really enjoyed it (though there’s debate on who enjoyed it the most).

One thing I’d forgotten/missed is that when Lucy gives Edmund the cordial, Lewis tells us that this restored Edmund not just from his injuries, but to his “real old self again”. It is a beautiful allusion to the work of salvation that makes us most as God intended us to be.

The other section that I found particularly lovely (this go round), was Lewis’ description of Aslan blowing on the statues and bringing them to life. He breathes and for a while nothing seems to happen. But slowly and surely, as Lewis puts it, like a flame creeping over a paper, the statue went from cold, stony and lifeless to vibrant, alive and “itself” again. A rather Calvinistic moment, I’d say! When God breathes life into a soul, it may seem still hardened to the Gospel, but the regenerative work has begun and will not falter nor fail, until He redeems that lost soul and restores it to himself.

View all my reviews

Book Review: Between Two Worlds by John Stott

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Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching TodayBetween Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today by John R.W. Stott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Quite a wonderful book. Very practical and helpful. Stott is thorough, deliberate, witty and humble enough to glean and aggregate many wonderful quotes from a wide, wide variety of pastors, preachers, and theologians throughout church history.

The sum of the message of the book is that the preacher is bridging two worlds…the Bible and our current generation. The Bible doesn’t bend to the culture, but we must ensure that in communicating the Gospel truths of scripture, we apply them to our present culture with great thoughtfulness and dexterity. We must labor to bring these two worlds together, with humility, courage, and faithfulness to God’s Word.

View all my reviews

Ben Zornes