Samuel and Empty things

Samuel was addressing the nation Israel when he was annointing Saul as king:

And Samuel said to the people, "Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty."

I Samuel 12:20-21 (ESB).

Anything that is not done for the Lord is an empty thing.

Moses and Work II

The power to gain wealth is from the Lord.

Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

(Deut. 9:17-18)(ESV)

I just received a pay raise. I worked hard last year, but I only worked 40-45 hours a week and I had no on-call. The previous year, I was very disappointed in my pay raise. I worked much harder, I was oncall, I was much more frustrated, and I averaged over 50 hours a week. I am not saying I deserved a pay raise because I switched jobs to one I was more suited to, but what I am trying to say is God is in control of promotions and pay raises. We must serve and honor him first by working hard, and let him take care of us.

The Puritans and Scripture

J. I. Packer in his book, A Quest for Godliness, on pages 97-98, relates the following story described to John Howe by Dr. Thomas Goodwin about a preacher, Mr. Rogers of Dedham.

having heard much of Mr. Rogers of Dedham [an early Puritan Boanerges]took a journey...to hear him preach on his lecture day....Mr. Rogers was...on the subject of...the Scriptures. And in that sermon he falls into an expostulation with the people about their neglect of the Bible;...he personates God to the people, telling them,'Well, I have trusted you so long with my Bible; you have slighted it, it lies in such and such houses all covered with dust and cobwebs; you care not to listen to it. Do you use my Bible so? Well, you shall have my Bible no longer.' And he takes up the Bible from his cushion, and seemed as if he were going away with it and carrying it from them; but immediately turns again and personates the people to God, falls down on his knees, cries and pleads most earnestly, 'Lord, whatever thou dost to us, take not thy Bible from us; kill our children, burn our houses, destroy our goods; only spare us thy Bible, only take not away thy Bible.' And then he personates God again to the people: 'Say you so? Well I will try you a while longer; and here is my Bible for you. I will see how you will use it, whether you will love it more...observe it more...practice it more, and live more according to it.' By these actions(as the doctor told me) he put all the congregation into so strange a posture that...the place was a mere Bochim, the people generally...deluged with their own tears; and he told me that he himself, when he got out...was fain to hang a quarter of an hour upon the neck of his horse weeping before he had power to mount; so strange an impression was there upon him, and generally upon the people,upon having been expostulated with for neglect of the Bible.

Things to do in and around Iowa city

This a personal list so I can remember where I can take people when they visit me in Iowa City.

1. Natural History Museum in campus.
2. Old Capitol Museum.
3. University of Iowa Art Museum.
4. Plum Grove Historical Site (1st Governor's House.)
5. Wallace Winery (Herbert Hoover Highway just east of West Branch).
6. Herbert Hoover museum in West Branch.
7. Eat at Amanas. Bill Zubers is good and so is Ox Yoke Inn.
8. Swing of the Quad Cities Baseball in Davenport.
9. Cedar Rapids Kernels.