Skip to main content

I Learned Calvinism in a Quiet Place

By: Thomas F. Booher



Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. (Mark 1:35)

I don't like the phrase "quiet time." It sounds very suspicious to me. What do you do in your "quiet time" with the Lord? Mind meld with Him? Is this simply where you get serious about God and think of Him? It's too squishy a term for me. What I do like, however, is a quiet place. 

A quiet place is concrete. We know what someone is talking about when they say they need to get away and have some peace and quiet. They need a break from the noise, to rest, and to think. 

Just as I typed that last sentence, my baby started crying in the other room. It's been like this for nearly four months now. This is the very reason why I haven't been blogging much at all lately. I have no quiet place. 

Not having a quiet place isn't only detrimental for blogging. It's detrimental spiritually. I live with my wife and son in a one bedroom apartment. His cries pierce through the walls. My wife is exhausted from watching Peter all day, and I am tired from work and seminary. We help each other of course, but neither of us have a quiet place to just rest, and think, and pray, and hear God speak to us through His Word. 

My Dad's computer room reminded me of this over Christmas break. It jolted me, took me back to a sweet time. It was right after I had returned from a public university where I first heard of Calvinism. I returned home, and in the quiet of that little computer room, with its long table and the comfort of books and bookshelves around me, I learned of God's sovereign grace over dark chocolate and cups of coffee. I learned that He chose me. And I had hours and hours of quiet to reflect on these great truths. I had peace and quiet to plumb the depths of Scripture, to praise God for who He is, to write about what I have learned. I grew spiritually, I looked forward to prayer and study of God's Word, I looked forward to meditating on God and His law day and night, because I had a quiet place.  

Yes, my son just started crying again. But God has used Peter to show me that I need to take time to get alone, and find a quiet place. Jesus Himself did this in the verses above. He needed to get away from His disciples, from the crowds that followed Him. He did it to commune with God. If I do that, I will find sweet communion with God again. May you all do the same, in a secret, quiet, holy place. 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Pastors Shouldn't Preach In Jeans (Especially Skinny Jeans)

By: Thomas F. Booher I can't think of a better way to get labeled a legalist than to title a post like this. Hopefully by the end you will not see this as legalism and will see this as what it is- my attempt at describing what I believe is proper ecclesiology as defined by God in Scripture. So then, what is church? What does Scripture say we should be doing and not doing on Sunday mornings? That's what I want to explore. The Bible says to gather together in Christ's name; to teach, encourage, and admonish one another; to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in our hearts to God (Heb. 10:24-25; Mat. 18:20; Col. 3:16). There are to be deacons (Acts 6:1-6) and elders (Ti. 1:5) in the church who act as overseers, and in the case of elders, are the shepherds of the flock who teach the word and rebuke with authority (Ti. 1:9).  God must call one to be a pastor/elder (Eph. 4:11). As such those who are called by God to preach the word are held to a
11 comments
Read more

The Stone Choir/Corey Mahler Invert God's Revelation

https://coreyjmahler.com/the-european-peoples-and-christianity/  *****EDIT: Some have said that they, or at least Corey Mahler perhaps believes, that the European religions were deviations from Christianity, believed by Noah and his sons. Over time, sinful man and demons twisted these European religions, which I think their argument is that it was originally Christian/derived from Noah and his offspring. Nordic paganism had the most in common with Christianity, even with Odin sacrificing himself on a tree, and therefore the Europeans were the most ripe and ready to embrace Christianity and continue to advance the cause of Christ more than other peoples/races/nations over the last 2,000 years since Christ.  To that I simply say, I appreciate the context given, but even if all that were true (maybe it is, maybe it is not), it doesn't change the fundamental points of my post below. Syncretism, Odinism, etc., even if it was somehow a distorted derivation flowing from the true faith, is
1 comment
Read more

Some Problems in the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America)

By: Thomas F. Booher NOTE: I posted what's below to Facebook on this day, December 6, 2016. I wanted to post this here for record keeping and so that it can have a more visible and permanent viewership for those concerned or wishing to be more informed about the PCA.  I would like to explain my love for and grave concerns within the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America), the denomination in which I am currently a member and have served as a ruling elder. The state of the PCA is, in my estimation, not a consistently conservative, orthodox, and confessional one. I believe it is in the midst of much compromise, and I do not think that the average lay person is aware of it. It grieves me to say these things. I wish they were not true. I grew up in the PCA, and until several years ago I was still under the delusion that all was well in this denomination, that it was, by and large, holding fast to the Word of God. I still believe that there are many
11 comments
Read more