brain train in the membrane

i've been picking up a lot of tim keller books lately. i bought "counterfeit gods" last saturday while visiting city life (redeemer church plant in boston) to see family, and i devoured it within a plane ride + half a day, give or take a couple hours. it was so heart-wrenchingly good that i finally picked up his other book "prodigal God" that i had laying around the house. i remember being similarly affected by his book "the reason for God."

this isn't a review of the book - which i heartily recommend. a lot was revealed to me by his clear teaching - if his words were a set of knives, they'd be wusthofs or shuns, "...piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit." keller's teachings have the ability to propel a chain reaction of thoughts in my mind & bring about much reflection, tears, humility, gratitude, change.

"(His) blessing makes idols unnecessary. As with Jacob, we usually discover this only after a life of 'looking for blessing in all the wrong places.' it often takes an experience of crippling weakness for us to finally discover it. that is why so many of the most God-blessed people limp as they dance for joy." - counterfeit gods

in a convo with the hubs, i was able to assess why keller's teaching is so effective for me - while tim keller is a theologian, he is also a keen anthropologist. he takes the grand truths of the Word and brings it down to real life - the nitty gritty. he examines idol-worship in our hope in politics, ideas of love, greed, and even doctrinal truths. he penetrates the fabric of the world around us through an acutely biblical lens - the workplace, motherhood, socioeconomics, racial tensions...in a way that helps me understand how everything in life exists for His good pleasure.

yet, i know there are those who will find him too intellectual, dry, urbane. hard to imagine how for one person, something can be so life-changing and to another person, dull. this man's teaching affects me in a different way than it'll affect you - there are skeletons in my closet, idol-worship in my heart that are fingerprinted differently in my life because of the past our creative God uniquely planned for me. randy alcorn's books impact tim in a more profound way than they do me. john piper's books will do for you something different than they do to me. et cetera.

i so thankful to God for the teaching of saints with a deeper understanding of the gospel & its intricacies than me - i catch glimpses of the depth & wealth of truth i am striving to understand. what all these men do imperfectly, abridgedly (made up word), God uses perfectly for His plans.

did any of you make it down this far? hahaha, i've heard so many people rant about all-text/sans-graphics posts and how boring they are (and for the most part, i have to agree), so i highly doubt it. if so, i hope you were encouraged! in all honesty, it is more fun to post up pictures & little anecdotes of life, but i do want to occasionally share the good-er stuff too =). tatafornow.