Japan’s 8.9 magnitude earthquake—the biggest one to ever strike Japan—echoes the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.

In response, John Piper wrote an article titled “Tsunami, Sovereignty, and Mercy.” The essence of his main points are the same, slightly modified for Japan’s context:

1. Satan is not ultimate, God is.
2. Even if Satan caused the earthquake in Japan, he is not the decisive cause of the deaths, God is.
3. Destructive calamities in this world mingle judgment and mercy.
4. The heart that Christ gives to his people feels compassion for those who suffer, no matter what their faith.
5. Christ calls us to show mercy to those who suffer, even if they do not deserve it.

Read Piper’s whole article.

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My oldest daughter compares Tim Keller to Pixar: when they both release new material, you just know it’s going to be great. Since The Reason for God (2008), Keller and the Redeemer City to City team have produced four eagerly anticipated books. Now they’re launching the Redeemer imprint with King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus.

A narrative of the Gospel according to Mark culled primarily from previous sermons, King’s Cross is

an extended meditation on the historical Christian premise that Jesus’s [sic] life, death, and resurrection form the central event of cosmic and human history as well as the central organizing principle of our own lives….[Its purpose is] to tr…

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Following up on Piper's facebook post, he earlier spoke about the challenges technology poses to Bible reading and prayer at the 2011 Desiring God Conference for Pastors:

Dear Clarence,

At the outset, please forgive me if this letter seems a bit disjointed. I’ve never written an angel before, so I’m a bit nervous!

What’s the occasion of this, my very first “Angel” letter? I realize it’s a tad tardy, but it’s regarding the movie that made you famous: Frank Capra’s iconic film It’s a Wonderful Life.

I’ve watched it for nearly every year I’ve been alive, and have even passed the tradition on to my growing children. Indeed, for much—perhaps even the majority?—of the United States (even Christians) Christmas is nearly synonymous with the movie. A Christmas passing without watching it? Unthinkable! Just recalling that famous line by one of the Bailey girls, “…

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In last week's post, we briefly discussed James Davison Hunter's observation (from his book To Change the World) that our increasingly omnipresent "fragmentation of consciousness" poses significant challenges to foster a distinctly Christian faithful presence in our modern world, as it "cultivates a kind of absence in the experience of 'being elsewhere'".

If Hunter's assessment is correct, what (if anything) should we do? How will we resist the seemingly relentless dilemma of "being elsewhere" with all our distractions, electronic gadgetry, entertainment, social media, etc. while living in and attending to the "here and now"? Hunter is clear: "Faithful presence resists such conditions and …

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At this very moment, you’re multi-tasking:

1. you’re likely at work, home, or at a “third space”;
2. have multiple windows open on your screen;
3. are listening to music;
4. are reading another blog post;
5. are talking to/thinking about someone;
6. reading or writing an e-mail;
7. are blinking;
8. have a pulse.

Okay, scratch the last two. (And lest you surmise I suffer from the “I’m okay, you’re not okay” malady, ironically I’m multi-tasking even as I compose this blog post.)

So let’s pause now—really, right now—stop all multi-tasking: turn off your cell phone, don’t check e-mail, take a break from anything media related, and slowly work your way through this quotation from James Davison Hunter:

The very na…

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