The Bruised Reed (Richard Sibbes)

First published in 1630, The Bruised Reed is by Puritan Richard Sibbes and discusses the passage in Matthew 12 that hearkens back to Isaiah 42, looking how Jesus treats certain types of people:

a bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not quench,

What do these words mean? A bruised reed is one who "is sensible of sin and misery . . . and, seeing no help in himself . . [turns] to Christ." Similarly, a smoldering wick [or smoking flax] is he who sees a spark of Christ's work in him, yet also much smoke [sin] that remains. In both cases, these are those who understand they bring nothing to God; that our hearts are wicked, even our righteous deeds are filthy, and thus can only cry 'be merciful to me a sinner.' 

And how does Christ respond? He will not break those who are broken; neither will he snuff out the good work He has begun. Without God we can do nothing; he is the author and finisher of our faith. So we take hope, rejoicing not in ourselves but in God. 

Sibbes spends the bulk of his book encouraging believers who know their brokenness; who see (and revile) their sin; who are tempted to despair when gazing upon the remaining evil in us (even as we recognize hints of good). To remember that a broken heart God will not despise. And behold, He is making all things new. "A holy despair in ourselves is the ground of true hope"; "none are fitter for comfort than those that think themselves furthest off."

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This is an encouraging read. Like other Puritan volumes I have read, this is a mixture of powerful and profound truths written in a style that can be very hard to follow in places. But overall, highly recommended.

- Rating: A

Midterm Report

image from here

The days are slow, but the years fly by.  We're halfway through 2025.  Each year, I set and present my goals for the year in January. Today, I remind myself of the goals and look at how it's going.

Spiritual
- Be disciplined in reading/prayer routines (and reduce putzing).
- Do devotionals with the family twice a week.
- Serve better, but in fewer roles.
- Focus more on others. Figure out balance with competing needs.

This is a mixed bag. I have been more disciplined in reading/prayer, especially in the last month for the latter. Putzing has been much better in the past month, too, by minimizing screen time. Devotionals with the family started out okay but have tapered off; I need to restart those. I've scaled back the roles I'm serving in, and am still stretched too thin and exhausted, so I am taking a hiatus from many things for six months. And I have recently been convicted on just how poorly I serve the family in general by putting other things first (like work, church, and hobbies). I made a change in the past month and things have gone much better, and I need to keep that up.  

Nutritional/Fitness
- Get (and keep) weight under 185 lbs.
- Eat more fruit/vegetables. Eat out less.
- Improve gut health.
- Complete 270 workouts; bike 1200 miles.

Going pretty well. Gut health is better (pre/probiotics have helped). I stand at 185 lbs this morning—my lowest in five years. Part of that has to do with shoulder surgery (in late April) and subsequent muscle loss, though, so my new goal is 180lbs. That surgery obviously affected workouts—I'm doing what I can, but losing two months will make it hard to reach my overall goals—my biking mileage (326) and number of workouts (118) are down. I'll revise the workouts to 250 and 800 miles, respectively.

Reading
- Read 50 books.
- Read 15 works on my American Reading List.
- Minimize my owned-but-unread pile.

Going okay here. I have read 31 books so far this year, but I haven't done much (anything) with my American Reading List. And the owned-but-unread pile is holding steady (maybe growing).

Stuff
- Minimize everything in the home.

- Figure out ideal home organization.
- Buy less/budget better.

Going pretty well. We have spurts of minimization, but plan to address some long-standing messes this summer. We're making progress in home organization. And I've been more disciplined with buying less stuff, and have sold a good deal this year.

Overall

Things are progressing. Many promising factors, though not everything is of equal weight. I need to serve the family better, and that overshadows a lot of good, so I'll rate myself a 'C' for the year so far.

Grade: C

How to Lead Your Family (Joel Beeke)

The Bible ascribes three roles to Jesus: prophet, priest, and king. In How to Lead Your Family, Joel Beeke argues that "the church and the world desperately need Christlike men who lead their homes for God's glory. Such Christlike men reflect Christ's threefold office as prophets, priests, and kings. This office bearing has huge implications for how we lead our families." He proceeds to look at each office and their respective attributes, giving a model for how men should strive to lead his wife and children. In a nutshell:

- Prophets in the home: "As a prophet to your family, you confess your own faith and speak forth the counsel of God given in the Bible. you do not add to the Bible; your task is to make its turths known to your wife and children."

- Priests in the home: Imitating some aspects* of Christ's role as priest, you sacrifice yourself for your wife and children by loving them "absolutely, purposefully, realistically, and sacrificially." You are to model Christ's care for His church, laying down your life in self-giving love to nurture, protect, and provide. And by interceding for the family regularly in prayer.

- Kings in the home: "Fathers must be kings like Christ—humble servant-kings who wield authority for the good of others." "Provide your wife [and children] with biblical, tender, and clear servant leadership—not ruthless authoritarianism."

This book is only 70 pages long; an easy afternoon read. As advertised, it is 'short and to the point.' It is clear and convicting. It lists many powerful truths, humbling charges, and wise insights. It is prescriptive (giving many tips on what to do) without elaborating. It does give a nod to the struggle of leading well due to our sinful condition, but it focuses on the goal. Overall, I liked it, though I wish it was a little longer and provided more on repentance and hardship. It also assumes people have a solid background in the Bible—I found myself mentally 'filling in the blanks' to elaborate on a given point. It is a recommended read for the Christian man who needs reminders of our charge, but I think younger believers might need more.

Rating: A-

*because other aspects, like his atoning work on the cross and mediator role between us and God, are things we cannot do.

Thoughts and Prayers

I play the card game Magic: the Gathering (and enjoy it so much I dedicate a separate blog to it). As I am in various social media groups about it, I see random fan-made cards. Recently, this one caught my eye:

For those unfamiliar with the game, this card is basically saying: "pay any amount of mana [the resources in the game]; it will do another player no good." And the card title gives away the author's point: in his view, saying 'thoughts and prayers' to someone is pointless. There is both a lie and a truth here; I look at each in turn below.

The lie: prayer is ineffective.

The Bible is clear that prayer is effective. Jesus prayed often. He promised it is effective (if given in faith). We see prayers answered in many places (one and another example). We're commanded to do it constantly, for many people (including leaders), about many things, be they physical or spiritual matters, being watchful with thanksgiving, for the ears of the Lord are open to the prayers of the righteous. At the end of days, the prayers of the saints are mentioned as an offering. The Christian is to pray expectantly. It does not guarantee the result we wish, for in our fallen nature, we don't even know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes, and so we can pray with confidence, all while saying "not my will, but yours [God's] be done."

The truth: prayer is insufficient.

Though effective, the Bible is also clear that actions matter. We are to help not only with our prayers but also with our actions: our resources (time, money, etc.), abilities, and so on. Faith without works is dead, and in that passage, James makes it clear:

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

Prayer matters. Actions do, too. Practice both. Constantly.

Similo (The Lord of the Rings edition)

Today's review is of the 2019 release, Similo. For 2-8+ players, it takes 10 minutes. Many versions of this game have been produced; here, I look at The Lord of the Rings edition.

Overview

One player (the "Clue Giver") shuffles the deck of cards, draws the top 12, secretly looks at one, and then lays out all 12 in a 4x3 grid pattern (see below). That same player draws a hand of five cards, and the game begins.

Example Lord of the Rings Similo layout; image from here

In this cooperative game, the goal is to remove every character from the grid *except* the one secretly known to the Clue Giver. The game is played over five rounds. In each, the Guessers (everyone except the Clue Giver) will have to remove a number of cards from the grid. Here is how each round works:

In round 1, the Clue Giver choosed one card from his hand and plays it horizontally next to the grid. 

The played card has "something similar to one or more cards the Clue Giver would like the Guessers to remove." The Guessers choose and remove one card, and if the secret character remains, the Clue Giver draws a card (replenishing their hand to 5 cards) and the next round begins.

Rounds 2-5 play out the same way, except there are differing numbers of cards to remove in each:

- Round 2: two cards

- Round 3: three cards

- Round 4: four cards

- Round 5: one card

If, at the end of round 5, the secret card alone remains on the grid, everyone wins! If at any time the secret character is chosen to be removed, everyone loses.

Review

This is a light, fun, and fast game; I think of this as a party game. The theme matters; I played with friends with varying knowledge of The Lord of the Rings, which is a twist (the one who knew nothing about the movies ended up being a great Clue Giver). The differing numbers of cards to be removed each round makes the Clue Giver think about when to play which card. And the game has high replayability given the number of cards. Overall, this is a winner.

Rating: A

Good News for All the Earth (Mitchell Chase)

Mitchell Chase summarizes the New Testament in Good News for All the Earth, as he did in another book for the Old Testament.

The Old Testament points to Jesus. The New Testament shows us Him, the God-made-Flesh, and covers:

- Jesus' birth and the proclamation of great joy

- The beginning of His ministry, from His baptism to temptations

- The teachings of Jesus as He traveled in the region and gave the people "Kingdom Words and Wonders"

- His passion [his death on the cross]

- His resurrection

- The rise and spread of the early church (as captured in the book of Acts)

- Letters from the Apostles

- Apocalypse [Revelation] of the end times

Like his first book, this is a deliberate overview/simplification. The focus is not on the events or words of Jesus per se, but a structural overview of the New Testament with some observations along the way. It is a solid offering.

Rating: A

Enduring the 2025 Orioles

It's been a long year in Baltimore

Each year, I blog about the Baltimore Orioles. The tone last year and the one prior were positive, full of hope based on solid play, a good (young!) core, a promising farm system, and good records. This year has been another story.

The Orioles have struggled on both sides this year. 

- Their pitching, predicted to be poor, has been. They were unable to re-sign Corbin Burnes (who got injured with his new team, anyway). They have three key players injured (Grayson Rodriguez, Tyler Wells, Kyle Bradish). The replacements (Charlie Morton, Kyle Gibson, and others) have been a disaster. There is some promise with Tomoyuki Sugano, and Zack Eflin is sometimes okay, but things have been rough all around.

- Their batting, predicted to be good, has not been. Their core remains, but most players have slid from their previous performances. Jackson Holliday has been a nice highlight, Cedric Mullins remains solid, and Gunnar is doing decently well, but it's been disappointing in general.

Looking at their depth chart (current as of today), I still really like their fielders. If only they could start hitting more, and improve the pitching.

One highlight this year has been the return of all-orange uniforms (a nod back to the 1971-72 seasons). Those have been a (literal) bright spot.

Years like this make one wonder 'what went wrong?' Their offseason free agency losses (Anthony Santander and Corbin) have not produced for their respective new teams, so no regrets there. Injuries are never predictable and always lamentable. I think the real problems must be in:

- free agent pitching (or lack thereof)

- some bad trades last year (giving up some good prospects for people that haven't panned out)

- coaching? (hard to know why everyone would take a step back)

There's blame to go around, but in general . . . they're still the O's. And you stick with your team through the ups and downs. They may turn things around still—they have been 15-8 in their last 23. Go Birds!