Gentle and Lowly

Finally finished Dane Ortlund's Gentle and Lowly, the Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers. My brother and sister-in-law gave me this book for Christmas a couple of years ago. They also threw in the accompanying Bible study guide, so it's taken me awhile to get through it. Not because it's a slog. On the contrary, because I really needed it to soak in. Ortlund strategically points out that once we accept God's grace and become a child of His, we cannot 'un-child' ourselves. Jesus loves us in such a way that it's simply hard to accept in our finite minds and our conditional way of thinking. God's mercy is just who He is. It's not fickle. He grants us mercy "to the uttermost". 

There is an video series for this study too. At one point along the way I found a pastor in Texas that was putting his own commentary/teaching with Ortlund's videos on YouTube, but it got taken down. Probably for copyright infringement. But not before I made it 3/4th of the way through the study. In the videos, Ortlund just expands on the chapters in the book a little. So you can probably do without the videos just fine. I like how Ortlund picks apart strategic scriptures, like Hebrews 7:25 and Lamentations 3:33. 

That in-depth review of scripture reminds me of how the pastor at my old church taught each passage we studied, verse-by-verse...I really miss that. The boys and I were (again) talking today after church about the cultural Christianity here in the south. Seems like everyone is very nice. Seems like everyone knows about God. But the sermons are very light to us. It sounds super snobby of me to say this out loud. What I DO know, is that our old church did not have Sunday school for adults, and here, the Sunday school time is where they dive into scripture more. I just can't seem to get the boys out of bed and into this Sunday school habit. Consequently, we long for the deep dive into scripture from the pulpit. But part of what I've learned, having traveled/lived outside the Bible Belt, is that no particular church is perfect. Our church here does believe in and teach the Bible. Check. They love missions, both local and abroad. Check. They really emphasize creating community and serving. Check. It really is more about the relationships when you are part of a church family. And we have finally started making connections (after 2 years) at the church where we are now. So the odds of us moving on to something *shiny and new* are slim. Until Jesus comes, we will continue to have our a deep theological debates amongst ourselves and we will try to join small group studies where we dive into the Word at a more profound level. Finding like-minded hearts for Jesus is definitely not hard down here. For that, I'm thankful. 

Lamentations 3:31-33 "For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone."