Are you just dunked?

What I often ponder is how many Christians are there who are Christians only by instruction, religious education or having somebody manipulate them by dunking them in a baptismal pool or sprinkling water on them?

How many of these people come to church every Sunday, take part in the services on Sunday and yet are not known for being Christians, because away from the church they do not act like a Christian? They are Christians by assumption, by manipulation or instruction, rather than by regeneration.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 120

Strong, Righteous Man of Galilee

Strong, Righteous Man of Galilee

1. Strong, righteous Man of Galilee,
   With borrowed peace we follow Thee:
   In temple court, Thy cleansing rod;
   On Pharisees, the scorn of God.
   With borrowed peace we follow Thee,
   Strong, righteous Man of Galilee.

2. Firm, peaceful Man of Galilee,
   With borrowed strength we follow Thee:
   Not to revenge, but heal and pray,
   To turn the cheek and tribute pay:
   With borrowed strength we follow Thee,
   Firm, peaceful Man of Galilee.

3. Calm, suffering Man of Galilee,
   With borrowed grace we follow Thee:
   Love at the well, share Martha’s loss,
   Forgive the nails, and take the cross.
   With borrowed grace we follow Thee,
   Calm, suffering Man of Galilee.

4. God’s peaceful Man of Galilee,
   Love’s triumph, we shall follow Thee:
   To crumble every boundary wall,
   Build highways to the hearts of all.
   Love’s triumph, we shall follow Thee,
   God’s peaceful Man of Galilee.
                         Harry Webb Farrington
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Well, I haven't run acrosss one as rare as this one in a long time. It occurs in about twelve hymnals. I don't recall ever hearing it sung or singing it. I do like the second verse:

With borrowed strength we follow Thee:
Not to revenge, but heal and pray,
To turn the cheek and tribute pay:

Not the version of strength that most today think of when the say "Christianity"! More's the pity. Theirs is a caricature of true Christianity. True Christianity features a self-emptying God, not a wrathful "kill the enemies" kind of god.

Note that most versions say, "Girt with Thy..." instead of "with borrowed," but the substance is the same—it's not ours, but his.
</idle musing>

Tell Me the Story of Jesus

215 Tell Me the Story of Jesus

1 Tell me the story of Jesus,
   write on my heart every word;
   tell me the story most precious,
   sweetest that ever was heard.
   Tell how the angels, in chorus
   sang as they welcomed his birth,
   "Glory to God in the highest!
   Peace and good tidings to earth."

Refrain:
   Tell me the story of Jesus,
   write on my heart every word;
   tell me the story most precious,
   sweetest that ever was heard.

2 Fasting alone in the desert,
   tell of the days that he passed,
   how for our sins he was tempted,
   yet was triumphant at last.
   Tell of the years of his labor,
   tell of the sorrow he bore;
   he was despised and afflicted,
   homeless, rejected, and poor. [Refrain]

3 Tell of the cross where they nailed him,
   writhing in anguish and pain;
   tell of the grave where they laid him;
   tell how he liveth again.
   Love in that story so tender,
   clearer than ever I see:
   stay, let me weep while you whisper,
   Love paid the ransom for me. [Refrain]
                         Fanny J. Crosby
                         Hymns for the Family of God

I Think When I Read That Sweet Story

213 I Think When I Read That Sweet Story

1 I think when I read that sweet story of old,
   When Jesus was here among men,
   How He called little children as lambs to His fold,
   I should like to have been with them then.

Refrain:
   I should like to have been with them then,
   I should like to have been with them then;
   How He called little children as lambs to His fold,
   I should like to have been with them then.

2 I wish that His hands had been placed on my head,
   That His arm had been thrown around me;
   And that I might have seen His kind look when He said,
   "Let the little ones come unto Me."

3 Yet still to His footstool in prayer I may go,
   And ask for a share in His love;
   And if I now earnestly seek Him below,
   I shall see Him and hear Him above.
                         Jemima T. Luke
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
A fairly popular hymn, occurring in more than 750 hymnals. I don't recall ever singing it. Hymnary.org adds a fourth verse:

4 In that beautiful place He has gone to prepare,
   For all who are washed and forgiven;
   And many dear children are gathering there,
   For "Of such is the kingdom of heaven."

</idle musing>

Can salvation be taught?

But the serious error facing the church today is its belief that salvation can be taught. Set a person down or a group of people and teach them what the Bible says and ask them if they believe it and if they accept it and so forth. When everybody nods their head in the affirmative, we lead them into believing that they have now been born again.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 119

O Sing a Song of Bethlehem

208 O Sing a Song

1. O sing a song of Bethlehem,
   Of shepherds watching there,
   And of the news that came to them
   From angels in the air.
   The light that shone on Bethlehem
   Fills all the world today;
   Of Jesus' birth and peace on earth
   The angels sing alway.

2. O sing a song of Nazareth,
   Of sunny days of joy,
   O sing of fragrant flowers' breath,
   And of the sinless Boy;
   For now the flow'rs of Nazareth
   In ev'ry heart may grow;
   Now spreads the fame of His dear name
   On all the winds that blow.

3. O sing a song of Galilee,
   Of lake and woods and hil,
   Of Him who walked upon the sea
   And bade its waves be still;
   For tho' like waves on Galilee,
   Dark seas of trouble roll,
   When faith has heard the Master's word,
   Falls peace upon the soul.

4. O sing a song of Calvary,
   Its glory and dismay;
   Of Him who hung upon the tree
   And took our sins away.
   For He who died on Calvary
   Is risen from the grave,
   And Christ, our Lord, by heav'n adored,
   Is mighty now to save.
                         Louis F. Benson
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Citing the NRSV updated edition

Now that the updated edition of the NRSV has been out for a while, I'm starting to see it cited. But, How do you cite it? I've seen NRSVUE (all caps) and NRSV^ue. But the real question, for me anyway, because I mainly edit for publishers who use as their foundation style sheet SBLHS2, is: What does SBL recommend?

I emailed them and they responded that they were following the National Council of Churches (the body that owns the translation) recommendation: NRSVue (no superscript).

Ironic, isn't it, that the recommended way is the one I have hardly ever seen.

Go here for a complete list of copyediting-related posts.

His love is reaching

200 His Love … Reaching

Right from the beginning God’s love has reached, and from the beginning man has refused to understand. But love went on reaching, offering itself. Love offered the eternal … we wanted the immediate. Love offered deep joy … we wanted thrills. Love offered freedom … we wanted license. Love offered communion with God Himself … we wanted wanted to worship at the shrine of our own minds. Love offered peace … we wanted approval for our wars. Even yet, love went on reaching. And still today, after two two thousand years, patiently, lovingly, Christ is reaching out to us today. Right through the chaos of our world, through the confusion of our minds. He is reaching … longing share with us … the very being of God.

His love still is longing. His love is still reaching, right past the shackles of my mind. And the Word of the Father became Mary’s little Son. And His love reached all the way to where I was.
—Gloria Gaither
Hymns for the Family of God

What are you chasing after?

It is this presence of God that is the “other” each generation seeks and longs for, if only they knew it.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 107

An advent meditation (yes, I know it's Lent!)

189 How Proper It Is

How proper it is that Christmas should follow Advent.
-For him who looks toward the future, the Manger is situated on Golgotha, and the Cross has already been raised in Bethlehem.—Dag Hammarskjöld Hymns for the Family of God

Trust? Or obey? Which is it?

An old saint was once asked, “Which is more important: prayer or the reading of the Word?” He thought for a moment and then responded, “Which is more important to the bird, the right wing or the left?” That is a question I want to pose: Which is more important to a Christian, believing or obeying? For the sparrow flying through the air, both wings are equally important. With only one it is almost impossible to fly. So, we must believe God’s Word and we must obey it. By these two wings, a man will rise to God in faith and humble obedience to the Lord Himself.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 106

I Wonder as I Wander

183 I Wonder as I Wander

1 I wonder as I wander, out under the sky,
   how Jesus the Savior did come for to die
   for poor ordinary people like you and like I;
   I wonder as I wander, out under the sky.

2 When Mary birthed Jesus, 'twas in a cow's stall
   with wise men and farmers and shepherd and all.
   but high from God's heaven a star's light did fall,
   and the promise of ages it did then recall.

3 If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing,
   a star in the sky, or a bird on the wing,
   or all of God's angels in heaven for to sing,
   he surely could have it, 'cause he was the King.

4 I wonder as I wander, out under the sky,
   how Jesus the Savior did come for to die
   for poor ordinary people like you and like I;
   I wonder as I wander, out under the sky.
                         Appalachian carol
                         Collected by John Jacob Niles
                         Hymns for the Family of God