I Will Tell You A Secret

by CWK

I will tell you a secret:

a secret sublime; like honey, sweet;

a secret, holy, like heaven,

but a secret, severe, like sin.

I will tell you a secret:

a secret wild willed, like a wind

that topples towers down;

but a secret, like the wind again, discrete:

for, it travels without sound.

I will tell you a secret.

I will tell you a secret:

a secret that gives, but steals;

a secret that lives, but kills.

A secret, like surgeon’s knife, that heals –

but, also like a knife, that cleaves.

Here is the secret

that you never thought would happen:

joy begins when men leave laughing,

and return, to God, to grieve.

Here is my secret,

and though you will not believe it,

I hope you will believe:

to go up, you must go down.

To go forward, you must turn around.

The way to speak is to listen.

The way out is the way in.

The way to climb is to descend.

The place to start is at the end.

Style Guide

by CWK

I. Developing Your Own Style

1) Read the paper aloud.

This will help you develop a good ear. Writing that sounds good reads well.

2) Write in English, simple and plain.

i.e., [1] don’t try to fashion elaborate, flashy, literary sounding sentences.

In writing, simplicity is beauty.

John Calvin, “I always studied to be simple.”

Strunk: "After he has learned, by the guidance (of the rules), to write plain English adequate for everyday uses, let him look for the secrets of style, to the study of the masters of literature."

3) Strive to be clear.

Assume that your reader does not understand you. Imagine yourself as a sheep herder, and your reader as a lost lamb. It is your job to shepherd your reader to clarity.

4) Revise often, but not early.

It is beneficial to indulge in creative freedom on the first draft of a work. Get your ideas, good and bad, on paper. Then once you have devised, you can go on and revise. When revising, it is best to have a learned enemy read and critique your work.

III. Basic Composition Skills

Begin by carefully reading your assignment, or carefully considering your goal. Is this a reflection paper? An essay? A research paper? 

This is where students generally go wrong.  Ask your professor for clarification if you don’t understand the assignment. Next, do your research and/or reading. I suggest reading with pen in hand and taking detailed notes to better facilitate critical engagement. Read thoughtfully and slowly, or as Bacon put it, “Read to weigh and consider.”

1) Thesis Statements.

You are ready to begin the writing phase of your work after you have read your assignment and done your research. The first step in the writing phase is to formulate a thesis. The thesis may change as your work progresses. This is to be expected. A thesis statement is: a concise summary of the contents of your paper, the heart and soul of your paper, the main idea(s) you want to communicate.

Ex. The Reformers valued expository preaching as a consequence of their commitment to the Bible as God’s Word.

2) Outlines.

You would do well to use an outline, even when writing a shorter paper. The discipline of outlining your ideas before starting will save you in both time and frustration. An outline serves as the skeleton of your work. It should present, in brief form, the whole of your paper.

Here is an outline of a paper about outlining,

Topic: How to Write an Outline

                I. Preliminary Work

                                a. Read Your Assignment Carefully

                                b. Develop a rough thesis statement

                                b. Make a list of topics/ideas to cover

                                c. Organize this list into themes

                                d. Organize themes into a logical flow

                                e. Revise thesis statement if necessary

                II. The Marks of A Good Outline

a. Concise

b. Clear

c. Organized logically

d. Visually Suggestive

                *Differentiate Points/Subpoints with Numerals and Letters

3) Paragraphs

a. Organize your ideas into paragraphs.

Each paragraph should represent one, and only one, main idea. Start your paper with an opening paragraph which contains an introduction and your thesis statement. End your paper with a concluding paragraph which wraps things up, summarizes, and restates your thesis.

b. Topic Sentences

Start each paragraph with a topic sentence; end each paragraph with a concluding sentence referring back to, and/or summarizing, the topic of the paragraph.

ex. I became a fan of soccer last year through a series of coincidences. I went to England for a week last summer. There, I saw devotion to a sport that exceeded all my experience... So, all these random events conspired to make me an avid soccer fan.

Strunk: “Again, the object is to aid the reader. The practice here recommended enables him to discover the purpose of each paragraph as he begins to read it, and to retain the purpose in mind as he ends it. For this reason, the most generally useful kind of paragraph, particularly in exposition and argument, is that in which the topic sentence comes at or near the beginning; the succeeding sentences explain or establish or develop the statement made in the topic sentence; and the final sentence either emphasizes the thought of the topic sentence or states some important consequence.”

c. Make each speech a single paragraph – no matter how short the speech.

Tom took Karen’s hand, knelt, and said softly, “Will you marry me?”

                “Yes,” Karen replied.

                Tom looked up and struggled to find more words, but he could only smile. He leapt into the air, nearly dropped the ring into the lake.

d. Avoid long paragraphs. Also, avoid overly short paragraphs.

Strunk, “Enormous blocks of material look formidable to the reader. He has a certain reluctance to tackle them; he can lose his way in them... But remember, too, that firing of many short paragraphs in quick succession can be distracting... Moderation and a sense of order should be the main considerations in paragraphing.”[2]

4. Use the active voice.

The active voice is more direct and vigorous than the passive:

I cherish Jane Austen’s portrait of courtship.

This is better than,

Jane Austen’s portrait of courtship is cherished by me.

Strunk, “This is true not only in narrative principally concerned with action, but in writing of any kind. Many a tame sentence of description or exposition can be made lively and emphatic by substituting a transitive in the active voice for some such perfunctory expression as there is, or could be heard.”[3]

Other examples of the power of the active voice (from Strunk):

There were a great number of dead leaves lying on the ground.

Dead leaves covered the ground.

The reason that he left college was that his health became impaired.

Failing health compelled him to leave college.

3. Put statements in positive form.

Make definite, certain, sharp assertions. Avoid halting, tame, hesitating, wimpy language.

Compare the following,

She did not know what to do.

She was clueless.

Strunk: “This example shows the weakness of the word “not.” Consciously or unconsciously, the reader is dissatisfied with being told only what is not; he wishes to be told what is. Hence, as a rule, it is better to express a negative in positive form.”

not honest

dishonest

not important

trifling

Note: another advantage of putting statements in positive form is the savings of words that result. Remember, vigorous writing is concise. Compare the following,

not an insignificant point

relevant (a saving of 3 words)

4. Omit needless words.

Strunk: “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”

Many expressions in common use violate this principle; compare the following,

apparently

the question as to whether/ better: whether (or the question whether)

there is no doubt but that/ better: no doubt (or doubtless)

used for fuel purposes/ better: used for fuel

he is a man who/ better: he

in a hasty manner/ better: hastily

this is a subject which/ better: this subject

His story is a strange one/ better: His story is strange.

Note: the expression “the fact that” should be revised out of every sentence in which it occurs.

owing to the fact that/ better to say: since (because)

in spite of the fact that/ better to say: though (although)

call your attention to the fact that: better to say: remind you (notify you)

I was unaware of the fact that/ better to say: I did not know

Who is, which was, and the like are often superfluous.

His brother, who is a member of the same firm

His brother, a member of the same firm

Trafalgar, which was Nelson's last battle

Trafalgar, Nelson's last battle

5. Use appropriate punctuation (period, comma, colon, semicolon, exclamation points, question marks, dashes, etc.)

a. Avoid ellipsis... because it only demonstrates that you wrote your paper at the last minute ... without thinking about punctuation...

b. Avoid emoticons (:0, :), etc.). Emoticons belie a lack of professionalism. These will make

 astute readers : (.

c. Use ! and ? sparingly. Double and tripling punctuation is inappropriate in academia!

If you use exclamation points all the time, you will leave your reader with the impression that you are shouting! Perhaps, you are over-stimulated?! Instead, let words do the work! Calm down! Write clearly! See what I mean??! Especially avoid double and triple exclamation points!! One will do!!!

d. Use semicolons (;) to join two closely related independent clauses.

Jan was the consummate extrovert; she felt most at home when she was away from home.

e. Use colons (:)

                * to introduce a definition

                                ex. Justification: an act of God’s free grace, whereby he pardons all our sin and  accepts us as righteous in his sight.

                * to separate title and subtitle

                                ex. The Literary Culture of the Reformation: Grace and Grammar

* to introduce a list

                ex. You will need: pen, paper, a jacket, and a mongoose.

f. Avoid comma-splices

Incorrect: I went home, I fed the cat.

Correct: I went home, and I fed the cat.

Also correct: I went home. I fed the cat.

g. Use dashes to signal abrupt shifts in tone, or breaks in thought.

Lewis Thomas, “The dash is a handy device, informal and essentially playful, telling you that you're about to take off on a different tack but still in some way connected with the present course — only you have to remember that the dash is there, and either put a second dash at the end of the notion to let the reader know that he's back on course, or else end the sentence, as here, with a period.”

h. For quotes: place the comma before quotation marks at the beginning, and within quotation marks at the end.

ex. The author states, “Reformed theology encourages engaged citizenship,” and I agree.

6. Avoid clichés/ hackneyed (worn out) phrases

Especially the following,

definitely (This is definitely my favorite book. I will definitely use this in my life).

certainly

seemingly

apparently

the fact of the matter

I was struck by

love (I love my dog, this book, that shirt, that place, those shoes, my friends, etc)

very. Use this word sparingly. If you want to emphasize, use strong words. Get in the habit of using your thesaurus. Compare,

He was very cold.

He was freezing.

He is very serious.

He is in dead earnest.

II. Basic Grammar

1) Form the possessive singular of nouns with 's – even if the final consonant is s.

ex. Charles's friends love Strauss’s music.

2) In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.

Thus write,

America, England, and Canada are the lands of my ancestry.

Not,

America, England and Canada are the lands of my ancestry.

3) Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.

ex. The great writers, and lots of confused readers, would all agree.

4) Place a comma before and or but introducing an independent clause (an independent clause is a phrase that can stand on its own as a complete sentence).

ex. Spurgeon was the greatest preacher of the 19^th century, and he was an exceptional pastor.

5) Do not join independent clauses by a comma (comma-splice). (See avoid comma splices above).

If two or more clauses, grammatically complete and not joined by a conjunction, are to form a single compound sentence, the proper mark of punctuation is a semicolon.

Not,

Lewis’s fiction is an example of sanctified imagination, he is always seeking to communicate grand truths.

But,

Lewis’s fiction is the best example sanctified imagination; he is always seeking to communicate grand truths.

It is equally correct to write the above as two sentences, and replace semicolons with periods.

Lewis’s fiction is an example of sanctified imagination. He is always seeking to communicate grand truths.

6) Do not break sentences in two with periods (fragments).

Avoid sentence like this,

I went home. To see if I left the oven on.

7) Do not spare periods and spoils sentences (run-on sentences).

Note: this is the most frequent grammatical error among seminarians.

Incorrect: I am not finished I am just getting started.

Correct: I am not finished. I am just getting started.

7) Promote peace and harmony between subjects and verbs.

i.e. Make sure subjects and verbs agree.

Incorrect: The readings is complicated.

Correct: The reading is complicated.

Also correct: The readings are complicated.

Writing Advice from C.S. Lewis

Lewis responded to a child's letter requesting advice on becoming a better writer, [4]

1.             Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn't mean anything else.

2.             Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don't implement promises, but keep them.

3.             Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean "More people died" don't say "Mortality rose."

4.             In writing. Don't use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was "terrible," describe it so that we'll be terrified. Don't say it was "delightful"; make us say "delightful" when we've read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers "Please will you do my job for me.'

5.             Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

More Lewis Advice on Writing, [5]

1.             Turn off the Radio.

2.             Read all the good books you can, and avoid nearly all magazines.

3.             Always write (and read) with the ear, not the eye. You shd. hear every sentence you write as if it was being read aloud or spoken. If it does not sound nice, try again.

4.             Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else. (Notice this means that if you are interested only in writing you will never be a writer, because you will have nothing to write about . . .)

5.             Take great pains to be clear. Remember that though you start by knowing what you mean, the reader doesn't, and a single ill-chosen word may lead him to a total misunderstanding. In a story it is terribly easy just to forget that you have not told the reader something that he needs to know -- the whole picture is so clear in your own mind that you forget that it isn't the same in his.

6.             When you give up a bit of work don't (unless it is hopelessly bad) throw it away. Put it in a drawer. It may come in useful later. Much of my best work, or what I think my best, is the re-writing of things begun and abandoned years earlier.

7.             Don't use a typewriter. The noise will destroy your sense of rhythm, which still needs years of training.

8.             Be sure you know the meaning (or meanings) of every word you use.

---

[1] i.e. (from latin id est) = in other words. An abbreviation frequently misused as a way of continuing long and meandering sentences.

[2] Strunk and White, Elements of Style, 17.

[3] Ibid., 18. Note on a Note. Use Ibid. (short for latin ibedem, in the same place) when the preceding footnote cites the same reference. If the reference is on the same page. do not restate the page.

[4] C.S. Lewis, Letters to Children, 63-65.

[5] C.S. Lewis, Letters of C.S. Lewis, 291-292.

3 Questions For Every Life, and Every Decision

by CWK

A Path of Life/Basic Ethical Principles/How to Make Decisions

3 Main Questions to ask......when making decisions/deciding the course of our life/setting our goals.

1. What goals to pursue (END)?[1]

                -Glory of God[2] [3] [4] [5]

                -Happiness[6] [7] [8]

                -Knowledge of/Intimacy with God[9]

                -Heaven/ Life Eternal[10]

2. What kind of persons to be (MOTIVE)?[11]

                -Love of God[12] [13] [14] [15]

                -Love of Man[16] [17]

                - God-Fearers[18] [19]

                -The Virtuous Person[20]

3. What practices/guidelines/rules to follow (MEANS to the end, i.e. the how)?

                -The Word of God[21]

                -The Path of Wisdom: time[22] + prayer[23] + Godly counsel[24] [25]

                - Led by Spirit (expectancy of God’s leading, submissiveness,[26] [27]prompt and sincere obedience to God once    

                  the right path is clear)

                - Clear Conscience[28] [29] [30]

*DUTY BELONGS TO US/ consequences belong to God.

---

[1] Augustine said, "When you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there."

[2] God’s ultimate and supreme end in creating the world was “that there might be a glorious and abundant emanation of his infinite fullness of good ad extra (outside himself)... God was moved to this end by the perfection of his own being (Edwards).” This means that God created the world because He overflowed in glory and desired to communicate that glory in his creation. Humans, as image bearers of God, are to live as an expression of the glory of God. Sin means we have ‘fallen short of the glory of God.’ GK Chesterton understood this when he said: “Whoever I am, I am not myself.” Redemption in Christ means we are being renewed in the image of God and conforming to the purpose for which we were created: to glorify God. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever (Westminster Shorter Catechism: q. 1).

[3] Brainerd: “Took pains to describe the difference between a moral and an immoral self love; the former uniting God’s glory and the soul’s happiness that they become one common interest, but the latter disjoining and separating God’s glory and man’s happiness, seeking the latter with a neglect of the former.” God’s glory and our happiness are inextricably tied together.

[4] ‘There was nothing brought under the consideration of the students of divinity who attended me at Geneva, which appeared to contribute so effectually to overthrow their false system of religion, founded on philosophy and vain deceit, as the sublime view of the majesty of God presented in the four concluding verses of this part of the Epistle (of Romans 11). Of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things. Here God is described as His own last end in everything that He does. Judging of God as such an one as themselves, they were at first startled at the idea that He must love Himself supremely, infinitely more than the whole universe, and consequently must prefer His own glory to everything besides. But when they were reminded that God in reality is infinitely more amiable and more valuable than the whole creation, and that consequently, if He views things as they really are, He must regard Himself as infinitely worthy of being more valued and loved, they saw that this truth was incontrovertible. Their attention was at the same time directed to numerous passages of Scripture, which assert that the manifestation of the glory of God is the great end of creation that He has Himself chiefly in view in all His works and dispensations, and that it is a purpose in which He requires that all His intelligent creatures should acquiesce, and seek and promote it as their first and paramount duty. Passages to this effect, both in the Old and New Testament, far exceed in number what any one who has not examined the subject is at all aware of.” Robert Haldane on influences that brought salvation and revival to a number of students he ministered to. His point is that the turning point was a redirecting their focus on God.

[5] “It is, the chief end of God in the world to manifest his glory. Many think, especially infidel men, that God's chief end is the happiness of his creatures; but, from deep study of the Word of God for years, I see that it is not so. If that were his chief end, all would be happy. His chief end is diverse - it is self-manifestation. Had it not been for this, God would have remained alone in awful solitude. I would desire to speak with deep reverence on such a subject. This seems to be the reason why there are vessels of wrath as well as of mercy - that they might be mirrors to reflect his attributes. And I believe, brethren, when creation is done, and when redemption is done, that there will then be a complete manifestation of the glory of God (Mc’Cheyne: Sermon: The Vessels of Wrath).”

[6] “If I were to ask you why you have believed in Christ, why you have become a Christian, every man will answer truly: For the sake of happiness (Augustine).” “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked... (Psalm 1:1).” ‘Blessed’ means nothing less than: O, how happy!

[7] What is the good life? The unwasted life? The truly happy life? “If you knew what was good in life, you would abstain from wishing for foreign things. For me, it is better to die for Greece than to be monarch over my compatriots (Leonides to Xerxes at Thermopolae. after he was offered the kingship of all of Greece if he would only surrender).”

[8] “...the best place for pleasure that I know of, is where a Christian lives; the finest happiness in all the world is the happiness of a child of God. You may have your pleasures—oh, yes! you shall have them doubled and trebled, if you are a Christian. You shall not have things that worldlings call pleasures, but you shall have some that are a thousand times better (Spurgeon: Warning Neglected).”

[9] “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:8).” “If God contains the fullness of all good things in himself like an inexhaustible fountain, nothing beyond him is to be sought by those who strive after the highest good and all the elements of happiness (Calvin).”

[10] “Life eternal is the supreme good; death eternal is the supreme evil (Augustine).” According to Jesus we ought to take extreme measures for extreme pleasures: “And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire (Mt. 18:8).”  “Those who will get to Heaven must fight their way (Matthew Henry).”

[11] This assumes that the heart (the internal control center of the life) is most crucial in who we are – as opposed to perfunctory external actions: ‘an appearance of godliness’ without a changed heart. Embracing and sanctifying Christ in the heart is of the first order (1 Peter 3:15). This also assumes that Jesus was right when He said that the two great commandments are: 1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind (Lk. 10:27; Dt. 6:5)... and 2) Love your neighbor as yourself (Mt. 22:39; Lv. 19:18). In the end, love for God and love for our neighbor cannot be separated because our neighbor is the image bearer of God. True proof of love for God is found in love for our neighbor. If we say we love God and do not love our brother we are liars (1 John 4:20).

[12] Edwards in Religious Affections: “A man must first love God, or have his heart united to him, before he will esteem God’s good his own, and before he will desire the glorifying and enjoying of him as his happiness.”

[13] What is love? “It is a holy fire kindled in the affections, whereby a Christian is carried out strongly after God as the supreme good (Thomas Watson).”

[14] Augustine: “Moral character is assessed not by what a man knows, but by what he loves.” it is our inclination that governs us in our actions (Edwards, Religious Affections).

[15] “The most of our spiritual decays and barrenness arise from an inordinate admission of other things into our minds; for these are they that weaken grace in all its operations. But when the mind is filled with thoughts of Christ and his glory, when the soul thereon cleaves unto him with intense affections, they will cast out, or not give admittance unto, those causes of spiritual weakness and indisposition (John Owen).”

[16] How can I serve and benefit others in all I do? How can I serve the need and advantage of my neighbor? Love for people involves: 1) Benefiting (doing what is best for that person—looking not only to our own interests but also to the interest of others: Phil. 2:4), 2) Admiring (holding others in high esteem as image bearers of God), 3) Desiring (this has mainly to do with romantic love: see Song of Songs and Ps. 45:11; there are some things we should NOT desire: Proverbs 6:25).

[17] “We all have some capacity for doing good. Now, take it as a truism that power to do good involves the duty of doing good. Wherever you are placed, if you can bless a person, you are obligated to do so. To have the power and not to use it is a sin. If you withhold your hand from that which you are able to do for the good of your fellowman then you have broken the law of love... All your knowledge, all your experience, all that you possess that grace has given you, demands a return in the form of service rendered to others. (Spurgeon: Am I My Brother’s Keeper).”

[18] “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7).”

[19] “Get the true fear of God upon your hearts; be really afraid of offending Him (John Flavel).”

[20] There are pivotal, central virtues (traditionally referred to as “cardinal virtues”); these are the hinge on the door of true character: prudence, temperance, justice, and fortitude. 

1) Prudence: “taking trouble to think out what you are doing and what is likely to come of it... the fact that you are giving money to charity does not mean that you need not try to find out whether the charity is a fraud or not...Christianity is an education in itself. That is why an undeducated man like Bunyan was able to write a book that has astonished the whole world (C.S. Lewis).” This could also be desribed as the “Path of Widsom”; see notes under what practices to follow.

2) Temperance: “going the right length and no further (C.S. Lewis).” This relates to self-control. “Only voluntary, inspired self-restraint can raise man above the world stream of materialism (Solzhenitsyn).” Self-control is: self dominion; self rule; self sovereignty; we sit on the throne of our own lives; we have power over ourselves and our appetites. The person who has self-control realizes that something that is good in itself can be taken to excess: Proverbs 25:16: Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for you, lest you be filled therewith, and vomit it.”

3) Justice: right dealings between men: “the discrimination between the righteous and the wicked is the first lesson of justice (David Jones);” giving a person their due: respect; debt; justice in court (declare innocent – innocent; guilty – guilty); no stealing, slandering (Ez. 18:5-9). “Do not withhold food from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it (Prov. 3:27).” “Owe no one anything, except to love one another (Rom. 13:8).” The question is: what do I OWE this other person (and God)? Showing partiality because of connections, bribes, etc. is strongly condemned in scripture (James 2:1). *SEE MORRIS ON JUSTICE

4) Fortitude: this is the ability to persevere in virtue. “In the same way a man who perseveres in doing just actions gets in the end a certain quality of character. Now it is the quality rather than the particular actions which we mean when we talk of virtue (C.S. Lewis).” “Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting a certain way – you become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperation action, brave by performing brave actions (Aristotle).”

[21] The Word of God, which is contained in the scriptures of the OT and NT is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy God (WCF, smaller catechism, q. 2).

[22] Proverbs 14:15: “The simple believe everything, but the prudent man considers his steps.” This takes time, meditation, and prudence. Prudence is an important Christian virtue; it is the ability to wait out decisions until the right course is clear; it is the opposite of impetuosity: the tendency to act quickly and think later. Fundamental to prudence is the ability to consider consequences: the ability to make decisions with the future/end in mind, and not just the dictates of the moment. Wisdom has a strong consequence orientation. We must think practically about what is likely to come of a certain decision: what will be the consequences, both positive and negative? Sacrificing momentary satisfaction for true satisfaction is ‘paying in advance.’ “Would you rise in the world? You must work while others amuse themselves. Are you desirous of a reputation of courage? You must risk your life. Would you become strong morally or physically? You must resist temptation. All this is paying in advance. That is prospective finance. Observe the other side of the picture. The bad things are always paid for afterward (Churchill).” When under pressure we can always say: “I need to pray about that more.”

[23] “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your good Spirit guide me on level (righteous) ground (Ps. 143:10).”

[24] “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed (Proverbs 10:22).”

[25] “The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations 

lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat (Sun Tzu: The Art of War).”

[26] “Thy will be done was a petition sweet to my soul, and if God had called me to choose for myself in any affair – I should have chosen rather to have referred the choice to him. For I saw that he was infinitely wise and could do nothing wrong, as I was in danger of doing (David Brainerd).”

[27] “...bidding adieu to our own counsels and desires, and those of all men, we may be attentive to the only will of God, the knowledge of which is true wisdom (Calvin).” Calvin’s symbol for his life was a heart in a hand; the heart was his, and the hand was God’s. Below this symbol was the motto: ‘promptly and sincerely.’ He intended always to offer his heart to God promptly and sincerely.

[28] Conscience: internal witness to our actions which either accuses or excuses. “Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relationship with you, in holiness and sincerity that are from God (2 Cor. 1:12).” If we continually thwart conscience we can develop a ‘seared conscience (1 Timothy 4:2)’; this is practically killing our sense of right and wrong.

[29] For our conscience to function correctly it must be: 1) Cleansed by blood of Christ (Heb. 9:14), 2) Submitted to Word of God, 3) Considerate of weaker brothers (Romans 14).

[30] A clear indicator of whether something is in line with a godly conscience is: “Can this action be offered to God?” “Everything which God wishes us to do can and ought to be offered to God; nothing is unworthy of him but sin. When you feel that an action cannot be offered to God, conclude that it is not appropriate for a Christian (Fenelon).” Or, as Paul says: “Present (offer willingly: yield) your bodies (whole self) as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, this is your reasonable (conscious, thoughtful devotion) act of worship (Romans 12:1).”