Breakfast on the Campfire—Autumn 2021 🏕️


Currently reading: Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices by Thomas Brooks 📚 This has been on my list for a long time and I’m finally getting around to it.


Sad to hear about Panic Software’s (completely understandable) decision to drop support for Google Drive. I hear a lot of concern about Apple becoming developer hostile and driving away devs. One reason I think that hasn’t happened more is that Google is even worse to deal with.


This beautiful weather has me wanting to go camping. 🏕️ Planning a short trip next week if we can get everyone over their head colds. In the meantime here are a few pictures from our trip to Montauk State Park in 2021.


Probably the last few flowers we’ll pick from the garden this year. 🌱


We haven’t taken any evening walks for a while but it has finally been cool enough to venture out. The trail passes by some fields and there was tractor parked near the path. Our youngest, who is infatuated with tractors, was thrilled.


Moom 4 App Icon

Moom 4 has been released. It includes:

  • An Updated UI
  • Drop Zones
  • Hover actions
  • And more

Looks like a great update to one of the best window managers on the Mac.

Announcing Moom 4


Principles for Christian Disagreement On Matters of Conscience

The idea of Christian Liberty is seldom discussed or considered today but it was a common fixture of the historic confessions, and is still just as relevant today. Regarding things not expressly addressed in Scripture, believers are free to follow their own conscience before God. Of course this means that there will some times be disagreement between Christians in these areas. Here are nine principles drawn from Romans 14:1–15:7 for how we should handle these disagreements.


A quick snapshot of sunset from the driveway. In the heat of summer, this is my favorite time of day.

A gravel path curves through a grassy area at sunset. The sky is painted with shades of orange, pink, and purple, partially obscured by scattered clouds. Trees and bushes are silhouetted against the vibrant sky.

Do political texts really work? I’m never going to vote for someone because of a text message, but frequent messages do give me a negative impression of your candidate. 🗳


The August heat is here and with it comes the lack of desire to do anything. I’m going to have to be extra intentional about managing my time. ☀️🌡️


I’m not a fan of the heat and humidity, but the summer garden produce is a bit of silver lining. 🌱

Ripe red tomato and an unripe green tomato growing on a vine in a garden, surrounded by green leaves and supported by a plant stake.

GoodLinks has released version 2.0 with highlighting! It has been along time in coming, but it seems to be well executed and will certainly streamline my workflow. Also, I think they handled the upgrade pricing fairly. 👏🏼

mastodon.social/@goodlink…


Some reasons I switched to Micro.blog.

  • Solid stable platform with features I actually use.
  • Use of open standards and interoperability with other services.
  • Actively developed with new features and updates.
  • Feels like a community, not just a service.

I’ve decided to move to Micro.blog as the hub of my social media and blogging. I’ve played with the free trial in the past, and at first it didn’t click for me, but over time it has matured into a service with just the right features and feel.


Looking Unto Jesus

Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument—it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking unto Jesus.” Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at night look to Him. C. H. Spurgeon


Teach Us to Number Our Days

In the last post on New Year’s Day, I asked the question, “Is it wise to mark the passing of time?” I made a Biblical argument for what time is and where it comes from, and we look at how both God and man relate to time.

We will continue with this theme by focusing on one particular passage that touches on many of the points we discussed previously. The 90th Psalm paints a vivid picture of God’s glory and man’s human frailty as seen through the lens of the passage of time. This Psalm may be familiar to you. Historically it has often been read on the occasion of a death or funeral for as the commentator Derek Kidner puts it this Psalm, “is a rehearsal of the facts of life and death.”


A Brief Theology of Time

For the most part, I confess, I’ve never given much emphasis to the celebration of the New Year. Growing up, Christmas was the main event, and New Years just served to signal the end of the Christmas break and the impending return to school. As I’ve gotten older, New Years is always something of an after thought. I don’t watch football, I don’t participate in wild parties or drunken revelry, I don’t usually even stay up till midnight. Given the option I go to bed at the same time as normal, much to the chagrin of the teenager in our house. I usually mutter something about the new year coming wither I’m awake or asleep before heading off to bed.

After all what is the big deal? It is easy to see the significance of celebrating the incarnation—God entering into his own creation by taking on human flesh and a human nature in order to bring about the salvation of his people. By contrast, what is the passing of another year? It just seems like a non-event.

Why are we as humans so interested in marking the passage of time. Is it beneficial to do so, and more importantly is it Biblical? What does Scripture have to say about time and our interaction with it? Is it wise for us as believers to mark the passing of years? That is what I hope to consider this article.


Philippians 3:17–21

Recently at our church, I had the opportunity of participating in "team teaching" through the book of Philippians for the adult Sunday School class. The book was divided up, and each of the six men were given 3–4 passages to teach. I am posting the text of my four lessons on this blog. If you are interested in hearing all the lessons for the whole book they are available here.

So far in this chapter Paul has warned against the Judaizers, and any who would place their confidence in who they are, or what they have done and not the finished work of Christ alone. By way of rebuking this idea, Paul gives his own longs list of “fleshly” qualifications and then discounts them as loss and rubbish in light of the one thing that really matters—knowing Christ (cf. v7–8). By this he does not mean merely having knowledge about Christ. Rather it is to know Christ in that intimate relational way that depends on faith, and that leads to becoming like him in his death so that we may also share in his resurrection. This is the focus—the aim—of the Christian life.

Paul knew that he had not yet attained this perfectly, but he was pressing forward, striving with all that was in him towards that goal. And then he does something which I find surprising. He tells the Philippians to imitate him.


Philippians 1:9-11

Recently at our church, I had the opportunity of participating in "team teaching" through the book of Philippians for the adult Sunday School class. The book was divided up, and each of the six men were given 3–4 passages to teach. I am posting the text of my four lessons on this blog. If you are interested in hearing all the lessons for the whole book they are available here.

Opening — Paul’s Prayer

This morning we conclude our look at the opening section of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. In verses 1–2, we have the opening salutation which identifies the author, Paul, and with him Timothy—The young man he has mentored. It also identifies the recipients—all the saints at Philippi who along with the overseers and deacons constitute the church of Christ at Philippi.