Lessons From A 7 Legged Spider

   With the warmer weather comes….the spiders and  I don’t like killing things if I don’t have to (Black Widows, mosquitoes, and flies excluded).    So, as I was vacuuming this morning a large garden spider ran out ahead of me, and having compassion on it I ran for a glass and something to cover the bottom  (which happened to be my Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta recipe card).      I scooped it up to take him/her outside and when I deposited it on the ground,  uh... it left a leg  behind stuck to my recipe card.   Bleck!     

   Then I stared to worry about how  the spider  would get along after such a traumatic experience so I watched it for a while.    It took a couple of steps (well probably more like 14)   and ran off.   Hmm.  If I’d just had my leg ripped off that sure wouldn’t happen.

   I’ve been studying the book of Ruth which I plan to start blogging, and as I was running the vacuum I was contemplating chapter one as it pertains to loss.    I was considering all kinds of  losses whether it be death, finances, relationships, health, etc and  I was thinking about how difficult it is for humans  to adjust to major change. 

   Years ago I saw a TV program where a large study had been done on Centenarians and they tried to find a common denominator in their longevity.     Things like smoking and drinking,  religious views and other factors were quickly ruled out.    But the one thing they all had in common was a remarkable ability to accept change and adapt to loss.    Anyone who lives to be over a hundred will have suffered many losses including their own children and these  folks had also lived through the Great Depression and 2 World Wars.  

 

    Back to the spider – When I saw how adaptable it was to its loss I  was reminded of Jesus’ words when He said - “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they” – Matthew 6:36

   Obviously, God made spiders to  adapt more quickly  to leg loss than humans, but  we can still learn something from nature because these creatures don’t seem to have the capacity to WORRY about things the way we do.   This probably goes a long way for quicker recoveries when they do lose something.   Humans, on the other hand,  take worry to an entirely new level by worrying about things that never even happen!   

   Adapting to loss is never easy, but when we place our trust in a  sovereign and loving God who brings about loss  not only for our good but to achieve His greater  purposes we will find the strength and courage to go on.   

   This is one of the lessons  we will find  in the book of Ruth.   In the meantime I think I’ll  go make a new recipe card from my  Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta.


 

 

Does God "Speak" To Us?

    Not long ago this kind of question would have been a non-issue  in Evangelical churches that weren’t  outwardly charismatic.  Nowadays, however, the belief  that God speaks to people through revelation apart from the Scriptures  has become commonly accepted in  many Evangelical and reformed  circles to some degree or another.     While a church may not practice outward sign gifts in the worship service, they may  be promoting the teaching of extra-Biblical revelation  more subtly through their book resources and  home Bible studies.     I’ll let the watchdog  ministries  deal with those particulars  but as an ordinary Christian,   I'm  personally  obligated to  examine the teachings of  anyone  whose influence I may come under who claims   "The Lord told me...” something regardless of how that  language is couched.   

   There's  no end to articles I could link to on this subject, which I won’t do  because as I’ve mentioned before,  I  prefer to keep the content of this blog focused on subjects that encourage the heart.  For the record though,  I am a cessationist and I believe the church  is treading on  very dangerous ground these days.   --  But I prefer to leave those arguments with  much greater minds than mine.

     I came  across an article recently  that I think will be helpful for anyone  trying to sort through some of these things .     Pastor Gary Gilley,  author of the “This Little Church” series  (This Little Church Went To Market, Stayed Home and Had None)  and  “Is That You Lord?: Hearing the Voice of the Lord, a Biblical Perspective”  has posted a series of really good articles on the subject of receiving divine revelation.   I’ve  also read “This Little Church Had None”  and found it very helpful.   

   The following link includes several articles on the Spiritual Formation Movement including Contemplative Spirituality,  Lectio Divina,  etc.  

Think On These Things Articles

   This series  also includes an article which addresses the current Charismatic movement that has affected reformed circles and I think it's from as scholarly a perspective as I know of for a shorter article. 

Discernment and Revelation

   Here is an excerpt  which spells out 5 different positions held today pertaining to divine revelation.    The rest of the article goes into detail with arguments either for or against.  

   “Despite the fact that the majority of conservative evangelical Christians since the Reformation have held to a cessationist (that present day revelations from God no longer take place) position with regard to Divine revelation, true cessationists are rapidly disappearing  . In the articles and books I have written nothing has evoked as much criticism and anger as my position that God is speaking to His people today exclusively through Scripture.   Due to the influence of a multitude of popular authors, theologians and conference speakers, cessationism is barely treading water, even within the most biblically solid churches and organizations.   As a matter of fact, among those who claim to be evangelicals there are five identifiable views prevalent today on the matter of revelation:

 

Identifiable views:

• Pentecostal/Charismatic/Thirdwave: All miraculous gifts exist today, including the gift of prophecy. God speaks through prophets and to His people both audibly (through dreams, visions, words of knowledge), and inwardly (inaudibly in the mind or heart). Representatives of this position are Jack Deere, John Wimber, the Kansas City Prophets, the Assemblies of God and the Word of Faith movement. Charismatic author Tommy Tenney, in his popular book The God Chasers, writes, “God chasers…are not interested in camping out on some dusty truth known to everyone. They are after the fresh presence of the Almighty…A true God chaser is not happy with just past truth; he must have present truth. God chasers don’t want to just study the moldy pages of what God has done; they are anxious to see what God is doing.” [5]
• Classical Mysticism/Spiritual Formation: Through the use of various disciplines and spiritual exercises, God will speak to us both audibly and inaudibly.   Dallas Willard and Richard Foster are two such examples. Willard, a leader within the Spiritual Formation Movement, recently updated a previous book renaming it Hearing God,   Developing a Conversational Relationship with God.    The thrust of his book is that we can live “the kind of life where hearing God is not an uncommon occurrence, [for] hearing God is but one dimension of a richly interactive relationship and obtaining guidance is but one facet of hearing God.” [6] In other words, the maturing Christian should expect to hear the voice of God on a regular basis, independent from Scripture, and that voice will reveal God’s individual, specific will for his life. Such personal communication from the Lord, we are told, is absolutely essential because without it there can be no intimate walk with God. [7] And it is those who are hearing from God today, in this way, who will redefine “Christian spirituality for our time.” [8]
• Evangelical Mysticism: God is speaking to Christians regularly, mostly inaudibly through inner voices, hunches, promptings, feelings and circumstances (examples: Henry Blackaby and Beth Moore). Southern Baptists ministers Henry and Richard Blackaby wrote Hearing God’s Voice to “teach God’s people not only to recognize his voice but also immediately to obey his voice when they heard it.” [9] They promise that “as you spend time with Jesus, you will gradually come to recognize his voice more readily than you did at first…You won’t be fooled by other voices because you know your Lord’s voice so well.” [10] And, once you have figured out when God is speaking to you, “write it down in a journal so you can refer back to it as you follow him.” [11]

   In this category could be placed the New Calvinists or Calvinistic Charismatics such as John Piper, Wayne Grudem, Mark Driscoll and C. J. Mahaney.   Their followers are sometimes called the young, restless, and Reformed.   Mark Driscoll, who often claims extra-biblical revelation, dreams, and visions from the Lord, documented four such events in his recent book Real Marriage. He writes, “…when God spoke to me, I had never experienced anything like that moment. God told me to devote my life to four things. He told me to marry Grace, preach the Bible, train men, and plant churches. Since that day in 1990, that’s what I have been pursuing by God’s grace.” [12] Matt Chandler would be on page with this idea.   In his popular book The Explicit Gospel Chandler writes, “He [God] speaks to us in dreams and in visions and in words of knowledge—but in no way that runs contrary to Scripture.” [13] Long time Southern Baptist pastor, Charles Stanley is of the same opinion. In a recent interview with Christianity Today he is asked about his frequent references to God speaking to Him. He responded by mentioning a time that very week when God said to him, “Don’t do that.” He claims that he does not hear an audible voice “but it’s so crystal sharp and clear to me, I know not to disobey that.” [14]

• Cessationist: All miraculous gifts, including prophecy, have ceased (examples: the IFCA International, John MacArthur and Charles Ryrie). The Westminster Confession states well the historic cessationist position,

The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men. [15]

Cautious, but Open: Those holding this position are skeptical of prophetic claims and the majority of inaudible experiences.   But they do not want to “put God in a box” and therefore are cautiously open to the possibility of additional revelation from the Lord today, although they are not certain how this works or how to identify God’s voice. Nevertheless, they are afraid to limit the power of God and fear that they might be missing out on a close personal relationship with the Lord if they do not allow for the possibility of God speaking today apart from Scripture (examples: most Christians)” 

Continue reading:  Discernment and Revelation

 

God’s Sovereignty In The Face Of Tragedy

“ “On September 24, 1757, Aaron Burr, the son-in-law of Jonathan Edwards, unexpectedly died. He was forty-two years old.   It was two days before his public commencement as the first president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).   During this tragic time his wife, Esther, wrote this letter to a close family friend:  

 “Your most kind letter of condolence gave me inexpressible delight, and at the same time set open afresh all the avenues of grief, and again probed the deep wound death has given me.   My loss—Shall I attempt to say how great my loss is—God only can know—And to him alone would I carry my complaint. . . . Had not God supported me by these two considerations;  first, by showing the right he has to his own creatures, to dispose of them when and in what manner he pleases;  and secondly, by enabling me to [someday] follow [my husband] beyond the grave, into the eternal world, and there to view him in unspeakable glory and happiness, . . . I should not, long before this, have been sunk among the dead, and been covered with the clouds of the valley. God has wise ends in all that he does. This thing did not come upon me by chance; and I rejoice that I am in the hands of such a God.1”  

   Less than eight months after Burr's death, Jonathan Edwards, Esther's father, also died. On April 3, 1758, Sarah Edwards, Jonathan's wife, wrote this to Esther:  

“My dear child, what shall I say?   A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud.  O that we may kiss the rod, and lay our hands on our mouths!  The Lord has done it.  He has made me adore his goodness, that we had him so long.   But my God lives; and he has my heart.  O what a legacy my husband, and your father, has left us! We are all given to God; and there I am, and love to be.2” ” *

      This quote was contained in Steven Langella’s excellent sermon from the book of Job.   
You can listen  to the message here:

"Suffering And God's Sovereignty"

___________________________________

* O'Donnell, Douglas Sean (2011-08-05). The Beginning and End of Wisdom: Preaching Christ from the First and Last Chapters of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job (pp. 91-92). Good News Publishers. Kindle Edition.
        1. Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, ed. Edward Hickman (repr., Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1992), 1:clxxiii. 
        2. Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, 1:clxxix.

Sunday Hymnist: Joseph Scriven

Joseph Medlicott Scriven
Born:  September 10, 1819  -  Bainbridge, Ireland
Died: August 10, 1886  -  Port Hope, Ontario
 BIOGRAPHY


The Story Behind the Hymn

 

 

“What A Friend We Have In Jesus”

  

What a friend we have in Jesus,

all our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

all because we do not carry

everything to God in prayer.

 

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged;

take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful

who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness;

take it to the Lord in prayer.

 

Are we weak and heavy laden,

cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge;

take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In his arms he'll take and shield thee;

thou wilt find a solace there

 

In memory of my precious Mother



 

 

17 + 5 + 17 : How Cool Is This?

    

    Lately I’ve been thinking I could use a  Bible survey refresher course so I dug  out our Old Testament Survey class textbook,  “Explore the Book”  by J. Sidlow Baxter.    I hadn’t picked up this wonderful  6-in-1 Volume in decades and Robert reminded me how much he enjoyed this work by  a  theologian  and pastor who had trained at Spurgeon's College in  London in the early 1900's.   So I started at the beginning and right off it was interesting to  read  Baxter's outline of  the Old Testament. 

   The 39 books of the Old Testament can be divided into 3 main categories.

       
         The first 17 books (Genesis – Esther) are written in prose and are by nature historical. 

         The 5 in the middle (Job – Song of Songs)  are poetic and are by nature  experiential. 

         The last 17 books  (Isaiah – Malachi) are written in prose and are by nature prophetic.

     Now this gets really interesting as he notes that  within the two groups of 17 books,  by no mere coincidence, there are yet more twin subcategories  of  5 + 12.    Furthermore each subcategory of 12 has yet another breakdown of  9 + 3.    

• The first 17 historic books  begin with the 5 books of Moses  (Genesis-Deuteronomy)  followed by  12  books  that are broken down into  9  pre-exilic  books, when Israel occupied the Promised Land  (Joshua -2 Chronicles) + 3  post exilic  books where they had been expulsed  from the Land  (Ezra - Esther).

• The second 17 prophetic books begin with  5 Major prophets (Isaiah-Daniel),  followed by 12 books  also broken down into  9  pre-exilic books (Hosea - Zephaniah)  and the last  3  post exilic books ( Haggai – Malachi).
• The 5 in middle are the poetic books which Baxter states:

"are not historical; they are individual and experiential.  All of the foregoing seventeen historical books are national;  but these five are not national, they are personal, and they deal mainly with the problems of the individual human heart." (1)

“Thus the thirty-nine books of our Old Testament fall into this orderly grouping of seventeen historical, five experiential, and seventeen prophetical, with both the seventeens sub-grouped into five and nine and three, and the five books which deal the  individual human heart placed right between the two seventeens, at the very heart of the Old Testament.

   Is this accident or design?  Think of it:  over thirty writers contributed to the Old Testament, spaced out over twelve hundred years, writing in different places, to different parties, for different purposes, and little dreaming that their writings, besides being preserved through generations, were eventually to be compiled into that systematic plurality in unity which we now find in the Old Testament.   When one reflects on this, surely one cannot be charged with fancifulness for thinking that behind the human writers there must have been a controlling divine design” (2)

      I don't believe  Mr. Baxter is saying that the order in which the books were placed are inspired, but rather that in God's divine providence  the placement of the inspired books is obviously apparent. 

 

     Now, does God’s Word ever cease to amaze us?  NO!
 

 "The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian". --AW. Tozer

 

(1) Explore The Book: In One Volume by J. Sidlow Baxter;  Zondervan; 1975; pg 16
(2) ibid: pg 18

 

Women and the Word

    “Women, like all of God's people, need to listen really carefully to all of God's Word, book by book,  from beginning to end.   We need to learn how to read it, so that we can rightly evaluate the voices around us that would tell us what it says or doesn't say.    We need to seek and live under the leadership of godly preachers and teachers who love and reverence God's Word---not just "out there" in cyberspace but in local, biblically committed congregations.   Within the community of God's people we need to study the Word book by book, learning how to grasp the main point of a book and how that main point shapes everything in that book from beginning to end.   What's the main point of the book of Titus, and how does each passage within that book fit into the whole? What is the book of Judges all about, and what do we learn from it about the Bible's unfolding story of redemption? We need to read the stories of various women, like Sarah, or Ruth, or Jephtha's daughter, in light of the whole books in which they are found and in light of the Bible's overarching theme. We need to teach and model for the younger women around us how to read and study the Word.   We need to share with other women not just a message of encouragement for women, but a message of redeemed life in Christ for every person who believes in him, according to his Word.”   -  Kathleen Nielson

Keep reading: "Women and the Word"

Kathleen Nielson serves as director of women's initiatives for The Gospel Coalition


 Related articles from this blog:

• Studying the Bible: Resource Tools - Part 1
• Studying the Bible: Hermeneutics - Playing By the Rules - Part 2

 

Blogging With Fear & Trembling

        Can I just be honest with you today about this whole blogging business?   We all know the Internet is a strange new world where impressions can be made that may not truthfully reflect the person  behind the screen.   I started blogging in 2009 but deleted my first blog and began this one in 2010.    My original goal  was to use this as a discipline to journal my thoughts and  I never dreamed anyone would actually read  it!!    It wasn’t long before I discovered there were other Christian women out here  writing  and reading blogs and in no time I  made many wonderful new friends.

    If  you haven’t read  my About page,  I  really  am just “an ordinary  woman who  has been saved  by an extraordinary God because of  the great  sacrifice of His only Son Jesus Christ on our behalf.”   I became a Christian 41 years ago this week and you can read my testimony HERE.    My husband  has served as a senior pastor of three small congregations;  one inner-city, one rural,  and one suburban and he  currently serves as elder in our church.  I dropped out of Bible College when our second child came along. -- Yes, I'm just very ordinary.  

    Like most conscientious bloggers I’ve waffled back and forth about continuing because   I struggle with the same weaknesses most of us  do.  It’s a  daily battle with  my flesh, the world, and the devil and to be honest, as much as I love the life God has blessed me with,  I'll be happy  to be done with the fight because  I  lose it so often!  ~  Praise God for  G-R-A-C-E!!!

     I’m also  pretty insecure despite my boldness here.   I worry too much about what other people think and feel terribly inadequate as a writer because I know I’m not the sharpest knife in the blogging drawer.   I commonly edit after I’ve posted, misspell words, and get Scripture references wrong.   And sometimes I write things when I’m grumpy and my attitude is bad and then I have to edit or delete it and hope no one read it!

   But by far, my biggest concern  is of  writing something  that is unbiblical.   I have a great fear  of displeasing  the Lord  with the  multitude of  words which go  out from  here  for others to read.

“When words are many, transgression is not lacking,

but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”

Proverbs 10:19 

 

     This blog is often geared  towards instruction but  reading an article on the  Internet  should never  be taken as  a  substitute for the ministry of the  local church   anymore than reading a book would be.    Nevertheless,  we will still  be held  accountable  for everything  we  say,  especially as it concerns  God’s Word,  regardless of  where we say it.

 

“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren,

knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”

 James 3:1

     John MacArthur tells a compelling story in his commentary on this passage about John Knox:

“The Great Scottish Reformer John Knox was so awed and burdened by the responsibility to declare God’s Word faithfully, that before his first sermon,  he wept uncontrollably and had to be escorted from the pulpit until he could compose himself.”  (1)

     Would that all of us who blog about the Bible  have such trepidation before expressing our opinions online.    I want my readers to know that I do not write this blog as a Lone Ranger.   Every article I post pertaining to a significant doctrinal matter  or  an opinion that  may be controversial,  is run by my husband for review.    He also  collaborates with me on some of the more in depth articles.     My pastor has  also  approved this  blog and has recommended it to our women.     In the past I’ve  taught  children’s  and women’s Bible studies and  more recently,  I  served for a  time  as director of our women’s ministry where I taught  on the Attributes of God.    I am thankful for the opportunities I've had to  serve my local church family  and as for this blog,   I appreciate every one of you who visits this place.   You are in my prayers and it is  my deepest desire that the Lord will be honored  here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1) The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: James; Moody Publishers 1998; pg.150

Why Women Today Desperately Need Sound Doctrine

“The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” 
Proverbs 18:5

“Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.    Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.”   Acts 17:11-15

 



    One advantage to growing older is that  I’ve had  a chance to observe trends  in the church – some good, some not so much.    The 60’s-70’s Jesus Movement led to  phenomenal church growth  but it came with a  monumental swing towards anti-intellectualism as  many churches emphasized charismatic experience over theology.    This thinking so permeated  evangelicalism  that  it was common to hear phrases like “We  need to have heart knowledge, not head knowledge”-- “the letter kills” and “doctrine is a dirty word”.  Nearly half a century later, this  nonsense is  still being promoted only with a  new twist because  it’s now coming from within some of our own theological circles.   I'm no "discernment blogger" and wouldn't even want to go  down  that road,  but I am deeply troubled by what I see going on.

     The Bible is clear that knowledge is to be sought after diligently because it’s absolutely essential.    Saving faith cannot come without it  (Rom.10:17);   it’s necessary for our  sanctification (John 17:17) and   we’re  instructed to get it,  “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,” 2 Peter 1:5.

    Unlike previous generations, we live in a privileged era where most Christian women  who can read  now  have access to  the Bible plus  abundant  resources to aid  their study.   So rather than carping about studying too much  we should be jumping up and down with joy that we CAN study!   

   Just think of it.  God has given us 66 inspired books to reveal Himself to us!  Though we can  never plumb the depths of this vast ocean,  there is something there for everyone!

“The Bible is shallow enough for a child not to drown, yet deep enough for an elephant to swim.”  Augustine

   THE DANGERS OF NOT KNOWING SOUND DOCTRINE

   The first assault on a woman’s knowledge of God’s Word took place in the Garden when the serpent approached the woman and asked,  “Hath God said?”.  There’s no lack of speculation about what happened on that awful day but we do  know for sure that she was deceived and the only way we can guard against our own deception is to be careful students of God’s Word.

 

    The diligent Bereans,  which included men and  “high standing” (educated)  women,  were considered more noble than those in Thessalonica  because they daily searched the Old Testament to see if  Paul’s teachings were true.   Think of how laborious this task  must  have been as they considered whether the  OT prophecies had actually unfolded in their lifetime!     Being  a “Daily Bread” devotional  reader would have never cut the mustard for these meticulous seekers.     

   We live in a time of increasing apostasy as we draw closer to Christ’s return  and if we don’t examine the Scriptures carefully and take a skeptical approach to what others teach, we can be misled by teachings that might sound Biblical but aren’t.     For example, if we don’t have sound theology regarding  the role of women in the church we might not understand that women are forbidden to preach, teach, or have authority over men in the church.   And if we don’t understand  ecclesiology (the study of the church)  and the structure  God has ordained for Biblical leadership,  we might substitute  parachurch  Bible study organizations  for  the local church –  (Not to mention the potential for doctrinal confusion because many of these organizations are  in league with  churches that have  vastly differing theology)    

    Do you realize that many popular women’s Bible study guides  are written by women who have no compunction about preaching to or  teaching men in the church?    One might argue that they encourage “inductive” Bible study therefore they’ve got to be safe.   But I have to ask why their inductive study method went south when it came to verses like I Timothy 2:12.  If they’ve missed the mark on such an important  Bible doctrine   then how  can  I trust what they have to say about the rest of the Scriptures?     Many  of these teachers have  introduced Contemplative Spirituality, are claiming to  "hear God speak" through revelation,  and are soft on Roman Catholicism.   And yet they are endorsed by leaders who ought to know better.   The Reformation martyrs would roll over in their graves if they could see what’s going on today!

   So then, Doctrine is very important in  guarding against error but it’s also what the Doctor orders for our spiritual health and happiness!

   
 THE BENEFITS OF KNOWING SOUND DOCTRINE

^“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God  may be complete, equipped for every good work.”   2 Timothy 3:16-17

Doctrine makes known the very nature and character of God

Doctrine reveals the Savior in all of His glory

Doctrine explains the wonders of Redemption 

Doctrine teaches us how to commune with God

Doctrine enhances true worship

Doctrine corrects us

Doctrine teaches us how to live righteously

Doctrine equips us for service

Doctrine reveals God’s plan for His People

Doctrine gives instruction to the Church

Doctrine instructs men and women regarding our unique roles

Doctrine directs the family

Doctrine protects us from deception

Doctrine provides a shelter in the storms of life

Doctrine gives hope in despair, comfort in affliction, and wisdom for everyday living.

     We should never be deceived into thinking that obtaining  knowledge of God’s precious and holy Word takes second place to relationships, experiences or anything else because Christ and His written  Word are inseparable!