Kenwood is glorious at the end of May

It is a good time to visit Kenwood House and estate, even during the busy half term week. The rhododendra are still magnificent and the Rembrandt self portrait has been returned to the collection.      The grounds are particularly splendid, so the gardeners and volunteers deserve much praise indeed. I have never seen them so wonderfully nurtured.

May Reflections

May is my favourite month.  The days get longer and the flowers are magnificent.

Rhododendra make my heart rejoice.

Warm weather comes as a special guest.

Surrey stars Ramprakash and Pietersen kept from England call ups

Despite great batting and star quality, the England cricket selectors turned their backs on two Surrey world class players.  Mark and Kevin have both been snubbed by the cricket establishment.  England team performance, during the last Test Match, was woefully bad with the bat.  Some really inept batting was evident, and competence was clearly lacking.  Kevin Pietersen has demonstrated his ability at the Oval, and  sadly cricket fans will continue to miss his skills in the England and MCC teams. Surrey will enjoy seeing an exciting and attacking batsman. So it's England's loss and Surrey's gain!

Sealed with the Spirit - Ephesians 1:13-14

In Him also, having heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of it is in our possession, to the praise of His glory.

¹³ ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀκούσαντες τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς σωτηρίας ὑμῶν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ πιστεύσαντες ἐσφραγίσθητε τῷ πνεύματι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τῷ ἁγίῳ, ¹⁴ ὅ ἐστιν ἀρραβὼν τῆς κληρονομίας ἡμῶν, εἰς ἀπολύτρωσιν τῆς περιποιήσεως, εἰς ἔπαινον τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ.

This morning I spent time looking into the meaning of the above verses in the first chapter of Paul's letter to the Ephesians.  I found it helpful to read Dr RT Kendall's views (in Holy Fire) and then to listen to a recorded sermon of Dr D Martyn Lloyd-Jones, which is an excellent exposition on The Sealing of the Spirit.

Many of Dr Lloyd-Jones' books were published by the Banner of Truth Trust (BTT), who are Reformed/Calvinistic and cessationist (believing the spiritual gifts are not for today). Kendall informs us that the BTT, although he does not mention them by name but it is clear that he means the BTT, would not publish Lloyd-Jones' books concerning the Holy Spirit, including views on the sealing of the Spirit and spiritual gifts. Some Reformed and fundamentalist authors and pastors ignore and gloss over the late Doctor's views about these matters. They love his teaching on predestination, on the sovereignty of God, on preaching/homiletics, on the Puritans and C.H Spurgeon, but they fail to appreciate his views on the sealing of the Spirit. This is also true of the Doctor's position on the Millennium, especially in the USA where pre-millennialism is very popular.

Still under construction