Tried With Fire

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2: 5-11

"There is corn in Egypt."—Genesis 42:2. Famine pinched all the nations, and it seemed inevitable that Jacob and his family should suffer great want; but the God of providence, who never forgets the objects of electing love, had stored a granary for His people by giving the Egyptians warning of the scarcity, and leading them to treasure up the grain of the years of plenty. Little did Jacob expect deliverance from Egypt, but there was the corn in store for him. Believer, though all things are apparently against thee, rest assured that God has made a reservation on thy behalf; in the roll of thy griefs there is a saving clause. Somehow He will deliver thee, and somewhere He will provide for thee. The quarter from which thy rescue shall arise may be a very unexpected one, but help will assuredly come in thine extremity, and thou shalt magnify the name of the Lord. If men do not feed thee, ravens shall; and if earth yield not wheat, heaven shall drop with manna. Therefore be of go...

My daughter was baptized today. She had first expressed the desire to be baptized more than a year ago. Through different circumstances, it wasn't possible for that to take place. Beginning in 2008, the Lord led us to a small Reformed Baptist congregation meeting 5 minutes from our home unbeknownst to us. One of the reasons why I believe the Lord led us to this place was so she could be baptized today. Praise the Lord, she took this step in obedience to God. She publicly testified that she is the Lord's, she no longer belongs to the world, and she wants to follow Him. The last year has been a tremendous trial for our family. Today is a testimony to God's faithfulness in keeping His own even through disappointment, heartache, and pain. He is faithful to take something that would be a cause of tremendous bitterness and use it to draw my daughter and myself closer to Him. May He receive all the glory!

I am relatively new to the Doctrines of Grace so I am pondering these in relation to things I had previously held to be true. In the last several months, I have become more aware that my view of God often makes Him smaller than He really is which is also demeaning to the character of God. The idea that God is totally sovereign and reigning over everything would be something that I would certainly not deny. But when the rubber meets the road, do I really believe that or do I believe that somehow He is not fully in control and that sinful man (myself or others) and the devil can thwart Him? I can say that I believe God is in control but my actions and attitudes may contradict that. What hinges on this is - if God is fully in control then everything that comes into my life whether good or bad is from His hand and according to His purpose and ultimately for my good. Conversely, if somehow He is not fully in control, then there may be things that come into my life that are the result of sin...

If there is any good in wealth or in any comfort in this world, it is not so much that it pleases my sense or that it suits my body, but that it has reference to God, the first being, that by these creatures somewhat of God's goodness might be conveyed to me, and I may have a sanctified use of the creature to draw me nearer to God, that I may enjoy more of God, and be made more serviceable for His glory in the place where He has set me: this is the good of the creature. Oh that we were only instructed in this lesson and understood and thoroughly believed this! No creature in all the world has any goodness in it any further than it has reference to the first infinite supreme good of all, that so far as I can enjoy God in it, so far it is good to me, and so far as I do not enjoy God in it, so far there is no goodness in any creature. How easy it would be, if we really believed that, to be contented! (page 97) When they perform actions to God, then the soul says: 'Oh! That I could...

I am finding it very interesting that many of the saints from years gone by have quite a bit to write to encourage those who are going through times of trial and affliction. It seems like our brothers and sisters in times past took the Lord Jesus at His word when He said: If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. John 15: 19-21 However, I also find it interesting that the idea that the life of a believer is a life of suffering is lost today. I wonder when the thought that being a Christian meant that we would be free from suffering came into the church. It seems that a...

This is the Puritan Reading Challenge book for the month of April. I showed the book to a friend on Tuesday. She was hooked just from reading the table of contents. I am hoping that she and another sister in Christ will be interested in reading this book together. So often I read too fast and too much and lose what I have read. (Sometimes I think I overload my brain even with good reading so I am like a computer system that is thrashing.) By reading this together and having regular fellowship on the truth, we can encourage one another to lay hold of what we have read. The author, Jeremiah Burroughs, was burdened that believers would experience the grace of contentment during these "sad and sinking times". The book was first published in 1648, 360 years ago. If those days were sad and sinking, how much worse are the times we live in. If often seems that some days, I am barely keeping my head above water. I pray that the Lord would use this to bring me into the "gracious f...

Grant that I may distrust myself, to see my all in thee. ~ From Valley of Vision. Daily selections can be found here. Cease meddling with God's plans and will. You touch anything of His, and you mar the work. You may move the hands of a clock to suit you, but you do not change the time; so you may hurry the unfolding of God's will, but you harm and do not help the work. You can open a rosebud but you spoil the flower. Leave all to Him. Hands down. Thy will, not mine. --Stephen Merritt ~ from Streams in the Desert Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. Hebrews 3: 12-15

I have been enjoying, if that is the right word, the biographical talks given by John Piper. Today, I was listening to the talk on William Tyndale. During his day, it was illegal to have any form of the Bible in English. Seven people were burned alive for teaching their children the Lord's Prayer in English. More would be martyred. Tyndale eventually was strangled and then burned at the stake for his translating the Bible into English. I ask myself - is my Bible worth that much to me? Do I realize the preciousness of the word of God? Martyrs' blood was spilt so I can read my Bible every day. Do I appreciate that? Do I appreciate the privilege of being able to read the Word and have the Holy Spirit illuminate it to me revealing Jesus Christ? Hearing about how Tyndale and the saints suffered for the Lord puts things into perspective. I should have nothing to complain about. God in His sovereign will saw fit to allow Tyndale and these brethren to give their lives for His sake. ...

I was thinking more about what I posted yesterday. It would be easy to get discouraged by how nonbelievers and even Christians view God. However, God does not change based on our misconception of Him. His position as God does not shift because we do not acknowledge His supremacy. Rather, we are the ones who suffer from our lack of understanding or refusal to acknowledge who He is. Thank God, He knows that we would rather be blind than see Him as He is and yet He is merciful to give sight to the blind. I was comforted by these verses: The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. Psalm 11:4 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Psalm 45:6 Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me I once was lost but now am found, 'twas blind but now I see. Yesterday's devotional from gracegems.org was by Jonathan Edwards. I don't think Edwa...

I was listening to this message by John Piper on John Calvin given in 1997. He began his talk by reading the passage in Exodus 3:14-15 where God declares Himself to Moses to emphasize the necessity for declaring the supremacy of God. The following ( emphasis mine ) stood out so strongly to me. “One who never had a beginning but always was and is and will be, defines all things. Whether we want Him to be there or not, He's there. We don't negotiate with Him for what we want reality to be. The arrogance of man! Oh, the way God is talked about! The arrogance of human beings as if we can negotiate the kind of God we get! When we come into existence, we stand before God who made us. He owns us. We had absolutely no choice in this. You have absolutely no choice in whether you come into being and stand before God and reckon with God. No ranting, no raving, no sophisticated doubt or skepticism has any effect on the existence of God. He simply and absolutely is. 'Tell them, I am ...

If you wish to be thankful, get a heart deeply humbled with the sense of your own vileness. A broken heart is the best pipe to sound forth God's praise. He who studies his sins wonders that he has anything and that God should shine on such a dunghill: 'Who has before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, but I obtained mercy' (1 Tim. 1:13). How thankful Paul was! How he trumpeted forth free grace! A proud man will never be thankful. He looks on all his mercies as either of his own procuring or deserving. If he has an estate, this he has got by his wits and industry, not considering that scripture, 'Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth' (Deut. 8:18). Pride stops the current of gratitude. O Christian, think of your unworthiness; see yourself the least of saints and the chief of sinners, and then you will be thankful. ~ from a Godly Man's Picture by Thomas Watson

This is my third blogging attempt. After two very lame attempts, I finally realized that there really isn't very much about myself that is worth writing. However, there is much in the Word of God and the writings of many godly saints who have gone before that is worth reading. Therefore, the purpose of this blog is to share quotes, verses, and observations that may be an encouragement to other believers who are also being tried in the furnace of much affliction. ~Soli Deo Gloria