Tried With Fire

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