Tried With Fire

I think these are important questions to ask in regard to forgiveness. - Does God forgive the unrepentant? - Does God forgive the unregenerate? - Is forgiveness unconditional? - If to forgive is to declare a person as not guilty, is it possible to forgive someone who is unrepentant? - Should I forgive someone who views sin as just a mistake, a bad judgement call, an error, etc. but will not acknowledge sin as an offense against God? - Is it possible to not be bitter or resentful against someone who has sinned against you and still having not forgiven that person because they are unrepentant? - When Jesus said,"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.", was He saying, "I forgive them", as a blanket statement? I think forgiveness has lost its meaning, just like sin has lost its meaning. If there is no right understanding of sin and its consequences before God, forgiveness is meaningless. Today, it seems there is an expectation for the victim to say "I...

I was up later than was good for me and woke up before the alarm this morning with worry twinges. Although I believe in the total sovereignty of God, there are times when I revert. A thought crosses my mind that if I don't do X or Y, somehow that will hinder what God has willed. Even now sometimes dread will come over me because I did not do the right thing at the right time and in the right way . As I was lying awake and praying about this, it hit me that the root is pride. I want that sense of security that comes from my doing something rather than God doing something. I also want the sense of accomplishment even in my obedience. Jeremiah was right to say that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. I believe that John Bunyan said that there was enough sin in his best prayer to damn him. The flip side is when I fail and blow it, God isn't the least bit surprised or shocked. When I fail to trust Him or have mixed motives even in my desire to...

We will begin our study of 1 Peter next week. Although we didn't start the actual study, we took some time to share where we were in our respective journeys with the Lord. Although some of us are in the midst of tangible trials and others are not, we can still encourage one another to press on. I still marvel at God's grace in bringing me to a new place of fellowship and a new place in my walk with Him over the last two years. His ways are past finding out. Sometimes His means are painful and it is very tempting to doubt His intent but He is worthy to be trusted. John MacDuff says it very well - " No! trust His loving heart, where sense cannot trace His hand !"

In December, I was able to take some time to wrestle through issues related to justification, sanctification, and "deeper life" teachings. It was very helpful to "play detective" as it were regarding some faulty views I had had about those subjects. It helped to trace certain teachings back to the source. Andy Naselli's talks on the Early Keswick Teaching gave a lot of insight. Since then, I have a mental list of things that I would like to study. It would be wonderful to sit down with the Bible, a notebook, some good resources and delve into some serious study. Some of the things on my list are: - Taking T.U.L.I.P. each in turn and finding scripture for each one. If you get the wrong view of one of these points, how far off does it lead you? - Is man three parts or two? What are the implications of holding either view? - Take a closer look a eschatology. I was raised mid-trib overcomer/elitist only rapture. I don't think that is the case now. What shoul...

I am still pondering this morning's message. I can't get away from something Pastor Ryan said in describing those who would "crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt." He said it was as if they were saying "You are no Messiah to me " and were in full agreement with the verdict to crucify Him. I am typing this in tears because of the grief I am feeling. The thought that someone would want the benefits of what Christ would give them and then turn around and reject Him as worthless is heartbreaking. It would be as if someone said to Jesus, "Thanks for taking away my sin by dying for me and suffering God's holy wrath. Now, I can continue to indulge in that sin that nailed You to the cross and still go to heaven. And BTW it's great to know that I can keep on sinning knowing that You are going to forgive me. I want what You do for me and what You give me but I don't want You ." This reminded me of ...

This morning Pastor Ryan spoke on Hebrews 6:4-12. This was a very difficult passage in it of itself and the message was very sobering. It is frightening to think of those who believe they are spiritually okay and yet in the end crucify afresh the Son of God. I am very thankful that God gave the pastor the grace and the boldness to preach from such a hard text. It was also very moving to hear him plead with any who were there who might be in that condition of being deceived as to their true state before God. So much hinges on our correct understanding of what it means to "be saved". That phrase has become so common place that it could mean anything and it does mean just about anything depending on who you talk to. We can be self deceived and deceive others if we don't know what it says in the Word regarding salvation. We can believe that we are fine with God and lead others to think likewise when we are still under the wrath of God. I know in the past that I thought it was...

This was something my DD asked today. "If people trade money for goods , what are bads ?"

I know a gentleman who, when he came home once from a sermon, said, "Well, if it is true what this minister says, we are in an ill case." Now woe to that man whose chief comfort lies upon this false ground, that he hopes that which he hears out of the Word is not the Word . Oh, that man is in a miserable case who has no other ground for his comfort. (Gospel Fear by Jeremiah Burroughs, Soli Deo Gloria Publications, page 23, emphasis mine) Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. " Isaiah 66:2

The ladies' Bible study is going to start a study of 1 Peter using Living in the Real World from the Good Book Company. I am looking forward to it. 1 Peter has been one of my favorite books of late because he deals so much with the issue of suffering in the life of the believer. On a sillier note, I have been wondering if prosperity gospel preachers practice what they preach? After all, if one can control the weather and cure horrible diseases, surely something like gray hair and wrinkles would be a piece of cake. If so, if they practiced what they preached, they wouldn't need hair dye or Botox. You could even take it a further step and not need to brush your teeth. What is plaque and gingivitis compared to turning a glass eye into a real one? By faith, one could command the gray hairs, the wrinkles, and the tooth decay to be gone. On a more serious note, this is a quote from Gospel Fear by Jeremiah Burroughs, Soli Deo Gloria, from pages, 17-19. These Puritans are like a good...

"Are we growing in maturity so our doctrine affects our life?" This was from today's sermon on Hebrews 6:1-3. This was especially convicting because I love doctrine. I always didn't. In many ways, I was ignorant of what I believed and why I believed it so I feel like I am trying to make up for lost time. I also have a natural tendency to become a geek about anything I am interested in. If something grabs my interest, it is natural for me to find out as much about it as I can. That's fine for most things but it falls short when it comes to God. I have a stack of spiritual books I am reading but am I reading them so the Holy Spirit can use the truth to change me or is it purely academic because my latest "hobby" is reformed theology? I don't want to be a reformed Christian geek in the sense of accumulation of knowledge for knowledge's sake alone. I don't want to treat the truth like a hobby. I want to be a believer who trembles at the Word and ...

These are two quotes from "The Mystery of Providence" by John Flavel. I have them taped on my monitor as a daily reminder. Eye the all-sufficiency of God in the day of affliction. See enough in Him still, whatever is gone. Here is the fountain still as full as ever, though this or that pipe is cut off, which was wont to convey somewhat of it to me. O Christians, cannot you make up any loss this way? Cannot you see more in God than in any or all the creature-comforts you have lost ? With what eyes then do you look upon God? However contrary the winds and tides of Providence at anytime seem to us, yet nothing is more certain that they all conspire to hasten sanctified souls to God and fit them for glory.

I suggest that the main trouble in this whole matter of spiritual depression in a sense is this: that we allow our self to talk to us instead of talking to our self. Am I trying to be delibrately paradoxical? Far from it. This is the very essence of wisdom in this matter. Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Spiritual Depression" Today, I listened to a message by C.J. Mahaney on this same subject. This is applicable not only to those in spiritual depression but anytime I choose to believe myself over what is in the Word of God. There are many times when my experience and subjective view on life are held above what God says. It makes me cringe to own up to that but it's the truth. Putting it so bluntly helps to reveal it for what it really is. Pride, self trust, self confidence, all summed up in one word - sin. It is so easy to turn subjectiv...

Today was a blessed Lord's Day. There were three families that joined the church and two men were presented as new deacons. A new teen's Sunday school class started using Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper. We celebrated the Lord's supper today which is always a blessing. There were several new families visiting as well. To top it all off, we had a cover dish lunch with an incredible abundance of good food. The weather was unusually warm for February. To take advantage of that, we went for a two mile walk and got to see some nature and a beautiful sunset. God is so good. I am thankful for being a part of Grace Baptist Chapel. I am thankful for the saints there and the encouragement they have been to me. I am thankful for our new pastor, his family, and his faithful preaching of the Word. I am thankful for the beautiful day. I pray I would grow in thankfulness. Even on the days that are hard and I wrongly think that I have nothing to be thankful for, He is al...

We have enjoyed Calvinistic Cartoons , Sacred Sandwich , and Tominthebox . Here is a little musical tribute to those blogs. This is mostly my DD's composition, sung to "My Favorite Things" from "The Sound of Music." Tuxedo ice penguins with open theists Black bears and Baptists and Osteen with cheeses Bottles of Calvinix tied up with string These are a few of my favorite things Perfume to smell like an old theologian Baklava Koos Koos and Old Cotton Adams Voice of the Superbox referee rings These are a few of my favorite things Stepping in theses and mold spots with Luther B.B. Gun Warfield and John Piper Rudolph Finney plays Battleship wearing his bling These are few of my favorite things Phil Johnson passing between moon and earth My mom and I overflowing with mirth Calvinist blogs with their humor to bring These are a few of my favorite things Health, wealth preachers New age teachers Friends who like The Shack I simply remember my favorite things and then I ...

"I have confidence in confidence alone Besides which you see I have confidence in me !" and "Nothing comes from nothing Nothing ever could So somewhere in my youth or childhood I must have done something good "

This morning we had our regular women's Bible study. We're going through "Twelve Extraordinary Women" by John MacArthur. It has been a blessing and an encouragement to get to know these sisters. I am grateful that we can share our struggles and not feel like we have to put on a face with one another. There are eight ladies, counting my DD, a six year old, one infant, and five toddlers. Needless to say, there are always interruptions from the little ones - everything from a diaper that needs to be changed to dealing with disputes over toys. Sometimes it feels like we just start a question when one or more moms need to get up and tend to their children. But this is life. Life is messy. Life has interruptions. Rarely with small children is it possible to have an extended period of uninterrupted time. In some ways, the Christian life is messy. We sin, we fall, we pout, we cry, we need our spiritual diapers changed, and we need to be disciplined when we whine ove...

I know this is not in keeping with the more serious tone of this blog. However, until I get around to starting a less than serious blog, here it is.