Tried With Fire

Wisdom is the difference between knowing a world-class biologist who can write your papers and studying under a world-class biologist so that you can write the kind of papers he would write. Too many of us want God to be the world-class scholar to write our papers and live our lives for us, when God wants us to sit at His feet and read His Word so that we can live a life in the image of His Son. God doesn't tell us the future for this simple, yet profound reason: We become what we behold. God wants us to behold Him in His glory so that we can be transformed into His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18). If God figured everything out for us, we wouldn't need to focus on Him and learn to delight in His glory. God says, "I'm not giving you a crystal ball. I'm giving you My Word. Meditate on it; see Me in it, and become like Me." From Just Do Something by Kevin De Young, pages 93-94, Moody Press.

We've been studying Philemon in our small group. We've discussed what would it mean for a person or a church to receive back someone who has sinned against you, run away, and now repented. What was it like that first Sunday morning after Onesimus came back? How did he feel? How did Philemon and his family feel? But more importantly, if the Gospel is true, what would those brothers and sisters have done in the light of that? Someone wondered what would be a comparable situation in our day. Well, I can easily think of one. What would I do if God grants my husband repentance? What should I do if he seeks reconciliation even if it is impossible for our marriage to be reconciled? (i.e. remarriage) There is part of me that would cry tears of joy at his repentance and restoration, but if I'm honest I will have to deal with overcoming the hurt and the pain as well. This is where the rubber of the Gospel meets the road. This post by Timmy Brister relates a real life incident of a b...

[S]o Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him . Hebrews 9:28 Lo! He comes with clouds descending, Once for favored sinners slain; Thousand thousand saints attending, Swell the triumph of His train: Hallelujah! Hallelujah! God appears on earth to reign. Yea, amen! Let all adore Thee, High on Thine eternal throne; Savior, take the power and glory, Claim the kingdom for Thine own; O come quickly! O come quickly! Hallelujah! Come, Lord, come! ~John Cennick & Charles Wesley

I've been thinking about the implications of Piper's blog post . (I hope this semi-stream of consciousness is semi-coherent.) We don't watch TV. I haven't watched TV for about 15 years unless you count the kiddie programs we watched when my daughter was a toddler and the occasional programs on PBS. Actually, we can't watch TV now because we don't have a signal converter. We don't watch many movies and stick to "family friendly" only. We listen to Christian (theologically sound not CCM) and classical music. I used to read a lot, but I have cut out almost all contemporary fiction because of immoral content. Given all that, we're doing pretty well, right? I don't know about that and probably would be self deceived if I thought that was all it took. And yes, there is horrible stuff out there, mind numbing, zombifying, trivial stuff, and everything in between. So what to do? One of the first things that comes to mind is filtering with discernmen...

Being entertained by sin does not increase compassion for sinners. (From today's post at Desiring God Blog by John Piper) I've been thinking about the entertainment issue - not only television and movies but books and music, too. How does this apply to me as a woman because men aren't the only ones affected. How does this apply to me as a mother who wants to shepherd her child but not put her in a plastic bubble? How does this apply when I not able to filter what she is exposed to when she's away on visitation? Lots of things to think about.

(click on the image for a larger view) We found this interesting book at the public library of all places. The title is Scripture Animals or A Natural History of the Living Creatures Named in the Bible . This was written "especially for youth" by Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847), a congregational pastor in Blue Hill, Maine. The original book was published in 1834. According to the Wikipedia entry , Fisher was a Calvinist. I tried googling him but did not find much else on his theology. The animals are featured in alphabetical order. Each animal is illustrate with Fisher's own wood cuts. He gives the name of the animal in Hebrew, Greek, or Latin and sites the scripture references. He also provides details from his own studies of natural history. Fisher then gives a spiritual lesson in relation to the animal for the reader's edification. From the lesson of the sheep: The harmlessness, innocency, and gentleness of the lamb has caused that it should be the most common sacr...

I love books. These arrived today, and I can't wait to get started! I am going to start with Kevin DeYoung's book first. I have had and probably still have some major misconceptions about the will of God. I wasn't a liver shiverer but definitely more of the "if you make a wrong choice, you will be out of the will of God and suffer for it your whole life". And worse, in addition to being "out of the will of God", you will be attacked by demons if you don't "follow the leading of the Holy Spirit." Comforting mindset, isn't it? I flipped through the book this afternoon. I think it will be very helpful and set some things straight from a Biblical framework.

We watched a video by David Powlison in Sunday School. He spoke on how we respond to those things which are outside our control and what those responses reveal about our hearts. A typical scenario of this is a traffic jam which is totally outside of our control. He gave three scenarios where you are on your way to an important meeting. To make it worse, your cell phone has just died or is between zones so there is no way to communicate with the person waiting for you. Scenario 1. What if I'm on my way to the doctor? I've just found out that I have cancer. The doctor has rearranged his schedule to meet me . I'm stuck and I'm standing him up. As I'm sitting in traffic, I imagine my entire funeral scene. Why? The logic is that because I missed the doctor's appointment, I will have missed out on some treatment, advice, etc. and therefore I will die. Scenario 2. What if I'm on the way to an important sales meeting that will make or break my finances? Scenario 3....

We needed to find a church home at the end of 2007, but I didn't know where. We had been visiting various churches for about 6 months but I knew we needed to commit somewhere for our own spiritual well being. I knew that Spurgeon was Baptist and John Piper was Baptist, so we visited a local Baptist church near our home. However, I found out that not all Baptists are the same. I vaguely remembered something about Spurgeon and Piper being reformed. I was so ignorant that I didn't even know what reformed was. However, I knew that I was helped by the preaching of these two men. I then changed my search to Reformed Baptist . We found Grace Baptist Chapel via The Spurgeon Archive and farese.com . Lo and behold, here was a reformed Baptist church nearby. Our first visit was the last Sunday of 2007. It was a dreary, cold, and rainy day. There were about 20-25 people. Pastor Taylor actually preached from the Word. Imagine that?! His sermon was Christ-centered which we didn't...

On this Father's Day, I am thankful for my own dad. He's 81 years old. God has blessed him with health and strength. More importantly, he loves the Lord and is still pressing on every day. This morning, Pastor Ryan shared a very serious message. He challenged the men of the church to be gospel centered men. It was a sobering and convicting message but at the same time filled with grace as he pointed to Christ as the one who can make this possible. As I listened to the sermon, I have to admit that there was some sadness in my heart. I grieve for my husband because he is opting out of this call to be a gospel saturated man. There was a time when I thought he wanted to follow the Lord at all costs. However, he's pursuing his own agenda now. Only God knows the state of his heart, but I still pray for his repentance. But inspite of the sadness, I am encouraged by my brothers in Christ. It is a blessing to see these men wanting to put Christ first in their lives, in their familie...

Disclaimer: No theological content in this post I like to read cookbooks. Although I enjoy comfort food the best, both to eat and prepare, it's fun reading about gourmet or exotic dishes that I know I would never prepare. I was at the library this afternoon and happened upon the following cookbook: This cookbook was published in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Twinkie. I had no idea Twinkies had been around that long. Did you know that the original filling was banana and it was changed to vanilla during World War II because of a shortage of bananas? Anyway, these are real recipes, not gag ones (no pun intended), that were submitted by people who actually made made them and liked them. Personally, I don't like Twinkies. They're too sweet for me. Also, there's something unnatural about a product that has a creme filling but does not need refrigeration. It's like the dessert equivalent of Cheese Whiz. But I did check the book out for curiosity's sake. There ...

We may take comfort about our souls if we know anything of an inward fight and conflict. It is the invariable companion of genuine Christian holiness. It is not everything, I am well aware, but it is something. Do we find in our heart of hearts a spiritual struggle? Do we feel anything of the flesh lusting against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, so that we cannot do the things we would? (Gal. 5:17.) Are we conscious of two principles within us, contending for the mastery? Do we feel anything of war in our inward man? Well, let us thank God for it! It is a good sign. It is strongly probable evidence of the great work of sanctification. All true saints are soldiers. Anything is better than apathy, stagnation, deadness and indifference. We are in a better state than many. The most part of so–called Christians have no feeling at all. We are evidently no friends of Satan. Like the kings of this world, he wars not against his own subjects. The very fact that he assaults us shoul...

Here is my second set of dead theologian magnets. I've added four theologians to the set. Can you guess who they are in the 3rd row? These are about twice as large (1" diameter) with slightly better images. The first set was so small and grainy that they looked like how I normally see things without my glasses.

Here is a rap of redemptive history by Shai Linne to wrap up the work week. Chorus: It's the greatest story ever told A God pursues foes whose hearts turned cold The greatest story ever told Restoring all that the enemy stole The greatest story ever told The glory of Christ is the goal, behold The greatest story ever told It's the greatest...

THOU SHALT NOT PANIC ! If I had a dollar for every time I projected future evil on the horizon, I'd be a wealthy woman, unfortunately. I don't know what it is (well actually I do - it's known as the indwelling sin of unbelief) but something happens and BOOM! it's as though there is no God in the universe and my fears are looming over me as big as Goliath. Thank God for sisters in Christ who very gently but firmly give me a virtual slap upside the head. Thanks, Sue, for reminding me to believe and trust in a faithful God who is in control. Another good reminder from C.H. Spurgeon: Oh, tempest-tossed believer, it is a happy trouble that drives thee to thy Father! Now that thou hast only thy God to trust to, see that thou puttest thy full confidence in Him. Dishonour not thy Lord and Master by unworthy doubts and fears, but be strong in faith, giving glory to God.

Now will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself. (Isaiah 33:10) When the spoilers had made the land as waste as if devoured by locusts, and the warriors who had defended the country sat down and wept like women, then the Lord came to the rescue. When travelers ceased from the roads to Zion, and Bashan and Carmel were as vineyards from which the fruit has failed, then the Lord arose. God is exalted in the midst of an afflicted people, for they seek His face and trust Him. He is still more exalted when in answer to their cries He lifts up Himself to deliver them and overthrow their enemies. Is it a day of sorrow with us? Let us expect to see the Lord glorified in our deliverance. Are we drawn out in fervent prayer? Do we cry day and night unto Him? Then the set time for His grace is near. God will lift up Himself at the right season. He will arise when it will be most for the display of His glory. We wish for His glory more than we long for our own de...

I finally finished The Courage to be Protestant by David Wells. I first heard his talks from the 1998 Desiring God Pastor's Conference before reading any of his books. It may be obvious to you, but I never realized how much culture, philosophy, and history shapes how we think and act. This book was very eye opening. I need to not be intimidated and finish No Place for Truth. Above All Earthly Powers is on the shelf waiting to be read as well. We have finished the school year for the most part. I want my daughter to do some Algebra at least once a week. So many concepts build on one another so I don't want her to forget them. We finished our last dissection today, the fetal pig. It seems like it takes the longest to get inside the specimen. The girls did a great job tackling this lab. They weren't squeamish at all. I did take pictures for our records, but I won't post any detailed ones here for fear of turning any one's stomach. My daughter is also taking a bit...

Pastor Ryan's sermon was entitled The Family Treasury on Matt 6:19-24. From my notes: What does my family treasure? Is my security in the Gospel or in money and possession? Regardless of whether we are poor or rich too often we find our identity in our possessions. Too often we are quick to sell our Savior for 30 pieces of silver. What ever controls your heart will ultimately control where your affections lie. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." This is not a best case scenario but Jesus is drawing a line in the sand. If you are Mine, your heart will be Mine. How much of our family's labor is for things? What does what we do with our money say about our lives? Do we show love for our family by the stuff we give them? If we're finding our identity in the master of materialism, we cannot serve Christ. Are we, am I despising Christ by my service to money? Are we, am I despising Christ by serving my stuf...

There are days when my head is a little clearer of spiritual fogginess. Those are the days that I would gladly tell the Lord that it doesn't matter what happens to me as long as He is glorified. But sometimes the fog creeps in and I have those moments when I ask, "Why me?" Does this ever happen to you? I woke up with one such moment this morning. Sometimes, I am so weary of my situation being dragged out with no resolution. Sometimes, I get frustrated when it seems that justice has not been served. When it seems as though nothing is happening, I begin to assume that God is doing nothing. It's like spiritual Alzheimer's comes over me and I forget too quickly God's providence, His sovereignty, His provision, His comfort, His promises, and His love. Before I got out of bed, I began to recount God's goodness to me, not only my whole life but especially these last two and a half years. When I remembered His specific faithfulness, I was so ashamed of my shor...

This is a letter from John Newton to his adopted daughter Betsy. August 10, 1783 My dear Betsy, How vain are all things here below! "Vanity of vanities!" says the preacher. And you, and I, and your mamma, may say so likewise; for we all counted upon seeing you last Sunday. We listened at the door—and peeped out of the window—but no Betsy came! Now we will venture to expect you next Sunday. Indeed, it is not amiss that you should now and then meet with a hindrance—that you may learn, if possible—not to count too much on what tomorrow may do for you—and that you may begin to feel the impossibility of being happy, any further than your will is brought into submission to the will of God. In order to learn this—you must have your own will frequently crossed. And things do and will turn out, almost daily in one way or other—contrary to our wishes and expectations. When such disappointments happen—most people fret and fume! They are angry and impatient! But others, who are in the...

We went to Smithfield, Virginia today for a little mother-daughter outing. Smithfield is best known as the Ham Capital of the World. However, historic downtown Smithfield has beautiful restored Victorian homes, antique shops, and fun eateries. We went primarily for the farmer's market. The Olde Town Market is an open air market held every Saturday during the summer. Local farmers and craftspeople bring their wares to sell. It's fun wandering from stall to stall seeing the produce, baked goods and crafts. One stall, Backyard Blooms, had beautiful flower bouqets for sale. The colors were so vibrant. Below is a picture of stall with homemade goat's milk soaps. The vendor makes the soap from scratch using milk from her own goats. The fragrance is heavenly. We bought some lilac soap which smells exactly like lilac blossoms. We finished our outing by purchasing apple butter from a mother-daughter business. They make wonderful baked goods and jams and jellies from their home. It...

My daughter and I were discussing Beth Spraul's article, You've Got Lies , over lunch. Given that it's the norm to throw in some sort of romance, she asked me if either of us had seen any movies without some element of romance. We had a hard time coming up with any non-romantic movies. In Milo & Otis , they each find mates and have offspring at the end of the movie. In Chicken Run , there's romance. Even in Curse of the Wer Rabbit , Wallace nearly succumbs to romance. WALL-E is a love story between robots. At first we thought that Babe had no romance, but Ferdinand the duck is sad because his lady duck friend became Christmas dinner. However after much thought, my daughter came up with Bolt and Ice Age 1 . The only movie I could think of with no romance is Expelled . But here is one "movie" that I can guarantee is 100% romance free.

Beth Spraul of Capitol Hill Baptist Church has written this article titled You've Got Lies: Chick Flicks and the World's Approach to Men and Marriage. I recommend this article. I don't think we realize how much we are influenced by the whole notion of romance in our culture, particularly the way it is portrayed in movies and books. I also think, for the majority of women, there is something in us that is drawn to the dream of an ideal romantic relationship. The author draws a possible parallel between pornography for men and romance for women. For men, it is explicit images. For women, it is feeding the thoughts and imaginations of an unreal ideal relationship. She also gives three powerful lies that are propagated by romance that have no Biblical foundation. I actually threw out You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle , and some other chick flicks. In Sleepless , the main female character is living with her fiance and going behind his back in search of the one person...

Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. Malachi 3:16 They spoke with one another. They feared the Lord and esteemed His name. It goes without saying that I couldn't live without Christ. But lately, I've been more aware of His kindness in not letting me go on this pilgrimage alone. So to my daughter, my parents, my sister and her family, and my brothers and sisters in Christ, thank you for walking alongside me in this journey. Thanks for lifting up my hands when they were hanging down. Thank you for encouragement and rebuke. Most of all, thank you for pointing me to Christ.

There is a very popular book based on an obscure prayer in Chronicles. The premise is to repeat this prayer and God will bless you and give you what you want. Given it's popularity, I wonder why there isn't a best seller on Philippians 3. "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." And what about Acts 5: 41? "Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that the...

I've had a couple of object lessons on sin from the animal kingdom. Lesson #1: We had a recent infestation of sugar ants around the kitchen sink. To get rid of them, I put out an insecticide called, Terro. It is a thick syrupy fluid containing borax. The ants were attracted to the sweet syrup. They eat it, take it back to the colony, and then die. It works very well. For some reason, this reminded me of sin. Sin disquises itself to be a "delight to the eyes and good for food". Those poor ants gorged themselves and even shared it with their family and friends. Everyone was enjoying it, everyone was doing it, so what harm can be in that? From appearances it was good for them but in reality it was poison. They were all dead in two days. Lesson #2: I always thought that our bunny, Lizzy, was relatively smart. However, in some things she is really stupid. She will eat the carpet in her condo as well as chew on plastic. Here are two substances that do not bear any resemblance t...

I was very encouraged by today's sermon in the continuing series The Gospel and the Home . The title was Christ First . The title alone sums up what life should be about let alone our view of the Christian home. It's easy to hear a word like this and say, "Amen!" and quite another thing to live it out tomorrow morning. I need to chew on this some more and will post on it this week, God willing. I am feeling (I don't like using that word but I'm too tired to think of a better one because it isn't really a feeling ) a greater connection with my brothers and sisters at Grace. What a contrast to the seven years when my family didn't meet anywhere. It wasn't that we didn't have contact with Christians, but we weren't in fellowship in a local church. Looking back, I don't know how we survived. It will be one year this month since my daughter and I became members at Grace. I praise God for bringing us to this church and knitting us together wi...

I have been thinking about the role of the Trinity in the atonement. Part of it is from listening to Mission Accomplished and High Priest by Shai Linne. Part of it is reading Leviticus and Hebrews with the parallel of the high priest and Jesus, our Great High Priest. Part of it is the whole Shack craze which appears to be muddying the doctrine of the Trinity, promoting Patripassianism, and denying substitutionary atonement. Interestingly, Patripassianism and Sabellianism/Modalism were brought up in a recent Sunday school class on early heresies in church history. So nothing is really new under the sun. I was always taught the Trinity but I feel very ignorant about the implications of the doctrine to the rest of Christianity. For example, if you believe that the Father suffered on the cross, than who was atonement being made to? This confuses what the atonement really is. So having an accurate Biblical view of the Trinity can be a safeguard against other errors. A mental picture I ha...

The idea is to come up with 15 books that will always stick with you in less than 15 minutes. It took about 5 minutes to come up with my list. 1. The Bible 2. The Mystery of Providence - John Flavel 3. The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment - Jeremiah Burroughs 4. The Mortification of Sin - John Owen 5. Christless Christianity - Michael Horton 6. The Courage to be Protestant - David Wells 7. The Gospel According to Jesus - John MacArthur 8. When Grace Comes Home - Terry Johnson 9. Desiring God - John Piper 10. Pilgrim's Progress - John Bunyan 11. Holiness - J.C. Ryle 12. The Glory of Christ - John Owen 13. Advice to Sufferers - John Bunyan 14. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 15. Wives and Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell What are your fifteen? HT: Kim at The Upward Call

(As I was writing my previous post, I remembered this devotional by C.H. Spurgeon from Faith's Cheque Book for April 14. He says so clearly what is in my heart.) He shall choose our inheritance for us. (Psalm 47:4) Our enemies would allot us a very dreary portion, but we are not left in their hands. The Lord will cause us to stand in our lot, and our place is appointed by His infinite wisdom. A wiser mind than our own arranges our destiny, The ordaining of all things is with God, and we are glad to have it so; we choose that God should choose for us. If we might have our own way we would wish to let all things go in God's way. Being conscious of our own folly, we would not desire to rule our own destinies. We feel safer and more at ease when the Lord steers our vessel than we could possibly be if we could direct it according to our own judgment. Joyfully we leave the painful present and the unknown future with our Father, our Savior, our Comforter. O my soul, this day lay down ...

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going . Hebrews 11:8 I don't know where I am going, literally. I honestly don't know what the next few months will hold. I may be working outside the home for the first time in 14 years. I may still be working in the home. I may continue homeschooling or my daughter may be enrolled in a local Christian school. I have no idea because anything could happen, one way or the other. Part of that scares me because it appears that my future lies in the hands of others which I don't like at all. But the truth is that my future lies in only one pair of hands. My future is in the hands of a sovereign and loving God. So here's a golden opportunity to trust Him and let Him choose for me my inheritance. He shall choose our inheritance for us , the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah. Psalm 47:4 Trust in him at all times, O people;...

Why are we at such odds with the way Scripture sees things? The answer of course, is that we are sinners and, apparently, are unaware of this fact. Americans, as we have seen, do not believe in original sin. Sin, we need to understand, has reality-defining capacities, Defining reality, though, is a divine prerogative, not one that has been passed off to us. The first temptation was a temptation to be "like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen 3:5). Presumably, Adam and Eve were lured by the thought that, like God, they could be in close and intimate contact with evil and remain unpolluted by it. That was a lie. The experimentation with evil, the defiance of what God had said, led to their internal corruption and then their banishment. Angels with flaming swords barred their reentry. We have no such difficulty. The angels have gone. And so has that older, moral universe whose fabric reflected the character of God. We have abandoned that universe and are now in the business of rede...

I didn't post about this sermon right away because I have been wrestling through its implications. The following is from my notes: Pastor Ryan spoke from Mark 10:1-12. In an attempt to test Jesus, the pharisees asked Him what are the grounds for divorce. However, this passage is not about defining the do's and don'ts about divorce but the endurance of marriage in God's eyes. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. In the sermon, he asked the following questions: - Where is your heart? Do we gravitate back to the law for what we are allowed or not allowed to do? Because the pharisees were quick to use the law to accommodate their hardness of heart in allowing divorce for any cause. But rather than "What am I allowed to do", the real question should be, "How can I honor and exalt Christ in whatever circumstance I am in. " The real question is "Where is my heart not what are my circumstances." - Who is marriage for? ...

I am the pair of hands in this video. The piano was horribly out of tune so Sterling's intonation was fine. He's only nine years old! I will be accompanying him at a recital on Saturday. He is playing Tambourin Chinois by Fritz Kreisler. His brother performs the original piece in the next video. They are an extremely talented family. So you can see why I need to practice.

Hymn LIV In vain my roving thoughts would find A portion worthy of the mind; On earth my soul can never rest, For earth can never make me blest. Can lasting happiness be found Where seasons roll their hasty round And days, and hours, with rapid flight, Sweep cares and pleasures out of sight? Arise my thoughts, my heart arise, Leave this low world, and seek the skies; There joys for ever, ever last, When seasons, days, and hours are past. Come, Lord, thy powerful grace impart, Thy grace can raise my wandering heart To pleasure perfect and sublime Unmeasur'd by the wings of time Let those bright worlds of endless joy, My thoughts, my hopes, my cares employ, No more, ye restless passions, roam, God is my bliss, and heaven my home. by Anne Steele (1717-1778)