Tried With Fire

I am becoming more aware of how much thanks I owe to God and how little I give Him. My prayer has been to grow in thankfulness, not just in the big things but also in the little things as well. So here are some things for which I give thanks: 1. The city inspector signed off on the demolition today. The house has been repaired. We have a back yard again. All I need to do is water the grass seed. We broke ground for the addition in August 2006, so this has been a long ordeal. I don't think the relief has hit me yet. Maybe, the relief hasn't hit because of the abundance of grace that has carried me through this process. 2. The downstairs AC has been broken for the last two years. (I am very thankful for mild summers and window units.) It needs to be repaired before the house can go on the market. I got an estimate today from the same company that was 20-25% less than the quote in 2007. 3. This one will sound really weird, but we found two dead mice in the basement. I came downsta...

Relationships are indispensable, but not enough. No matter what the teachers of tickling ears say, we do have rules to follow. Jesus didn't say if you love Me you'll feel close to Me. He said if you love Me, you'll keep My commandments. The church, as the gathering of those who love Jesus, should be pure, holy, loving, and true - both as an indication of our obedience and as a reflection of the character of God. That's why discipline has traditionally been a mark of the church. Discipline promotes the purity of the church and vindicates the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet how can there be discipline without a church? How can there be accountability if church is not in any way an institution with standards and dogma, but only a gathering of two or more Christians in the park? Christianity is not whatever we want it to be. It is, whether we like it or not, organized religion. And the church is what gives it its organization shape and definition. That's why people ...

I started reading Why We Love the Church on Friday. It has been a fascinating read, and I'm almost done. I had to force myself to stop reading last night so I could get some sleep. If you knew my spiritual history, a book subtitled In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion would be the last book you would expect to find on my shelf. A book like Brethren, Hang Loose or Pilgrim Church would be more in keeping with my upbringing. I was taught that all organized religion, denominations, etc. were wrong. The church, as God wants it, is to be found outside of institutional Christianity. I was taught that the true expression of the church "went outside the camp", was free from "its Babylonian captivity", and other (probably) misused Biblical metaphors. I was taught that the torch of the testimony was passed down through history to those who did not succumb to the organized church. That's why it's almost hilarious (at least to me) that I'm readin...

For about two years, my daughter has spent every other week-end with her father. Last night, we endured the usual Friday traffic to meet him. On the drive up, we were talking about how God has provided for us in so many practical ways, blessing and deepening our relationship, revealing the doctrines of grace to us, and bringing us into fellowship with a local church. As we were listing all that God has done, my daughter said, "We are so blessed." As I was driving home, I was thinking about what she said. Here is a young girl who, in one sense, has lost her father. Any day, her parents' divorce will be final and yet she can say, "We are so blessed." How can this possibly be? I could write a list of verses a mile long, but suffice it to say, this is possible because God is real, the Gospel is real, Jesus Christ's finished work is real, the indwelling and transforming work of the Holy Spirit is real, the Bible is real. To God be the glory.

I need more books like I need carpal tunnel syndrome. However, I can't resist a good book sale .

In honor of our recent house guests:

If we know anything at all about the character of God, then we know that he is not a tyrant and that he is never unjust. His structure of the terms of mankind's probation satisfied God's righteousness. That should be enough to satisfy us. Yet we still quarrel. We will contend with the Almighty. We still assume that somehow God did us wrong and that we suffer as innocent victims of God's judgement. Such sentiments only confirm the radical degree of our fallenness. When we think like this, we are thinking like Adam's children. Such blasphemous thoughts only underline in red how accurately we were represented by Adam. R.C. Sproul ~ Chosen By God, page 95.

I went to the grocery store today. This is what I found on the receipt when I got home.

Test your Bible knowledge here .

I was hoping to get a picture of the wall getting knocked down, but the workers were already done by the time we returned home from Bible study. I've been sending pictures of the demolition to some friends who were involved in the construction. They said it was like watching Nehemiah in reverse.

HT: White Horse Inn (click on image for larger view)

Yesterday, I posted a hymn , What God Hath Promised , by Annie Johnson Flint. She was also the author of He Giveth More Grace . When I read hymns about suffering, I wonder what was the inspiration for the verses. I was able to glean some information from this short biography on Miss Flint. Annie lost her mother at age three shortly after the birth of her sister. Her father was also dying of a fatal illness . In His providence, God provided a couple to adopt Annie and her sister. Mr. and Mrs. Flint were true believers providing the orphans with a loving Christian home. As an adult, Annie began to teach but was stricken with severe arthritis that eventually crippled her for life. Her adoptive parents then died. Through the help of a friend, she became a resident of a health sanitarium . To support herself, she began to write poetry and sell the verses. From her biography: In another sphere her friends criticized and challenged her faith. As her story became known far and wide it was n...

Today's sermon was "Faithful Until Death" on Hebrews 11:13-22. I needed to hear this. I had read countless times about Joseph's request for his bones to be brought to the promised land. It never hit me until today that his very request was evidence of his faith. He believed God who would be faithful to a promise that was made to his great-grandfather. Abraham never saw the fulfillment. Neither did Isaac, Jacob, or Joseph, but that did not keep them from believing God would keep His promise regardless of whether they saw it or not . There are too many times when I question God's faithfulness to keep His promises to my shame. This is after the many times when He shown Himself mighty on my behalf. Pastor Ryan pointed out the sin of seeing a promise of God and viewing it as implausible. I am guilty of that sin of unbelief many times over. To be honest, I am tired of not having resolution on many issues. I want to go on with my life with my daughter without anymore leg...

[T]he modern position amounts to this, that it is man's reason that decides. You and I come to the Bible and we have to make our decisions on this basis of certain standards which are obviously in our minds. We decide that one portion conforms to the message which we believe, and that another does not. In spite of all the talk about a new situation today, we are still left with the position that man's knowledge and man's understanding are the final arbiters and the final court of appeal. That was precisely the position of the old Liberalism. However, some would put the case a little differently. They would say that you must recognize as the Word of God that which speaks to you. When something in the Bible speaks to your condition it is the Word of God, and when it does not, it is not the Word of God. That, of course, is just to put yourselves into a thoroughly subjective position. It still leaves man in control; man is still the authority who decides what is truly the Word ...

Didst thou my FIOS reconnect? Please shake my hand, Verizon tech! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! She chortled in her joy.

The Verizon Saga - Take 27. A technician came out today. He told me he was unable to move the FIOS service as a trouble request and that I needed to submit an order through the business office. I've done this twice before. He kindly offered to put in the request for me and was put on hold for 18 minutes and transferred back and forth five times. This is an employee, not just Average Joe Customer. Verizon's customer service hasn't been user-surly, just unable to deal with a request that falls outside of the standard service options. Unfortunately, my request defies catergorization. Most customers don't need their service moved because the current location is undergoing demolition. Lord willing, a technician will be here tomorrow. We sent our two boxes, 15 total pounds, of fabric and yarn to Iraq for the IBOL distribution. The current box count is 3436. If each box averages 7 lb, that's 12 tons of fabric, yarn, and sewing supplies . Major LaFlamme was originally hopi...

I'm glad that praying to God is not like going through Verizon customer service.

How can you expect to be saved by an "unknown" God? And how can you know God without prayer? You know nothing of men and women in this world, unless you speak with them. You cannot know God in Christ, unless you speak to Him in prayer. If you wish to be with Him in heaven, you must be one of His friends on earth. If you wish to be one of His friends on earth, you must pray . Reader, never be surprised if you hear ministers of the Gospel dwelling much on the importance of prayer. This is the point we want to bring you to, - we want to know that you pray. Your view of doctrine may be correct. Your love of Protestantism my be warm and unmistakable. But still this may be nothing more than head knowledge and party spirit. We want to know whether you are actually acquainted with the throne of grace, and whether you can speak to God as well as speak about God. Reader, do you wish to find out whether you are a true Christian? Then rest assured that my question is one of the ve...

December 2006 September 2009 This is all that is left of the addition. The remaining wall is where the power meter is located. Once the meter is moved to the new meter base, the rest can be torn down. Getting the electrician, the inspectors, the power company, and Verizon's schedules to fit has been more complicated than the planets coming into alignment. It is a relief to have it be gone, not just for me but for the neighbors as well. It's nice to look out the back windows and see the sky again. I sometimes wonder why. God is not obligated to explain to me why He has brought me through this season, but I do know this: I am not skilled to understand What God hath willed, what God hath planned; I only know at His right hand Is One Who is my Savior! ~ Dorothy Greenwell (1821-1882)

“Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ; let us regard it as the source of all our hopes, and the foundation of all our peace. Ignorance and unbelief may see nothing in the sufferings of Calvary but the cruel martyrdom of an innocent person: faith will look far deeper; faith will see in the death of Jesus the payment of man’s enormous debt to God, and the complete salvation of all who believe.” ~ J.C. Ryle, Day by Day with J.C. Ryle, “The Cross”, 48. Receive a daily quote from J.C. Ryle by signing up here .

ht: Animals with light sabers Chipmunks, Star Wars, and Legos . Who could ask for anything more? I've been very near sighted most of my life. These verses come to mind everytime I have my eyes tested: "For we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7 and "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1 (ht: reformation theology )

This is a Monarch caterpillar. It is eating climbing milkweed outside the schoolroom window. The larva is about 3 inches long and is gobbling the leaves at an amazing rate. The milkweed has taken over the flower bed which is bad for the hydrangeas but good for the butterflies which have been in abundance this summer. Milkweed is the favorite food of the Monarch caterpillars. When Monarch larvae ingest milkweed, they also ingest the plants' toxins, called cardiac glycosides. They store these compounds in their wings and exoskeletons, making the larvae and adults toxic to many potential predators. Vertebrate predators may avoid Monarchs because of their terrible taste. We're hoping the caterpillar will turn into a chrysalis. If it does, we'll bring it into our butterfly hatchery and observe its metamorphosis.

By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised . Hebrews 11:11 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness." But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Romans 4:20-25 From my notes on today's sermon: Sarah's history wasn't stellar. She had multiple failures of faith. But God by faith triumphs over past failures. This is not Sarah's story but God's story on Sarah's behalf. God triumphs over her past record but her current physical circumstance as well. Faith i...

I have been pondering the word religion . I used to have a personal bias against the word until I started reading the Puritans. In J.I. Packer's talk on the Puritan Century, he states that religion was to the Puritans as Christianity is to us today. In 1941, Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote, "Religion, a true belief in God, in Jesus Christ, is fundamental, vital, essential." J.C. Ryle wrote on Practical Religion . Jonathan Edwards wrote A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections . Who can forget Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion . So it seems in former days, these godly men used religion to refer to the gospel and its outworking. Something has changed because my former definition of religion would have been scrupulous conformity to a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices by which a person is made right with God . This is an amalgamation of two of the definitions of religion from Merriam-Webster's online ...

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"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered." Psalm 32:1 It is a miracle to believe, but for a sinner to believe is two miracles. ~ Samuel Rutherford, Letter to John Stuart 1637 It is a sign that the Sun of Righteousness has risen upon us, when our frozen hearts thaw and melt for sin. Weeping for sin is a sign of the new birth. As soon as the child is born—it weeps. Mourning shows a 'heart of flesh' (Ezekiel 36:26). A stone will not melt. When the heart is in a melting frame—it is a sign the heart of stone is taken away. ~ Thomas Watson, The Beatitudes 1660 Pardon of sin is a choice mercy. This jewel God hangs upon none but His elect. ~Thomas Watson, The Christian's Charter

This is a prayer request for Tammy Osborn, Eddie Eddings ' daughter, who has been diagnosed with cancer. The details are posted here . From Eddie's post: To my friends and spiritual family who read this blog. This has all transpired in literally, a matter of days. My daughter was told that she may have had cancer for the last several years. She is trusting God for everything and she knows this is part of his plan for her life. And she wants to glorify Him and she needs your prayers to do that.

Man rebels against God as He is and as He reveals Himself. He even hates Him for His goodness. And then he proceeds to make his own gods. That was not only the story of mankind at the beginning, it is a precise and exact description of the past hundred years and especially of the past forty years. Whatever we may propose to do about our world, whatever plans and ideas we may have with regard to the future, if we ignore this basic fact all will be in vain. To be kind and to indulge in vague generalizations about man and his development, etc., and to invite him just as he is to follow Christ is not enough. Man must be convinced and convicted of his sin. He must face the naked, terrible truth about himself and his attitude towards God. It is only when he realizes the truth that he will be ready truly to believe the Gospel and return to God. That is the task of the Church; that is our task. Shall we commence upon it by examining ourselves? Do we accept the revelation of God as given in the...

I was reading ahead in our literature curriculum. The second lesson deals with analyzing the worldview of different writers. The text lists key philosophers from ancient Greece to the 20th century. As I was reading through the list, several names sounded familiar to me although I had never studied philosophy. Then I remembered...

It's been two weeks since I heard the raccoons traipsing about. We've seen neither hide nor hair. We also haven't smelled anything nasty coming up from beneath the floor boards. Either the raccoons were teleported to another dimension, or they found another way out. Alas, the mystery of the missing raccoons will have to remain an unsolved case.

Today was the first day of school. We had a hard time getting started because of the wedding yesterday. We stayed to help the family clean up after the reception and didn't get home until after 10:30 PM. But even with the late start, we were able to cover most of the subjects. I am looking forward to digging into history and literature. Both of the authors' intents are to teach critical evaluation of historical events and literature in the light of a Biblical worldview. The second unit in the literature curriculum covers a history of worldviews from ancient Greece to our current postmodern era which is of special interest to me. Latin is going to be very interesting. Both my daughter and I love learning about word origins and usage, so we will both gain from studying Latin together. We are using a video course for chemistry. It's not a lab course but geared towards the analytical skills necessary for chemistry. I appreciate that the course isn't about rote memorization ...

We witnessed a beautiful wedding yesterday. The eldest daughter of our very close friends was married. It was very special because she was the same age as my daughter is now when we first met the family. We have seen her grow up from being a girl to a young woman. In addition to the usual response to "Who gives this woman?", the father of the bride briefly shared the passage from Ephesians 5 with the couple. He exhorted them to fulfill their God-given roles in marriage. It was especially touching when he spoke of transferring the role of protector and provider from himself to his future son-in-law. I don't know how he did it without crying. The bride and groom wrote their own vows. It was clear their prayer was for Christ to be the center of their marriage. They set the bar very high with those vows. The pastor very wisely said that some of their vows would possibly be broken, but then they could run to Christ and His cross for forgiveness. This is the first wedding that ...

The sands of time are sinking, The dawn of heaven breaks; The summer morn I’ve sighed for - The fair, sweet morn awakes: Dark, dark had been the midnight But dayspring is at hand, And glory, glory dwelleth In Emmanuel’s land. O Christ, He is the fountain, The deep, sweet well of love! The streams on earth I’ve taste More deep I’ll drink above: There to an ocean fullness His mercy doth expand, And glory, glory dwelleth In Emmanuel’s land. The bride eyes not her garment, But her dear Bridegroom’s face; I will not gaze at glory But on my King of grace. Not at the crown He giveth But on His pierced hand; The Lamb is all the glory Of Emmanuel’s land. O I am my Beloved’s And my Beloved is mine! He brings a poor vile sinner Into His house of wine I stand upon His merit - I know no other stand, ...

Excerpt from the letter to Earlston, younger ~ Aberdeen, 1637 O that we could breathe out new hope, and new submission every day, into Christ's lap! For certainly, a weight of glory well weighed, yea, increasing to a far more exceeding and eternal weight, shall recompense both weight and length of light and short-dated crosses. Our waters are but ebb, and come neither to our chin, nor to the stopping of our breath. I may see (if I would borrow eyes from Christ) dry land, and that near; why then should we not laugh at adversity, and scorn our short-born and soon-dying temptations! I rejoice in the hope of the glory to be revealed; for it is no uncertain glory we look for. Our hope is not hung upon an untwisted thread as, 'I imagine so,' or 'It is likely'; but the cable, the strong tow of our fastened anchor, is the oath and promise of Him who is eternal verity. Our salvation is fastened with God's own hand and with Christ's own strength to the strong stoup of...

This ground squirrel has become quite famous for popping up in this photo . It would seem that our furry friend appreciates good theology as well. He seems to be appearing in the most unexpected places. I wonder if the little guy is YRR - Young, Rodent, Reformed? You too can add the squirrel at the Squirrelizer . (ht: cuteoverload.com ) (No pastors, squirrels, or marmots were harmed in the altering of these photos. )

I've been thinking about the phrase "Young, restless, reformed." I'm sure no age discrimination is intended at all, but what about those of us who aren't so young, not so restless, and have recently embraced reformed (aka Biblical) theology? Here are a few suggestions: MHER - Middle-aged, high energy, reformed MRAR - Middle-aged, reasonably active, reformed MSSR - Middle-aged, slightly sedentary, reformed MPCSR - Middle-aged, pry off couch with spatula, reformed MNQRTR - Middle-aged, not quite ready for the taxidermist, reformed Unfortunately, the acronyms sound like new strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria. (Yoda may still be spry, but they must not have taught spelling on Dagobah.)

There is a very interesting article on the Young, Restless, Reformed (YRR) movement by Carl Trueman at Reformation 21 . (ht: Challies ) From the article: Finally, I worry that a movement built on megachurches, megaconferences, and megaleaders, does the church a disservice in one very important way that is often missed amid all the pizzazz and excitement: it creates the idea that church life is always going to be big, loud, and exhilarating and thus gives church members and ministerial candidates unrealistic expectations of the normal Christian life. In the real world, many, perhaps most, of us worship and work in churches of 100 people or less; life is not loud and exciting; big things do not happen every Sunday; budgets are incredibly tight and barely provide enough for a pastor's modest salary; each Lord's Day we go through the same routines of worship services, of hearing the gospel proclaimed, of taking the Lord's Supper, of teaching Sunday School; perhaps several ti...

To Lady Kenmure Anworth, 26, June 1630 Madam, Grace, mercy, and peace be multiplied upon you. I received your Ladyship's letter, in the which I perceive your case in this world savoureth of worship and communion with the Son of God, in his sufferings. You cannot, you must not have a more pleasant or more easy condition here, than he had, who 'through afflictions was made perfect ' [Heb 2.10]. We may indeed think, Cannot God bring us to heaven with ease and prosperity? Who doubteth but he can? But his infinite wisdom thinketh and decreeth the contrary; and though we cannot see a reason for it, yet he hath a most just reason. We never with our eyes saw our own soul, yet we have a soul; we see many rivers, but we know not their first spring and original fountain, yet they have a beginning. Madam, when you are come to the other side of the water and have set your foot on the shore of glorious eternity and look back again to the waters and to your wearisome journey, and shal...