Tried With Fire

Our pastor preached the last sermon on Hebrews today. We have been going through the book verse by verse for a year and a half. This was my first exposure to expository preaching, and it was like water to a thirsty soul. During the service, passages from Hebrews were read interspersed with songs/hymns. At times I was moved to tears hearing the verses that had become so precious. This reading of the Word was just as much worship to the Lord as our songs and hymns. Pastor Ryan summed up the book well in describing it as a detailed description of the grace of God. Grace is God's unmerited favor, and God revealed that favor to us in the person and work of His Son, our forerunner, our high priest. From beginning to end, Hebrews is about the supremacy of Christ. In a way, I am sorry that we are done. But even though this series is over, the Holy Spirit will continue to take the Word that was deposited and work it out in our lives. Thank God for the faithful preaching of His Word.

That is the way faith reasons. It says: 'All right, I see the waves and the billows but' - it always puts up this 'but'. That is faith, it holds on to truth and reasons from what it knows to be fact. That is the way to apply faith. These men did not do that and that is why they became agitated and panic stricken. And you and I will become panic stricken and agitated it we fail to to the same. Whatever the circumstances, therefore, stand, wait for a moment. Say 'I admit it all, but-' But what? But God! but the Lord Jesus Christ! But what? The whole of my salvation! That is what faith does All things may seem to be against me 'to drive me to despair'. I do not understand what is happening; but I know this, I know that God has so loved me that He sent His only begotten Son into this world for me, I know that while I was an enemy, God sent His only Son to die on the Cross on Calvary's Hill for me. He has done that for me while I was an enemy, a rebelliou...

Here is a picture of the pets in exile. A friend from church helped us move the animals yesterday. Lizzy is napping in the cardboard box on the rug. Big Bun is to the left in his cage, and Rusty is sleeping in his purple pigloo on the table. I don't think they mind the change too much as long as they get regular room service from the staff.

I am borrowing Kim 's theme for Thursdays, because there is always something for which I can be thankful. I am thankful for a good report from a medical test I had on Monday. According to the doctor, there was a 98-99% chance that everything was fine, and the procedure confirmed this. While we were in the waiting room, I had a chance to fellowship with my friend who was my chauffeur that day. She shared that her default mode was to do better and try harder in an effort to be right with God. She and her husband were reading something by Martin Luther, and the doctrine of Christ's imputed righteousness (she didn't put it exactly like that) dawned on her. It has been an encouragement to see how the gospel is changing her life. I am thankful for Spiritual Depression - Its Causes and Cure by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. I feel as though he was reading my mind when he wrote this. Even though the title refers to depression, this book would be applicable to any believer who has felt d...

[Y]our business and mine is not to stir up our feelings, it is to believe. We are never told anywhere in Scripture that we are saved by our feelings; we are saved by believing. 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.' Never once are feelings put in the primary position. Now this is something we can do. I cannot make myself happy, but I can remind myself of my belief. I can exhort myself to believe, I can address my soul as the Psalmist did in Psalm 42: 'Why are thou cast down O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou'... believe thou, trust thou. That is the way. And then our feelings will look after themselves. Do not worry about them. Talk to yourself, and though the devil will suggest that because you do not feel, you are not a Christian, say: 'No, I do not feel anything, but whether I feel or not, I believe the Scriptures. I believe God's word is true and I will stay my soul upon it, I will believe in it come what may....

This quote from John Newton was an encouragement to my soul this morning. I will hope it will encourage you as well. We are poor, weak, inconsistent creatures--if left but a little to ourselves. When I think how cold, dull and heartless I have been; how often I have wandered, how often trifled upon the brink of temptation; when I consider what powerful, vigilant, and subtle enemies are combined against me; and how many professors have fallen on my right hand and my left--I am amazed at the greatness of His mercy in preserving me! I am a living commentary, that there is forgiveness with Him--and that He is able to save to the uttermost! ~ John Newton ht: gracegems

Do you ever have so many thoughts and questions that fill your mind that you need to get them out? This is my attempt to at least do a partial cranial core dump. I've been listening to John McArthur's Charismatic Chaos series. Why are we drawn to extra-Biblical experiences? What is the lure of finding something new or its counterpart, the discovery of some ancient hidden truth hitherto unknown? Are we gnostics at heart? A week ago at small group, I noticed that I was the oldest person there, theoretically old enough to be the mother of almost everyone in the room. I don't feel old . It was just a weird realization. My daughter kindly said to me, "You're not old. You're middle aged." Thank you, my dear, for making that clear distinction. My daughter is reading Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis. I told her that I read the novel for a college class on Lewis' writings. When she asked me how long ago that was, it was 29 years ago. Oh my! No wonder I...

Believing the gospel and absolute despair of salvation are plainly incompatible states of mind. A man may believe what men falsely call the gospel and what he mistakenly thinks the gospel, and yet remain a stranger to the hope of eternal life. A man may think that he believes what is really the gospel, while he only speculates about it, and remain a stranger to the hope of eternal life. But the real gospel cannot be really believed without, in the degree in which it is believed, producing hope. Dr. John Brown (1785-1858), Words Old and New ~ Horatius Bonar, Banner of Truth, page 330.

My daughter was watching a chemistry lecture on molarity. She said that every time the instructor used the word "molar", she thought of this:

I have been marking key words and listing their occurrences in Philippians 1 for our inductive study. I could do this in a spread sheet, but it is much prettier and more fun using colored pencils. This is hard work. It reminds me of my daughter's grammar exercises - diagramming sentences, identifying parts of speech, and prepositional phrases. It has been a discipline to let the Word say what it says rather than jumping to an immediate interpretation/application. I also realized how much I have been missing in these familiar passages. I am looking forward to digging deeper this week. I just need to keep my colors straight.

Today is Valentine's Day. I nearly forgot. Valentine's Day doesn't bother me anymore, but it did in the past. On this day three years ago, my spouse walked out. Deliberately timed? I don't know, but I have my suspicions. Consequently, Valentine's Day and almost anything that had any sort of romantic overtones hurt for a while. I can't pinpoint when the hurt began to lessen and when the healing began, but it happened for which I praise God. Human love is a blessing from God, whether it is between spouses, parent and child, among family and friends. But earthly love is limited and will end one day with death, even if other things do not mar it. God's love is eternal and perfect. It does not diminish with time. His love is not given based on any worth in its recipients. It is not sentimental. As John Flavel puts it, "His love is judicious, not fond. He consults my good rather than my ease." How was that love demonstrated? For while we were still weak...

For those of you who are to young to remember Mr. Peabody ...

Are you interested in doctrine? Sometimes these people are foolish enough to contrast what they regard as spiritual reading of the Scriptures with doctrine. They say that they are not interested in doctrine, that they like Bible expositions but do not like doctrine. They claim to believe the doctrines which are in the Bible and which come out of the Bible, but (it is almost incredible but it is true) they draw this fatal contrast between Biblical exposition and doctrine. But what is the purpose of the Bible except to present doctrine? What is the value of exposition unless it leads to truth? But it is not difficult to understand their position. It is the doctrine that hurts it is the doctrine that focuses things. It is one thing to look at pictures and to be interested in words and shades of meaning. That does not disturb, that does not focus attention on sin, nor call for decision. We can sit back and enjoy that; but doctrine speaks to us and insists upon a decision. This is truth, an...

This may be small potatoes for folks used to real winter weather, but every snow is exciting for us snow-deprived Virginians. There was hardly any snow earlier this morning, but the skies have opened up in the last hour. The National Weather Service predicts rapid accumulations of 1 to 2 inches of snow in an hour with high winds causing blizzard-like conditions. I am thankful we can enjoy the beauty of the snow from inside a warm house. I think this weather calls for some baking!

We will be studying Philippians in Sunday school. This study will be an inductive Bible study. I've never done this type of study before, and I'm looking forward to breaking out the colored pencils. The "what it means to me" eisegetical method was the norm in my pre-reformed days. It was a sign of "being spiritual" if you could find something new in the verses. In fact, it was discouraged to be too academic, a sort of missing the forest for the trees argument. The problem was that you could say you saw a lunar landscape instead of the forest, and no one would bat an eye. I have read into and interpreted verses from a purely subjective point of view, completely missing the point of the passage in my effort to find something "for me". Part of it was looking for genuine comfort in the Word. But true comfort comes from seeing who God is as revealed in Scripture, not in imaging the verses mean something other than what is written. I cringe inside for th...

"Did I do something wrong?" You didn't do anything, Rusty. People aren't used to seeing a guinea pig in a huge cage or free-roaming bunnies. The pets have been banished to the little 2nd floor bedroom in an attempt to make the house look more conventional. Their room will be turned into a pseudo-dining room. I think it is a reasonable compromise. If we move the pets, we don't have to rearrange the living room or the school room.

I received an email from my realtor this afternoon. She tactfully suggested a few changes regarding how our house is organized. We have unconventional pets and have our house set up in a nontraditional manner. I tried to organize the rooms to maximize the space, but other agents have suggested that we try to stage the house more conventionally. I don't think it will work. The radiators limit where furniture can be placed, and a conventional looking house will result in one that looks more cramped in the long run. Even though I have a logical explanation as to why we can't change things, my gut reaction is anxiety. It might stem from anticipating another disagreement with my ex or just irritation at having to change how we live our lives for the sake of selling the house. Either way, anxiety is sin for which I need to repent. So as my stomach is gradually becoming unknotted, I need to have this verse burned on my brain: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by pray...

It was so good to go to church today. Services were cancelled last week due to the snow, and it just didn't seem normal not being with the saints on Sunday. There was a chance that the roads would be too slippery this morning. Thankfully, the roads were fine. I think the Lord has a sense of humor. For seven years, we were quite content to not meet with any believers, and now here I am missing going to church. I could plead ignorance for that period. It sounded very "spiritual" at the time to go on and on about how the Church is really for the age to come, so God doesn't expect any sort of earthly manifestation now. But the "I love Christ so much that I don't need to be in fellowship with His Bride. And by the way, let me show how much I value Him and His Word by ignoring and disobeying it." is a pretty lame excuse. I am thankful that His grace is greater than ignorance and disobedience, for granting repentance for my attitude about the Church, an...

I finished reading Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman (1931-2003). It is a thought-provoking book that puts forth the argument that television, with its use of images to convey information versus the printed word, has radically changed how we think, learn and assess what is true. Given that the book was published in 1985, you could substitute the Internet or any of the other technological wonders of the 21st century, and the argument would still be just as valid. Although Postman was a humanist, the book was helpful to me as a parent, home educator, and Christian, because we are charged to "not be conformed to this world." Therefore as a believer, I need to closely examine the effects of entertainment-driven technology, the very thing on which the world thrives. Yes, there are benefits from technology, but there are risks as well. The presence of technology has a pervasive and invasive presence in every part of our lives which may not always be a good thing, particul...

If you ever wondered what the Super Bowl would be like played out as a debate between Arminians and Calvinists, look no further thanks to Tom In The Box . 1st Half Half-time show and second half

It feels like we have been going and going since before the holidays. Homeschool , work, school, home sale, family issues, weird car behavior, doctors' visits, and the events of every day life have kept us very busy. Therefore, we are taking a much needed break tonight. We're going to get in our jammies and watch Anne of Green Gables, the Sequel . We have a big bag of chips and a bowl of French onion dip just for the occasion. As Ira Gershwin would say, "Who could ask for anything more?"

Not grace to bar what is not bliss, Nor flight from all distress, but this: The grace that orders our trouble and pain, And then, in the darkness, is there to sustain. ~ John Piper This evening at prayer meeting, a brother was handing out copies of this poem. I listened to Piper's sermon on sustaining grace repeatedly in the beginning of 2008. It was good to be reminded of it again.

I loaned Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung to a friend. We had a good discussion about the book today. We're both recovering from some fear-based, semi-mystical ideas about the will of God so it has been very freeing. Formerly, finding the will of God was as hard as hitting a bull's eye at 50 feet with a dollar store dart gun minus your glasses. Of course, it is difficult to be 100% sure whether you hit the mark, so life is still full of second guessing, if only's, and what if's . It's sad how this mindset also takes our attention away from obeying what is commanded in Scripture to becoming incapacitated over what should be a common sense decision. It would be like agonizing over whether to wear the argyle or striped socks and ignore the admonition to be anxious for nothing. I would venture to say that obedience to the Word outweighs sock color any day. There are times when I am tempted to second guess decisions I made, things I did in the past. If I had done thi...

The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. You must say to your soul: 'Why art thou cast down' - what business have you to be disquieted? You must turn on yourself, upbraid yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and sat to yourself: 'Hope thou in God' - instead of muttering in this depressed, unhappy way. And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged himself to do. Then having done that, end on this great note: defy yourself, and defy other people , and defy the devil and the whole world, and say with this man: 'I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance, who is also the health of my countenance and my God.' Spiritual Depression - Its Causes and Cure ~ D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Eedrmans, page 21.