Tried With Fire

The Word says that God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust.  Not much rain has fallen on us this summer, so I am thankful for steady rain since Sunday evening despite the flash flooding and traffic snarls. I'm thankful for safety while driving on the interstate at rush hour during an extended downpour. There were several fender benders, so I'm very thankful for be safely back home. I'm thankful that God bears and forbears with me.  It's easy to get discouraged when I feel I'm so short of the mark.  But I am thankful that He who began a good work in me will complete it at the day of Jesus Christ.  Not because of my effort or lack thereof.  Not because of my merits or demerits.  But because of this: Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and present you blameless before the presence of His glory, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and f...

We are freed from a state of bondage, a spirit of slavery in service, and brought into a spirit of sonship and liberty in service.  As Christ by His blood redeemed us from being slaves, so by His obedience and Spirit He has redeemed us to be sons. Now we are drawn to service, not with cords of fear, but with the bands of love; not by compulsions of conscience, but by the desires of nature ( 2 Peter 1:4 ).  As the love of God to us was the spring of all His actions to us, so our love to God is the source of all our obedience to Him. The True Bounds of Christian Freedom ~ Samuel Bolton , Banner of Truth, pages 48-49.  The introduction by Iain Murray and historical background on this treatise can be found here .

In Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns , author T. David Gordon dedicates the book to his infant daughter Marian who was diagnosed with leukemia.  She lived only 14 weeks, but in that short time she taught her parents "the ancient Christian practice of singing praise through tears." Dr. Gordon held his daughter in his arms and sang hymns to her every morning while they lived with her at the hospital.  Because of his experience with his daughter, he writes, "I know that the hymns that accompany one's life are one of life's richest treasures." As I read this I couldn't help but remember my own recent history. When my husband first separated, I read the book of Psalms over and over. Perhaps it was because the Psalms helped me express the pain and questions in my heart to God. During that time, I started listening to probably better than average contemporary Christian music, but  those songs didn't help me. There was nothing in the lyrics to help me deal w...

Eternal Life Ministries  is offering a free copy of Communion With God by John Owen to folks on their mailing list (US addresses only).  Click here for the offer form and here to be put on their mailing list.

From Watch the Rising Day ~ Matthew Smith

Big Bun celebrated International Rabbit Day by eating and napping. (Lizzy was shy as usual and didn't want her picture taken.) He wants to reminds humans everywhere to consider adopting a bunny from a rescue or shelter. Rabbits make wonderful house pets, and far too many are abandoned or in shelters awaiting adoption.  Big Bun was surrendered 4 times to the Virginia Beach SPCA before we brought him home, so he knows what he is talking about. So eat a carrot, and pet a bunny today!

Christian liberty frees a believer from all kinds of previous bondage.  But we must be aware of taking any part of our liberty for bondage, or of our bondage for our liberty.  Too many do so. The True Bounds of Christian Freedom , Samuel Bolton (1606-1654), Banner of Truth, page 21.  First published 1645.

ht: Reformation Theology

I am thankful for a good visit with my family.  It's a blessing to genuinely like your family and enjoy being together.  Lord willing we will return the visit in a few months for my mom's 80th birthday. I am thankful for plumbers and home warranties.  No elaboration is necessary on this one. :-) I am thankful for the beauty of a single rose. I am thankful for the medium of blogging which allows me to "meet" saints from near and far.   Diane at Theology for Girls is hosting a Christian Women Bloggers' Tea Party , no political affiliation implied.  Check out her post and introduce yourself, your blog, and your favorite form of caffeine. Sorry, guys.  Ladies only on this one. I am thankful for fellowship that goes beyond "Hi. How are you?" on a Sunday morning.  I have family (not in this country) where the culture discourages even asking for prayer for illness.  Because of this environment, no one opens up. No one is willing to get beyond th...

This hymn by William Cowper (1731-1800) sums up the difference between legalism and grace and the transformation that is only possible through grace. No strength of nature can suffice To serve the Lord aright; And what she has she misapplies, For want of clearer light. How long beneath the law I lay, In bondage and distress! I toiled the precept to obey, But, toiled without success. Then to abstain from outward sin Was more than I could do; Now, if I feel its power within I feel I hate it, too. Then all my servile works were done A righteousness to raise; Now, freely chosen in the Son, I freely choose his ways. What shall I do, was then the word, That I may worthier grow? What shall I render to the Lord? Is my inquiry now. To see the law by Christ fulfilled, And hear his pardoning voice, Changes a slave into a child, And duty into choice. From Gadsby's Hymns 188

Say you, "I cannot trust myself"?  But can you not trust Christ?  If there is a danger that you will prove faithless, is there any danger that He will?   It is because you are not to be trusted that you should trust Him , who is able to keep that which is committed to Him.  If you trust Him for strength, you are sure of being supplied, as of being pardoned, if you trust Him for that. William Nevins (1797-1835), from Words Old and New , Banner of Truth, page 343 (emphasis mine).

This has been a very full week. My parents arrived on Tuesday.  We've had a good visit with them.  I am more aware that they are getting on in years, so I'm grateful for this opportunity to be together. After much flurry of activity, my daughter's recital went very well last night.  She did a great job with the challenging pieces and maintaining her mental focus, which I think may be more difficult than the physical playing of an instrument.  I'm thankful for her wonderful teacher.  I'm thankful for friends and family who were there to support her.  They also helped us eat most of that big chocolate cake!  I hope to post some pictures and perhaps a selection from the recital. We were up into the wee hours unwinding after the big event. My sister, brother-in-law, and nephew drove down yesterday for the recital, so we were talking late into the night.  Today after we check on Gracie, the chinchilla, we are going to the Virginia Air and Space C...

A man who sees a candle after fourteen years, having been born in a dark dungeon, wonders at its glory, delights in beholding it, and inquires into its nature.  Bring him afterwards into the open air to behold the sun, and all his wonders will be directed to this great luminary.  Man is taken up with the candle of creature comforts.  Let him once see the sun of righteousness, the all-sufficient and eternal God, the excellence of his glorious being, and that which was glorious before has no more glory in comparison to the sight of God. George Swinnock, Words, IV: 28-29 in Voices From the Past, Banner of Truth, page 257.

After many months, I finished Above All Earthly Pow'rs by David Wells this evening.  I ended up reading  his books in reverse order probably because I was intimidated by No Place for Truth after I started it.    Losing Our Virtue, Why the Church Must Recover Its Moral Vision is waiting in the queue. I providentially stumbled upon Dr. Wells in 2008 while listening to one of John Piper's biographical talks.  Piper quoted a passage from No Place for Truth which immediately grabbed my attention .     I then listened to Dr. Wells' talks from the 1998 Desiring God Pastors Conference.  All sorts of light bulbs went on in my head when I listened to his assessment of the state of the our culture and its effect on the church.  Oddly enough, Dr. Wells' description of the autonomous self shed light on my personal situation at the time. I highly recommend Dr. Wells' books.  They're not easy reading, but a well-researched analysis of cultu...

Nine years ago I was pretty scared after the terrorists attacked the World Trade Center.  I wouldn't watch the news or read a newspaper because of my fear.  All of a sudden, the world seemed completely out of control, and it terrified me. I was a Christian, but my past theology gave me no foundation when that tragic event took place.  I believed that God was in control, but He would not violate our free will.  That sounds good when it comes to salvation, but doesn't give much comfort when the free will of evil men consists of flying airplanes into skyscrapers and killing thousands. Therefore God was in heaven, maybe not wringing His hands, but reacting to things that were outside of His control.  At that time, a bunker in Montana sounded like a good idea to me. Now that my theology is very different, I think my fear was misplaced.  I should be afraid to a certain degree if a terrorist is coming at me with a gun.  It's only common sense.  But I...

Just to alert my handful of readers of 2 new books that are hot off the press this week. The first book is Against Calvinism by Jeff Peterson , Eddie Eddings , and Jon Cardwell . This book gives historical background to the debate between Calvinism and Arminianism and provides scripture references and logical arguments for both sides.  As someone relatively new to the reformed theology, I appreciated  Against Calvinism' s  concise explanation of each of the 5 points of Calvinism otherwise known as TULIP.  Please note that this work is written with irony and a dose of satire with a capital S.  To understand what I mean, watch the promo video and peruse the archives of Calvinistic Cartoons and you'll get the idea.    Against Calvinism is available through  SermonAudio  and  Amazon . The 2nd book is Used to Want to be a Cowboy by another fellow blogger, John Bird .  I've appreciate John's book reviews both on his blo...

It's still Thursday by my clock, so better late than never. I'm thankful for another opportunity to serve the community.  Last evening several folks from the church put together 75 hot soup dinners to give to the homeless in downtown Hampton.  We drove to the location where we distributed food in July.  However, the word had not gotten out so only one gentleman was there.  We were able to give him a meal, and a few folks prayed for him.  Not knowing where to go next, we tried a different location.  A policeman suggested that we distribute the food across the street from a nearby Section 8 housing community.  Sure enough we were able to share all the remaining meals with some of the residents. It's a humbling and convicting experience.  I am amazed at the boldness of my brothers and sisters to strike up conversations with strangers when I would be completely tongue-tied.  I have so much to learn when it comes to evangelism, but I'm thankfu...

We are off to a gradual start this school year.  We started Spanish today and picked up where we left off with Algebra II.  I have the biology and history texts, but I have yet to order some curriculum (bad teacher!) because the summer was busier than expected due to an upcoming event. My daughter is having her first solo piano recital in 10 days, which is the fruit of nearly 9 years of lessons and 1 year of very hard work.  She's been practicing 2+ hours each day at home and practicing twice a week at the church where the recital will be held.   It's been a bit busy finalizing all the little details, but it's worth it.  Best of all, my parents and my sister and her family will be coming for the recital. Even though we were tired from running here and there this afternoon, we were both glad to spend the evening with the ladies in the church. Tonight was our first meeting on Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges.  I am bracing myself to be convicted ...

How can we love a holy God?  The simplest answer I can give to this vital question is that we can't.  Loving a holy God is beyond our moral power.  The only kind of God we can love by our sinful nature is an unholy god, an idol made by our own hands.  Unless we are born of the Spirit of God, unless God sheds His holy love in our hearts, unless He stoops in His grace to change our hearts, we will not love Him.  He is the One who takes the initiative to restore our souls. Without Him we can do nothing of righteousness.  Without Him we would be doomed to everlasting alienation from His holiness. We can love Him only because He first loved us.  To love a holy God requires grace, grace strong enough to pierce our hardened hearts and awaken our moribund souls. The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul, Ligonier, page 221-222.

I'm thankful for grace, even though my legalist tendencies would make me more comfortable with the law.  I have some personal baggage related to the grace, in how it has been misused and misrepresented, so I'm thankful that the ladies in the church will be reading Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges.   I'm grateful that we can tackle this doctrine together.  I pray that I would be transformed. I'm thankful for a roof over our heads and beds to sleep in tonight. I'm thankful that we have a Tropical Storm Warning and not an impending hurricane making landfall. I'm thankful that Jesus Christ came to save this sinner.

From the Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul, Ligonier, page 206 The idea of gradations of sin is important for us to keep in mind so we understand the difference between sin and gross sin .  Again, all of our sins require forgiveness.  All of our sins are acts of treason against God. We need a Savior for our "little" sins as well as for the "major" ones.  But some sins are more significant than others, and we need to identify which these are, lest we fall into the pharisaical trap of majoring in the minors. This was a very interesting chapter, because I had assumed that "sin is sin, and no sin is greater than the other." However, the damage inflicted and the consequences from sins can be very different.  Dr. Sproul illustrates this point by comparing how we control our eating  versus how we control our speech.  Many have weight issues.  Great effort is spent to bring our appetites under control, but how much is spent on tongue control?  Perhaps it ...

We may be getting some interesting weather tomorrow and Friday. Hurricane Earl is heading towards our general vicinity.  Lord willing, he will not make landfall on the North Carolina or Virginia coast.  However, our governor has already declared a state of emergency due to potential coastal flooding. Our last hurricane was Isabel in 2003, which was a Category 1 when it made landfall.  We were in the process of moving and were without power for 2-1/2 weeks.  Thankfully our old house and our new house survived the storm, but there was major damage throughout Virginia. My daughter asked if I would survive a hurricane better as a Calvinist.  I was not reformed in 2003 so I did not have the best grasp of the sovereignty of God.  I did not exhibit a very good testimony of contentment with His providence nor was I in a very gracious frame when a nearby tennis club had their power restored before we did. But God is sovereign and controls the hurricane for His...