Tried With Fire

Our follies past forgive; Our souls divinely cheer; And help us more to thee to live, Dear Lord, in this new year. Samuel Medley

Casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you . 1 Peter 5:7 With the approach of 2012, I found myself getting anxious about what the year might hold. This verse and this sermon from Spurgeon pointed my gaze in the right direction. Believe in an universal Providence, the Lord cares for ants and angels, for worms and for worlds. He cares for cherubim and for sparrows, for seraphim and for insects. Cast your care on Him, He who calls the stars by their names, and leads them out by numbers, by their hosts. Why do you say, O Jacob, and think, O Israel, “my way is passed over from God, and He has utterly forgotten me?” Let His universal Providence cheer you! Think next of His particular Providence over all the saints. “Precious shall their blood be in His sight.” “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” “We know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Let the fact that while He...

Teddy Bear's voice makes me think of Edward G. Robinson on helium. Here's a 2nd video with subtitles. Someone must have the gift of porcupine tongue interpretation.

Here I raise my Ebenezer... ~ A relatively uneventful year in comparison to previous, which was a welcomed change. ~ God's provision. Even when I forget and revert to panic-mode, He reminds me of His faithfulness to the widow and orphan. ~ The first year without any court dates. It is a relief to have that behind us. ~ Health and strength at the half-century mark. ~ Abundant grace with my ex-husband's remarriage. God has given us a burden for their restoration and/or salvation. Because of my daughter's good relationship with them, there is still an open door for the gospel. ~ My daughter. Familial ties are wonderful, but how much sweeter when the Lord binds us too. ~ A long visit with family. I'm especially thankful for God's keeping of my parents. ~ Meeting internet friends face to face: Trisha  and baby Jedidiah, Corey ,  Vicki , Elizabeth and Tony, Christine , Ruth, Trina, Stephanie , Teresa , Diana and family, and Melissa . ~ Growing relat...

From R. C. Sproul in December's Tabletalk Magazine: "The New Testament puts a priority on the church's concern for widows and orphans. Widows and orphans are human beings who have suffered broken families not through divorce but through death. Obviously, the church's concern must extend beyond those whose brokenness has been caused by death. Anyone who is involved in a broken family relationship needs the ministry and care of the church... Divorce can no longer be seen simply as an extreme case of marital failure. Since it has reached not only epidemic but pandemic proportions, it cries out for the application of the means of grace to those who suffer as a result of it." Having been through this trial, I can attest to needing the care of the church. I have been blessed by brothers and sisters who did not see me as a charity case, but loved me and ministered the gospel to my family in word and deed. Here are some ways I have been helped, and I share these ho...

Here's my initial book list for 2012: The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin. If I read one chapter a week, I should finish it in less than 2 years. Total Truth  by Nancy Pearcy. I skimmed the intro and I'm hooked. In Christ Alone  by Sinclair Ferguson. John G. Paton, Missionary to the New Hebrides by John G. Paton, edited by his brother, James Paton. God's Wisdom in Proverbs by Dan Phillips. Christ and Him Crucified by Jon Cardwell. How the Gospel Brings Us All the Way Home by Derek Thomas. What is the Mission of the Church? by Kevin DeYoung & Greg Gilbert. What Did You Expect? by Paul Tripp. The Good News We Almost Forgot by Kevin DeYoung for Sunday devotional. 365 Days with Calvin edited by Joel Beeke for daily reading. I'm sure others will be added as time goes on. Plus I also have a quasi-research project requiring some reading. What's in your book queue for 2012?

Here are my top 10  books for 2011 : 9. & 10.  Think by John Piper & Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and Doesn't by Stephen Protheroe - I'm putting these together as a pair. From the Christian perspective, Piper deals with the misconception that thinking deeply about what we believe is mutually exclusive to our heart's affection towards God. Rather than pitting one against the other, we need both. Protheroe does not claim to be a believer, but he documents the historical move away from doctrine in evangelicalism to a least common denominator, an experience.  (Very interesting when an unbeliever sees things more clearly than believers.) It's worth reading these together. 8.   Don't Call it a Comeback  by Kevin De Young, et. al. - Almost a mini-course in systematic theology plus social issues facing believers today. Great resource for any age but particularly for younger believers. 7. Living for God's Glory, An Introdu...

 God bless you this Christmas as we remember Jesus' first advent and eagerly await His second!     

This week's list: ~ Worshipping God through the reading of the word, singing Christmas hymns, and the gospel-implications of the incarnation. We had our Christmas service last night, and it was a wonderful time. ~That my daughter is with me this Christmas. We finished decorating the tree last night. She is in the middle of a cold, so I hung the ornaments while she directed from the couch. ~ Looking forward to worship this Sunday and then time with Cindy and Tim's family. ~ These verses: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)  For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is a...

That's my daughter's description of the Osteen book . Sadly fitting, no? I was flipping through it yesterday and didn't know whether to laugh at the sentimentality or be angry (righteous anger I hope) and cry over the false gospel being presented.  If this book was billed solely as self-esteem psycho-babble, no problem. It is what it is and doesn't pretend to be otherwise. However, what raises my ire is attaching "God" and "Jesus" to this drivel.  I use quotes, because the "God" Victoria Osteen describes doesn't exist in the Bible. "God" is your big daddy in the sky who's madly in love with you. And hey, who cares about repentance.  Who needs it because what do we have to repent of? Sin is just a mistake or a failure, the inability to believe in, love, and applaud ourselves. We're all fine because "forgiveness" is cheap and easy, like an eraser that makes all our failures magically disappear. As for a gr...

My friend, Corey AKA The Ink Slinger , interviews Pastor Jon Cardwell about his life and his new book Christ and Him Crucified . Check it out and enter the giveaway.  It ends December 23, so don't dawdle.

Atheists Bemoan the Commercialization of Meaninglessness  at Tom in the Box. Absolutely hilarious. Why Lie to Your Kids About Santa? at the Cripplegate. 5 Thoughts on Christmas from Frank Turk. A repost worth reposting. Finally, R.C. Sproul, Jr.'s wife Denise died of leukemia. She leaves behind her husband and 8 children, ages 2-18. My friend, Teresa , posted this article by R.C. Jr. which was written earlier this month: "It is a good and proper thing that I should, and you as well if you are willing, pray that God would make Denise well, that He would allow us to grow old together. It is, however, a better thing to pray that I would be a faithful husband to my love, and a faithful father to the children He has blessed us with. It is less important that He believe me and my conviction, that the kingdom would be better with her here. It is more important that I believe Him and His promise that the gates of hell will not prevail (Matthew 16:18) , and that He who h...

I'm posting today at  Daily On My Way to Heaven  as part of the series,  Celebrating the Excellencies of His Name .  I hope you will stop by and be encouraged in the Lord.

Behold! the grace appears, The promise is fulfilled! Mary, the wondrous virgin, bears, And Jesus is the child. To bring the glorious news A heavenly form appears; He tells the shepherds of their joys, And banishes their fears. "Go, humble swains, " said he, "To David's city fly, The promised infant born today Does in a manger lie." "With looks and hearts serene, Go visit Christ, your King"; And straight a flaming troop was seen; The shepherds heard them sing: "Glory to God on high, And heavenly peace on earth; Good will to men, to angels joy, At the Redeemer's birth!" In worship so divine Let saints employ their tongues; With the celestial host we join, And loud repeat their songs: "Glory to God on high, And heavenly peace on earth; Good will to men, to angel joy, At the Redeemer's birth!" Isaac Watts

Therefore, let us observe how God hears our prayers, that so, we may be suitably thankful. This will strengthen our faith in evil times when we can thus plead with God. Hear, Lord! Heretofore I came before thee, though weakly, yet with a broken heart, and thou didst hear me then. Thou art still a God hearing prayer, therefore, Lord, look upon my estate now and help me. Seeing, then, God hears our prayers, let us think of this glorious privilege, that we have liberty to go to the throne of grace in all our wants. The whole world is not worth this one privilege. Joisah's Reformation , Richard Sibbes, Banner of Truth Trust, pgs. 125-126.

This is what we gave away... Lest you think I was purveying bad theology, this was inside the dust jacket... So you can give away a good book and scare your friends at the same time!

The last miniature roses This week's thankful list: ~ Small group Christmas party and white elephant tonight. I'm looking forward to fun, food, and fellowship with these special brothers and sisters. ~ Grace to be deliberately gracious rather than ungracious in a difficult situation. ~ Being reminded again of God's mercy in opening my heart to the gospel. ~ That there's still time for His mercy to extend to others. ~ Time to ponder the Incarnation and specifically Jesus as our high priest.  There aren't enough words to thank God for what our Messiah has done. ~ Life goes on. Not in denial, but because something or rather Someone defines me more than past trials. Joy does come in the morning, even if the night seemed so long, and it's an everlasting joy that can't be taken away.

Visit Fundamentally Reformed for info on the  12 Days Before Christmas Book Giveaway !

A not so nice cup of cocoa While drinking your cocoa, test your English pronunciation. (Thanks to Diana via FB.) Addendum: "If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?" More here .

My friend Christina has interviewed Simonetta Carr, author of a series of Christian biographies for children. Her subjects have included Calvin, Augustine, and Athanasius to name a few. Visit Heavenly Springs  to meet Mrs. Carr and a chance to win a book!

Paul Tripp - On how he's changed through marriage from Crossway on Vimeo . ht: Take Your Vitamin Z via Thirsty Theologian I wished I had heard these tough words when I was young. But even if I had, would I have believed it? Maybe but probably not because of my faulty views regarding the depravity of mankind and the necessary and often painful process of progressive sanctification. This leads me to wonder if most of my wrong ideas about myself and relationships can be traced back to a wrong understanding of the gospel. But when you think about it, if we get the gospel wrong, we get everything wrong.

Gerhard van Honthorst (1590-1656) Let earth and heaven combine, Angels and men agree, To praise, in songs divine,  The incarnate Deity; Our God contracted to a span, Incomprehensibly made by man. He laid his glory by, And wrapped him in our clay; Unmarked by human eye, The latent Godhead lay; Infant of Days he here became, And bore the loved Immanuel's name. Unsearchable the love That has the Saviour brought; The grace is far above Or man's or angel's thought; Suffice for us, that God we know, Our God was manifest below! Charles Wesley

We can serve God freely and boldly, even though our consciences accuse us and we know we are full of sin. How is this possible? Well, we are not grounded upon our own merits but purely upon the mercy of God. Because of this, we know that God accepts our works, even though much is wrong with them. God thus says by the mouth of the prophet that he will receive the service we render as a father accepts the works of his child (Mal. 1:6)... In speaking of the days of gospel grace, our Lord says that he will accept our service just as a father accepts the obedience of his child, even if what is done is of no value. He shows himself bountiful and kind to us by accepting what we do as if it were fully pleasing to him, even though there is no inherent merit or worth in our works. Thus, we can have the freedom and the courage to serve God, knowing that God will bless all that we do for him because whatever is wrong with our offerings is washed away in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. From 365...

It's still technically Thursday... ~ Replaced duct work just in time for the recent cold snap. God's timing is perfect even over necessary repairs. ~ Change in my work schedule which forces me to get up early every morning. This is good for self-discipline. It will also save some mileage and time each week too. ~ Silicone adhesive nose pads. It makes all the difference in the world to see out of the correct part of one's bifocals. ~ Admonition to stop talking and just do something, especially in regard to regular time in the word and prayer.  I'm thankful for a sister in Christ who tells it in love but tells it like it is. ~ The grace to repent, believe, and move forward in obedience with the knowledge that what God started, He will finish for His glory.

Congratulations to Christina! You've won the Justification by Faith Alone CD set. Thanks to everyone who entered. Lord willing, there will be more giveaways in 2012, so stay tuned!

to enter the drawing for the Justification by Faith Alone CD set.  The providential winner will be drawn tomorrow night. Here are 2 more giveaways: My friend, Trisha, is giving away a copy of Andrew Peterson's CD Counting Stars. The drawing will be December 9. Jeff, The Lighthearted Calvinist, is giving away 3 copies of the original Against Calvinism . This isn't the book by Roger Olson, but a tongue-in-cheek apologetic for Calvinism by three amigos   blind mice  Calvinists - Jeff , Jon Cardwell , and Eddie Eddings . He will post "the three winners decreed in eternity and revealed in time and space on December 25."

There is, therefore, an element in the Gospel narratives that stresses that the coming of Jesus is a disturbing event of the deepest proportions. It had to be thus, for He did not come merely to add something extra to life, but to deal with our spiritual insolvency and the debt of our sin. He was not conceived in the womb of Mary for those who have done their best, but for those who know that their best is "like filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6) - far from good enough - and that in their flesh there dwells no good thing (Rom. 7:18). He was not sent to be the source of good experiences, but to suffer the pangs of hell in order to be our Savior. In Christ Alone by Sinclair Ferguson, Reformation Trust, pg. 17.

At this time of year, we ponder the wonder and the magnitude of the Incarnation.  I hope you will join my friend Becky and other sisters who are   Celebrating the Excellencies of His Name , a series of posts which consider the names of Jesus. 

Ere the blue heavens were stretched abroad, From everlasting was the Word; With God he was; the Word was God; And must divinely be adored. By his own power were all things made; By him supported all things stand; He is the whole creation's Head, And angels fly at his command. Ere sin was born, or Satan fell, He led the host of morning stars; (Thy generation who can tell, Or count the number of thy years?) But lo! he leaves those heavenly forms; The Word descend and dwells in clay, That he may hold converse with worms, Dressed in such feeble flesh as they. Mortals with joy behold his face, The eternal Father's only Son; How full of truth! How full of grace! When through his eyes the Godhead shone. Bless'd angels leave their high abode, To learn new mysteries here and tell The loves of our descending God, The glories of Immanuel. Isaac Watts

For the last giveaway this year, I will be giving away a CD set of  Justification by Faith Alone by R. C. Sproul. These excellent talks by Dr. Sproul include historical background on the reformation as well as a very clear explanation of this crucial doctrine. To enter the giveaway, please fill out the form below. (U.S. addresses only please.) The providential winner will be picked on December 7.

Today's list: ~ The morning light. ~  Mental focus to catch up with work and a very accommodating employer. ~ God's providence over unexpected home repairs and a reliable contractor, a brother-in-Christ, who I can trust. ~ Renewed minds to think on the Word of God. ~ Renewed hearts to love the God we see in His Word. ~ The life-changing, knowable gospel of Jesus Christ. ~ To be able to pray that others would believe this gospel.