Tried With Fire

Penelope Judd from Shai Linne's Storiez :

46. Q. What do you mean by saying, "He ascended into heaven"? A. That Christ, while His disciples watched, was lifted up from the earth to heaven, and will be there for our good until He comes again to judge the living and the dead. 47. Q. But isn't Christ with us until the end of the world as He promised us? A. Christ is truly human and truly God. In His human nature Christ is not now on earth; but in His divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit He is not absent from us for a moment. 48. Q. If His humanity is not present wherever His divinity is, then aren't the two natures of Christ separated from each other? A. Certainly not. Since divinity is not limited and is present everywhere, it is evident that Christ's divinity is surely beyond the bounds of the humanity He has taken on, but at the same time His divinity is in and remains personally united to His humanity. 49. Q. How does Christ's ascension to heaven benefit us? A. First, He pleads our cause ...

It cannot be doubted that when Adam lost his first estate he became alienated from God. Wherefore, although we grant that the image of God was not utterly effaced and destroyed in him, it was, however, so corrupted, that any thing which remains is fearful deformity, and, therefore, our deliverance begins with the renovation which we obtain from Christ, who is, therefore, called the second, because he restores us to true and substantial integrity. For although Paul, contrasting the quickening Spirit which believers receive in Christ, with the living soul which Adam was created (1 Cor. 15:45), commends the richer measure of grace bestowed in regeneration, he does not, however, contradict the statement, that the end of regeneration is to form us anew after the image of God. Accordingly, he elsewhere shows that the new man is renewed after the image of him that created him (Col. 3:19). To this corresponds another passage, "Put ye on the new man, who after God is created" (Eph. ...

Although this isn't folly or nonsense, I hope you enjoy this video from Frank and Stephanie .

This week's list: ~ The songbirds singing despite the rain. ~ Completing standardized testing for this year. ~ Conviction from Sunday's sermon and more food for though from small group last night. ~ Opportunity to see extended family from far away. I'm thankful we are also family in the Lord. ~ These words that will always apply, at least in this life: Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.  Here's my heart, oh take and seal it. Seal it  for Thy courts above.

Copying Corey and Kim . Here are my top 9 movies in no particular order as I am blanking out on a tenth. Star Wars - The original one. Don't even speak to me about Attack of the Clowns. Lord of the Rings Trilogy - I admit to looking away when there was a lot of grunting and sword clashing. To Kill a Mockingbird - Based on one of the best books ever. Inception - I only wish they had explained the science with some good mumbo-jumbo. It Happened One Night - Black and white. Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Classic. Monty Python's Holy Grail - Hilarious. Minus one scene, however. Singing in the Rain - I miss those old movie musicals. Sense and Sensibility - One of the truest Austen adaptations. Pygmalion - "Remember that you are a human being with a soul and the divine gift of articulate speech: that your native language is the language of Shakespeare and Milton and the Bible; and don't sit there crooning like a bilious pigeon."

We had a meeting of our church's mercy ministry team last night to discuss ideas and plans for the future. We've been trying to reach out to our community in a way that doesn't water down the gospel or ignore the tangible needs that exist.  We also want to minister in a way that doesn't create and perpetuate dependency but teaches responsibility. Plus there's a very real need to learn how to connect with folks who may be ethnically different in a place where many churches still divide along racial lines. To help us get a better understanding of this subject, these books were suggested: Toxic Charity   by Robert Lupton Ministries of Mercy by Timothy Keller Generous Justice by Timothy Keller When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert These won't be easy reads, but I'm looking forward to learning more as we seek to extend the mercy that we've received.

Have you ever stopped to consider why you think the way you do? I thought about thinking hardly at all until the last 4 or 5 years when circumstances forced me to reconsider what I truly believed about God, people, and the purpose and meaning of life. (The answer, by the way, is not 42.) This ultimately led to a radical change in my theology and even my vocabulary, as theology was a word I rarely used and only in a slightly derogatory sense. After this paradigm shift, I started doing a little detective work. I began to dig more deeply into my past beliefs to see who influenced whom and where these ideas originated historically. I don't want to fall into assigning guilt by association but who we read or listen to exerts a powerful influence on how we think for good or bad. You may think (no pun intended) that this is a waste of time, but even the disdain for thinking is an idea that was planted somewhere along our mental family tree. So stop and think about it. If...

Many see preaching and worship as two distinct aspects of the church service, as if preaching has nothing to do with worship and vice versa. But that is an erroneous concept. The ministry of the Word is the platform on which all genuine worship is built. In Between Two Worlds , John Stott says it well: "Word and worship belong indissolubly to each other. All worship is an intelligent and loving response to the revelation of God, because it is the adoration of His name. Therefore acceptable worship is impossible without preaching. For preaching is making known the Name of the Lord, and worship is praising the Name of the Lord made known. Far from being an alien intrusion into worship, the reading and preaching of the word and actually indispensable to it. The two cannot by divorced."   (Eerdmans, 1982, pg. 82.) Preaching is an irreplaceable aspect of all corporate worship. In fact, the whole church service should revolve around the ministry of the Word. Everything else is...

45. Q. How does Christ's resurrection benefit us? A. First, by His resurrection He has overcome death, so that He might make us share in the righteousness He won for us by His death. Second, by His power we are already now resurrected to a new life. Third, Christ's resurrection is a guarantee of our glorious resurrection. "The resurrection means the death of Jesus was enough - enough to atone for sin, enough to reconcile us to God, enough to present us holy in God's presence. Christ won; sin, death , and the Devil lost - that's the good news of the empty tomb. The resurrection means Christ proved Himself righteous to the Father, so that through faith we can now share in His righteousness. "Second, by Christ's power we too are already now resurrected to a new life. Our hope of new life is not just a future goal; it is a present reality Dozens of times in the New Testament we see the phrase "in Christ". This little phrase speaks to the glor...

[H]e was pleased to display his providence and paternal care toward us in this, that before he formed man, he provided whatever he foresaw would be useful and salutary to him. How ungrateful, then, were it to doubt whether we are cared for by this most excellent parent, who we see cared for us even before we were born! How impious were it to tremble in distrust, lest we should one day be abandoned in our necessity by that kindness which, antecedent to our existence, displayed itself in a complete supply of all good things! Moreover, Moses tells us that everything which the world contains is liberally placed at our disposal. This God certainly did not that he might delude us with an empty form of donation. Nothing, therefore, which concerns our safety will ever be wanting. To conclude, in one word, as often as we call God the Creator of heaven and earth, let us remember that the distribution of all thing which he created are in his hand and power, but that we are his sons, whom he has...

ht: Missional Wear via FB

I'm thankful for... ~ My daughter is back home. It was so nice to give her a big hug and to talk and laugh with her in person. I'm thankful for the lessons she is learning on the sanctification road. ~ Finding a very reasonably priced, nice, age-appropriate, and modest dress for some upcoming weddings. This is no small thing nowadays especially when I'm not quite ready for Alfred Dunner (no offense meant) and don't want to be Forever 21. ~ My sister. In many ways, we're different. In many ways, we're very much alike (such as nearly buying the above dress for herself.) I'm looking forward to seeing her soon. ~ Long discussions on parenting in the women's study of Ephesians. Thank God for second chances and being able to trust His sovereignty even as we endeavor to raise our children in the Lord. ~ Moving forward in the transition to elder government. At our last congregational meeting, the names of the men in elder training were released. The...

of Fools Rush In Where Monkeys Fear to Tread by Carl Trueman is ... Melissa!!!!!!! Thanks to everyone for entering the giveaway. Stay tuned for more....

Lyrics here .

"Does this sound familiar? (John) Dewey is the source of much of today's moral education, where all values are treated as equally valid and students simply clarify what they personally value most. Teachers are rigorously instructed not to be directive in any way, but only to coach students in a process of weighing alternatives and making up their own minds. Any value that students choose is deemed acceptable, whether or not it comports with accepted moral standards, as long as they have gone through the prescribed series of steps. Why? Because, as one textbook puts it, "None of us can be certain that our values are right for other people." Each individual has to become an autonomous decision maker, determining his values strictly on his own."  Total Truth , Nancy Pearcey, Crossway, 2004, pg. 239. Isn't this the mantra of parents today? "I just want my child to find out for herself what she believes blah, blah, blah."  But how many Christian pa...

One of the things that I find frustrating (probably because I used to believed it) is the false dichotomy between truth and love. We've been indoctrinated by an anti-intellectual, anti-doctrinal mindset so pervasive in evangelicalism that we believe it's an "either or" situation not a "both and". In Sunday school, we are learning about the 12 disciples. In yesterday's class, our teacher shared these great observations about John: - God knew the greatest source of truth in the New Testament about love, as far as a human author is concerned, would have to be a man who was also strong and uncompromising or his love would take him down the road of sentimentalism. And if he was to speak the truth in love, he had to be as much committed to the truth as he was to love . - So, he became a lover, but a lover whose love was controlled by the truth . And that control was born out of that tremendous zeal he had in his personality, that passion,that strength, t...

40. Q. Why did Christ have to go all the way to death? A. Because God's justice and truth demand it; only the death of God's Son could pay for our sin. 41. Q. Why was He "buried"? A. His burial testifies that He really died. 42. Q. Since Christ has died for us, why do we still have to die? A. Our death does not pay the debt for our sins. Rather, it puts an end to our sinning and is our entrance into eternal life. 43. Q. What further advantage do we receive from Christ's sacrifice and death on the cross? A. Through Christ's death our old selves are crucified, put to death, and buried with Him, so that the evil desires of the flesh may no longer rule us, but that instead we may dedicate ourselves as an offering of gratitude to Him. 44. Q. Why does the creed add "He descended into Hell"? A. To assure me in times of personal crisis and temptation that Christ my Lord, by suffering unspeakable anguish, pain, and the terrors of the soul, espe...

But since Satan, in order to pluck up our faith by the roots, has always provoked fierce disputes, partly concerning the divine essence of the Son and Spirit, and partly concerning the distinction of persons; since in almost every age he has stirred up impious spirits to vex the orthodox doctors on this head, and is attempting in the present day to kindle new flame out of old embers, it will be proper here to dispose of some of these perverse dreams. Hitherto our chief object has been to stretch out our hand for the guidance of such as are disposed to learn, not at war with at the stubborn and contentious; but now the truth which was calmly demonstrated must be vindicated from the calumnies of the ungodly. Still, however, it will be our principal study to provide a sure footing for those whose ears are open to the word of God. Here, if any where, in considering the hidden mysteries of Scripture, we should speculate soberly and with great moderation, cautiously guarding against allowi...

Dianthus from the garden This week's list: ~ Oftentimes when my daughter's away, I stay up far too late, don't eat properly, and don't make the best use of the time. I'm thankful for grace this week to sleep soundly and have a normal schedule. ~ Phones to stay in touch across the miles. ~ God's provision for a few home repairs and a trustworthy contractor. ~ Time for some much needed culling and reorganization. Fabric anyone?  Either I need to start sewing/quilting more or give a lot of this away. ~ Lunch with sisters in Christ this week. Fellowship is a wonderful thing. ~ Thinking on Isaiah 53 at small group last night. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righ...

It may not be the proper way to start a proper review, but I really like this book. I had read Carl Trueman 's posts on the Ref21 blog and was impressed with his writing, his ability to zero in on the deeper issues at stake, and his razor sharp wit. When his book was published recently, I was eager to read it based on the title alone and was not disappointed. Fools Rush In Where Monkeys Fear to Tread   contains 26 essays on subjects ranging from celebrity culture, perpetual adolescence, Roman Catholicism, humor, holiness, postmodern inclusivism, death, social media, and the case for Protestantism. Trueman doesn't take himself too seriously and punctuates his writing with dry humor and even (gasp!) sarcasm. The fact that he's British only adds to the reading pleasure in my opinion. There is a handy glossary of terms for those of us not familiar with cheese rolling , mewling , and t osh . But lest anyone be mistaken, Dr. Trueman takes God and the gospel very seri...

Indeed, when you think of the dangers of humor, it is a very good job that the Protestant church today is not burdened with the likes of Luther, Owen, Swift, and even Spurgeon. Humor, after all, implies that the world in which sin and evil are rampant is somehow absurd and not the way it should be. Ridiculous. It also hinders us from understanding that our opponents really are dangerous and powerful in an ultimate sense and that our conflicts with them are of cosmic proportions. Nonsense. That's why fools like Luther used to laugh at their opponents, as if, in doing so, he might convince himself not to fear those who destroy the body but rather him who has the power to cast body and soul into hell. So silly. Above all, it might prevent us from taking ourselves too seriously, and stop us from realizing that, yes, it really is all about us, and that we are indeed the meaning of the universe. Fools Rush In Where Monkeys Fear to Tread , Carl Trueman, P&R Publishing, 2012, p, 18...

Finally, here's the tutorial for the notebook cover . This is a great way to use scraps and is a fairly quick project. One caveat: if you open the notebook with the front cover flipped to the back, the fabric cover will fold back on itself and not lay perfectly flat. However, I find that it doesn't hinder my sermon note-taking. (Click pics for larger view.) Materials: Cover: Twelve 5-inch cotton print squares Lining: 18-1/4 x 11-3/4 of cotton & 18-1/4 x 11-3/4 of flannel or batting Inner flaps: Two 11-3/4 x 4-1/2 of cotton Thread, pins, scissors, ruler, etc. Iron One button 1.  Lay out your 5-inch squares in a pleasing pattern, 3 squares in 4 columns.  (You can be as creative as you want with piecing the patchwork cover. I used pre-cut charm squares to save time.) 2. Stitch the 3 squares in each column together using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Press flat. 3. Take your first column and trim the length at the bottom to 11-3/4 inches to match the linin...

37. Q. What do you understand by the word "suffered"? A. That during His whole life on earth, but especially at the end, Christ sustained in body and soul the anger of God against the sin of the whole human race. This He did in order that, by His suffering as the only atoning sacrifice, He might set us free, body and soul, from eternal condemnation, and gain for us God's grace, righteousness, and eternal life. 38. Q. Why did He suffer "under Pontius Pilate" as judge? A. So that He, though innocent, might be condemned by a civil judge, and so free us from the severe judgment of God that was to fall on us. 39. Q. Is it significant that He was "crucified" instead of dying some other way? A. Yes. This death convinces me that He shouldered the curse which lay on me, since death by crucifixion was accursed by God. "Christ does not come to us merely saying, "I've done My part. I laid down My life for everyone because I have saving lov...

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.  Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.  For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:3-10

The divinity of Christ, if judged by his works which are ascribed to him in Scriptures, become still more evident. When he said of himself, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work," the Jews, though most dull in regard to his other sayings, perceived that he was laying claim to divine power. And therefore as John relates (John 5:17), they sought the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. What, then, will be our stupidity if we do not perceive from the same passage that his divinity is plainly instructed? To govern the world by his power and providence, and regulate all things by an energy inherent in himself (this an apostle ascribes to him, Heb. 1:3), surely belongs to none but the Creator. Nor does he merely share the government of the world with the Father, but also each of the other offices, which cannot be communicated to creatures. The Lord proclaims by his prophets, "I, even...

The cross is not to be thought of as an abstract idea or a religious symbol; the meaning of the cross is what God declares it to mean. The cross was the place where God, by imputation, heaped the sins of his people upon his Son. On that cross there was substitutionary, curse-bearing.  In the language of the apostle Paul, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13), and "He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). The cross is not a nebulous, indefinable symbol of self-giving love; on the contrary, the cross is the monumental display of how God can be just and still pardon guilty sinners. At the cross, God, having imputed the sins of his people to Christ, pronounces judgment upon his Son as the representative of his people. There on the cross, God pours out the vials of his wrath unmixed with mercy until his Son cries out, "My Go...

Who says math is good for nothing?

Others might tell me I am a failure, an idiot, a clown, evil, incompetent, vicious, dangerous, pathetic, etc., and those words are not just descriptive; they have a certain power to make me these things, in the eyes on others and even in my own eyes, as self-doubt creeps in and the Devil whispers in my ear. But the greatness of Luther's Protestantism lies in this: God speaks louder, and His Word is more powerful. You may call me a liar, and you speak truth, for I have lied; but if God declares me righteous, then my lies and your insult are not the final word, nor the most powerful word. I have peace in my soul because God's word is real reality. That's why I need to read the Bible each day, to hear the Word preached each week, to come to God in prayer, and to hear words of grace from other brothers and sisters as I seek to speak the same to them. Only as God speaks his Word to me, and as I hear that Word in faith, is my reality transformed and do the insults of others, o...

This week's list: Flowers from the garden. An  Eastern towhee nesting outside the window. A sense of peace as my daughter goes away for spring break. It's been God's grace that has changed my attitude about visitation. I'm also thankful she's going armed with the gospel to be a light in a dark place. Spending Easter with church family. Easter service last night. It was so good to spend time reflecting on Jesus' death through the reading of scripture and songs of worship. May I never get past the knowledge that the veil has been torn in two.

In this we obtain a most useful consolation, for we tend to want a multitude of believers and to estimate by it the prosperity of the church. On the contrary, we should rather desire to be few in number in which the glory of God shines brightly. But because our own glory leads us in another direction, the consequence is that we more greatly regard a great number of men than the excellence of a few. For meditation (from Dr. Beeke): What is the use of a great number of nominal Christians if few behave like Christians in any sense of the word? The greater concern is building a holy church, not building a mega-church. How can you help your church become more holy? 365 Days with Calvin , Joel Beeke, editor, Day One Publications 2008, reading for April 4.

Our assignment for the women's study tonight was to put the gospel in our own words. This is my 2nd attempt. Upon reading it, it seems to be rather TULIP-ish.  I am a sinner by nature and practice. I was born an enemy of God and was blind to that fact. Because of this, I was separated from a perfect and holy God, my Creator and the One who held my life together. My sin needed to be punished, because I had violated God's just law, and my life needed to be perfect to stand in the presence of His holiness. There was absolutely no way I could meet those requirements, even if I tried my very best. But in mercy, God chose to redeem me before I was born. This was not based on any goodness in me or any future actions on my part.  God the Son came to this earth and became a man. Fully God and fully Man, Jesus lived the perfect life that God required which I could never live. He died the death that I deserved, bearing God's righteous anger for my sin. Not just my own, but the ...

I've been listening to a great talk from the 2012 Shepherds' Conference : Help! I Can't Find Dating in My Bible - How to guide singles through the fog of romantic relationship by Austin Duncan, pastor of college ministry at Grace Community Church. Although the conference and this talk is geared toward pastors, I've found it very helpful as a parent of a teen. Pastor Duncan concentrated on the bigger picture rather than focusing on the how-to's of dating or courtship,. (In fact, he deliberately steered clear of defining those terms.) A large section of his talk was devoted to distinguishing between principles and practice. There are Biblical principles - purity, purpose, and the people involved. These principles don't change regardless of the time in which we live or the place where we live, but how they are implemented may be different. As an example, the command for a husband to love his wife is non-negotiable, but the practice of this command is not uniform...

35. Q. What does it mean that He "was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary"? A. That the eternal Son of God, who is and remains true and eternal God, took to Himself, through the working of the Holy Spirit, from the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, a true human nature so that He might become David's true descendent, like His brothers in every way except for sin. 36. Q. How does the holy conception and birth of Christ benefit you? A. He is our mediator, and with His innocence and perfect holiness, He removes from God's sight my sin - mine since I was conceived.  "First, the virgin birth is essential to Christianity because it has been essential to Christianity. That may sound like circular reasoning, but only if we care nothing about history and catholicity of the church. Granted, the church can get things wrong, sometimes even for a long time. But if Christians of all stripes in all places, have professed belief in the virgin birth ...