Tried With Fire

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go a...

Our divine Master, not confining himself to words, has by a parable set before us, as in a picture, a representation of true humility. He brings forward a publican, who standing afar off, and not daring to lift up his eyes to heaven, smites upon his breast, laments aloud, and exclaims, “ God be merciful to me a sinner,” (Luke 18:13). Let us not suppose that he gives the signs of a fictitious modesty when he dares not come near or lift up his eyes to heaven, but, smiting upon his breast, confesses himself a sinner; let us know that these are the evidences of his internal feeling. With him our Lord contrasts the Pharisee, who thanks God “I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” In this public confession he admits that the righteousness which he possesses is the gift of God; but because of his confidence that he is righteous, he departs from the presence of God unaccepted and ab...

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Source I'm thankful for: Warm blankets. morning sunshine, and hot tea. Provision to replace a dead computer. Digging deep into John's Gospel during the recent theology conference. The wise counsel of friends in Christ. Upcoming sermon series on Romans 8. These verses from 1 Corinthians 15: 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...  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If i...

I'm posting at Out of the Ordinary today: God never promised His children an easy life. Jesus told his disciples "In the world you will have tribulation." ( John 16:33 ) not to mention the numerous scriptures on suffering in the Christian life. It seems easier to accept this reality when we're a bit older. We've seen more of the world and had a taste of affliction.We've learned to trust God in the hard times, grown stronger through the struggles, and endured by the grace of God. But what about our children? Read more here .

After hearing quite a bit about biblical interpretation this past week-end, my daughter made an interesting observation. "Why do mystics read into the Bible when they don't read everything else that way?" Good question, no? Can you imagine any Christian, mystic or otherwise, taking liberties with a memo from his boss, a contract with a client, or the 1040 tax form? What about an email or a handwritten letter? If my friend is writing about a walk around the lake, would I dare assume that it's an allegory for her journey through life? Ridiculous! Then why on earth do we take liberties when we read God's Word? It seems a bit arrogant and presumptuous to me. If we're willing to respect the intent of the memo, the terms of the contract, and the tax laws (perhaps grudgingly), shouldn't God's Word afford the same if not more honor? Rather than reading between the lines for some deeper, ooh-ahh meaning, maybe we should learn to read His Word for what it ...

We were blessed to hear Dr. Andreas Kostenberger speak on the Gospel of John this past week-end. As I'm pressed for time, I'm jotting down a few snippets rather than typing out my notes. - Dr. Kostenberger opened his 1st session on Saturday AM with a quote from Augustine: "The Gospel of John is shallow enough for a child not to drown but deep enough for an elephant to swim." Isn't this true? John's Gospel is usually the first book a new believer is encouraged to read yet there are depths that we will never reach. -  We need to look at John's Gospel (and really the whole Bible) from 3 perspectives: History, Literature, and Theology. Understanding the historical context, post destruction of the temple, gives insight as to why John was writing. The center of their religion was destroyed. What were they to do? John then points them to Jesus as the 2nd temple, e.g. not in this mountain or that mountain but we worship God in spirit and in truth. It was also ...

Finally, be strong in the Lord. Ephesiains 6:10 What methods should a Christian use in the battle of spiritual warfare to defy the enemy and vanquish him? Bring your lusts under the rule of your reason. Will you let your silly lists abuse you and become a traitor to your soul? Will you allow your passions to rise in arms and grow unruly? Let your reason arise and take its place as master. What a silly thing is man in a passion. Nothing is more ridiculous or contemptible. If your lust overcomes reason, bid your conscience do its work, and look to Scripture for support. If the love of God's commands will not restrain you, let the terrors and thunders of his threats persuade you. Draw the curtain of your heart open, and show it God's majesty and ask if it realizes that he is looking on. Tell your heat again and again that God will not be mocked. Seek to draw the stream of your lusts in a different direction. If it is vain-glory in the applause of men, think how ridiculous it w...

Scripture, when it treats of justification by faith, leads us in a very different direction. Turning away our view from our own works, it bids us look only to the mercy of God and the perfection of Christ. Institutes of the Christian Religion  3.11.16 John Calvin, translated by Henry Beveridge, Hendrickson, pg. 487.

Speaker: Dr. Andreas Kostenberger Topic: Approaching John's Gospel - History, Literature and Theology Session 1 Dr. Kostenberger charted out the course we will be following this week-end. My notes are mainly derived from his slides. (Where there are ? is where I can't read my writing.) Tomorrow, he will walk us through the 2 main sections of the book, chapters 1-12 and 13-21. I. Who wrote John's Gospel? A. Formally anonymous. Unlike Paul's epistles and others where the author states his name. Perhaps because the gospel itself and the hero, Jesus, are more important than the author of the book. In the early church, the gospels were called the fourfold gospel - one gospel, 4 witnesses. B. The disciple whom Jesus loved. John used name identifiers so people with the same name would not be confused. In his gospel. John is John the baptist. C. Looking at events and timing eliminates that the other 11 could have been the author.  Farfetched theories of authorship incl...

Galatians For You , Timothy Keller, The Good Book Company, 2013, 208 pages . Galatians For You by Dr. Timothy Keller is the first title in the God's Word For You series published by The Good Book Company .   This book isn't intended to be a commentary but an expository guide that unfolds the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ in Paul's letter to the Galatians. In each chapter, Dr. Keller unpacks the text verse by verse. His writing is clear and accessible. The passages are explained in their historical context, but he also includes practical application for us today. The only people I can think of who wouldn't benefit from this book are believers who are never tempted to revert to legalism and works righteousness. But for the rest of us who haven't reached that blessed state, Keller's exposition of the gospel is very helpful especially when "gospel" is becoming just another buzzword. He contrasts the true gospel with religions legalism and cultur...

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Source I'm thankful for the theology conference this week-end. Dr. Andreas Kostenberger will be speaking on the Gospel of John. His wife, Dr. Marney Kostenberger, will have a special session with the ladies. I'm thankful for a church that encourages its members to dig deep in the Word through events like this. I'm thankful for the prayers of the saints, both near and far. But as precious as those prayers are, I'm thankful for the continual intercession of the Holy Spirit and Christ Jesus. I'm thankful that trials are measured by my Father's hand. What He allows is for my good even if it means sustaining me through rather than taking me out of it. I'm thankful for the sure hope of heaven, a rest from our labors, and being with God forever.

I'm not a melancholy person by nature, but there are times when "sorrows like sea billows roll". But God is at work in the midst of the sorrow whether its bringing me to repentance for my sins or increasing my prayers for the salvation of others: For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 2 Cor. 7:10 My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.Psalm 119:136

Wonderful, comforting words for one of those days... O Heart Bereaved and Lonely , words by Fanny Crosby, tune by Christopher Miner, sung by Sandra McCracken 1. O heart bereaved and lonely, Whose brightest dreams have fled Whose hopes like summer roses, Are withered crushed and dead Though link by link be broken, And tears unseen may fall Look up amid thy sorrow, To Him who knows it all 2. O cling to thy Redeemer, Thy Savior, Brother, Friend Believe and trust His promise, To keep you till the end O watch and wait with patience, And question all you will His arms of love and mercy, Are round about thee still 3. Look up, the clouds are breaking, The storm will soon be o'er And thou shall reach the haven, Where sorrows are no more Look up, be not discouraged; Trust on, whate'er befall Remember, O remember, Thy Savior knows it all

The Lord knows those who are his. 2 Timothy 2:19 Christ's love is personal. He chooses man by name personally and distinctly. 'He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out' (John 10:3). Some have questioned how Christ can love us when he denies many temporal blessings. Outward blessings however are never a sign of love or hatred. You cannot conclude that Christ hates you because he afflicts; or that he loves you because you are blessed with temporal blessings. The smallest drop of grace is a greater sign of Christ's love than all the glory and pleasures of the earth. Otherwise, it might be said that Dives was loved, and Lazarus was hated (Luke 16). Festus would be in more favour with Christ than Paul, and even Christ himself would be unloved by the Father. Afflictions are far from being signs of Christ's hatred. Many times they are evidence of his love (Heb. 12:6011). The people of God only lack what is bad for them. God has promised to withhold no good thi...

To justify, therefore, is nothing else than to acquit from the charge of guilt, as if innocence were proved. Hence, when God justifies us through the intercession of Christ, he does not acquit us on a proof of our own innocence, but by an imputation of righteousness, so that though not righteous in ourselves, we are deemed righteous in Christ. Thus it is said, in Paul’s discourse in the Acts, “Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses,” (Acts 13:38, 39). You see that after remission of sins justification is set down by way of explanation; you see plainly that it is used for acquittal; you see how it cannot be obtained by the works of the law; you see that it is entirely through the interposition of Christ; you see that it is obtained by faith; you see, in fine, that satisfaction intervenes, since it is said that we are justified from our sins by Chri...

This is the day that the Lord has made;  let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24

Here's a quote from Tim Keller's new book, Galatians For You . I'm halfway through, and a review will be forthcoming next week, God willing. Peter's sin was basically the sin of nationalism. He insisted that Christians can't be really pleasing to God unless they become Jewish. But nationalism is just one form of legalism. Legalism is looking to something besides Jesus Christ in order to be acceptable and clean before God. Legalism always results in pride and fear, psychologically, and exclusion and strife, socially... One way is to be sectarian. Every Christian group or denomination necessarily has many distinctions of belief and practices that have less to do with the core gospel beliefs and more to do with specific convictions about ethical behavior or church policy. It is extremely easy to stress our distinctions in order to demonstrate to ourselves and others that our church is the superior or best one. Another way is to bring class-ist, nationalistic, o...

It's my turn at Out of the Ordinary: I've been thinking about my words, both written and spoken. My pastor recently completed a sermon series on Job. Although I had read the book several times before, I winced when I listened to the advice from Job's would-be comforters. They probably meant well. They probably wanted to help him see the light. But boy were they insensitive and clueless. They also have the distinction of having their counsel preserved on the pages of the Bible as a glaring example of words un-fitly spoken. Since those sermons, I've had a harder time writing because there's a new awareness of the weight of my words no matter how little my sphere of influence.Have I inadvertently torn down rather than built up? Caused confusion rather than conveyed truth? Have my words been more about me, myself, and I or about Christ? And have they been about the Christ revealed in the Word of God or a "Christ" defined by my experience? Read more he...

Our current adult Sunday school class has been on justification. We've looked at the historical Reformed Protestant and Roman Catholic views and have now moved onto the New Perspectives on Paul (NPP). I confess I was fairly ignorant of this modern deviation from the traditional and (what I would consider) biblical doctrine of justification. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around its logic because it seems so contrary to my understanding of what it means to be saved. One might say that this is a strictly academic discussion and beyond the concern of the average believer in the pew. I probably would have thought the same 5-6 years ago, but no longer. The gospel message is too important to assume. Justification by faith alone in Christ alone is the doctrine on which the church stands or falls. If we confuse this doctrine, it can lead to eternal consequences not only for ourselves but for those we're trying to reach. If you don't believe me, consider what Paul wrote in G...

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart. Psalm 119:2 It is not those who just hear the Word, but do it. Many have the Word in their mind and memory, but no in their lives. The truly blessed men are those that consider it a great obligation to obey it. God takes into sweet fellowship and communion those who keep his commandments. He will manifest himself in an intimate and gracious communion. The whole Trinity will come and dwell in his heart (John 14:23). We might consider two ways to keep God's commandments: legal and evangelical. By legal, I mean keeping them in perfect, absolute obedience. If this were intended, no one would be blessed. The best of believers have failures in obedience. By evangelical obedience, I mean someone who in love and sincerity seeks to obey fully, but enjoys the gracious pardon for his failures. The apostles had many failures, yet Christ speaks of them to his Father, 'They have kept your word' (John 17:...

Lest we should stumble at the very threshold (this we should do were we to begin the discussion without knowing what the subject is), let us first explain the meaning of the expressions, To be justified in the sight of God, to be Justified by faith or by works. A man is said to be justified in the sight of God when in the judgment of God he is deemed righteous, and is accepted on account of his righteousness; for as iniquity is abominable to God, so neither can the sinner find grace in his sight, so far as he is and so long as he is regarded as a sinner. Hence, wherever sin is, there also are the wrath and vengeance of God. He, on the other hand, is justified who is regarded not as a sinner, but as righteous, and as such stands acquitted at the judgment-seat of God, where all sinners are condemned. As an innocent man, when charged before an impartial judge, who decides according to his innocence, is said to be justified by the judge, as a man is said to be justified by God when, remo...

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I'm thankful for this past week-end with my sisters and oneness in Christ that transcends denominations, nationality, ethnicity, age, marital status, and personality. I'm thankful for these women who think seriously and deeply about theology and enjoy discussing it late into the night. I'm thankful for God's Word. I'm thankful for its power and relevance right here, right now. I'm thankful for God's sovereignty over present decisions and future outcomes What a relief to know it doesn't depend on me!

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to spend the week-end in the Outer Banks with some very dear sisters-in-Christ. I had met two in person but had contact with the others through blogging and Facebook over the last few years. It was wonderful to immediately connect as though we had been friends all our lives. But that's the beauty of fellowship in Christ. All the things that are different about us, and there are many, seem insignificant to what we have in common in Him. We didn't do any sightseeing but spent the time just being together. We laughed, enjoyed Stephanie's wonderful cooking, drank coffee (and tea), ate chocolate and chips, talked A LOT, shared some of our stories, wept together, and prayed for one another. It was a beautiful time.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Romans 12:2. The Christian is to proclaim and initiate an irreconcilable war against his choice sins. Those nearest his heart must now be trampled under his feet. This takes great courage and resolution. O how a lust will plead for itself! Satan pleads: 'Is it not just a little one, O spare it!' He will flatter the soul with the secrecy of it: 'You an have it, and your honour also.' If this does not work, Satan will try to get you to wait just a little while for its execution. Do not be deceived by this strategy. Most lusts that have received a delay in execution will eventually obtain a full pardon and regain full favour with your soul. It takes great resolution to break through such violent pleading  and bring your lust to full execution. We must walk with a single purpose, without an eye on the world's glitter. We must stand fixed to heaven's principles and so pro...

Let this be our principle, that we err not in the use of the gifts of Providence when we refer them to the end for which their author made and destined them, since he created them for our good, and not for our destruction. No man will keep the true path better than he who shall have this end carefully in view. Now then, if we consider for what end he created food, we shall find that he consulted not only for our necessity, but also for our enjoyment and delight. Thus, in clothing, the end was, in addition to necessity, comeliness and honour; and in herbs, fruits, and trees, besides their various uses, gracefulness of appearance and sweetness of smell. Were it not so, the Prophet would not enumerate among the mercies of God “wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine,” ( Ps. 104:15 ). The Scriptures would not everywhere mention, in commendation of his benignity, that he had given such things to men. The natural qualities of things themselves demonstrate ...

Thanks, Diane !