Tried With Fire

And lead us not into temptation  Matthew 6:13 Note the truths that are clearly implied by these words. First, God’s universal providence is owned. All creatures are at the sovereign disposal of their Maker; He has the same absolute control over evil as over good. In this petition an acknowledgment is made that the ordering of all temptations is in the hands of our all-wise, omnipotent God. Second, God’s offended justice and the evil we deserve are avowed. Our wickedness is such that God would be perfectly just if He should now allow us to be completely swallowed up by sin and destroyed by Satan. Third, His mercy is recognized. Though we have so grievously provoked Him, yet for Christ’s sake He has remitted our debts. Therefore, we plead that He will henceforth preserve us. Fourth, our weakness is acknowledged. Because we realize that we are unable to stand against temptations in our own strength, we pray, "And lead us not into temptation." The Beatitudes and the Lord...

Source I'm thankful for: The arrival of autumn which means pumpkin pudding and apple custard coffee cake. The routine of uneventful, everyday life. A brief visit with Melissa tomorrow to exchange books. The testimony of friends who want to honor the Lord no matter the outcome of a tough trial. A faith family that prays for one another. The gospel that revives and anchors our every day lives. The love of God shed abroad in our hearts.

It's my turn at Out of the Ordinary today in which I retract 20-year-old advice.

Forum of Christian Leader's  link for video and audio. ht: A Cry For Justice This is a talk by Dr. Diane Langberg given in 2010. She is a Christian psychologist and counselor who is on the faculty of Westminster Seminary. She has over 30 years of experience helping victims of spiritual, domestic, and sexual abuse. Dr. Langberg deals with the issue of abuse of power in the church and the home. She goes beyond the symptoms to the root - self deception that leads to the deception and coercion of others. I've been in a situation where spiritual authority was misused. Short of domestic abuse, I don't know of anything as heartbreaking as seeing church leaders who have been charged to uphold God's truth, deliberately covering up sin all in the name of preserving "the ministry." The talk is long and very sobering, but it is worth the time for anyone who has any measure of influence in the home and church, which is most of us. God have mercy and keep us from usin...

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtor   Matthew 6:12 What do we ask for in this petition? First, we ask that God will not lay to our charge the sins we daily commit (Ps. 143:2). Second, we plead that God will accept the satisfaction of Christ for our sins and look upon us as righteous in Him. Some may object, "But if we be real Christians, He has already done so." True, yet He requires us to sue for our pardon, just as He said to Christ, " Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance" (Ps. 2:8). God is ready to forgive, but He requires us to call upon Him. Why? That His saving mercy may be acknowledged, and that our faith may be exercised! Third, we beseech God for the continuance of pardon. Though we be justified, yet we must continue to ask; as with our daily bread, though we have a goodly store on hand, yet we beg for the continuance of it. Fourth, we plead for the sense of forgiveness or assurance of it, that sins may be blo...

Pattern  here .

I had a coupon code for a free mouse pad from Shutterfly . I could have been conventional and used family pictures, but I decided to have a little fun.

LEGO Pride & Prejudice:

Milkweed I'm thankful for: Quilts, blankets, hoodies, and hot tea.  Furry faces that make me smile. Opportunities for me to let go and let my daughter stretch her wings. The Tuesday night ladies group. I'm thankful for them, their desire to learn more of the Lord and have that overflow into their lives. If our first meeting is any indication, we're off to a great start. The Holy Spirit's work in changing my desires, giving me a hunger for God, and satisfying that hunger through His Word.

Red Like Blood: Confrontations with Grace by Joe Coffey & Bob Bevington, Shepherd Press, 2011, 221 pages. In Luke 7, we learn of an encounter between Jesus and a woman who was a sinner. She wasn't welcomed by the pharisee whose dinner she gate-crashed, but she braved his censure to perform a simple act of devotion to Jesus. Why? She loved much because she was forgiven much. Red Like Blood reminds me of the woman in Luke 7. It chronicles the stories of people who love much because they've been forgiven much. These are real people with real struggles, real suffering, and real sin. Their accounts will move you to tears. Some may even shock you because Christians aren't always this candid and transparent. But the intent isn't to shock or magnify the sin. The intent of this book is to hold up the glorious grace of God made available to us through the gospel, and it succeeds in that attempt. Although this book relates personal experiences rather than formally te...

Give us this day our daily bread  Matthew 6:11 Matthew Henry has astutely pointed out that the reason this request for the supply of our physical needs heads the last four petitions is that "our natural [well being] is necessary [for] our spiritual well-being in this world." In other words, God grants to us the physical things of this life as helps to the discharge of our spiritual duties. And since they are given by Him, they are to be employed in His service. What gracious consideration God shows toward our weakness: we are unapt and unfit to perform our higher duties if deprived of the things needed for the sustenance of our bodily existence. We may also rightly infer that this petition comes first in order to promote the steady growth and strengthening of our faith. Perceiving the goodness and faithfulness of God in supplying our daily physical needs, we are encouraged and stimulated to ask for higher blessings (cf. Acts 17:25-28). "Our daily bread" refers pri...

As parents, we are sometimes more interested in protecting our children from the sinful influences of the world than we are preparing them for the deep sinfulness of their own hearts. We think that if we can just keep them from sinning too much while they are young and vulnerable, then they won't struggle with sin so much as adults. Of course, good parents don't allow their kids to sin much. They discipline, teach, restrain, and intervene. Yet these actions alone don't prepare young people well for the reality of the powerful temptations they will face when Mom and Dad aren't around. Simply building a fence between a child and temptation is not the same thing as preparing him to face life. Extravagant Grace , Barbara Duguid, P&R Publishing, pp. 78-79.

A poem by Adam4d . Check out his other comics too.

I'm thankful for: The week-end forecast. I'm looking forward to the end of Indian summer and more autumnal weather. Grace and strength for an unexpectedly busy day of work yesterday; My daughter's college composition teacher. Her emphasis is critical thinking through writing which I heartily applaud. The latest assignment deals with animation and censorship. This, however, has opened up in-class discussions on tolerance, intolerance, double standards, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and the objectification of women. Not bad for a little community college. Spiritual refreshment with my small group. Opportunities for the women in the church to deepen our relationships. We had a fun and thoughtful social on Sunday evening which included good food, as always, and a chance to get past the small talk. I'm also looking forward to reading Extravagant Grace with several ladies beginning next week. The gift of reason. Our minds still n...

I'm posting elsewhere today: Grace Incognito at Out of the Ordinary Lydia at Theology for Girls as part of the Women in Scripture series. See you there...

We have two giveaways at Out of the Ordinary. Enter to win a package of six great theology books, and enter to win one of three copies of Housewife Theologian by Aimee Byrd. The winners will be announced on the 16th. Make sure you visit Theology for Girls  and follow the series on Women in Scripture. There's also a  giveaway for John MacArthur's book, Twelve Extraordinary Women . I think this applies to how-to books as well as sermons: How Your Preaching Might Increase Sin in Your Church : We are accustomed to thinking of legalistic preaching as that which is full of “thou shalt not”s, the kind of fundamentalist hellfire and brimstone judgmentalism we’ve nearly all rejected. But “do” is just the flipside to the same coin “don’t” is on. That coin is the law. And a list of “do”‘s divorced from the DONE of the gospel is just as legalistic... Speaking of "do this" divorced from the gospel: A Four Word Comment on Women's Ministry : We are praying for a fre...

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him,“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”  Matt. 22: 34-40 Has anyone kept the greatest commandment their entire Christian life? For one day? Five minutes? You may not have, but I break the greatest commandment every day. I do not love the Lord my God with all my heart, my soul, and my mind. Like the Apostle Paul, what I want to do, I don't do, and the things I don't want to do, I do.  But God's response is this. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Rom. 8:1 emphasis mine...

"Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" Matthew 6:10 The connection between this third petition and the preceding ones is not difficult to trace. The first concern of our hearts, as well as our prayers, must be for God’s glory. Longings after God’s Kingdom naturally follow, as do honest endeavors to serve Him while we remain on this earth. The glory of God is the great object of our desires . The coming and enlargement of His Kingdom are the chief means by which God’s glory is manifestatively secured. Our personal obedience makes it manifest that His Kingdom has come to us. When God’s Kingdom really comes to one’s soul, he must, of necessity, be brought into obedience to its laws and ordinances. It is worse than useless to call God our King if His commandments are disregarded by us... "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Weigh this attentively in the light of what precedes. First, we are taught to pray, " Our Father which art in heaven...

Blue mist flower I'm thankful for: - Back-to-school routine. - Wildflowers, song birds, and a little Eastern cottontail outside my window. - Movie nights with my daughter. - Mellowing with middle age. I think very differently than I did ten or even three years ago. Is it always learning but never coming to the truth or being swayed by every wind of doctrine? I hope not. I hope and believe it's the Holy Spirit renewing my mind to think and be more like Christ. - The healing that is possible only through the gospel.

We're celebrating our one year anniversary at Out of the Ordinary ! In honor of the occasion, we will be giving away six books to one providential winner. Check out the titles and enter the giveaway !

I've been reading  Revival and Revivalism   by Iain Murray   since our church is going through a sermon series on Biblical revival. I have a lot of unlearning to do because my concept of revival has been tainted influenced by the revivalism of Charles Finney and his heirs. Based on historical record, here is what Murray deduced about genuine revival in Virginia in the 1700s: In speaking of the meaning of revival it is also essential to note that what [Samuel] Davies and his brethren believed about revival was not something separate from or additional to, their main beliefs; it was, rather, a necessary consequence. Such is man's state in sin, that he cannot be saved without the immediate influence of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration, and the faith that results from it, are gifts of God. Therefore, wherever conversions are multiplied, the cause is to be found not in men, nor in favourable conditions, but in the abundant influences of the Spirit of God that alone make t...

Drinking - Water but wondering if I should make my third cup of tea. Looking - At my new bookshelf. There were too many books piled on top of books, squeezed horizontally in the shelves, on the floor and kitchen table so it was time to get another one. After reorganizing three shelves' worth of books, there's a little space left for a few more. Undecided - About the women's study. I am leaning towards Extravagant Grace by Barbara Duguid thanks to Melissa 's review. Reading - Revival and Revivalism by Iain Murray, Saving Leonardo by Nancy Pearcey, and Homer's Odyssey this week. The first book is because of our current sermon series. The second is because I like Nancy Pearcey's take on culture and worldview. The third is so I can say I've read it. Fiddling - With an autumn blog header. It still feels like summer, but I'm ready for fall. Knitting - A  grenade  in honor of Corky Velveeta. Rethinking - How I think about the limits, constrain...

"Thy Kingdom come" Matthew 6:10 There is a threefold application when we pray, "Thy Kingdom come." First, it applies to the external sphere of God’s grace here on earth: "Let Thy Gospel be preached and the power of Thy Spirit attend it; let Thy Church be strengthened; let Thy cause on earth be advanced and the works of Satan be destroyed!" Second, it applies to God’s internal Kingdom, that is, His spiritual reign of grace within the hearts of men: "Let Thy throne be established in our hearts; let Thy laws be administered in our lives and Thy name be magnified by our walk." Third, it applies to God’s Kingdom in its future glory: "Let the Day be hastened when Satan and his hosts shall be completely vanquished, when Thy people shall be done with sinning forever, and when Christ shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied"’ (Isa. 53:11). God’s Kingdom comes progressively to individuals in the following degrees or st...