Tried With Fire

We spent Christmas week visiting family. We talked, laughed, and ate far too much. One highlight of our visit was going bowling the day after Christmas. I'm a terrible bowler. I used the bumpers without shame, never quite got to 100, but I had a wonderful time. After two games, I had a sore forearm, but something else occurred. I was able to lay some painful memories to rest. It may have been only six or seven years but it seemed like an eternity since the last time I went bowling. My ex-husband and I would go out to dinner and do various activities with a few other couples. It was fun before the marriage turned sour. But once the relationship began to deteriorate, these outings were ordeals to endure. I put up a front that all was well because I was still hopeful, but as time went on, the acting became harder and harder. It was mentally, emotionally, and spiritually draining - a form of self-immolation on the pyre of keeping up a "good" Christian appearance. Our last...

So here's my "Favorite Books of 2013" post. I read a lot more this year and read more widely. I've also read more "fun" books and did not feel guilty one bit. Updated  4/29/14 -  I removed Extravagant Grace by Barbara Duguid. While there is much that is good in the book for someone recovering from legalism, I don't think I can recommend the book without some qualification. I think she swings on the pendulum too far the other way by overemphasizing gospel indicatives and minimizes gospel imperatives. They don't have to be either or but both. Theology/Christian Living: The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield - This book challenged my prejudices and lack of love for the lost. Select Letters of John Newton - "Much has been forgiven him, therefore he loves much, and therefore he knows how to forgive and pity others. He does not call evil good, or good evil; but his own experiences teach him tenderness and forbe...

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35 Many people are quite satisfied with a religion of external rules and ceremonies because they have a superficial view of sin. Perhaps they have fairly loose rules, such as a minim requirement to attend public worship now and then. Or maybe they have stiff and complex rules consisting of behaviors almost as intricate as a Japanese tea ceremony. Either way, changes in behavior cannot purify the heart for it is the seat of our corruption. Christ said, "Either make the tree good and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by his fruit" (Matt. 12:33). Jesus came to become the root of a whole new tree. He is also the vine and we are the branches (John 15:5). He is the head, and we are the members ...

ht: Dan Phillips on FB

Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!  Merry Christmas!

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. Isaiah 61:1-3 Every child of God has felt his soul cleave to the dust and melt for heaviness (Ps. 119:25, 28). Circumstances overwhelm us with hopelessness. Life in a sinful world weighs heavily on our hearts. On top of this sorrow is the pain that comes from persecution from the ungodly. The psalmist testifies of this, "My tears have been my meat day and night, while ...

I'm sharing another quote from Why Christ Came at Out of the Ordinary : "Many of God's people can remember what it was like to be without Christ, without hope, and without God in this world (Eph. 2:12)… Jesus came to seek these lost persons and save them. God in Christ is a seeker ( Luke 15:3-6 ). Nineteenth-century British poet Francis Thompson affectionately refers to God as the "hound of heaven" in a poem by that name. The author recounts how he deliberately fled from God, but throughout his life he sensed he was being followed by feet that moved "with un-hurrying chase and unperturbed pace" to bring him to salvation. Without fail, God always gets His man." Read more ….

Moms have super hearing. Your child can be across the house whispering and you know what she is saying. It's true. I tried this with my daughter, and she was amazed by this ability. But I guess this comes with the territory. When you're a mom, you're always on call, always listening, always aware. All it takes is a whimper or a whisper in the middle of the night to get you out of bed. Your child could be in a large group, and you recognize that unique cry among all the others. But what do you do when your child goes out of hearing range? She starts to take baby steps which get bigger and bigger until she's leaving the nest and flying away. I had my first taste of this last night when my daughter drove alone! at night! far away! (at least to me) to meet her dad for dinner. I think I was more worried than she was nervous. My vigilance can extend only so far because I'm limited by time, space, and mortality.  But isn't this the way it should be? As our kids g...

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 God's love for the world seems incongruous, far-fetched, and even impossible. To believe in this love, we need irrefutable evidence. Jesus' coming to the world is the irrefutable evidence of the Father's love for it. People can talk about their love for others, but the proof of love is action, not words (1 John 3:18). The apostle Paul speaks of Christ's death for us as proof of God's love, asserting, "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom, 5:8)… God's love for His people can only be understood in relation to His love for His Son. The only begotten Son of God is the eternal object of the Father's affection… [T]he love between God the Father and God the Son is perfect, personal, intimate, deep, and committed. It is love without limits...

The New Calvinism Considered: A Personal and Pastoral Assessment by Jeremy Walker, Evangelical Press, 2013, 128 pages. The New Calvinism Considered is Pastor Jeremy Walker's assessment of the recent trend toward reformed theology largely within American Evangelicalism. This short book gives an overview of the movement, commendations, concerns, and concluding thoughts. This is quite a task given the spectrum of people who would align themselves with New Calvinism (NC). Thus, Walker admits he is using a broad brush out of necessity. The author characterizes this movement by a return to the five points of Calvinism, God's sovereignty in salvation, and the influence of Jonathan Edwards via John Piper. The NC is shaped to a great degree by prominent pastors and theologians - Piper, D.A. Carson, and Tim Keller, organizations - The Gospel Coalition and Together 4 the Gospel, and bloggers - Justin Taylor and Tim Challies. There may be other key players as well, but names and ne...

Here's my reading stack for 2014. One title that is not in the picture is Bound Together by Chris Brauns which I will be borrowing from the church library. Unpacking Forgiveness , also by Brauns, is a reread.  I'm hoping to resist purchasing any new books next year since there are too many unread volumes languishing on the shelf. I am thinking of making an exception for used books and review books. What's on your reading list for next year?

Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. John 18:37 Pilate questioned the existence of truth, and his life bore the fruit of his doubts. He lived in fear of losing his position. Against his conscience, he gave deference to the mad request of the people. He disregarded the advice of his wife, who urged him to have nothing to do with Jesus' death. Pilate was in bondage because he didn't know the truth. Even though he spent many years bound in prison, the apostle Paul declares "Stand fast… in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free" (Gal. 5:1). So you can be a prisoner and yet be truly free, or you can be a king and live in bondage. As Paul testified in chains before kings, it was clear that he, not they, knew true freedom (Acts 24:16, 25).  You...

Just in time for Christmas…. ht Grammarly on FB

“For no other Foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11.  It is not the union of men with men that makes a Church if Jesus Christ is not the center and the bond of the union. The best of men may come into bonds of amity and they may form a league, or a federation for good and useful purposes—but they are not a Church unless Jesus Christ is the basis upon which they rest. He must be the ground and Foundation of the hope of each and of all. Neither can a Church be created by a mere union to a minister. It is most good and pleasant to see Brethren dwelling together in unity—it is most advantageous that between the pastor and his flock there should be perfect love, but the relationship must not be exaggerated beyond due bounds. Brethren, there must be no glorying in men , nor blind following of them! A body formed of individuals whose religion lies in drinking in the theories and opinions of a religious teacher falls short o...

"In Christ's first coming, He implemented a rescue plan conceived in the mind of God before the foundation of the world. He did not come to promote holiday cheer, boost end-of-year sales, or serve as the central figure in a nativity scene. He came to save sinners…" Read more of this quote from Why Christ Came at Out of the Ordinary.

Not one of the Father's expectations were unfulfilled in Christ. When Christ said, "It is finished," He meant it (John 19:30). By His obedience to God's will, even in the things that He suffered, He secured salvation for us. As our high priest, Christ teaches us that we have no other way of dealing with our moral failure and its penalty than to come to God and say, "Nothing in my hand I bring, / Simply to thy cross I cling." As we study the early chapters of the Gospels, it is difficult to feel the full weight of Jesus' statement: "I come… to do thy will, O God." But later, especially as we read about Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, we begin to sense the depth of that commitment. In the garden, Jesus wrestles with the reality of Isaiah 53:10: "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him." In the garden, Christ was "exceeding sorrowful, even unto death," and "sore amazed" (Matt. 26:38, Mark 14:33). Paintings of Ch...