Tried With Fire

We don't know much about Peninnah in 1 Samuel 1:1-8, but the little we do isn't nice. Perhaps she was jealous of Elkanah's love for Hannah, but regardless, she used the family's annual visits to Shiloh to remind her rival of her childless state while surrounded by her own sons and daughters. So year after year, Peninnah rubbed salt in the wound to Hannah's great distress. The text doesn't say what went on at home, but I can't imagine it was any better.  It would be easy to say, "What an uncompassionate woman! I would never do anything like that!" Or would I? Before we condemn Peninnah too readily, we should perhaps reflect on the way public worship can indeed become a time for the raw exposure of our past sins, our failings, and even our struggles with the abnormalities of life. What should be an occasion of joy for the worshipper can become a time to be reminded of how one's life has been a series of disappointments. It is a frequent occ...

I'm thankful for: - Sunshine after cloudy days. - My companionable bunnies. They make me smile and act like they're happy to see me and not just the food. - A daughter who laughs with me and prays for me. - Words that express what I've been feeling for the last month or so. I'm normally not a moody person, but I've been pretty moody. It's been a relief to get some of those inward churnings onto "paper" and get a handle on what has been bugging me. - A church that's a safe place because of the gospel.

When it comes to sharing a "testimony" what goes through your head? I've written about what went through mine and the lesson I learned at Out of the Ordinary . Read it here .

Finished: Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking  by D.Q. McInerny - This little book gives tips on thinking and communicating clearly through a better understanding of logic.  Read one of my favorite quotes here . Created in God's Image by Anthony A. Hoekema - A survey of the doctrine of imago dei through the scriptures and church history and its relation to salvation, sin, and humanity. Interestingly Hoekema does not advocate dichotomy or trichotomy but  "psychosomatic unity" because man is a whole being with a physical and nonphysical side. The implications of this doctrine are manifold in how we treat one our fellow image-bearers. Is God Anti-Gay?   by Sam Allberry - A look at what the Bible says on sex, homosexuality, and the hope offered by the gospel. This would be a good followup to Rosaria Butterfield's book. Through His Eyes: God's Perspective on Women in the Bible by Jerram Barrs - In the foreword, Barrs states that his aim is to encourag...

My brothers, when grace is given us to repent truly, we shall then turn wholly unto God. And let me beseech you to repent of your sins, for the time is hastening when you will have neither time nor call to repent; there is none in the grave, whither we are going; but do not be afraid, for God often receives the greatest sinner to mercy through the merits of Christ Jesus. This magnifies the riches of his free grace and should be an encouragement for you who are great and notorious sinners, to repent; for he will have mercy upon you, if you, through Christ, return to him. George Whitefield Daily Readings , Randall J. Pederson, ed., Christian Focus Publications, 2010, from the reading for February 22.

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I'm thankful for: - Sunshine and warmer days. - A little indoor spring: - Small group meeting finally! We haven't been to small group since before Christmas due to illness and snow. It was such a blessing to be with the brothers and sisters. I was encouraged by the discussion on how can we practically be the church as family. - God's grace in the midst of pensive introspection. - The truth and comfort of His Word. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah Psalm 62:8

The grand inquiry, then, is how shall I know I am one of the Lord's beloved? The natural man never minds the love of God; he flatters himself he loves God naturally, that the love of God is a plant that grows in nature's garden; but a spiritual person does not so… therefore, the grand inquiry, and one proof of a person's being awakened is, how shall I know whether God loves me or not?… I am persuaded that we may as well know that God loves us, and we love God, as we may know that the sun shines at noon-day. How shall I know it but by the effects of this love, by the fruits of it? ... Surely I am beloved of the Lord, if my natural enmity against the Lord is slain. How do I know I love a person? How can you prove that you love me? … When your former enmity is removed, and you are reconciled to the one you used to hate, cannot you know that you love them? And if God has removed that enmity to Christ out of your hearts, surely you are one of his. George Whitefield Daily Rea...

We were blessed to have Dr. Timothy Paul Jones of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary as the speaker at our annual theology conference. The focus was family ministry in the church. These talks weren't strictly for parents or those involved in children/youth ministry. Every church member can benefit because we are all in this together. Audio is available here . Here are snippets from my notes with the hope that you will listen for yourself. Session 1 - Church as Family/Family as Church Church as family - A community that the world could never create. The world gathers people by their own special interest. Unfortunately the church has done this as well rather than centering on the gospel of Jesus Christ. But the story is bigger than me, my preferences, etc. God takes people with dissimilar backgrounds and brings them into a family and gives them a new name. The family as church - Not a substitute for the local church, but a window into what God is doing in His church. What ...

It's my turn at Out of the Ordinary . With Valentine's Day fast approaching, I reveal my unsentimental side and confess my dislike of "Jesus is my Valentine." Read more here . (Sorry for the image, but I couldn't resist. I hope it doesn't haunt you for the rest of your life.)

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night… Joshua 1:8 Believers maintain their walk with God by reading his Word. "Search the scriptures," says our Lord, "for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. (John 5:39, KJV). The Psalmist tells us that God's word "is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Ps. 119:105), and states of a good man, "his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night"… If we cease making the written word of God our rule for faith and practice, we shall soon be open to all manner of delusion, and be in great danger of making shipwreck of faith and a good conscience… The Scriptures are called the lively oracles of God, not only because they are generally used to beget in us new life, but also to increase it in the soul. The Apostle Peter, in his second epistle, prefers it even to seeing Christ transfigur...

The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow   Psalm 146: 9a Source The very heart of the Christian gospel is that Christ came into the world to heal the bruised reed and the broken spirit, for he is humble and gentle in heart. This is how the prophet Isaiah pictures the coming of the Messiah (Isaiah 42:3). Christ is tender and kind to those who are crushed by the tragedies of life, for he is the revelation of the compassionate heart of God, the God who reveals himself as having a particular care for the widows, orphans, aliens, and the poor… The Lord describes himself, through Moses, in these words: "He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing" (Deuteronomy 10:18)… So it should not surprise us when we read through the Gospels and see Christ, all through his ministry, delighting in reaching out to women and men with damaged lives. One of the repeated themes of the Gospels...

Drinking - My third cup of tea. I need to get a brown mug to hide the caffeine stains. Returned - From the gym. It's been long overdue. Glad - The snow is gone. I've had my fix, and I'm ready for spring. Looking forward to - Our church's annual theology conference is this week-end with Dr. Timothy Paul Jones from SBTS. The topic is the Church - the Family of God. Finished reading -  Created in God's Image  by Anthony Hoekema. A lot of good stuff regarding mankind, sin, and sanctification, in which he describes sanctification as the renewal of the image of God in the believer. I think it is to our detriment when we forget that all human beings are made in the image of God. Thinking - About logical fallacies and how often we Christians employ them for the sake of making a point. Is this being, perhaps unwittingly, intellectually dishonest? Tempted - To get Prelude to Philosophy by Mark Foreman to learn about said fallacies. I have a book buying morator...

Here's another gem from George Whitefield. Although he refers to a man, this should encourage us increasingly grey-headed women. Oh, what a dismal sight it is to see an old man with his hoary head grown grey, in sin and hardened in iniquity. On the other hand, I believe, to all that consider rightly, there is no grander sight almost under the sun than to see an old grey-headed man keeping up a consistent character; and proving, by his conduct, that his path, like that of the just, is as the shining light, that shines more and more to the perfect day... George Whitefield Daily Readings , Randall J. Pederson, ed., Christian Focus Publications, 2010, from the reading for February 3.

That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. Phil. 3:10 Jesus who dy'd a World to save, Revives and rises from the Grave, By His Almighty Pow'r; From Sin, and Death, and Hell set free, He Captive leads Captivity And lives to die no more. Children of God, look up and see, Your Savior cloth'd with Majesty, Triumphant o'er the Tomb; Give o'er your griefs, cast off your Fears, In heav'n your Mansions he prepares, And soon will take you Home. His Church is still his Joy and Crown, He looks with Love and Pity down, On her he did Redeem; He tastes her Joys, he feels her Woes, And prays that she may spoil her Foes, And ever reign with Him. George Whitefield Daily Readings , Randall J. Pederson, ed., Christian Focus Publications, 2010, reading for February 2.