Tried With Fire

O GOD OF MY EXODUS, Great was the joy of Israel’s sons,    when Egypt died upon the shore, Far greater the joy    when the Redeemer’s foe lay crushed in the dust. Jesus strides forth as the victor,    conqueror of death, hell, and all opposing might; He bursts the bands of death,    tramples the powers of darkness down,    and lives for ever. He, my gracious surety,    apprehended for payment of my debt,    comes forth from the prison house of the grave    free, and triumphant over sin, Satan, and death. Show me herein the proof that his vicarious offering is accepted,                                           that the claims of justice are satisfied,                                   ...

Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, see him dying on the tree! ‘Tis the Christ by man rejected; yes, my soul, ’tis he, ’tis he! ‘Tis the long expected Prophet, David’s son, yet David’s Lord; by his Son God now has spoken: ’tis the true and faithful Word. Tell me ye who hear him groaning, was there ever grief like his? Friends thro’ fear his cause disowning, foes insulting his distress; many hands were raised to wound him, none would interpose to save; but the deepest stroke that pierced him was the stroke that Justice gave. Ye who think of sin by lightly nor suppose the evil great here may view its nature rightly, here its guilt may estimate. Mark the sacrifice appointed, see who bears the awful load; ’tis the Word, the Lord’s Anointed, Son of Man and Son of God. Here we have a firm foundation, here the refuge of the lost; Christ’s the Rock of our salvation, his the name of which we boast. Lamb of God, for sinners wounded, sacrifice to cancel guilt! ...

From Jeremiah Burroughs: Question: "How does the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead come to be a means of giving hope?" Answer: The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the cause of true lively hope in the hearts of the saints. By the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, God has declared that He is fully satisfied for the sins of man, and that the work of redemption is fully wrought out... Read the rest here .

I've posted this song before, but it accurately describe my state of mind this week. I've been doing a bit of groaning, and I'm longing for renewal of all things. As this planet falls around the sun trapping us in the orbit  Creation groans in unison like a race of frightened orphans The darkness of this raging storm is covering up our portals  But a yearning for the light is borne in the heart of every mortal And day to day we ache  With the pain that plagues Creation  Night to night we lie awake  And await its restoration Heaven knows our lonely ways, heaven knows our sorrows  And Heaven knows things that we don't know and the joy of eternal tomorrows But through this glass we dimly see this world as it was made  Oh and the good we know must surely flow  From the heart of a kind Creator And day to day we ache  With the pain that plagues Creation  Night to night we lie awake  And await...

O MAKER AND UPHOLDER OF ALL THINGS, Day and night are thine; they are also mine from thee —    the night to rid me of the cares of the day,                   to refresh my weary body,                   to renew my natural strength;    the day to summon me to new activities,                 to give me opportunity to glorify thee,                 to serve my generation,                 to acquire knowledge, holiness, eternal life. But one day above all days is made especially    for thy honour and my improvement; The sabbath reminds me of thy rest from creation,                                         of the resurrection of my Saviour, ...

My kind of superhero... ht: Savage Chickens

I am thankful for: - Sunshine and coffee to burn off the brain fog. - Running into an old friend at Panera's this morning and being able to catch up on our families. - Fellowship midweek with small group and ladies' book discussion. It is both refreshing and strengthening. - Books that are willing to tackle difficult subjects, namely domestic abuse. I am firmly convinced that how things look on the outside is not enough. Behavioral change is not enough. Heart change must occur, and only the Holy Spirit can do that. - Recent sermon series on the 10 commandments. I've been convicted of my lack of reverence and love for God. But this makes me even more thankful for a Savior who kept the law perfectly on my behalf and imputes His righteousness to my account. - Good conversations with my daughter about the Sabbath. Christians have different views, and I am still working through mine. But I am thankful for the rest that only God can give in Christ.

Unholy Charade: Unmasking the Domestic Abuser in the Church , Jeff Crippen with Rebecca Davis, Justice Keepers Publishing, 2015, 208 pages. Most people would say that they would never condone domestic abuse. This is admirable. But it's also interesting that when abuse has been uncovered in a Christian setting, the first words out of someone's mouth are usually this: I would never have guessed that so-and-so was abusive. He always seemed like such a nice, godly man. Based on this typical response, we may abhor abuse and yet not truly understand its dynamics. We may not realize that abusers are master manipulators who have crafted a persona that they display to the world while acting very differently toward their victims. Unholy Charade: Unmasking the Domestic Abuser in the Church does an excellent job in pulling down an abuser's facade and revealing the ugliness behind the mask. This book clearly details the traits of an abuser which include: Entitlement Power an...

O GOD OF LOVE,  I approach thee with encouragements derived from thy character,     for I am not left to feel after thee in the darkness of my nature,         nor to worship thee as the unknown God. I cannot find out thy perfections, but I know thou art good,     ready to forgive, plenteous in mercy. Thou hast displayed thy wisdom, power, and goodness in all thy works,     and hast revealed thy will in the Scripture of truth. Thou hast caused it to be preserved, translated, published, multiplied,     so that all men may possess it and find thee in it. Here I see thy greatness and thy grace,                  thy pity and thy rectitude,                  thy mercy and thy truth,                  thy being and men’s hearts; Throu...

I'm posting at Out of the Ordinary today: Unknowns are fine in mathematics, but I don't like them in real life. I feel much more secure knowing where my car keys are and what is going to happen today, tomorrow, and the day after that. Mentally keeping tabs on as much as possible gives me a sense of control, which is a comforting feeling even if it doesn't last very long. But in reality, there are too many factors outside of my control for me to be in control, and I don't like it. Recently I was fretting over a very minor incident in the grand scheme of things. I was replaying the situation over and over in my mind and praying that I would stop worrying, when I asked myself, " Is it enough that God knows even if I don't? " Read the rest here .

The Romantic period is typified by an uncontested embrace of personal experience, not merely as self-expression or self-representation, but also as epistemology and personal identity (who I am, ontologically)... Romanticism claimed that you know truth through the lens of your personal experience, and that no overriding or objective opposition can challenge the primal wisdom of someones subjective frame of intelligibility. In romanticism, this knowing and being known is identity-rooted and identity-expressive. Romanticism went beyond a solipsistic, me-centered understanding of selfhood. Solipsism is the belief that only one's own mind and its properties are sure to exist. Romanticism took this one step further to declare personal feelings and experience the most reliable measure and means of discerning truth. 1 This quote from Rosaria Butterfield's Openness Unhindered  makes the case that sexual orientation as identity is a byproduct of romanticism. I agree with her complet...

"May not our own fancies be the rule of our worship? No." A Scriptural Exposition of the Baptist Catechism , Benjamin Beddome "When false images of God dictate our worship,  we are undoubtedly worshiping a false God. " Pastor Ryan Davidson When I read the above question and answer in the Baptist Catechism , my first reaction was to laugh. It's not that the 2nd commandment is a laughing matter, and I mean no disrespect. But the stark and very obvious answer puts worshipping God according to my personal preference in its place. No excuses. No ifs, ands, or buts. Who do I think I am? I don't get to decide how God should be worshipped. That is God's prerogative alone. Period. But then in Sunday's sermon  on the 2nd commandment, Pastor Ryan stated that worshipping God based on false images, whether physical or mental, is worshipping a false God. Thus the conviction boom was lowered even further. After the sermon, I couldn't help b...

Carina nebula THOU GREAT I AM , Fill my mind with elevation and grandeur at the thought of a Being     with whom one day is as a thousand years,         and a thousand years as one day, A mighty God, who, amidst the lapse of worlds,     and the revolutions of empires,         feels no variableness,             but is glorious in immortality. May I rejoice that, while men die, the Lord lives;                      that, while all creatures are broken reeds,                                                                  empty cisterns,                                       ...

Wintergatan - Marble Machine: More info here .

I am thankful for: Signs that spring is around the corner. I saw a pair of Eastern towhees gathering nesting material, and a pair of mourning doves have been staking out the gardenia bush in the backyard. The daffodils and crocus are beginning to bloom. A relatively inexpensive fix to an unexpected car problem and a trustworthy mechanic. Laughter to help me unwind after some self-induced stress. My daughter, my closest friend and sister-in-Christ, who helped me work through my self-induced stress. I'm thankful for her patience and willingness to hear me repeat myself until I could let it go. I'm thankful for her wisdom in the Lord to point me to the truth. Fellowship at the pastor's house Sunday afternoon. Continuing discussion on Rosaria Butterfield's book, Openness Unhindered , amongst some of the middle-aged-and-up ladies. It's been challenging, thought provoking, and just plain fun to be together. A God who is unchanging and faithful, who holds ...

To oppose one class perpetually to another - young against old, manual labour against brain-worker, rich against poor, woman against man - is to split the foundations of the State; and if the cleavage runs too deep, there remains no remedy but force and dictatorship. If you wish to preserve a free democracy, you must base it - not on classes and categories, for this will land you the totalitarian State, where no one may act or think except as the member of a category. You must base it upon the individual Tom, Dick and Harry, and the individual Jack and Jill - in fact, upon you and me. Dorothy L. Sayers from Are Women Human? pg. 36. I am not a very political person, but I will be voting in my first primary today because my conscience demands it. I feel like I am in the middle of a bad movie - a dystopian farce where an entire nation is adrift in the Bermuda Triangle. We've lost our common sense, integrity, and moral compass, and now we must choose between a crook, a communist, ...