Tried With Fire

ht: Charles Purrrrgeon

I am thankful for: - Fun and fellowship at a baby shower for three moms-to-be. I'm also thankful I was able to finish sewing the baby blankets in time. - The Tuesday night ladies' group. We've had some great discussions, and the prayer support has been invaluable. These ladies have also challenged me to consider carefully what I read. On first reading, it's easy to get caught up in an author's idealism and not think critically. I'm grateful for constructive pushback from a different perspective. - God's grace during some recent emotional upheavals. - Lies and misunderstanding coming to the light and being laid to rest. - Truth of God's character. He is infinite. He does not have limited resources. He does not run out of love and care for His children. He does not change. He is not less just on this side of Calvary. He is no respecter of persons. - Perfect love that casts out fear.

O LORD OF THE OCEANS, My little bark sails on a restless sea, Grant that Jesus may sit at the helm and steer me safely; Suffer no adverse currents to divert my heavenward course; Let not my faith be wrecked amid storms and shoals; Bring me to harbor with flying pennants,                                         hull unbreached,                                         cargo unspoiled. I ask great things,   expect great things,   shall receive great things. I venture on Thee wholly, fully,    my wind, sunshine, anchor, defence. The voyage is long, the waves high, the storms pitiless,     but my helm is held steady,     thy Word secures sage passage,     the grace wafts me onward,     my haven is guaranteed. Thi...

ht: WEBS on FB

I had gotten Dr. Langberg's book thinking it would arm me for my fight against domestic violence and help others. But I assumed I was further down the road in my survivorhood than I really was. I am still very much in the process of healing, and I needed to read this: Returning to relationship after the shattering of trauma starts with the person we tell our story to. When we speak, we are heard. We are heard by someone who seeks to understand and feel with us. We are no longer isolated and alone in our suffering. However, we must eventually choose whether we will love again, care again, reach for another human being again. Trauma took away choice. Surviving and then telling our story returns that to us. We must choose what we will do with humans. We can hide, hate, or run from them, but then the trauma still has mastery.  Every act of kindness, every act of helpfulness, every act of forgiveness, and every act of love defies the trauma... Perpetrators of violence destroy trust...

HEAVENLY FATHER, My faith is in thee, My expectation is from thee, My love goes out toward thee, I believe thee,   accept thy Word,   acquiesce in thy will,   rely on thy promises,   trust thy providence. I bless thee that the court of conscience proves me to be thine. I do not need signs and wonders to believe,    for thy Word is sure truth. I have cast my anchor in the port of peace,    knowing that present and future are in nail-pierced hands. Thou art so good, wise, just holy,    that no mistake is possible to thee. Thou art fountain and source of all law;    what thou commandest is mine to obey. I yield to thy sovereignty all that I am and have;    do thou with me as thou wilt. Thou hast given me silence in my heart    in place of murmurings and complaints. Keep my wishes from growing into willings,          my willings from becoming fault-fin...

I applaud Dr. David Murray for tackling the subject of spiritual abuse in reformed circles . If we hold to a robust view of sin and holiness, it mocks our Lord and the truths we hold dear when leaders within the loosely reformed camp are characterized by pride, control, and bullying of anyone who disagrees with them. These things ought not to be. After reading Dr. Murray's post , this excerpt from Dr. Diane Langberg's latest book may shed some light on why we have this problem. I affirm the doctrines of grace and believe them to be biblically true, but rather than humbling me, I can become proud in my "rightness" and spiritual superiority. We joke about cage-stage Calvinism, and thankfully, it usually wears off in time. Or it may not, and that is a grave danger. As the verse says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Prov. 16:18 (KJV) A second possible scenario can be found when a group is not depressed and hungry but r...

Sexual abuse requires both deception and coercion or an abuse of power. The deception must first be of the self and then of the victim and the community. If it is to be covered up, then that deception and coercion must be continued by the system, which then is mimicking the perpetrator... When sin is exposed, it creates a crisis and crises do two things: they reveal character and they are also what we might call "separating" times. A crisis reveals character because in the moment of crisis, we do what we have been practicing. We display what we have been habituated. We demonstrate what or who we live in obedience to... A crisis is a revealing time. It reveals what is in the person who has come to you; it will reveal the heart of the one who is accused; it will reveal your heart to you; and it will reveal the heart of the structure or organization that is threatened by the truth. It is absolutely crucial that what is being revealed be seen and understood and responded to ...

Several years ago, I would have been thrilled to attend Together 4 the Gospel. I had no pretensions to being a pastor. I would have been happy just working in the bookstore. I was not young or restless, more middle-aged and sedentary, but I was caught up in the excitement of this new movement and would have loved to bask in the reflected glory of the leaders I admired. The thought of being with so many Calvinists, all talking the same talk was very heady stuff. And this was cool and doctrinally "right" to boot. Having come through a few difficult church situations, I was idealistic enough to believe that selfish ambition and putting an organization ahead of people would never happen. After all, we were Calvinists, and a good solid doctrinal foundation would guard us against such things. But as events have played out over the years and even this week , this has not been the case, and I have been grieved to tears. It's true that elders must be able to teach, but that is...

GOD OF ALL GOOD, I bless thee for the means of grace;    teach me to see in them thy loving purposes        and the joy and strength of my soul. Thou hast prepared for me a feast;    and though I am unworthy to sit down as guest,       I wholly rest on the merits of Jesus,          and hide myself beneath his righteousness; When I hear his tender invitation and see his wondrous grace,    I cannot hesitate, but must come to thee in love. By thy spirit enliven my faith    rightly to discern and spiritually to apprehend the Saviour. While I gaze upon the emblems of my Saviour’s death,    may I ponder why he died, and hear him say,    ‘I gave my life to purchase yours,       presented myself an offering to expiate your sin,       shed my blood to blot out your guilt,       opened my side to make y...

ht: Diane on FB

Growing up, I was very compliant for the most part. I did not make waves, and I did not ask questions, unlike Question Quigley. It may have been part of my ethnic culture or just my personality, but I never doubted what I was taught, whether it was in the classroom or from the pulpit. It also made life easier. In school, I was a model student who dutifully regurgitated the material for the sake of the grade. (Whether that was really learning is another matter.) In the church, I was a model sheep who went along with the rest of the herd, so there were no awkward conversations over doctrinal disagreements. But the time came when I had to ask some hard questions. Circumstances forced me to examine what I believed and why I believed it, and my belief system was found wanting. This resulted in a shift from my previous theological position, and for the first time in my life, I found myself at odds with other believers. Read the rest of the post here.

When the Doctrines of Grace found me, life was never the same. But in my enthusiasm for my new-found theology, I became a cage-stage Calvinist. I may not have been foaming at the mouth, but I was pushy and less than respectful toward believers who differed from me. Thankfully, the symptoms have subsided, but it's ironic that I was proud of being doctrinally "right" while affirming that it was all of grace. I also wonder if "cage-staginess" transfers to other Christian doctrines? The following is quote from Timothy George regarding the gender battles that have been raging in the church. I think his words are worth considering: 1. "What do I owe to the person who differs from me?" While we are not obligated to agree with that person, we do owe him or her love. As a result, we are to be good listeners, seeking to understand the person's aims and asking whether there is anything valid in his or her position. 2. "What can I learn from those ...

Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife: My Story of Finding Hope after Domestic Abuse by Ruth A. Tucker, Zondervan, 2016, 208 pages. In 1967, Ruth Tucker was a young college student. She attended a summer camp and met the ideal Christian single man - a tall, dark, and handsome Bible whiz, who felt called to pastoral ministry. She was swept off her feet, and the relationship quickly progressed to engagement and then marriage. On the surface, it seemed straight out of a fairy tale, but there were red flags that indicated something lurking beneath the surface. Those warning signs did not lie. Ruth found herself married to an abuser who professed the name of Christ and used the Scriptures to justify his abuse, hence the title of her book - Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife.  She endured 19 years of battering and humiliation at the hands of her ex-husband, often hiding her bruises with clothing. 1  After all, who would believe her? Who would believe that a pastor ...

1. Jesus, I my cross have taken, All to leave and follow Thee. Destitute, despised, forsaken, Thou from hence my all shall be. Perish every fond ambition, All I’ve sought or hoped or known. Yet how rich is my condition! God and heaven are still my own. 2. Let the world despise and leave me, They have left my Savior, too. Human hearts and looks deceive me; Thou art not, like them, untrue. O while Thou dost smile upon me, God of wisdom, love, and might, Foes may hate and friends disown me, Show Thy face and all is bright. 3. Man may trouble and distress me, ’Twill but drive me to Thy breast. Life with trials hard may press me; Heaven will bring me sweeter rest. Oh, ’tis not in grief to harm me While Thy love is left to me; Oh, ’twere not in joy to charm me, Were that joy unmixed with Thee. 4. Go, then, earthly fame and treasure, Come disaster, scorn and pain In Thy service, pain is pleasure, With Thy favor, loss is gain I have called Thee Abba Father, ...

Signs of spring... ht: Grammarly on FB