Tried With Fire

1. O heart bereaved and lonely, Whose brightest dreams have fled Whose hopes like summer roses, Are withered crushed and dead Though link by link be broken, And tears unseen may fall Look up amid thy sorrow, To Him who knows it all 2. O cling to thy Redeemer,Thy Savior, Brother, Friend Believe and trust His promise, To keep you till the end O watch and wait with patience, And question all you will His arms of love and mercy, Are round about thee still 3. Look up, the clouds are breaking, The storm will soon be o'er And thou shall reach the haven, Where sorrows are no more Look up, be not discouraged; Trust on, whate'er befall Remember, O remember, Thy Savior knows it all Words by Fanny Crosby, Music by Christopher Miner

ht: You're All Just Jealous of my Jetpack

I am thankful for: - A visit with family last week. As we traveled, the corn and soy bean fields on the Eastern Shore were bright green against the blue sky. We were able to spend almost every day with my elderly parents. I am thankful God has kept them all these years, and His grace is sufficient for the remaining days He has for them. I'm grateful that my sister and brother-in-law live close by, so they are able to help them in more ways than I can count. We also got to see extended family we hadn't seen in 2 years. We ate far too much food and had a wonderful time. - Getting caught up with work. Even though I have been typing like a busy little beaver (sorry for the mixed metaphor), I am thankful that I had a job waiting for me when I got back home. Lord willing, my pile will be completed by this weekend. - New Sunday school series on the Doctrine of Christ. Our church has a summer pastoral intern from Westminster California. It's been good to be reminded of Chr...

"Divine grace is the sovereign and saving favor of God exercised in bestowing blessings upon those who have no merit in them and for which no compensation is demanded. Nay, more; it is the favor of God to those who not only have no positive deserts of their own, but also who are thoroughly ill-deserving and hell-deserving. It is completely unmerited and unsought, and is altogether unattracted by anything in or from or by the objects upon which it is bestowed. Grace cannot be bought, earned, nor won by the creature. If it could be, it would cease to be grace. When a thing is said to be of "grace" we mean that the recipient has no claim upon it, that it was in no wise due him. It comes to him as pure charity, and, at first, unasked and undesired. The fullest exposition of the amazing grace of God is found in the epistles of Paul. In his writings "grace" stands in direct opposition to works and worthiness, all works and worthiness, of whatever kind or degree. This...

So if they did a video for Baptists, would it show green bean casseroles?

This promise and announcement the fulfillment of the New Testament fully satisfies. In this respect also, the unity or oneness of God is the point of departure of all revelation. But out of this oneness the difference in the Divine being now, in the New Testament, comes into much clearer light. This happens first in the great redemptive events of incarnation, satisfaction, and outpouring, and next in the instruction of Jesus and His apostles. The work of salvation is one whole, a work of God from beginning to end. But there are three high moments in it, election, forgiveness, and renewal, and these three point to a threefold cause in the Divine being: that is, to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The very conceiving of Christ already shows us the threefold activity of God. For while the Father gives the Son to the world (John 3:16), and while the Son Himself descends from heaven (John 6:38), that Son is conceived in Mary of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20 and Luke 1:35). At His b...

My kind of wookiee... ht: @wikirabbits on Twitter

"Here, just as the Father has authority over the Son in the Trinity, so the husband has authority over the wife in marriage. The husband's role is parallel to God the Father and the wife's role is parallel to that of God the Son. Moreover, just as Father and Son are equal in deity and importance and personhood, so the husband and wife are equal in humanity and importance and personhood. And, although it is not explicitly mentioned in Scripture, the gift of children within marriage, coming from both the father and the mother, and subject to the authority of both father and mother is analogous to the relationship of the Holy Spirit to the Father and Son in the Trinity." pp. 256-257. S ystematic Theology by Wayne Grudem, Zondervan, 1994. "The relation of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then, is one of glorious harmony. Each has his work to contribute, and each does this in recognition of the authority and submission order that is true among these Persons. Th...

"In short: the Word, the promise, the covenant, which the Lord gave to Israel at the exodus from Egypt, have existed throughout the ages, and still stood fast even after the Captivity in the days of Zerubbabel, so that the people had no need to fear (Haggai 2:4-5). When the Lord led Israel out of Egypt He became the Savior of Israel. And this disposition of God towards His people came to expression in the fact that in all their oppression He was oppressed (He regarded the affliction of His people as His own affliction), and that He therefore sent them His Angel to preserve them. He redeemed them by His love and grace and He took them up and carried them as His own throughout those days of old. He sent them the Spirit of His holiness in order to lead them in the ways of the Lord (Isa. 63:9-12). In the days of the Old Covenant, the Lord through the high priest laid His threefold blessing on the people of Israel: the blessing of vigil, the blessing of grace, and the blessing of peace...

This is a repost, but given the latest news, it's worth the reminder: Worry is one of my besetting sins. It can cover a wide range of subjects - immediate family concerns, the election in less than 2 weeks, or what's really happening in Tehran. I begin to worry because I don't like unknowns, and I don't like feeling out of control. To compensate, I often try to keep tabs on all the possible variables that could affect the outcome,  deluding  flattering myself into thinking that I can at least be mentally prepared for what could occur. But this is cold comfort. There are too many factors beyond my scope, and as I consider what is outside of my control, the needle on the worry meter goes up. I have a less-than-robust background in the absolute sovereignty of God, so I could use that as an excuse. But even wholeheartedly embracing that doctrine, my thoughts of God are often "too human", as if He who sits in the heavens "laughs nervously and wrings Hi...

"Of greater significance is the teaching of the Old Testament to the effect that God brings everything in His creation and providence into being by His Word and Spirit. He is not a human being, who, at the cost of great difficulty and exertion, makes something else out of the materials He has at hand. Instead, simply by the act of speaking, He calls everything into being out of nothing. In the first chapter of Genesis we are taught this truth in the loftiest way possible, and elsewhere, too, it is expressed most gloriously in word and song. He speaks, and it is done; He commands, and it stands fast (Ps. 33:9). He sends out His word, and melts the morsels of ice (Ps. 147:18). His voice is upon the waters, shakes the wilderness, causes the hills to skip like a calf, and discovers the forests (Ps. 29:3-10). Two truths are contained in this exalted account of God’s works: the first is that God is the Almighty One who has but to speak and all things leap into being, whose word is law...

How to fool people into thinking you're smart: