Tried With Fire

On the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, this is an opportunity to remind myself that God is faithful to... Preserve His Word. The decrees of kings and popes could not keep the Scriptures chained. Neither could they keep it only in a dead language for the few that could understand. Believers were (and still are) willing to die for this, and we are blessed today by their sacrifice. To borrow from my pastor, if you have an English language Bible on the shelf or on a device, you have benefited from the Reformation. Preserve the message of the Gospel and keep His people from error. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone by Christ alone. We are also saved by works but not ours . We are saved by the perfect, fully sufficient work of Jesus Christ. We add nothing. If you think the church-at-large has gotten this one down, think again. We will always need to be reminded of this truth because in every age there is the temptation to think that we contribute to wha...

Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 3:24 As soon as a repenting sinner is justified, remember, he is justified for all his sins. Here stands a guilty man. The moment he believes in Christ, he receives his pardon at once and his sins are no longer his. They are cast into the depths of the sea. They are laid upon the shoulders of Christ and they are gone. The man stands a guiltless man in the sight of God, accepted in the beloved. “What?” you say. “Do you mean that literally?” Yes I do. That is the doctrine of justification by faith. Man ceases to be regarded by divine justice as a guilty being. The moment he believes on Christ, his guilt is all taken away. But I will go a step further. The moment the man believes in Christ, he ceases to be guilty in God’s esteem! And what is more, he becomes righteous, he becomes meritorious—the moment when Christ takes his sins he takes Christ’s righteousness, so that when God looks upon the...

I am thankful for... ~ The sun breaking through the clouds after a brief shower. ~ A nice strong cup of British tea to burn off the brain fog. ~ Brothers and sisters who pray and stick with us through sorrow and joy. ~ Next year's theology conference. David Murray, author of Christian's Get Depressed Too , will be the speaker. I'm also thankful that more Christians are addressing mental illness. Praying that I will see the stigma go away in my lifetime. ~ The already in the midst of the not yet . There's so much beauty in the world and yet so much pain, but these contradictions drive us to the Lord. ~ God's ways are not my ways. It's only in hindsight that I can see a little bit of what He was weaving through my circumstances. In the same way, I don't know what He is doing in the lives of people I love. But I hold on in faith, even if it is the size of a mustard seed, and pray knowing that He is really the one who is holding onto us. Photo cre...

My pastor has started preaching through 1 Corinthians. They were certainly a messy group of believers, but lest I point the finger, they don't sound that different from the  21st century American church. But even with their warts (and there are some big, ugly ones), Paul makes the point of calling them saints. He is choosing to take the long view, knowing full well that this church has a lot of struggles ahead of it. But they will make it in the end, not because they figured it out and pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, but because God has the power to change and keep them. This Sunday, Pastor Ryan preached on 1 Cor. 1:10-17. The Corinthian church was dealing with division in their midst. They were aligning themselves to this teacher or that teacher. Some even thought they were taking the high ground saying they followed "Christ," but this wasn't about defending the faith. There is appropriate separation over doctrinal issues and sin, but this was about feeli...

(In light of the #MeToo hashtag and October being domestic violence awareness month, this is an update of a post from 2 years ago with a few edits and additions.) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  Genesis 1:27 If you asked me to define the sanctity of life, here it is: Since all human beings are made in the image of God, all human beings should receive dignity, respect, and the right to life. This applies to the born and unborn. This applies to male and female. This applies to all people regardless of their race or ethnicity. The sanctity of life is not based on the ability to function independently or even the value with which a person contributes to society at large. The sanctity of life is an issue of  personhood  because identity is individual and never subsumed by another person regardless of the relationship. I think this definition covers what most evangelical Chr...

I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplication. Psalm 116:1  It is an amazing thing that our hearts are often more affected by little than by great things. You may feed a child all the year round and never get its thanks; but give it a sweetmeat or an orange and you may have its heart and its gratitude! Strange that the bounties of a whole year should seem to be lost, while the gift of a moment is greatly prized. A little thing, I say, may often touch the heart more than a great thing. Now, how often have we, if we have acted rightly, taken little things before the Lord. I believe it is the Christian’s privilege to take all his sorrows to his God, be they little or be they great. I have often prayed to God about a matter at which you would laugh if I should mention it. In looking back I can only say it was a little thing, but it seemed great at the time. It was like a little thorn in the finger—it caused much pain and might have brought forth, at last, a g...

I'm posting at Out of the Ordinary today: The ease and speed of communication are wonderful things. When my daughter went on a trip this summer, I could track her flights in real time and expect an email on her arrival. There was no waiting for weeks on end for a letter assuring me she had safely crossed the ocean. Just a few clicks was all it took. But this ease and speed of communication have a downside. There are times when it seems as though all the bad news in the world comes scrolling across my screen. Tragedies both natural and instigated by man seem to pile on top of one another until it is overwhelming. When a particular story or issue strikes a chord, my heart aches, and I want to do something about it. But situations are too big and attitudes too entrenched for one woman to make that much of difference, which can lead to discouragement and even cynicism... Read the rest of the post here .

In order to get thoughts out of my head, I dashed off a post. Some of it was in righteous anger but some of it was not. The following is much better than anything I could have written because it directs my desire for justice to the One who is just and the One who will make all things right. Come, Lord Jesus. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4 (NASB)

What everybody believes is not always what's actually true. Commonly held opinions are frequently just plain false. Often we are persuaded by authority and repetition rather than by evidence and reality. This tendency to accept what surrounds us makes it difficult to separate what we really know from what we just believe we know... How can people, for thousands of years, believe false assertions that are easily disproved? Answer: Individuals tend to accept ideas if people they know and respect state or believe those ideas. You need to be very clear about the foundations of your opinions. If you believe something only because another person - even a professor - told you it was so, then you should not view your understanding as rock solid... Search for evidence and don't be satisfied until you know the why. The authors of the above quote use Galileo as an example. For nearly 2000 years, everyone believed Aristotle's idea that objects fall at a rate proportional to their ...

We watched the Calvinist documentary last night. For being only 90 minutes, the film covers quite a bit of ground. There's a very brief history of the Reformation and the 5 points of Calvinism. It also addresses the Young, Restless, Reformed movement at the end of the 20th century and future challenges to be faced. Given the number of confessional guys who were interviewed, I appreciated the shout-out to the historic confessions and that being reformed is more than TULIP alone. The film ends by encouraging believers that our faith is to be lived in the context of the local church. Overall I liked  Calvinist  because it was a walk down memory lane. I didn't fit the YRR demographic, but 10 years ago, I was searching for answers that my current theology could not give. I found those answers in the sovereignty of God and TULIP. John Piper was my gateway drug to reformed theology, and I spent time in the cage stage. I even have a modest collection of Christian hip-hop and dea...

He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings shall you trust.  Psalm 91:4.  [T]his text may be very blessedly applied to our souls, and I hope it will be, in times of expected trials. I do not know that it is right for us to anticipate trials at all. “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” We ought never to sit down and begin fretting ourselves about what may happen, because the ill we dread may never come to pass. Many a true servant of God has said to himself—“What shall I do when I get old? I am just able now to pick up a living, but what shall I do when these withered limbs can no longer earn my daily bread?” Do? Why, you will have the same Father then, as you have now to succor you, and you will have the same providence then, as now to supply your needs! You thank God for your daily bread now, and you shall have your daily bread then, “for He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings shall you trust.” Some of God’s servants who h...

We were encouraged in Pastor Ryan's sermon to pursue joy in God, in the Gospel, in the body of Christ, and as we live our daily lives. So in light of that, I am pursuing joy by thanking God for these things. What are you thankful for today? - A nice cup of PG Tips to warm me on a gray and rainy day. - The stillness of the hour. Even the birds are quiet at the moment. - Safety from a creepy, crawly, quarter-sized spider. For some reason, these extremely large spiders like building webs around my house. I nearly walked into two by my car a week ago. I was not so fortunate yesterday morning. I was running late and walked straight into a large sticky web. I had no idea if the spider landed on me or in my handbag. I didn't have time to do a search and reconnaissance, so I prayed that it wouldn't start crawling on me while I was driving, resulting in a fit of panic and a potential accident, or hide in the car only to be discovered later. Mercifully the critter was on the...

"Poets say science takes away from the beauty of the stars - mere globs of gas atoms. Nothing is 'mere.' I too can see the stars on a desert night, and feel them. But do I see less or more? The vastness of the heavens stretches my imagination - stuck on this carousel, my little eye can catch one-million-year-old light... Or see them [the stars] with the greater eye of Palomar , rushing all apart from some common starting point when they were perhaps all together. What is the pattern, or the meaning, or the why? It does not do harm to the mystery to know a little about it. For far more marvellous [sic] is the truth than any artists of the past imagined! Why do the poets of the present not speak of it?" ~ Richard Feynman I agree with the eminent Dr. Feynman that science does not detract from the beauty of nature. But I would add that knowing Who created it doesn't diminish the wonder of science. As David wrote in Psalm 19, "The heavens declare the glory of...

Whenever someone implies that there are multiple tiers to salvation, I get suspicious. It's mainly due to a "once bitten twice shy" reaction to the deeper life/early Keswick theology which informed 40 years of my Christian life. This is one teaching that will rob you of your assurance and confidence in Christ. Why? Because there is an "initial" salvation that gets you in the door - forgiveness of your sins, but you need to haul yourself to the next level by your surrender. The act of surrender also needs to be a surrender in itself because "you" aren't supposed to do anything. Only "Christ" can. This becomes such a mess of spiritual pulse-taking to check if you are sufficiently dead to yourself. It then produces an underlying fear that never goes away because if you don't reach the next level, your acceptance into the kingdom is at stake. This particular twist is courtesy of the partial rapture teachings of D.M. Panton, and G.H. Lang....

So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 (NASB) I do not think I can bring out the full value of this liberty by merely speaking of the evils which we are delivered from ; you know, beloved, freedom consists not only in a negative, but in a positive—we are not only free from , but we are free to . We hear of persons receiving the freedom of a city. This implies that certain privileges are bestowed. Now, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free, indeed,” in the sense of privilege—you shall be free to call yourself God’s child, you shall be free to say, “Abba, Father,” without rebuke, you shall be free to claim the protection of that Father’s house, and the provision of His bounty; you shall be free to come to His knees with all your trials, and tell Him all your griefs; you shall be free to plead His promises, and to receive the fulfillment of them, too; you shall be free to sit at His table, not as a servant is permitted sometimes to ...

How to defend your thesis:

Lynette English has written the story of her abusive marriage and how it was handled by two churches. One handled it well, but one did not. The differences between the two reveal how much Christians need to learn about domestic violence. Here are a few excerpts, but please read the entire article for yourself. Thank you, Lynette, for sharing this! From A Tale of Two Churches: Abuse and Protection of the Vulnerable in the PCA Like many abusive spouses, my seminary-trained husband shed seminary-trained crocodile tears. The church’s compassion for my husband and the desire to save my marriage superseded church discipline. I was called to a meeting with my associate pastor and the elder task force, and told that my husband really needed grace. Lots of grace. I was to go home, love that man to death, and show him the grace of God by my actions, and he would find that irresistible. He would be forced to change, because my kindness would lead him to repentance. (I know now that this a...

I am continuing my reading of A Brief History of Sunday by Justo Gonzalez. It's quite a page turner and has whet my appetite to read more church history. Here are some of my impressions after reading about the Middle Ages. This is the era that adopted the doctrine of transubstantiation - the Communion bread and cup become the actual physical body and blood of Jesus during the celebration of mass. This belief was widely held and spread via stories of a miraculous transformation before it was formally adopted as church dogma . So "popular piety and experiences in worship moved ahead of theological development." This doctrine changed the tone of mass from a joyous celebration to a "fearsome experience." In R.C. Sproul's lectures on Martin Luther, he described the young Luther as trembling and being barely able to speak when he performed his first mass for fear of mishandling the body and blood of Christ. This belief also changed how communion was served b...

Wendy Alsup wrote two posts ( part 1 & part 2) in response to the Nashville Statement. I agree with her concerns that the issue is bigger than just taking a stand against sexual immorality. The doctrine of Imago Dei is at stake: We are fighting now for an orthodox understanding not just of homosexuality, but of Imago Dei. What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be made in the image of God?...Who bears human dignity? How should they be treated? (part 1) In the 2nd part , Wendy examines Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology and a recent statement from John MacArthur. She comes away with the concern that -  it seems that image bearers need to respect role and authority to actually show God’s image. Practically speaking, if you are perceived as not respecting either role or authority in life, you go down the priority list for protection as an image-bearer. Folks who see image-bearing dignity mitigated by how well you respect role and authority tend to work in a...

“For we who have believed do enter into rest.” Hebrews 4:3.  How I love to think of this word! If the apostle had said, “We who have been eminently consecrated do enter into rest,” I could have wept over the text with shame and dismay. If he had said, “We who have been mightily useful, and earnest, and indefatigable in service, we do enter into rest,” I should have looked at it very wistfully, and have said, “I am afraid I shall never reach it.” But, “we who have believed !” Why, that will suit thousands here! It will suit some of you who have been mourning all week because you cannot be what you want to be, because you cannot serve God as you would like to do. “We who have believed.” So then the gate of the fold of rest, the pearly doorway into the New Jerusalem is simply belief in the Lord Jesus! What? Nothing else but believing ? I see nothing else in the text— nothing but believing. And what is this believing? Why it is a simple trust—it is a trusting upon Christ as ...