Tried With Fire

It is always encouraging to hear how God saved someone. Sometimes it is dramatic, and other times it is not. But for each believer, the hand of providence was at work placing him or her in exactly the right place at the right time to hear the gospel and be saved, not to mention the events that were orchestrated to lead up to that moment. No two stories are the same because God's providence is not a cookie cutter. Then why do we forget this when it comes to the varied circumstances God has placed us post salvation? If someone is single - Why aren't you married? Don't you want to be married? If you are married - Why doesn't your marriage look like x ? If you are married without children - Why don't you have any children? If you have children - Why do you only have n number? Why don't you have more? Why do you so many? Why aren't you educating them like this ? I'd rather listen to my pastor on 1 Corinthians 7. Paul's thesis can be summed up...

He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him: for He said, I am the Son of God. Matthew 27:43 Let a man trust in God, not in fiction but in fact, and he will find that he has solid rock under his feet. Let him trust about his own daily needs and trials, and rest assured that the Lord will actually appear for him, and he will not be disappointed. Such a trust in God is a very reasonable thing; its absence is most unreasonable. If there is a God, He knows all about my case. If He made my ear He can hear me, if He made my eye He can see me, and therefore He perceives my condition. If He is my Father, as He says He is, He will certainly care for me, and will help me in my hour of need if He can. We are sure that He can, for He is omnipotent. Is there anything unreasonable, then, in trusting in God that He will deliver us? I venture to say that if all the forces in the universe were put together, and all the kindly intents of all who are our friends were put toget...

Far too often, it feels easier and safer to see only what we want to see. Fear of jeopardizing some overarching political, religious, financial or other ideology — or even just losing friends or status — leads to willful ignorance of what is right in front of our own eyes, in the shape and form of innocent and vulnerable children. Ask yourself: How much is a child worth? Yesterday, Rachael Denhollander wrote an Op-Ed for the New York Times . She has drawn a line in the sand regarding how organizations handle child abuse specifically, but this can apply to all forms of abuse. How will Christians and the church-at-large respond? She writes, "I lost my church" because of her advocacy. On the one hand, this is shocking. How could followers of Jesus do this to a sister-in-Christ? On the other hand, this is no surprise at all. Talk to survivors and advocates, and we can give you instances of being shut down and given the back hand of fellowship. But her words also give hope. Mayb...

I've already linked to Rachael Denhollander's victim impact statement. Please watch it in its entirety or read the transcript . Don't just watch the last section as recommended in The Gospel Coalition post. Why? "It requires no effort for us to borrow and appropriate our favorite excerpts from her statement, but she paid for the ability to say what she said at the end with blood, sweat, tears, sacrifice, rejection, exposure, humiliation, profound loss, and more. The power of the final part of her address rests fully in a sober reckoning with everything that preceded it. If we listen, it’s obvious that it’s not just Larry Nassar who needs to repent; it’s not just Larry Nassar who requires forgiveness."  Rachael Denhollander's Victim Impact Statement: Why We Need to Read the Whole Thing - Judy Wu Dominick "What do both insiders and outsiders see when they examine us? Do they see growth? Purity? Love? Plenty of naïve Christians have committed sexual...

It is only right and good to honor the strength and courage of Rachael Denhollander and her fellow survivors who disclosed all they suffered at the hands of Larry Nassar . He was sentenced to 175 years in prison, which sends a clear message of the heinous nature of his crimes. However, his is not the only reckoning. If you listen to the victim impact statements, there were repeated calls for Michigan State University and the US Gymnastics Association to be held accountable for their inaction and creating a climate where an abuser could have easy access to his victims. There have been calls for the resignation of the president of Michigan State University with resultant wagon circling. But as of last night, Lou Anna Simon resigned. I truly hope the church-at-large is taking notes because we don't have a spotless reputation when it comes to dealing with child abuse or abuse of any sort nor when it comes to standing with the victims. It would be hypocritical to applaud Nassar's...

If you are looking for the role model for a godly woman, here she is: WATCH LIVE: Victims of ex-USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar are continuing to speak in court during the 7th day of his sentencing hearing; Nassar will also be sentenced today https://t.co/KWY1pm3GPO pic.twitter.com/IyqpNJWGZp — CBS News (@CBSNews) January 24, 2018 ht: Wade Mullen on Twitter Update 3:48 pm - Complete video of victim impact statement. ht: Jacob Denhollander I strongly encourage you to listen to Rachael Denhollander's entire statement. She has demonstrated strength, courage, and dignity, but not just for herself. She opened the door for other victims to walk through and reclaim their voices that had been silenced for so long.  I hope Rachael's and the other victim impact statements will stop churches or Christian organizations from thinking they can deal with abuse in-house or worse, criminally and sinfully cover it up. I also hope this will cause those who, perhaps unwitting...

"When you believe that the brokenness of this world can be not just ameliorated but fixed once and for all, then people who don't share your optimism, or who do share it but invest it in a different system, are adversaries of Utopia. (An "adversary" is literally one who has turned against you, one who blocks your path.) Whole classes of people can by this logic become expendable - indeed, it can become the optimist's perceived duty to eliminate the adversaries." 1 This quote from How to Think is spot on. It is easy to become so invested in what is believed to be the "right way" of doing things that any disagreement is seen as a threat. Arguments are shot down and any disagreers are shut up and labeled with the appropriate pejoratives. (see Argument as war ) Perhaps the issue isn't optimism in general but one that is untempered and attempts to circumvent the consequences of the fall in this life. Rather than facing circumstances as they a...

Whatever excellences you may have, and you have many in the sight of men, yet if you are under that covenant of works your comeliness is turned into corruption. “This do and you shall live,” is no promise to you now, seeing you have failed to do , but it becomes to you a curse because of your transgressions. But there is another and a better covenant, which is not a covenant of works at all, but of free, rich, sovereign grace. It was made of old with Christ the second Adam, our better Covenant-Head. Its tenor was on this wise—He shall obey the Father’s will, actively and passively He shall do and suffer the will of the Most High, and in doing so He shall save those whom the Father has given Him. A great multitude inherits the reward of Christ’s perfect obedience, for, being chosen by God, and having the Lord Jesus to be their Representative, they are made to live by His fulfilling and honoring of the law. The great question for each one is—Am I under that new covenant? That covenan...

ht: Deb W.

I'm posting at Out of the Ordinary today. "This was also the first time I said goodbye to my parents wondering how many more times I would be able to see them in this life., and it hit me hard. As we were driving home, I grieved for my parents. Dementia is so cruel because it robs a person from the inside out, and it inflicts such loss, not just on the sufferer but on the surrounding family too. But as I was praying, I asked myself - is this life and its eventual deterioration all my parents have to look forward to? And as I asked the Lord to comfort us, the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism came to mind: What is your only comfort in life and in death?" Read the rest here .

I'm honored to share this post at Kaleoscope . This was written with prayer and tears because it strikes close to home.  "Do you promise to love, to cherish, to honor, to obey, forsaking all others, in sickness as well as in health, in adversity as well as in prosperity, for better or for worse, and to cleave only to him/her so long as you both shall live?" These are beautiful words, but they convey more than sentiment. This a solemn promise of commitment to one person for the rest of your life. While this vow does not mean there will be no struggles, this promise includes working together through the difficulties, holding fast, and seeking the good of one another no matter the circumstances. These vows are positive promises  to do  something. To love, cherish and honor... However, if you look at the flip side, these vows are promises  to not do  as well. Do you promise to not demean, to not forsake, and to not abuse? Do you promise to not abandon ...

Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do you know not now; but you shall know hereafter. John 13:7 Our not being able to know what the Lord does should never shake our confidence in Him. I hope, dear brothers and sisters, our faith in Christ does not rest upon our capacity to understand what He does! If so, I fear it is not faith at all, but a mere exercise of self-conceited carnal reason. Some things which the Lord has done bear upon their very forefront the impression of His infinite love, but I hope you know enough of Him now to be able to believe that where there are no traces of His love apparent to you, His love is as surely there. I rejoice in that part of my text which runs thus, “What I do.” This washing of the feet was not being done by Bartholomew, or Nathanael—it was the personal act of the Lord Himself. Now, when the Master and Lord is doing it, who needs to raise a question or to suggest an inquiry? It must be right if He does it—to question His conduct would be an...

When my pastor was preaching on Revelation 9, he mentioned that a popular Christian author interpreted the locusts in this passage as modern-day helicopters. Hmmmm. He then went on to say that if this indeed was correct, how would it have been possible for the historical church to accurately interpret this passage prior to the invention of the helicopter? Bingo! Why would the Apostle John write a portion of Scripture to local churches in Asia minor that would be next to impossible for the original recipients to understand correctly let alone the rest of the church prior to the 20th century? It makes no sense at all, but this is what happens when we ignore the historical context and read our current situation into the text. Unlike the song, we are not the world. Then what about this? In Total Truth, Nancy Pearcey has documented that the 1950's concept of womanhood has its roots in the Victorian era . This was a byproduct of the Industrial Revolution when men began to ...

I wrote this nearly two years ago prior to the T4G 2014 conference. A shadow was cast upon that event because of an alleged coverup of child molestation by the leaders of Sovereign Grace Ministries. The person in question was convicted, so the abuse was real. However, there were still unanswered questions about how the situation was handled and the lack of accountability of those in authority. Here we are two years later with another T4G conference slated in April, and recently a pastor "confessed" to a sexual "incident" (his words) with a minor when he was her youth pastor. This was statutory rape. Period. The response of his church to his "confession" was a standing ovation. As a friend put it, "Don't people realize this was a crime ?!"  I wish I didn't have to ask these question, but I will ask them again. Several years ago, I would have been thrilled to attend Together 4 the Gospel. I had no pretensions to being a pastor. I woul...

Another story has come to the light of a youth pastor who allegedly sexually assaulted a minor in the past. In light of #metoo and #churchtoo, the issue of abuse isn't going away and it shouldn't. The church of Jesus Christ should be a safe place, but sometimes it isn't. Wolves come in disguised as sheep or shepherds. Sometimes our naiveté or unwillingness to learn about these issues makes Christians easy prey. Stories like this make me angry especially when there is a coverup involved. So these are thoughts that have been going through my head that I need to get out. - One victim speaking gives courage to others, which has led to arrest and conviction of predators. Isn't it better that criminals are brought to justice? Isn't it better that darkness comes to the light? - If rehabilitating the abuser is important to you, what about the victims? What will it take for them to go on with their lives? Are you giving them the same care and concern? - If there is a ...

For we who have believed do enter into rest. Hebrews 4:3 Trusting brings rest. This is a simple truth of God, and yet it is a truth we need to remember, consider, and be assured upon! Peace does not come to the believer through his works; he ought to have works, he will have them if he has the life of divine grace within his heart. He should attend to baptism, to the Lord’s Supper, and to all Christian ordinances, but he does not get rest through these. The rest comes through his God-given faith , not through the ordinances. “Means of divine grace,” men call those ordinances, and some have gone to great lengths as to what comes to us through sacraments—but I say most boldly that the apostle goes to greater lengths in another direction, namely, in neglecting to say anything in such a case as this about baptism, or the Lord’s Supper, and in laying all our rest at the door of believing ! “We who have believed.” He is of the same mind as our Lord Himself, when He declares that who...

I am thankful for... Snow! Our area is under a blizzard warning with possibly 8-10 inches of snow. It started last night and will continue through this afternoon. We have about 5 inches now by my guesstimate, but I couldn't get the front screen door open because of the drift. My office closed today, so this gives me a chance to get caught up with the work that piled up when I was on vacation over Christmas. I'm also thankful I can work from home, as neighborhood roads never get plowed, and we won't get above freezing until Monday. Heat. The thermostat acted up on Sunday evening and wasn't tripping the furnace. Thankfully, it started working again. Family. We spent Christmas with extended family. We had a wonderful time eating lots of good Chinese food, talking, laughing, crying, and praying together. It's a challenge assisting aging parents make some difficult decisions. I am especially thankful for my sister and brother-in-law and the countless ways look ...