Tried With Fire

The following excerpt is from The Happy Christian by David Murray, in which he tells the story of what happened in the checkout line at Walmart. He left this chapter to the end of the book because it may be the hardest for his readers. I appreciate his transparency because this is a hard confession to make: "Wouldn't it be much better if they weren't here? Yes, that's the question that arose in my mind. Followed by: What right do they have to be here? Which suddenly provoked an inner dialogue:     Hey, you're an immigrant yourself, Murray!    Yes, but I'm not a Mexican immigrant.    What's the difference?    Well, I'm white and speak proper English.    So what? Does that make you better than them?    Well, yes ... I mean, no ... I mean..." "It was an unforgettable moment of painful self-discovery. I had to face the facts. I was prejudiced. Racist even. It had been there all along, but it was being exposed in all it...

During the Theology Conference Q&A , Dr. Murray stated: At the core of all empathy and sympathy is humility, that you have something to learn from someone else... The first thing you want to do is just listen. I don't know about you, but this is the opposite of what I have done, which brought back memories for my daughter and me. I was not always the best listener nor the best learner when it came to helping her through some of her struggles. There are moments when she still feels sad over this, and I have more than my share of regrets as well. Thankfully this sadness does not mean that we have we have not reconciled nor forgiven one another. The sadness does not mean that our relationship isn't stronger and healthier, which it is by God's grace. But hurts take time to heal, and grief is part of that process. I don't whether it is just me or in the larger Christian culture, but it's hard dealing with sadness. It's a normal response to want someone to fe...

Dr. David Murray from Puritan Reformed Seminary was the speaker at our annual theology conference last weekend. We've had great speakers in the past, but this conference, in my humble opinion, has been the best. So many of us have been touched by anxiety/depression/mental illness either experiencing it ourselves or with someone we love. We want to help but often make it worse because we don't understand the complexity of the issue. Dr. Murray addressed our emotions, the good, the bad, our failures, and our identity but within the framework of who God is, who we are, and redemption. I am very hopeful that this will be the beginning of greater understanding and empathy in my family as we wrestle with some of these issues but also within our church.. Here are a few snippets that stood out to me: Emotions are pre-fall. However, we did not have negative emotions prior to the fall. Only positive ones. Our emotions are disordered because of the fall. However, God is redeeming ou...

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...

There is no doubt that this world is broken by sin. We have suffered in the past, and we probably will suffer some more before we are with the Lord. But we can't lose our hope. But Christian hope isn't speculation. It isn't weighing the statistics and counting on the odds coming out in our favor. It's not an emotional vibe that things will get better if we wish hard enough. No. Our hope is grounded on the promises in the rock solid Word of God. So here is a list from David Murray on the good we can count on as children of God: God will guide our lives. God will never leave us or forsake us. God will work all things together for our good. God will produce gold from our dross. God will sustain and provide in our weakness and helplessness. God will get us ready for heavenly glory. God will utterly defeat death, sin, and Satan. God will provide a new body in a new heaven and a new earth. The Happy Christian , David Murray, Nelson Books, 2015, pp. 93-94. ...

Larry Norman sang, " Why should the devil have all the good music? " 1 . Well I ask, why should prosperity preachers have the corner on happiness? The following list may not contain Creflo Dollar's  Lear jet , but I'll take it over a pricey, flying piece of metal any day. If this isn't good news, what is? We love and are loved by the one true and living God. God is our perfect Father. We know Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit is sanctifying and empowering us. Our sins are forgiven. We are justified and adopted into God's worldwide and heaven-wide family. We have all the promises of God. Everything is working for our good. God is our guard and guide. God lives in our hearts. Jesus has prepared a place for us and will welcome us there. 2 1. For the record, I didn't listen to Larry Norman, but I did like Petra . :) 2.  The Happy Christian , David Murray, Nelson Books, 2014, pg. xviii.

Jesus On Every Page by David Murray, Thomas Nelson, August 2013, 256 pages. Reading the Old Testament can be overwhelming to many Christians. We remember the exciting Sunday school stories, but there's so much we don't understand. Consequently, it's easy to skim or skip over the bulk of the Bible to get to the New Testament. But is this how we should treat God's Word? Jesus didn't think so. On the Emmaus road “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27) If this is true, which it is, shouldn't we expect to find Him on every page? Dr. David Murray begins Jesus On Every Page with his own Emmaus journey and discovery of Christ in the Old Testament. He then takes a look at what Jesus, Peter, Paul, and John say about the importance of the Scriptures, which did not include the New Testament at that time. After laying this foundation, he gives ten ways to find Jesus: Ch...