Tried With Fire

No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11 Many say that they can trust God for eternal life, but cannot trust him for daily bread. This is an utter mistake... If God gives to the beast his food, will he not maintain his children? Daily bread is in your Father's power, and he will certainly give it to you. You may with confidence expect daily supplies. They are from the Lord's free grace and mercy...  We should say with every morsel of bread, 'This is God's gift to me'; of every night's sleep, 'This is the Lord's goodness.'  God is pleased when we acknowledge these outward things. Thomas Manton  Works , I:157-161,  Voices from the Past , Richard Rushing, ed., Banner of Truth Trust, 2009, pg. 154. (emphasis mine)

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart. Psalm 119:2 It is not those who just hear the Word, but do it. Many have the Word in their mind and memory, but no in their lives. The truly blessed men are those that consider it a great obligation to obey it. God takes into sweet fellowship and communion those who keep his commandments. He will manifest himself in an intimate and gracious communion. The whole Trinity will come and dwell in his heart (John 14:23). We might consider two ways to keep God's commandments: legal and evangelical. By legal, I mean keeping them in perfect, absolute obedience. If this were intended, no one would be blessed. The best of believers have failures in obedience. By evangelical obedience, I mean someone who in love and sincerity seeks to obey fully, but enjoys the gracious pardon for his failures. The apostles had many failures, yet Christ speaks of them to his Father, 'They have kept your word' (John 17:...

Therefore, brothers... we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.  Hebrews 10:19 Jesus appears before God for us - representing us continually before his Father - and mark: not only has Jesus this liberty to enter into heaven, but unto all the saints, and that not only at death but in their life time. All of us, not only when we die, but now we have boldness to enter. The veil is rent, and now we have the privilege to come freely to converse with God. O, what a great privilege is this that we have a Father in heaven! Though we do not have personal access till death, yet by the blood of Jesus we may come with boldness presenting ourselves before the Lord with all our needs and desires. The great distance between heaven and earth shall not hinder our communion with God, since we have a friend above. Therefore it is very comfortable now to say: 'Our Father in heaven', that is, our gracious and reconciled Father, in and by Christ. Since we have a Father...