Tried With Fire

It's the last day of 2012. God has been good every day this year and good in ways that go far beyond material blessings. Worry still creeps in tempting me to doubt His steadfast love, but by His grace, I am determined to remember past Ebenezers, trust Providence for the present, and look forward to eternity. Life is very different from what I imagined it would be. In some ways it is harder and in other ways so much better. But if Christ died to only give us our "best life now", we would be the most pitiful people on earth so I ain't buying what you're selling,  Mr. Osteen. (1. Cor. 15:19) Because of the gospel, we have something awaiting us that will more than make up for every earthly loss. So Ms. Worry, here's a good dose of eternity to send you packing: They don't sing, "You are worthy to open the scroll, because you always gave your children everything they ever asked for. You gave them nice houses and good jobs; you gave them good children, a...

I'm about 3/4 of the way through Lost in the Middle: Midlife and the Grace of God by Paul Tripp.  This is the second book I've read by Tripp and it's very good and very convicting an d not just for the middle-aged. This quote is taken from the chapter 7  Painful Faith: God's Story and Suffering which references 1 Peter 1. What are trials? They are God's boiling pot. When we came to Christ we are dross corrupted Christians. We are carrying around inherent corruptions inside of us that rob us of our strength and beauty. So God, in the grandeur and faithfulness of redemptive love, boils us. The difficulties that come our way are not a sign of his unfaithfulness or inattention. No they are an indication of his love. He knows that we are not yet what we were meant to be.  He has dug us out of the mine, but we need to be refined. Now why is this so hard for us to deal with? I am convinced it is because we tend to live with a destination mentality. We want life to...