Tried With Fire

The peace of the true Christian is not a vague, dreamy feeling, without reason and without foundation. He can show cause for it. He builds upon solid ground. He has peace with God, because he is justified. Without justification it is impossible to have real peace. Conscience forbids it. Sin is a mountain between a man and God, and must be taken away. The sense of guilt lies heavy on the heart, and must be removed. Unpardoned sin will murder peace. The true Christian knows all this well. His peace arises from a consciousness of his sins being forgiven, and his guilt being put away. His house is not built on sandy ground. His well is not a broken cistern, which can hold no water. He has peace with God, because he is justified. He is justified, and his sins are forgiven. However many, and however great, they are cleansed away, pardoned, and wiped out. They are blotted out of the book of God’s remembrance. They are sunk into the depths of the sea. They are cast behind God’s back. They are ...

Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. Psalm 135: 6-7 When we were driving home from prayer meeting on Wednesday night, we were admiring the sun shining through openings in the gathering clouds. Shortly after we got home, it started to thunder and lightning. The storm only lasted about an hour. We didn't lose power so I thought it was a typical summer thunderstorm. When I looked at today's paper , I learned that the storm was so severe that it knocked four high tension power lines spanning the James River off 300 ft transmission towers . As you can see in the picture above, the dark lines going down into the water are the fallen power lines. The power of nature is an awesome thing. It's sobering to think that 85-90 mph hurricane force winds, strong enough to knock down thousands of pound...