Tried With Fire

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, for he said, "Till now the Lord has helped us."  1 Samuel 7:12 2010 was a very full year.  At the end of '09, there was a certain amount of trepidation not knowing what the coming year would hold.  But there was no reason to fear.  In each circumstance, I had another opportunity to trust God rather than resort to the fear and anxiety that had been my default. To testify to His faithfulness, here are a few of my Ebenezer's for 2010: Our old house went on sale in January in a market with an 8-month glut of homes.  God gave us a contract towards the end of March.  This was without a doubt His kindness, because there are several homes in both our old and new neighborhoods that are still for sale.  We found our new home in less than a week,  moved in by the end of April, and are loving living here. My last court date was in July.  Even though ...

Tim Hawkins on prayer...

Not for my righteousness For I have none, But for his mercy's sake, Jesus, God's Son, Suffered on Calvary's tree -  Crucified with thieves was he -  Great was his grace to me, His wayward one. The two charges leveled against Jesus were blasphemy (that he had made Himself equal with God) and  treason (that He had rejected lawfully constituted authority). Why were these two charges so significant?  It was because these are the charges each of us faces before the judgment seat of God. In that court, I am guilty of blasphemy, because I have made myself rather than God the center of the universe. I am also guilty of treason, since I have sought to overturn His lawfully and graciously constituted authority over my life. Blasphemy and treason were also the crimes of Adam.  These are the age-old crimes of which every one of us - old and young, rich and poor, wise and simple, famous and infamous - stands accused.  We are on the same charge sheet.  We are all ...

I'm thankful for safe travel on Monday to bring my daughter home.  She's under the weather with the all-to-common cold, so I'm am very grateful we live in an era of Puffs, not in the era of handkerchiefs.  I'm so glad to have her home that it's a joy to take care of her in her sneezy and coughing state. I'm thankful for time to pray and consider the coming year.  There are areas in my life in need of discipline and prioritizing.  But I'm looking forward to tackling these issues and seeing what God's enabling grace will do.

My God has chosen me,  Though one of nought, To sit beside my King In heaven's court. Hear what my Lord has done O, the love that made him run To meet his erring son! This has God wrought. Until you have come to the end of the journey home to faith in Jesus Christ, it is likely that all you expect deep down from Christ is punishment.  But when the prodigal makes the journey, he discovers a family party.   The Gospels contain a number of references to celebrations and parties.  This is wonderfully expressive of Jesus' view of what it means to belong to the kingdom of God, to the fellowship of His people, and to the church that He was beginning to build.  We are invited to a celebration.  Yes, there is another side to the Christian life, and it is expressed here - deep sorrow for sin, repentance, and costly grace.  But joy in forgiveness is always there. The Christian life may appear form the outside to be a very sober way.  It is, in many respects...

(I stayed up quite late Christmas Eve so I could finish this book.   By Grace Alone is a warm, doctrinally rich book that clearly explains the facets of the grace of God as seen in the Gospel.  Dr. Ferguson's inspiration is a hymn, O How the Grace of God Amazes Me , written by Emmanuel T. Sibomana, an African pastor.  There was so much here that encouraged my soul.  Therefore, I'll be posting a brief excerpt from the 7 chapters, each based on a stanza of this hymn.) O how the grace of God Amazes me! It loosed me from my bonds And set me free! What made it happen so? His own will, this much I know, Set me, as now I show, At liberty How, then, does Christ set us free? John had answered that question earlier, in the most famous verse in his Gospel.  This God, this Father, so loved the world, this world in its sinfulness and bondage, that He sent His only Son into it.  He had only one Son, but He sent Him to die on a cross in order to save everyone who beli...

10 inches of snow After nearly 24 hours of snowing, I'm finally digging out.  We had a total of 10 inches by the front door, higher in other spots with drifting.  This may be small potatoes for other parts of the country, but this storm may have set a record in our neck of the woods.  After clearing off the car this morning, I drove very very slowly to the closest main roads.  Our street is 2-3 inches of packed slush, ice, and snow, but in 2nd gear I was able to safely navigate the few blocks out of the neighborhood.  The main roads are mostly clear, and the highway should be fine, thanks to a report from a neighborly police officer. Therefore, I will be venturing out this afternoon to get my daughter!  She is starting to come down with something, so I will glad to have her home to give her some TLC.  The sun is shining right now which will help to melt the ice. But we should enjoy the snow while we can as this week-end will be in the 50's! Yeste...