Tried With Fire

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.” Psalm 46:1-3. God’s people have a sure confidence. Other men build as best they may, but true Believers rest upon the Rock of Ages. Their confidence is altogether beyond themselves. In this song there is nothing about their own virtue, valor, or wisdom. The heathen moralist boasted that if the globe, itself, should break, his integrity would make him stand fearless amid the wreck. But the Believer has a humbler, though a truer reliance. Though the earth is removed, he is undismayed. And this does not arise from his own personal self-sufficiency, but from God, who is his refuge and strength. He is fearless, not because of his original stoutness of heart and natural firmness of will, but because he has a God to ...

I am thankful ... - For a break from the heat. - That the condenser fan decided to make a very loud squealing and grinding sound the day after it was 100 degrees. - For a home warranty to help cover the repair. - For opportunities to learn to rest in God's sovereign care. It is terrifying to think that you must make the right decisions or else. I am so glad I am in His hands and not my own. - When trials draw us closer to one another and to the Lord. - For the ordinary means of grace and the sermon series on this topic. - For the sure hope of heaven when all will be made right.

You had to be living under a rock to not know about the tragic killings in Charleston last week. You had to be made of rock to not be repulsed by this evil act and not be moved by the response of the grieving family. That a young white man presumably targeted African Americans has raised the ugly specter of racism in America yet again. Much has been written about this, and numerous opinions have been expressed in the media. I've read some of the pieces, but deep down I feel like an outsider. I am not white. I am not black. I am also a first-generation American. It's not that I don't have prejudice lurking in my heart; we all do, if we are honest. But I have not had to bear the burden of history on my shoulders that has weighed down generation after generation. There is a deep wound in the psyche of this country, and layers and layers of painful scar tissue have built up over time as there have been attempts at healing only to have the injury inflicted again. I try t...

"The foundation of God standeth sure."—2 Timothy 2:19. The foundation upon which our faith rests is this, that "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." The great fact on which genuine faith relies is, that "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us," and that "Christ also hath suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God"; "Who Himself bare our sins in His own body on the tree"; "For the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." In one word, the great pillar of the Christian's hope is substitution. The vicarious sacrifice of Christ for the guilty, Christ being made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him, Christ offering up a true and proper expiatory and substitutionary sacrifice in the room, place, and stead of as many as the Father gave Him, who are known to God by name, and are ...

Today is Charles Haddon Spurgeon's birthday. His sermons have probably had the greatest influence on my life, second only to my own pastor. In honor of this faithful servant of the Lord, here is the account of his conversion from his autobiography. I sometimes think I might have been in darkness and despair until now had it not been for the goodness of God in sending a snowstorm, one Sunday morning, while I was going to a certain place of worship. When I could go no further, I turned down a side street, and came to a little Primitive Methodist Chapel. In that chapel there may have been a dozen or fifteen people. I had heard of the Primitive Methodists, how they sang so loudly that they made people's heads ache; but that did not matter to me. I wanted to know how I might be saved, and if they could tell me that, I did not care how much they made my head ache. The minister did not come that morning; he was snowed up, I suppose. At last, a very thin-looking man, a shoema...

I am thankful for: - A working air conditioner especially when it hits 100 degrees in June. Thankfully, we have a reprieve from the heat today. - Wildflowers that somehow find their way to my yard. This plant is called a  hairy puccoon . Rather funny name, isn't it? The tall stalks will eventually be covered with yellow flowers. When it goes to seed, the goldfinches love them. - Book deals at Westminster Bookstore . You never know what treasures you will find in the clearance and imperfect section. - Opportunities to push back the effects of the fall in my every day, mundane life. - In a time when there is so much sorrow, tension, and division, I am thankful for the certain fulfillment of these verses. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their ha...