Sunday, 13 May 2012
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Then Abigail made haste (complacency & devotion)
A few days ago (see here), I blogged on an excerpt from Andrew Fuller's sermon "The Instances, the Evil Nature, and the Dangerous Tendency of Delay, in the Concerns of Religion." Fuller's Bible text was Haggai 1:2 (KJV) "Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built."
Along with Zechariah, Haggai was one of God's prophets sent to rebuke God's people who'd returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon in 537 B.C. (Ezra 5:1ff). Though God's people continued to delay year after year in completing the building the temple of the Lord, God's house – they were able to find the time, energy and resources to build and furnish and decorate their own houses! Should not God's people be first and foremost concerned with God's house? Sadly, the house of the LORD remained in ruins and unbuilt for over twenty years; the temple building was finally completed in 516 B.C.
In contrast to that negative example of sluggish indifference about spiritual matters, we find the positive lively and engaged example of Abigail, a woman who made haste to obey the will of the LORD.I Samuel 25:2 Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.
4 When David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep, 5 David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. 6 And thus you shall say to him who lives in prosperity: ‘Peace be to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have! 7 Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we did not hurt them, nor was there anything missing from them all the while they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.’”
9 So when David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David, and waited.
10 Then Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master. 11 Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?”
12 So David’s young men turned on their heels and went back; and they came and told him all these words. 13 Then David said to his men, “Every man gird on his sword.” So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went with David, and two hundred stayed with the supplies.
14 Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master; and he reviled them. 15 But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, nor did we miss anything as long as we accompanied them, when we were in the fields. 16 They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the time we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore, know and consider what you will do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that one cannot speak to him.”
18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, five seahs of roasted grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her servants, “Go on before me; see, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
20 So it was, as she rode on the donkey, that she went down under cover of the hill; and there were David and his men, coming down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has repaid me evil for good. 22 May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I leave one male of all who belong to him by morning light.”
23 Now when Abigail saw David, she hastened to dismount from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground. 24 So she fell at his feet and said: “On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant. 25 Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent. 26 Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, since the Lord has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now this present which your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For the Lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord, and evil is not found in you throughout your days. 29 Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling. 30 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, 31 that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”
32 Then David said to Abigail: “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand. 34 For indeed, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hastened and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal!” 35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice and respected your person.”
There's so much to this account (and you can read the conclusion of the story for yourself in your own Bible), but my main emphasis here is our need to be making haste when it comes to matters pertaining to Christ and His Kingdom. May God give each of us grace to examine ourselves rightly through His Holy Spirit in conjunction with His Word (Heb. 4:11-13, II Cor. 13:5, Psalm 139:24-25).
Can we rightly claim we love Christ and His Kingdom, and can we honestly say Jesus Christ is our first Love, if we continue to delay and procrastinate and not make haste regarding spiritual matters?
Let's look back and remember how the Lord's prayer begins:Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Christianity is first and foremost not about us but about our God and about His glory and His will being done and His name being exalted. And until we line up our own priorities in that manner like Abigail did, we will show ourselves fools like Nabal ("Nabal" means fool), and we will not be happy. So long as we keep hastening to hallow our own names and to insist upon doing our own will, we will show ourselves to be fools like Nabal, and we will not be happy. So long as we are not single-eyed and whole-hearted toward our God, we will not be happy. In contrast, our Lord spoke these words to us: Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
If we're not unreservedly giving all we are and all we have to Christ's service, then are we really Christ's? The Lord knows those who are His.10 Then Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master. 11 Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?”
Can we say we are the Lord's if we are not walking in way of our Lord, if we are not seeking to be about our Father's business and delighting to do His will, and if we are not offering ourselves as living sacrifices to God and praying the way our Lord did at Gethsemane, "Not my will, but Yours, be done"?
In his sermon, "The Instances, the Evil Nature, and the Dangerous Tendency of Delay, in the Concerns of Religion," Andrew Fuller doesn't mince words, but gives us this strong exhortation:"To put off things to another time implies a lurking dislike to the things themselves. We do not ordinarily do so, except in things wherein we have no delight. Whatever our hearts are set upon, we are for losing no time till it is accomplished. If the people of Judah had "had a mind to work," as is said of them on another occasion, they would not have pleaded that the time was not come. Sinful delay, therefore, arises from alienation of heart from God; than which nothing can be more offensive in his sight.
"But, further, it is not only a sin, but a sin of dangerous tendency. This is manifest by the effects it produces. Precious time is thereby murdered, and valuable opportunities lost, and lost beyond recall!
"That there are opportunities possessed, both by saints and sinners, is plain from the Scriptures. The former might do abundantly more for God than they do, and might enjoy much more of God and heaven than they actually enjoy; and no doubt it would be so, were it not for that idle, delaying temper, of which we have spoken. Like the Israelites, we are slothful to go up to possess the good land. Many are the opportunities, both of doing and enjoying good, that have already passed by. Oh what Christians might they have been before now, had we but availed ourselves of all those advantages which the gospel dispensation and the free exercise of our religion afford us!"
In other words, if we do not love to be engaged in the work of God, if we do not make haste to do His will, how can we say we love the God who loved us and worked for us while we were powerless and helpless, the God who showed His love for us by sending His Son to die for us while we were yet sinners, the God who loved us first? Can we say our hearts are drawing close to God if we shrink back from doing the things that are near to His heart? How are we murdering precious time rather than redeeming precious time? Are we living like the strangers and pilgrims that we are in this world, or instead are we hastening to set our affections on the things of this temporal world, while having little affection and zeal for God Himself and devoting little to no attention to eternal matters?
Wise women make haste for the joy of others and for the blessing of God
In I Samuel 25, the Hebrew word used in verses 18, 23 and 34 (as well as 42) for made haste and hastened is mahar (pronounced maw-har'): a primitive root; properly, to be liquid or flow easily, i.e. (by implication); to hurry...make speed, speedily, straightway, suddenly, swift (from Strong's Concordance).
In contrast to Nabal who thought and acted like a fool, Abigail's showed herself wise, with her heart and mind being full of God's truth and God's wisdom, and that truth and wisdom bubbled up and swiftly overflowed! Her faith was a living faith, which produced good works, including good words to restore David's soul.Proverbs 18:4
The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;
The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.
In this case, the words of one woman's mouth, the mouth of Abigail, were deep waters! The name Abigail means father (i.e. source) of joy. Can't we see how Abigail was a God-ordained wellspring of joy to David, a flowing brook which graciously streamed down to David through Abigail from the Father of lights in order to keep David from sin?
That picture of the wellspring brings to mind Jesus' words in John 7:37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
Also, these words from James 5:19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.Abigail's zeal to make haste to obey the Lord kept David from sinning and suffering the ill consequences of a hasty, foolish reaction.Proverbs 18:21
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
What if Abigail had delayed? What if she hadn't hastened to obey the will of the LORD for her? What if she'd shrunk back from speaking these words of wisdom which David was so needing to hear? What if she'd not resolved to speak all the words of life God had given her? What if she bowed to her husband, instead of bowing to the will of the Lord? In that regard, let's remember that Jesus said He did not come to bring peace on earth but a sword (Matthew 10:34-39). Jesus Himself had a taste of such conflict within His only earthly family, for even own His brothers did not believe in Him for a time (see John 7:5).
(Now, don't get me wrong, and don't misunderstand me here –– as Christian wives, we are called to submit to our husbands, and all of us are submit to the authorities God has sovereignly ordained over us. However, at the end of the day, Jesus Christ is Lord of lords, and we must obey God rather than men. Each one of us must prayerfully seek God's leading and wisdom in her own particular family or work or government situation, and trust that God's commandments to us are not burdensome, and our God will never give us more than we can bear and He will supply our every need through the riches of Christ Jesus.)
Ah! David certainly loved the fruit of life that flowed from Abigail's tongue, did he not? Reread verses 32-35 and see how David himself overflowed with blessing for God, blessing for Abigail's advice, and blessing for Abigail herself!
Just as Abigail was sent by God to restore David and to bear fruit in his life, we as Christians are sent on a mission. As the Father has sent Me, I also send you... God's commandment to Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Similarly, God's intent is for each of us as believers to bear fruit, fruit that will last and fruit to God's glory by the power of His Holy Spirit who works in us (John 15, Galatians 5). The Church is designed to be a fruitful vine, a fruitful field (e.g. - Isaiah 5, 27, & 32). The great commission has been given to the Church so the Gospel might be preached to the ends of the earth, so disciples might be made of all nations who will bow to and sing praise, honor, glory to the Lamb who was slain to the glory of God the Father. In II Corinthians 5, Paul reminds us that all Christians are God's ambassadors sent to all the nations with the message of reconciliation: that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, the one Mediator between God and men, God, the Lamb of God who has come to redeem and rescue lost sinners and bring them back to God. God's intent is that the knowledge of the glory of the Lord is to fill the earth as the waters cover the seas (Hab. 2:14). How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!Isaiah 55
5 Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the Lord your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you...
12 For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are God's means for His Word to run very swiftly to the end of the earth.Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.Psalm 147:15 He sends out His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly.
The Hebrew word for "very swiftly" is mherah, derived from the word maher, whose root is mahar, the same word meaning made haste and hastened in the account of Abigail! Just as Abigail made haste, we must be praying and doing all we can to see that God's Word would run swiftly and be glorified throughout the earth...2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.¹
The means of God's Word running swiftly is by God's people offering themselves and their praises and prayers and their substance be focused on given to Him to be used used as He wills.Psalm 72
12 For He will deliver the needy when he cries,
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will spare the poor and needy,
And will save the souls of the needy.
14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
And precious shall be their blood in His sight.
And He shall live;
15 And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him;
Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
And daily He shall be praised.
Abigail is numbered along with Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna (Luke 8:1-3) among the countless other women throughout the ages who have been faithful to make sacrificial provision for the Lord's work out of their own substance. It is God's desire that His Word to run swiftly and to spread and to be glorified throughout all the earth –– and though we know God's people and God's Word will meet with opposition (He told us that in the world, we shall have tribulation – just as our Lord Himself faced tribulation), but in the end God's sovereign plan will not be thwarted for He works all things according to the counsel of His will.Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.Psalm 72
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!
19 And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
(Isaac Watts)
Rise up ... you complacent daughters (and sons)!
There are too many women (as well as men) who are not making haste when it comes to seeking, savoring, and serving Christ and being about His business. How quickly we are seduced into preoccupation with self and with worldly matters rather than with God and with His eternal purposes!
Through Isaiah, God issued this stern warning and rebuke to the women in Isaiah's day who had been complacent for far too long about spiritual matters:Isaiah 32
9 Rise up, you women who are at ease,
Hear my voice;
You complacent daughters,
Give ear to my speech.
10 In a year and some days
You will be troubled, you complacent women;
For the vintage will fail,
The gathering will not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent ones;
Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare,
And gird sackcloth on your waists.12 People shall mourn upon their breasts
For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers,
Yes, on all the happy homes in the joyous city;
14 Because the palaces will be forsaken,
The bustling city will be deserted.
The forts and towers will become lairs forever,
A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks—
(See also Isaiah 3:16-26.)
Of course, such warnings weren't only given to the women, but also to the men:Zephaniah 1
12 “And it shall come to pass at that time
That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
And punish the men
Who are settled in complacency,
Who say in their heart,
‘The Lord will not do good,
Nor will He do evil.’
13 Therefore their goods shall become booty,
And their houses a desolation;
They shall build houses, but not inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine.”
It's easy for us to look at others and to point fingers, but we each need to look at ourselves and how we spend our time, our resources, and our energy on any given day – or, as we look back over the past year, we need to ask ourselves: How much of all of that time have I been focused on Jesus Christ and the cause of Christ in the world? Have I been wasting my life, or have I been redeeming the time? I may worship God with my lips on Sunday morning, but where is my heart? My checkbook? My facebook? Has Christ been my best thought by day and by night? Does He fill my vision? How much time do I spend looking in the mirror? In contrast, how much time do I spend gazing upon Jesus Christ? Am I more concerned with external beauty than internal beauty? How much effort am I making to grow in grace so I might become more and more conformed into the image of Christ? Do I pant and long after the living God, or do I see any time spent with God in His Word and in prayer as only an obligatory chore? Do I ever become lost in wonder, love, and praise? Does my worship of God conclude after leaving church on Sunday morning, or does it extend throughout the entire week? Am I keeping my lamp burning? Am I seeking to purify myself as God is pure? Am I longing to be holy as he is holy? Am I delighting in His will for me? Like Abigail, am I making haste to obey in all God commands me, or am I picking and choosing and only doing what is comfortable and convenient for me?
If you have seen yourself as guilty of sinful complacency, will you confess and repent and ask for God's Spirit to strengthen you to answer Jesus' challenge to you, so you might you rise up and out of your complacency. Or, do you wish to continue to remain mired in your complacency and bring reproach to the name of Christ and continue to waste your life (and Christ's life which dwells in you).
Who will be valiant for truth? (Jeremiah 9:3)
It baffles me how out of all of David's 600 men, not one of them came to David with the advice he needed. Now it's true we don't know the hearts of these men, but we do know they had committed themselves to David at the risk of incurring King Saul's wrath. However, we do know this: Abigail was not complacent, and she did make haste. What a wonderful privilege God gave her: to make haste to serve God's anointed king, David, the man after God's own heart!
It grieves me that multitudes of MEN in the Church are sitting back today and are settled in their complacency. I say that I am particularly grieved over the men for this reason: in God's divine design, our Good Shepherd has entrusted the care, guarding, and feeding of His blood-bought flock to men (not women). And now we have witnessed generation after generation after generation of men who have not been valiant for the truth and men who have not spoken up when they saw false teachers and error beginning to slip in and infiltrate and grow like a cancer within the dear flock of God –– and today we are reaping what we have sown: denomination after denomination are falling one after the other dominoes! Denominations which were at one time sound have now tumbled headlong into blatant apostasy! The words of Jeremiah 6:15 and 8:12 are being played out in front of our eyes: They were not at all ashamed; Nor did they know how to blush. Their lampstands are now being taken away! Sin is not only justified and excused away, but sin is now being glorified. Sexual promiscuity and perversions are now protected and boasted in. The authority of God's Word has been undermined, and everyone does what is right in his own eyes. Jesus Christ has been lowered to the status of just a good teacher rather than the only begotten Son of God and the propitiation God set forth for the salvation of sinners. Penal substitution is considered cosmic child abuse. The doctrine of hell has been discarded for deadly universalism. The sovereign right of God to be gracious and merciful to whom He wills is considered heretical teaching. The doctrines of the new birth and regeneration have been usurped and exchanged for so-called "decisional regeneration." What is counted as fellowship is all but starved of true spiritual conversation about the Bread of Life. We are in an age where we are rivaling the strange fire of Nadab and Abihu (Numbers 26) and the corrupt priesthood of Eli's sons (I Sam. 2).
In the Old Testament, God showed His merciful kindness to Judah, the Southern Kingdom, as He gave Judah a clear warning as she was able to watch Assyria carry away her sister Israel, the Northern Kingdom, into captivity due to their sinful idolatry. But tragically, in spite of that warning, Judah became even more corrupt than Israel (see Ezekiel 23). We find ourselves in a eerily similar situation today. Many of us who are in evangelical churches have witnessed the slide in other denominations, and we may have turned a blind eye for we have tended to think we are safe and such things wouldn't ever happen to us. And so we stand with our heads in the sand, and we sit smugly in our pews week after week. May God open our eyes to the dangers that are lurking. The devil will continue to prowl under Christ returns again and all things are put under His feet once and for all. We must make haste and not be foolish and complacent. We must be ever-diligent and on guard. We must keep watch and test all things. Sin lies at our door, and its desire is for us! Before we know it Ichabod may well be written over the doors of our own congregations and our own denominations!Proverbs 1
32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
And will be secure, without fear of evil.
My friends, should we not be alarmed about these things and make haste? Where are the pastors and elders who are sounding the alarm and weeping between the porch and altar? Should it not grieve our hearts that many are now calling good evil, and evil good, putting darkness for light, and light for darkness, and putting bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter (Isaiah 5:20)? Should our eyes not be a fountain of waters (like Jeremiah)? Has not God has charged His shepherds to contend for the faith, guard the Gospel, and feed the flock of God with the truth of God? One day these men will stand before the Chief Shepherd to give an account.
And women, know this: you too will be held to account. We will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ! As women, we are not called to be pastors and elders, but there are opportunities given to us to speak truth, and we must not shrink back. Along with men, we must be studying to show ourselves approved. Do not turn your brains off and make the fatal mistake of thinking studying theology is only for men. Psalm 111:2 The works of the Lord are great, Studied by all who have pleasure in them. Press on to know the Lord. How can you love our God well if you do not make every effort to know Him well? We are to love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength AND all our mind!
We are all commanded to speak the truth in love to one another; that's part of our calling within the Body of Christ. You may also have your own children and/or be entrusted with the care of other children, or you may be discipling those who are younger in the faith than you. Each lamb is precious to Christ and needs to be fed with the pure milk of God's Word.
You never know when God might put you into an Abigail situation. No, you won't be speaking to David, the anointed king of Israel, but you may be called upon to speak truth to a God-appointed pastor or leader of God's flock, and as you do so, you will be serving Christ, THE King of Israel! All the while, we must make haste to make every effort to equip ourselves and then to make haste to go when and where God calls, and to make haste speak what God commands. Consider how Abigail herself made haste, how she went boldly and quickly and without hesitation to speak with David because she feared, revered, and loved God and His servant David, the beloved of God (the name David means "beloved"), and she had a holy ambition to see David's kingdom prosper for she knew that would be for his joy as well as for her joy. Can we say we have such fear, reverence and love for THE Beloved of God, the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you have a holy ambition to see God's Christ and His Kingdom prosper and thrive and expand throughout the world for Christ's joy, for the joy of His elect, and for your joy?
"Of what great consequence will my services be?"
As we look at accounts such as Abigail's and other Biblical figures and then turn and look at ourselves in comparison, we're often tempted to ask the question, "Of what great consequence will my services be?"
Andrew Fuller addressed and answered that question in his Circular Letter from 1785, "Causes of Declension in Religion, and Means of Revival":"If, when an army goes forth to engage the enemy, every soldier were to reason with himself thus — Of what great consequence will my services be? it is but little execution that I can do; it will make but very little difference, therefore, if I desert or stand neuter — there are enough to fight without me, — what would be the consequence? Would such reasoning be admitted? Was it admitted in the case of the Reubenites, who cowardly abode by their sheep-folds while their brethren jeoparded their lives upon the high places in the field? Was not Meraz cursed with a bitter curse because its inhabitants came not forth to the help of the Lord in the day of the mighty? Judg v. 15, 16, 23. If an army would hope to obtain the victory, every man should act as if the whole issue of the battle depended upon his conduct: so, if ever things go well in a religious view, it will be when everyone is concerned to act as if he were the only one that remained on God's side.
"We may think the efforts of an individual to be trifling; but, dear brethren, let not this atheistical spirit prevail over us. It is the same spawn with that cast forth in the days of Job, when they asked concerning the Almighty, "What profit shall we have if we pray unto him?" At this rate Abraham might have forborne interceding for Sodom, arid Daniel for his brethren of the captivity, James also must be mistaken in saying that the prayer of a single, individual righteous man availeth much. Ah, brethren, this spirit is not from above, but cometh of an evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God! Have done with that bastard humility, that teaches you such a sort of thinking low of your own prayers and exertions for God as to make you decline them, or at least to be slack and indifferent in them! Great things frequently rise from small beginnings. Some of the greatest good that has ever been done in the world has been set a going by the efforts of an individual. — Witness the Christianizing of a great part of the heathen world by the labours of a Paul, and the glorious reformation from popery began by the struggles of a Luther.
"It is impossible to tell what good may result from one earnest wrestling with God, from one hearty exertion in his cause or from one instance of a meek and lowly spirit, overcoming evil with good. Though there is nothing in our doings from which we could look for such great things, yet God is pleased frequently to crown our poor services with infinite reward. Such conduct may be, and often has been, the means of the conversion and eternal salvation of souls; and who that has any Christianity in him would not reckon this reward enough? A realizing sense of these things would stir us all up; ministers to preach the gospel to every creature, private Christians, situated in this or that dark town or village, to use all means to have it preached, and both to recommend it to all around by a meek and unblemished conversation."
In addition to those Fuller cited, we could mention many, many others. Let's not forget Namaan's wife's servant girl or Queen Esther or Deborah. We never know when the scepter might be extended our way and what surprising good work God may have ordained to accomplish through us.Leviticus 26:8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.
We are the aroma of life leading to life to those who are being saved, and the aroma of death leading to death to those who are perishing (II Cor. 2). We're not ever guaranteed success (as we might be tempted to define it), and we may never come to see any great visible results of our labor, but God has promised us our labor in the Lord is not in vain (I Cor. 15:58), and, as we sow in tears today, the day will come that we will carry home sheaves with rejoicing (Psalm 126)! God has promised His Word will not return void, but will accomplish the purpose He has intended and it will prosper in the thing for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11).
I Samuel 14:6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.”
Though we will not receive the world's commendation (and we should not seek it!), and though we may not get to enjoy the fruit of our labor in our lifetimes, we can be sure as we make haste to obey the Lord's will and to serve Him and His interests, Jesus Himself will say of us:She has done what she could (Mark 14:8).
... for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.
Like the sinful woman (in Luke 7:36-50), as our eyes are opened to the exceeding sinfulness of our sin in contrast to God's holiness, we are profoundly humbled as we see our unworthiness, and we begin to grasp the greatness of God's love for us and exult in and magnify the unmerited, unconditional, and undeserved love, mercy, and grace of God poured out for us on Calvary! And that's when our religion begins to transform from cold, heartless Pharisaical service to the realm of fiery, fervent, extravagant, and selfless devotion to Christ which was exhibited by the sinful woman and Abigail. O! the breadth and length and depth and height of the love of God for us in Christ Jesus! What wondrous love is this! And it is then that we begin to enter that point the apostle Paul wrote of in II Corinthians 5 – the love of Christ constrains us! Though we will have lapses, the love of God has truly captured and captivated our hearts, and Christ has become that love divine, all loves excelling! We become like the Shulamite woman who cries out for her Beloved, "I am sick of love!" We press on to know Him for we have now been given a glimpse of His all-surpassing worth! And we cry out with the Psalmists ~ O! Who is a God like unto Thee! To be near to You is for my good! Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere! We truly begin to know Jesus Christ as our all-satisfying portion and our great reward!
Luke 7:47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.
because the king's business required haste...
The book of Hebrews was written to encourage the Jewish believers who were on the verge of becoming sluggish:Hebrews 6:9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. 10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
In Revelation 2 and 3, our Lord stands in the midst of seven New Testament churches and gives them His assessment. In Revelation 3, we read these words which Jesus spoke to the churches at Sardis and Laodicea:
1 ... “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead...
15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth..."
If we are not making haste regarding the things of God, are we really alive to God and to the things of God? If we are not making haste like Abigail, are we in fact lukewarm, and in real danger of having the Lord Jesus Christ vomit us out of His mouth? May God protect us against such deadness and lukewarmness, and by the grace of God at work in us, may we walk in the way of Abigail, and may this be our testimony:
I made haste, and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
... because the king’s business required haste.
(Psalm 119:60, I Samuel 21:8)
¹ HT: I was first made aware of that connection between II Thes. 3:1 & Psalm 147:15 in listening to Michael Haykin's message Expecting the Spirit. Afterwards, I found the same linkage in other Bible resources, e.g. - see http://bible.cc/2_thessalonians/3-1.htm.
Related:
The Dangerous Tendency of Delay (Andrew Fuller)
postcards from England: "The Burden for Revival" (ML-J)
Resurrection Day: Don't Waste Your Life (Lecrae) | Whose Life is it anyhow?
Reformation Rebels: Are you willing to be a rebel for the sake of the Church?
every brand snatched is a brand dispatched ~ Reflections on 9/11, Redemption & God's Mission
Is your ambition holy? / What are you living for? (Louis Paul Lehman) | The Christian's Aim
Are you robbing God? Where is God telling you to "Rise and go!" for the joy of others?
adopting God's purpose for the nations is for your joy & His glory
the infinite significance of the eternal Kingdom
Lent V. - You follow me! (Are we steadfastly setting our faces to His will?)
Lenten Reflections: "Is it not written...?" Mark 11:15 | the Biblical means of revival
Bible Reading-Mark 4: (6) Kingdom-Obsessed People persevere in scattering seed
They went everywhere gossiping the word; shouldn't we also? (Acts 8:4)
Advent #4 WHY HAS JESUS COME? "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword"
My Mother's day posts
Romans 12:1-2 ~ Ann Hasseltine Judson: a willing sacrifice – Are you?
Thank you, Noël Piper (Thank you, pastor's wives)
Bible Reading: I Corinthians 15 & 16: Would we stand firm for 38 years?
What Is ... Making a Difference? Bible Reading: 2 Kings-Two Daughters of Eve Make a Difference
Father's Day ~ William Carey & his son | duty, risk & the obedient Son
my desire: "fearless and uncompromising" like Duncan Campbell, Moses, and Paul
God uses men with "no outstanding abilities"
by the grace of God you can be the greatest you that ever lived
Her Eyes Were Still Restrained ~ "When it looks like he is buried for good..."
As the Visible Disappoints
Beauty
Outcast vine, faithless bride ~ What beauty? What did you see?
Get gnawing, put your nose down in the Book to feed the white-hot flame of God's gift
"Garbage In" (Are you truly His disciple?)
Linger, linger, linger – so you might know God's love
Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Please note: the current version online at Biblegateway.com differs from my version. If you notice on the website in the text for the I Samuel 25 passage, the words for haste in verses 18, 23, and 34 (also 42) are all different. As I cited above, it is the same Hebrew word in every instance as well, so the repeated words serve to emphasize more fully Abigail's hastening.
Image credits (All CC BY-SA 3.0 / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}):
Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Escalante-abigail.jpg
Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jesus_Anointing.jpg
Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antonello_da_Messina_036.jpg
Tuesday, 08 May 2012
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"Your business is to trust, and go forward." (Edward Payson)
After posting Andrew Fuller's words about The Dangerous Tendency of Delay in the concerns of religion last night, this morning the Holy Spirit brought these words of Edward Payson to my heart:Your business is to trust, and go forward.
Through that loving Fatherly discipline, I was strongly encouraged to trust and to go forward. Job 5:17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: 18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. Psalm 16:7 I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
To explain... over the past several weeks, on many, many occasions, I've been tempted to distrust and to shrink back, rather than to trust and to go forward. I'd fallen headfirst into the deadly snare of fixing my eyes on the visible obstacles and impossible situations – instead of setting my affections on the invisible God Who can do the impossible.
I love the Bible, and God has provided many, many encouragements to me through His Word. However, once again, I must take the opportunity to commend to you the reading of well-chosen Christian biography. Though the words are not infallible and inspired as the Scripture is, the Holy Spirit can take the stories and the words of the saints and use them to strengthen and refresh our weak and thirsty souls, for these men and women are part of that great cloud of witnesses which surrounds us.*
Here's the full context of Payson's words (from "Memoir, Select Thoughts and Sermons of the Late Rev. Edward Payson, Volume 1" by Edward Payson (1783-1827) and Asa Cummings, 329-330, emphasis mine). Please note: though Payson's words were written to a man who is called to the ministry of Gospel preaching, they are helpful and applicable to any believer who is struggling to press on in obedience to the will of God in the face of great temptations and difficulties. If you're not struggling today, soon enough you will be. Though Satan is a defeated foe, he still prowls and seeks to work us woe!
To a brother, who shrunk from his duty, through depression of mind, and an erroneous opinion of his own qualifications for the ministry. Lest any should use the authority of Dr. Payson's name to urge men to assume the sacred office without the requisite qualifications, it ought to be stated, that the person addressed in the following letter, besides possessing decided piety, had passed through a regular course of preparatory studies at a theological seminary:
"My dear brother: Your letter found me more than ordinarily hurried; but I feel it to be so important that you should be licensed this fall, that I must snatch a moment to answer it. Your feelings, as you describe them, are just like mine, only less aggravated by long continuance. I mention this that you may pay more regard to my advice. I am as certain that it is best for you to take license immediately, as I can be of any thing. Rely upon it, that, if you delay, your difficulties will increase, and you will feel more and more as if it as impossible to preach. Your only safety lies in placing yourself in circumstances which will make exertion necessary, and which will secure divine assistance. Never mind your infirmities. You have nothing to do with them. Your business is to trust, and go forward. If you wait till the sea becomes land, you will never walk on it. You must leave the ship, and, like Peter, set your feet upon the waves, and you will find them marble. Christ is a good Master. He won't suffer you to sink; and you will, at length, glory in your infirmities. I would not give up the precious proofs which I have received, in consequence of my weakness, of his power, faithfulness, and love, for all the comforts of good health. But be assured, that, if you remain as you are, Satan will weave a net round you, which you will never break. Every mental and religious effort will become more difficult and painful; your mind will be like the body of a rickety child; you will live a burden to yourself and friend, and die without the consolation of having been made useful. This would infallibly have been my fate, had I not been thrust into the ministry before I well knew what I was about. Yet you see I have, somehow or other, been carried along, and so will you be. Do not then, my dear, dear brother, stand hesitating. A feeble, nervous man must not deliberate, but act; for his deliberation will not be worth a straw, but his activity may be, and probably will be, useful both to himself and others.
"When Christ told his disciples to feed the multitude with five loaves, they did not hesitate, and say, Lord, let us first see the bread multiplied; if we begin and have not enough, we shall be put to shame; but they distributed what they had, and it increased with the distribution. So you will find it. You just, therefore, go forward. There is no reason why you should not. If you delay, indolence will steal upon you, and bind you in chains, which you will never break.
"I charge you, then, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to be up and doing. There are fifty places in this State [Maine], where the most unconnected things, which your lips could utter, would do good, and be well received. You have no conception by what apparently feeble means God often works wonders. Let the next tidings I hear from you be, that you have crossed the Rubicon; or, rather, let me see you here forthwith, in the character of a preacher."Matthew 16:9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
The God Who calls us to walk on the water, will sustain us to walk on the water,
no matter how high the waves, no matter how deep, how broad, how cold, or how turbulent the water may be!
Can the height or depth or breadth or chill or turbulence of any water separate us from
the height and depth and breadth and warmth and steadfastness of Christ's love for His elect?!
Our time of insufficiency is a God-ordained opportunity for us to come to know Christ Himself as our sufficiency!
II Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of GodO, for a Faith That Will Not Shrink
(Words: William H. Bathurst, Psalms and Hymns, 1831)
O, for a faith that will not shrink,
Though pressed by every foe,
That will not tremble on the brink
Of any earthly woe!
That will not murmur nor complain
Beneath the chastening rod,
But, in the hour of grief or pain,
Will lean upon its God.
A faith that shines more bright and clear
When tempests rage without;
That when in danger knows no fear,
In darkness feels no doubt.
That bears, unmoved, the world’s dread frown
Nor heeds its scornful smile;
That seas of trouble cannot drown,
Nor Satan’s arts beguile.
A faith that keeps the narrow way
Till life’s last hour is fled,
And with a pure and heavenly ray
Lights up a dying bed.
Lord, give me such a faith as this,
And then, whate’er may come,
I’ll taste, e’en here, the hallowed bliss
Of an eternal home.
O, for a faith that will not shrink!
Luke 17:5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
Mark 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith,
With men it is impossible, but not with God:
for with God all things are possible.
May the Holy Spirit impart to us understanding
and bring to our remembrance the five loaves of the five thousand,
and how many baskets were taken up,
so we might trust in God and go forward in faith
and expect to receive divine assistance as we go.
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name,
he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance,
whatsoever I have said unto you.
Isaiah 54:4a Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded;
for thou shalt not be put to shame...
On what water is Jesus bidding you to walk?
Will you ask Him to strengthen your faith to trust Him more, so you might go forward?
Please note: Today's post is an edited/adapted version of a post I originally published here on October 2, 2011.
* Please check out John Piper's biographical messages. God used these to whet my appetite for reading Christian biography, and I pray God might use them similarly in your life if you've not yet come to appreciate the treasure of Christian biography.
Related posts...
on Christian biography...- Why read Christian biography? To help us examine our love for God.
- "Who wants candles when he has the sun?" ~ Edward Payson | letter 124 on assurance & joy
- "if I would but cease struggling ... I might be happy" (Edward Payson)
- "Happy are they who can say..." ~ J.C. Philpot | Letter 139 on assurance & fighting for joy
- Happy Birthday, John Piper ~ reflections on year-ends, aging, fruit bearing & Christian hedonism
- Romans 12:1-2 ~ Ann Hasseltine Judson: a willing sacrifice – Are you?
- In which circle do you take your stand? ~ Hewitson's holy ambition ~ Are you a true disciple?
- In loss and grief ... "You maun just go the mair to Jesus." ~ James Laing
on God's sufficiency...
- by my God I can leap over a wall (Psalm 18:29b)
- your resolution - "Divine Intervention" by Lecrae
- Naphtali News: God speaking to me about my failures & the one thing needful
- Why not pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit
- trusting the eagles' wings (reliance on the Holy Spirit)
- Blessed dependence ~ "Leaning upon her beloved"
- "As your days, so shall your strength be"
- "Dependence" by William Cowper
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Po_vodam.jpg | {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}
Monday, 07 May 2012
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The Dangerous Tendency of Delay (Andrew Fuller)
Andrew Fuller passed into glory on this day in 1815. Fuller, a Calvinist pastor, was instrumental in correcting the errors of hypercalvinism (which had led to a squashing of the missionary enterprise). As a result, the modern missionary movement was unleashed in the late 18th century, beginning with William Carey. The following is an excerpt from Fuller's sermon, "The Instances, the Evil Nature, and the Dangerous Tendency of Delay, in the Concerns of Religion," given on April 27, 1791:
"Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built." — Hag. i. 2. [KJV]......
We see many things that should be done; but there are difficulties in the way, and we wait for the removal of these difficulties. We are very apt to indulge a kind of prudent caution, (as we call it,) which foresees and magnifies difficulties beyond what they really are. It is granted there may be such things in the way of an undertaking as may render it impracticable; and, in that case, it is our duty for the present to stand still; but it becomes us to beware lest we account that impracticable which only requires such a degree of exertion as we are not inclined to give it. Perhaps the work requires expense; and Covetousness says, Wait a little longer, till I have gained so and so in trade, till I have rendered my circumstances respectable, and settled my children comfortably in the world. But is not this like ceiling our own houses, while the house of God lies waste? Perhaps it requires concurrence; and we wait for every body to be of a mind, which is never to be expected. He who through a dread of opposition and reproach desists from known duty is in danger of being found among the "fearful, the unbelieving, and the abominable."
Had Luther and his contemporaries acted upon this principle, they had never gone about the glorious work of the Reformation. When he saw the abominations of popery, he might have said, These things ought not to be; but what can I do? If the chief priests and rulers in different nations would but unite, something might be effected; but what can I do, an individual, and a poor man? I may render myself an object of persecution, or, which is worse, of universal contempt; and what good end will be answered by it? Had Luther reasoned thus -- had he fancied that, because princes and prelates were not the first to engage in the good work, therefore the time was not come to build the house of the Lord -- the house of the Lord, for any thing he had done, might have lain waste to this day.
Instead of waiting for the removal of difficulties, we ought, in many cases, to consider them as purposely laid in our way, in order to try the sincerity of our religion. He who had all power in heaven and earth could not only have sent forth his apostles into all the world, but have so ordered it that all the world should treat them with kindness, and aid them in their mission; but, instead of that, he told them to lay their accounts with persecution and the loss of all things. This was no doubt to try their sincerity; and the difficulties laid in our way are equally designed to try ours.* * *
How has the Lord been calling you to build His house?
What difficulties have been laid in your way?
What excuses have you been giving to delay obeying the Lord's will for you?
Have you been more consumed about the state of your own house than the Lord's house?
Do you have any burden at all for the Lord's house to be rebuilt?
Years ago we sat under a pastor who exhorted us with these words:
"Delayed obedience is disobedience."
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
(James 4:17)May God give each of us grace to examine ourselves rightly. May we soberly consider our ways, and may we tremble as we consider that any sinful delay on our part not only robs God of glory but also robs Him of His pleasure...Haggai 1:1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.” 3 Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”
Our Lord's commandments are not burdensome (I John 5:3). Our God is not a hard taskmaster, but for each and every commandment, our God has promised to richly and fully provide all we need to obey His commandments.Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
I Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
HT: http://baptisthistoryhomepage.com/fuller.a.sermon.delay.html for the text of Fuller's "Delay..."
Related posts:- postcards from England: "The Burden for Revival" (Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
- the lost treasures of Christianity & the call to pray for revival (Bible reading: Ezra 1)
- More revival resources: opportunity and eyes to see the ruins, a burden from God
- "Consider your ways" (Haggai 1)
- who is your master? (Bible Reading - Matthew)
- what's your price? (Bible reading - Matthew 26:14-16)
- a story of God and mammon: "the Lord's Calf" from Martyn Lloyd-Jones
- Lent V. - You follow me! (Are we steadfastly setting our faces to His will?)
- Is your ambition holy? / What are you living for? (Louis Paul Lehman) | The Christian's Aim
- Are you robbing God? Where is God telling you to "Rise and go!" for the joy of others?
- adopting God's purpose for the nations is for you joy & His glory
- the infinite significance of the eternal Kingdom
- Are You Working on the Wall? (redemption, spiritual gifts, the glory of God, joy & holy ambition)
- every brand snatched is a brand dispatched ~ Reflections on 9/11, Redemption & God's Mission
- Resurrection Day: Don't Waste Your Life (Lecrae) | Whose Life is it anyhow?
- Neck check (Bible reading: Nehemiah 3)
- 200 years ago ... Adoniram & Ann Judson ~ Don't waste YOUR marriage
- Lenten Reflections: "the Son of Man must suffer many things" ~ what about us?
- Father's Day ~ William Carey & his son | duty, risk & the obedient Son
- Prayer & Revival in Ireland (R.A. Torrey) & Livingstone in Africa: Are we in our closets?
Related resources:- Brief biography of Andrew Fuller
- Tons of information on Andrew Fuller is available through the Baptist History Homepage via this webpage: http://baptisthistoryhomepage.com/fuller.andrew.index.html
- The Andrew Fuller Center
- Michael A.G. Haykin's biographical message on Andrew Fuller: Sweet Sensibility: Andrew Fuller's Defense of Religious Affections
- John Piper's biographical message on Andrew Fuller: Holy Faith, Worthy Gospel, World Vision
Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Work found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Andrew_Fuller.jpg / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Public domain
Saturday, 05 May 2012
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The Song of the Speckled Bird (Rejoicing in God's sovereign goodness to the senseless)
Jeremiah 12:9: Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird...
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on Jeremiah 12:"Some make her a speckled, pied, or motley bird, upon the account of their mixing the superstitious customs and usages of the heathen with divine institutions in the worship of God; they were fond of a party-coloured religion, and thought it made them fine, when really it made them odious. God's turtle-dove is no speckled bird."
Matthew 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Hosea 7:11 (NKJV)
Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without sense—
Hosea 7:11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria. 12 When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard. 13 Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me. 14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me. 15 Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me. 16 They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.The Song of the Speckled Bird
(Rejoicing in God's sovereign goodness to the senseless)
Your holy name I have despised
Constrain me, make me single-eyed
I have lusted, sinful pride
In the earthly took delight
Affections unsettled, unsanctified
Lust conceived, the wandering eye
Though ransomed from a futile life,
A speckled bird, unfaithful bride!
Aimless conduct, fleshly flight
Deadly journey: woe and blight
Played the harlot, Your will defied
Discarded the Truth, ingested lies
Silly, senseless dove – wise in mine own eyes
Without heart, like the uncircumcised
Foolish fancies, profane flight
Cherished darkness, spurned the Light
My way corrupt, my feet did slide
Forsook Your glory for pig sty
Turn me, draw me to Your side
Be merciful to me, be kind
Will You leave the ninety-nine
Awake, arise, and visit this vine!
Lord, rescue me, hear my cries!
Wash me in Your crimson tide!
Broken hearted, mournful sighs:
I must have Thee! – Jesus Christ!
Blessed is the wife You chastise
In my darkness, You shall be Light
Though I have fallen, I shall arise
My Redeemer has fully justified
I have an Advocate, Jesus Christ
In steadfast love, You do delight
To Your Fount, I come – I swiftly fly!
O! Wash me, Lamb of God, or I die!
You alone are my flawless Surety
Forgive me, cleanse me from my impurity
To my wounds, Your balm apply
Shine Your face, my soul revive
Behold my mouth opened wide
True Bread, fill me, or I die!
For You alone I pant and cry
Who else has the words of life?
Came to my senses, yet 'twas not I
Sovereign grace drew me, opened my eyes
Apart from mercy, I was bound and chained
But Your Spirit breathed, Your love constrained
Through the impulse Sovereign and Divine
You compelled and called me: "You are Mine!"
"The thief has come to steal, kill, and destroy
To deceive and hinder from true Joy"
"Come to My feast, the supper Divine
Leave your husks, return, My ransomed bride!"
"Eat My manna and drink My wine
Feed on Me and be satisfied!"
Psalm 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
II Corinthians 5:14: For the love of Christ constraineth us...
Luke 15:11 He also said: "A man had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.' So he distributed the assets to them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered his estate in foolish living. 14 After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. 15 Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to eat his fill from the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one would give him any. 17 When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I'll get up, go to my father, and say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. 19 I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired hands. 20 So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. 21 The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22 "But the father told his slaves, 'Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let's celebrate with a feast, 24 because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' So they began to celebrate. (HCSB)
I John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Micah 7:8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. 9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness...
18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. 20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted... 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
I Peter 1:13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (NKJV)
Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Related:
Advent #3 WHY HAS JESUS COME? not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance
Blessed Be God for His Kindness Which Leads Us to Repentance
Letter 25 on assurance and fighting for joy (a strong craving ≠ His joy)
Jesus' yoke --> fullness of joy (Letter 31 on assurance & fighting for joy)
true repentance leads to joy (Letter 37 on assurance & fighting for joy)
Prevail | apart from sovereign grace
postcards from England: "Flower in the Crannied Wall" (Tennyson)
don't waste your new year ~ teach us, satisfy us, make us glad (Psalm 90:12-15)
Ash Wednesday: Do you despise yourself? | Job 42
What is Biblical mourning? (Ash Wednesday)
Biblical mourning, assurance and false guilt
Christian, are you bearing fruit in keeping with repentance?
Dearest idol, how can I find rest
Things to Look for in a Church: Humility before God leading to confession, repentance & fruits worthy of repentance
Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Work found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spotted_Dove_(Streptopelia_chinensis)_on_a_Kapok_(Ceiba_pentandra)_tree_in_Kolkata_W_IMG_3476.jpg / CC BY-SA 3.0
Saturday, 28 April 2012
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my desire: "fearless and uncompromising" like Duncan Campbell, Moses, and Paul
From Andrew A. Woolsey's "Channel of Revival: A Biography of Duncan Campbell," (The Faith Mission: Edinburgh, 1974, reprinted 1982), 127-129 (boldface mine):There was nothing complicated about Duncan's preaching. It was fearless and uncompromising. He exposed sin in its ugliness and dwelt at length on the consequences of living and dying without Christ. With a penetrating gaze on the congregation, and perspiration streaming down his face, he set before men and women the way of life and the way of death. It was a solemn thought to him that the eternity of his hearers might turn upon his faithfulness. He was standing before his fellowmen in Christ's stead and could be neither perfunctory nor formal. His words were not just a repetition of accumulated ideas, but the expression of his whole being; he gave the impression of preaching with his entire personality, not merely with his voice.
It was prophetic preaching, not diplomatic, and the hearers were called to make a clear choice, for there was middle path. During the revival the wrath of God was emphasized and the coming judgment. God has given him this emphasis. Once he tried to be more pleasing in the presentation of truth but without effect and in spite of constant criticism continued to press the flaming sword into the very heart of the foe, resisting every effort to make him retreat. Leaving a service one night after listening to a famous preacher who was noted for his 'positive gospel', he found himself beside another minister who had often censured his ministry. The sermon they had listened to was on Paul's word to the Philippian jailor: 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.'
'What did you think of that?' his critic asked. 'Not telling him to flee from the wrath to come!'
'Maybe not,' replied Duncan slowly 'but you must remember that the dear many was already in full flight.'
While he thundered the judgments of God unsparingly on those who continued in sin, there was a beautiful tenderness when he addressed those seeking Christ in true repentance. The jewel of grace shone more brightly against the backcloth of law and judgment. Indeed, those who listened sometimes saw his countenance glow with light as he dwelt on the love of Christ and God's welcome to returning sinners.
Undoubtedly the insistence on a true knowledge of sin and genuine repentance was one of the reasons for the deep conviction of sin which characterised the movement. At times the preacher's voice was drowned with the sound of men and women weeping uncontrollably; on occasions he found it necessary to stop preaching because of the distress manifested by those whose consciences had been awakened. Men, broken in spirit, wept openly over their sin. Here is one working at peats on the moor and suddenly bursts into a flood of tears. 'Why am I crying?' he asks 'I didn't used to be so soft.' He remembers the two ships that had gone down under him at Dunkirk and he had shown no fear; now he trembles. Hastening home he goes to the barn and yields with the prayer: 'Oh God if it's my surrender You want, You've got it now.'
Another, who had been given up by the ministers as totally indifferent, is cycling along the road with the Word of God pounding in his brain causing him to dismount; it seems that hell has opened up, spitting out balls of fire on the road before him.
In the fields, or at the weaving looms, men were overcome and prostrated on the ground before God. One said; 'The grass beneath my feet and the rocks around me seem to cry: "Flee to Christ for refuge!"'
The agony of conviction was terrible to behold, but Duncan rejoiced knowing that out of the deep travail would be born a rich, virile Christian experience, unlike the cheap, easy-going 'believism' that produces no radical moral change. An old man underlined this in his prayer when he said bluntly: 'Lord, now that You have us in the big pot, boil us as well!'* * *
It's far too easy for any of us to fear and to compromise. It's far too easy for ME to fear men rather than God. It's far too easy for ME to compromise! It's far too easy for ME to seek to please men rather than pleasing God! This is a temptation I constantly face, but I know that along with the apostle Paul, I CANNOT rightly claim to be a servant of Christ so long as I am seeking to please men...Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
And I also know what our Lord had to say about those who feared men rather than God:Matthew 10:26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.This morning, I was rereading the accounts of Moses' repeated visits to Pharaoh.
During that time, there were four opportunities when Pharaoh dangled before Moses' ears four different compromises (Exodus 8:25; 8:28; 10:8-11; 10:24):Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.
So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away...
So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God. But which ones are to go?” Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.” But he said to them, “The LORD be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go!
Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the LORD; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.”
Yes, these were certainly options, but not one of them was in line with God's uncompromising will for His people!
We learn a great deal from Moses' response to Pharaoh in Exodus 8:27:"We must go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as he tells us."
"AS HE [the LORD our God] TELLS US." In other words, we can't serve the LORD in any way other than the way HE TELLS US. No matter the circumstances, no matter our feelings, no matter what anyone else is telling us – our obedience to the living God must be based on what the LORD our God has told us in His Holy Word. We see the disastrous results for King Saul when he did not serve the LORD as the LORD had told him (see I Samuel 13 & 15). We make a fatal error whenever we begin to rely on ourselves, i.e. - when we begin to consider and think through a situation using our own human wisdom and try to solve a problem using our own fleshly resources, when we toss aside the Word of God and no longer bow down to God's sovereign authority. We can't ever fight the battles of God using Saul's fleshly armor! Unless we seek the will of God through prayer and the Word of God, unless we ask for the Holy Spirit of God to lead us into all truth and to pour out upon us what He alone can supply, we'll be led astray onto the broad path of expediency and common sense. We have to remember that God's thoughts and God's ways are higher than ours. God's thoughts and God's ways often don't make sense to us. His wisdom is inscrutable. We are not His counselor! The LORD is GOD, after all, is He not? The way of the Spirit of God is always the way of life; while the way of flesh of man is always the way of death:There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
(Proverbs 14:12)
When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, let's never forget how our Lord Himself did battle: He used the Word of God! May we each take heed that we might not fall! May I take heed that I might not fall!
Notice Moses emphatic, uncompromising, and unwavering tone: "We must." And as Moses answers Pharaoh's proposals, we find him using the same words in Exodus 10:9 and 10:25-26:Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”
But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the LORD our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there.”
"WE MUST." Moses was concerned about the people of God worshiping the LORD in the exact way GOD Himself had prescribed. Aren't we constantly tempted to remake God into our own image and worship Him in the way that seems right to us? Aren't we flooded with temptations to make that smallest little compromise? Don't we find a million and one reasons rising up to rationalize our disobedience to God's Word?
Know this: apart from the persevering grace of God at work in us and apart from the love of God constraining us, each one of us would very quickly end up running after the imagination of our own evil hearts (~ Jer. 16:12, KJV), doing what's right in our own eyes (Judges 21:25), turning our backs on the LORD our God (II Chron. 29:6), and saying to the one true God: "We are lords; we will come no more unto thee" (Jer. 2:31, KJV). How pathetic that we would even consider forsaking the fountain of living water to hew broken cisterns! (Jer. 2:13) How loathsome that we might forsake the cold flowing waters for strange waters! (Jer. 18:14)Jude 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. (adapted)
I've found myself between a rock and a hard place on many occasions, and particularly quite often as of late... God forbid that I succumb to fear and compromise!
~ Lord God, multiply Your grace toward me, so I might be strengthened to offer myself to You as a living sacrifice. Work in me to will and to do of Your good pleasure, that I might not shrink back, but be fearless and uncompromising – no matter the cost. ~
Like the apostle Paul, I long to finish my course and the ministry I received to testify to the gospel of the grace of God fearlessly and without compromise:Acts 20:18 “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears..."
Impossible with me, but possible WITH GOD, as Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
In much of the western world today, the church is so very far from the bright and shining torch we're intended to be (Isaiah 62). We are in a state of great ruination, much as we read of in Psalm 74. We are a reproach and disgrace to the name of our holy God. We're looking very much like the temple and the city of Jerusalem after the exile (e.g. - see the books of Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah, Nehemiah). We must consider our ways! The gold has grown dim (Lam. 4:1), and it grows dimmer day by day, as you hear of the erosion of denomination after denomination, as we you find further slippages of doctrinal truth. My friends, the lampstands have been removed from congregations and denominations that were once known for their orthodoxy, and they are being removed as you read these words. We are now reaping what what has been sown over the course of many, many years as fleshly, man-centered, expedient, and people-pleasing decisions have made by a whole host of people throughout the course of many, many years – people who chose not to be fearless and uncompromising. Instead of being valiant for the truth, they chose to shrink back in fear and to make little compromises here and there. I don't want to be counted among those people! O! for the grace of God to abound so I might be fearless and uncompromising all the days of my life, like Duncan Campbell, Moses, and Paul!
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
(James 4:17)"Peace if possible, truth at all costs."
(Martin Luther)
And Elijah came near to all the people and said,
“How long will you go limping between two different opinions?
If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”
And the people did not answer him a word.
(I Kings 18:21)
For more about Duncan Campbell, please read my last post, God's greatest gift to any generation, and this Brief Biography of Duncan Campbell.
Why I blog and the only kind of recommendation I should seek
dedication 2010 (reflections on God's Word & God's grace) ~ no sugar coating...
the minister's examination: "Who is my master?"
Make war (Herod, blogging, appetites, the glory of God & the Word of God)
learning to run without fear
I can't keep walking on eggshells here (more on Revelife, Calvinism, the Body of Christ and self)
I don't want to walk anyone into Hell
Postcards from God in England: the frisking at Heathrow
many will come and deceive - will you do whatever it takes?
my flesh lusts against the Spirit the Spirit lusts against my flesh
the world says . . . You say . . . I say (a prayer of dedication)
Kingdom-Obsessed People don't seek "great things" for themselves
If I look (looking at him, loved him - Mark 10:17-22) ~ ministry's sorrow
the world says . . . You say . . . I say (a prayer of dedication)
Reformation Rebels: Are you willing to be a rebel for the sake of the Church?
even among the voices (Bible reading: Nehemiah 6:1-14)
What is a nominal Christian?
With the New Year come new resolutions, but have you become entirely new? (Lloyd-Jones)
the Holy Spirit and Life
why we need a new heart (Bible reading - Matthew 5)
Barabbas we save, Jesus Christ we slay (the mockery of profession ~ decisional regeneration)
Have you believed with your heart ... all your heart? (The Ethiopian Eunuch - Acts 8:37)
Are you kissing the Son? (Psalm 2)
Charo Washer's Testimony: "you either do pass these tests of 1 John, or you don't"
What is Biblical mourning? (Ash Wednesday)
Biblical mourning, assurance and false guilt
Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Emphasis mine.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tissot_Moses_Speaks_to_Pharaoh.jpg / CC BY-SA 3.0 / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}
naphtali_deer
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- Name: Karen
- Location: Madison, Wisconsin, United States
- Gender: Female
- Member Since: 2/12/2007
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Unworthy recipient of God's sovereign free grace through Jesus Christ | Accepted in the Beloved by grace through faith | Dwelling place of the Holy Spirit | Married | Mother of 3, Mother-in-law of 2 | Blessed beyond measure by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
- Interests: Redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ by the sovereign free grace of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, blogging to the glory of God through the power of the Holy Spirit, all for your upbuilding, dearly beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. I love God and I have a passion for His Church to be revived again, so my prayer is that He would rend the heavens and come down and breathe life into the dry bones, including my own. I love reading, studying, writing and talking about God and God's Word and His work in my heart. I almost always have a book nearby and enjoy hunting in used bookstores for treasures. I enjoy listening to music as well as walking, sitting and reading and contemplating in parks. Philippians 3:7-16 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. By His grace may I willingly offer myself to dwell wherever He calls me (Nehemiah 11:2).
- Website: http://tent_of_meeting.xanga.com
connect
my other blogs
Burdened to pray for revival?
Please visit
TENT OF MEETING
(prayer for revival)
Seeking ministry encouragement?
Please visit
DEERLIFE
more about me
Theological "mutt" a.k.a.
Evangelical Reformed
Experiential Calvinist with a
Methodist-Mystical-Liturgical Twist
Why Naphtali?
Why Naphtali ~ Revisited
Why I Blog
My Credo for
Being a Godly Encourager
Ministry of the Word & Prayer
My Holy Ambition
My Deep Concern:
Legalism in the Church
Postcards from England
God Works through
Bad Economies for Good
(includes my testimony)
II Corinthians 13:14
series links
Links to all my series, click HERE
Here are a few...
What is a nominal Christian?
Dealing with past sins & guilt
Conversations with God about failure
Assurance and Fighting for Joy
Don't Waste Your Life
My posts on death
Reflections on the New Year
Posts on the Holy Spirit
Encouragements to press on
True & False Religion
and Legalism
Things To Look for in a Church
Kingdom-Obsessed People
Kingdom-Obsessed People
Don't Keep Looking in the Rear View Mirror
Unity in the Body
Postcards from God at Vail
What Is Success?
What Is Making a Difference?
Here are a few...
What is a nominal Christian?
Dealing with past sins & guilt
Conversations with God about failure
Assurance and Fighting for Joy
Don't Waste Your Life
My posts on death
Reflections on the New Year
Posts on the Holy Spirit
Encouragements to press on
True & False Religion
and Legalism
Things To Look for in a Church
Kingdom-Obsessed People
Kingdom-Obsessed People
Don't Keep Looking in the Rear View Mirror
Unity in the Body
Postcards from God at Vail
What Is Success?
What Is Making a Difference?
pulse
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"All that hunger for his bread, May and will be kindly fed; He will pass no beggar by. You may eat, and so may I." – John Berridge
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"When I tried to give up Lord, You never gave up on me" ~ http://youtu.be/OtPGMFzSDv4 / Jude 1:24-25
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"Lord, I would place my hand in Thine, Nor ever murmur nor repine; Content, whatever lot I see, Since ’tis my God that leadeth me."
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The saints should never be dismay’d, Nor sink in hopeless fear; For when they least expect his aid, The Saviour will appear. ~Cowper
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Psalm 77:19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.
recommended
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weblog entry from TigerLily_24
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comment from caroliiineee
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weblog entry from daniel626
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Calvin 500
Christians in Context
Closet Calvinist
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Doctrine Matters
Exiled Preacher
The Glorious Deeds of Christ
Just My Type
Godward Thoughts
Ligonier Ministries Blog
Owen Strachan
Pure Church
Reclaiming the Mission
The Gospel Coalition Blog
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The Scriptorium Daily
