devil

  • You speak as one of the foolish women would speak ~ Job 2:9-10

    Most of you are familiar with the story of Job. In Job 1, Satan approaches God and receives permission from God to attack Job – but God limits him:

    12  And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.”

    After this, loss upon loss comes upon Job, as billow upon billow in a catastrophic storm:

    13  Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 14  and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15  and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

    16  While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

    17  While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

    18  While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 19  and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

    After all that, we read Job's godly response of worship:

    20  Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21  And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

    22  In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

    In Job 2, we see Satan's frustration to Job's response. The devil's plan has been thwarted, and he goes back to God again and ups the ante. End result: God permits Satan to attack Job's body:

    7  So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8  And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.

    This time we read not only Job's response, but also that of Job's wife:

    Job 2:9  Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10  But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

    What a contrast! What kind of helpmeet is Job's wife here? Job says she's speaking as a foolish woman would! That's a serious charge – but isn't that kind of foolish talk just about the last thing Job (or any of us) needs in order to stand true and faithful to God in the midst of grueling trials and hellish temptations?

    Did Job's wife have a view that all the evil in the world is under the sovereign reign of the LORD, and nothing at all catches God by surprise? Didn't she understand each and every one of the devil's plots is under the sovereign sway of the God who sits enthroned above the earth, and in God's mysterious providence He ordains all things, even evil, for His glory?

    Psalm 115:3  Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

    Isaiah 46
    8  “Remember this and stand firm,
    recall it to mind, you transgressors,
    9  remember the former things of old;
    for I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me,
    10  declaring the end from the beginning
    and from ancient times things not yet done,
    saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
    and I will accomplish all my purpose,’


    After being persecuted and mocked and betrayed and sold by his brothers into slavery, we read Joseph's testimony of God's sovereign goodness in Genesis 50:20:

    As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

    BUT GOD! As soon as we get stuck looking at our circumstances apart from God, much like Peter, we will sink – and like those who aren't planting themselves in the Word of God will wither (more below on withering...)... we will end up speaking and acting foolishly.

    John Calvin wrote these words about Genesis 50:20:

    "...whatever poison Satan produces, God turns it into medicine for His elect."

    That's exactly it! The devil wants us to succumb to his wiles, so we end up reacting like Job's wife and curse God. The devil is all about undermining our faith in God. He delights to hear such curses coming from our lips! Satan's desire is that we accept the bad circumstances at face value, and not look beyond them or above them, and so we end up throwing up our hands in despair, and we lose faith and curse God! The devil wants us to forget, as William Cowper wrote, that behind every frowning providence, there hides a smiling face!

    Let us remember that the devil's poison, that sifting which the devil means for evil, God always means all of it for the good of the His children. Any and all trials and temptations which God allows to come our way are always under the sovereign rule of God Almighty. Trials and sifting come to us only if necessary, and they are always for our refining to God's glory (e.g. - see James 1 and Peter 1). Think back to the story of Peter's sifting, which led to his denying Jesus three times, and then remember: Jesus already knew all about it in advance – and Jesus was already praying for Peter, and Jesus would continue to pray for Peter all throughout it! Let us look beyond our trials and look to heaven and see Jesus seated at the right hand of God. What is He doing there? Jesus Christ is our great high priest, who ever lives to make intercession for all the saints, so we might be saved to the uttermost (see the last part of Hebrews 7). And saving to the uttermost includes our being strengthened in all our trials and temptations, so we will not succumb to the temptation to curse God like Job's wife – but we would continue to bless God like Job.

    The apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 8:28:

    And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

    Do you know that? Do you really know it?

    And be clear here: all things means ALL things! No exceptions. Even the bitterest and deadliest poison of the devil, God is working it for good for the children of God – each and every time. And, by the way, just to be clear here: that promise from Romans 8:28 is not for all people. See how Paul qualifies it: those who love God and those who are called according to His purpose. But, the wonderful thing is that Romans 8:28 is a soul-fortifying promise for all the saints when we find ourselves tried like Job – and we will find ourselves tried, but only as necessary and always for God's glory – see I Peter 1. Remember how in Job 1 and 2, Satan had to come to God to ask permission as to what he could do with Job. What a wonderful reminder that God always puts those bounds on the devil and his workings, much as God Himself put bounds on the oceans at the creation:

    Job 38:
    8  “Or who shut in the sea with doors
    when it burst out from the womb,
    9  when I made clouds its garment
    and thick darkness its swaddling band,
    10  and prescribed limits for it
    and set bars and doors,
    11  and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
    and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

    In other words, the devil is never allowed to prowl unchecked, but know this: he is our adversary, he does prowl, and he is seeking someone to devour! He is our enemy and we must be sober, vigilant and on guard (I Peter 5:8)!

    How do we go about that?

    We must continue to gird up our minds with the truth about God from the Bible. As we read the Bible, we must keep asking God's Spirit to lead us into all truth, for He is the Spirit of truth. The devil is a liar and the father of lies. Look back to Genesis 3 and see the beginnings of the fall. He twisted the Word of God just a little – but just enough! And then look at Jesus' temptation in the wilderness (Matt. 4 & Luke 4), and see how our Lord Himself combatted the temptations of the devil: through the Word of God!

    There are attributes about the character and workings of God that never change, no matter what, no matter how we feel, no matter our circumstances. Malachi 3:6a "For I am the LORD, I change not..." However, the devil wants us to doubt and question and become confused about God and God's truth, and that gives the devil a foothold. For it is at that point he can slyly slither his way in and get us to begin to consider and entertain his lies in the hope we might slip and slide down, down, down into doubting God, and eventually into that wretched and foolish state where we end cursing God like Job's wife. In Ephesians 6, we're commanded to take up the whole armor of God, but it distresses me to see how many Christians talk about the armor (many of them can name each and every piece!), but how few actually take it up when push comes to shove! My brothers and sisters, we are in a spiritual battle. You must take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God! You can't expect to be victorious if you trifle with these things! The welfare of your eternal soul is at stake!

    I've listed below some Biblical truths about God and God's dealings with His people (with me) that I keep going back to. This is not an all-inclusive list by any means, but they are principles God has used to keep me sane and kept me many a time from lapsing into foolishness! (But by the grace of God alone, I would go the way of Job's wife!) And I confess lately I have found myself dangerously close to that vile position of Job's wife! O! I don't want to be a foolish woman! I don't want to speak like one of the foolish women! I don't even want to think like one of the foolish women! Matthew 12:34b For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

    I've started off the list with the truth I wrote about above, that God is working all things for my (our) good. If you are a child of God by grace through faith in Christ, these are ways that you and I can be assured that God is continuing to work, in spite of what we may be seeing, and in spite of how we may be feeling about our circumstances.

    God is working all things for my (our) good (Romans 8:28)
    God is working all things to conform me (us) to Christ's image (Romans 8:29)
    God is working all things for His glory (Romans 11:36)
    God is working all things for the furtherance of His Gospel (Philippians 1:23)
    God is working all things to make Christ preeminent (Colossians 1:18)
    God is leading His people to make for Himself a glorious and everlasting name (Isaiah 63:10-15)

    We need to walk by faith and not by sight, and we are strengthened to do so as we hold onto God and hold onto these precious and very great promises, and as we do so, we should be praying the Spirit of God will cause these doctrines we know in the head to begin to burn in our hearts, so these grand truths of the Word of God and the Christian life become experimental (or experiential) to us, as the Puritans put it.

    We also need to trust God's workings with each one of us are perfect.     I'm not going to get into this here in length, but if you look at the end of Isaiah 28 (v. 22-29), you'll read the different ways individual seeds are sown and then the various ways the crops are processed after the harvest. That's a picture of God's dealings with each one of His children as individuals. I may be dill, you cumin and another one barley, and so on – in other words, we will each get our own individualized treatment, i.e. - loving discipline perfectly suited for each one of us, according to the infallible, inscrutable, pure and holy ways of our loving Father in heaven:

    29 This also comes from the LORD of hosts;
    he is wonderful in counsel
    and excellent in wisdom.

    Who are we to question and doubt and despair and even curse God's workings with our individual souls? Are we God's counselors? And yet, don't we find ourselves sliding into that position – and sounding less like Job and more like Job's wife, speaking foolishly and just about ready to curse God? All God's workings are wonderful and excellent! As we are remain ever-mindful of that, and as the Spirit writes that truth more and more deeply on our hearts and in our minds, we will be kept from speaking foolishly like Job's wife and kept from sinning with our lips.

    Foolishness: clamorous and withering...

    To me, Job's wife very much resembles the foolish woman described In Proverbs 9:13:

    The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. (ESV)

    A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. (KJV)

    The Hebrew word for loud or clamorous there is hamah (haw-maw') – to make a loud sound like Engl. "hum"; by implication, to be in great commotion or tumult, to rage, war, moan, clamor:--clamorous, concourse, cry aloud, be disquieted, loud, mourn, be moved, make a noise, rage, roar, sound, be troubled, make in tumult, tumultuous, be in an uproar. And hamah is derived from the primitive root word, huwm (hoom) – to make an uproar, or agitate greatly:--destroy, move, make a noise, put, ring again.

    Unless we see and embrace and trust that God is superintending over all events, that He is sovereign over all things: both good and evil, times of plenty and times of want – how can we do anything but react like Job's wife when trouble and affliction and pain and loss and heartache come our way? Feeling disquieted, we will end up raging, moaning and clamorous, and we will be in great commotion and tumult. And, like Job's wife, we will end up speaking as one of the foolish women would speak! What kind of testimony is that to a lost world, and how does such behavior give glory to God?

    I don't know about you, but I know I don't want to be described like this:

    You speak as one of the foolish women would speak.

    That said, I know I can lapse right into that all too often and all too quickly, as life's circumstances seem contrary to what I think God should be doing or how I think He ought to be operating. And it grieves me almost as soon as I find myself in that situation! And it's a wretched position to be in! I despise myself when I'm there!

    God is God, and I am not! His thoughts and His ways are higher than ours! That's a lesson we all have to learn time and time again . . . and again!


    Romans 11:33  Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
    How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

    34  “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?”
    35  “Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?”

    36  For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
    Our reactions to loss and suffering prove whether we are foolish or wise.

    Does your usual reaction to loss and suffering resemble that of Job's wife or Job?

    In times of loss, during those "Job" times in your life, do you find yourself more often than not cursing God or blessing God?

    The word Job used for foolish is nabal (naw-bawl')  – stupid; wicked (especially impious):-- fool(-ish, -ish man, -ish woman), vile person. That's a serious charge. And the primitive root word from which nabal is derived is nabel. I think the following definitions of nabel describe Job's wife perfectly – and they describe us when we begin to doubt God and God's goodness and God's purposes and when we are tempted to lash out against God, shake our fists at Him and curse Him:

    to wilt; generally, to fall away, fail, faint.

    In time of trial, if we've not been immersing ourselves in God's Word, and if we don't continue to immerse ourselves in God's Word in the midst of the trial, we will end up wilting and fainting. In other words, we will end up like Job's wife. Is that what we really want? Has God rescued and redeemed us with the precious blood of the Lamb to live like that? (If we can call that living!) The word wither in Psalm 1:3 is nabel.

    Psalm 1
    1  Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
    nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
    2  but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.
    3  He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
    that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
    In all that he does, he prospers.
    4  The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
    5  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
    6  for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

    In spite of his mounting losses and his painful, physical affliction, and in great contrast to his wife, Job produced a leafy, vibrant testimony similar to that of David:

    Psalm 71
    7  I have been as a portent to many,
    but you are my strong refuge.
    8  My mouth is filled with your praise,
    and with your glory all the day.

    9  Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
    forsake me not when my strength is spent.
    10  For my enemies speak concerning me;
    those who watch for my life consult together
    11  and say, “God has forsaken him;
    pursue and seize him,
    for there is none to deliver him.”

    12  O God, be not far from me;
    O my God, make haste to help me!
    13  May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
    with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
    who seek my hurt.

    14  But I will hope continually
    and will praise you yet more and more.
    15  My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
    of your deeds of salvation all the day,
    for their number is past my knowledge.
    16  With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come;
    I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

    O! for grace to have such a testimony of worship all the day, every day!

    Is there any day at all that praise is not due to our God?

    Psalm 65:1  Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion,
    and to you shall vows be performed.

    I like this Psalm in the KJV:

    Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.

    Is praise waiting for the Lord on your lips today and every day, no matter the circumstances? Or, when you are in times of trial and difficulty, are you foolish:  are your heart and your mouth filling up with rants and complaints, and withholding the praise which is due to God?

    Psalm 34:1-10 ~ plus other texts, adapted and expanded as a prayer

    O! may I bless You, LORD, at all times like Job;
    You alone are worthy of never-ceasing praise.
    Let me not be foolish like Job's wife;
    but let me be wise and leafy and fruitful:
    Let Your praise be continually be in my mouth,
    as I hide and treasure You and Your Word in my heart.

    May my soul make its boast in You, O LORD;
    let the humble hear it and be glad.

    O! magnify the LORD with me,
    and let us be wise and exalt His name together!

    Help me to seek You, LORD, above my circumstances.
    Help me keep my eyes fixed on You, invisible God,
    so I might prosper and endure – and not wither and perish.
    O! See me here: seeking Your face!
    Answer me and deliver me from all my fears:
    Be pleased to call to me, so I might sup with You once again!

    As I look to You, I will be lightened and radiant,
    and my face shall never be ashamed.
    O! Turn my eyes, and my eyes will look to You!
    Make Your face to shine, and I will be sustained.

    I am poor and needy, hear me, O LORD,
    I am dust and ashes, hear me, O LORD,
    and save me out of all my troubles.

    The angel of the LORD encamps
    around those who fear You, and delivers them.
    Open my eyes that I may see Your abiding presence.

    O! May I taste and see that You, O LORD, are good always,
    whether You give or You take away,
    whether I receive good or evil from You,
    whether I am in plenty or in want,
    blessed am I when I take refuge in You!

    O! May we fear the LORD, all you His saints,
    though all else may be taken from us –
    those who fear Him have no lack!
    Christ is our all-satisfying portion forever!

    Even young lions suffer want and hunger;
    but we who seek the LORD will lack no good thing!
    To whom can we liken God,
    who can compare?
    He alone is altogether lovely!
    He alone is fairer than ten thousand!
    O! He is our Beloved – and we are His!

    All you saints, come and worship
    By God, let us render to God the sacrifice of praise.

    Glorify God,
    bless God,
    and enjoy God
    forever with me!

    May the meditation of our hearts and the fruit of our lips
    be acceptable and pleasant to You,
    O, LORD, our Rock and our Redeemer!

     

    Related:

    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.

    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Georges_de_La_Tour_-_Job_Mocked_by_his_Wife_-_WGA12340.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0 / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}

    Work found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hazard_T.svg  / CC BY-SA 3.0     / Public Domain

    Hebrew references and definitions are taken from Strong's Concordance, Public Domain.

  • Lenten Reflections: "so Joel had another appointment"

    As Hosea was appointed a Prophet to the kingdom of Israel, so Joel had another appointment; for he was to labour especially among the Jews and not among the Ten Tribes: this deserves to be particularly noticed.

    – Calvin's Preface to Joel
    I read these words yesterday and was struck by them. So often we as Christians question and fight the appointment God has for us. So often I question and fight the appointment God has for me... particularly when what I'm seeing with my naked eyes is not lining up with what I expected. And that's what's been happening recently.

    The devil prowls and schemes – and know this: he is constantly seeking to take us any and every where, so long as it is NOT in middle of God's will for us! That place may even be a relatively good place (i.e. - not morally bad) – however, know this:  if that place is not God's place for us, then it is not a good place! Let us not be deceived and settle for something "good," but in reality we are walking arm and arm with the devil, and in direct disobedience to God and all the while we are depriving ourselves of the best – for God is always seeking what is best for us for His children – even though it may not appear to be so to us – as we look upon it with fleshly eyes, rather than spiritual eyes.

    Rather than fixing our eyes on the invisible God and walking by faith, we begin to walk by human sight, and we fix our eyes on the visible – and, as a result, we begin to sink down, down, down as we consider and entertain those deadly "What ifs". As we begin to conjecture, "Why?" or "Why me?" or "Why can't I?" or "Why didn't God...?" or "Why doesn't God...?" or "What hasn't God...?" – we head straight down the paths of the destroyer, and we rob ourselves of the rest and peace that Christ offers to us through taking up His easy yoke.

    David struggled with such temptations, and as children of God, we all will. Remember – even our Lord Himself was tempted by the devil!

    Look at Psalm 17 and see how David kept from going down the paths of the destroyer...

    3 You have tested my heart;
    You have visited me in the night;
    You have tried me and have found nothing;
    I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
    4 Concerning the works of men,
    By the word of Your lips,
    I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.
    5 Uphold my steps in Your paths,
    That my footsteps may not slip.

    6 I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
    Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
    7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
    O You who save those who trust in You
    From those who rise up against them.
    8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
    Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
    9 From the wicked who oppress me,
    From my deadly enemies who surround me.

    David continued to immerse Himself in God though the Scripture and prayer, and in doing so, David expected God to reveal Himself in living and felt ways so as to sustain and uphold his soul, to have his heart and his spiritual sight renewed and refreshed. For example...

    "By the word of Your lips..."
    "I have called upon you..."

    And the same applies to us as well! We can't expect to fight the good fight of faith and finish our race without God's means! Many people keep looking for a new technique or a magic program – but instead, what we must do is to go back to the basics: to the Word of God and prayer! As we keep sinking ourselves deeper and deeper into Christ through the Word and prayer, we will flourish. On the other hand, if we're not doing that, we're going to wither! (See Psalm 1 & Jeremiah 17:5-8) In fact, abiding in Christ in such ways is one mark of Christian discipleship. It grieves me to see how many professing Christians continue to go to any and all places but to God! You go to your counselors, to your pill bottles, to your self-help books, to your friends, to your hobbies, to your activities, to your support groups – but when was the last time you went to the living God and pleaded with Him all night like Jacob : "I will not let You go unless You bless me! I have no power here at all – for these are too strong for me! Be my support!" (See also Psalm 18.)

    And know this: the Christian life is a fight! There are some unbliblical teachings that tell us we just need to "let go and let God" and poof! it all will magically happen without any effort on our part. Well, there is one way we must let go: we must let go of the despicable, man-centered notion that we can do anything apart from Jesus Christ. And then, as we freely acknowledge we are truly poor and needy, like the man at midnight (Luke 11), we will importunately storm the gates of heaven and plead for God's supplies to come to us through His Holy Spirit, so we might walk in God's will for us. And then, as God strengthens us, we will obey and walk in His will for us (despite our flesh fighting us from within and temptations rising up from without) – and, in so doing, we end up working out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who has been working in us to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13). All glory to God! God does in and through and with us what we cannot do ourselves! Apart from Him we can do nothing! With Christ we can do all things! And just a reminder here: this working on our part doesn't earn us our salvation, but it is evidence of our salvation. God is never opposed to efforts wrought of His Spirit. After all, it is God who commands us to work out what He is working in us!

    Sadly, at one time or another, all of us end up in the position of Peter in John 21 – even after God has given us explicit instructions as to His appointment for us (v. 15-19) – and like Peter, we end up questioning our Lord. Why do we do such a thing? We take our eyes off Jesus!

    20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”

    22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

    23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”

    What is that to me if God has given me another appointment? What if Joel were to say, "No! No! I don't want to minister in this place! Send me somewhere else!" Here's God's response to such sinful thoughts:


    Isaiah 29:16

    Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
    For shall the thing made say of him who made it,
    “He did not make me”?
    Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it,
    “He has no understanding”?

    God have mercy on us when we do such a thing – when we esteem ourselves above our Creator and Redeemer! God grant us grace so we might not harden our hearts and grieve His Holy Spirit. God keep us from becoming Jonahs – from running away from Him and His appointment for us! And when we begin to question and doubt God's appointment in even the smallest way, may He give us grace so we and our prodigal thoughts might be turned ("turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God" ~ Jer. 31:18, KJV), that we might come back to our senses and fervently embrace our God and His particular appointment for us in the way Mary did:

    "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." (Luke 1:38a, KJV)

    How can we do this? Again, it is impossible with us! – but it is possible through Christ who dwells in us! Our Lord Himself willingly submitted Himself to His Father's appointment for Him to condescend, to become incarnate, to take the form of a servant, and to become obedient to the point of death – even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:4-11). Jesus was consumed by His Father's glory and purposes – and through the new birth, we have been united with Christ, being given the same desires by the Holy Spirit who lives in us, so we might offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God as Christ did. Even though our souls might be troubled, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to respond to God's appointment just as Christ did:

    John 12:27 “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.”

    During this Lenten season, many Christians set aside more time to consider the suffering and the crucifixion of Christ – and yes! Amen to that! But let us not only contemplate Jesus' example, let us not only contemplate His sacrifice rendered in our place to satisfy the wrath of God and justify us and reconcile us to God, but let us go on even further – so we might contemplate God's magnificent power that worked in Jesus so He might finish all the work the Father had given Him, and then let us plead for such sanctifying power to fill us, so God's love might compel us to joyful obedience to His commandment "You follow Me!"

    Yes, our souls may be troubled by what we see – and they may often be troubled – and rightly so at many times, for we live in a troubled, fallen world, and Jesus told us we would have tribulation in this world. But let us look away from what's troubling us and look into the Word of God to the character and promises of God, and let us look away to Jesus, and then let us pray without ceasing and plead for God's Pentecostal power to rain down upon us from on high, so we might have the mind and heart of Christ, so we might not worry about what others are doing, but render ourselves wholeheartedly to doing our Father's will as our Lord did, to delight in the appointment God has for each one of us:

    Psalm 40
    7 Then I said, “Behold, I come;
    In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
    8 I delight to do Your will, O my God,
    And Your law is within my heart.”

    Isaiah 64
    But now, O Lord,
    8 You are our Father;
    We are the clay, and You our potter;
    And all we are the work of Your hand.
    9 Do not be furious, O Lord,
    Nor remember iniquity forever;
    Indeed, please look—we all are Your people!

    Related:

    Scripture unless otherwise indicated is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

    Photo credits:

    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tissot_Joel.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0 / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}
    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walpurgis.jpg / / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}
    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kneden_van_klei.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0

  • Prayer & Revival in Ireland (R.A. Torrey) & Livingstone in Africa: Are we in our closets?

    The following is an excerpt from R.A. Torrey's book "How to Pray," Chapter XII - The Place of Prayer before and during Revivals, which was published in 1900 (boldface mine):

    In the early part of the seventeenth century there was a great religious awakening in Ulster, Ireland. The lands of the rebel chiefs which had been forfeited to the British crown, were settled up by a class of colonists who for the most part were governed by a spirit of wild adventure. Real piety was rare. Seven ministers, five from Scotland and two from England, settled in that country, the earliest arrivals being in 1613. Of one of these ministers named Blair it is recorded by a contemporary, “He spent many days and nights in prayer, alone and with others, and was vouchsafed great intimacy with God.” Mr. James Glendenning, a man of very meager natural gifts, was a man similarly minded as regards prayer. The work began under this man Glendenning. The historian of the time says, “He was a man who never would have been chosen by a wise assembly of ministers nor sent to begin a reformation in this land. Yet this was the Lord’s choice to begin with him the admirable work of God which I mention on purpose that all may see how the glory is only the Lord’s in making a holy nation in this profane land, and that it was ‘not by might, nor by power, nor by man’s wisdom, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord.’” In his preaching at Oldstone multitudes of hearers felt in great anxiety and terror of conscience. They looked on themselves as altogether lost and damned, and cried out,

    “Men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved?” They were stricken into a swoon by the power of His Word. A dozen in one day were carried out of doors as dead. These were not women, but some of the boldest spirits of the neighborhood; “some who had formerly feared not with their swords to put a whole market town into a fray.” Concerning one of them, then a mighty strong man, now a mighty Christian, say that his end in coming into church was to consult with his companions how to work some mischief.”

    This work spread throughout the whole country. By the year 1626 a monthly concert of prayer was held in Antrim. The work spread beyond the bounds of Down and Antrim to the churches of the neighboring counties. So great became the religious interest that Christians would come thirty or forty miles to the communions, and continue from the time they came until they returned without wearying or making use of sleep. Many of them neither ate nor drank, and yet some of them professed that they “went away most fresh and vigorous, their souls so filled with the sense of God.”

    This revival changed the whole character of northern Ireland.

    Another great awakening in Ireland in 1859 had a somewhat similar origin. By many who did not know, it was thought that this marvelous work came without warning and preparation, but Rev. William Gibson, the moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland in 1860, in his very interesting and valuable history of the work tells how there had been preparation for two years. There had been constant discussion in the General Assembly of the low estate of religion, and of the need of a revival. There had been special sessions for prayer. Finally four young men, who became leaders in the origin of the great work, began to meet together in an old schoolhouse in the neighborhood of Kells. About the spring of 1858 a work of power began to manifest itself. It spread from town to town, and from county to county. The congregations became too large for the buildings, and the meetings were held in the open air, oftentimes attended by many thousands of people. Many hundreds of persons were frequently convicted of sin in a single meeting. In some places the criminal courts and jails were closed for lack of occupation. There were manifestations of the Holy Spirit’s power of a most remarkable character, clearly proving that the Holy Spirit is as ready to work to-day as in apostolic days, when ministers and Christians really believe in Him and begin to prepare the way by prayer.

    Mr. Moody’s wonderful work in England and Scotland and Ireland that afterwards spread to America had its origin on the manward side in prayer. Mr. Moody made little impression until men and women began to cry to God. Indeed his going to England at all was in answer to the importunate cries to God of a bed-ridden saint. While the spirit of prayer continued the revival abode in strength, but in the course of time less and less was made of prayer and the work fell off very perceptibly in power. Doubtless one of the great secrets of the unsatisfactoriness and superficiality and unreality of many of our modern so-called revivals, is that more dependence is put upon man’s machinery than upon God’s power, sought and obtained by earnest, persistent, believing prayer. We live in a day characterized by the multiplication of man’s machinery and the diminution of God’s power. The great cry of our day is work, work, work, new organizations, new methods, new machinery; the great need of our day is prayer. It was a master stroke of the devil when he got the church so generally to lay aside this mighty weapon of prayer. The devil is perfectly willing that the church should multiply its organizations, and deftly contrive machinery for the conquest of the world for Christ if it will only give up praying. He laughs as he looks at the church to-day and says to himself:

    “You can have your Sunday-schools and your Young People’s Societies, your Young Men’s Christian Associations and your Women’s Christian Temperance Unions, your Institutional Churches and your Industrial Schools, and your Boy’s Brigades, your grand choirs and your fine organs, your brilliant preachers and your revival efforts too, if you don’t bring the power of Almighty God into them by earnest, persistent, believing, mighty prayer.”

    Prayer could work as marvelous results today as it ever could, if the church would only betake itself to it.

    There seem to be increasing signs that the church is awakening to this fact. Here and there God is laying upon individual ministers and churches a burden of prayer that they have never known before. Less dependence is being put upon machinery and more dependence upon God. Ministers are crying to God day and night for power. Churches and portions of churches are meeting together in the early morning hours and the late night hours crying to God for the latter rain. There is every indication of the coming of a mighty and widespread revival. There is every reason why, if a revival should come in any country at this time, it should be more widespread in its extent than any revival of history. There is the closest and swiftest communication by travel, by letter, and by cable between all parts of the world. A true fire of God kindled in America would soon spread to the uttermost parts of the earth. The only thing needed to bring this fire is prayer.

    It is not necessary that the whole church get to praying to begin with. Great revivals always begin first in the hearts of a few men and women whom God arouses by His Spirit to believe in Him as a living God, as a God who answers prayer, and upon whose heart He lays a burden from which no rest can be found except in importunate crying unto God.

    May God use this book to arouse many others to pray that the greatly-needed revival may come, and come speedily.

    * * *

    Zechariah 4:1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, 2  And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: 3  And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4  So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5  Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. 7  Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. 8  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 9  The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. 10  For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth. (KJV)

    Let us not despise the day of small things!

    Let us rely wholly on the Spirit of Lord, rather than on the flesh of man.

    Please notice these portions I emphasized above:

    the small numbers...

    Seven ministers

    four young men

    and those who would be passed over as judged by the world's eyes...

    a man of very meager natural gifts

    He was a man who never would have been chosen by a wise assembly of ministers nor sent to begin a reformation in this land. Yet this was the Lord’s choice to begin with him the admirable work of God which I mention on purpose that all may see how the glory is only the Lord’s in making a holy nation in this profane land, and that it was ‘not by might, nor by power, nor by man’s wisdom, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord.

    a bed-ridden saint

    God's ways are NOT our ways – but how often do we forget that? Very often when we see a problem, instead of seeking the Lord's mind and will about that, so we might see the situation through God's eyes and discern the solution that comes from Him, we approach the problem according to our own human, fleshly thoughts and ways, and we begin to look to the world's ways. As a result, our way is to campaign and to network and to shout, to try to be the loudest voice on the block, we do all we can to make the biggest splash and the greatest impact. We try to rally more and more people, we seek to raise more and more money, we strive to enlist the biggest and brightest and shiniest and flashiest and strongest and wisest in the world's eyes. We get enamored with and tangled up in that vain and vile machinery of man!

    But that's never God's way, as we read in I Corinthians 1:

    26  For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28  God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are...

    That makes no sense to our flesh. Why, then, is that God's way?

    ...  29  so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30  He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. 31  Therefore, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

    We see that story repeated time and again throughout the Bible and throughout Church history, such as we see in Torrey's account of God's workings in revival in Ireland throughout the years. God is always seeking that He gets all the glory. All! All means all!

    Isaiah 42:8  I am the LORD; that is my name;
    my glory I give to no other,
    nor my praise to carved idols.

     

    For example, consider the story of Gideon and Israel's battle against the Midianites in Judges 7 and 8. (See also my post here.) If you remember the story, God has Gideon continue to pare down his army time and again. Why did God do such a thing? To our human reasoning, the more the better!

    Judges 7:2  The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

    God is passionate for His own glory! That's the bottom line! God's glory! O, don't get me wrong, as we rely on our own fleshly ideas and plans, we may very well get a good result in the eyes of the world, we may be successful in many ways – but how does God see it? Have we robbed the LORD of the glory due His name in the process? Have we gained the whole world and lost our souls in the process?

    The LORD ends up bringing victory to Israel with 300 men! Consider who He is:

    I am the LORD; that is my name;
    my glory I give to no other,
    nor my praise to carved idols.

    Our God is the LORD! The LORD - Jehovah! If we would consider that, if we would consider our God's continuing, everlasting covenant love for the elect through the Lord Jesus Christ! If we would consider that our God is for us! If we would consider that He who did not spare His only begotten Son for us will freely give us all things! If we would consider that our God is the omniscient, omnipotent, only wise God, we would never consider turning to and relying on earthly means for help!

    In II Chronicles 14-16, we find the story of Asa, king of Judah, and how the Lord continued to give deliverance to Asa and Judah – so long as Asa relied on the Lord. Read the sad account of what happened when Asa chose to turn away from relying on the Lord to relying on man, in this case his making an alliance with Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria:

    II Chronicles 16:7  And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. 8  Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. 9  For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. 10  Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time. (KJV)


    How can we expect God's blessing to pour down upon us, how can we expect God to revive the Church if we continue to rely on our own devices rather than pleading with God in prayer, pulling down His promises, and seeking His strength and His wisdom?     Whenever we continue to rely on ourselves, on our flesh and the machinery of man, God rebukes us and renders this judgment upon us: "Woe to you!" – just as God spoke to Israel thousands of years ago:

    Isaiah 30:1  Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: 2  That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! 3  Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. 4  For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes. 5  They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach. 6  The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. 7  For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still. (KJV)


    Isaiah 31:1  Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD! 2  Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity. 3  Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together. (KJV)

    These things are written to us for our instruction! Let us take heed!

    Shouldn't the people of God seek their God? And yet how often do we walk in the ways of rebellious Israel and go down to "Egypt" for help? Isn't it an abomination that the children of God would do such a thing? And isn't it an abomination that we would even entertain the thought of doing such a thing? Jesus' words about adultery in the heart come to mind...

    Luke 5:28  But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

    That's a sobering reminder to each and every one of us! As we look at the world and the world's devices and methods and think: "If we had more people, more money, more advertising, a bigger building, more followers, more readers..." At that point, each and every one of us have already committed adultery with the world in our hearts! Is our God not enough? Does He not long and yearn to show Himself strong on our behalf, to give strong support to us (ESV), to rain down in power upon us and provide all we need for the work He has given us to do? That which we need more of is more of the Holy Spirit, and, as Torrey said, more and more dependence on God and less and less dependence on man's machinery!

    People of God, let us consider our God! Let us consider our God is the Almighty God, the Lord of hosts! We sing Sunday after Sunday about the power of God – but do we really believe it? Do we see that apart from Him we have no power? Have we been brought to see our own insufficiency: that we are the branches and Jesus is the Vine and apart from Him we can do nothing?

    Let us consider who we are: we are the bride of Christ! Let us consider the treasure we have: our first Love, our Bridegroom! Let us consider that we are children of God, and let us consider the resurrection power which God makes available to us through His Holy Spirit – so long as we stop relying on our own power and we turn away from relying on the world's power and begin to ask, seek and knock at the throne of grace! Does our heavenly Father not want to give His children His Holy Spirit? (Luke 11) May we despise ourselves each and every time our hearts begin to wander from wholly relying on the LORD alone! Our seeking to work according to worldly ways, with worldly power and machinery is adultery against the one true God!

    The eyes of the LORD are still running to and fro throughout the earth today. And our God is looking for those whose hearts are perfect toward Him, or in the NKJV, whose hearts are loyal to Him, or the ESV, blameless toward Him. What does it mean to be perfect, loyal and blameless toward God? It means that God is looking for souls who are relying on Him. God did not find Asa to be such a man. Would God consider you to be such a man or a woman, one who relies on the Lord? Would He consider me to be such a woman? . . .

    Because Asa was not relying on God. God rebuked king Asa – and not only that, there were dire consequences for the entire nation of Israel! Let us not forget how our own neglect of prayer and our own lack of reliance on God as individuals does have an effect on the entire Body of Christ! Consider how Miriam's sin of dissension against Moses caused her to be stricken with leprosy, and while she was sent outside the camp for seven days, the rest of the nation could not journey until she was brought back in again (see Numbers 12).

    God says Asa had done foolishly. How foolish we are to rely on the power of man when our God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, He is our Savior and Redeemer, the God who conquered and defeated sin, death and Satan, the God whose Spirit blew and made us alive together with Christ – this is the God we have who is waiting to show Himself strong on our behalf! How foolish we are to despise our time in the closet in prayer, and in the meantime we find plenty of time and energy to run, run, run to all our activities, and we run, run, run to imitate the world's ways! And no, I'm not saying that we shouldn't be actively engaged in good works in the world, of course we should – but let's never do so without being engaged in that good work of prayer in the closet!

    Luke 18:1  And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2  He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3  And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4  For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5  yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6  And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7  And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? , Will he delay long over them? 8  I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

    We all ought to be running to our closets and falling down on our faces to our God there! Has God not promised that He will show Himself strong to us? Has He not promised He will avenge us speedily! Will He find faith on the earth? Will He find us in prayer? We can't expect God to show Himself strong on our behalf if we continue to rely on our own fleshly ideas and earthly schemes. How can we possibly expect God to bless us as we make our plans apart from consulting Him? How can we possibly expect God to bless us if we are not relying on Him?

    March 19, 2012 will be the 199th birthday of David Livingstone. The love of God had constrained and compelled Livingstone to spend and be spent for Jesus Chris. As a missionary and explorer in Africa, he laboring unceasingly to lift up Christ and Him crucified to the natives and to tear down the slave trade. Though his outer man had been more than worn out, both his flesh and his spirit continued more than willing... ¹:

    It must have been around 4 am when Susi heard Majwara's step once more. 'Come to Bwana, I am afraid; I don't know if he is alive.' Susi quickly called Chumah, Chowpere, Matthew and Muanyasere. The six men went immediately to the hut.

    Passing inside they looked towards the bed. Dr Livingstone was not lying on it, but appeared to be engaged in prayer, and they instinctively drew backwards for the instant. Pointing to him, Majwara said, 'When I lay down he was just as he is now, and it is because I find that he does not move that I fear he is dead.' They asked the lad how long he had slept. Majwara said he could not tell, but he was sure that it was some considerable time: the men drew nearer.

    A candle stuck by its own wax to the top of the box shed a light sufficient for them to see his form. Dr Livingstone was kneeling by the side of his bed, his body stretched forward, his head buried in his hands upon the pillow. For a minute they watched him:  he did not stir, there was no sign of breathing; then one of them, Matthew, advanced softly to him and placed his hands to his cheeks. It was sufficient; life had been extinct some time, and the body was almost cold: Livingstone was dead.


    "... And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks." – Hebrews 11:4
    May the Holy Spirit call us and draw us and keep us in the closet and faithful to the Lord in the same way He did Livingstone.

    "... Could you not watch one hour?" – Mark 14:37

    May God give us grace to be patient, steadfast, fervent and faithful in prayer, knowing our labor in prayer in the Lord is not in vain.
    James 5:7  Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8  You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9  Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10  As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11  Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful...

    16 ... The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18  Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

    May our God have mercy upon us and pour out upon His people the spirit of grace and supplications (Zech. 12:10), so we might watch in prayer and give the LORD no rest till He establish and make His Church a praise in the earth once again! (~ Isaiah 62)

    May God give us ears to hear His Spirit speaking to us...

    "Prayer could work as marvelous results today as it ever could, if the church would only betake itself to it."

    "It is not necessary that the whole church get to praying to begin with. Great revivals always begin first in the hearts of a few men and women whom God arouses by His Spirit to believe in Him as a living God, as a God who answers prayer, and upon whose heart He lays a burden from which no rest can be found except in importunate crying unto God."

     ~ May God be pleased to use this blog to arouse souls to pray that the greatly-needed revival may come, and come speedily. ~

    If God has been putting into your heart a similar burden to serve Him and to pray for the church, please visit tent_of_meeting, my blog dedicated to revival prayer, and deerlife, my blog to encourage believers to serve in their churches.

    Related posts on prayer and revival:

    Reference:  ¹Rob Mackenzie, "David Livingstone: The Truth Behind the Legend" (Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 1993), 365-366. Mackenzie used the account of Livingstone's death as recorded in "The Last Journals of David Livingstone in Central Africa 1865-1873," by Horace Waller & John Murray (London: 1880), 308). For more on Livingstone, please see the Biography of David Livingstone at the Gospel Fellowship Association.

    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.

    Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

    Work found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:David_Livingstone.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0/ {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}

naphtali_deer

About me...

Christian hedonist in training. Pressing on to know more and more of the joy of the LORD. Pleading with God to rend the heavens and revive and refresh my own soul, as well as His Church, to His praise, honor and glory.

Thank God. He can make men and women in middle life sing again with a joy that has been chastened by a memory of their past failures. ~ Alan Redpath

My other websites

tent of meeting: Prayer for reformation & revival

(See also Zechariah821. Zechariah821 is a mirror site of tent of meeting, found on WordPress)

deerlifetrumpet: Encouragement for those seeking reformation & revival in the Church

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