"The answer to the problem of evil does not lie in trying to establish its point of origin, for that is simply not revealed to us. Rather, in the moment of the cross, it becomes clear that evil is utterly subverted for good. . . . If God can take the greatest of evils and turn them for the greatest of goods, then how much more can he take the lesser evils which litter human history, from individual tragedies to international disasters, and turn them to his good purpose as well."

- Carl R. Trueman, "Luther's Theology of the Cross"

With the economy in the gutter and who knows who is going to get elected, I think we need to trust God for the outcome of all of this. 

Psa 20:7  Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Psa 20:8  They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love

God, to them who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28

NIV)


One of the toughest questions to answer is: "Why do I have to deal

with so much adversity?"


One of the best answers to this question I have ever come across was

written by C.S. Lewis in his book, Mere Christianity. Lewis likened

God's use of adversity to walking a dog. If the dog gets its leash

wrapped around a pole and tries to continue running forward, he will

only tighten the leash more. Both the dog and the owner are after the

same end: forward motion. But the owner must resist the dog by

pulling him in the opposite direction than he wants to go.

The "master," sharing the same intention, but understanding better

than the dog where he really wants to go, takes an action precisely

opposite to that of the dog's will. It is in this way that God uses

adversity.


None of us like being pulled and corrected by the Lord - but when we

understand there is a greater purpose involved, then we can pass

through adversity with hope, expectation and steadfastness knowing

these events are for our greater good.


We need to learn from the trials and tribulations we go through

because God has a purpose in them. We may not enjoy it, but there is

a purpose to it. We can trust God because He loves us and He knows

the direction we need to go. He also knows exactly how to get us

there.


Denny Dowd

I received this in my email devo box this morning and I thought I would share.

—John Calvin, commenting on Rom 4:20, in Thomas Schreiner and Ardel Canaday, The Race Set Before Us (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 282


What do we do then, when we repent of our sins and still feel very sinful?  Have you felt that you cannot even come to God and ask for more forgiveness for the same sin over and over again?



Rom 4:13  For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
Rom 4:14  For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
Rom 4:15  For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
Rom 4:16  That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring--not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
Rom 4:17  as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations"--in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
Rom 4:18  In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, "So shall your offspring be."
Rom 4:19  He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.
Rom 4:20  No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
Rom 4:21  fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
Rom 4:22  That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness."
Rom 4:23  But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone,
Rom 4:24  but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,
Rom 4:25  who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

The surest and only foundation

—Walter Marshall, The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 1999), 150  

I for one am ecstatic that His mercies are new every morning....

Only Christ can Cleanse the Guilty Conscience

"There is no greater burden in this world than the guilt of our sin. Other burdens weary the feet or the back; this burden wearies the soul. People who abhor the idea of a blood-shedding God may write platitudes about the goodness of man. People may say that we are finding our destiny out of a Darwinian soup. Perhaps we are not yet what we might be, but we are certainly not guilty, they insist. But in a moral universe ruled by a holy God, such words will not wash away the reality of the things we have done.

If you come to recognize how your words have torn the hearts of others as knives tear the flesh; if you think for just a moment how your neglect of duty and selfish pursuit of gain have meant sorrow and woe for real people; if you merely ask how many men and women in this world have real cause to resent you, to wish you had never crossed their paths; if you take stock of God's holy and unyielding law and your incessant violation of it, then your conscience will speak against you about what you really are and deserve. You will crave a cleansing such as Christ alone can give."

- Richard D. Phillips, Hebrews: Reformed and Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2006), 305.

God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.

~Eric Liddell






I hope you all know who this is....his life was portrayed in the movie "Chariots of Fire".  What a great thing...to feel His pleasure. 

I feel God's pleasure when I worship Him in spirit and in truth.  I feel His pleasure when I am the wife He has made me to be.  I feel His pleasure when I am the mom He has made me to be.  I feel God's pleasure when I am the friend He has made me to be. 

When do you feel God's pleasure?

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence.
If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world!

While the Lord calls me to be wise and discerning, he reminds me often
that his discernment cannot dwell in a cynical distrustful heart. With
Him, there is no hidden agenda and no ulterior motive. His gifts are
free for the taking but I cannot take these gifts if my hands are
already full of my own weapons of self-protection. Therefore, He asks me
to lay down the shields that I have forged for protection and to pick up
the shield of faith in their place. He asks me to take Him at His Word.

Katherine Walden