Forgotten By God?

No!

"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows" (Luke 12:6-7).

The Painful Test of Faith

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

"And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and the he rewards those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).

"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named. He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back" (Hebrews 11:17-19).

The test of faith is painful. One of the most difficult aspects of this test is that we cannot see. What the test is asking of us does not make sense. We are unable to see the outcome, and, left to our own analysis, all outcomes seem to lead toward misery. During this test, and only by such a test, can faith be tested. We cry out alongside Abraham, "God, Abba, why are you asking me to sacrifice my 'Isaac,' my 'Isaac' through which You promised me descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky?" Nonetheless, we trust Him. It doesn't make sense; we don't understand why, but we trust Him. We put our Isaac on the altar and say, "Your will be done." For he is the only one who is worthy of all our trust - He is perfectly faithful, and He loves us with perfect love. This is our conviction of things not seen. All our hope is in Jesus alone, for he is the only one that we can see. Only He is able to work all things together for the good of those who love Him.

Faith in Jesus is proven most supremely when all other hopes are removed but Jesus.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23).

Trust

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6

All we have is today. No, all we have is this second. Will we, will I trust Him, or will I let the cares of this world, the lies of satan, my own emotions, my own cares and worries cause me, or rather tempt me to trust Him not. If I do not trust Perfection, who will I trust?

Beholding Christ Compels Us to Believe

It is sad to me when I see the unsaved maintain their reasons for not trusting in Christ based on what they see or don't see in Christians, rather than what they see or don't see in Christ Himself. Every man falls short - man cannot be God, though he is often worshiped as a god. Only as we see Jesus and fall in love with Him do we trust in Him. Looking at man's works for what they truly are, we see filthy rags. Looking at Christ's works we see righteousness. And when we do see man's works and give God glory, it is truly God's work in man, not man's work in himself.

"For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5).

Your Purpose I Cannot See

O the pain and the deep sorrow,
the depths of this sadness;
the past it haunts me,
my dreams, even they confess.

My heart it wrenches,
the confusion is hard to bear;
years of not understanding this race,
my heart, it continues to tear.

What is my Father doing?
Why has He chosen this path for me?
Speak to me O Lord,
Your purpose I cannot see.

This life is but a vapor,
this world will pass away;
but O the pain that is here,
perhaps it will make sense one day.

The Hill Difficulty

The following quote is taken from John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, a 2007 edition published by Moody Publishers in Chicago, the General Editor being Rosalie De Rosset. Enjoy drinking from the deep waters of our brother's work, written almost 300 years ago. This is our journey...

"...they [the characters Christian, Formalist, and Hypocrisy] all went on till they came to the foot of the hill Difficulty, at the bottom of which was a spring. There were also in the same place two other ways, besides that which came straight from the gate: one turned to the left hand, and the other to the right, at the bottom of the hill; but the narrow way lay right up the hill, and the name of the going up the side of the hill is called Difficulty. Christian now went to the spring (Isaiah 49:10), and drank thereof to refresh himself, and then began to go up the hill, saying:

The hill, though high, I covet to ascend,
The difficulty will not me offend;
For I perceive the way to life lies here:
Come, pluck up, heart, let's neither faint nor fear.
Better, though difficult, the right way to go,
Than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe.

...I looked then after Christian, to see him go up the hill, where I perceived he fell from running to going, and from going to clambering upon his hands and knees, because of the steepness of the place."


"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed" (1 Peter 4:12-13).

I Love the Gospel of Jesus Christ

The Gospel says that my righteousness is found in Christ (Philippians 3:9). The Gospel says that I am reconciled to God (Romans 5:10)! The Gospel says that God has redeemed me, ransomed me from the snare of Hell (Galatians 3:13-14, Matthew 20:28). The Gospel says that Jesus wins, and I am a member of his family (1 Corinthians 15:57, Ephesians 1:4-6). The Gospel says that God will finish the work He started in me (Philippians 1:6). The Gospel says that nothing - neither Satan nor man, nor anything else in all creation - can separate me from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39). The Gospel says that the God of the universe will never leave me, never forsake me (Psalm 94:14, Hebrews 13:5). The Gospel says that I have a Comforter and Teacher who leads me to Jesus (John 14:26, 16:13-15). I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ! If you are in Christ, yell this truth with me, yell it to your heart, for it is true for you as well!

"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God...For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christs" (2 Corinthians 4:3-4, 6). May we yell it also to those who are perishing; perhaps God will allow them to enter His kingdom alongside us.

He Hides A Smiling Face

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace,
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

-William Cowper
excerpt from "God Moves in a Mysterious Way"

Opposition to Rest and Thankfulness in God's Sovereignty

This phrase, "The Sovereignty of God," has had an amazing impact upon my life. My understanding of this phrase has been shaped mightily and supremely by God's Word, and then by the guidance and wisdom of such heroes as John Piper. All authority, in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus; I believe this, I rest in this, and I tremble at this. God's sovereign reign over all things - all events, all gifts, all tragedies, all authorities - is the most beautiful and freeing truths that I have ever experienced.

In light of all of this, what perplexes me the most is the opposition that has come against my understanding and resting in God's sovereignty over the past couple of years. Whether it be from myself, my family, my friends, co-workers, or Satan, opposition has come. If I am exaggerating, it is not by much, that I daily both rest in and doubt God's sovereignty over my life, as well as the lives of those around me. Many times I will leave my house in the morning certain of God's mighty hand guiding my life, realizing that He is infinitely worthy of my trust, yet lay my head on the pillow at night worrying that I will and have messed up my life, wondering if God is truly involved at all.

Nonetheless, again and again, I see the height and goodness of God's involvement in His Word. May we be gracious to those with opposing viewpoints, and may we humbly accept that we do not know or understand all, and may we be thankful for rebuke, but may we also fiercely protect the treasure of truth that our God, our awesome Heavenly Father, is amazingly, supremely, sovereign over all.

"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us." - Acts 17:24-27

The Ferocity of God's Pursuit of His Beloved

Amos 4:6-11

6“I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord.
7“I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither; 8 so two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, and would not be satisfied; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord.
9“I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord.
10“I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me,” declared the Lord.
11“I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord.[1]

O how ferociously God pursues those whom He loves. This passage is referring to the Israelites, but we as believers in Christ may also know and believe that the one and only God, our Heavenly Father, is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and as He treated His children thousands of years ago, He may treat His children today, for His amazing love cannot wax or wane; it is unchanging.

We may tremble with fear, and delight with great joy at the lengths, in with what ferocity, God will pursue those whom He loves. In this passage we see that in order to woo His beloved Israel back to Himself, He does many things that we would look at today as unloving. God gave a “lack of bread” so that His people would return to Him. God “withheld the rain” so that His people would return to Him. God struck His people’s vineyards with mildew so that His people would return to Him. God even killed the Israelite’s “young men with the sword” so that His people would return to Him.

Why? Why would God do these things in order to bring His beloved back to Himself? The only reason I can come up with is unrelenting, all-consuming, passionate love for those whom He loves. He will do anything in order to turn us back to Himself; to turn us away from our sick, perverted lusts; lusts that are destroying us. How can He stand by as the children that He loves are being lied to by Satan – running toward the lies of the world that are calling out “look at me,” “touch me,” “invest in me,” “receive praise from me!”

He is a loving Father. Imagine one of your children, on this earth, is about to leave to go on a vacation with a man that you know is a serial killer. You know it – you know he will destroy her, slowly, and that in the end he will take her life. And for some reason, she cannot see the evil in this man; or, he is so good looking that she would give all to be with him, believing that he will be the “perfect lover” that she has always dreamed of. But you know better, and you will not let her go with him. There is nothing that will keep you from stopping her from going with this man – nothing. That is God’s pursuit of us! He ferociously loves and pursues us. He will even ordain pain in our lives, so that we will return to Him, to Him in whom is found everlasting joy, satisfaction, and unfailing love.

If you are a ransomed child of God, ransomed only by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ as atonement for your sins, then take this text as a passionate visual of God’s pursuit of you. Examine your life – are you seeking passionately worldly “things;” worldly pleasures? God will not let you enjoy them. He loves you too ferociously to let you be eaten alive by the lies and “lovers” of this world. He will get your attention. I do not presume to know how, but He will. He is calling out to you, “Turn your eyes to Me! Look at Me! I’m here! I will not leave your or forsake you. My love is everlasting, and my love will fill that empty hole which nothing else in this world is capable of doing. Turn to me – taste and see that the Lord is good!

If you are not a believer, I pray that by God’s grace, your eyes will be opened by God to the beauty and truth of the greatness and ferocity of God’s love that is found in Christ Jesus. You cannot work your way to Him; it is only by His grace that you are chosen and loved and pursued ferociously by Him. Turn to Jesus!

[1] Italics added for emphasis

The Grace of Salvation, The Grace of the Refining Fires, All For His People

"On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness." - Zechariah 13:1


There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its powerTill all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save,When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.Lies silent in the grave, lies silent in the grave;When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.

Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be,For me a blood bought free reward, a golden harp for me!’Tis strung and tuned for endless years, and formed by power divine,To sound in God the Father’s ears no other name but Thine.

-There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood, William Cowper

"Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me," declares the Lord of hosts. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones. In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people'; and they will say, 'The Lord is my God.'" - Zechariah 13:7-9 (bold type added)

"...though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." - 1 Peter 1:6-7

He Will Exult Over Us With Loud Singing

"Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil...The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." - Zephaniah 3:14-15, 17

Daytime and Nighttime

Month and the Year

Battling I long for, Your quiet waters

Battered and Beaten

Tired and Scared

Stumbling I come to, Your quiet waters

Shepherd knows my name

Now I'm found, and never the same

You sing over me,

With a sweet, sweet melody

Quench my thirst,

A thirst only You can satisfy

You sing over me,

With a sweet, sweet melody

Lead me beside still waters, quiet waters

Broken and crippled

Too weak to stand

Reaching, You pick me up

To my surprise, You carry me

-Shepherd's Song, by Heather Palmer

http://www.myspace.com/heatherapalmer

The Glory and the Wonder of the Scriptures

As I awoke this morning, the weight of the days were bound upon my back. The sorrows of life seemed to have overtaken my emotions. The last several days have been full of much sadness, heaviness, depression. By God's grace and power, I turned to His Word. The book of Habakkuk was my course; a book of three chapters. What I found there was the glory and power of God to speak to the saints through His Word, through the Scriptures. I marvel at the power and mystery of our Lord Jesus. This book, Habakkuk, was written at least a little over 2,000 years ago, yet I heard God's voice more clearly than any human has spoken to me in these recent days of darkness. O the power of God, the power and wonder of His Word. Spoken to my brother over 2,000 years ago, He found and heard from God; spoken to my brother over 2,000 years ago, a light to me amidst the darkness.

"O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you 'Violence!' and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise." - Habakkuk 1:2-3

"Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told." - Habakkuk 1:5

"Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith." - Habakkuk 2:4 ("bold-type" added by me)

"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places." - Habakkuk 3:17-19a

"The Roots of Endurance" in the life of John Newton

I am reading a book right now by John Piper entitled The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce. The book, in my own words, is a biography about the three men mentioned above, written by Pastor John Piper in order to encourage men and women to see and know and love Jesus, and to encourage the saints to "...not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises" (Hebrews 6:12).

Therefore, in my hope that whoever reads this blog will be encouraged unto Jesus, and that they will be supplied with the grace to say "Because Your love is better than life Lord, my lips will glorify You," I thought it profitable to share what is written in the pages of this book, adding my own thoughts as I pray the Spirit leads me.

"John Newton: The Tough Roots of His Habitual Tenderness" (p.41)

According to this biography, John Newton, the writer of the famous hymn "Amazing Grace," was known to be a man who glorified God with his tenderness (which God undoubtedly supplied him with). John Piper writes about what he believes to be the "roots of John Newton's habitual tenderness" (69). These roots are made of the following:

(1) Realism About the Limits of This Life (70)

• "Few things will tend to make you more tender than to be much in the presence of suffering and death. 'My course of study,' Newton said, 'like that of a surgeon, has principally consisted in walking the hospital.'" (70).

• "In other words, his tender patience and persistence in caring for difficult people came, in part, from a very sober and realistic view of what to expect from this world. Life is hard, and God is good" (70).

• A quote from the works of Newton:

"The day is now breaking: how beautiful its appearance! how welcome the expectation of the approaching sun! It is this thought makes the dawn agreeable, that it is the *presage of a brighter light; otherwise, if we expect no more day than it is this minute, we should rather complain of darkness, than rejoice in the early beauties of the morning. Thus the Life of grace is the dawn of immortality: beautiful beyond expression, if compared with the night and thick darkness which formerly covered us; yet faint, indistinct, and unsatisfying, in comparison of the glory which shall be revealed"(71).(*added)

*presage - "something that foreshadows or portends a future event" or "an intuition or feeling of what is going to happen in the future" (Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary)

(2) All - Pervasive Humility and Gratitude at Having Been Saved (71)

• "Till the day he died, he never ceased to be amazed that, as he said at age seventy-two, 'such a wretch should not only be spared and pardoned, but reserved to the honor of preaching thy Gospel, which he had blasphemed and renounced...this is wonderful indeed! The more thou hast exalted me, the more I ought to abase myself'"(71-72).

• A quote from the works of Newton:

"[The 'wretch' who has been saved by grace] believes and feels his own weakness and unworthiness, and lives upon the grace and pardoning love of his Lord. This gives him an habitual tenderness and gentleness of spirit. Humble under a sense of much forgiveness to himself, he finds it easy to forgive others"(73).

(3) Peaceful Confidence in the Pervasive, Loving Providence of God (73)

• "In order to maintain love and tenderness that thinks more about the other person's need than our own comforts, we must have an unshakable hope that the sadness of our lives will work for our everlasting good"(73).

• Another quote from Newton, describing the follower of Jesus:

"And his faith upholds him under all trials, by assuring him that every dispensation is under the direction of his Lord; that chastisements are a token of his love; that the season, measure, and continuance of his sufferings, are appointed by Infinite Wisdom, and designed to work for his everlasting good; and that grace and strength shall be afforded him, according to his day" (74).

• "He..." (Newton), "...approved of Samuel Rutherford's comment that 'there is no temptation like being without temptation'"(74). Rutherford was a 17th century Scottish minister.

"Amazing grace! - how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me,

I once was lost, but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

John Newton" (40)

My God grant us to imitate our brother who has gone before us, in order that we may shine brightly the grace that God has shown us through Jesus Christ, and that "others may see our good deeds and praise our Father who is in heaven."

Questions, Waiting

I was thinking recently, "what is going on?" I mean in life; what is going on? Do you ever feel like life seems so random? Have you travelled that same valley - laying in your bed crying out to God, "Where are you?!" Has something ever torn, no, clawed at your heart for years? You know that it should not be that big of a deal, but your heart rebels against all practicalities. Have your dreams ever haunted you? Yeah, me too. I know life is not always "that intense," but sometimes we look around and it seems like we are buried deep within the sand with only our fingertips reaching the surface. What is going on? The funny thing to me is that God does not promise that life will be easy, so what do I really desire? I have to confess that a deep desire of my heart is to know that God is working; that He is moving; that there is purpose. Honestly, if I was left to my own effort, there would be no hope. I would screw everything up. I might be able to look good for a while, but my attempts at perfection will eventually crash. So I turn to Jesus. Do I turn to Him just because I want Him to make my life into a "success story?" I might do that, but it's not right. What do I want? God, are You in control? Are you working all things together for good to those who love You, who are called according to Your purpose? Will I know Your presence and love even in the deepest pain and loneliness? O God, I am a little child and I know it. No, I am a baby, and truly I will perish if You do not feed me. I look to You; I cry out to You. Abba, are you working? Do you love me?...

" I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning." - Psalm 130:5-6