A Song and a Prayer

This song by Fernando Ortega has long been a favorite of mine. I first heard it back in the mid-90's and remember being struck by the simple beauty of it. It quickly became the cry of my heart.

1 Peter 1:13-16 says:

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 

This song is a prayer to be more like Jesus, to be more holy. By His grace, He will do that work in our hearts and lives by the power of His Spirit. What a beautiful song to sing and offer as a prayer to our Great Savior and our Glorious God. May we ever be growing more and more like our beautiful Jesus. May He grow more precious to us day by day.

"The Trial of Your Faith"

This is from Charles Spurgeon's classic devotional called Morning and Evening. On a particularly difficult day, my husband chose this for our family worship time at night. All I could do was quietly let the tears run down my cheeks as his gentle voice read. Then, i leaned into the hard truths that are written here.

Whatever difficulty you find yourself in the midst of, may these words encourage and strengthen your heart. There is a purpose in what you are passing through. 

Morning

"The trial of your faith."

1 Peter 1:7

Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and it is likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests are her trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators. When a calm reigns on the sea, spread the sails as you will, the ship moves not to its harbour; for on a slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush howling forth, and let the waters lift up themselves, then, though the vessel may rock, and her deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway towards her desired haven. No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity. Tried faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own weakness had you not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God's strength had you not been supported amid the water-floods. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.

Let not this, however, discourage those who are young in faith. You will have trials enough without seeking them: the full portion will be measured out to you in due season. Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the result of long experience, thank God for what grace you have; praise him for that degree of holy confidence whereunto you have attained: walk according to that rule, and you shall yet have more and more of the blessing of God, till your faith shall remove mountains and conquer impossibilities.

(emphasis is mine) 

Defy Public Opinion

"We need ministers who will defy public opinion and, with flaming zeal, burn a way into men’s hearts."

~C.H. Spurgeon

This statement is so true! Lately my husband and i have been listening to some ministers who do exactly this. When listening to them, the Word of God pierces you with a ferocity that forces you to confront anything that is out of line w/ it. They preach with authority and without apology. These men do not use "pop-psychology" to engage the hearers, NO! They use the Word of God, and it is piercing. With so many churches watering down the gospel, these men are a breath of fresh air (or fire!). 

We attend a church where the Word of God is preached as well. Hear me when i say that! Yet i am so hungry to know more, so that i can be the brightest light i can be for Him! 

Who are the men that we are listening to? Fasten your seat belts....

• Paul Washer ~ One of his sermons, called Ten Indictments, has impacted me heavily. It is 2 hours long. He has many sermons online, and they are excellent. 
• Voddie Baucham ~ This sermon, at an Evangelistic conference, is a wonderful intro. to him. Just this past week, he was on Family Life Today talking about forgiveness in marriage.
• Alistair Begg ~ We have listened to him for years! Find him at Truth For Life. We listen to him every morning for a "chapel time" before we start our home-school day.
• John MacArthur ~ Fantastic... I enjoy using his study Bible. Find him at Grace to You. His book Charismatic Chaos brought some much-needed clarity as i was leaving the charismatic/pentecostal/vineyard movements. 
• R.C. Sproul ~ I have been listening to Renewing Your Mind, and have enjoyed his guest speakers.
• Ken Ham ~ WOW! Find him at Answers in Genesis. I am currently in a study that is going through his new Foundations curriculum. I highly recommend it to EVERYONE! 
• Doug Philips ~ Enjoyed his thoughts on a documentary i recently watched. Find him at Vision Forum.
• Steven Lawson ~ His series "The Doctrines of Grace in John" is amazing! Find him here. The first message i heard by him was called "War on the Word". wow! I heard "Doctrines in Grace" (link takes you to 1st of 12 messages) and "War on the Word" on Renewing Your Mind. 

Well, there you have it! Each of these men are the embodiment of what Spurgeon spoke over 100 years ago. These men HAVE NOT and DO NOT capitulate to the culture! And,  they take heat for it too. These men have counted the cost. They have looked at what it cost's them to preach the Truth, and are willing to pay the price. Now, are we willing to take stands that go against public opinion, and be counted as faithful messengers of the gospel of Jesus Christ? 

Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for hte sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. 1 Peter 3:13-17

With All Your Heart

last time, we looked at the first four words of Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the LORD...". What an amazing 4 words, and how challenging they can be for us to live out.

today, we turn to the rest of Proverbs 3:5 "...with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding."

with all your heart. 
ALL.
holding nothing back.
fully, totally, utterly.
not just in part, but in whole.

if you are anything like me, maybe you would say that you do trust Him with ALL your heart. but then maybe you find yourself trying to figure your way out of a situation that is impossible.
or you worry.
ouch.
it says "Trust in the LORD with ALL your heart..."
there is no room for worry or anxiety there. not if we TRULY trust Him, with ALL our hearts.

if there is anxiety or worry after we have given it all over to Jesus, we need to pray for the Holy Spirit to show us where we are not trusting, to show us where in our heart are we not letting Him be Lord...

1 Peter 5:7 says this:  "casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."
we aren't supposed to just cast a little bit of our care on Him...NO! ALL of our cares on Him, and then TRUST Him with ALL our hearts to work it out according to His will, because He cares for us. What a precious promise from His most excellent Word. and because we know that He cares for us, we need not lean on our own way of doing things, our own understanding of a situation, on our own wisdom (or what we think is our wisdom). HE cares for us. HE see's the big picture. HE is caring for us in His most perfect way.

i am working through this. being pruned. most definitely. and it hurts, but it is good, and necessary for growth.

may we embrace and trust the Lord Jesus Christ with ALL our hearts this day.