Month: September 2022

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GOD DISCIPLINES HIS CHURCH

“God is presently restraining his own wrath and his enemies’ efforts to destroy the church as he patiently gathers his redeemed people through the testimony that his suffering people proclaim about Jesus” The ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p2455).

“the believer often expects all his heaven on earth [Y]et the present is only the wilderness state of the Church. Life now is only a pilgrimage and sojourning. If we do not have affliction, we lack the evidence of our true sonship, for the Father ‘scourgeth every son whom he receiveth’ (Heb 12:6). The Spirit also comforts by revealing the purpose for which the affliction is sent. [The] wounded, bleeding, and suffering, seeks a wounded, bleeding, suffering Savior more earnestly than ever. When the purpose for which the trial was sent is accomplished, it may be in the discovery of some departure or in the removal of an obstruction to the growth of grace—some object that obscured the glory of Jesus and that suspended His visits of love to the soul” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Nov 3rd).

“[God] suffers no affliction to come upon His children but such as is essential for their present and eternal good. He will purify His church, even as Christ purified the temple during His ministry on earth. All that He brings upon His people in test and trial comes that they may gain deeper piety and greater strength to carry forward the triumphs of the cross” Ellen G. White (ref#331, p524-525).

“When God afflicts the godly, he holds a remedy in his hand; and when he throws the godly into the grave, he can restore them to life and safety. We therefore can understand the design of God to chasten his church with temporal evils” John Calvin (ref#164, May 23rd).

“Some people seem to be naturally gifted leaders in the church, raise children in the faith with seemingly little effort, and succeed in evangelizing others at every opportunity without any hesitation. They communicate well spiritually, live close to the Lord, and are filled with Christ and genuine joy in believing. These 100 percent yielders intimidate us who struggle at producing even 30 percent. But according to our Lord, all believers are reckoned as ‘good soil’ if the Word of God flourishes in them. Take heart in our Savior’s encouragement to stand firm in the faith, and ask for grace to bear more fruit in days to come, to his praise” John Calvin (ref#164, June 27th).

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps 119:105 ESV). If your law had not been my delight I would have perished in my affliction” (Ps 119:92 ESV).

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FEAR

“[D]on’t take the pressure of forethought upon yourself. It is not only wrong to worry, it is infidelity, because worrying means that we do not think that God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it is never anything else that worries us” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, May 23rd).

“Let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread, for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory” (Deut 20:3-4 ESV).

“God tries our faith by adversity, it follows that no one truly confides in God but he who is armed with invincible constancy for resisting the fears with which he may be assailed” John Calvin (ref#164, Feb 11th).

“Sometimes fear does not subside and one must choose to do it afraid” Elizabeth Elliot.

“If we give way to foolish fear, we will dishonor our profession of faith and lead others to doubt the reality of godliness. We ought to be afraid of being afraid, lest we vex the Holy Spirit by foolish distrust” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, April 22nd PM).

“All the poverty and pain in the world would be powerless if the evil of it did not enter into the soul and distress it.” Charles Spurgeon (ref#310, p163).

There are two kinds of fear: paralyzing fear and energizing fear. Paralyzing fear comes to people who have no relationship with GOD when they recognize His authority over them.

Without some comprehension of GOD everything we do is a self-help project. When we are not close to GOD we become comfortable with ourselves and go about our daily business of setting goals and evaluating ourselves. But energizing fear makes us cast aside our predetermined plans and make an all-out effort to stay close to GOD. Eugene Peterson (ref#58, p30).

No wonder CHRIST’s delight was the ‘fear of the LORD’ (Isa 11:3). As Son of Man, He needed His FATHER, minute by minute; His energized fear kept Him receiving miracle after miracle that filled Him with joy as well as moved Him through His earthly life accomplishing His FATHER’s will. Energizing fear, obedience, and joy come bundled together.

“[L]et us lift up our banner in his name, and press on through every discouragement” John Newton (ref#322, p182).

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THE THREE IN THE FURNACE

“’O LORD, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. [W]e will stand and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save’” (2 Chron 20:6,9 ESV).

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up’” (Dan 3:16-18 ESV).

“There was no doubt as to God’s power to save [the three]. Yet the way in which God would work out his plan was less clear. God’s power is sometimes extended in dramatic ways to deliver his people, as when he parted the Red Sea. [A]t other times, that same power is withheld, and his people are allowed to suffer” The ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p1592).

“The Lord’s power as readily controls the rage of the wicked as the rage of the sea” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Aug 12th AM).

Prayer Meeting

Behold, dear Lord, we come again,

To supplicate thy grace;

We feel our leanness and our wants;

We want to see thy face.

Thou know’st, dear Lord, for what we’re come;

Each heart is known to thee.

Lord, give our burdened spirits rest,

And bid us all go free.

We’ve nothing of our own to plead,

We come just as we are;

And who can tell but God may bless,

And drive away our fear?

While one is pleading with our God,

May each one wrestle too;

And may we feel the blessing come,

And cheer us ere we go.

Then shall we sing of sovereign grace

And feel its power within;

And glory in our Surety, Christ,

Who bore our curse and sin.

For this we come, for this we plead,

In spite of every foe;

Until thou give this blessing, Lord,

We would not let thee go

D. Herbert (ref#224, song #677).

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TRIALS CANNOT INJURE THE SOUL

“Love is when God gets you to God” John Piper. And most often He does that through tribulation.

“The normal person simply doesn’t esteem the spiritual value of hardship. They say they believe in the truths of Scripture, but they live in an unspoken state of disappointment, irritation, impatience, or frustration with God. The trials in our lives exist not because he has forgotten us but because he remembers us and is changing us by his grace” Paul David Tripp (ref#190, June 17th).

“He who reads the hearts of men knows their weaknesses better than they themselves can know them. He sees that some have qualifications which, if rightly directed, could be used in the advancement of His work. In His providence He brings these souls into different positions and varied circumstances, that they may discover the defects that are concealed from their own knowledge. He gives them opportunity to overcome these defects and to fit themselves for service. Often He permits the fires of affliction to burn, that they may be purified” Ellen G. White (ref#331, p524).

“Let us remember that these outward trials cannot injure the soul, that they last only for a time, and that they are working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2 Cor 4:17)” Charles Ross (ref#241, p154).

“We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything” (2 Cor 6:8-10 ESV).

“The truth is, persecution of the godly [is] of God, and never intended for [men’s] destruction, but for their glory; to make them shine the more when they are beyond [the] valley of the shadow of death. God will have the spirit of His servants kept sound. [T]he ground that the enemy has to play upon [is] the body and outward substance of the people of God. The spirit is reserved that it might be capable of maintaining communion with God” John Bunyan (ref#225, Jan 10th).

“How God loves: by doing everything He has to do, like remove every obstacle, to bring me to the place where I make much of Him” John Piper