Thoughts on books
I have been giving great consideration to the weather lately. From surface lows that unequally transport heat and water vapour across the face of the ground, to the severity of severe weather, to the gracious yielding of rain when most of the rest of the state is under the highest fire danger level. I used to give it sole consideration as an expression of architecture, but recently my mental emphasis has shifted. It seems that these past few months prior to the chase week have been void of any uniquely pressing matters, and have left me with more time with the Lord. I have been meditating on His goodness and Providence in great measure, and have been applying that knowledge to the weather.
So, about books. Perhaps this is just a little place mark to come back to one day, but I hope to write a book about the weather and the goodness of God. But also the power of God, the gentleness and kindness of God, the Providence of God, the wrath and might of God, and the mercy and grace of God. Who knows what will come of this little manuscript. Perhaps nothing. Perhaps I'll pair it with a handful of photos and make a nice Christmas gift with it, who knows.
But all things ought to result in ceaseless praise to God.
Where I've Been
- I've come to settle temporarily on a future destination. Jetmore, KS, leave the light on for me. And maybe about 80 acres on yer west.
- Discovering that of all our dreams for this life, should God choose not to bless them, He will absolutely provide something in its place.
- A life lived in patient and humble obedience is the life best lived.
- Cultivating godly character is a pursuit worth the time and effort, the sweat and the tears.
- I am a creature of God whose life is but as the grass, and who should not worry about life overtaking her at an overwhelming speed like volcanic ash down a mountain, lest I keep apace. No, God will sustain me even at a slower pace in life, because this is all about His renown.
- Oh, the quietness and peace about me I used to consider such a bane, as a stormy petrel is wont to do. But I've discovered that this very nuisance is actually but a grander blessing than can be weighed on earthly scales.
From an actual product's website:
This simulated stone is hand crafted from natural stone and is nearly impossible to detect.
So, don't go looking for our stone on your walls... you're likely going to have a hard time finding it.
Lessons
I am learning to slow down.
I am learning about repentance.
I am learning about love.
The Word of God must cut straight through to the heart. It must.
Another random and disjointed blog entry
I'm on the ride of my life at the moment. Spiritually speaking. Letting go of what I want in life is so hard, because there is the great fear that I will be made miserable by it. That if this is the one thing that I've always wanted, well, only a fool would stop pursuing that. Only a fool would let it go and seek to want Christ alone, and whatever comes with Him. That is what my mind constantly wants to remind me. But on the other hand, what evidence would I have to show that the Lord is ready and willing to be true to His promises? What proof would I have that He is true to His Word if I was not willing to put my earthly desires aside, to stop striving for them, and to wait for them to come to me in His time? What proof would I have that He is superior to all if I did not seek Him above all else, and be filled? How could I tell someone that He is worth it, if I did not see nor feel His worth? If I did not seek Him as rare and costly treasure? If I did not let Him lead me into a wasteland to be fed by ravens? Oh, what trust! Oh, what sacrifice! How much one must hate the world to follow Him? And yet, there is so much more to be enjoyed in this world when we set aside our own sketches of what it looks like outside, and actually open the door to see for ourselves. We may be so afraid that it will not look like the sketches and ideas we've been clinging to, and that we'll be disappointed by what we see. So we peer intently into the pictures we've drawn, longing to be made joyful by them. Walking in the trust we profess to have in Christ sometimes means putting the sketches down on the table, and going over to the door to open it and look outside at what He has actually made.
I am learning what it means to be content, and to do one's work as unto the Lord. This means not worrying constantly about whether or not I am fit for the job, but whether I am, moment by moment, accomplishing the task. Not whether I can pound out more work than the next guy, but whether I am earning the paycheck my boss has agreed to give me. Work is not to me, but to God and His glory.
Jeremiah Burroughs in
The Rare Jewel of Christian ContentmentBut you will object: What you speak of is very good, if we could attain to it; but is it possible for anyone to attain to this? It is possible if you get skill in the art of it; you may attain to it, and it will prove to be not such a difficult thing either, if you but understand the mystery of it. There are many things that men do in their callings, that if a countryman comes and sees, he thinks it a mighty hard thing, and that he should never be able to do it. But that is because he does not understand the art of it; there is a twist of the hand by which you may do it with ease. Now that is the business of this book, to open to you the art and mystery of contentment.I hope you find time to read the book.
Dear Diary
Day 33 of my trek through the Bible in one year. Many evil deeds perpetrated on the young earth. Many animals slaughtered. But there is hope.
I wanted to stop at an unusual place. Leviticus 5:4.
Or if a person swears, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it -- when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters.
How often do I do this? How often do I make such statements against some thing or some one? And it is their carelessness that causes us to dismiss their value. They were insincere words spoken by us, so they ought not to mean anything. Right?
Now, I am not seeking to be legalistic. But I AM seeking holiness. I have been dealing with a desire to serve God, but with no idea where to start. How can my wicked heart know the right way?
Oh, but there is an answer for that in God's Word.
Psalm 119:9 tells us how.
How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.Psalm 119:162
I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure.
Psalm 119:11
Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
And finally
Psalm 1:1-3
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
2009 is the year I begin reading the Bible all the way through. Now, there was a big hiccup at the end of Genesis, but I'm back on track in Exodus. I am gaining a lot more from reading the Bible through than I ever thought I would. I remember reading it through as a kid with my parents, but I never understood it. That was because I was not regenerated, and I COULD not understand it. I had to remind myself that I would most certainly get something out of every day, because I am now able to comprehend spiritual things. It is quite amazing how we often have to pull rank on our minds.
So, as I said, I am in Exodus. The children of Israel have just finished partying with the calf, and God has just shown Moses His back. And a few things have impressed themselves upon me, and I thought I would blog about them for once in a long while.
1. God is very jealous for His holiness. The oil and the incense that was ONLY to be used in the tabernacle, for example. And the priest's garments that could not touch anything unholy. Now, think about this for a moment. God is Holy, and He cannot be anything BUT holy. But what about us? We are commanded to be holy (Lev 11:44; 1 Peter 1:16). We are priests (Exodus 19:6; Rev. 1:5-6), and we are His temple (John 2:21; 1 Cor 6:19). And are we so zealous for God's holiness as Moses was? I would say not many. I see how in my life I abuse grace over and over again. And the holiness of God is often far from my mind. It ought to be in front of my eyes.
2. In Exodus 33:18-23 Moses asks God to show him His glory. But the Lord says that no man can see His face and live, but that He will show Moses His back. And I considered how God does this often. We do not see the front side of God in His work, but after He has passed, we see the back of Him in the wake of provision He leaves after Himself for us. All the while, He covers us with His hand and protects us, as the Psalmist calls the Lord the rock of his refuge and strength. Oh, I wish I could say this more clearly.
3. What favor Moses found in God's sight, by the Lord's own choosing. (Exodus 33:17, 19b) And how steadfast he was for God's own glory.
Needful Poetry
John Bunyan's poem on
Needful Things.
Those Puritans...
Hence it follows, that manifold and successive afflictions are no more than what is necessary for the best of Christians; the mortification of our lusts requires them all, be they never so many, 1 Pet. 1:5, "If need be, ye are in heaviness;" it is no more than need, that one loss should follow another, to mortify an earthly heart; for so intensely are our affections set upon the world, that it is not one, or two, or many checks of providence, that will suffice to wean and alienate them. Alas, the earthliness of our hearts will take all this, it may be much more than this, to purge them: the wise God sees it but necessary to permit frequent discoveries of our own weakness, and to let loose the tongues of many enemies upon us, and all little enough to pull down our pride, and the vanity that is in our hearts: Christian, how difficult soever it be for thee to bear it; yet the pride of thy heart requires all the scoffs and jeers, all the calumnies and reproaches, that ever the tongues or pens of thy bittersweet enemies, or mistaken friends, have at any time thrown upon thee. Such rank weeds as grow in our hearts, will require hard frosts and very sharp weather to rot them; the straying bullock needs a heavy clog, and so doth a Christian, whom God will keep within the bounds and limits of His commandments, Psalm 69:67, Daniel 11:35.
John Flavel
From The Whole Works of the Reverend John Flavel
The Method of Grace, Sermon 28
Blogspotting
I am always thankful for God's faithfulness to continue to gift others with the ability to
communicate clearly.
"They are not our best friends that stir the pride of our hearts by the flattery of their lips."
John Flavel
"I prefer to sing Scripture words," she once explained, "because He did not promise that
our words should not return to Him void."
-From the biographical prologue to Poems by Francis R. Havergal
2 Samuel 7
David's Prayer
18Then David the king went in and sat before the LORD, and he said, "
(AC)Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?
19"And yet this was insignificant in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, (AD)for You have spoken also of the house of Your servant concerning the distant future And (AE)this is the custom of man, O Lord GOD.
20"Again what more can David say to You? For (AF)You know Your servant, O Lord GOD!
21"(AG)For the sake of Your word, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness to let Your servant know.
22"For this reason (AH)You are great, O Lord GOD; for (AI)there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, (AJ)according to all that we have heard with our ears.
23"And (AK)what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people and to make a name for Himself, and (AL)to do a great thing for You and awesome things for Your land, before (AM)Your people whom (AN)You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, from nations and their gods?
24"For (AO)You have established for Yourself Your people Israel as Your own people forever, and (AP)You, O LORD, have become their God.
25"Now therefore, O LORD God, the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house, confirm it forever, and do as You have spoken,
26(AQ)that Your name may be magnified forever, by saying, 'The LORD of hosts is God over Israel'; and may the house of Your servant David be established before You.
27"For You, O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have made a revelation to Your servant, saying, '(AR)I will build you a house'; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to You.
28"Now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and (AS)Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant.
29"Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord GOD, have spoken; and (AT)with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever."
I am framing a few pictures today at work. There is something about doing something with my hands that gives me pleasure and joy in the work there is to do in life.
I also picked up a few dented and dinged picture frames from Hobby Lobby while out for lunch. I have an idea for them... I might post the finished product here later.
I don't have a whole lots of time to write here today, so I'll just post a brief thought.
I had to get rid of Chester. There was nothing really wrong with the cat. On the surface, everything was fine. He was well-mannered, sociable, and cute. He had his faults, but we all do. However, I knew deep down that I needed to be obedient, even though I didn't understand why. I didn't really enjoy having him around. He was a quick decision that I made on my own without praying about first. I thought I could do that. But the lesson I learned here is that God ought to be involved in every decision I make. I never had a settled feeling in my gut after bringing him home, but thought that should fade with time. It never did.
And now I just have one cat. And she is back to her "old self." The Crystal I had before Chester came around is the one I liked more. She brings me her toys now, plays with me, talks to me, curls up with me. She doesn't behave like she's merely tolerating life anymore. And I am not merely tolerating a cat anymore.
There is freedom in obedience. And obedience brings blessing. To be sure, I am experiencing more peace, and peace is a blessing not to be disregarded.
So, do not harden your heart to obedience to Him. Trust Him and trust His Word. Otherwise, how can you say you believe Him?
A new thought for the new year
I picked up this little gem in our church's bookstore over the holidays.
I'll be honest. This was the last topic I wanted to read about. The absolute last. I have never really been interested in business to the degree that I took having my own very seriously. I did a lot of contract work in college, which may sound impressive. I just did freelance AutoCAD work for contractors and homeowners, and wrote up a little Invoice, and received a check in the mail. It was a pretty simple dorm-room operation. The last thing I remember doing was for a small home-builder in OKC not long after I moved here. He needed advice on easements and eaves. I did the research, and sent him the info, along with a bill. No check. It was then that I realized that moonlighting was just not worth it. I have a good job here.
So, fast forward about seven years. I have my "other" degree. I have a license to practice architecture. I have a lot to learn.
But I also have this office. It's not mine, no. But it's here. It's a resource. And I am to work here to the glory of God. Now, unfortunately, not a lot of that occurs here, generally. And I've fallen into poor work ethics in some areas. I have struggled to keep on course in others. But the thought has always been in my mind that I just work here. I am not interested in managing an office. I'm not even interested in managing projects. I just do code, and I'm quite comfortable and competent at it.
But the question has been looming large in my mind with greater frequency:
"If this were my office, what would I do differently?"
I think it's perfectly fine for me to ask this question and to live those answers myself. The hardest thing for me to do has been to work for the glory of God, but it is my calling, and my greatest responsibility right now. I have no excuse for not doing it right; I have few other responsibilities.
I have found myself in the last year trying to put more on my plate than God would have ever given me for my good. What He took away was for my good, and for me to see that it was for my good, and to give me an opportunity to trust Him. But it was not His intention to leave me with nothing to work with my hands on. I look at this office and I see opportunities to glorify God with my order and neatness, with my management of time and other resources.
I have begun to read the book posted above, and have been giving a lot of thought to the moral good of work, and of going into business. If this is where I am to be, I'd rather do it all with gusto, and as unto the Lord. There will be good times and there will be bad times, and through it all "
teach me Your ways, O Lord, and lead my feet in a level path because of my foes."
That's all for now. Happy New Year, from the architect.
I just bought myself another iPod. My first one was sold in order to buy my bicycle. It gets plenty of use. But I can remember lamenting on many occasions that I had even sold the iPod in the first place. I have found myself in many situations where I had time on my hands, and I could get a sermon in, or listen to a passage of scripture I was trying to memorize. So I took the plunge and bought a REFURBISHED iPod.
Minor plug for refurbished merchandise: You buy it from the original manufacturer, so it comes with a warranty. It is still cheaper than it was brand new, but you don't have to worry about buying something at as-is quality. I've bought all of my laptops refurbished, and have been VERY pleasantly surprised with the quality at a lesser cost.Anyway, it is twice as big as, and cost less than, my first one. I guess holding out was worth it. I can't wait to get the ESV on there, and John MacArthur's sermons. I even have a tape that fits in the tape deck of my car and runs from the iPod to play its contents through the speakers. I am looking forward to driving home for Christmas listening to something.... good.
My thoughts today
10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;
11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
A
good rumination for the times we live in. Simple, yet profound.
As the weeks close in on my 30th birthday, I'm thinking it might be time for a haircut...
Sorry, nothing more to post today. Just working hard at being an architect, which is my reasonable act of service, considering my propensity to laziness and selfishness.
It's monday, and I'm tired. Need to be more serious about that 9 pm bedtime, I think.
A few thoughts, though.
Good post over at
Team Pyro today.
Also, isn't it sometimes surprising when we realize that we try to avoid hurting others by our sin out of some self-righteous drive to avoid "sinning" when we actually offend God every moment, and we give little thought to that dimension? The post at TeamPyro today reinforced that reflection.
What we need here...
Now that the breathing room has increased, I'm thinking.
Dangerous, I know.
First off, I decided to go on the chase in 2009. Jenna is paying for it. I will get another round of photos for my use. I cannot look at the entirety of what this will do for me all at once. I think I need to start looking at the positive side of this venture. This is to serve Jenna. Not myself. I would rather go into this with the mindset of "how can I serve God with this opportunity and gift?" than look excessively for the negative sides and then blowing them out of proportion and saying "Look! I told you it was a bad idea."
I was looking at the websites of some incredible light artists and just KNOW that I can reproduce that. I began thinking of all the lighting setups I could create on the fly, and how easy it can all be with the right equipment. So I just said to myself:
"Self. You understand this more than architecture. You enjoy this more than architecture. You can do this by yourself more than architecture. You are gifted at this more than architecture. It is okay if you develop this hobby on the side, but DEVELOP it indeed! Don't let it just sit there and languish because you are guilty about focusing on it. You are well aware that you can do code, and that is about it. You serve your boss and coworkers, but you don't plan to run an office, nor do you desire it. But you DO desire to engage photography, and you're not unable to do that. So, go. Do it. Keep your day job, and do this. It's not as if it is not lucrative in itself."So, I need:
1. a domain name
2. the Canon 1D Mark II
3. business cards
4. a small softbox
5. a portable light stand
6. a transmitter
7.
a car batteryAnyone have the number to National Geographic?
Have a good weekend.
Here's one for the road, encouragement from our brother.
Being dead, they speak.
I just want to know...
are you burdened for them? Will you weep for them?
For your brothers and sisters? For those living a lukewarm "faith," walking along the border, not passionate about entering completely? For those who have rejected Him, who are running as hard and as fast as they can to the City of Destruction?
Who will go to the Lord and weep for them?
Just because you haven’t changed all the way doesn’t mean that you aren’t changed and that doesn’t mean you aren’t changing. You may still feel the pull of the peer pressure but all this should do is prove to you that you do need to renew your mind (
Romans 12:2). You do need to cast down contrary thoughts (
2 Corinthians 10:5), and think on good things (
Philippians 4:8). You do need to realize that bad company corrupts good morals (
1 Corinthians 15:33). You must water that seed, till that soil, and grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (
2 Peter 3:18).
-
Voice of Vision
Let's see. This morning I am longing to be in bed with a good book. I can't wait for Friday, when I head to my little cabin to get away from everything and absorb myself in my book, a little sunshine, some campfire, a horseback ride. Oh, I don't do this often enough.
I don't have a phone right now. And I'm surviving amazingly well.
Maybe I should give this greater thought?
Look into the world, among rich and poor, high and low, young and
old, and see whether it appear not by the whole scope of
their conversations that they set more by something else
than Christ? And for all the proclamations of his grace in
the gospel, and our common professing ourselves to be his
disciples, and to believe the glorious things that he hath
promised us in another world, whether it yet appear not by
the deceitfulness of our service, by our heartless endeavours
to obtain his kingdom, and by our busy and delightful following
of the world, that the most who are called Christians
do yet in their hearts make light of Christ; and if so, what
wonder if they perish by their contempt?
Richard Baxter
Making Light of Christ and Salvation
On Thankfulness
I am genuinely thankful for God's forgiveness and restoration, even when we resolutely determine we are not going to pursue the path of submission of the heart.
Isaiah 45:19" I have not spoken in secret,In some dark land; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,' Seek Me in a waste place'; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, Declaring things that are upright.
And again, another benefit that such trials are of to true religion, is, that they purify and increase it. They not only manifest it to be true, but also tend to refine it, and deliver it from those mixtures of that which is false, which encumber and impede it; that nothing may be left but that which is true. They tend to cause the amiableness of true religion to appear to the best advantage, as was before observed; and not only so, but they tend to increase its beauty, by establishing and confirming it, and making it more lively and vigorous, and purifying it from those things that obscured its luster and glory.
Jonathan Edwards
Religious Affections
The Jews have a proverb, that there is no punishment
comes upon Israel, in which there is not one ounce of the
golden calf; meaning that that was so great a sin, as that
in every plague God remembered it ; that had an influence
on every trouble which befell them. Every man's heart
may say to him in his sufferings, as the heart of Apollodo-
rus in the kettle, ' I have been the cause of this.'
God is most angry, when he shews no anger. God
keep me from this mercy. This kind of mercy is worse
than all other kind of misery. One writing to a dead friend
has this expression, ' I account it a part of unhappiness
not to know adversity ; I judge you to be miserable, because
you have not been miserable.' It is mercy that our
affliction is not execution, but a correction. He who has
deserved hanging, may be glad if he escape with a whipping.
God's corrections are our instructions, his lashes our lessons, his scourges our school-masters, his chastisements our advertisements ; and to denote this, both the Hebrews and the Greeks express chastening and teaching by one and the same word, because the latter is the true end of the former, according to that in the Proverb, ' Smart makes wit, and vexation gives understanding ; ' whence Luther fitly calls affliction, ' The Christian man's divinity.' So says Job, chap, xxxiii. 14 — 18 ; God speaketh once, yea,
twice, yet man perceiveth it not : In a dream, in a vision of
the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings
upon the bed ; then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth
their instruction, that he may withdraw man from his purpose,
and hide pride from man. He keepeth back his soul
from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.
When Satan shall tell thee of other men's sins to draw
thee to sin, do thou then think of the same men's sufferings
to keep thee from sin. Lay thy hand upon thy heart,
and say, ' O my soul, if thou sinnest with David thou must
suffer with David.'
-Thomas Brooks
Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices
On a more personal note
The Lord has been teaching me a lot of things lately. Through emotional ups and downs and knowing yet not believing. Things have been difficult, to say the least. Being such a cerebral individual, I found myself trying hard to understand. As if understanding the incomprehensible was necessary and even possible for salvation. No, merely believing like a little child is all the involvement and understanding I need. Books written about the atonement are not read for research, but for praise. Worship. Adoration.
On everything that I do not understand, I merely trust. That is hard. My analytical nature is a severe stumbling block to me, I have noticed. But there is peace in trusting. This peace is unlike anything else.
So, would you like to know why this matters right now? Because right now, I build Catholic churches. I'm involved in a number of them around the Dallas area, in fact. A monastery, a brand new building, some classroom additions, you name it. And to tell the truth, that was HARD to come to terms with. It was NOT EASY. I STRUGGLED with that. I WRESTLED until there was nothing left in me. And then I wrestled some MORE.
It got me no where. I could not, with all the mental gymnastics involved, turn the circumstance into a shape that I felt was acceptable on its own. It stood there as a giant ugly monster with halitosis. How can one dress up something so evil as the lie that is Roman Catholicism? It is, in a word, impossible.
So, where am I going with this? Simple. That I live in a very ugly world. It is beautiful in that it bears the mark of a beautiful Creator, but sin makes it ugly. And I cannot extricate myself from it no matter how hard I try. I could not bear up under the weight of thinking that the men whose words encourage me were exiled and died defending the truth against this doctrine. But I don't have to. That is not my load to bear.
There is so much I cannot understand. If God will not open my mind to understand the hows and whys, but will only order me to obedience here, then I must trust, and I must obey. I must obey my boss. It is the grace of God that has me here, I see that daily. I cannot deny it. It is a fact that I see as brazenly as I see the sun rise every morning. God does not have to have me in a circumstance that I can order in my mind in order to display His glory. It is only in trusting Him, and offering a sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise daily, that He is glorified. Of course, there are likely many more ways that I will never understand that He is receiving glory and honor, and I have to stop trying to search them out. They are unsearchable.
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! (Rom. 11:33)
So, as I discussed meeting minutes about yet another Catholic church we may be building from the ground up, I experienced a peace that passed understanding. That all of this is for God's glory. His saving me, His calling me, His gifts to me, and His directing me to my vocation. I must continue to trust, and obey. To use that mental energy to work hard here, and to follow the Lord's leading for the reason that He has me here.
In quietness and trust is your strength. (Is. 30:15)
"It is with our
sins that we go to God, for we have nothing else to go with that we can call our own. This is one of the lessons that we are so slow to learn; yet without learning this we cannot take one right step in that which we call a religious life."
Horatius Bonar
How Shall I Go To God?
God knows all things.
"God has perfect knowledge of us, and all our thoughts and actions are open before him. It is more profitable to meditate on Divine truths, applying them to our own cases, and with hearts lifted to God in prayer, than with a curious or disputing frame of mind. That God knows all things, is omniscient; that he is every where, is omnipresent; are truths acknowledged by all, yet they are seldom rightly believed in by mankind. God takes strict notice of every step we take, every right step and every by step. He knows what rule we walk by, what end we walk toward, what company we walk with. When I am withdrawn from all company, thou knowest what I have in my heart. There is not a vain word, not a good word, but thou knowest from what thought it came, and with what design it was uttered. Wherever we are, we are under the eye and hand of God. We cannot by searching find how God searches us out; nor do we know how we are known. Such thoughts should restrain us from sin."
(Ps 139:7-16)
-Matthew Henry
ECCLESIASTES 3:10
I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it."
I have seen, I have diligently observed and considered upon this occasion,
the travail, or
the occupation or
business, men's various employments, and the differing successes of them,
which God hath given to the sons of men; either, 1. Which God hath imposed upon men as their duty; and therefore men must labor, although it brings them no profit, as was now said. Or 2. Which God hath inflicted upon mankind as a just punishment for their sins; to which therefore men ought quietly to submit.
To be exercised in it; that hereby they might have constant matter of exercise for their diligence, and patience, and submission to God's will and providence, and for all other graces. Or,
that they might be afflicted or
humbled therewith, as the same phrase is rendered by divers, Eccles. i. 13." -- Matthew Poole
We often forget the value of the exercises which God has given us to work out in our lives. We ought to take advantage of each and every one of them while on this earth.
HENRY FLINT was a most holy and worthy minister,
driven from his native country by the tyrannical oppressions
of Archbishop Laud. In the year 1635 he fled to New
England, where he was chosen teacher to the church at
Braintree, of which Mr. William Thompson was pastor.
There he closed his life and his labours, April 27, 1668. He
was a man of great piety, gravity, and integrity, and eminently
qualified for the ministerial work.
-The Lives of the PuritansBenjamin Brook
Causes of apparent desertion:
Our Lord Jesus designs also to try our
faith. He will see whether we can trust him
or no. When we see him by sensible enjoyment
there is not that space for faith which his
absence causes ; and, moreover, to believe what
we feel to be true is no hard matter, but to
credit what present experience appears to contradict
is a divine act which is most honourable
to the grace which enables us to do it.
-The Saint and his SaviourC H Spurgeon
Two things inspire me to study God's Word:
1. Hearing a well-exposited sermon by my pastor.
2. Hearing really poorly handled scripture by other, less-skilled, "pastors."
From
Worldly Saints"Labour therefore to have the world in its own place, under thy feet."
-Richard Sibbes
