Break Time

So, instead of finishing my post on Creation today, I'm going to... well... not finish it today.

I just met with my pastor this morning, and one of the things we talked about was everything that God has been teaching me lately: it has been very encouraging to learn, but a bit discouraging to share.

I've been learning a lot about God in the past year or so, and much of that learning has included understanding certain doctrines as they are laid out in Scripture. This has been a great source of blessing for me, and has led to much joy, because it helps me to focus on who God is, what He has done, and what He has promised that He will do. This causes me to worship Him more, and is a way for me to see more of His glory.

However, as I have shared what I have been learning with other brothers and sisters, I have sometimes been confronted with responses such as, "You're not approaching God with enough of your heart."

At first, I accepted this as being true, and tried to change how I approached God's Word. But the more I think about it, the more I'm not so sure that this is right. I can certainly understand the genuine concern that these people have shown, and I thank them for it. However, I believe that God has made me a certain way, and I believe that He wants to speak to me through these means. He has given me an academic mind, and He continues to give me great blessings as I study His Word as a student. And my heart, in turn, is filled with joy in response to what I learn about God and His acts of grace.

I can appreciate a beautiful sunset as much as the next guy, and I can recognize the creative majesty of God's glory displayed in that sunset. Creation is one of the evidences that we are given of God's existence, and I pray that I will never take any of it for granted. It seems, however, that I don't learn as much about God through these times as when I am searching His Word for truths, be they new and eye-opening, or previously-learned truths that continue to instill more and more joy the longer I contemplate on them.

But that does not mean that learning about God in ways like this (such as through meditation on Creation, for example) cannot happen. Nor does it mean that these ways are not as valid as how I learn about God. There are many people for whom God chooses to speak to them through these means who might not learn as well through approaching Scripture with an academic mind... and that is just fine.

I think what has happened is a mixture of two things. As I try to share the amazing blessings that God has given me, it is hard for me - having been created the way I am - to understand how others cannot have the same level of excitement for these truths as God has been gracious enough to give me, and it may be hard for others - having been created the way they are - to believe that I truly have received the blessings that I believe God has granted me through such academic means.

I think another thing that has happened is that God has recently brought me out of a long period of spiritual depression and darkness. Being brought out of that valley has given me such an intense excitement, that it may come across to others as unhealthy zeal. The truth is that I am just very grateful for what God has been doing, and I am trying to "soak up" as much as possible while I am at the top of the hill, that I might have solid truths of God's faithfulness to take with me when I enter the next valley, whenever that may be... and it is sure that it will be.

I pray that these truths may be an encouragement, rather than a discouragement, to others who may be being lead through their own valleys. And I pray that I would not forget that God is teaching others in different ways than He chooses to teach me, and that these very real testimonies should be encouragement for the rest of us academic types!

A Radical View of Creation, Pt. 1

(I first want to say that these kinds of ideas - as with many things that I have posted here - do not necessarily represent my solid and final conviction concerning these matters. These are simply ideas that I'm still mulling though, while searching Scripture for evidences. Feel free to disagree... and please comment if you disagree! I'm young, and the last one who would presume that I have found anything even resembling the only right answers!)


Yesterday, I discussed the idea that the institution of marriage was established by God for the purpose of glorifying Himself on this earth. I want to continue this train of thought now, and discuss a similar view of the role of the entirety of Creation itself.

In his book "The Pleasures of God", John Piper explains that God had no need to create this earth or any of its inhabitants, including mankind. There was nothing missing in God's "life" that caused Him to long for something else. It's not as if God was pining away for friends, and decided to make some playmates to hang out with Him. This same point has also been stressed by C.S. Lewis: "God, who needs nothing, loves in to existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them."

I might disagree with Lewis a slight bit here, however, or at least see a need to qualify his statement. What I read in his words is that God's ultimate purpose in the act of Creation was to give us something. If this were the case, then it would mean that the focus of the totality of Creation - from the beginning of time to the end of this world as we know it - is us. I don't think this is true. I believe the foundational center of all of Creation is God's own glory manifested in the person of Jesus Christ.

Why do I think this? Let's look at the first chapter of the gospel of John, verses 1-4:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Firstly, it is through Jesus that "all things were made", and "without Him nothing was made that was made." Jesus was central in the action of the creation of the worlds and all creatures. Matthew Henry comments on a valuable realization to be had in this truth: "This proves the excellency of the Christian religion, that the author and founder of it is the same that was the author and founder of the world." Jesus is not only the Redeemer of the souls of those whom He justifies, but also - being with God, in God, and divinely God Himself - the creator of all mankind. Our existence was created, and will be perfected, in Christ.

Secondly, Jesus was not only the giver of our life, but He is also the sustainer of it. Our life force - including all things which make Man uniquely Man, "the light of men" which allows us to bear the image of the Creator - finds its source in Christ Himself.

And Jesus, who is, with God the Father, the source of our life as well as the sustainer of our life, this same Jesus was also the perfectly righteous spotless Lamb on whom was poured all of the wrath of God for our sins. So how can it be that creatures who have been created, sustained, and redeemed by the very God whom they have sinned against be the focal point of, and reason for, their own creation?

(This post is getting long, and I'm getting tired, but I have more I want to say, so I'll finish later. Feel free to dialogue on this!)

A Radical View of Marriage

I was hanging out last night with a family from church, sitting around a campfire, roasting hot dogs, drinking hot chocolate, and talking about whatever we wanted. Fun times.

I forgot how we got on the subject, but we started talking about marriage, and its role in creation. I mentioned the sermon series that I listened to last year by Voddie Baucham entitled "Love & Marriage" (available to download here if you would like to listen to them!). Baucham mentioned something that I've never thought of before, but I think is very important to realize. He reminded his congregation that marriage was an institution that was created by God before the fall of mankind. This means that marriage is not a result of the Fall, not a byproduct of man's weakness, not a shameful enterprise left to be pursued by only the weakest of Christians. It is holy and good at its very foundation, and the desire for marriage is not a base and creaturely drive. If the want is there, it is probably God-given.

But then Adam (I'm referring to the man whom I was talking to last night... not the "one-man-through-whom-sin-entered-the-world" guy...) brought up the point that marriage is not an eternal institution: there will be no marriage in heaven (Matthew 22:30). In light of this, many (including Voddie Baucham) have commented that marriage exists to fulfill two purposes. The first purpose is to serve as a means of procreation, that man might multiply the earth and raise up children in the fear and admonition of the LORD. The second purpose is that it might serve as an illustration for Christ's love for His Church (which is even referred to in Scripture as His spotless Bride).

So here is where things possibly start to get a bit philosophical (if you will)... but oh so amazing!

Both of these purposes of marriage are ultimately used to give God glory. Man filling the world with children who are brought up in the fear of the LORD is a way to proclaim His holy name in all the earth. And when husbands love their wives in ways that they are called to love them - namely, unconditionally and sacrificially, as Christ loved the Church - marriage serves as an illustration which God may use to turn witnesses of that marriage to the source of its love: His Son.

So, since marriage is God's idea, not some hare-brained scheme that Man came up with (being that it was established by God before sin entered the world), since its purposes are ultimately for God's glory, and since it will not exist in heaven, one view of marriage is reached by following these points out to their logical summary: God established the institution of marriage in order that He might glorify Himself on this earth.

Now let's go further with this tomorrow in looking at how this ties into an even more radical view of Creation itself... more blessings to be had here!

(I want to add that marriage also fulfills the role of giving joy to the members of its covenant, as does raising children, but I will discuss that idea more in the next post)

For God, the Just, is satisfied

Hey, fancy that... we sang a song about imputed righteousness during this morning's service. This is an excerpt from "Before the Throne of God Above":

My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heav'n He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Oh, and Happy Reformation Sunday to you all! This Sunday we celebrate the 490th anniversary of Martin Luther's nailing of his 95 Theses on the Power of Indulgences to the doors of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Hold up a pint for brother Luther this week!

The Flip Side of the Imputation Coin

Already had two posts on imputation... might as well continue, right? Right.

To fully understand the truth and beauty of imputed righteousness, we need to also understand the flip side of the coin:

Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18-19)

There was no need for an atoning sacrifice if there was nothing to atone for! Christ's righteousness was imputed to us only because something else was first imputed to us: sin. This is precisely what original sin is. "Original sin" does not mean that Adam committed the first sin, and that we simply follow in the same path that he did, being born righteous and then choosing unrighteousness. As evidenced here in Romans (and elsewhere), judgment - and through judgment condemnation - came to all men as a result of the offense of one man. This means that just as Christ's obedience was imputed to us, Adam's disobedience was first imputed to us!

And if this somehow seems unfair to us, we need to realize that Adam was a representative for the entire human race. It is presumptuous (and wrong) to assume that we would have done any better in his position! It's as if we were with Adam, in Adam, when he fell for himself, and for us.

I say that knowledge of original sin, imputed to the entire human race, is important for fully understanding imputed righteousness, because if we don't understand that we were dead in our sins when God breathed life into us, then we won't understand the fullness of the grace involved in the gift of imputed righteousness.

I'll end by quoting a session of The White Horse Inn, entitled "A Radical View of Grace", which stresses the importance of imputed sin in the gracious gift of imputed righteousness:

If any part of us is not contaminated by sin, then the grace of God is simply cooperating with that portion that remains uncorrupted, and therefore is not grace.

Doctrine of Amputation?

Quick on the heels of yesterday's post, here's some great encouragement in the form of a reminder from the Heidelberg Catechism (1562):

60.
Q: How are you righteous before God?

A: Only by true faith in Jesus Christ.1 Although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all God's commandments, have never kept any of them,2 and am still inclined to all evil,3 yet God, without any merit of my own,4 out of mere grace,5 imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ.6 He grants these to me as if I had never had nor committed any sin, and as if I myself had accomplished all the obedience which Christ has rendered for me,7 if only I accept this gift with a believing heart.8

1 Rom 3:21-28; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8, 9; Phil 3:8-11. 2 Rom 3:9, 10. 3 Rom 7:23. 4 Deut 9:6; Ezek 36:22; Tit 3:4, 5. 5 Rom 3:24; Eph 2:8. 6 Rom 4:3-5; 2 Cor 5:17-19; 1 Jn 2:1, 2. 7 Rom 4:24, 25; 2 Cor 5:21. 8 Jn 3:18; Acts 16:30, 31; Rom 3:22.

This is the beauty of the one true gospel, that our righteousness is not our own, but is a gift from God. And beyond that, it does not claim - as, it seems, many tend to believe - that this gift gives us the ability to be righteous, our own selves working in conjunction with the sanctifying work of the Spirit to produce a semblance of righteousness, and upon these grounds we are declared innocent.

No!

This is again confusing justification with sanctification. Our justification is not given to us on the basis of our sanctification; rather it is, itself, the basis of our righteous standing with God. And this standing is not based on our own work, but on the perfect work of Christ, which has been imputed to us, and now belongs to us as part of the holy "transaction" which was purchased at the cross. The righteousness by which we are to be judged in the last day is truly not our own. It never was, is not now, and will never be had with any merit of our own!

And this, my brothers and sisters, is the unsurpassed JOY of the true gospel of Jesus Christ!

Lingering Death to the Law

The following excerpt is from a sermon by Ralph Erskine, 18th century Scottish clergyman, on the nature of being dead to the Law (Romans 7:4, Galatians 2:19, etc.):

It is a lingering death. It is not easy to get the law killed; something of a legal disposition remains even in the believer while he is in this world. Many a stroke does self and self- righteousness get, but still it revives again. If he were wholly dead to the law, he would be wholly dead to sin; but so far as the law lives, so far sin lives. They that think they know the gospel well enough, bewray (expose) their ignorance; no man can be too evangelical; it will take all his lifetime to get a legal temper destroyed. Though the believer be delivered from the law, in its commanding and condemning power and authority, or in its rightful power over all that are under it; yet he is not delivered wholly from its usurped power, which takes place many times upon him, while here, through remaining unbelief.

Christianity is sort of the odd child of the world religion family. It is the only one (that I know of) that calls people to do nothing. One of the hardest things for man to do is to do nothing for his own salvation. Passively receiving grace seems to go against something that is deeply entrenched in our "legal temper" as fallen beings.

The beauty of the doctrines of grace is that they emphasize the imputed righteousness of Christ. This means that all that we do, even in our most righteous moments, are but as filthy rags in the sight of God (Isaiah 64:6), who demands perfection for those who are to be in His holy presence, because sin cannot exist in His presence. There is nothing that we can do to merit the mercy of God, because our hearts, tainted by sin, cannot possibly muster up any sort of righteousness which can please Him (Romans 8:8).

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25)

Graciously, it is the true (and only) righteousness of Jesus, the Holy Lamb of God the Father Almighty, which has been imputed - or ascribed - to His redeemed bride, and when God looks upon us, He no longer sees our filthy rags, but only, and ever, the righteousness of His Son.

What Erskine acknowledges in the above excerpt is that it is exceedingly difficult for us to completely, and continually, accept this imputation, to realize that the pardon for our sins has already been purchased, the price of our redemption already paid, our death already died in our place by Another.

But to forget, ignore, or deny this is to confuse our justification with our sanctification, to blend the two together. Our standing in God's sight is declared as righteous because of the justification that we receive - definitively, once and for all! - upon our salvation. However, this is also the beginning of our sanctification, of God's conforming us to the image of His Son. Unfortunately, since we still live in this world, our sanctification process will not be completed until the Beatific Vision, our perfected glory not fully realized until that magnificent day when we see Christ upon our death or His return.

If we ignore this fact, we may be tempted to become discouraged so greatly upon the recognition of our lingering sinfulness, that we confuse justification with sanctification: that we believe we are no longer seen as righteous in God's eyes if we fail to act righteously. But since it is not our righteousness that matters - our own righteousness being but filthy rags - we can boldly claim our justification by the blood of Christ, and therein find the assurance of our faith and salvation.

It is this aspect of dying to the Law that lingers in us, stressing the importance of proclaiming the gospel not only to the unbelieving masses, but also to ourselves and fellow believers, in a regular - even daily - manner. Don't assume that you've ever fully understood the gospel; instead, preach it to yourself always, dying to the Law, and basking in the beauty of the imputed righteousness of the spotless Lamb of God, ascribed to you by grace through faith.

The History of Religion

I saw this linked on a couple of blogs, so I thought I would share it as well.

Puts things in perspective a bit.




Note the boom of Christianity from missions.

Missions, missions, missions!

Handsome = Heretical ?

Oh THIS is hilarious!

This satirical article is very short, so be sure to read to the end!

"If you're visiting churches out there, or are perhaps unhappy with your current church situation I'd take a look at your pastor. If he's a handsome guy, I'd be careful."

Common grace?

So, I was working in a coffee shop tonight, and there was an acoustic band that was setting up, and I thought to myself, "Self, this isn't going to be good. You came here to work, and you're not going to be able to concentrate."

I'm sure glad that I stayed anyway, because I thought the band was spectacular! Two girls, keyboard, acoustic guitar, beautiful voices. I bought their CD, and told them both how wonderfully they played.

As I was going home, I thought again to myself, "Self, those girls have truly been given a wonderful gift. Praise God for that!"

But then I started thinking about the mystery of common grace. Now, I don't want to assume that these girls aren't Christians, because I don't know that. But I do know that there are many people out there who have great talents, but do not recognize where those talents have come from. People always say, "You have such a gift!" But a gift requires not only a recipient to receive the gift, but also a benefactor to give the gift. For those who do not believe in God, or at least some concept of a god, where do they think these "gifts" come from?

Does something like musical talent fall under the category of common grace? Is the goal of God's giving of this gift to glorify Himself, even through those who do not directly give Him glory? Were these gifts purchased at the Cross, as was saving grace? If so, then how and why are they distributed to those who are not His adopted sons and daughters? If not, then where do they come from, and why are they given?

Common grace has always been, and continues to be, a very difficult concept for me to grasp.

Thoughts?

The Greco-Roman Myth

I'm currently picking away at the literature portion of the reading list for my M.A. exams, and I'm reading Le Misanthrope tonight in a local café. I just came across something which reminded me of a sermon series that I listened to last year:

Comment pouvoir juger s’il est vrai qu’elle l’aime ?
Son cœur de ce qu’il sent n’est pas bien sûr lui-même ;
Il aime quelquefois sans qu’il le sache bien,
Et croit aimer aussi parfois qu’il n’en est rien.

(How can we judge whether it be true that she loves him?
Her own heart is not so very sure of what it feels.
It sometimes loves, without being quite aware of it,
And at other times thinks it does, without any grounds.)

The sermon series that I listened to is called "Love & Marriage" by Voddie Baucham, Pastor of Preaching at Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, TX (which can be downloaded here, if you want to listen to them; mind you, some of the files are split up in a weird way, so you'll have to play them through consecutively). I recommend them. Seriously. You know you want to. Go for it. Click.

Anyway, in one of the four parts of the series, Voddie confronts what he calls the "Greco-Roman myth" of romantic love. The myth wants us to believe things such as “This thing is bigger than both of us", “We don’t choose who we fall in love with", “The heart wants what it wants", and the ever-so-popular "Follow your heart."

Bull crap.

You know what the Bible says about the human heart? That it's wicked and not to be trusted! (Jeremiah 17:9)

Don't get me wrong: it's not that I believe that emotions aren't valid, or that they're not God-given. On the contrary, I believe that they are, and are, therefore, a wonderful gift. And I believe that they should play a very important part in romantic love. (I'm also not saying that we humans are as completely wicked as we could be without God's common grace on humanity, just to make that clear!) But I know a bit about my own heart, and I can at least speak for myself when I say that I would rather not make all of my decisions based on what that little untrustworthy idol factory is feeding my brain... especially not when hormones are involved.

I believe that Voddie is correct when he gives a biblical definition of love to counter this myth: "Biblical love is an act of the will, accompanied by emotion, which leads to action on behalf of its object."

Men, what Biblical model are we given for how we are to love our wives? That's right: our Lord and Redeemer Himself. We are called to love our wives as Christ loved His Church (Ephesians 5:25). Did Christ love the Church because she was physically attractive? Did Christ love the Church simply because His heart told Him to? Was His love for the Church - His spotless bride - an emotion that was beyond Him, bigger than Him, out of His control?

No. Christ chose to love His Church! Jesus chose to give Himself up for her! And He continues to choose to love her even when she doesn't act very love-worthy!

Let's stop buying into this myth that our culture is trying to feed us. Use your heart, but use first and foremost your will when you choose to love others, romantically or otherwise.

And if you don't feel like you love them anymore... stop it. Stop listening to your heart, and choose to love the object of your affection. The world will tell you to move on, to follow your heart, to trust in your emotions when things get sticky.

Boy... I'm sure glad that Jesus didn't buy into this lie when He chose to love me....

Oh, I have GOTS to find me a woman like this!

Dwayne and I were listening the other day to the latest installments of the online round table discussion group The White Horse Inn. They included in their discussion some views of modern evangelicals on the Five Solas by playing clips of answers that the producer had received when asking questions to attendees of a pastors' convention.

We heard these two answers from what seems to be the same girl, and were floored by her responses:


How important in your life is the doctrine of imputation?

To me personally? That’s very important! Because that’s the basis for my righteousness. There’s no other… I mean, my deeds, or anything that I do, doesn’t ever add up to anything!


Are you familiar with the doctrine of justification?

Justification is a legal term that essentially says that because God is a just god He requires absolute perfection and holiness. Because we failed that there was a need for punishment, and that punishment was brought upon Jesus Christ. And by embracing the Gospel - that He died for us, He lived the life we should have lived and died what we should have died - we now are justified, or we were declared innocent when we were once declared guilty, because all of the guilt was put upon Jesus. So, His innocence has been replaced with our guilt, and our guilt has been replaced with [His] innocence.


Whoa nelly! Be still, my beating heart! Lord, I have no clue what You have in store for my future, but if it includes marrying a girl like this... I'm fairly certain that You would hear no complaints from my end!

In Christ Alone

There are times during worship through music when I am brought to silence in contemplation of the words that I am singing, and how amazingly powerful their truths are. This morning was one of those times.

I would encourage you to read through the following lyrics, which you may have sung many times in the past, and carefully ponder over the meaning of each verse, each line, each word... and may the understanding you receive be a source of great joy for you.


In Christ Alone
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I stand!
Here in the power of Christ I stand!


Surely, surely, brothers and sisters, in Christ alone our hope is found! May we stand in the love of this Cornerstone, and not lean on anything else.

Yesssss!!

Just got an email today from LSA (Linguistic Society of America) informing me that my research from last year has paid off: I've been accepted to speak at the annual conference in January with one of my professors, Zsuzsanna Fagyal (who is generously allowing me to give the presentation, as well as promote myself as first author, given the amount of work that I have put into the research)!

The presentation is on a study that I did which attempts to ascertain the domain of coarticulatory vocalic effects (a.k.a. "vowel harmony") in French.

Praise be to God for giving me the opportunity to speak at one of the largest and most renowned linguistic conferences in the world during my second year of grad school! Soli Deo gloria!

Conviction

Wow... today was a day of heavy conviction for me.

We had one of those fire-and-brimstone, "you're going straight to Hell because you listen to rock and roll music" preacher types come to our campus today. As I usually do, I joined the crowd, hoping to engage in discussion with those who were also there to listen.

In short time, a couple of people near me started talking to each other, and some dialogue broke out; I decided to join in as the group grew larger. At first, I stayed mostly silent, but interjected here and there. Soon, my points turned from being based in Scripture to being formed through logic. Soon after that, my arguments ceased altogether. The two other Christians who were in the group were able to answer objections in a reasonable manner, using much Scriptural support when appropriate; in short, they were "prepared to make a defense to anyone who ask[ed them] for a reason for the hope that is in [them]" (1 Peter 3:15). It quickly became evident to me (and perhaps, sadly, to others) that I could not do the same.

During this time, a friend of mine had called me, so afterwards, I returned her call, and told her about what had happened.

I told her, "I don't know. It just feels as if I've spent too much time... I don't know..."

To which she responded, "Preaching Calvinism, and not the Gospel?"


Ouch.


I say "ouch" not because I feel that this statement was unwarranted, but - on the contrary - because this has been weighing heavily on my heart lately. And I realized today that, if pressed, I would be able to give a more intelligible and convincing argument for the tenants of Reformed doctrine than for the basis of my own faith. This should not be so!!

This is not to say that God is "in need" of our help to defend His holy name, nor that apologetics is the only way to evangelize (certainly not!), nor even that we should have an answer for every question that is asked, but when we are told in Scripture to "always be prepared to make a defense"... shouldn't we be prepared with something?

Also, this is not to say that I believe that studying theology is wrong (again, certainly not!), but as I think back on my efforts spent in seeking out discussion of my faith recently, I am saddened that I have spent more time trying to reveal to other Christians the Scriptural and logical evidence for what I believe to be certain theological truths (as wonderful a blessing as they may be!) than pointing unbelievers toward the glory of Christ and His sacrifice on the cross.

Thankfully, we serve a God of absolute grace, who is slow to anger and rich in love (Psalm 145:8). He is also generous enough to gently rebuke us when we err, compassionately revealing to us our sinfulness, that He might purify our hearts. Therefore, I do not cringe at this conviction, but rather embrace it, and thank God for it.

Please be praying for me, that God would be working His refining fire in me, cleansing my heart of all unloving and unrighteous grime that might be lining it. And pray that He would glorify Himself in my life!