Christian Audio is offering another outstanding audiobook for free download this month—Trusting God by Jerry Bridges. 

I am so grateful that Jerry Bridges wrote this book. I had the opportunity to read it for the first time about three years ago when I began studying biblical counseling at The Master’s College. Trusting God was part of the required reading for one of my classes, and I personally think it should be required reading for every Christian. The content is that good.

After facing significant trials in his own life, Bridges turned to the Scriptures to better understand human suffering in light of the goodness and sovereignty of God. What he found in God’s Word was convincing proof that no matter how dark our circumstances, we can trust God to bring about our good and His glory.

The truths Bridges shares in Trusting God will greatly strengthen your faith.

Download the audiobook version of Trusting God HERE.

Your daily dose of true beauty advice…

When you’re in crisis, who do you call first? I think we can learn a lot from Habakkuk. He knew who to call when his world was falling apart. The first words we read from this biblical prophet are “O Lord!”

He could have looked at the power structures of his day and cried out, “O King!” He could have looked at the dominant world power and said, “O Assyrians!” He could have studied trends and cried out to a rising nation, “O Babylonians!”

But like a child wisely calling for his parent, Habakkuk knew the source of all love, power, and protection, so he called, “O Lord.”

Ultimately, the perspective you need won’t be found by going to a counselor or a therapist. It won’t come from a book or a trusted friend or even an earthly parent. Some of these may help, if they point you to God Himself. But ultimately, the peace, the perspective, and the answers you need will be found by going to the Wonderful Counselor.

~Nancy Leigh DeMoss in “Who Do You Call?“

Photo: OBMonkey

“Just remember…God will never give us more than we can bear.” 

Have you ever had someone attempt to comfort you in the midst of suffering with those words? If something about that statement didn’t seem quite right to you, you may appreciate the following clarification on 1 Corinthians 10:13 from Joni Eareckson Tada…

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. —I Corinthians 10:13

“Oh Joni, isn’t it wonderful that God will never test us beyond what we can endure? That’s a promise from God!”

I knew my friend Sue was looking for an affirmation, a confirmation that God would never “bend the bruised reed.” As I nodded slowly, relief flooded her features. Sue had never faced the kind of mind-bending, soul-obliterating pain that now loomed on her horizon. But with the recent medical report and the looming prospect of a morphine-drip pump in her future, she was scared. Surely the Lord won’t give me more than I can bear, she was thinking.

First Corinthians 10:13 is certainly a promise… but it isn’t talking about trials. It’s talking about temptation. The promise is that God will always, always give you the power to say no to sin. But when it comes to heartaches, physical problems, and disappointments—things out of your control, difficult circumstances suddenly thrust upon you—you may very well be overwhelmed beyond what you can bear. There is a kind of suffering that rips your world apart and leaves you bewildered and wounded. There are trials that overwhelm.

I drew a deep breath, showing my friend the context of the promise-and her brow furrowed. “But take heart,” I told her. “It’s when we are at the end of our strength…that’s when we fall helplessly into the everlasting arms of God. That’s when God floods our hearts with sustaining grace.”

You and I may indeed find ourselves overwhelmed at times—at the end of our rope and beyond. But we will never fall farther than the palm of his hand. And where he has called us, his grace will
sustain us.

[Joni and Friends Daily Devotional—January 31, 2012]

Paul himself knew what it was like to be overwhelmed by suffering, but he also understood the purpose behind the pain: “For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9).

Photo: Shirley B

Your daily dose of true beauty advice…

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

How can I tell if my trust in the Lord is wholehearted? One way is this. Do I let the Bible overrule my own thinking? It says, “Do not lean on your own understanding.” So, do I agree with the Bible, or do I obey the Bible? 

If I merely agree with the Bible, then my positive response is not obedience but coincidence. The Bible just happens to line up with the prejudices I’ve soaked up from my background. But what do I do when the Bible contradicts what I want to be true—especially when, on top of that, it seems culturally remote and perplexing? 

If I’m reading the Bible for excuses for what I want anyway, my heart has already drifted from the Lord. But if I trust him wholeheartedly, I will let the Bible challenge my most cherished thoughts and feelings.

~Ray Ortlund in “Wholehearted trust accepts authority“

Photo: OBMonkey

How do you like her new ‘do?  

Those of you on Facebook may have noticed that I asked for prayer for Evangelle’s health.

Yesterday morning, we received an update from Ethiopia which was brief and a bit unclear, but apparently, Evangelle had a high fever two nights in a row, was diagnosed with bronchitis, and was started on antibiotics. The nurse also mentioned that Evangelle had a decreased appetite which is definitely not good news for such a little girl.

Many of you have already told me that you are praying for Evangelle and for Joseph and me, and we are deeply grateful for your prayers! I will let you know if we receive any new information about her progress.

We are comforted to know that the Lord is with our baby girl!

Your daily dose of true beauty advice…

Long hours. Thankless tasks. No breaks. 

To our modern ears, it seems like being a housewife is an oppressive job. In Proverbs 31 we get a different picture. The homemaker described here isn’t seeking self-fulfillment. She isn’t interested in advancing her career, having her own bank account, or being known for her personal accomplishments.

Instead, she doesn’t seem to worry about her own interests and needs at all, focusing instead on the practical needs of her husband and children.

The Bible tells us about this woman:

• She and her husband have food to eat and enough to share with others.
• Her husband’s crazy about her. He brags to his friends about her.
• She’s well dressed.
• She’s emotionally stable.
• Her children honor and praise her.

Doesn’t sound like an oppressed woman to me. Why not take some time to give Proverbs 31 a fresh look yourself?

~Nancy Leigh DeMoss in “Oppressive Tasks?“

Photo: OBMonkey

Tomorrow…

She turns 8 months old.

Will be one month since we said goodbye.

The waiting is not getting any easier, but we continue to put our trust in the Lord. He is good and He does good (Ps. 119:68).

I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
and a refuge in the day of my distress.

O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.

Psalm 59:16-17

]]> http://preciousadornment.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/steadfast-love-for-sad-days/feed/ 2 melissagriffin Evie (small) http://preciousadornment.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/beauty-supplements-382/ http://preciousadornment.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/beauty-supplements-382/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:29:20 +0000 Melissa Griffin http://preciousadornment.wordpress.com/?p=12281 ]]>

Your daily dose of true beauty advice…

Our dire need for God’s grace doesn’t get smaller after God saves us—in one sense, it actually gets bigger. Christian growth, says the Apostle Peter, is always “growth into grace,” not away from it. Many Christians think that becoming sanctified means that we become stronger and stronger, more and more competent. And although we would never say it this way, we Christians sometimes give the impression that sanctification is growth beyond our need for Jesus and his finished work for us: we needed Jesus a lot for justification; we need him less for sanctification.

The truth is, however, that Christian growth and progress involves coming to the realization of just how weak and incompetent we continue to be and how strong and competent Jesus continues to be for us. Spiritual maturity is not marked by our growing, independent fitness. Rather, it’s marked by our growing dependence on Christ’s fitness for us. Because we are daily sinners, we need God’s daily distributions of free grace that come our way as a result of Christ’s finished work.

Christian growth involves believing and embracing the fact that, even as a Christian, you’re worse than you think you are but that God’s grace toward you in Christ is much bigger than you could ever imagine.

~Tullian Tchividjian in “Are Christians Totally Depraved?“

Photo: OBMonkey

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”

Ephesians 5:1

If our children look to our marriages for proof that the Gospel is true, will they find the evidence they need?

In his book Gospel-Powered Parenting, William Farley provides a valuable perspective on the importance of Christlike testimonies within the home…

Jesus taught by example. “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). Notice the sequence. First Jesus did, then he taught. Every effective parent does likewise. Children seldom internalize the teaching of hypocrites. But the teaching of those who live what they preach pierces deeply into our children’s hearts.

Jesus is the only person who did this perfectly. He told his disciples to take up their cross because he took up his cross (Matt. 16:24-25). Jesus told his disciples to humble themselves because he humbled himself (Phil. 2:5-8). Jesus told his followers to obey the Father because he obeyed his Father (John 8:29; Phil. 2:8). There was a perfect correlation between what Jesus taught and what he did. He was God’s only perfect leader.

“Whatever the leaders are, the people become,” notes John MacArthur. “Biblical history demonstrates that people will seldom rise above the spiritual level of their leadership.”

…Here is my point: Parenting is the most important leadership position in the church. And example is also the first principle of parenting. Parents lead the family, the smallest and most important cell in the local church. Archbishop Tillotson (1630-94) said, “To give children good instruction, and a bad example, is but beckoning to them with the head to show them the way to heaven, while we take them by the hand and lead them in the way to hell.”

I have said all of this to bring us to this point: Our marriage is the most powerful example that we possess. To the degree that the gospel makes our marriage attractive, God will empower us to reach our children…

What is our marriage telling them about Christ and his bride? They see it all. They hear our fights. They absorb our attitudes. They know who or what really sits on the throne of our lives. They watch how we handle resentment. They hear the way we talk to each other. They know when we hear the Sunday sermon and apply it. They also know when we ignore it.

The message that our marriage preaches either repels or attracts our children. God wants your child to watch your marriage and think, “I want a marriage like that, and I want the God that produced it.” 

[Gospel-Powered Parenting, pp. 107-108, 110-111]

If you’re married to a man who is unwilling to love you like Christ loves the church, let me encourage you to remember that your children can still see the power of the Gospel in your testimony as a wife. Don’t underestimate what God can do through the example of a godly woman! 

Photo: Pal Csonka

Your daily dose of true beauty advice…

My father, the quintessential athlete, was a platform-diving champion. He taught me for years always to check the depth of the water, and never to dive into cloudy or murky areas. But I didn’t listen, and I paid the price with a broken neck. Life’s like that, isn’t it? We sidestep the counsel of older, wiser people that know better and, sadly, we end up paying the consequences.

I’m sure that’s why the Bible makes such a big deal about it. Joshua 1 says: “Be careful to obey all the law…do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go.” There’s something to be said for doing things God’s way.

What’s God been telling you lately? Don’t shrug your shoulders or turn away from His advice; don’t sidestep His counsel; He knows better. He’s the expert, a champion, at living life the way it ought to be lived.

~Joni Eareckson Tada in “Take Your Father’s Advice“

Photo: OBMonkey