The exchange between the Evil One and the Christian as the shield of faith is employed to beat back all the fiery darts (Ephesians 6:16) by Richard Sibbes
SATAN: Thou art a great sinner; CHRISTIAN: Christ is a strong savior SATAN: thou has no faith, no love; CHRISTIAN yes, a spark of faith and love; SATAN: Christ will not regard that; CHRISTIAN: yes, he will not quench the smoking flax; SATAN: this is so little and weak, that it will vanish and come to naught: CHRISTIAN: nay, but Christ will cherish it, until he as brought judgement to victory.
And thus much for our comfort we have already, that even when we first believed, we overcame God himself, as it were, by believing the pardon for all our sins; notwithstanding the guilt of our own consciences, and his absolute justice. Now having been prevailers with God, what shall stand against us if we can learn to make use of our faith? (Vol. 1 p.98) The Bruised Reed
The following is a letter Kate Sunday posted on her Caring Bridge blog. It is encouraging to think about the legacy of faith that their family has! We praise God for his continued work in her and continue to pray for God’s strength as they walk down this path of cancer.
Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for your prayers for me and our family. This has been a huge week in the Sunday household. As I mentioned earlier, Sunday was so very special as we had the dedication services of New Covenant Bible Church. And then, to get such wonderful results at the CAT scan on Thursday. Surely, the Lord has been very kind to us. The doctor stated that I am hitting home runs, but we know who is really up to bat! I am quite dizzy and tired, but hopeful. The doctor gave me a prescription for seasickness patches to see if that will help me. It’s worth a try, right? We’ll see how it goes.
As we celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend, I thought it fitting to provide the link to Nana Hazel’s prayer at the end of the service on Sunday. We have benefited from her prayers throughout our entire lives. David called her up at the end of the service and asked her to close in prayer. How fitting, as he also had Nana Gert close the service when he was ordained in 1995 – which was her 100th birthday. What a rich heritage and foundation David has. And, thank you Nana for your faithfulness. You are quite an example to us all. Here’s the link
To all of the mom’s reading this: I wish you a very happy Mother’s Day. I am grateful to have many, many women who have influenced my life. My mom, step-mom, and mother-in-law each hold a very special place in my life, and I love them so. I also LOVE being a mom. I love my three children more dearly than ever. Thank you!!!
Five things to pray for from Isaiah 12:1-6 so that Jesus might be more precious.
1. That I would grow in gratefulness and not forget that God, who was angry with me, has now turned his anger away and given me comfort through Jesus Christ. verse 12:1 The reason that God’s anger was averted was because of Jesus who took upon Himself the judgment of God that was to come upon me. I was an enemy of God and under His wrath. The temptation is always to forget just how gracious God was toward me and that my salvation was costly to God Himself.
2. That I might grow in faith, that my trust in God might increase, demonstrated by a proportionate decrease in fear. 12:2 One of the reasons we have such rich prophesies that we see fulfilled in Christ, is to increase our faith. We can look at how God was faithful in the past and say, since God does not change, I know that He will be faithful toward what He has promised. This is a fear-buster. An increase in faith fueled by God’s actions in His Word, is an antidote to fear based living.
So make it a point, when you see an answer to prayer, not only to be thankful to God, but to use it as an opportunity to grow in faith. To say in effect “see, there is another evidence of God’s faithfulness!” and to store these up in our hearts that we might increase in faith.
3. That I would see an increase in joy in my life as a direct result of the salvation I have received. 12:3 Paul writes in Romans 14 that the kingdom of God consists of righteousness, peace, and joy. Joy is not an optional accessory for the Christian life. It is a direct result of the salvation we have received from this Great Savior we have.
4. That I would more intentionally and boldly make known His deeds among the peoples and proclaim Him. 12:4 When we see the Messiah, when we see Jesus Christ clearly, we should desire to let others know about Him. To whoever will listen! Let them hear about our Savior. Let us resolve to speak more plainly and openly about God’s work in our lives and who He is to those we speak to who we know do not know Him.
5. That I would understand more fully that a life of worship (which includes song) involves every area of my life. 12:5,6 What God has done in giving Jesus Christ is glorious and deserves worship. Worship by giving Him every area of our lives- not just our voices in song. What we do on a Sunday morning is wonderful, but if that is our full picture of worship, worshipping in song, we are missing out on a full worship filled life. We can worship God by beholding the Savior, and delighting in the Savior, and learning about our Savior. Oh may the promised Messiah, who showed himself in Jesus Christ, become all the more precious to us day-by-day so that we might behold him rightly, and love him more dearly as a result of His glorious character and work.
