My Dear Sister

Today was a sad day for me. My dear sister Penny and her husband David left for Ukraine this afternoon. She told me she was sad but that once she got on her way she would be fine. And she said that being sad didn't mean she didn't want to go. She was looking forward to being back to the home she has made there in Kharkov. Finally, she told me that she thought it would be easier to leave her boys once they were both married. It wasn't true.

Penny has been such an inspiration to me. She takes the hardships of life in Ukraine with much ease and grace. I know it hasn't always been as easy as she makes it look, but God has been gracious to her in giving her what we might think of as a "pioneer spirit." She has been able to go to the "frontier" and make a beautiful life. I have had only peeks at the sacrifices she has made throughout the years she has been in Ukraine. I feel that I don't recognize them or acknowledge them enough.

When I was able to go to visit her five years ago I got a small taste of her life there. We ended up in several circumstances that I found very challenging. I told her that being there was really hard for me in so many ways. I tell you again... she made it look easy.

She has been my dear sister and friend for all these years. I have been so thankful that she has been here for me in some of the most difficult days of my life. She has been a strong arm to lean on.

God bless you, Penny. I love you very much.

What I've Been Reading

I was roaming around on Facebook one night, just checking on some of my friends and I came across the profile of J.D. Whitlock. He's married to my dear friend, Jane. As I looked at his profile he described his religious views as "Christian hedonist." Now I was intrigued. What is a "Christian hedonist"? So I began exploring this idea and found a book called Desiring God by John Piper. I ordered the book and that is what I recently finished reading. I intend to share some ideas and quotes from the book here over the next few days. I was afraid if I posted it all at once I would scare off some reluctant readers.


The famous old tradition says:
The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

The Christian hedonist changes this to say:
The chief end of man is to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever.

So the premise of this book is that God is most glorified when we seek our own happiness and find it in Him.

The first section was about how God is the happiest being of all because he accomplishes everything He sets out to do. None of His purposes is ever thwarted. Just think how happy that would make a person!


Ps. 33:10-11 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.

“And if none of His purposes can be frustrated, then He must be the happiest of all beings."

“Can you imagine what it would be like if the God who ruled the world were not happy? What if God were given to grumbling and pouting and depression, like some Jack-and-the-beanstalk giant in the sky? What if God were frustrated and despondent and gloomy and dismal and discontented and dejected? Could we join David and say, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you. My soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water”?
“I don’t think so. We would all relate to God like little children who have a frustrated, gloomy, dismal, discontented father. They can’t enjoy him. They can only try not to bother him, or maybe try to work for him to earn some little favor."
(I'm so thankful that we don't have to feel this way about our heavenly Father.)

“The foundation of the happiness of God is the sovereignty of God…He does all that He pleases…He makes all things work together for His glory."

“He has designed from all eternity, and is infallibly forming with every event, a magnificent mosaic of redemptive history. The contemplation of this mosaic (with both the dark and bright tiles) fills His heart with joy.”

I like thinking about this happy Father. I like serving a God like this.

More later...

Suffering

I have been so appreciative of the preaching I have been hearing the past few weeks. I have posted about Andy Stanley and he continues to be a blessing. But two weeks ago Bro. Brian preached on suffering and he had a lot of good thoughts to share. I have been in the midst of suffering the last few months, so it was especially meaningful to me.

Reasons to rejoice in suffering

1. Suffering proves the reality of our faith.
2. Suffering promotes our dependence on God.
3. Suffering purifies our relationship with God.
Just as God used poverty, loneliness, temptation and betrayal in Jesus' life, He uses them in our life.
"The pain passes but the beauty remains."
4. Suffering produces endurance in our lives.
5. Suffering primes us for greater effectiveness.
6. Suffering provokes courage in other believers.
7. Suffering provides opportunities for witness.
8. Suffering prepares us to reign with Christ.

Our response to suffering in the Christian life should not be to avoid it, but to embrace it. We are called to discipleship in the here and now, and to glory later. And there is no comparison be the suffering now and the glory that will be revealed later.

There are ways to equip yourself for suffering. We must be willing to renounce the pleasures of this life, and to see them for what they really are... cheap trinkets compared to the true treasures of God. We should memorize scripture and meditate on it daily, hourly. And we should be dedicated to the Lord. We should be content to be nothing.

Finally, Bro. Brian said that faith marches into the darkness of suffering, holding the hand of the Savior who will never leave us or forsake us, never let us go.

Good thoughts! Good things to remember!