Smacked down to size

What a morning. I usually don't write this time of day, but it seems to be really busy already this morning. There are some things I want to say. I realize reading other people's blogs that they let people in to the most sensitive areas of their life--I have failed to do that. I'm not sure why, but my apologies anyway. I will be working on that.

Most mornings (because the word every would be a lie) Brian and I sit down to breakfast and read some scripture and a book called "Gospel Primer". The gist of the book is to give you a devotional length view of the gospel to live out on that day- reminding us all- in a bite sized way what the gospel is and what it has to do with us. So, this is what we read today. Thank you, Lord, for putting me in my place...

More than anything else I could ever do, the gospel enables me to embrace my
tribulations and thereby position myself to gain full benefit from them. For the
gospel is the one great permanent circumstance in which I live and move; and
every hardship in my life is allowed by God only because it serves His gospel
purposes in me. When I view my circumstances in this light, I realize that the
gospel is not just one piece of good news that fits into my life somewhere among
all the bad. I realize instead that the gospel makes genuinely good news out of
every other aspect of my life, including my severest trials. The good news about
my trials is that God is forcing them to bow to His gospel purposes and do good
unto me by improving my character and making me more conformed to the image of
Christ. Preaching the gospel to myself each day provides a lens through which I
can view my trials in this way and see the true cause for rejoicing that exists
in them. I can then embrace trials as friends and allow them to do God's good
work in me.

--Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians, p. 31,32


We also read this morning the article written by the AP about Matt Chandler. He is a pretty well-known young pastor and has recently been diagnosed with brain cancer. He is an example of suffering well. The secular world is sitting up and taking notice of a young Christian man living his life for the Lord. Here is the article... Suffering well: Faith tested by pastor's cancer