Felicity gives sister Tovia a flower
Uncle Casey explains a football play to River
Tovia Ann- 8 months
The Sumpter FamilyThursday, November 27, 2008
Family For Thanksgiving Part 2
Felicity gives sister Tovia a flower Uncle Casey explains a football play to River Tovia Ann- 8 monthsThe Sumpter Family
Family For Thanksgiving
While I'm waiting for the turkey to get done I thought I'd post a few pictures. We are having a wonderful time with everyone! We will hate to see them go tomorrow. :(
But we will have pictures to remember this fun time. I am thankful for the Lord's many blessings this year and always! He is so good to us all!
But we will have pictures to remember this fun time. I am thankful for the Lord's many blessings this year and always! He is so good to us all!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Ladies Retreat
A dozen ladies got together this past Thursday evening through Saturday at the Oregon coast. It was a wonderful time of good discussions, singing, prayer, walks, food and relaxation. The Lord gave us great weather! We look forward to doing it again next year!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The Bible, God's Sovereignty, and the election
Last time I gave you a little taste of what my research paper, for my college class, was about. Well, this time I'm going to go a little farther and share a part of it with you dealing with the character of God.
To understand the inspiration of the Bible we need to understand the character of God. In God's words, J.I. Packer says "the core of the Bible is its story of God speaking to men" (p. 19). God is speaking to us through His word. Obviously, God is bigger and greater than we are, which points out God’s holiness. Later Packer goes on to say that "This is the deepest reason why the Biblical writings are 'holy' … because the Holy God is their author" (God's Words, p. 34). Because God is holy, He is incapable of inspiring falsehood which shows He is most reliable. Unfortunately, not everyone today has a high enough view of God's holiness to follow or take seriously His commands. God can be trusted above and beyond men. As the Bible says, "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for the witness of God is this, that He has borne witness concerning His Son" (1 John 5: 9). Knowledge of the character of God is important because it shows us that anything from God is reliable and accurate.
Now, yesterday I finished my paper and submitted my work for my first class. I was really happy and excited, and decided to start reading the introduction of my first book for my next class. This was "The Sovereignty of God" by A.W. Pink. From what I had already been studying and from what I read last night I began to see how I could apply these things today. First here is what Pink had to say:
"Who is regulating the affairs on this earth today-God or the Devil? What saith the scriptures? Ere we consider the direct reply to this query, let it be said that, the scriptures predicted just what we now see and hear.... Our is peculiarly an age of irreverence, and as the consequence, the the spirit of lawlessness, which brooks no restraint and which is desirous of casting off everything which interferes with the free course of self-will, is rapidly engulfing the earth like some giant tidal wave.... What saith the scriptures? If we believe their plain and positive declarations, no room is left uncertainty. They affirm, again and again, that God is on the throne of the universe; that the sceptre is in His hands; that He is directing all things "after the counsel of His own will".... It is in view of what we have briefly referred to above, that we say, Present-day conditions call loudly for a new examination and new presentation of God's omnipotence, God's sufficiency, God's sovereignty. From every pulpit in the land it needs to be thundered forth that God still lives, that God still observes, that God still reigns... Without a doubt a world crises is at hand, and everywhere men are alarmed. But God is not! He is never taken by surprise...'All things' are subject to His immediate control: 'all things' are moving in accord with His eternal purpose, and therefore, 'all things' are "working together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."
I could go on. :-) But I won't. What comes to your mind, reading what Pink said? How could you apply it to today? I believe one of the best ways is through the election which just took place. Let that sink in. Some of us were very happy about how the election went and some of us were very disappointed. With both sides of this issue, though, this fact can be applied. God is still God. He is still watching you and knows the events of this world better than we ourselves do. After this was brought to my mind, I just sat back and felt an immense relief! I don't need to worry about what changes will be coming, God will take care of them and of me. We also can't place our trust in anyone but God. I'm sorry, but no mere man is going to save our country and restore our version of peace. I hope this fact has been impressed upon you. We are not in control of events, but God is, and we can rely on Him to accomplish what is best for our lives.
To understand the inspiration of the Bible we need to understand the character of God. In God's words, J.I. Packer says "the core of the Bible is its story of God speaking to men" (p. 19). God is speaking to us through His word. Obviously, God is bigger and greater than we are, which points out God’s holiness. Later Packer goes on to say that "This is the deepest reason why the Biblical writings are 'holy' … because the Holy God is their author" (God's Words, p. 34). Because God is holy, He is incapable of inspiring falsehood which shows He is most reliable. Unfortunately, not everyone today has a high enough view of God's holiness to follow or take seriously His commands. God can be trusted above and beyond men. As the Bible says, "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for the witness of God is this, that He has borne witness concerning His Son" (1 John 5: 9). Knowledge of the character of God is important because it shows us that anything from God is reliable and accurate.
Now, yesterday I finished my paper and submitted my work for my first class. I was really happy and excited, and decided to start reading the introduction of my first book for my next class. This was "The Sovereignty of God" by A.W. Pink. From what I had already been studying and from what I read last night I began to see how I could apply these things today. First here is what Pink had to say:
"Who is regulating the affairs on this earth today-God or the Devil? What saith the scriptures? Ere we consider the direct reply to this query, let it be said that, the scriptures predicted just what we now see and hear.... Our is peculiarly an age of irreverence, and as the consequence, the the spirit of lawlessness, which brooks no restraint and which is desirous of casting off everything which interferes with the free course of self-will, is rapidly engulfing the earth like some giant tidal wave.... What saith the scriptures? If we believe their plain and positive declarations, no room is left uncertainty. They affirm, again and again, that God is on the throne of the universe; that the sceptre is in His hands; that He is directing all things "after the counsel of His own will".... It is in view of what we have briefly referred to above, that we say, Present-day conditions call loudly for a new examination and new presentation of God's omnipotence, God's sufficiency, God's sovereignty. From every pulpit in the land it needs to be thundered forth that God still lives, that God still observes, that God still reigns... Without a doubt a world crises is at hand, and everywhere men are alarmed. But God is not! He is never taken by surprise...'All things' are subject to His immediate control: 'all things' are moving in accord with His eternal purpose, and therefore, 'all things' are "working together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."
I could go on. :-) But I won't. What comes to your mind, reading what Pink said? How could you apply it to today? I believe one of the best ways is through the election which just took place. Let that sink in. Some of us were very happy about how the election went and some of us were very disappointed. With both sides of this issue, though, this fact can be applied. God is still God. He is still watching you and knows the events of this world better than we ourselves do. After this was brought to my mind, I just sat back and felt an immense relief! I don't need to worry about what changes will be coming, God will take care of them and of me. We also can't place our trust in anyone but God. I'm sorry, but no mere man is going to save our country and restore our version of peace. I hope this fact has been impressed upon you. We are not in control of events, but God is, and we can rely on Him to accomplish what is best for our lives.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Transforming Broken Bits
Recently an article in the newspaper covered the story of a man from Spain who does trencadis art. He was here in Grants Pass and did a beautiful mural at our athletic club. Trencadis is similar to mosaic art, but with one difference; mosaics are made from perfectly shaped square tiles and trencadis uses irregularly shaped tiles. If you take a closer glance at this art it looks like a bunch of broken tiles glued together, but when you step back you don't see the individual broken bits anymore, just a gorgeous picture! The artist has a knack for placing each tile in the right place so that when he is done it has become something wonderful.
Just like trencadis, God the Father is taking broken sinful people of various backgrounds and personalities and working with them individually and corporately to build something beautiful. God the Son, being the "chief cornerstone," is the perfect foundation and God the Spirit is the glue that holds us all together. If we look at each other up close we can see the imperfections. As we live and worship together we often rub one another the wrong way. It can be difficult. Sometimes the Lord needs to break off areas of our lives that don't fit with the picture. Painful as it is, He holds us in His hands, all the while, never letting us go. But if we could step back far enough we might get a glimpse of the lovely scene that God is forming.
Let us be thankful for our brothers and sisters in Christ, rough edges and all. After all, they have to live with us! The Artist is at work and we mustn't doubt that He is doing something beautiful. Some day it will all become clear as we enter that heavenly rest, free of broken bits. Maybe we'll be able to look back and see what the Master Builder was doing throughout all of history. We'll see His compassion, mercy, patience, discipline, sovereignty, goodness and faithfulness as He diligently made His masterpiece-magnum opus-out of His Church. To God be all the glory!
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