StephenMartyr
Puritan Board Freshman
Sorry, but I'm not sure what forum to post this topic. This one seemed the best one suited?
Lately I've been thinking about life and my life in particular. I'll post a little about myself (very brief!).
I've grown up with Christian parents and in the Evangelical Free / Baptist church. During my teens I had doubts about salvation and my parents and I went through the whole sinner's prayer together. It wasn't till I was 23 that my mom talked with me about heaven and hell and again I wasn't sure about my state. My parents went out after the talk for groceries and I stayed home. I went to my room and, instead of my parents and I praying together, I would pray to God and pray 'the sinner's prayer' myself to God. I did and when they got home I told them. It wasn't long after that that I got baptised in the church -- some months later.
Fast forward to about 4 or 5 years ago (I'm 39 now). I joined a bible study where more reformed doctrine was talked about and books were very much encouraged to read. It was there I got into reading. The book that set me off on my reformed walk (if I can call it that?) was Pilgrim's Progress. I saw in that book the reality of Christianity, that Christianity is no cake-walk (just go to church and you're good, in the thumbs up sense). From there I looked at things differently. I also at that study was challenged to look into the sinner's prayer a little more...that it's not found in the bible. While there may be arguments here on the board, I don't know. That discussion can be for another thread!
Over time I got into reading reformed authors. Owen, a Brakel, Lloyd-Jones, Machen and lately into John Murray and various Banner of Truth books. (As well as the Westminster Standards that I bought from Banner of Truth. It was through that and various other books that I've been leaning more towards Presbyterianism. Very interesting. And no we don't have a good church like that here where I live.)
Right this morning I read this from Iain Murray's book Revival and Revivalism. I was thinking about this topic last night and in reading this, thought to post on here. It's on page 48:
"'Of a large frame' and 'almost a Knox in boldness, energy and decision', McMillan was being prepared by God to be a leader among churches to be formed over 300 miles inland...".
Looking at my life I wonder, and I get thoughts and doubts, if I'm the person God wants me to be in all my failures and everything. So here is the question: Can you mess up so bad that God is like, "You really blew it. I was going to do something special but that was really bad. It can't happen now."
A good example is Samson. Here is one of the Judges who really did things wrong. The theological question is: Did God in His sovereignty work out Samson's life and "nod" as it were to his failures so that no matter what happened, Samson's life would be full of failures as a model, as a teaching instrument for God's people or could have Samson's life, if he "did better", be more used of God than he was? See those two options? I struggle with that.
Sorry for the long post.
But going back to that Murray quote above, note that it says "prepared by God". Is it possible for life, according to our eyes, to look like things are just really bad but according to God to be on par with what is pleasing to Him?
Thank you for your time in reading this.
Lately I've been thinking about life and my life in particular. I'll post a little about myself (very brief!).
I've grown up with Christian parents and in the Evangelical Free / Baptist church. During my teens I had doubts about salvation and my parents and I went through the whole sinner's prayer together. It wasn't till I was 23 that my mom talked with me about heaven and hell and again I wasn't sure about my state. My parents went out after the talk for groceries and I stayed home. I went to my room and, instead of my parents and I praying together, I would pray to God and pray 'the sinner's prayer' myself to God. I did and when they got home I told them. It wasn't long after that that I got baptised in the church -- some months later.
Fast forward to about 4 or 5 years ago (I'm 39 now). I joined a bible study where more reformed doctrine was talked about and books were very much encouraged to read. It was there I got into reading. The book that set me off on my reformed walk (if I can call it that?) was Pilgrim's Progress. I saw in that book the reality of Christianity, that Christianity is no cake-walk (just go to church and you're good, in the thumbs up sense). From there I looked at things differently. I also at that study was challenged to look into the sinner's prayer a little more...that it's not found in the bible. While there may be arguments here on the board, I don't know. That discussion can be for another thread!
Over time I got into reading reformed authors. Owen, a Brakel, Lloyd-Jones, Machen and lately into John Murray and various Banner of Truth books. (As well as the Westminster Standards that I bought from Banner of Truth. It was through that and various other books that I've been leaning more towards Presbyterianism. Very interesting. And no we don't have a good church like that here where I live.)
Right this morning I read this from Iain Murray's book Revival and Revivalism. I was thinking about this topic last night and in reading this, thought to post on here. It's on page 48:
"'Of a large frame' and 'almost a Knox in boldness, energy and decision', McMillan was being prepared by God to be a leader among churches to be formed over 300 miles inland...".
Looking at my life I wonder, and I get thoughts and doubts, if I'm the person God wants me to be in all my failures and everything. So here is the question: Can you mess up so bad that God is like, "You really blew it. I was going to do something special but that was really bad. It can't happen now."
A good example is Samson. Here is one of the Judges who really did things wrong. The theological question is: Did God in His sovereignty work out Samson's life and "nod" as it were to his failures so that no matter what happened, Samson's life would be full of failures as a model, as a teaching instrument for God's people or could have Samson's life, if he "did better", be more used of God than he was? See those two options? I struggle with that.
Sorry for the long post.
But going back to that Murray quote above, note that it says "prepared by God". Is it possible for life, according to our eyes, to look like things are just really bad but according to God to be on par with what is pleasing to Him?
Thank you for your time in reading this.