FAIR SUNSHINE

But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Romans 4:5 It is a wondrous mystery that the thrice-holy God should delight to reveal Himself as the God who justifieth the ungodly. He who is infinitely righteous declareth the guilty, "not guilty." He pronounceth the condemned to be innocent, not by overlooking their sin, but by satisfying His own justice in the person of His beloved Son. The ungodly are those who, by nature, desire nothing of God and have no delight in Him. They are estranged from His life, at enmity with His holiness, and content to remain far from Him. Yet it is precisely such sinners that God delighteth to justify. He doth not wait until they have become godly before receiving them; rather, He justifieth the ungodly, that by His grace they might become what they never could have been by nature. Herein shineth the glory of the Gospel. God is not merely the Judge who conde...

O f late there hath appeared some encouragement in our public meetings, the number of hearers seeming to increase, and certain familiar faces returning from week to week. I have been somewhat comforted in the hope that the Lord, if He be pleased to grant us perseverance in the work, shall in His own appointed season cause the seed thus scattered to bring forth fruit unto the praise of His glorious name. Yet I should take caution not to look too much upon appearances, but continue in the work whether I see fruit or no, knowing that the increase belongs wholly unto God. As for myself, I find the same fear returning whenever the hour draws near for me to stand before the people. I had once supposed that much doing of the same thing would make it easier, but I find it otherwise in spiritual things. The fear remains so long as the wretchedness remains. Experience may teach a man what he is able to do, increasing his confidence in himself; but faith grows quite differently. The more I am...

Journal Entry. December. 2022. 3.56AM Photo by AverySeasonArt S ome of the things (we often forget) to be thankful for today.  The air you breathe. Breathing tube patients will tell you. One beat of your heart. People on the donor waiting list will tell you. You woke up this morning. Somebody else didn't. When you opened your eyes you can see. People who lost their sight will tell you. When you try to speak you have a voice. Mute people will tell you. When you swallow your food you enjoy its taste. People who have to dig through trash to eat will tell you. When you drink clean water it refreshes you. People who live under the bridge will tell you. You have painless bodily functions. The old man who abused his body in his youth will tell you. The roof you live under. Homeless people will tell you. Your spouse hugging you. The man who lost his wife yesterday will tell you. Your children walking through the door announcing they're home. People whose children never came home will...

Journal Entry. 3rd of December, 2022. I remember one very late evening back 2018 as I sheepishly stepped down the flight of stairs leading to my personal parking space, stressed out, and burned out. I had to stay for a week in the studio because the movie we were doing was nearing its deadline. Decisions, signing checks, meetings, strategizing, doing my own shots, making sure the servers were up and going, taking and making calls.. I walked to the station of the security guard on duty who was to open the gate for me, and he was dozing off. I stood there looking at him wishing I had the simple luxury of sleeping like he did, of dealing with simpler problems, that I envied him and thought of magically exchanging places with him at that moment. I gently woke him up taking care not to startle him. He was so embarrassed and kept apologizing that he slept on duty. "It's ok," I said consoling him, "your job is difficult as it is and you must be tired." "Ah yes...

Journal Entry. 2021st November. I thank the Lord for the season in which I nearly forsook my own family. At the time, I imagined myself to be master of my own course, wandering wherever my desires carried me like a rabid dog loosed. Yet I now see that I was never beyond the sovereign hand of God. Though I knew it not, I was upon a leash. Blessed be His holy name for that leash. I thank God that He was pleased to lower me into a pit of mire and filth until I sank beneath the weight of my own corruption, scraping the very mud at the bottom in utter helplessness. Yet it was never His purpose to abandon me there. He wounded me that He might heal me. He humbled me that He might exalt me. He brought me to the end of myself, only that I might find my beginning in Christ. In those days I blamed my wife for my unfaithfulness, while all the while it was I who had been unfaithful. She blamed me for her bitterness, while all the while it was she who had become bitter. For fourteen years I drank...

Journal Entry. 2nd of July, 2022. 11:46PM credit to the owner  A man will never leave the world until God gives him new eyes to see the beauty in Christ.

All men possess faith, yet not all faith is true. T he question is not whether a man believeth, but what he believeth, and whether the object of his faith—is able to save. Faith, however sincere, is only as trustworthy as that upon which it rests.