Christi is doing okay. Every few hours, her knee starts hurting, so she takes some ibuprofen. Then she takes her pain meds when necessary. I suppose by Monday, she should be able to get a good feel of how it's going to be.
1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth; 2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!
5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. 11 You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; 12 you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
I believe that this, to a large degree, should be the witness of the saints. Sure, it's good to have Scriptures memorized and a good, working knowledge of the "plan of salvation," or even the "Roman Road." But the best witness that the Christian can have is "Come and see what God has done!" I mean, let's be honest. If you can't testify to that, then all the "Roman Roads" in the world aren't going to help you lead someone to Christ. There has to be evidence. What has God done in your life?
We are called to remember what God has done in our lives. This was a call to Israel to remember; to reflect. Also a call to praise and worship. "Shout for joy!" "Sing the glory of his name!" And this is why I do what I do on Sundays. I love to sing praises to my God and King. I love to say to the Family, "Come and see what God has done!" Part of our meeting every Sunday morning is a time of testimony as the Family shares what God has done in the past week. There is joy; there is pain; there is sadness; there are tears; there are cheers. All of it together as we worship together and declare what God is doing in our lives.
The Psalmist says that God has "tried us as silver." This means the purification process for silver. According to one source, the furnace must be 1761 degrees F! I walked outside yesterday afternoon, and it was somewhere around 100 degrees in north central Texas. The silver must be purified at 17 times that! What this means is, when God tests us, it's going to get kind of hot. It is NOT going to be easy! I know many people who are going through the "refiner's fire" this year. I feel like I'm in it right now, although I don't even begin to compare my trials with those that others are going through. I'm barely sweating.
Bottom line, though, is in verse 12. "...yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance!" Yeah? Hallelujah? Yes!! When the testing is over, pure silver! Pure life! Streets of gold! Mansions of glory! We need to keep our eyes on the final goal while we are going through the testing process. We will not be disappointed.
(Inspiration from A Musician Looks At the Psalms, by Don Wyrtzen)
I look forward to that abundant place to which you will ultimately bring us. I also look forward to being able to say to people, "Come and see what the Lord has done!"
I thank you that Christi came through her surgery ok. I pray that the results will be better than the doctor predicted. I pray for her pain to be completely relieved.
PRAY FOR OUR JUDICIARY
The Obama Administration has asked the Supreme Court to rule that only the federal government can punish
employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants � a preview of the legal clashes over Arizona�s new law on illegals.
The Obama Administration is attempting to get thrown out of court the first major constitutional challenge of
Obamacare, challenging the Constitution�s limits on federal power.
Pray that the Supreme Court would seek humility in their consideration of these pending cases.
Grace and peace, friends.