Abraham Lincoln, His God, and Thanksgiving (by Peter Brock)

Please take a moment to read the introduction to Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation and then spend a few moments reading his words declaring Thanksgiving a national holiday.His recognition of the providential hand of Almighty God in his personal life and the life of the nation should humble us all.

In early July of 1863, there were some 50,000 American casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg, and President Lincoln traveled to the field of battle some four months afterward to deliver the "Gettysburg Address." Deeply moved by the sacrifice of these soldiers, Lincoln first committed his life to Christ while walking among the graves there. He later explained: "When I left Springfield [to become President] I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian when I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ."

During this time of internal strife in the United States, and at this turning point in his own spiritual life, President Lincoln issued the following proclamation.


PROCLAMATION OF THANKSGIVING BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence.... 

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. 

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than theretofore. 

Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. 

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union. 

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Abraham Lincoln (October 3, 1863, passed by an Act of Congress.)

(Originally Posted November 21, 2007)

Some Books I’ve read in 2011, and Some Books I Intend to Read in 2012 (by Peter Brock)

    
5 Books I Read in 2011

• Unbroken (by Laura Hillenbrand) – A story that demonstrates the depths of man’s sin and the greatness of God’s grace. The book is a biography of the life of Louis Zamperini, Olympic distance runner and WW2 POW. A must read.  (Read an extended review on our blog.)
    
• The Valley of Vision - A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions (by Arthur Bennett) This is a resource that I go to several times throughout the year. The audio version is nice as well. The prayers of the Puritans challenge me like nothing else when it comes to my spiritual life. Their desire for holiness and sensitivity to sin causes me to look inward in honest evaluation each time I read or listen. Highly recommended.
    
• John MacArthur-Servant of the Word and Flock (by Iain H. Murray) - This is a good book for those who want to know of MacArthur’s background as well as ministry successes and challenges. Recommended for those seeking to serve in the pastorate.
     
• The Practice of Godliness (by Jerry Bridges) – An older book that I actually reread. Great for refocusing priorities and self-examination.
    
• At the Throne of Grace – A Book of Prayers (by John MacArthur) - Nice collection of prayers by MacArthur that are built around various themes.

    
6 Books I Intend to Read in 2012

• Killing Lincoln  (by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard) The heart-stopping events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
    
• God Is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China - Liao Yiwu (Author); Wenguang Huang (Translator)
    
• The Works of Stephen Charnock (5 Vols.) - Charnock was a Puritan theologian and preacher who was also chaplain to Henry Cromwell.
    
• Sweetness – The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton (by Jeff Pearlman) - As a young boy growing up in PA, Payton was easily my favorite player. The only posters in my room were of Walter Payton. I’m looking forward to this one.
    
• What Is the Mission of the Church? Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission (by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert)
     
• The Meaning of Marriage (by Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller) – The Complexities of Commitment and the Wisdom of God

   
Related Posts:

• 13 Books I Read in 2011 (by Stephen Simpson)

Proud People Don't Say Thanks

Thanksgiving: When we hear the word our minds go immediately to a usually lengthy list of those things and people that fill our hearts with gratitude and thanks. Family, home, church, and specific people in our lives all fight to be placed at the top of the list. God demonstrates His goodness to us on this earth by the tangible people and things we can observe and touch. And for those we are deeply thankful.

Yet, thankfulness goes much deeper. It begins in our hearts at the very character of God and demonstration of that character in the gift of His Son. John Piper in his sermon, "Proud People Don't say Thanks.", hits it right on the mark.

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Proud people can't be grateful. So here are three very humbling truths for the sake of your thankfulness.

1. Nature teaches us that an infinitely marvelous, eternally powerful being created us and all we have. Therefore we are his creatures. He owns us. Our life, our breath, and everything we have is a gift. Our duty is simply to be thankful to him from our heart and to cherish his glory.
     
2. All of us have fallen short of this duty. We have not consistently prized the diamond of God's glory with an affection anywhere near its value. Instead, we've exchanged it again and again for the cracked marbles that in our great "wisdom" we have determined are more valuable.
     
3. God, in his great mercy, sent his Son to suffer the judgment of people who are broken and contrite in spirit and who trust in him.

Proud people don't say thanks, but people who believe these three truths do. We are utterly dependent; we are depraved sinners; and we are redeemed and forgiven through contrite faith.

If this penetrates our hearts today, we will be emptied of pride and filled with thankfulness to God.

Amen!

Other Thanksgiving 2011 Posts:

• I'm Thankful for Pastor Jerry (by Stephen Simpson)
• Thankful for the Lord's Birds (by Lee Dusing)
• Thankful for This Time and Place (by Jonita Barram)
• Thankfulness at Thanksgiving (by Lou Gentry) 
• I'm Thankful For... (by Matthew DelValle)

9/11 - A Foreign Perspective (by Peter Brock)

We can all remember what we were doing and where we were when the events of 9/11/01 took place. My family and I were in the midst of preparing a new (to us) house to move into in the town of Giaveno, Italy. We had moved to Giaveno to begin a new church plant and my father had come from PA to help us with the move and prepare the house. Also visiting us at the time were two young men from our home church in PA that brought with them some tremendous skills to help with the transition into the house.

It was a getting toward 3:30 in the afternoon Italian time and my father and I were busy laying carpet in the upstairs of the house. It was about then when my wife Lisa called with news of the attack. She had been called by a colleague of ours and who had made her aware of the news. I remember her words to me," the Twin Towers fell down". I was sure that she was confused and had misunderstood. In was unfathomable. In fact, we continued to lay the carpet because we hadn't understood the full meaning of the attack.

After several more phone calls, it became a bit clearer what had taken place and we headed to our colleagues home to watch the feed from CNN that the Italian TV stations were carrying. Our reaction was, I'm sure, the same as most people. However, being such a great distance away, it had taken on a surreal quality. However, over time, the scope of what had happened began to sink in.

The week after the attack, the local paper approached me and asked for an interview as they wanted to get the reaction to the attack from an American. My father and I were able to sit down for a lengthy interview and share our thoughts and emotions regarding the attack. I have a copy of the paper tucked away in a memories box.

Perhaps the most emotion we felt after the attack, took place a few days later. The country of Italy declared a moment of silence for the victims of that day. At the time of the attacks, Italian time, the entire country stopped it's activity and fell silent. Lisa was in a grocery store at the time and was moved by the display of respect. Over the following weeks, many Italians approached us and shared their sympathies with us as a nation.

For me, as for all who remember it, the day now known simply as 9/11, will forever be etched in our minds.

See Also:

• In My Seat - A Pilot's Story from September 10th - 11th

30 Hours on the Amazon River (by Peter Brock)

The Lord recently blessed me with the opportunity to travel to Santiago, Chile and Pevas, Peru.  As with any missions trip, it is almost impossible to adequately communicate the sights, smells, foods, people and lessons learned. So here, in no particular order, are just a few of the many lessons I was able to learn with some random impressions mixed in.

• Downtown Santiago, Chile reminds me of European cities.
• We have much to learn from believers in other countries.
• Missionaries from the US are still vitally needed in some countries.
• Missionaries from the US may need to consider taking a back seat to the national leadership in some countries.
• The believers in the Santiago prison challenged my life like nothing else on the trip.  
• The boat rides on the Amazon river, totaling over 30 hours, were unlike anything I have ever experienced and will ever experience again.

  

• The gospel of Jesus Christ is alive and well in the jungles of Peru.

    

Peter and his 'translator'

• Fish

  

• I am privileged to call many Chilean and Peruvian believers my friends.

• Participating in the baptism of 6 new believers in the river was a thrill and a privilege.

 

   

• Iquitos, Peru, our staging point for our boat rides to Pevas, is the largest city in the world that you can't drive to.

• I love to hear believers in other countries sing.

• The American church has so many resources that it's almost embarrassing.

• The missionaries who served on the Amazon River in years past laid a great foundation.

 

  

• The pastors that ministered in the Amazon region of Peru humbled me.

• Adelphos is doing a great job around the world.

  

• Preaching on Friday afternoon in Pevas was easily the hottest environment I have ever preached in. Just about killed my translator.

• I thank God for again humbling me as I was able to see Him at work in this world.

Book Review - "Triumph - The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics" (by Jeremy Schaap)

(reviewed by Peter Brock)

Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics is a very compelling read for those who enjoy sports and history. Written by Jeremy Schaap, the reader is taken from Owens early days in high school and college at Ohio State through the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. The African-American son of sharecroppers won four gold medals and perhaps single-handedly brought down Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy. Schaap paints the media portrayal of Owens remarkable achievements against a backdrop of Nazism, prejudice, Arianism, Hitler, and politics. Triumph is a fascinating reading of sports and geopolitics coming together on a world stage.

Other Book Reviews:

• Singing and Making Music (by Paul S. Jones)
• Do Hard Things (by Alex & Brett Harris)

My Random Thoughts on the 2011 Ligonier Conference (by Peter Brock)

Steve Lawson (Ligonier Ministries)

• Steve Lawson again confirmed that he is my favorite expository preacher.
• John Piper's insights into God's Word humble and convict me.
• The bookstore at the conference is wwaaaaayyyyy too tempting. That said, I did purchase the Valley of Vision on CD read by Max McLean.
• I really need to read more Jonathan Edwards.
• I love the term "narthex".
• First Baptist Church of Orlando does a great job of hosting the conference.
• Satan's attack on the holiness of God is directed through the degradation of His Word. - Lawson
• I'm planning to get the books mentioned by the Lawson, Godfrey, Ferguson and Sproul Jr. on Thursday night.
• C.S. Lewis - The Great Divorce
• John Owen - Communion with God, vol. 2
• Thomas Watson - A Body of Divinity
• Iain Murray - The Forgotten Spurgeon
• Arnold Dallimore - Biography of George Whitfield
• I need to again evaluate the foundation of my joy.
• Singing Holy, Holy, Holy on Saturday morning moved me.
• I need to read C.S. Lewis', The Weight of Glory.
• I also need to drink smaller cups of coffee before John Piper speaks.
• Found some great resources from the displays.
• The Elisha Foundation
• The Master's Academy International
• "God makes much of us by making us fellow heirs with His Son, Who owns everything." - Piper

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee, though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see, only thou art holy; there is none beside thee, perfect in power, in love and purity.

Book Review - Unbroken: A Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (by Laura Hillenbrand)

"All he could see, in every direction, was water. It was June 23, 1943. Somewhere on the endless expanse of the Pacific Ocean, Army Air Forces bombardier and Olympic runner Louie Zamperini lay across a small raft, drifting westward. Slumped alongside him was a sergeant, one of his plane’s gunners. On a separate raft, tethered to the first, lay another crewman a gash zigzagging across his forehead. Their bodies, burned by the sun and stained yellow from the raft dye, had winnowed down to skeletons. Sharks glided in lazy loops around them dragging their backs along the rafts, waiting."

The words above are from the preface of Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.

 

The book is loaded with details of Zamperini's days as an Olympic athlete, to his flying days, his ordeal of over 40 days adrift in a raft in the Pacific ocean, and the horrors of his days as a POW in Japan. Upon his return to the US, Zamperini struggled greatly with anger, alcoholism, and the subsequent marriage issues.

Then, in the late fall of 1949, God used a well-known preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ to completely change Louie's life. Unfortunately, this portion of the book receives just a few pages, yet it is a testament to the power of the gospel in the life of the sinner.

Hillenbrand's writing is easy to read and flows at a good pace. A great read, especially if you enjoy WWII history.

This is the first in a number of book reviews that will be posted in the days and weeks ahead. The books will cover a variety of topics and genres and I trust the reader will be challenged to pickup the book and read.

Below you can view the publisher's promotional video for the book.

Missions Conference 2011

This year's Missions Conference at Faith is schedule for Feb. 25-27. In addition to Bill Stevens from Shepherds Ministries in Union Grove, WI, and John and Beabea Rogers from Evangelical Baptist Missions, the potential future of Faith's 100 will be presented throughout the weekend.

The young people involved with the Faith's 100 track are Chrissy Acree, Nathan Brock, Matthew DelValle, Cody Hancock, Dakota Hancock, David Nyeholt, Hannah Osborne, Greg Staudinger, and Hannah Wilkins. They will be involved in the Saturday morning round robin sessions.

• Hannah Osborne will report on her 6-month ministry to Door of Hope Orphanage in South Africa
• David Nyeholt will report on his trip to Niamey, Niger
• Hannah Wilkins will report on her ministry at KCAM in Glenallen, Alaska. (Last fall, Hannah wrote a report on her trip for the blog. Read it here.)

It will be a great opportunity for you to see what the Lord is doing in and through our young people.

The missionaries will also be sharing in the round robin sessions on Saturday morning as well as teaching in SS classes. All of the missionaries will be involved in a Q & A session on Sunday evening as well. Speakers at this year's conference are Dr. Rick Piatt on Friday evening and Kent Craig (with ABWE) in both of the Sunday morning services.

Why attend this year's conference?
Because God is advancing His Kingdom at Faith Baptist Church, in our country, and around the world. Each of us needs to be challenged from the Word of God and by the lives of those who serve Him daily.

Thankful for What God Gives Me or Thankful for the Giver?

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I want to direct our attention to the object of our gratitude. Too often our minds are focused on the benefits and gifts and far too often we neglect the Giver. John Piper in his book, A Godward Life, takes the reader back to Jonathan Edwards to teach us about true gratitude and thanksgiving. Gleaning from Edward's writings in Religious Affections, Piper says:

"And God is not glorified if the foundation of our gratitude is the worth of the gift and not the excellency of the Giver. If gratitude is not rooted in the beauty of God before the gift, it is probably disguised idolatry. May God grant us a heart to delight in him for who he is so that all our gratitude for his gifts will be the echo of our joy in the excellency of the Giver!"

Link here to read the entire entry by Piper. May our hearts and minds be consumed with the divine Giver.

A Random Introduction - Pastor Peter Brock

As I begin a series on blog entries over the next months, I wanted to begin by providing a relatively brief entry with a brief and somewhat random autobiographical sketch.

I was born in Petaluma, CA in October of 1961. Some memories of my early years in CA include going to Petaluma High School football games where my father was a teacher and coach. I remember sliding down the dried grass covering the hill behind our house on large pieces of cardboard being sure to stop before the barbed wire fence at the bottom of the hill. I recall learning to ride my bike on our street that had just enough of a slope to it that I could coast down and push the bike back up. Pedaling the bike while riding came a bit later in my skill set.

Our family moved from CA to PA in the summer of 1970 when my father accepted a position as science professor at Baptist Bible College in Clarks Summit, PA. In Clarks Summit I grew up, learned about church, got my own room, learned to drive (a manual on those hills!), earned money by shoveling snow, graduated high school, went to BBC for college and seminary, met my wife (Lisa), established our family (Nathan, Matthew, Lauren, and Megan) and was called to ministry.

In March of 1993 our family headed to the suburbs of Turin, Italy (Avigliana and Giaveno) to begin a church-planting ministry. Our years in Italy were fruitful and precious. Our hearts grew to love the Italians and we learned to walk alongside new believers as they found their way in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Lord directed us to Faith Baptist in July of 2003 after 10 years in Italy. We have enjoyed our years of ministry here more than we could have imagined. For the first few years we ministered to the youth and found it to be greatly rewarding. An unexpected joy has been being able to watch the youth mature to college and career men and women who love God and seek to minister for Him. My present responsibilities, include missions, Faith’s 100, Awana, Upward Sports outreach, and Sunday School.

Looking forward to more blogging in the days ahead.

The Mover from Valley of Vision

O Lord, I am astonished at the difference
between my receivings and my deservings,
between the state I am now in and my past gracelessness
between the heaven I am bound for and the hell I merit
(from Valley of Vision)

We are Not Mushrooms, but Oaks (John Newton)

“Remember, the growth of a believer is not like a mushroom—but like an oak, which increases slowly indeed—but surely. Many suns, showers, and frosts, pass upon it before it comes to perfection. And in winter, when it seems to be dead—it is gathering strength at the root.  Be humble, watchful, and diligent in the means, and endeavor to look through all, and fix your eye upon Jesus—and all shall be well."
—John Newton, Letters of John Newton

Sinners and Jonathan Edwards (by Peter Brock)

I have just recently begun reading Jonathan Edward's sermon, "Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God", for the first time. I'm only two pages into the sermon and have already been deeply challenged. By all accounts, when Edwards preached the sermon on July 8, 1741 his delivery was careful and controlled so as to appeal to the minds of the hearers and not their emotions. His text was Deut. 32:35. Below is just a portion of the sermon. Hopefully it will whet your appetite to read more of the sermon from Edwards.

"There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God. By the mere pleasure of God, I mean his sovereign pleasure, which is not hindered or restrained by anything. It is only the sovereign will of God that preserves the life of the wicked person. Nothing else preserves the wicked for one moment except God's mere will."

Packer on Peace

Read the following words from J.I. Packer at least twice, they're that good.

What does the Gospel of God offer to us? If we say ‘the peace of God’, none will demur – but will everyone understand? The use of right words does not guarantee right thoughts! Too often the peace of God is thought of as if it were essentially a feeling of inner tranquility, happy and carefree, springing from knowledge that God will shield one from life’s hardest knocks. But this is a misrepresentation, for, on the one hand, God does not feather-bed His children in this way, and anyone who thinks He does is in for a shock, and, on the other hand, that which is basic and essential to the real peace of God does not come into this concept at all. The truths after which this account of God’s peace is feeling (though it misrepresents them, as we said) are that God’s peace brings both power to face, and live with, one’s own badness and failings, and also contentment under ‘the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ (for which the Christian name is God’s wise providence). The truth which this account ignores is that the basic pardon and acceptance into covenant – that is, adoption into God’s family. But where this change of relationship with God – out of hostility into friendship, out of wrath into the fullness of love, out of condemnation into justification – is not set forth, the gospel of peace is not truly set forth either. The peace of God is first and foremost peace with God; it is the state of affairs in which God, instead of being against us, is for us. No account of God’s peace which does not start here can do other than mislead. One of the miserable ironies of our time is that whereas liberal and ‘radical’ theologians believe themselves to be re-stating the gospel for today, they have for the most part rejected the categories of wrath, guilt, condemnation, and the enmity of God, and so have made it impossible for themselves ever to present the gospel at all, for they cannot now state the basic problem which the gospel of peace solves.

J.I. Packer, Knowing God, Chapter 18, The Heart of the Gospel, section VIII, p. 176.

Titus 2:11-14 (by Peter Brock)

I love the truths in these verses. They begin with grace. They then move to Christ's past work in salvation, how we are to magnify Christ with our lives today, and then they point us toward our future hope.

11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,

12training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Regeneration - Take Full Possession and Reign Supreme (Valley of Vision)

Below is another prayer from The Valley of Vision entitled Regeneration. Don't let the length intimidate you. Great theology with convicting application.

O God of the highest heaven,occupy the throne of my heart,

take full possession and reign supreme,

lay low every rebel lust,let no vile passion resist thy holy war;

manifest thy mighty power,and make me thine forever.

Thou art worthy to be praised with my every breath,

loved with my every faculty of soul,

served with my every act of life.

Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me, purchased, washed, favored, clothed, adorned me,when I was a worthless, vile soiled, polluted.

I was dead in iniquities,having no eyes to see thee,

no ears to hear thee,

no taste to relish thy joys,

no intelligence to know thee;

But thy Spirit has quickened me,

has brought me into a new world as a new creature,

has given me spiritual perception,

has opened to me thy Word as light, guide, solace, joy.

Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace;

No provocation can part me from thy sympathy,

for thou hast drawn me with cords of love,and dost forgive me daily, hourly.

O help me then to walk worthy of thy love,of my hopes, and my vocation.

Keep me, for I cannot keep myself;

Protect me that no evil befall me;

Let me lay aside every sin admired of many;

Help me to walk by thy side,

lean on thy arm,

hold converse with thee,

That I may be salt of the earth and a blessing to all.

From Khrushchev to the USS Tang and Lots of Other Stuff (by Peter Brock)



Summer is here and it's time to grab a good book. After spending time in the Word of God, I really enjoy finding a book that interests and/or challenges me. I am presently reading through The Day of Battle and Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be. I hope to move to another book on my list soon. The Discerning Reader has some very interesting books in it's latest book review as well. Take some time to look through the lists and I'm sure that you'll find something that will challenge, encourage, or teach you something.

God is Not Great...Huh? (by Peter Brock)

Today I want to direct your attention to a subject that, as believers in a self-existent God, is vital for us to understand in today's culture. I'm referring to the "new atheism". Quoting from Al Mohler's book, Atheism Remix, "The New Atheists, are in their own way, evangelistic in intent and ambitious in hope. They see atheism as the only plausible worldview for our times, and they see belief in God as downright dangerous." Men such as Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and Christopher Hitchens (God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything) are just two of the men that are actively and stridently spreading the New Atheist agenda. Allow me to quote again from Al Mohler's book as he sums up the argument. "Evangelical Christians simply cannot surrender biblical authority, propositional revelation, and biblical theism in order to meet the various challenges presented to us in the twenty-first century. In the end, the existence of the supernatural, self-existent, and self-revealing God is the only adequate starting point for Christian theology. God possesses all of the perfections revealed in Scripture, or there is no coherent theology presented in the Bible... The New Atheists are certainly right about one very important thing—it’s atheism or biblical theism. There is nothing in between.Let me challenge you to think through this matter from a biblical perspective, and as you do, may you grow more in love with Yahweh, our almighty self-existent God.

Whate'er My God Ordains Is Right (by Samuel Rodigast)

I recently came across the following poem written by Samuel Rodigast (1676) and translated by Catherine Winkworth. I trust that it will be a reminder of God's sovereign work in our lives. May we "leave all of our life" with Him.
__________________________________
Whate’er my God ordains is right:
His holy will abideth;
I will be still whate’er He doth;
And follow where He guideth;
He is my God; though dark my road,
He holds me that I shall not fall:
Wherefore to Him I leave it all.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
He never will deceive me;
He leads me by the proper path:
I know He will not leave me.
I take, content, what He hath sent;
His hand can turn my griefs away,
And patiently I wait His day.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
His loving thought attends me;
No poison can be in the cup
That my Physician sends me.
My God is true; each morn anew
I’ll trust His grace unending,
My life to Him commending.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
He is my Friend and Father;
He suffers naught to do me harm,
Though many storms may gather,
Now I may know both joy and woe,
Some day I shall see clearly
That He hath loved me dearly.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
Though now this cup, in drinking,
May bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it, all unshrinking.
My God is true; each morn anew
Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart,
And pain and sorrow shall depart.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
Here shall my stand be taken;
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet I am not forsaken.
My Father’s care is round me there;
He holds me that I shall not fall:
And so to Him I leave it all.