We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum. A.W. Tozer
Therefore let God-inspired Scripture decide between us; and on whichever side be found doctrines in harmony with the word of God, in favor of that side will be cast the vote of truth. --Basil of Caesarea
Once you learn to discern, there's no going back. You will begin to spot the lie everywhere it appears.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service. 1 Timothy 1:12

Monday, March 16, 2020

Experiences Grow From Belief


We are not to base what we believe on what we have experienced.  The reverse is true.  Our experiences will grow out of what we believe.  And we must continually examine and evaluate our experiences in light of the objective truth of God's precious Word.

John F. MacArthur, Jr, Charismatic Chaos, p.52

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Glenn,

I've appreciated your posts about experiences, and how they should be properly viewed through Scripture. Nicely done.

Since I am here - just wanted to drop a line to your community of readers, hoping everyone is ok and fairing well in this current pandemic-situation. Haven't seen much in the way of comments from anyone recently. A hello to all, a special hello to Martha (how are you, sister??!!), and of course my best to Jill, though I also do comment at her blog. :)

-Carolyn

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Hi Carolyn,

So far we are doing fine here. Lost a three gigs due to the panic.

Not many comments probably because I'm not post much but quotes. I have too many pans in the fire right now.

Anonymous said...

Thanks be to God we are okay here in the east Coast.

Martha said...

Hello Carolyn,
You are such a dear encourager to all of us here on Glen's blog, especially with regards to our faith. And I appreciate the personal greeting from you Carolyn from across these miles of internet, so to speak.

Glad to read everyone is staying safe and well during this time of uncertainty. Personally, my family and I are not out and about in the community as much, but continue to lead a lifestyle that includes much soap, cautious hygiene, healthy eating habits and some good exercise, and now, consciously focusing getting some old fashioned vitamin D in our bodies via the natural way, through sunshine!

Still need to trust in the LORD on this one, not living in fear, and yet, trying to gain some wisdom and knowledge concerning the times in which we live. I'm now seriously considering going back to having a garden again and canning more produce for my pantry in the basement. (My Dad currently is so generous in giving me the fruits of his hard labor as he is a Farmer's Market Grower) I should have expressed a greater interest in my Mom's canning methods oh so many years ago, instead of feeling sorry for myself because I had to scrub all of those vegetables with a small scrubby brush.

Hope and pray you stay healthy and well in every area of life, Carolyn. You are a virtuous wonderful breathe of fresh air in your commenting and a sweet sister in Christ Jesus!

Martha

Martha said...

Sorry you lost your gigs, Glen. Hopefully, this panic will pass and your pipes soon bless others with the sweet air of music!

Martha

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Martha,

Well, right now I have a gig in May. Hopefully by then there is some sanity.

Anonymous said...

Hello to Glenn!

Glad to see more comments here! :)

Martha!!

So glad you stopped by to let us all know how you are doing! It was such a wonderful things to hear your "voice" across all these miles of geography and the internet. :) Thank you for your kind words! I am very glad to hear you are well. We're also doing well so far, and doing the same basic things you are. What else can we do? Trust in the Lord and take reasonable and wise care of ourselves and those around us. Not gathering with other believers for worship, though, is admittedly depressing. Anyhow, thank you for your prayers, and likewise, I extend the same to you and want to say that I've appreciated your comments as well. Don't be too hung up about not doing a lot of canning in the past (ie, don't beat yourself up!), but if you feel so moved, it's easy to pick up. There's plenty of information on the internet and in books. We used to can, but don't do much of it anymore. When we did, we only did water bath canning (high acid foods). I don't use pressure cookers for anything. Freezing is another good way to store things. We froze a lot of the vegetables that could not be water bath canned like green beans and corn. It is a lot of work, and can be very tiring, for sure. But as I said, we haven't done that for several years now. I go "foraging" at my local market now, which admittedly I enjoy. :)

Glenn, I hope more of your readers will drop in and say hello, and let us all know how they are doing. Staying connected is so important right now. You have a lot of regulars like Jesse, Ken, Kathryn (who usually posts at Jill's), Jon, and others. Hope they all check in from time to time with updates, prayer requests.

Also, since a merry heart is like good medicine, maybe you could record yourself playing something on the pipes and post it here for all of us. :)

-Carolyn