The Crook in the Lot

I finished reading The Crook in the Lot by Thomas Boston (1676-1732) about a week ago. Ever since I read the first page I knew this was a keeper. The subtitle is, "The Sovereignty and Wisdom of God Displayed in the Afflictions of Men." There is so much that I would love to share from it, that it is just easier to say, get your own copy and read and mark for your great enrichment.

Here is the blurb written on the back of my copy: "When calamity and disaster strike, when questions abound and answers that satisfy are few, when fear and despair are the prevailing emotions, WHERE IS GOD? What is His relationship to the terrible events that happen to us as individuals and as a nation? These are the very questions Thomas Boston, one of Scotland's greatest preachers from the past, addresses in this timeless book...Boston does not commit the error of needlessly trying to protect God's reputation, nor does he go to the opposite extreme of making God a compassionate but helpless bystander. Rather, Boston brings God right into the mix, and shows how He is actively involved in both the events and their resolution. Let the wisdom of the ages be a salve during times of crisis and bewilderment. May the God of all comfort be your comfort in troubled times."

A lively hope

" Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through various temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." I Pet. 1:3, 6, 7

My natural bent when faced with what I perceive as wrong in another, is to forge ahead immediately to correct things. I found some good quotes from Oswald Chambers that were helpful to me in this area.

"How do I deal with a sinful soul? Do I remember who I am, or do I deal with him as if I were God?...To know that the truth is applicable to another life is a sacred trust from God to you. You must never say anything about it. Restraint in these matters is the way to maintain communion with God...Never interfere with God's providential dealings with other souls. Be true to God yourself and watch...my one concern in public and private is to worship God...Remember, in estimating other lives there is always one fact more you don't know...If we realize the intense sacredness of a human soul in God's sight we will no longer romp in where angels fear to tread, we will pray and wait. Never talk for the sake of making the other person see you are in the right. Talk only that he may see the right...In the majority of cases we don't care a bit about a soul rebelling against Jesus Christ, but we do care about his humiliating us...When you are brought face to face with a case of happy indifference, pray for all you are worth, but let him alone with your tongue - the hardest thing for an earnest Christian to do...Beware lest human pity pervert the meaning of Calvary so that you have more compassion for a soul than for the Savior...Never give a soul the help God alone should give; hand him right on to God...Our duty is to present God, and never get in the way even in that."

Quote for the day

"A willing acceptance of all that God assigns and a glad surrender of all that I am and have constitute the key to receiving the gift of a quiet heart." Elisabeth Elliot

Psalm 40:8 - "I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."