Sunday Tears of Joy/Long Story Short

This past Sunday in the Family Bible Hour, John, my dear brother in Christ and one of our elders, taught and preached on Chapter 20 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession called “Of the Gospel, and of the Extent of the Grace Thereof.” Paragraph 2 of this chapter reads: "This promise of Christ, and salvation by him, is revealed only by the Word of God; neither do the works of creation or providence, with the light of nature, make discovery of Christ, or of grace by him, so much as in a general or obscure way; much less that men destitute of the revelation of Him by the promise or gospel, should be enabled thereby to attain saving faith or repentance." You may wonder how these words could bring anyone to tears since they are somewhat heavy! But the heaviness was dispelled as John opened God's word and communicated through the Holy Spirit Who showed me God's grace! Romans 10:14-17 I was moved to tears of joy (again) at God’s mercy, grace and love in calling me to Himself. That God makes Himself evident in creation as in Romans 1:18-23, is a truth I can attest to, and that He reveals His plan of salvation through His Word I can also attest to! I rejoice! The Word became flesh! John 1:14 I remembered back to all those who shared God’s word with me when I was a young girl. I was drawn back to an after school weekly discipleship class with Pastor Kearns of Countryside Baptist Church. Me, my brother Steve, and a couple other students were involved in the class. When I recall back it seems very unlikely that I would even be in that type of class! It's as though the class was some peripheral event, but now I can see it as the “spotlighted” event that it was. The spotlight that shone was the Light of the World and He shined His light in my heart! John 1:1-18 I remember the gentle and patient Pastor Kearns teaching us from God’s word, asking us questions and answering our questions. I wonder now if he thought we were a shady bunch and his time was being wasted. Or did he trust God to use him as he faithfully taught from the Bible and prayed with and for us? I look back to many faithful saints, both men and women, who trusted God as they shared God’s love and His Word with me, an oftentimes rebellious and unbridled girl. I remember when I was young that sometimes my folks or my Grandma took me to church meetings. God was clearly drawing me to Himself and nothing could or can separate me from His love. Romans 8:31-39 I rejoice that God’s plans are sure and never frustrated. Oh the sovereign plans of the Lord for His beloved! I am lovingly thankful for many faithful saints in my past like Pastor Kearns and also now specifically for the elders of our fellowship who faithfully proclaim God’s word.