5 November 2023 A Sunday Evening
Here at the Long Yang Family Home we have suffered through a series of unfortunate events these past few years. And the grace of God shines ever more brightly. The LORD delights in using hardship to have us lean on Him and therein draw closer in faith to God. If it were not for my hardship, I fear I would pay less attention to the LORD, and appreciate Him less.
From Thomas Schreiner's P. 434 Galations Commentary text, "Slavery consists in capitulating to the desires of the flesh, while freedom comes from yielding to the Holy Spirit." I believe this to be true, although it is offensive to non-believers, for they are blinded to the Truth.
Three sons and I are seated in the coffee shop here in Wake Forest. I feel as I felt in my twenties, very free, and warmly relaxed. I love this feeling, which allows me to focus well on whatever I am doing, reading, engaged in conversation with someone, writing, or musing, contemplating something. Paul commands that we pray without ceasing. We can never forget that we have been created by God and He has filled us with the Holy Spirit at the instant of our justification by faith.
7 November:
I continue to sense this unusual lingering realm of freedom that I so often visited in my adult youth. It comes with a compact set of immediate duties that you stay abreast of, not falling behind. Hold a job and do it well. Study, but give it close attention. Do not bite off more than you can chew.
