The Works of God

The man featured yesterday on the cover of Just the Way I Am is Kempton Turner, a pastor at Bethlehem.  God has made him into a remarkable man.

God gave a special gift to my family, which is echoed by all the families with disabled children, when he called Kempton and Caryn and their children to Bethlehem over two years ago.  They are a joy-filled, God-centered couple who fill up our network of families with encouragement in the word and confidence in God.  I count it a privilege to know them.  And I recommend Caryn’s blog as well!

Pastor Kempton was interviewed last year on a local radio station regarding his multiply disabled son and the sovereignty of God.  That interview was included in this week’s Bethlehem Star, our weekly church e-newsletter.

You can read the entire article here.

Here is an excerpt:

So, how are you able to hold up in the midst of such a heavy and painful and life-long trial?
We are not able to “hold up.” We are “held up” by the God of Isaiah 41:10 who says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Jesus, our Creator-Savior, who “holds all things together,” holds us up “by the word of his power”! (Colossians 1:17, Hebrews 1:3). Are we sometimes depressed and discouraged? Yes. But we preach the Word to ourselves, “Soul, hope in God!” (Psalm 42:5–6) and God’s word produces a happy hope in our hearts again and again, even unto this day.

So God allowed this (his son to be born with disabilities)? 
No, God did it, not just allowed it. The Bible says so in passages like Exodus 4:11, Psalm 139:13, and John 9:3. It was God’s good and purposeful design to create Christian just the way he is for our good and His glory.

Now that’s the way to talk about God!