The Eowiggle

Shock After a few months on "our" mission field, a post-communist, dead, atheistic region, my family and I were reeling from the shock. No, not culture-shock, though there was plenty of that. It was the shock of coming face to face with demonic forces beyond our comprehension. Numerous strange events had transpired: liters of urine poured into our stroller, blood splattered on our apartment door, a small hole had been drilled into our front door indicating a planned break-in (the hole is used to insert a small probe camera), much sickness, poor sleep for us, and even sensing an evil presence in our bedroom. At first we thought we must be imagining things, but the horrid climax was the nightmares that tormented our two-year old son. For many months he’d wake up screaming bloody murder and we could not settle him back down easily. At two and a half, he was finally able to verbalize what he’d been dreaming about for the past few months. One of his most vivid dreams was a...

Why is it that God does not instantaneously make us holy at the moment of our conversion? Why do we find ourselves repeatedly battling the same sins, often defeated, and seemingly making little progress? These are some of the tough questions that Barbara tackles in her book. She approaches the topic of indwelling sin, sanctification and grace through the lens of John Newton's writings. She clearly has a deep personal understanding of grace, anchored in solid biblical exegesis, the Reformed confessions, as well as her own experience, one shared by John Newton. She explains the different stages of Christian growth, as observed   by Newton. The new believer begins the Christian walk with great excitement and believing in the possibility of overcoming all sin. However, once the realization sets in that certain sins are not going away quickly, in spite of real effort, a crisis of faith often ensues. If God is sovereign, why would he let me struggle and fail so much? The ma...