Like a River dam or lock, We must manage the flow of grace. This includes That flow coming into our house, and then the flow going out. This is our stewardship . This is spoken of in 1 Peter 4:10 “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” I must first learn how to receive grace, but not in vain. Grace “received” is accepting something which I do not deserve. Can you do it? `Pride can inhibit this action. Many, many speakers, leaders, church members, choir singers, administrators or faculty cannot receive grace. Unsaved folks balk at grace often. The reason? Grace is based never on the receiver, but rests in the open hand of the Giver, God Himself. It all depends on the vicarious atonement of Christ. Precious people look inward and discover…
Category: <span>Law – Grace</span>
The Christian life takes guts, but where get we this intestinal fortitude? We gain courage as we wait on the Lord, look diligently at the road ahead, access our transporting integrity, allow it’s righteousness to smooth the way mentally, watch God snatch us away! Proverbs 4:25-27 teaches: “Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.”E.S.V. 1 Peter 1:13 then teaches: “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” E.S.V. Finally Heb 12:15 directs us: “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many…
In reading, I came across these four definitions: If I have an “Idea” it means: “ the criterion by which we establish the discrepancy Between what is, and what should be,” this we call the idea. If it becomes an “Ideal”: When we understand the idea to be a kind of critical principle, which subjects our actual existence to judgment, and when we accept it as a goal to be attained, so that it becomes an image of what we should be, then the idea becomes an ideal. Utopia? “the ideal is given concrete form… on top of this the hopeful thesis is maintained that our world is actually capable of reaching this state… we are therefore committed to ensure it’s realization.” We speak of this as utopia. Ideology? “an ideal that has become pragmatic.” “The ideal and utopia may not be revered at all because of their intrinsic value,…
“God just doesn’t throw a life preserver to a drowning person. He goes to the bottom of the sea and he pulls a corpse from the bottom of the sea, takes him up on the bank and breathes into him the breath of life and makes him alive.” R.C. Sproul “Men will never worship God with a sincere heart, or be roused to fear and obey him with sufficient zeal, until they properly understand how indebted they are to his mercy.” John Calvin “We shall never be clothed with the righteousness of Christ, except we first know assuredly that we have no righteousness of our own.” John Calvin “You contribute nothing to your Salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” Jonathan Edwards “The ultimate test of our spirituality, Is the measure of our amazement at the grace of God.” Martin Lloyd Jones “Faith, repentance and holiness are no less…
Charles Spurgeon speaks of The Holy Spirit from his sermon, “The Comforter.” “I am in distress, And I want consolation. Some passer-by hears of my sorrow, and steps within, sits down and assays to cheer me; he speaks soothing words but he loves me not; he is a stranger; he knows me not at all; he is only come in to try his skill. And what is the consequence? His words run over me like oil on a slab of marble. They are like the pattering rain upon the rock; they do not break my grief; It stands unmoved as adamant, because he has no love for me.” “But let someone who loves me dear as his own life come and plead with me, then truly his words are music, They taste like honey. He knows the password of the doors of my heart, and my ear is attentive…
As we watched and talked and grieved for our final support grouping, a theme emerged as central –pain and joy can co-exist, yes, must co-exist, and often. Moving on from a season, long or short, of grieving may require determined will in the midst of a lot of pain. This hard lesson will be repeated throughout our Christian life as we move past obstacles of failures, sin, regrets, loss, sickness; hurts of all kinds. Matthew 18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. Matthew 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye… Snares and…
So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. James 2:12 What is this perfect Law of Liberty?”…the genuine ability of a living creature to manifest its whole nature, to do and be itself — most unrestrainedly.” Where resides this Perfect Law of Liberty? “…the law of liberty is that which issues from the tendencies of a man’s own nature inwardly filled with God.” “Look at Christ, and see it in perfection. His was the freest life man that ever lived. Nothing could ever bind Him. He walked across old Jewish traditions, and they snapped like cobwebs.” Phillips Brooks, The Candle of the Lord. Likewise, the Spirit-filled believer looks into “the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein — ” (James 1:25). He keeps the free posture, he operates freely. “He has a little mirror in his soul that keeps reflecting the nature of…
“His mercy is judgment”; “His judgment is mercy.” — Preacher’s Homiletic. Psalm 62:12 tells us “Also unto Thee, O Lord, belongs mercy…” On the subject of mercy, John Chrysostom speaks. “She has silver wings like the dove, and feathers of gold, and soars aloft, and is clothed with Divine glory, and stands by the throne of God; when we are in danger of being condemned, she rises up and pleads for us, and covers us with her defense, and enfolds us in her wings. God loves mercy more than sacrifice.” (Matthew 9:13). Have you ever read James 2:13 where it is said, “mercy rejoices against judgment?” Can this be demonstrated? From Dr. Carl H. Stevens, “In word and deed I love them (others), beyond my understanding, not operating in morality which would legislate ‘an eye for an eye’ in revenge. It’s beyond turning the other cheek, it’s turning my…
We learn that we must not pre-Judge any man. We must be sensitive to their every neediness. A simple expression could be a cry for help — an affirmation could be a struggle to self-justify; a shout for acceptance, a groping for hope. A “sophisticated” person dares not ask for help, grace, our mercy; we must plead with them to not fear, to know they are safe in asking. Unmerited-acceptance is our sensitivity to them, enabling their humble, uninhibited beseeching to be loved — a free response. Similarly, we cannot run roughshod over God’s initiations to us. Like with men, sensitivity is required. God cannot penetrate through a mini-obstinate attitude. A mere quirk of resistance sends The Spirit awry. Our tiny peevings dismiss His healing, our entitlements quench the Spirit — betimes. God will not over-ride my emotion-driven free volition. But, we ask, do not our wounds cause instantaneous…
Today I need Him, again, I can’t do it myself. Some folks are intellectually brilliant, they depend on this. Some are physically endowed, this helps them. A third group have wealth, they turn to it. Others cope well. I have also had the traits of mental skill, some muscle, too — some savvy; a good income. — great wife. Problem: The famous verse — “God helps those who help themselves,” Cannot be found in the Bible, even with a diligent search. The roots of such sayings can be strange. From “The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals” comes some thoughts by Donny Friederichsen. About our above phrase, he says, “…the form in which it usually appears today most likely originated with the Reformed and Puritan Bible commentator, Matthew Henry–yep, that Matthew Henry.” Henry’s commentary on Joshua 5:13-15 reads, “God will help those who help themselves.” Duncan speculates that one reason people think this phrase is…