‘It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter. ” Proverbs 25:2 Louis Sperry Chafer, founder of Dallas Theological Seminary defines for us a difficult but “searched out” matter: contrasting Law with Grace. “When the human obligation is presented first, and the divine blessing is made to depend on the faithful discharge of that obligation, it is of and in conformity with pure law.” “When the Divine blessing is presented first, and the human obligation follows, it is of and in conformity with pure grace.” “The varying orders under law and grace may be stated in the words, ‘do and live,’ or ‘live and do.’” “In the case of law, it is, ‘do something with a view to being something:’ In the case of grace it is ‘be made something with a view to doing something.’” “The law said,…
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He picked up the heavy bowling ball, intent on following the pattern of the others. A half grin revealed his sincerity but his every move resembled nothing of a bowler. Turning right to left, he positioned himself catty-corner to the pins. With a series of gyrations and twists he placed the ball on the lane, somehow propelling it toward its goal. Slowly the rock found its way to the destination, and, low and behold, knocked over some large ten-pins. Over the next hour, again and again, he did something identical, showing not a randomness but a marked repetition. In his mind he was bowling. He was autistic. After several years, some adventures at bowling alleys returned to my memory as a dawning came — all of us interpret life uniquely. We all do life with our individual faculties and skill, and much like our autistic friend, varied results may happen,…
Virtue is the supernatural, unfathomable, perfect love of God. Pastor Carl H. Stevens “It is perfect because it is not our love, but love that is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit ” (Romans 5:5).God’s grace is inexhaustible; it depends upon the Giver and never the receiver. His forgiveness is incomprehensible; His mercy is eternal; and His love is unconditional. It is this quality of love—‘virtue love’—that sets captives free, because this love never demands a response from its object. Dr. Carl H. Stevens Unfortunately, the best love that man can produce falls way short of what Peter tells us to add to our faith in 2 Peter 1:5. Our love often reeks with subjective overtones, self-centeredness, and often is defensive. Way back in the garden, the human race in Adam and Eve, twisted love toward their own self interest because of fear. Privately interpreting how God…
“You feel downcast, you’re hurting, you don’t feel good, you’re tired, you’re exhausted, and you are tempted to be depressed or to receive stress. Wisdom is to rush to the throne of God to get mercy to help! You believe that His throne is a throne of mercy; you believe it’s a throne of grace; and you receive help because of Hebrews 4:15-16. That’s wisdom.” Dr. .Carl H. Stevens Micah 7:8 teaches, “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. ” “God raiseth up all those that be bowed down,” Psalm 124:14 — “He is able to keep us from falling.” Jude 24 “…we will not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds us with His hand.” Psalm 37:24 “Wisdom is the ability to use knowledge in the nick of time ” –C.H.…
Wishful thinking can be larger than life. Lets begin with one man’s observations about the atheist, the politician, and the diplomat. “The definitely concrete fact that they (the atheist), do not acknowledge God determines their knowledge of God. And the fact that they do not want to admit His existence, later gives them, in plenty, the means of legitimizing their desire. If the wish is ever father to the thought, it is abundantly so here. …how cheaply are thoughts and reasons to be had. …the history of philosophy might well be written as the history of wishes; and the history of history-writing as a history of wishful thinking; and indeed, the history of religions as the history of pious wishes. ” “The art of political and tactical speech in general — alike to the man in the street and for the official spokesman — invariably consists in seeking reasons for…
Many mysteries doth life bring to us. Why so? We are not all-knowing, in fact, on the extreme side of finite do we face the simple day. In time we learn some routines — get out of bed, wash our face, prepare a small breakfast, get in the car, etc. Sometimes even these drills become disorganized. The raging storm of life outside of my four walls bursts through my windows or door, disrupting so much to even rearrange the whole course of my day. These agitations have proven fear-producing potentials for many. But, perhaps not for the storm dwellers. These folks have relinquished control of their lives out of necessity. Some become expert at riding the waves of chance and insecurity — these positive thinkers hope for the best. Others fall by the wayside, chewed up and spat out, they turn to “medication.” Still others try a mixture of both,…
Perhaps we endeavor to think back over our lives. We undertake a dangerous proposition if we are not careful. What segments do we emphasize? What do we magnify? Can I really review my past accurately? Am I happy with it, or regretting my exercise? Paul, the Apostle, spoke of forgetting what is behind, pressing on to what is still coming — in Philippians 3:13. We do well to take his advise. A believer in Christ can err in his or her evaluations due to a complex makeup in Adam. They may live in confusion regarding ideals. For example, some have convictions from God’s Word that bring tremendous security to their lives. But, other Christians are fighting for their salvation. Some have had sound teachers, others are self taught or have had immature leaders as examples. It means that God’s process of making them like Christ’ has not been completed yet.…
“But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” Psalm 3:3 Heads need a lifting often because, “…they are increased that trouble me! The opposition thickens and becomes a myriad squeezing in on me. They assemble and try to convince me that God will not help me. (my paraphrase).Psalm 3:1-3 They gang up on me. They magnify the pressure. They try to load on my shoulders what only God could carry. It can be a shocking thing to realize a true enemy. David, and this is extremely sad, had to acknowledge his own son as his enemy. Author of Psalm 3, David faced a “no-win” situation; defeat the enemy — lose your son; or, concede to that enemy– lose your kingdom. This combination weighed down the head, persecuted hope, pushed depression, drove despair. However: 2 Samuel 16 tells a unique story. As…
Dad was first to go in our family. A shocking heart attack and he was gone. Just 60, Dad was pressured with life, and working hard to provide for all of us, could not find enough relief. He suffered only a few days of abject pain, then went. Dad was a religious man, but perhaps not a saved man. He made a confession of belief in those final moments before death at the leading of Mom and daughter. I was not present. I firmly trust to see Dad again in heaven; God is a merciful Savior. I am anxious to see both Dad and Savior. Twenty two years later, Josh followed Dad. At twenty five, it surprised us all. In fact it redefined the thought of “surprise,” it was beyond belief. Out of place and out of time, our oldest son left us behind for heavenly dwelling. It destroyed hope,…
Job_5:9 begins: “… (God) does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number:”Job_36:26 adds: “Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable.”Then, Psalm_145:3 “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” Isaiah_40:28 Paul repeats it: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” Romans_11:33 Finally,In Ephesians_3:8 Paul exclaims, “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,” Is it realistic to say that we men fail at discerning the unsearchable God? We may…