Effectual Calling and Conversion
It is a sovereign work of God, “effectually” (that is, effectively) performed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Through the effectual calling, God gives life to the dead. The outward call of God to faith in Christ is communicated everywhere through reading, preaching, and explaining the gospel. In the inner, effectual call the Holy Spirit enlightens the mind and renews the heart of those God has chosen so that the gospel is accepted... Continue Reading
Giving Voice to Your Adoration: Praying Aloud – Part 3
When we recount the Lord’s amazing deeds, we place our tiny lives into a bigger and more meaningful context.
God has been at work, and He remains at work, among us and for our good. By retelling God’s saving works in public prayer, we remind the body of Christ about who God is and who they have become in him. Besides God’s creating and saving works, He remains busy in our lives daily. And... Continue Reading
The Happiest Place in the Universe
Scripture is incredibly clear on where true, profound, enduring happiness is found, and this is because the Bible addresses our deepest longings and desires.
How does one cultivate delight and stir up spiritual joy? We must first recognize it is not in us to do these things. These are not things we can manufacture out of our inherent spiritual resources. Psalm 84 reminds us of the source of blessedness, the source of joy: God’s presence. Joy and blessedness come through communing with... Continue Reading
Why it’s Hard to Believe in God’s Goodness
God’s goodness is not dependent upon our faithfulness.
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love. He is faithful to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. And this is exactly what we see Him do throughout the passage, and throughout all of history. We see that God’s goodness is not dependent upon His people’s faithfulness.... Continue Reading
Pharaoh Will Not Listen | Exodus 6:10-7:13
The LORD gave Moses and Aaron authority to do the work that He called them to do.
Through the great wonders that God would pour out upon Egypt, He was declaring to both the Israelites and the Egyptians that Yahweh is God. Both peoples would come to know Him. The Israelites would know Yahweh as their God, while the Egyptians would be forced to acknowledge that He is the Most High, the... Continue Reading
Remembering to Believe
Psalm 77 is one of those honest psalms that refuses to settle for easy answers to complex questions.
As the psalmist remembers the details of the Exodus, his own troubled soul is calmed and the storm of questions raging inside his mind is quelled. He remembers the power and glory of God and is assured that God is greater than his troubles and worries. He remembers God’s faithful love and is able to... Continue Reading
A Great Salvation
When the Bible speaks about salvation in the ultimate sense, it’s speaking of the ultimate escape from the ultimate dire human condition.
If you neglect what Jesus says, and you neglect what God proves, then we’re back to the theme. There is no escape. Beloved, if you come to church every Sunday, every single Sunday of your life, and go to Sunday school every week of your life, you may still be neglecting this great salvation. Is... Continue Reading
The Power of True Holiness
We are called to God so we can become holy like God.
We must stand firm in the power God provides, always resisting the enemy of our souls. Satan knows that Christians living holy lives—living out God’s own holiness—would do damage to his cause in the world. Hence he battles hard to tempt us, to draw us away from God’s purposes and toward his own. This... Continue Reading
Praying in Times of Trouble
Our major weapon in this battle is prayer.
Learning to pray when there’s an emergency or when something is frightening us requires a lot discipline. Instead of praying, we tend to torture ourselves with anxiety and worry. All we can think about is trying to get rid of the problem. The devil often tricks us when temptation or suffering first begins, whether we... Continue Reading
Worship in Light of Eternity
Worship is the main theme in the symphony that is the Christian life.
To come into God’s presence, then, means to arrive with a soul that understands the weight of who God is. Light and casual approaches miss that our Lord is a consuming fire, and so we enter with reverence (Heb. 12:28). We want eternity’s solemnity to fill our worship with earnestness and awe, knowing that we aren’t... Continue Reading
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