It is the will of God that we should be holy, as saith the text, ‘This is the will of God, your sanctification’ (1 Thess 4:3). As God’s word must be the rule, so his will, the reason of our actions. This is the will of God, our sanctification. Perhaps it is not the will of God we should be rich, but it is his will that we should be holy. God’s will is our warrant.…
Happiness comes:-
Habakkuk 3
Psalm 65:9-13 – God has given us many material blessings. And we have as many reasons to be thankful.
But what if there is nothing? What then?
Ch 1 – Habakkuk’s complaint. The Lord’s reply. Habakkuk’s further complaint. 2:1 – He sets himself to watch and wait for what God will say.
Ch 3 – Nothing in Habakkuk’s circumstances has changed. He is still facing an appalling prospect: the ravages of war, the horrors of invasion, the devastation of resources, the removal of all basic necessities.…
‘When I speak of passive graces (writes J.C. Ryle in his celebrated book, Holiness), I mean those graces which are especially shown in submission to the will of God and in bearing and forbearing towards one another. Few people, perhaps, unless they have examined the point, have an idea how much is said about these graces in the New Testament and how important a place they seem to fill. This is the special point which St.…
Text – 1 Samuel 1
I wonder if you have heard of the ‘Great Prayer Experiment’?
Some while ago, doctors from Duke University Medical Center devised a test to see whether heart patients recovered more readily if they were prayed for. The three year study involved 750 patients from throughout the USA and 26 prayer groups from different part of the world, including Christians in Manchester, Buddhists in Nepal and Moslems in America. The findings suggested that prayer made no measurable difference to the long term health of the patients involved. …
What constitutes crooked speech? It is talk that isn’t straight, of course. It is bowed, off-kilter, circuitous, meandering. There are a few examples we could cite.
1. Falsehoods
Telling lies about ourselves or others is breaking covenant. Even if we’re just “stretching” the truth or “bending” the truth, entertaining distortions or investing in stereotypes, we cut a line unfit to build relationships or reputations of integrity with. You can’t be square with God and neighbor if all your lumber’s warped.…
Corinth was a well-known intellectual centre. It was a cosmopolitan place, and many travelling teachers passed through. They sold wisdom, and charged big fees for it.
The gospel is not what the world would regard as wisdom. Rather, it is foolishness. Yet is is through the ‘folly’ of the cross that God has wrought salvation. There is indeed a true wisdom, but the Corinthians are still relying on the false wisdom of this world, 1 Cor 1:18-19 2:6 3:1.…
Wayne Grudem comments that Christians sometimes fail to appreciate the range of NT teaching regarding motives for obedience to God:-
John Stott suggests a ‘5-D’ summary of the steps in the sanctifying activity of the Holy Spirit:-
1. The Holy Spirit operates first in our mind, enabling us to discern the will of God;
2. Then in our conscience, enablish us to distinguish between right and wrong;
3. Next in our heart, enablish us to desire God’s way ardently;
4. Then in our will, enablish us to determine resolutely to follow God’s will;
5. Only then can we do his will.…
The function of the psalms of lament in the Gospels, especially in the passion narratives, reflects a righteous sufferer typology.
