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GOD

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GOD IS LOVE

“…search and rescue impulse is in the very center of God’s heart” Doug Newton (ref#166, p35).

GOD is love (1 John 4:8). He is not just loving.  Love is not one of His attributes, it is what influences His attributes.  Yet, GOD does not love to glorify Himself, His focus is on His people.  “…love does not look at itself—it is absorbed in the object of its love” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#211, p116).

“In enriching us with his gifts, God gains nothing for himself, yet he would have the splendor and beauty of his character manifested in bountifully dealing with us….” John Calvin (ref#164, March 7th).

“I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God”(Ex 29:45-46 ESV).

“…God searches passionately for people who are lost, finds them and does whatever He must to make them His possession” Doug Newton (ref#166, p36).

FATHER, You are absorbed in the objects You love.  And not only in loving me but all Your human creation that I, privileged as Your helper, search also to bring to You.

GOD

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GOD, OUR HOST

“God is a ‘host’ who deliberately creates His own parasites; causes us to be that we may exploit and ‘take advantage of’ Him.  Herein is love.  This is the diagram of Love Himself, the inventor of all loves” C. S. Lewis (ref#227, p176).

“The idea that God was under any obligation or necessity to reveal Himself to man cannot be seriously entertained,…such a revelation to fallen creatures of Himself, His mind, and His will, having been made, must be regarded as an astounding act of His sovereign mercy…” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, July 19th).

Think about it; a parasite cannot live one minute without a host.  FATHER, sober me today as I contemplate my inabilities.  My knowledge of You overwhelms me with a sense of Your love.  Unlike created hosts, You are eternal and artesian—never losing Your fullness.  No matter what we parasites take from You, You overflow in continued abundance.

“…God is reconciled and one with the believer; all His feelings are love, all His thoughts are peace, and all His dealings are parental…” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, July 19th).

GOD, You can be described with action verbs: (A sample taken from the first chapter of Luke.)

You remember mercy and help me (Luke 1:54).

You visit and redeem me (Luke 1:68).

You save me from the hand of all who hate me (Luke 1:71).

You deliver me from my enemy that I might serve You without fear (Luke 1:74).

You show me the mercy; You promise and remember Your covenant (Luke 1:72).

You fill me with good things (Luke 1:53).

You speak with me forever (Luke 1:55).

You guide my feet in the way of peace (Luke 1:79).

You cause me to serve You in holiness and righteousness all my days (Luke 1:75).

 

 

GOD

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SUMMARY OF GOD’S INTENTIONS

“God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun” (Rom 8:29-30 MSG).

“…the biblical story is…the story of rebels who not only don’t desire a relationship with God, but who could not possibly earn it even if they did.  This is a story of divine intervention, of divine substitution, of divine sacrifice, and of divine grace.  It is a story of God sending his Son to live as we were meant to live, to die the death that each of us deserves, to satisfy God’s righteous requirement and placate his anger, and to rise out of the grave, conquering sin and death” Paul David Tripp (ref#190, Dec 27th).

“There had to be a Savior because we have no ability whatsoever to save ourselves.  We can escape situations, locations, and relationships, but we cannot escape ourselves.  We cannot run from who we are, what we have done, and what we deserve. The only hope is that God in redeeming love and glorious grace will move toward us, doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves” Paul David Tripp (ref#190, Sept 30th).

“But as amazing as the grace of forgiveness and the acceptance of God are, there is still more amazing grace…God knew…we would need daily help….He came to us and made us the place where he dwells…By grace, we are the temple of the Most High God” Paul David Tripp (ref#190, Dec 27th).

“…And this is the real and eternal life: That they know you, The one and only true God, And Jesus Christ, whom you sent”(John 17:1-5 MSG).

FATHER, Your actions are all to the praise of Your glory!  How joyous is our praise!

CREATION

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MANHOOD AND WOMANHOOD

“The fact that God first created Adam, then after a period of time created Eve (Gen 2:7, 18-23), suggests that God saw Adam as having a leadership role in his family.  No such two-stage procedure is mentioned for any of the animals God made, but here it seems to have a special purpose” Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p461).

“…the curse brought a distortionof Adam’s humble, considerate leadership and Eve’s intelligent, willing submission to that leadership which existed before the fall” Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p464).  “Differentiated roles were corrupted, not created, by the fall. They were created by God” John Piper, Wayne Grudem (ref#274, p35).

“God made Eve for Adam…I will make him a helper fit for him” (Gen 2:18)” Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p461). Before the Fall, Eve’s role was to assist Adam in his endeavors.  But after the Fall GOD informed Eve of her now deprived nature:

“…Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you” (Gen 3:16 ESV).

“These words from the Lord indicate that there will be an ongoing struggle between the woman and the man for leadership in the marriage relationship…” ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p56, [Gen 3:16]). “Eve will have the sinful ‘desire’ to oppose Adam and to assert leadership over him, reversing God’s plan for Adam’s leadership in marriage. But…Adam will also abandon his God-given, pre-fall role of leading, guarding, and caring for his wife, replacing this with his own sinful, distorted desire to ‘rule’ over Eve” ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p56, [Gen 3:16]).  “…the word…has nuances of dictatorial or absolute, uncaring use of authority, rather than considerate, thoughtful rule” Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p464).

“This is the way God meant it to be before there was any sin in the world: sinless man, full of love, in his tender, strong leadership in relation to woman; and sinless woman, full of love, in her joyful, responsive support for man’s leadership.  No belittling from the man, no groveling from the woman.  Two intelligent, humble, God-entranced beings living out, in beautiful harmony, their unique and different responsibilities…” John Piper, Wayne Grudem (ref#274, p52).

 “We are not sinless any more.  But we believe that recovery of mature manhood and womanhood is possible by the power of God’s Spirit through faith in his promises and in obedience to his Word” John Piper, Wayne Grudem (ref#274, p52).

The discerning HOLY SPIRIT within us proves the authenticity of His Word.  To discover the Truth we must ask ourselves: Is our viewpoint a rebellion against GOD or is our stance affirming Him?

CREATION

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MAN IS IN THE IMAGE OF GOD

“The fact that man is in the image of God means that man is like God…”Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p442).  “The expression refers to every way in which man is like God” Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p444).

“…when God originally created man, the reason, the emotions, and the will all worked in perfect harmony. Reason led the way in understanding the will of God, the will consented to God’s will, and the emotions delighted in doing it” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p125).

“…we are still in God’s image—we are still like God…but the image of God in us is distorted;…” Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p444).

“…with the entrance of sin into man’s soul, these three faculties began to work at cross-purposes to one another and to God.  The will has become stubborn and rebellious and will not consent to that which reason knows to be the will of God.  Or, more commonly, the emotions get the upper hand and draw away both reason and will from obedience to God” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p125).

“These faculties were all implanted in man’s soul by God, but were all corrupted through man’s fall in the Garden of Eden.  Our reason (or understanding) was darkened (Ephesians 4:18), our desires were entangled (Ephesians 2:3), and our wills perverted” (John 5:40) Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p124).

“…the goal for which God has redeemed us is that we might be ‘conformed to the image of his Son’ (Rom 8:29)” Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p445).  “…redemption in Christ means that we can…progressively grow into more and more likeness to God…(Col 3:10)…” Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p445).

“With new birth our reason is again enlightened, our affections and desires redirected, and our wills subdued.  But though this is true, it is not true all at once.  In actual experience it is a growing process.  We are told to renew our minds (Romans 12:2), to set our affections on things above (Colossians 3:1), and to submit our wills to God (James 4:7)” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p124-225).

FATHER, thank You for the opportunity to work out all Your redemption has put in me. You give all I need, through CHRIST’s work, to gain back more and more of Your image.

“God’s highest aim in dealing with His people is in developing Christian character” E.M. Bounds (ref#64, p64).

CREATION

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PROVIDENCE

“In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10 ESV).

FATHER, It is so good to remind myself of who is in control of all the situations that I face.  I have such a tendency to forget the greatness of You.  You make Yourself so approachable I forget Your eminence.

FATHER, remind me of Your eminence.  You sit above the circle of the earth and all us inhabitants are like grasshoppers to You.

You bring anyone easily to nothing.  You blow on us and we wither, and the tempest carries us off like stubble (Isa 40:22-24). Yet, for those who wait for You, though we be faint, weary, and exhausted You renew our strength (Isa 40:30-31).

“’Providence is that continued exercise of the divine energy whereby the Creator upholds all His creatures, is operative in all that transpires in the world, and directs all things to their appointed end’” David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#189, Aug 25th).

“…the plan of God comprehends and determines all things and events of every kind that comes to pass….A little sparrow drops dead and falls to the ground.  Accident…Chance.  Not at all!…There are events that appear to be quite accidental, but they are controlled by God” David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#233, p 11-12).

“What are God’s works of providence?  A: God’s works of providence are His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all His creatures and all their actions. (Spurgeon’s Catechism, Q. 11) Arthur W. Pink (ref#231, p2).

“…even the hairs of your head are all numbered”(Matt 10:30 ESV).

CREATION

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GOD’S PURPOSE IN CREATION

“…this original creation—the ‘wind-hovering-over-the-water’ creation, the invisible moving the visible,…” (John 3:5-6 MSG).

GOD created.  “God’s purpose for the earth is that it should become his dwelling place; it is not simply made to house his creatures….The concept of the earth as a divine sanctuary…runs throughout the whole Bible…” ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p52, [Gen 2:1-3]).

Scripture exudes GOD’s passion to live with His creatures.  He chose a nation and poured His blessings upon them.  To announce to the whole world His love for His people He provided supernatural acts to save and keep them (Example: the plagues of Egypt.)

He sent another cluster of supernatural acts to the world when He sent His Son to earth.  He constantly keeps His chosen as a holy people to Himself (Deut 28:9) though we are obstinate and rebellious.

 “In all their affliction he was afflicted…in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;  he lifted them up and carried them…”(Isa 63:9 ESV)

We are in a special and in a peculiar relationship to GOD.  We are His people.  “…We have no being, we have no existence apart from our relationship to God” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#265, p 282-283).

“…They will call upon my name,   and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people’;  and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God’”(Zech 13:9 ESV).

“This blessing finds fulfillment in the church…but it finds its greatest fulfillment in the new heaven and new earth…” Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p520).  “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God’”(Rev 21:3 ESV).  “…we will be in the presence of God and enjoying unhindered fellowship with him” Wayne Grudem (ref#63, p1164).

FATHER, For no other reason than Your love do You care for and desire to be close to the created creatures You have chosen. Such a fact elicits my praise to You.

ASSURANCES

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DO NOT PRESUME YOUR SALVATION

“Two criminals were crucified with Christ.  One was saved; do not despair.  One was not; do not presume.” Saint Augustine

“The faith of many among us is, after all, but an attempt to believe; their repentance but an attempt to repent; and, in so doing, they only use words which they have learned from others. It is not the love of holiness that actuates them, but (at best) the love of the love of holiness.  It is not the love of God that fills them, but the love of the love of God…They try to live like sons in order to make themselves sons, forgetting God’s simple plan for attaining sonship…” Horatius Bonar (ref#326, p46).

“…to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” (John 1:12 ESV).  Religion complicates things, the more rules it makes up and lays on its people puts its followers further away from true Christianity than ever.  GOD says, “Only believe.”

“…true…religion is intensely personal.  It does not consist in the mere attachment to certain doctrines and opinions which were held by Christians in past generations, still less does it consist in belonging to a party.  Rather it is something which must be experienced in one’s own soul” John Newton (ref#322, p10).

“The dark and dishonourable thoughts of God…belonging to a natural state, are very different from the thoughts of your heart concerning him.  You do not conceive of him as a hard master, or think you could be more happy in…the observance of his precepts.  You do not prefer the world to his favour, or think you can please him, and make amends for your sins by an obedience of your own. These and such as these, are the thoughts of the natural heart…” John Newton (ref#322, p168).

How do you feel about the requirement to keep the Ten Commandments?  Do you begrudge the “having to follow them?”  Do you realize that GOD in His love, gave us  the Ten Commandments because by keeping them they will do us good?  They are a gift from GOD to appreciate, not a list to keep to keep in His good favor.  Checking our hearts often is vital to keeping ourselves continually in the assurance of our salvation.

This is why for over two years the subject of the blog: “Prayer Affair,” has been “Assurance of Salvation.”  It is a matter of life and death—life forever with GOD or death forever away from the presence of GOD.

ASSURANCES

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THAT WE MAY KNOW

“This is the essence of the Christian life, that we might have the full knowledge of God and that we may know we have it” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p638).

“…there are certain tests by which, if we apply them to ourselves, we may know that we have this knowledge of God.  The first is our belief concerning the Lord Jesus Christ Himself” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p641).

“True faith in Christ and His righteousness arises from the ruins of self-sufficiency and the death of personal excellency” James Hervey (ref#333, p274).

“Jesus Christ is absolutely essential to me….I have come to see my own unworthiness, my sinfulness, and my smallness.  I have seen it deeply and can do nothing to save myself.  How can I face God?  I have but one hope, and that is that God sent His Son” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p641).

“This leads me to the second test.  If I believe all that, I must of necessity come to love God…if I believe in the love of Jesus Christ, I believe that God sent Him.  So I believe on Him and in the love of God” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p642).

“Then, thirdly…is the test of loving the brethren…men and women who are Christians will recognize other Christians…Love of the brethren is crucial!  These tests…if we apply them to ourselves we will know where we stand” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p643).

“…I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed…” (2 Tim 1:12 ESV).

“Every Christian is meant to have this certain knowledge of eternal life, this immediate fellowship and communion with God” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p639).

“I have the assurance…that if I have eternal life, I shall stand one day faultless and blameless, without spot and blemish, in the presence of God’s glory. So as I meet temptation and sin in this world, I realize that I am not left to myself.  I cease to feel helpless and frustrated.  I say, ‘If God is in me, if God has destined me for that, then He will come and hold me through all hell and the devils be opposed to me’” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p654).

Certainly the above quote portrays the necessity of knowing we have eternal life.  Otherwise we will never recognize we can lean entirely on GOD to help us through the catastrophes of life.