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Focus on the Facts
Our enemy the deceiver does not want us to know ourselves to be dead to sin and alive to God. He wants to persuade us to believe we are still under sin’s power and need to earn God’s ...Read More
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For Abraham’s Sake and Ours
As sinners, we regularly overlook the faults and transgressions of others. We know that no sinner is perfect, and so we are often willing to give people a pass when they do the very same misdeeds of which we ourselves ...Read More
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Foreknowledge
The “foreknowledge” view sees all of history as some great movie that God watched but did not create. He is therefore not sovereign. The flow of history depends upon the will of man, not the plan of God. This week ...Read More
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Fruits of Justification
Rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God is not just some inward attitude. It means that the community of the saints actively praises God in worship. Through the Spirit, the church stands on the sea of glass before ...Read More
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Fulfiling the Law
Matthew Henry comments on love, saying “more is implied than is expressed; it not only does no harm, but it does all the good that may be.” The kind of love that fulfills the Law is active and not just ...Read More
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God and Unbelief
When God chooses someone for salvation, He does so in love, working directly in us, making Him the cause of our redemption (1 Peter 1:1–3). But in passing over the non-elect (reprobation), the Lord’s work is passive ...Read More
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God’s Legal Declaration
How do you hope to stand before the judgment seat of God? Are you counting on your own goodness? Or, do you understand that the depth of your sin makes it impossible that your good works could ever make you ...Read More
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God’s Love and God’s Hatred
When we see that love and hate boil down to favor and disfavor, we can see that they are objective and that they involve conscious decisions. How does understanding this change how you look at people? Resolve to favor those ...Read More
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God’s Olive Tree
Though there are many privileges in being a part of God’s family, we must never become conceited that we trust in Christ while others do not. All of God’s people have been chosen from the foundation of the ...Read More
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God’s Wrath Revealed
Sexual immorality and idolatry are often linked in Scripture. For example, Hosea’s adulterous wife is likened to Israel who has followed after other gods (see chap. 1). If you are struggling with sexual sin, seek where you have been ...Read More
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Going on to Maturity
Oftentimes, those who possess advanced knowledge of the Christian faith look down upon those who are still babes in Christ. However, this was neither the attitude of Christ nor the attitude of the New Testament writers. Ask the Lord to ...Read More
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Guilt and Guilt Feelings
What do you feel guilty about? Can you trace these feelings to an actual violation of some rule, regulation, law, or divine commandment? If so, seek forgiveness from the proper authority. If not, your guilt feelings may be out of ...Read More
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Homosexuality
Many people say we only love those who practice homosexuality if we approve of their lifestyle. Yet, true love delights in the truth (1 Cor. 13:6); thus, Christians cannot approve of homosexual acts. We are also not to think ...Read More
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Honoring God
The flippant references about God and lack of respect for authority that are rampant in our culture reflect the primal sin of not giving honor to the Creator. Unfortunately, even those of us in the church are not entirely guiltless ...Read More
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How do You Spell Joy?
How do you spell joy? “J” stands for Jesus. “O” stands for others, and “Y” stands for yourself. The secret to joy is to put Jesus first, others second, yourself last. This is a child’s lesson, but it is ...Read More
