Today, let’s think of God’s promises that prepare us for death. Death may not be the most pleasant thing to talk about but it is a necessary one. The only thing that is 100% certain in life is death (except for those who will be alive at the time of Christ’s return). It is foolish for us, then, to avoid talking about it or thinking about it. And no one can be truly wise if he lives as if he would not die someday. “The shortness of our days, the certainty of death, and the length of eternity make it necessary to die well, the Puritans used to say” (p. 156). How do we die well?
Read MoreToday, we continue to think about the importance of the Lord’s Day for our pursuit of holiness. The main reason is that the Lord’s Day is first and foremost the day of public/corporate worship. Worship is something we give to God insofar as it is an act of acknowledging God’s supreme worth to us. But when we gather to worship God (at His call), God uses it to bless us. The authors speak of three things, through which God blesses us and helps us in our pursuit of holiness.
Read MoreToday, we want to speak of the means of observing the Lord’s Day for our pursuit of holiness. The mere mention of the Lord’s Day should bring a smile to our face. It is meant to be a day of rest from all the craziness and business of our daily grind. The Lord has graciously set aside one day out of seven for a day of rest. We should be grateful for the Lord’s Day and rejoice in it.
Read MoreWe continue our reflection on the importance of reading Scripture as a means of pursuing holiness. “The reading of Scripture is also a means of grace because God promises His Word is all-sufficient. No matter what our need, no matter what the plight in which we find ourselves, no matter what the challenge of dealing with unbelievers, no matter how low, destitute, and afflicted we may be, God’s Word is sufficient to meet our need” (p. 151). The authors provide the following examples:
Read MoreThe Bible is God’s revelation, God’s inspired Word. “The reading of Scripture, unlike all other books, allows us to listen to God’s voice as if He stands before us in the flesh and speaks the very words written on its pages” (p. 149). We need to keep in mind that God’s written Word is no less the Word of God as His spoken Word. Consider the fact that, when we want to say something official, we do it in writing to make sure we say it properly and accurately and we can refer back to it again and again. That is why God chose to give us Scriptures.
Read MoreYesterday, we talked about how prayer should be the easiest spiritual exercise. But how is it in practice? Sadly, many of us find prayer to be one of the most difficult things to do. Why? I want to share with you what I said in a sermon a couple of weeks ago: “Why do we find praying so difficult? Isn’t it because we fear disappointment? This fear is not about doubting God’s power to answer our prayers; it comes from not being sure whether God would do it for me! Or, being quite sure that God may do it for others but not for me.” What do we do about this?
Read MoreWe said yesterday that the way God works in us to grow in holiness is through the means of grace. The first one we are going to talk about is prayer. Today, I’d like to share with you an extensive quote from the book because it is such a beautiful description of the gift of prayer. Tomorrow, we will talk about why it is so difficult to pray and how we should address that problem. “Strictly speaking, praying is not difficult to master, for even a child can ask, seek, and knock. Praying is not difficult to do, either, for it can be done without hands, eyes, or even words. The place for prayer is not difficult to find, for prayer can be done anywhere. Neither is it difficult to find time for prayer, for a prayer can be as short as a single cry.
Read MoreWe’ve been talking about using God’s promises to fight against sin. Today, we are starting the topic of using God’s promises for pursuing holiness. Fighting against sin is not the end in itself; its goal is to grow in holiness. The authors say, “One reason why Christians fail to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ is that they fail to understand the relationship between putting off sin and putting on righteousness” (p. 141). Consider Rom. 6:13: “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”
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