20 things God does in salvation

A helpful breakdown of 20 things that God does when He saves you, courtesy of Norm Millar, Senior Pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel London.

When God saves you, He…

1. Regenerates you, moving you from spiritual death to life. (John 3:1-8)
2. Redeems you, buying you out of slavery to sin. (1 Peter 1:18-19)
3. Justifies you, declaring you innocent in His sight. (Romans 5:1-9)
4. Sanctifies you, setting you apart as holy. (1 Cor 1:2,30)
5. Forgives you of all your sins. (Ephesians 1:7)
6. Cleanses you, removing from you the stain of sin. (Hebrews 9:14)
7. Reconciles you to Himself. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)
8. Seals you with His Spirit as a guarantee of your future hope. (Ephesians 1:13)
9. Indwells you, sending the Holy Spirit to live in you. (Romans 8:9)
10. Adopts you, making you His child. (Romans 8:14-17)
11. Baptizes you into Christ’s body, the Church. (1 Corinthians 12:3)
12. Illuminates your mind so you can understand the Scriptures. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
13. Makes you a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
14. Reveals you as one of His elect. (Ephesians 1:4, Romans 8:29-30)
15. Grants you eternal life. (John 11:25-27, 1 John 5:11-13)
16. Names you an heir with Christ. (Romans 8:17)
17. Grants you an inheritance. (1 Peter 1:3-4)
18. Declares you a saint. (Romans 1:7, Colossians 1:2)
19. Grants you new citizenship, making your home heaven rather than this world. (Philippians 3:20)
20. Makes you a slave of Christ, a slave with the greatest, most glorious Master that any could ask for. (1 Corinthians 7:22-23)

(HT: Blogging Theologically)

Why read the Bible? 9 reasons

1. We need to read the Bible to know the truth. We want to think clearly about what God says is true and valuable (2 Pet. 1:21).

2. We read the Bible to know God in a personal relationship (1 Cor. 1:21; Gal. 4:8-9; 1 Tim. 4:16).

3. We read the Bible to live well for God in this world, and living out his will expresses our love for Him (John 14:23-24; Rom. 12:2; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).

4. We read the Bible to experience God’s freedom, grace, peace, and hope (John 8:32; Rom. 15:4; 2 Pet. 1:2).

5. We read the Bible because it gives us joy (Ps. 119:111).

6. We read the Bible to grow spiritually, as we reject conformity to the world and are changed by the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:1-2).

7. We read the Bible to minister to other Christ-followers and to those who have yet to respond to the Gospel, experiencing God’s approval for work well done (Josh. 1:8; 2 Tim. 2:15; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).

8. We read the Bible to guard ourselves from sin and error (Eph. 6:11-17; 2 Pet. 2:1-2).

9. We read the Bible to be built up as a Christian community with others in the Body of Christ (Acts 20:32; Eph. 4:14-16).

from Read the Bible for Life, George Guthrie

Speak O Lord

A great song from Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, reminding us to humble ourselves and respond rightly to God's life-giving word.

10 tips for faithful sleep-deprived living

Sleep is one of God's good gifts. Most of us chug though life without thinking much about it, which is usually a sign that we're getting enough. But for some of us, that blissful enjoyment of the half-regarded treasure we know as a ‘good night's sleep’ is shattered for some reason.

The effects of sleep deprivation are substantial. A lack of sleep overshadows all aspects of our lives, including how we go about seeking to follow and serve Christ Jesus. In order to be prayerful and diligent in serving God, we need to think about how we can ‘manage’ this condition, rather than become overwhelmed by it.

The list:
10. Trust God now
9. Don't resent it
8. Gratitude matters
7. Be godly by God's grace
6. Pray
5. Be governed by Scripture
4. Be wise
3. Be kind
2. Hope in heavenly rest
1. Grace conquers all

Read the whole thing here for an explanation of each of those points.

Redeeming the misses

If January is the month to set new goals and resolutions for the New Year, February is the month to desert resolutions, like the abandoned cars on D.C. side streets packed tightly under the snow tossed from city plows.

Pastor John Newton (1725–1807) was familiar with this challenge of attaining lofty goals, a topic he discussed in a letter written in February 1772 to one of his friends.

Newton writes, “The Lord has given his people a desire and will aiming at great things; without this they would be unworthy of the name of Christians.”

Continue reading...

Finding Jesus in the Psalms

As we've been thinking recently about Jesus as true Man and true God, as well as all his titles, here's a little something that touches on all those themes! :)

From the New Testament through the church Fathers (including Tertullian, Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine, Hilary) to interpreters of recent centuries (Luther, Spurgeon, Bonhoeffer), Christians have seen Jesus as one of the chief subjects of the Psalms. Jesus has also been seen as the one who sings the Psalms: he experienced the full range of human emotions and the full, intimate, honest relationship with God depicted in the Psalms.

Read on...