Justification

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[jus’-tuh-fih-kay‘-shun]

(From the Greek word dikaioo, “to declare/make righteous”)

The act by which God declares a sinner to be just on the basis of the righteousness of Christ alone. According to Romans 1:18-3:28, justification is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ apart from works or merit.

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Not a Neutral World

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Jesus did not come to a neutral world with the result that some people moved from neutrality to be anti-Jesus, and others moved from neutrality to be pro-Jesus. Nobody was neutral. And nobody is neutral. We have all sinned. We are all guilty. We are all perishing. Therefore, we are all under God’s righteous wrath. And we are already condemned.

Whether we stay that way depends on how we respond to Jesus. He came not to make neutral people into pro-Jesus people, but to make guilty people non-guilty, condemned people not condemned, and to make dead people eternally alive. God does not owe anybody acquittal or life. That Jesus came to offer it and that some accept it, is all undeserved grace.

- John Piper

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He Does as He Pleases

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He Does As He Pleases

"For the Lord Almighty has purposed--and who can thwart Him? His hand is stretched out--and who can turn it back?" Isaiah 14:27

To say that God is sovereign, is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will.

Whatever takes place in time is but the outworking of that which He has decreed in eternity. The sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible and infinite!

We insist that God does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases!

"But our God is in the heavens--He has done whatever He has pleased!" Psalm 115:3

"The Lord does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths!" Psalm 135:6

"All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him: What have you done?" Daniel 4:35

- A. W. Pink

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Philippians 4:11-14

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I Have Learned The Secret!

11. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

14. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.

ESV

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The Differences Between Religion And The Gospel

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RELIGION: I obey-therefore I’m accepted.

THE GOSPEL: I’m accepted-therefore I obey.

RELIGION: Motivation is based on fear and insecurity.

THE GOSPEL: Motivation is based on grateful joy.

RELIGION: I obey God in order to get things from God.

THE GOSPEL: I obey God to get to God-to delight and resemble Him.

RELIGION: When circumstances in my life go wrong, I am angry at God or my self, since I believe, like Job’s friends that anyone who is good deserves a comfortable life.

THE GOSPEL: When circumstances in my life go wrong, I struggle but I know all my punishment fell on Jesus and that while he may allow this for my training, he will exercise his Fatherly love within my trial.

RELIGION: When I am criticized I am furious or devastated because it is critical that I think of myself as a ‘good person’. Threats to that self-image must be destroyed at all costs.

THE GOSPEL: When I am criticized I struggle, but it is not critical for me to think of myself as a ‘good person.’ My identity is not built on my record or my performance but on God’s love for me in Christ. I can take criticism.

RELIGION: My prayer life consists largely of petition and it only heats up when I am in a time of need. My main purpose in prayer is control of the environment.

THE GOSPEL: My prayer life consists of generous stretches of praise and adoration. My main purpose is fellowship with Him.

RELIGION: My self-view swings between two poles. If and when I am living up to my standards, I feel confident, but then I am prone to be proud and unsympathetic to failing people. If and when I am not living up to standards, I feel insecure and inadequate. I’m not confident. I feel like a failure.

THE GOSPEL: My self-view is not based on a view of my self as a moral achiever. In Christ I am “simul iustus et peccator”—simultaneously sinful and yet accepted in Christ. I am so bad he had to die for me and I am so loved he was glad to die for me. This leads me to deeper and deeper humility and confidence at the same time. Neither swaggering nor sniveling.

RELIGION: My identity and self-worth are based mainly on how hard I work. Or how moral I am, and so I must look down on those I perceive as lazy or immoral. I disdain and feel superior to ‘the other.’

THE GOSPEL: My identity and self-worth are centered on the one who died for His enemies, who was excluded from the city for me. I am saved by sheer grace. So I can’t look down on those who believe or practice something different from me. Only by grace I am what I am. I’ve no inner need to win arguments.

RELIGION: Since I look to my own pedigree or performance for my spiritual acceptability, my heart manufactures idols. It may be my talents, my moral record, my personal discipline, my social status, etc. I absolutely have to have them so they serve as my main hope, meaning, happiness, security, and significance, whatever I may say I believe about God.

THE GOSPEL: I have many good things in my life—family, work, spiritual disciplines, etc. But none of these good things are ultimate things to me. None of them are things I absolutely have to have, so there is a limit to how much anxiety, bitterness, and despondency they can inflict on me when they are threatened and lost.

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Ps. 113:4-5 & Jonathan Edwards

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I was reading this morning in Ps. 113, and came to verses 4 & 5:

⁴The LORD is high above all nations;
His glory is above the heavens.
⁵Who is like the LORD our God,
Who is enthroned on high

I was reminded of this quote from the life of Jonathan Edwards:

"Once, as I rode out into the woods for my health, in 1737, having alighted from my horse in a retired place, as my manner commonly has been, to walk for divine contemplation and prayer, I had a view, that for me was extraordinary, of the glory of the Son of God, as Mediator between God and man, and his wonderful, great, full, pure and sweet grace and love, and meek and gentle condescension. This grace that appeared so calm and sweet, appeared also great above the heavens. The person of Christ appeared ineffably excellent, with an excellency great enough to swallow up all thought and conception -which continued, as near as I can judge, about an hour; which kept me the greater part of the time in a flood of tears, and weeping aloud. I felt an ardency of soul to be, what I know not otherwise how to express, emptied and annihilated; to lie in the dust; and to be full of Christ alone; to love him with a holy and pure love; to trust in him; to live upon him; to serve and follow him; and to be perfectly sanctified and made pure, with a divine and heavenly purity. I have several other times had views very much of the same nature, and which have had the same effects."

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No Mr. President!

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Daniel 4:34-35

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Nebuchadnezzar Restored

34. At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; 35. all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

So much for “God can’t move unless you let Him”!

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A New Creation

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It is radical, revolutionary, lasting!

(Arthur Pink, "The Sovereignty of God")

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

In the new birth, God exerts a quickening influence or power upon His own elect. Regeneration is very, very much more than simply shedding a few tears because of some temporary remorse over sin. It is far more than changing our course of life, the leaving off of bad habits and the substituting of good ones. It is something different from the mere cherishing and practicing of noble ideals. It goes infinitely deeper than coming forward to take some popular evangelist by the hand, signing a pledge-card, or "joining the church." The new birth is no mere turning over a new leaf--but is the inception and reception of a new life! It is no mere reformation, but a radical transformation. In short, the new birth is a miracle--the result of the supernatural operation of God. It is radical, revolutionary, lasting!

In the new birth:

God lays hold of one who is spiritually dead--and quickens him into newness of life!

God takes up one who was shaped in iniquity and conceived in sin--and conforms him to the image of His Son!

God seizes a drudge of the Devil--and makes him a member of His holy family!

God picks up a destitute beggar--and makes him joint-heir with Christ!

God comes to one who is full of enmity against Him--and gives him a new heart that is full of love for Him!

God stoops to one who by nature is a rebel--and works in him both to will and to do of His good pleasure!

By His irresistible power, God transforms . . .
a sinner--into a saint;
an enemy--into His friend,
a drudge of the Devil--into His beloved child!

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“For as the Father has life in himself ...

So he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.”

Our Savior Christ Jesus . . . abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.—“I am the resurrection and the life.”—“Because I live, you also will live.”—We share in Christ.—Those . . . who have shared in the Holy Spirit.—Partakers of the divine nature.—“The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. . . . Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” . . . who lives forever and ever.—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality.—To the King of ages, immortal, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

John 5:26; 2 Tim. 1:10; John 11:25; John 14:19; Heb. 3:14; Heb. 6:4; 2 Pet. 1:4; 1 Cor. 15:45, 51, 52; Rev. 4:8, 9; 1 Tim. 6:15, 16; 1 Tim. 1:17

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Throwing the Dice

"We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall." Proverbs 16:33

If the fall of the dice is under the Lord's control, then whose is the arrangement of our whole life? If the simple casting of the dice is guided by Him, how much more the events of our entire life, especially when we are told by our blessed Savior, "The very hairs of your head are all numbered! Not a sparrow falls to the ground without your Father!" It would bring a holy calm over your mind, dear friend, if you were always to remember this. It would so relieve your mind from worry that you would be the better able to walk in patience, calmness, and cheerfulness, as a Christian should.

When a man is anxious, he cannot pray with faith or serve his Master. When you worry and fret about your lot and circumstances, you are meddling with Christ's business, and neglecting your own! You have been attempting "providing" work and forgetting that it is yours to "obey". Be wise and attend to the obeying, and let Christ manage the providing.

Come and survey your Father's storehouse, and ask whether He will let you starve while He has laid up so great an abundance in His garner! Look at His heart of mercy and ask if that heart can ever prove unkind! Look at His inscrutable wisdom and ask if that wisdom can ever be at fault. Above all, look to Jesus Christ your Intercessor, and ask yourself, while He pleads, can your Father deal ungraciously with you? If He remembers even sparrows, will He forget one of His poor children?

"Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall." Psalm 55:22

- C. H. Spurgeon

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Living Sacrifice - A Biblical Truth

As Christians, we're called to give ourselves to God as a "living sacrifice." The Apostle Paul helps us understand this truth in his letter to the believers in Rome:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)

Living Sacrifice - Dying to Self
So, how do we truly present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice? In a nutshell, we must die to our prior selves. This concept is wonderfully presented in this anonymous poem…

When you are forgotten, neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting or hurt with the oversight, but your heart is happy being counted worthy to suffer for Christ;

That is dying to self.

When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinion ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence;

That is dying to self.

When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any annoyance; when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus did;

That is dying to self.

When you are content with any food, and offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, any interruption by the will of God;

That is dying to self.

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation or record your own good works or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown;

That is dying to self.

When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met, and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy, nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and you are in desperate circumstances;

That is dying to self.

When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit, inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart;

That is dying to self.

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Sanctification - Biblical Meaning - Pt. 1 of 6

Sanctification is a biblical doctrine that is emphasized a great deal in Christian teaching. Yet despite its importance, it is often perceived as a religious notion too complex to comprehend. Though sanctification may at first seem to be a foreign concept, it is one of the greatest things that has and is happening to every believer in Jesus Christ. Here we will explore the basic biblical doctrine of sanctification and discuss the key role it plays in a Christian's spiritual growth.

Sanctification comes from the verb sanctify. Sanctify originates from the Greek word hagiazo, which means to be "separate" or to be "set apart." In the Bible, sanctification generally relates to a sovereign act of God whereby He "sets apart" a person, place, or thing in order that His purposes may be accomplished. In the book of Exodus, God sanctifies a place of worship. "And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory," says Exodus 29:43. Even a day can be sanctified as seen in Genesis 2:3 where the seventh day is "set apart" as a holy day of rest. "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."

Similarly, when a person is sanctified he or she is being set apart by God for a specific divine purpose. The very moment we are saved in Christ we are also immediately sanctified and begin the process of being conformed to the image of Christ. As God's children we are "set apart" from that moment to carry out His divine purposes unto eternity. Hebrews 10:14 says, "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." Are you set apart for God?

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Sanctification - Different Than Salvation - Pt. 2 of 6

It is important to differentiate between justification and sanctification. Justification is another word for salvation. Jesus gave his life on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. His blood washes away our sins and frees us from an eternity of suffering and condemnation. Believers are saved because of what Christ has already done. We can do nothing to earn salvation, it is the gift given to every child of God regardless of race, age, maturity, or merit. Sanctification occurs as a result of salvation. At the moment of conversion, the Holy Spirit enters our life. We are no longer held hostage by death, but are free to live the life God desires for us. We are thus sanctified simply because of our standing as lost souls saved by grace.

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Sanctification - A Continuing Process - Pt. 3 of 6

Sanctification does not stop with salvation, but rather it is a progressive process that continues in a Christian's life. Unlike the things and places that are sanctified by God in the Bible, people have the capacity to sin. Even though we have been "set apart" as God's children, we continue to behave in ways that are contrary. As Christians, we realize shortly after we have been saved that there is a new inner battle being waged within us - a battle between our old sin-lead nature and new Spirit-lead nature. Paul in Galatians best describes this inner struggle in Galatians 5:17: "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish."

Like Paul, our heart's desire is to please and obey God, but our flesh is weak making sin difficult to resist. Yet, it is in our continual struggle with sin and obedience to God that sanctification does its work.

But what is the work of sanctification? What does it practically mean to be "set apart"? Sanctification can be described as an inward spiritual process whereby God brings about holiness and change in the life of a Christian by means of the Holy Spirit. The effects of living in a fallen world have harmed everybody differently. We all face different issues, struggle with sin, and past hurts of varying degrees, hindering our ability to live the life God desires for us. Once we accept Jesus Christ into our lives, the Holy Spirit enters our life to start a transformation process (progressive sanctification). He convicts us on areas that need to be changed, helping us to grow in holiness. We begin to view the world, people, and personal difficulties from a more biblical perspective. Our choices begin to be motivated by love and truth and not selfishness. For instance, we may have misplaced our confidence and security on beauty, wealth, and materialism, but God may ordain difficult circumstances to liberate us from these growth-hindering snares. The transformation process may be painful, but it is always motivated by God's love for us. Further, God promises in His Word to not give us more than we are able to handle (1 Corinthians 10:13).

This is the working process of sanctification is the life of every believer. Though the process is personal for each individual, the end goal is to prevent sin and produce spiritual growth. Note that sanctification has nothing to do with living in sinless perfection. We will never be sinless in this life. In fact, the Bible warns against such false teachings in 1 John 1:8: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

Sanctification is not about trying to be sinless in order to earn the favor of God. Rather, sanctification is for our own benefit. God commands us to pursue sanctification so that through it we may be blessed.

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Sanctification - A Christian Responsibility - Pt. 4 of 6

Sanctification is one of the most challenging aspects of the Christian walk. Our natural tendency is to embrace sin, yet God in His divine wisdom has chosen to give us the responsibility of working out our own sanctification. "Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work," says 2 Timothy 2:21.

But how do we pursue sanctification? How are we personally responsible? Lovingly, God has sent His Holy Spirit and His written Word, the Bible, to guide us. Though every person's sanctification is unique and personal, there are common disciplines in the pursuit of sanctification that are unchanging.

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Sanctification - Practical Steps - Pt. 5 of 6

Prayer is of utmost importance. When we are suffering or facing temptation, our mind and body are weak. Satan knows this and tries to take advantage of us. When we pray, we are in spiritual union with God. Not only will prayer comfort us in our hardship, but it will also give us the strength to overcome sin. Through prayer, we are also more sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

God has also given us the written Word - the Bible. The Bible is not merely a history book, but its words have the power to sanctify us. When Satan tempted Jesus in Matthew 4, Jesus used the Word of God to overcome temptation. "But He answered and said, 'It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:4).

God's Word also has the power to transform our mind, convict, and bring to light the darkness that is within our hearts. It is the instrument which God uses to develop in us knowledge, faith, and personal holiness; all of which are essential elements of sanctification. "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). Whether by studying or listening to teaching, the sanctifying work of God's Word is enormous to a believer who recognizes its truth and power.

Believers are also sanctified in worship. True fervent worship is what God desires from His people. When our worship is genuine, it transforms our hearts and brings us into close union with God. John 4:23 says, "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."

Additionally, before Jesus ascended into heaven he tells the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for a gift God will send (Acts 1). This is the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our ultimate helper and sanctifier. When we yield to His leading, He has the power to help us resist sin and make positive change. "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).

When we sin and ignore the Holy Spirit's leading, we break fellowship with Him, thereby cutting off the life-changing power. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 commands us: "Do not quench the Spirit."

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Sanctification - Key to Spiritual Growth - Pt. 6 of 6

Sanctification is both a matter of position and progression. We are sanctified because Jesus Christ has saved us and yet sanctification continues to work within to transform us unto the likeness of Christ. Sanctification is the responsibility of every believer in Christ. When we choose to pursue sanctification in our life, positive growth occurs. The pursuit of it involves the surrender of the body and the will to the leading of the Holy Spirit. It takes time and is a working progress that cannot be hurried. Like a newborn baby that gradually matures unto adulthood, so is the work of sanctification in the life of a new believer. The work of sanctification will ultimately be completed in every believer's life when Jesus Christ returns. This is the hope of every Christian.

Paul puts it best in his epistle to the Thessalonians: "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

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Reproaches have broken my heart

“Is not this the carpenter's son?”—“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”—“Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”—“He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”—“We know that this man is a sinner.”—“He is leading the people astray.”—“This man is blaspheming.”— “Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!”

“It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.”—For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.—If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed.

Ps. 69:20; Matt. 13:55; John 1:46; John 8:48; Matt. 9:34; John 9:24; John 7:12; Matt. 9:3; Matt. 11:19; Matt. 10:25; 1 Pet. 2:19-23; 1 Pet. 4:14

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“My sheep hear my voice.”

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”—I slept, but my heart was awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking. “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one.” . . . I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had turned and gone. My soul failed me when he spoke. I sought him, but found him not; I called him, but he gave no answer.

“Speak, for your servant hears.”—And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.—Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.

John 10:27; Rev. 3:20; Song 5:2, 6; 1 Sam. 3:10; Luke 19:5, 6; Ps. 85:8

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Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.—When you . . . believed in him, [you] were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it.

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”—Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

We walk by faith, not by sight.—Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

Heb. 11:1; 1 Cor. 15:19; 1 Cor. 2:9, 10; Eph. 1:13, 14; John 20:29; 1 Pet. 1:8, 9; 2 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 10:35

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Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear.

On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.—While I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice.—Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!—But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

“Ah, Lord God! It is you who has made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”—He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.—“And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.”

Isa. 59:1; Ps. 138:2; Dan. 9:21; Ps. 27:9; Ps. 22:19; Jer. 32:17; 2 Cor. 1:10; Luke 18:7, 8

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Little Did She Know: The Perfection of God's Providence

"Ruth left and entered the field to gather grain behind the harvesters. She happened to be in the portion of land belonging to Boaz, who was from Elimelech's family." Ruth 2:3

"She happened." Yes, it seemed nothing but an accident, but how divinely was it overruled! Ruth had gone forth with her mother-in-law's blessing, under the care of her God, to do humble and honorable toil, and the providence of God was guiding her every step! Little did she know that amid the sheaves she would find a husband, and that he would make her the joint owner of all those broad acres, and that she, a destitute foreigner, would become an ancestor of the great Messiah!

God is very good to those who trust in Him, and often surprises them with unlooked-for blessings. Little do we know what may happen to us in the future; but this sweet fact should cheer us, that nothing which is really good for us shall be withheld from us!

The word "chance" is banished from the Christian's vocabulary, for we see the hand of God in everything. The seemingly trivial events of today or tomorrow, may involve consequences of the highest importance. Take comfort--our Lord deals as graciously with all His servants as He did with Ruth!

- C. H. Spurgeon
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But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . peace.

To set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

God has called you to peace.—“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.”—May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.—You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.—“Whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

Great peace have those who love your law.

Gal. 5:22; Rom. 8:6; 1 Cor. 7:15; John 14:27; Rom. 15:13; 2 Tim. 1:12; Isa. 26:3; Isa. 32:17, 18; Prov. 1:33; Ps. 119:165

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