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            “What then shall we say?”       [Romans 9:14-29]     We have already meditated on Paul's heart for the Israelites, centered on Romans 9:1-13, under the title of “Inseparable love.”   We learned that because of God's inseparable love, Paul had "great sorrow" and "unceasing anguish" toward his brothers, the people of Israel, his kinsmen according to the flesh.   Why did Paul have great sorrow and unceasing anguish when he thought of the Israelites?   The reason was the unbelief of the Israelites who refused to believe in Jesus.   Even though there were privileges that God gave only to the Israelites, they did not accept the only begotten Son as their own Savior.   Therefore, Paul had great sorrow and unceasing anguish.   However, in the meantime, there was something that comforted his heart.   It was the word of God's covenant that could not be failed (v. 6).   The core ...

Gethsemane Prayer (6)       [Luke 22:39-46]                        What was the content of Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane? (Content of prayer)   Look at Mark 14:35-36: “And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by.   And He was saying, ‘Abba! Father!   All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will’” (Note: Lk.22:42; Mt.26:39).     (1)     First prayer: “…   that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by .   And He was saying, "Abba! Father!   All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will” (Mk. 14:35-36).   Here, “the hour” and “this cup” have the same meaning, and the meaning of Jesus’ request to God, “Abba, Father!...

  Those who suffer according to the will of God   “Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right” (1 Peter 4:19).   Why do we Christians suffer?  I think of three reasons for that: (1) because of our sins, (2) because God wants to bless us, and (3) because we are living worthy of the gospel.  Of course not all our sufferings are due to our sins.  But somehow it is not easy to shake off the thought that many of our sufferings are the result of our sins.  I think a good example of this is Prophet Jonah.  Why did Jonah suffer?  Why was the ship that he was aboard almost broken? (Jonah 1:4)  The reason was that Jonah disobeyed God's command (vv. 2-3).  Likewise, we too can suffer hardships when we disobey God's command.  But I think it is dangerous to think that all our sufferings are all due to our si...

  God who turns His will     “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it” (Jonah 3:10).                     We often feel guilty when our sins are exposed through the Word of God.  And often we are disappointed and discouraged by ourselves.  And this disappointment and discouragement can lead us to spiritual depression.  But here is a very scary strategy of Satan.  It is that Satan makes us to keep on looking at ourselves (our sins, our guilt and so on) and not allowing us to look at Jesus Christ who died of the cross to forgive our sins.  Satan never lets us look at Jesus and what He has done on the cross but making us concentrate on what we didn’t do that we supposed to do and what we did that we not ...

  What Is the Will of God for My Life? FROM  R.C. Sproul   Feb 21, 2018   Category:  Articles What does the Bible say about God’s leading? It says that if we acknowledge God in all our ways, He will direct our paths ( Prov. 3:5–6 ). We are encouraged by Scripture to learn the will of God for our lives, and we do so by focusing our attention not on the decretive will of God but on the preceptive will of God. If you want to know God’s will for your life, the Bible tells you: “This is the will of God, your sanctification” ( 1 Thess. 4:3 ). So when people wonder whether to take a job in Cleveland or in San Francisco, or whether to marry Jane or Martha, they should study closely the preceptive will of God. They should study the law of God to learn the principles by which they are to live their lives from day to day. The psalmist writes, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of ...