For Her

“Q: What is God?

A: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”

Westminster Shorter Catechism

Being Reformed should make us incredibly humble, gracious and tender-hearted, not Reformed jerks.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”(Ephesians 2:8-9)

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” (1 Peter 3:8)

This design comes from a sweet man from the church I came to Christ in as a young teenager. Whenever anyone asked how he was doing, he’d reply “better than I deserve.” He (and his family) were used by the Lord in ways that have shaped me greatly.⁣⁣
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What do you think you deserve?⁣⁣
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We obviously tend to think very highly of ourselves and what we deserve often as we covet what others have (that should be ours, right?), become jealous of others (because people should think as good, if not better, of us) and the pride and frustration with which we interact with those around us (as we know better than they do and are clearly beneath our level of understanding). And that doesn’t even touch our inclination toward self-righteousness as believers—to glory in our good deeds and puff ourselves up.⁣⁣
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What do we really deserve in the eyes of a holy God in exchange for our rebellion against Him?⁣⁣
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Romans 6:23⁣⁣
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“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”⁣⁣
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“The reason why death is the result of sin is, that sin deserves death. Death is due to it in justice. There is the same obligation in justice, that sin should be followed by death, as that the laborer should receive his wages. As it would be unjust, and therefore wrong, to defraud the laborer of his stipulated reward, so it would be unjust to allow sin to go unpunished…But the gift of God, the free, unmerited gift of God, is eternal life…Sin deserves death; holiness is itself the gift of God, and is freely crowned with eternal life. The idea of merit is everywhere and in every way excluded from the gospel method of salvation. It is a system of grace, from the beginning to the consummation. It is in Christ, as united to him, that we are made partakers of eternal life. Jesus Christ and his gospel…effectually secure what the law never could never accomplish...”⁣⁣
-Charles Hodge⁣⁣
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Praise God for His mercy—may it lead us to repentance, humility and loving obedience.

“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

—Psalm 119:10-11

"Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”⁣⁣ —Mark 1:14-15 ⁣⁣

This is the call we hear to come and die as we are initiated into the family of God. But it’s not once and done, is it? This call is also continual—we should not think that we move past repenting and believing after justification. Repenting and believing is, in one sense, a one-time call when faith first comes by hearing the Word of God (and we are made His and kept by His sovereignty and faithfulness), but in another sense it also continues in perpetuity as we are sanctified.

We do not grow out of repenting. We do not graduate from believing. These are day-in and day-out processes for the believer as a means of sanctification led and enabled by the Holy Spirit.⁣⁣

In the midst of uncertainty and turmoil, one constant remains...

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” —Hebrews 13:8

In the midst of uncertainty and turmoil, one constant remains...⁣

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”⁣ —Hebrews 13:8