It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so than no one can boast. —Ephesians 2:8-9
Grace is God’s “unmerited favor” toward us; it comes to us as a gift we do not deserve. Here is something you can count on: The better you believe yourself to be, the less grace you will think you need. The more self-confident you are, the more convinced you will be that you could get by even if God were stingy with grace. All you need is some help from …
And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And He entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And He sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when He had left speaking, He said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down …
In Psalm 13 we have the tried believer crying to God for deliverance and yet trusting in His overruling providence in spite of all the difficult circumstances of the way. Four times in the first two verses we get the cry, “How long?” “How long with thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? How long wilt thou hid thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?” This is the heart cry, not only of Christian people during this present age …
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, …
“Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” —Romans 12:2
Two little girls were washing the dishes one day. One of them was murmuring over her task, when the other said, “Let’s think about what we are going to get for Christmas, and doin’ the dishes won’t hurt so much.”
There is a law here in this little incident that is worthy of our close attention. It is the law of transformation by renewing. Are we to let circumstances, moods, conditions, rule us and weigh us down, or are we to find this spiritual law of transformation by renewal? …
Talking with a man a few days ago who was criticizing Christians or professing Christians and especially the church of Christ rather severely, I asked him this question: “Do you think that Christianity is an asset or a liability to a nation or to a city?”
“What do you mean?”
I replied, “Do you think that the city of Chicago would be a better city to live in if there were no Christians here? Would you like to live here if all the churches were destroyed? Would this great country America be a better land if all Christians could be …
We turn today to the thirteenth chapter of John’s Gospel and read from the thirty-first verse:
“Therefore, when he was gone out—” that is, when Judas had gone out into the night—“Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment …
Pastor Lutzer Explains His New Media Role and Opportunities Ahead
My wife, Rebecca, and I have always prayed that God would lead us in His will, and He has been faithful in giving us clear direction throughout our lives. This has been especially true in the past few months as we have been challenged to step into a new role that will enable me to give more attention to our growing Media Ministry. I look forward to devoting more time to you, our faithful listeners.
During the past few months I have been greatly encouraged by the impact of Running …
“And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” —John 17:3
“This is life,” not “it will be,” but this is life eternal—present salvation, a present knowledge, a present God and a present understanding of it in our hearts.
Now, with our sensibilities we understand some things that are in the world. All of our knowledge comes through sensation, and sensations taken together form ideas. Let me illustrate. There is no use getting off that “highbrow stuff” unless we understand it. All of our knowledge in this world …
Before I speak about the ominous trends in America to curtail freedom of speech, let me tell you about Dr. Charles H. McVety, president of Canada Christian College in Toronto, whose television program was removed from the air because he had the temerity to preach against homosexuality. Later, he was allowed back on television, but now he has to submit his program to the Canadian Broadcast Standard Council every Wednesday for review by the censors on Thursday, and then, if approved, can be broadcast on Sunday. As far as I know this panel does not rule on programs that are …
