Scripture
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!
~Luke 11:13, ESV
Quote
Everything is grace, but still it must be kept in mind that God is pleased to work by means.
~John Charles Ryle
Paul asked the Corinthians this soul searching question: “What do you have that you did not receive?” The answer is nothing–everything is a gift. As I say often, your mother gave you birth, your daddy gave you a name and it is God who gives you breath–every thing is a gift. Every good and perfect gift comes from the infinite Creator who never changes. So we acknowledge that everything is a gift: salvation, peace, joy, everything. But there is also a human side to our relationship with Christ. We are saved by grace through faith. Grace is the divine side and faith is the human side. Grace is the gift and faith is the means. Take the scripture above, If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! The Holy Spirit is the gift and asking is the means. Some claim that faith is a work and that if salvation requires our faith than it is not pure grace. Yet I have never known anyone who gloried in their faith and if they did, I would be suspicious. . My faith is nothing to brag about. I am thrilled that God responds to little faith which seems to be all I’ve ever had. I glory not in my faith but in Christ who gave His life for me. Faith is simply away to receive the gift; it is a means that God ordained and requires. The Bible states clearly in the book of Hebrews, Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. Here you see the principle again: we believe and God rewards.
John included both the gift and the means in his gospel…He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God. Humans can procreate human life but we cannot produce spiritual life. Physical birth involves no choice, not on the part of the baby. The baby has done nothing. The new birth is different. It is metaphysical, spiritual, invisible to the human eye, and it happens when we trust Christ. Only God can regenerate the spirit and He saved those who seek Him, believe in Him and are willing to put their trust in Jesus. How do I reconcile God’s will with our believing and receiving? I can’t and I don’t try. I can promise you one thing: if you don’t believe, you will not receive! John 3:18 sums it up, Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Extra
None of us know what a day will produce. I was shocked by the news of Soy’s promotion. I had assumed that everything was going well. When something like this happens we go through a list of “what ifs” but it is consoling to me that Soy was where he wanted to be. As Joe David says, “He was the perfect missionary.” He was laid back and relaxed. I guess you could say he was the opposite of a Bailey: impatient, in a hurry and up tight. He loved Guatemala. He didn’t want to come home for treatment. He was happy with his friends in Guatemala. In my early days, I had the privilege of knowing missionary Clyde Dotson. Bro. Dotson spent 35 years in Rhodesia which is present day Zimbabwe. He buried two wives there and a couple of children. I had him come to our church in Cherokee and Danville. His wife {3rd} would make the presentation and he would sit on the front row and weep for his African friends that he left behind when the IMB forced him to retire. This is the heart of a MISSIONARY. They have a passion for what they do. They love the people God has sent them to encourage. I am a horrible missionary. I have been on several mission trips and I am thinking about returning home before I get to the destination. I start counting the days immediately until I catch my flight home. The natives know when we are restless and people like me don’t make good missionaries. Soy had the perfect temperament for mission work. He was flexible which kept him from getting bent out of shape. Pray for Deidra and the girls and Teddy and Lisa. Pray that the legal work in getting the body back to the States goes smoothly. There is a lot of red tape in Guatemala.
Fran Smith is at home. She went home on Monday. Pat says she is happy to be home. Courtney was having a good day yesterday and we had a wonderful visit. I still drive in Huntsville but I went with Joe David so that I would not have to speak the folks who give you a visitors badge. I was afraid if they heard my voice, they would let me go up, but we made it fine. HH is awful. It takes 10-20 minutes to get screens and get a pass. Courtney was in good spirits and her speech was clear; plus her eye sight has returned. The bonus for me was that she can drink a milk shake. One of the joys of this life is tasting our food and I was thrilled to hear that she can eat and swallow. Earl the pearl Jacobs is not doing good. His wife is sitting faithfully by his side but he is in bad shape. He was not conscious yesterday. I was proud to see his pastor there in the room with them. That would be Dr. Spencer Bell. You will not believe, I bragged on him and did not say a word about his hair cut.
Grace Point family: we begin our series tonight on Apologetics. We will be talking about THE LAW OF NATURE. Chapter one in MERE CHRISTIANITY and Romans 3 in the bible.
God bless you. I hope you have a good day and as I always, I appreciate you reading the blog.