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By: Gary L. Hutchens It’s probably fair to say that most people have a poor, or at least a very limited, understanding of God’s grace. It seems that most people equate grace almost exclusively with salvation. The connection is definite and profound, but that’s not all there is to God’s grace. Peter admonishes, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18). How does a person grow in grace, and is it important to grow in grace?
By: Gary L. Hutchens Once saved, always saved! A whole lot of people in the denominational world believe that. Their belief is connected to a flawed understanding of God’s grace. Without question, we are saved “…by grace…through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9). We cannot save ourselves, nor can we earn our salvation. We are totally dependent upon God’s grace.
By: Gary L. Hutchens The apostle Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9). We cannot save ourselves. It is totally, and only, by God’s grace that we can be saved. But, does God expect any response on our part to His offer to save us by His grace, and does our response have anything to do with our salvation?
By: Gary L. Hutchens God is good! One day, I received an email that included the statement, “God is good, all of the time.” That statement was more significant in that the email gave a report of a family member of the sender who had been diagnosed with cancer. The truth is, God is good all of the time! Even when things seem to be going badly for us, God is still good. Even when we pray to God for deliverance from a difficult situation, and His answer is “No” or “Wait awhile,” God is still good.
By: Gary L. Hutchens Numerous volumes have been written, countless sermons and Bible classes have been taught, and conversational references are continually made in reference to The Grace Of God. But what do we mean when we speak of God’s grace?
By: Gary L. Hutchens There may be no more important Bible topic than that of God’s grace. These days a great deal of emphasis is being given to teaching on the grace of God. Unfortunately, most of the emphasis seems to be very narrowly focused. As a result, much of what is being taught on the subject is short-sighted, some of it is outright wrong!
By: Gary L. Hutchens “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” (Heb. 9:27). This succinct verse of scripture states two realities. First, unless the Lord comes again first, everyone is going to die a physical death. Second, and far more consequential, after death everyone will stand before our Lord in judgment. Death is certain, and the day of judgment is already appointed by God (Acts 17:30-31).
By: Gary L. Hutchens After the battles to conquer the promised land had been fought and won, Joshua gathered the people of Israel together at Shechem and addressed them (Josh. 24:1-2). During his discourse to them he admonished, “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). Joshua could have worded it differently: “make a choice,” “make up your mind,” “ make a commitment,” “take a stand…” Whatever the expression, his point to them was simple. They had to “choose.”
(Edited; Author Unknown) There was once a daughter who complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of all the fighting and struggling. It seemed as though, in solving one problem, two more would arise.
By: Gary L. Hutchens OK, here we are gradually coming out of the strangest time and set of circumstances any of us has ever experienced. The question is, “What Did We Learn From It?” Throughout life in this world we’re confronted with situations that challenge us in any number of ways. If we’re wise, in every case we’ll learn something that will equip us to deal better with that kind of situation in the future, should it ever occur again.
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September 2020
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