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Calling and Election

I see different kinds of calling and election mentioned in the Bible. In 2 Peter 1:10 we read: "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:"

Apparently there is something WE can do to MAKE our calling and election sure. If it was all up to God, these verses would not make much sense in my view.

There is a calling to salvation. There is a calling to fellowship with the Son of God. "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:9) There is also a calling to a particular ministry office, ministry function, place or assignment of God.

Though we may be called for any number of these things, unless God chooses us - SELECTS US - for that thing, we will not fulfil the calling.

"Many are called, but few are chosen".

The people who are chosen are those who pass God's tests.

It is not a matter of God wilfully rejecting some people and loving others. God chooses those who pass the tests. Through many difficulties we must enter the kingdom of God, the Scriptures say.

It is also difficult to be selected by God to actually enter the calling that may be on your life. Satan will fight it. You will also have to fight with your own carnal tendencies, and with the system of the world that seeks to weigh you down with cares and worries.

The Dangers of Applied Calvinism

I want to preface all this by saying that some people who would call themselves Calvinists or Reformed Theologians are NOT what I would call practitioners of "Applied Calvinism". They are actually very loving and caring people who believe in the Great Commission and do something for it. At the same time, some Pentecostals and Arminians certainly seem to be "Applied Calvinists" in the sense that they show little or no concern for the state of humanity and the glory of God. What interests God is FAITH that results in OBEDIENCE to the revealed Will of God. read more »

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Bounce Back - Chapter 6 - Transition and Change

Maturity

As we mature we learn to accept change. We become more flexible and find creative solutions to old problems. At least that has been my experience. I want to be able to say that I accepted new challenges and whether I won or lost, I enjoyed or at least learnt from the process.  read more »

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Bounce Back - Chapter 7 - Realignment

Somewhere in my fresh spiritual journey God had re-aligned my heart. Times of adversity can inadvertently cause our hearts to fall out of step with our Heavenly Fathers. Weariness causes us to become slack and inattentive to the details of our lives and sometimes the most important things lose their importance.  read more »

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It is not Desirable (for Some) to Leave the Word of God and Serve Tables

Something struck me as I was reading the Scriptures today. In Acts 6:2-4 it says:

Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.
Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;
but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word."  read more »

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What is Divine Election all About?

I was brought up in a church which taught many good things from the Word of God, for which I thank God. But as we grow and seek God, we may discover that many of the things that we were taught are systems of INTERPRETATION of the Word of God, and not the Word of God itself. There is a difference, and the difference is important. What is at stake here is nothing less than the knowledge of the character of God. read more »

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Does Romans 9 Teach Calvinism?

If any passage of the Bible clearly teaches Calvinism, it would be Romans chapter 9. Calvin himself referred to Romans
9:6-24 as "that memorable passage from Paul which alone ought easily to compose all controversy [concerning election] among sober and compliant children of God". I must confess I have at times been disturbed by what seemed to be the implications of Romans chapter 9, and also parts of Romans chapter 11, concerning the love, justice and goodness of God. read more »

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How to Bounce Back from Losing your Ministry - Chapter 3 - Lion in a Pit on a Snowy Day

 

How to Bounce Back from Loss of Ministry

 

A lion in a pit on a snowy day

  read more »

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Are you Interested in Eternal Rewards?

There's no doubt in my mind that Jesus Christ calls all his followers today to a life of self-denial, however its important to realize that this is not self-denial for the sake of self-denial.

Just as an athlete denies himself many enjoyable things over a period of time in order to be the best and hopefully win a gold medal and enjoy the rewards that will follow, so we are called to self-denial with a view to ETERNAL REWARDS that will most certainly follow.
 read more »

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God Test our Hearts

The Bible teaches that the LORD God tests hearts.

Pro 17:3  The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests the hearts.

Jeremiah 17:10  I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

1Chronicles 29:17  "I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. "

  read more »

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Romans 9 on Election

Romans 9 is perhaps the passage which most lends itself to interpretations which portray God as a capricious, arbitrary tyrant. This passage had long troubled me, because if "Love" has any meaning that relates to desiring the good of others, then it was hard to reconcile these interpretations with the Scripture that "God is Love".

I have found a commentary which to me is very helpful in interpreting correctly this difficult passage. read more »

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