Providence Not Chance

Your life is not ruled by random chance. God's providence works over all things for your good and God's glory. God is working for good in all things for those who love Him (Romans 8:28). "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever" (Romans 11:36).

God's providence works daily. God works according to His good will (Romans 12:2). God knows what is ahead for you and prepares the way. God works in all the details of your life. God's providence is at work in all your life situations.

God's providence works over all things. Chance and luck are myths. See the providence of God working in your life according to an eternal purpose,"the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will" (Ephesians 1:11). God has a purpose for your life through the Lord Jesus Christ. That purpose is to bring glory to God in you through Christ. 

When things don't go your way, never fret nor worry. Believe the providence of God over all in Christ is good. When it seems like everything is going wrong, don't be discouraged. Believe God's providence for you shall prevail in His time. We live in an evil age, where bad things can happen to us. However, God's providence works for good in all things. God brings good even out of bad circumstances in your life (Genesis 50:20).

God Revealed to You

God is revealed to you through creation and conscience. The created order of this world declares to all the glory of God. Creation declares the Creator (Romans 1:20). Also, God is revealed to all through conscience (Romans 2:15). God has made us moral agents to know the difference between right and wrong. It reveals God's holiness and our sinfulness.

God is revealed to you through the Bible. It reveals who God is (John 4:24). He is fully revealed through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2). If you want to know what God is like, read the Bible. You will discover that Jesus is the full revelation of God. He reveals the fullness of God's love, mercy, and grace (John 1:16).

God is revealed to you through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). God wants you to know how much he loves you. He knows we have done things that are wrong. He sent his Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins (I John 1:7). Jesus is alive! He is risen from the dead (Romans 10:9). The gospel reveals that you can know God's love through believing in the only begotten Son (John 3:16).

God is revealed to you in Christ. He is revealed to the heart of every believer, through the Holy Spirit. The heart is your inner-person, that is your mind, will, and emotions. The Holy Spirit reveals the truth of Christ to your heart (John 16:7-11). God the Father is revealed to you through Christ the Son (John 14:6)

Receive God's Wisdom

Receive God's wisdom in Christ, according to the Bible. God's wisdom is for every believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God (1 Corinthians 1:30). He is your wisdom for all of the decisions in life. God's wisdom is confirmed with peace in your heart.

Receive God's wisdom as a spiritual gift. In making the decisions of life, believers in Christ ask and receive God's wisdom (James 1:5). Always trust God's wisdom to lead you. Wisdom is based upon the truth, because wisdom comes from God. Follow the words of God's wisdom in your Bible, and you will have no regrets. 

Receive God's wisdom confirmed with the fruit of peace. Wisdom and peace come from the Holy Spirit. When you have God's wisdom, peace confirms it. God always confirms wisdom with the witness of peace. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts (Colossians 3:15).

God's wisdom has a counterfeit that seeks to lead you the wrong way. It disguises itself as wisdom, but notice the fruit. Wisdom of this world cannot compare to the wisdom coming from God. Worldly wisdom is selfish, sensual, and brings confusion. Receive God's wisdom proven with good fruit. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy, and good fruits (James 3:17).

Our Great Redemption

Charles Spurgeon preached, "Our great redemption is in the covenant, but we have no redemption except through His blood." Redemption is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The word redemption means to pay the price to set prisoners free. The price has been paid to set every believer free from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13). Our sin debt was paid in full. God redeems us at the cross of Jesus (1 John 1:7).

God foreordained our redemption before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-4). In Bible days, covenants were made based upon the shed blood of a sacrificial animal. God redeems us based upon the sacrifice of Jesus at the cross. In the eternal plan of God, Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).

Redemption is in Christ alone. We are not redeemed by what we have done, but what God has done for us in Christ. It is a unilateral covenant, not based upon our promises nor our works (Ephesians 2:8-9). To the contrary, we are redeemed according to God's promises in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Redemption is received by faith in Christ our Lord. Christ is our righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). What God commands of us, Christ provides for us. The Holy Spirit gives us faith as an abiding gift to trust in Christ. God credits to every believer the righteousness of Christ. Redemption is in Christ as our covenant Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20-21).

The Elect of God

Jesus Christ is the Elect of God. He is described in Scripture as a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame (Isaiah 28:16; 1 Peter 2:6). You are elect in Christ alone.  That's because your election is confirmed by faith in Christ alone (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).

God's people are elect in Christ. The initiative for your salvation is with the eternal God. In eternity, God's purpose was to justify believers in and through Christ, before the world began (Ephesians 1:4-5; 2 Timothy 1:9). God chose you through faith in Christ alone.

To be in Christ means you are a believer, baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). The body of Christ is the church. The word church does not refer to a denomination nor a sectarian group. It refers to all of God's people saved through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). 

God's elect are called out of spiritual darkness, into the light of Christ (1 Peter 2:9). You are God's new creation in Christ (Ephesians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17). That's your election in Christ.

By grace alone through faith in Christ, God saves you from condemnation (Ephesians 2:8-9). It's God's eternal purpose in Christ. God's purpose is to save you to the praise of His glorious grace in Christ (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14). That's your election in Christ. 

God's Purpose in All

The purpose of all things is God's glory forever. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:36). It is God's will for us to bring glory to him in all things. Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

The purpose of creation is to God's glory. All of creation is to the praise of God's glory through Christ. You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created (Revelation 4:11). We were created to bring glory to God. The Bible defines sin as falling short of God's glory (Romans 3:23).

The purpose of our salvation is to God's glory."We who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory"(Ephesians 1:12). As a believer, God is working in you and through you to the praise of his glory in Christ, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory, forever and ever. Amen (Hebrews 13:21).

The purpose of prayer is to God's glory. Pray to God our Father, For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen (Matthew 6:13). Prayer should always be centered upon God's glory in all things. God's kingdom and power work to the praise of His glory. We should pray for the glory of God in all things.

Have Faith in God

Have faith in God with confidence. Faith is taking God at His word. Faith is in God is trusting God, and not leaning on your own understanding. Have faith in God trusting the word of God in the Bible (Romans 10:17). 

Have faith in God even when you don't understand. We cannot understand all the ways of God. Trusting God is confidently believing in His ability to help you and direct you. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

All relationships are built on trust. Faith in God is trusting Him. God is always trustworthy. His word is our bond of trust. Faith is willing to trust God in all circumstances. We may testify, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust" (Psalm 91:2).

Have faith in God taking Him at His word. The Bible gives us the written promises of God. Our faith receives the promises of God. He is the Promise-Keeper. His word of promise is our sure foundation. Have faith in God trusting Him in every situation of life. Faith in God is absolute confidence in His word of promise.

Born of the Spirit

Jesus said, The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit (John 3:8). To be born of the Spirit is also known as regeneration. It is being born from above, because the Holy Spirit comes from above

Like the wind, the Holy Spirit works with great power. His power is omnipotent. The wind moves at unexpected times and in unexpected ways. It's hard to explain, and often difficult to understand. The Holy Spirit, like the wind, moves when, where, and how He pleases. Regeneration is beyond our full comprehension. 

Regeneration changes our hearts (Ezekiel 36:26). It is the work of only one, the Holy Spirit (John 3:7-8). He enables you to have a genuine love for God and a heart to obey Jesus our Lord. The Holy Spirit works in you, what you could never do for yourself. You become a new creation in Christ (John 3:6; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Regeneration enables faith to confess that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God (1 John 5:1). You confess Jesus is Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3). That means you believe that Jesus our Lord is risen from the dead (Romans 10:9).