Category Archives: Studying_the_Word

Sola Scriptura and Prayer

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Shiloh Photography



Sola Scriptura is one of the 5 pillars of the Reformed Faith, and it means that the Scriptures, God’s infallible Word, are the uttermost authority in our lives, in the Church. It means there is nothing above them, that the Scriptures are sufficient. The Scriptures were breathed by God, and therefore are the very speaking of God.

Now, we also know how important prayer is in the life of the believer. Prayer and a desire to learn the Scriptures are the natural responses from those who have been born again. Both draw us to the Throne of Grace.

Have you consider how Sola Scriptura applies in the life of prayer? Many times, we simply don’t know how to pray, we are short-sighted. We say we want God’s will to be done, but as we pray we pray hoping that ours may be done. We sometimes pray as if we were trying to persuade God to do what we think is the best for us, for our children, for our husband, or for our friend.

Bringing our theology to our mundane life is what we ought to do; we need it when trials come, we need it when life is good, we need it when we do dishes and bake a cake, and when serve our family and the needy among us. But we also need it in our prayer closet.

When we pray, let us pray the Scriptures. Let the Word of God guide us to the Throne of Grace. Let the Word of God be our most wonderful prayer companion. When we don’t know how to pray (and also when we think we know how to pray) let us turn to the Word of God, and let us make it our utmost prayer book.

M. Horton has said it well, “There can be no communication with God apart from the written and living Word. Everything in the Christian faith depends on the spoken and written Word delivered by God to us through the prophets and apostles.”

This is another reason why we (my friends from Doctrines in the Kitchen, Out of The Ordinary, and Desiring Virtue) are always trying to encourage women to love the Word, to study it, to memorize it, to make it our supreme rule of life. Sisters, if we want to be women of prayer, we need to be women of the Word; if we want to become “warriors” in the prayer closet, let us learn how to use The Sword. There are no shortcuts.

Under His sun and by His grace,

Becky

The Doctrine of Love: Our Identity as Christians

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©Annie Pliego Photography

 

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus

Having a strong, biblical foundation based on solid doctrine is essential in the life of all Christians. It keeps us humble to know, for example,  that we have been saved by God’s grace and that we did not choose Him, but that He chose us. It help us not despair in our daily battle against sin the wonderful doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. He will not let us go. He who has called us will never leave us nor forsake us. He who began a good work in us is able to complete it. Our salvation, from A-Z depends only in the work of Christ Jesus, and that is strong, comforting doctrine. The doctrine of the Sovereignty of God is what gives us hope when all seems to be falling apart, when there are many questions and a few answers. That He is ruling this world and that he knows the number of the hairs on my head, makes a whole world of a difference. The way we approach God in prayer, the way we live our lives, the way we respond to sin, the way we deal with the desires of our hearts, all we do depends on the doctrines on which we stand.

There is one doctrine, however, that we sometimes leave on the side. We know it is there and we pretend to know it well until differences arise and conflict comes our way, I am talking about the doctrine of love.

Maybe because it has been abused in so many Christian traditions in which love has been preached without a biblical backbone, with no doctrinal frame, we tend to minimize its importance. We know we must love, but in reality we care more about being zealous for truth than in laying down our lives for others.

We pass by the wounded and do nothing because we are too busy defending our doctrinal righteousness.  Jesus, our model to follow, did both: He touched the unclean,  and sat and ate with the sinners while preaching Truth, while preaching repentance of sins. Paul and Silas helped the sick and the widows while defending Truth.

The first Christians were persecuted for preaching the Truth without compromise, while at the same time they were known by the love amongst themselves. Tertullian (c. A.D. 200) wrote,

“It is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. “See,” they say, “how they love one another,” for they themselves are animated by mutual hatred. “How they are ready even to die for one another!” For they themselves will sooner put to death… . No tragedy causes trouble in our brotherhood, [and] the family possessions, which generally destroy brotherhood among you, create fraternal bonds among us. One in mind and soul, we do not hesitate to share our earthly goods with one another. All things are common among us but our wives. (Apology 39)”

We should pay more attention and study with more zeal the doctrine of love; while praying earnestly that the Lord will lead us into repentance for the many times we have not shown true love for Him (and His Word) because of our lack of love for those around us. Our identity as Christians, the way we should be known even today, must be the way we  deeply love and care for one another. It is not an option; just as it is not an option to believe in the importance of salvation by faith and not by works.

In the past few months I have been digging deep into this, searching the Scriptures and my heart. And it is not easy to find the balance needed to live this out. It is not easy because we love Truth, and because we want to defend it. It is not easy because we know that false teachers do destroy families, and churches, and lead many astray,  and we do not want to compromise the Truth of God, we want to stand firm on the Word of God and reach out to those whom we see in danger. But Jesus (and his disciples) taught us that it is possible to do both. We can love our neighbors and our enemies without compromising the Truth of God. And it is possible to do so, because that is exactly what we have been commanded to do.

My husband and my children are witnesses of the struggle of my heart as I have been learning these lessons, as I seek answers to these questions. I love Jesus and I want to love my neighbors as well as my enemies. I want to be known as a Christian.

If you want to dig deeper into this doctrine I would suggest that you study in depth (get an expository commentary) 1st John, the Sermon of the Mount, and the epistle to the Galatians. Two other books that have helped me to understand all this (and have made me cry more than once) are: Loving the Way Jesus Loves by Ryken, and If You Bite and Devour One Another: Biblical Principles for Handling Conflict by Alexander Strauch.

May God draw us to Him, so that we may be drawn to love those around us.

Still learning,

Becky

A Lesson on Praying Earnestly and Unexpected Miracles

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If you were my child, by this time you would have heard me saying a million of times how wonderful (and important) it is to read the Bible stories as if you had never read them before. Be expectant, read the drama, pay attention, be engaged with the characters in the narrative. Get excited. Love the story. See Jesus. Things like these I tell my children over and over again.

Today I would like to convince you to do the same. Read in Acts 12 the story of Peter’s imprisonment and how he was rescued by an angel. Read it aloud. Get excited. Be engaged. Read it as if you had never read it before.
The Liberation of St. Peter by Sebastiano Ricci, 1722

Herod is killing Christians and when he sees that the Jews are happy about it, he decides to keep on the persecution, so he arrests Peter. Peter is now asleep in the prison and an angel appears and strikes him on the side. Just imagine that, waking up in a dark, nasty cell surrounded by a bright light and an angel striking you. Not the kind of an angel apparition that many would like to have. That would have been scary. Now add to the fact that the words that the angel speaks are not sweet and soft. The angel woke up Peter telling him, “Get up, quickly.” The chains fell from Peter hands and the next thing he hears is the angel telling him “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” The angel appeared in a fantastic way, now he surrounds Peter with a bright light, strikes him, breaks his chains and asks him to dress up quickly. Without much thought, they pass by two soldiers and find themselves in the street. Peter in now all by himself, the angel has departed and just then he realizes that this had not been a dream. This is how things work when you are in the business of preaching the gospel. You either get the beatings from men or the striking from angels whom God sends to break chains and open doors.

Now keep on reading and see the wonderful lesson in the story. In one of Peter’s friends’ house many saints had gather together to pray for Peter’s deliverance as soon as they had heard the news of his arrest. These saints prayed earnestly (v.5), and no one would have dared to doubt their faith. The answer to their prayer came when they were praying earnestly -but expecting nothing: the Lord sent his angel and Peter was out in the streets walking towards his friend’s house where they were all gathered. The saints were still praying earnestly. God’s answer to their prayers knocks at the door and they don’t believe the miracle. They even scolded Rhoda, the servant girl who first recognized Peter’s voice -and believed the miracle- with harsh words saying, “You are out of your mind.” Talk about being in the spirit and all of a sudden acting in the flesh? Here you have a good example.  But Rhoda, and I just love that her name is here for us to remember, kept insisting, It is Peter, it is him. He is here! But the men who had been praying earnestly did not believe her. They thought it was easier to have an angel knocking at the door than Peter himself (I guess they had to listen from Peter how angels open doors and strike people, and not necessarily knock at doors).

This story has taught me an enormous lesson:  God hears and answers our earnest prayers, not because of our faith, as if our faith had power in itself to change things, but because He is full of grace. He answers the prayers of his own in spite of our unbelief because He is our Heavenly Father.

We pray not to change God’s will, we pray because we have been commanded by God to pray. The saints in this story prayed earnestly and God’s will happened even though their faith was little. What an encouragement! Let us pray earnestly, without ceasing. Let us get together with our family and with our friends to pray. God will sure hear us, and His will will be done on earth as it is done in Heaven. Our prayers avail much not because of our own merits, but because the God who hears us has mercy on us. He moves us to pray and to pray earnestly. Let us keep praying, friends, soon an expected-unexpected miracle will knock at our door.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 

Becky

He Came to Save -Notes From Galatians-

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Monergism Books

I am now studying Galatians using The Lectio Continua Expository Commentary: Galatians by J.V. Fesko. And every time I come to this epistle, I am grateful to be reminded that salvation is by grace alone and not by our own efforts; that I did not gave Him the opportunity to save me, that it was not me choosing Him or opening the door of my heart to Him. He called me and I could not resist His amazing Grace.

Galatians 2: 21 says,

“We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”

Vesko comments,

“If the believer’s justification is based upon the work of Christ and the obedience of the believer, then  Christ came in vain. In other words, the work of Christ is insufficient to save and requires augmentation -the addition of the believer’s obedience. If the false teachers are correct, then Christ did not secure salvation for anyone, but only the possibility or opportunity for salvation to those willing to complete their salvation with their own good works. This, however, is the farthest from the truth. This is why Paul calls the Galatians heresy a false gospel. Christ did not come to give people their possibility or the chance at salvation; he came to save his people from the wrath of God: actually, finally, completely, eternally, and immutably.” (emphasis mine)

I can only say, Amen and Amen! All glory be to God who saves!

Becky

The Greatest Temptation in the Wilderness

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Jan Havicksz c.1660

These are some reflections I gleaned this morning while reading Psalm 78 (especially verses 18-24 ).

We are just like Israel, whose greatest temptation in the desert land was to test God. We are like them when we are led by the Spirit to the wilderness and found ourselves starting to demand from Him food,  pleasures, and the same kind of satisfactions that the world, in which we were once enslaved, offers us. It is that longing in our heart, deep within, that rebels in the quiet, and speaks against God saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?” that reveals our sin.

See what is there? We doubt God’s goodness, His sovereignty, His promises. We start craving for the world because the satisfaction it offers is immediate. We forget that even in the wilderness He sustains his own. We forget that He has said that we are engraved in the palm of His hand, and that we are the apple of His eye.

How can we forget  that He has already provided Jesus, the Living Water, so that we won’t thirst anymore? Our Lord Jesus was struck on the cross just as the rock in the desert and life, living water,  gushed out and streams overflowed. Why do we long to drink water from broken cisterns, from poisoned rivers?

How can we forget that Jesus himself said that He is the Bread of Life? How can we long for something else? Only He has words of eternal life. Only when we come to Him and eat at his table is that we will be truly satisfied. Only and only then.

How easily it is for us to stop believing in God and in His saving power. He will never, never, never let His people die in the wilderness. Never.

The Lord is our Shepherd,
we shall not want.

The Lord is our Father,
we shall never be abandoned.

The Lord is our Life,
we shall not die.

The Lord is our Hope,
we shall not despair.

The Lord is our Refuge,
we shall not fear.

Come to the table, grab your bible, read it, mediate on it, pray over it. It is food to your soul, medicine to your bones. Goodness and life. It is Living Water, come drink, my friend, and thirst no more.

 

Becky

Read All the Books in the Bible – A Little Bit of Encouragement-

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Have you chosen a Bible plan to follow this year? I am very, very happy with my reading plan because it allows me to have all the flexibility I love, and at the same time it helps me not to leave out books like Amos or Numbers. Sisters, no matter which Bible Reading plan you follow, I encourage you to put every effort to read all the Bible this year (or most of it!), not only the Psalms.

Today I am sharing the way I have learned to read those “difficult” books over at Desiring Virtue. Would you come over?

Becky

Have you read about my journey into the vast Ocean of Words and entered your name for the giveaway of the book Wordsmithy by Douglas Wilson?

Desiring Virtue