tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736720231951988221.post1772078921383917764..comments2023-10-07T04:07:56.527-04:00Comments on The End Time: God is gracious, He won't chase you foreverElizabeth Pratahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341086233512507156noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736720231951988221.post-1040511224031188872020-03-18T21:56:17.587-04:002020-03-18T21:56:17.587-04:00If you're wondering, that is a good sign. If y...If you're wondering, that is a good sign. If you didn't care at all, that would mean a hardened conscience. Here is something that may help; Is It Real? 11 Biblical Tests of Genuine Salvation<br /><br />https://www.gty.org/library/articles/45REAL/is-it-real<br /><br />:)Elizabeth Pratahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04341086233512507156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736720231951988221.post-28654515589917933532020-03-17T12:15:02.473-04:002020-03-17T12:15:02.473-04:00Is it too late for me?
I feel like I am in this p...Is it too late for me?<br /><br />I feel like I am in this position. I wonder if I was ever really saved.<br /><br />I feel like I can't make a right decision, and God has given up on me. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736720231951988221.post-34035134901984975382011-09-14T12:35:56.938-04:002011-09-14T12:35:56.938-04:00Thanks so much for all the information! I will def...Thanks so much for all the information! I will definitely check them out. <br /><br />There had been something that truly bothered me after reading a biography of someone who dealt with the same things I dealt with in the past but the difference is that he ended up taking his life. It just hit me hard because I wondered why me and not him. I gave it all to God and He gave me peace about but it did lead me to ponder about the doctrine of election more. Thank you all so much again and God bless you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736720231951988221.post-47436741588526022222011-09-13T17:28:14.865-04:002011-09-13T17:28:14.865-04:00Two great minds understood this doctrine quite wel...Two great minds understood this doctrine quite well. Read The Bondage of the Will, by Martin Luther, and Freedom of the Will, by Jonathan Edwards. Sounds like they are in conflict, but when you read these classics, you will see that they are not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736720231951988221.post-72373030579945097442011-09-13T15:47:36.214-04:002011-09-13T15:47:36.214-04:00Thanks Anonymous, Spurgeon was a great one and is ...Thanks Anonymous, Spurgeon was a great one and is always good to refer to. I also offer John MacArthur's recent series on the Doctrine of Election, here<br /><br />Part 1:<br />http://web.gty.org/products/Audio+Lessons/90-273_The-Doctrine-of-Election-Part-1<br /><br />Part 2:<br />http://web.gty.org/products/Audio+Lessons/90-274_The-Doctrine-of-Election-Part-2<br /><br />Part 3:<br />http://web.gty.org/resources/Sermons/90-275_The-Doctrine-of-Election-Part-3<br /><br />at each link you can listen, watch, read, or download it free of charge.<br /><br />God does choose us and not choose others. The bible makes that concept clear. We also know that no man comes to the Father unless He draws him. The sermons you have for reference give the verses. <br /><br />This fact does not negate the person's free choice to accept Jesus though. Initially it seems like the two concepts are in conflict with each other. I prefer to say they are in a paradox, because the bible does not conflict. The controversy comes where people say that IF God elects then we don't have free will, or that SINCE God draws, no one is chosen. Just because the two notions are at odds in our minds, they are not at odds. How do I know this? Because the bible clearly teaches both, and GOD is satisfied with them.<br /><br />They both are taught in the bible- clearly, but the unclarity comes in our puny minds trying to reconcile the two to our own satisfaction. We cannot. We cannot know, understand, or have the cognitive brainpower to accept how God elects AND we retain our own choice. <br /><br />All I know is, God is sovereign. He chooses. He does not look down the halls of the future and then decide what to do based on what man's actions are or will be.<br /><br />Please do take some time to read or listen to the sermons on the doctrine...and let me know if you have further questions.Elizabeth Pratahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04341086233512507156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736720231951988221.post-37386037423266944312011-09-13T10:48:45.293-04:002011-09-13T10:48:45.293-04:00http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jza0f_VPG7M&lis...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jza0f_VPG7M&list=PLCDB844A9113F938C&index=3<br /><br />Charles Spurgeon Sermon - Sovereign Grace and Man's Responsibility / Romans 10:20-21 <br /><br />This is one of the best sermons I've heard on Anonymous, September 12, 2011 9:47 PM 's second question to you. Charles Spurgeon was greatly used by God during his life and the Spirit's Words, preached through him, continue to have impact today in the lives of many people.<br /><br />A list of his sermons, written before audio recordings existed, and read aloud can be found here: <br />http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=CDB844A9113F938C<br /><br />"A video treasury of the works of men greatly used of God such as C.H. Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, A.W. Tozer, A.W. Pink, John Owen, Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murray. John MacArthur, E.M.Bounds, John Bunyan, Geroge Whitefield, and many more; covering topics on many aspects of the Christian life." may be found here:<br /><br />http://crucifiedwithchrist.host22.com/<br /><br />Rather than watching television in the evenings, my husband and I will often put on a sermon and listen while he plays a computer game and I weave or do other hand work. Afterward we have some great discussions. I hope this will be beneficial to others as well!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736720231951988221.post-56751731790217281752011-09-12T22:12:29.139-04:002011-09-12T22:12:29.139-04:00Hello,
Thanks for your comment and your question....Hello,<br /><br />Thanks for your comment and your question. YES it is absolutely wonderful to pray for people. We are told to pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17). We are told to pray for each other (James 5:16b) We are even told to pray for those who persecute us (Mt 5:44).<br /><br />Zacharias was an old, old man when the angel appeared and told him that "your prayer is heard." <br /><br />What was that prayer? For he and his wife to have a child. Now, Zacharias was an old man and his wife was greatly advanced in years. Do you suppose that their prayer for a child had dwindled out long ago? Yet the angel says in the present tense, '"But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John." Luke 1:13.<br /><br />God hears prayers. He may take a while to answer, but he hears them! They are a sweet incense to Him. Please keep praying!<br /><br />As for your question about choosing us, you are referring to the Doctrine of Election. It is the most controversial and anger-inducing, denomination-splitting doctrine there is in the bible. But it doesn't have to be. The bible is clear on it, even though the clarity it offers is beyond our understanding!<br /><br />Anonymous, I will answer your good question but it will have to wait until tomorrow. It will take at least an hour to write it. Tomorrow, then! And I am off to bed.Elizabeth Pratahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04341086233512507156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736720231951988221.post-12241710523899392172011-09-12T21:47:06.177-04:002011-09-12T21:47:06.177-04:00What about interceding on behalf of people? Is it ...What about interceding on behalf of people? Is it ok, is it useful to pray for God to soften hearts that have been hardened to him or to pray that God will open the eyes of those that have bought into a non existent God or disbelief in Christ as Saviour? I remember before I truly came to Christ, I could literally feel my heart hardening towards God, I remember even thinking it in the depths of my mind (I had believed in God all my life but suddenly started to truly believe in my heart and my mind that he did not exist).<br /><br />I know Jesus said narrow is the way but I have had such a desire to pray and pray for the unbelieving and the lost recently.<br /><br />I have another unrelated question that has been bugging me and I could only think to ask you. I have been pondering Ephesians 1:4 ("Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him." NASB) and I've just been trying to grasp WHY God chose me and every other present and future Christian. How did he choose us before time if we have free will? Did He choose us because He knew if He drew us unto Him that we would eventually choose Him? I don't even know if that makes sense because it still seems to depend on our act of free will. Sorry for the random question and thanks for your wonderful blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com