Reflections from April 21, 2010

Today we read in Matthew 13:12 where it says, "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."

Here is a verse that is 100% applicable in our lives today. As explained by John Gill in his commentary:

For whosoever hath, to him shall be given
Whoever has the true grace of God implanted in him, has a saving knowledge of Christ, and a spiritual acquaintance with the doctrines of the Gospel, shall have more grace given him; he shall grow in the knowledge of Christ, and the Spirit of truth shall lead him into all truth:

and he shall have more abundance:
of grace, light, knowledge, and experience: all grace shall be made to abound towards him; he shall be filled with all the fulness of God, and shall arrive to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; and his light shall shine more and more unto the perfect day.

But whosoever hath not:
the truth of grace, nor a spiritual knowledge of Christ, nor any experience of the doctrines of the Gospel:

from him shall be taken away, even that he hath,
or "that which he seemed to have", as Luke expresses it; for everything besides true grace is a mere show, and has no solidity in it; as natural parts, human learning, and a form of knowledge and of truth in the law, the national church state of the Jews, with all the outward privileges appertaining thereunto, all which may be here meant; and even speculative notions of the Gospel, the external gifts of the Spirit, the means of grace, the Gospel of the kingdom of God, and the ministry of it, which in process of time were wholly taken from these people.

John Gill was the first major writing Baptist theologian, his work retaining influence into the 21st century. Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism in English Baptist life is a matter of debate. Peter Toon has argued that Gill was himself a hyper-Calvinist, which would make Gill the father of Baptist hyper-Calvinism. Tom Nettles has argued that Gill was not a hyper-Calvinist himself, which would make him merely a precursor and hero to Baptist hyper-Calvinists.

See more at Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gill_(theologian)

In Proverbs 21:30 we read, "There is no wisdom or understanding Or counsel against the LORD."

Scriptures, especially Proverbs, encourages us to plan wisely and act with decisivenss. Nevertheless, it is important to keep the perspective that ultimately God will accomplish His purposes, and there is nothing we can do to alter them. It is not that God delights in frustrating our plans. But He is the sovereign Lord, whose "thoughts are not your thoughts".

Many times I've heard my wife say in her prayers "I know you can do what you want Lord, but if you want my advice, here it is." I always imagine God gets a chuckle from this and He loves her even more when He says, "Thank you my little sheep."

Blessings to all