Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
—Romans 8:35-39

What comfort and assurance there is in knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Difficulties will come, but there is no power, virus, or lost job that can steal salvation from the child of God. There is an anchor of hope in Christ and a bright eternal future that lies ahead if we stay faithful to our Lord and Master.Read more

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. —Philippians 4:6

Take it to the Lord in prayer. Prayer changes things. Pray on until the answer comes. Prayer is the key. These songs and phrases resonate in my heart as I study the topic of this quarter: prayer. Prayer is often seen by Christians as a hardship and something to feel guilty about because it is often neglected. May the Spirit of God help us to understand that prayer is a privilege and a wonderful opportunity to be refreshed by the love and Spirit of God. It is an occasion to worship God and a time to cast our burdens upon the Lord. What a blessing to be able to pour out the depth of our heart to a God who loves us and is able and willing to help us carry our load.Read more

Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.  — Psalm 63:3

The topic this quarter deals with the subject of praise. While it is a command, giving God praise is a privilege and an honor. God has done so much for us, how can we not return and exalt Him with the fruit of our mouth? Our hearts should be full of praise even in times of difficulty, and our lips should praise the Lord.Read more

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.  —1 Corinthians 15:21

Death came upon mankind both spiritually and physically because of Adam’s sin; but praise God, through Jesus Christ, death was conquered. Mortality came by Adam, but immortality came by Christ. Sin and death no longer have power over mankind because the curse was broken through the death and resurrection of our Lord.Read more

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered
into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. —Hebrews 4:9-11

The subject this quarter deals with the theological issue of eternal security or “once saved always saved.” The doctrine of eternal security is one of the primary tenants of Calvinism. The opposite perspective would be one of Arminianism. These two theological camps are divided on God’s sovereignty, man’s depravity, election, Christ’s atonement, grace, man’s will, and perseverance. These subjects are interwoven as one affects the other. Rather than detail all of the various interpretations of scripture, because of the space constraint, I had to deal very directly with the scripture in a brief summary. While I believe Arminianism is generally more correct than Calvinism, our guide should be the scripture, not the teaching of a certain theological persuasion. Often there are bits of truth on both sides that can be neglected by a theologian’s pursuit of drawing a distinction between the two.Read more