THE ANTICHRIST: by ML Jones

He is antichrist. 1 John 2:22

The antichrist is the one who, in one sense, stands instead of Christ, taking the Christian name and yet opposing the very kingdom of truth that the name implies. John says, “As you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists. . . . They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us” (verses 18-19). So when we think of the antichrist, we have to bear that in mind. “These antichrists who have arisen,” says John, “belonged to us, but they were not of us.” In other words, they took up the Christian position, they claimed they were Christians, they professed to be teachers of the Christian Church, and yet they have been separated from the Christians in order that it would be clear to all that they were not of them. In other words, they claimed to delight in the true religion and yet they destroyed it.

The antichrist was already at work in the days of Paul and of John. Further, it is abundantly clear that although there have been many imitations of him, he will reach his maximum power just before the end of this age. I think it is equally clear that Daniel pictures the political aspect of this power, whereas Paul emphasizes the ecclesiastical aspect, and in Revelation 13 you get both—the beast from the sea (the political) and the beast from the earth (the ecclesiastical). And the last point, I think, of which we can be certain is that this power will ultimately be concentrated in one particular person. John says there were many antichrists, and yet the teaching is clear that there is going to be an ultimate antichrist, one person, a person having terrible power, able to work miracles and do such wonders that he almost deceives the elect themselves.

A Secret Place: by E.M. Bounds

 

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:6

“Here, let it be said, that no two things are more essential to a Spirit-filled life than Bible reading and secret prayer; no two things more helpful to growth in grace; to getting the largest joy out of a Christian life; toward establishing one in the ways of eternal peace.

The neglect of these all-important duties, presages leanness of soul, loss of joy, absence of peace, dryness of spirit, decay in all things that pertain to spiritual life. Neglecting these things paves the way for apostasy, and gives the evil one an advantage such as he is not likely to ignore.

Reading God’s Word regularly, and praying habitually in the secret place of the Most High puts one where he is absolutely safe from the attacks of the enemy of souls, and guarantees him salvation and final victory, through the overcoming power of the Lamb.”

BE Transformed: by Jerry Bridges

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2 

The verb be transformed in Romans 12:2 is in the passive voice, it is in the imperative mood; THAT IS, IT IS A COMMAND TO DO SOMETHING. This indicates that we as believers are not passive in this transforming process. We are not like blocks of marble being transformed into a beautiful sculpture by a master sculptor. God has given us a mind and heart with which to respond to and cooperate with the Spirit as He does His work in us. That thought leads naturally to the Scripture passage that is considered to be the classic statement of the working together of the believer with the Holy Spirit who is at work within him. The passage is Philippians 2:12–13:

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

In Philippians 2:12 Paul urged the Philippian believers to apply themselves diligently to working out their salvation. He urged them to display the evidences of salvation in their daily lives through their obedience to God’s commands and through putting on the godly character traits that Paul elsewhere called the fruit of the Spirit. And, according to William Hendriksen, the tense of the verb continue to work out indicates “continuous, sustained, strenuous effort.” Here again we see that sanctification is a process, and a process in which we, as believers, are very actively involved.

But Paul’s strong exhortation to the Philippians is based on the confidence that God’s Spirit is working in them. He is working in them to enlighten their understanding of His will, to stimulate in their emotions a desire to do His will, and to turn their wills so they actually obey. Most of all, He gives them the enabling power so that they are able to do His will.

So progressive sanctification very much involves our activity. But it is an activity that must be carried out in dependence on the Holy Spirit. It is not a partnership with the Spirit in the sense that we each—the believer and the Holy Spirit—do our respective tasks. Rather, we work as He enables us to work. His work lies behind all our work and makes our work possible. The Holy Spirit can and does work within us apart from any conscious response on our part. We have seen this in the initial act of sanctification when He creates within us a new heart and gives us an entirely new disposition toward God and His will. He is not dependent on us to do His work. But we are dependent on Him to do our work; we cannot do anything apart from Him.

The ONE We Truly Seek: from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
I Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

I am the culmination of all your hopes and desires. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last: who is and was and is to come. Before you knew Me, you expressed your longing for Me in hurtful ways. You were ever so vulnerable to the evil around you in the world. But now My Presence safely shields you, enfolding you in My loving arms. I have lifted you out of darkness into My marvelous light.
     Though I have brought many pleasures into your life, not one of them is essential. Receive My blessings with open hands. Enjoy My good gifts, but do not cling to them. Turn your attention to the Giver of all good things, and rest in the knowledge that you are complete in Me. The one thing you absolutely need is the one things you can never lose. My Presence with you.

Psalm 62:5-8 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

The Disciple’s Master: by Oswald Chambers

“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am John 13:13

To have a master and to be mastered aren’t the same thing. To have Jesus as a master means that there is someone who knows me better than I know myself, someone who is closer than a friend, who is able to satisfy the deepest longing of my heart. It’s to belong to someone who gives me the secure sense that he has met and solved every perplexity and problem of my mind. To have Jesus as my master is all this and nothing less.

To be mastered is different; it implies coercion or force. Jesus Christ never enforces obedience. At certain times, I wish he would, but he doesn’t. At other times, I wish he’d leave me alone, but he won’t.

“You call me Master and Lord.” We call Jesus our Lord and Master, but is he? “Master” and “Lord” have little place in today’s vocabulary. We prefer “Savior,” “Teacher,” and “Healer.” The only word to describe the experience of having Jesus as master is love, and many of us know very little about love as God reveals it. This is proved by the way we use the word obey. We use it to mean the submission of a weaker person to a more powerful person. In the Bible, obedience is based on a relationship of equals: the relationship of the Father and the Son. Our Lord wasn’t God’s servant; he was God’s Son. Jesus obeyed his Father because he loved him.

Our relationship to Jesus is to be the same as his relationship to the Father. If instead we think we are being mastered, it is proof that we have no master. To take this attitude toward Jesus is to be far from the relationship he wants. He wants us in a relationship in which he is easily and effortlessly Master, so much so that we aren’t even conscious of it. All we know is that we love him, and that we are his to rule.

The Stark Contrast: by Jerry Bridges

“The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Probably no other passage suggests more starkly the contrast between living by grace and living by works than Romans 7:6: "But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the spirit and not in the old way of the written code."

The new way of the Spirit is not a less rigorous ethic than the old way of the written code. The difference doesn’t lie in the content of God’s moral will. Since that’s a reflection of the holy character of God, it cannot change. Rather, the difference lies in the reason for obeying and the ability to obey.

Are you seeking to build and maintain your relationship with God on the basis of "keeping the law"—on the basis of your personal performance—or on the basis of the merit of Jesus Christ? Do you view God’s moral precepts as a source of bondage and condemnation for failure to obey them, or do you sense the Spirit producing within you an inclination and desire to obey out of gratitude and love? Do you try to obey by your own sheer will and determination, or do you rely on the Spirit daily for his power to enable your obedience?

Do you feel God has set before you an impossible code of conduct you cannot keep, or do you view him as your divine heavenly Father who has accepted you and loves you on the basis of the merit of Christ? For acceptance with God, are you willing to rely solely on the finished perfect work of Jesus instead of your own pitifully imperfect performance?

Prayer Generates Love: by EM Bounds

1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

Prayer invariably generates a love for the Word of God. Prayer leads people to obey the Word of God, and puts an unspeakable joy into the obedient heart.

Praying people and Bible-reading people are the same kind of people. The God of the Bible and the God of prayer are one. God speaks to man in the Bible; man speaks to God in prayer. One reads the Bible to discover God’s will, and prays in order to receive power to do that will.

Bible reading, and prayer are the distinguishing traits of those who strive to know, and please God.