by Eric Holter on January 5, 2006
“Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.’”
Genesis 22:14
A popular application question from the story of Abraham offering Isaac is whether or not you would have enough faith to offer your child, if God told you to. But I think this question is somewhat flawed. Because Abraham’s test was not merely the hardest test God could think of to determine how much faith Abraham had. It did not test the quantity of Abraham’s faith, but rather the basis of it. The task wasn’t designed to see whether or not Abraham would do something outrageous simply because God told him to. The task corresponded with God’s specific promises regarding Isaac and his decendants.
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by Eric Holter on December 15, 2004
“The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,
But He loves him who pursues righteousness.”
Proverbs 15:9
It’s only my dullness that keeps my heart from shouting out for joy over the gift of righteousness given to me in Christ. Christ’s very own righteousness – for me – as a free gift? What could I give for it, how could I prepare my heart to make it worthy for this gift? I can’t give anything – I can’t do anything. The imputation of Christ’s righteousness is an inestimable gift that comes only by grace through God given faith.
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by Eric Holter on October 5, 2004
“And let endurance have its perfect result.”
James 1:4
Oh how impatient I am. I am the result of a fast-food, microwave, “fast-acting pain relief”, drive-thru, FedEx, instant internet access, email, culture. I have been trained to demand the things I want and expect them to be delivered immediately. How naturally I bring such expectations into my spiritual life with Christ. I want the results of Christian discipline without the discipline. I want the fruit of spiritual apprehension without taking the time to apprehend. I want promised answers to prayer without importunity in prayer. I want spiritual appetites without hunger.
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by Eric Holter on January 15, 2004
“O Lord, the God of my salvation,
I have cried out by day and in the night before Thee
Let my prayer come before Thee;
Incline thine ear to my cry!
For my soul has had enough troubles,
And my life is drawn near to Sheol.”
Psalm 88:1-3
This Psalm was troubling to read. The complaint of the Psalmist continues throughout the entire Psalm and is not answered. His cry, it seems, goes unheard. Unlike many of David’s Psalms, which contain equally impassioned cries for help, this Psalm does not end with a positive declaration of the Psalmist’s plea having been answered. David cried but ultimately said things like “Why are you in despair O my soul, and why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance, and my God” (Psalm 42:11). But this Psalmist does not testify to any answer from God, he remains in his distress. Nor does he give any hope from his past experience, he does not ask for a restoring to a previous better condition because he seems to have always been in distress, “I was afflicted in about to die from my youth on.” The experience of this Psalmist seems inconsistent with God’s promises to provide help and fill us with joy and gladness. Why would God seemingly pass this praying man over, and include his hopeless plea in his Word?
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