The certainty of faith is utter assurance because it depends upon nothing of your own. It is entirely trusting that God is a propitious, pardoning God—the God who justifies sinners by forgiving them.
Sinners get faith as a gift when Christ takes their captivity captive.

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Bearing fruit is wonderful, but you do not stay a Christian through fruit-bearing. You bear fruit and are growing because you are united to Christ.
We at 1517 are utterly committed to keeping the main thing, the main thing.
Mark makes no effort to impress listeners or win votes. His voice aims only to prepare those who hear it for the coming of the Lord.
We are given, so we give thanks, and we give thanks by giving.
Jesus desires for us to watch. The question, however, is, “How do we watch for the return of Jesus?”
We stand before God with a unique set of problems, diseases, and sins. The comforting truth of the Incarnation is that Jesus took my flesh. All of it.
God is coloring over your sin and making you fragrant; he is making you righteous in his sight. The old is gone, forever covered over by this new work.
Heaven is Miller Time. Heaven is the party in the streaming sunlight of the world’s final afternoon.
In this context where death looms large, Jesus reveals a kingdom where life looms even larger.
Unlike human marriage, which is marred by sin, Jesus never seeks to divorce us due to irreconcilable differences.
When we genuinely measure ourselves, we will find ourselves dreadfully lacking.
The tragedy of this parable is not the failure to serve. It is the failure to truly know your Savior.