Dr Paul Allen

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ ." ( Philippians 1:6) Philippians 1:6 develops the theme of God 's preserving grace—which ensures the perseverance of His own—in three points. First, Paul reminds us that since God has begun our salvation , we can rely on Him to complete it: "he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion." God always finishes what He starts, especially the salvation of His people. It is in this way that God's preserving grace fits with the other doctrines of grace. God the Father chose us in eternity past, and the Bible says that God's purpose in election must prevail (Rom. 9:11). God the Son offered an atoning sacrifice for these same elect people. Should they fall into condemnation, then His blood would have been shed for them in vain. But He insists that not one of them shall perish and none shall be plucked from His hand (John 10:2...

English: Painting of David with his harp, Paris Psalter, c. 960, Constantinople (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In the OT the words for praise mainly used are hālal, the root meaning of which is connected with making a noise; yādâ, which was originally associated with the bodily actions and gestures which accompany praising; and zāmar, which is associated with the playing or singing of music. In the NT eucharistein (lit. ‘to give thanks’) is the favourite word, implying on the part of the person who praises the attitude of one more intimate with the person praised than in the more formal eulogein, ‘to bless’. The whole of the Bible is punctuated with outbursts of praise. They rise spontaneously from the ‘basic mood’ of joy which marks the life of the people of God . God takes pleasure and delight in his works of creation (Gn. 1; Ps. 104:31; Pr. 8:30–31), and all creation, including the angels, expresses its joy in praise (Jb. 38:4–7; Rev. 4:6–11). Man also was created to rejoice in God...

Hillsong Conference  (Photo credit: Jiaren Lau ) In the OT the words for praise mainly used are hālal, the root meaning of which is connected with making a noise; yādâ, which was originally associated with the bodily actions and gestures which accompany praising; and zāmar, which is associated with the playing or singing of music. In the NT eucharistein (lit. ‘to give thanks’) is the favourite word, implying on the part of the person who praises the attitude of one more intimate with the person praised than in the more formal eulogein, ‘to bless’. The whole of the Bible is punctuated with outbursts of praise. They rise spontaneously from the ‘basic mood’ of joy which marks the life of the people of God . God takes pleasure and delight in his works of creation (Gn. 1; Ps. 104:31; Pr. 8:30–31), and all creation, including the angels, expresses its joy in praise (Jb. 38:4–7; Rev. 4:6–11). Man also was created to rejoice in God’s works (Ps. 90:14–16) and fulfils this purpose by ac...

Jesus Christ, polychromed and gilded woodcarved relief by Martin Vinazer (* 1674 in St. Ulrich in Gröden; † 1744) signed MVF (MV Fecit) Deutsch: Gefasstes Holzrelief des Martin Vinatzer gezeichnet MVF (MV Fecit) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Christ Suffering (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Take some time to meditate on the wisdom of  God  as He works out His perfect will through our  suffering . No wonder James , the brother of our Lord, commanded us to “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials” ( James 1:2 )! Suffering is used to increase our awareness of the sustaining power of God to whom we owe our sustenance ( Ps 68:19 ). God uses suffering to refine, perfect, strengthen, and keep us from falling ( Ps 66:8-9 ;  Heb 2:10 ). Suffering allows the life of  Christ  to be manifested in our mortal flesh ( 2 Cor 4:7-11 ). Suffering bankrupts us, making us dependent upon God ( 2 Cor 12:9 ). Suffering teaches us humility ( 2 Cor 12:7 ...