To Deborah Hatheway: Part 1

2009-09-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

In 1741, Pastor Jonathan Edwards wrote this letter to a young lady of 19 years. She was eager to know how to love the Lord because she was in a very isolated community, and had very little spiritual guidance there. Jonathan Edwards eagerly responded to her, excited to encourage her in her faith. The letter spread, and became a bit of a minor classic in spiritual advice throughout the nineteenth century. I was shown this letter by Dr. Haykin, one of my professors at TBS, and was deeply challenged by it. I realized quickly how weak my relationship in God was. God used this letter to greatly transform my love for Him, and it is my prayer that God would do a similar work in each of you!!!

For those of you who do not have any faith in God as of yet, I pray that God will open your eyes to His glory, and save you to life everlasting!

Here are some of the points in the letter we quickly looked over in Sunday School:
1. Do NOT be complacent in your faith. Be utterly sincere, as much as you were when you were first seeking God.
2. Pray for the powerful work of God to continue in your life. As much and as earnestly as you prayed before you came to salvation, pray now with the same vigour that God would open your eyes, bring you to His footstool, show you His glory, raise you from the dead, and give you the love of Christ.
3. When you hear a sermon, hear for yourself, even if the sermon does not seem to apply to you. Do this especially with salvation sermons! The gospel message is always applicable to us, even if we’re saved!!! God is continuously teaching us new aspects of the gospel, so hear for yourself!
4. Even though God has forgiven your sins, don’t forget them yourself. We need to remember that we are worthless, and it is only by the grace of God that we have life, let alone union with Him!!!
5. There is possibly more reason to repent and humble yourself before God after becoming a Christian than before!!!! It is a terrible thing to sin against the God we don’t know. It is a worse thing to sin against the God we have come to dearly love!!!
6. Although you should remain greatly humbled and repentant over your remaining sins, don’t be in despair over them. Be repentant, but be hopeful in Christ, who is our GREAT mediator!!!
7. When we participate in the various acts of worship (praise, Lord’s supper, prayer, meditation, sermons, study of Scripture, etc.) be absolutely SINCERE in divine love for your God. What a heart breaking thing it is when we pray without genuine prayer, or listen to sermons with only half an ear, or praise God with our lips while our minds are distracted!

We will continue with the rest of the letter this coming Sunday!!! May God prepare our hearts and open our eyes to learn from Him a sincere devotion to Him!!!

Praying for Spiritual Growth

2009-09-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

As we embark on this coming year, Sony, Kristine and I earnestly desire to encourage you, the RHBC Youth in your faith.

Our Prayer:
We are asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. We pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way (adapted from Eph 1:16-23).

There is absolutely nothing that compares with life in God. This year we each hope to share with you what brought us to God, and we will share how meaningless life was without God. We pray that each of you will also one day be able to understand this and be filled with the joy of living for God.

May God bless and keep each of you!