Rebecca Stark is the author of The Good Portion: Godthe second title in The Good Portion series.

The Good Portion: God explores what Scripture teaches about God in hopes that readers will see his perfection, worth, magnificence, and beauty as they study his triune nature, infinite attributes, and wondrous works. 

                     

Monday
Jan122015

Heidelberg Catechism

Question 70. What does it mean to be washed with Christ’s blood and Spirit?

Answer: To be washed by Christ’s blood means that God, by grace, has forgiven my sins because Christ’s blood, poured out for us in his sacrifice on the cross; (a) and to be washed with Christ’s Spirit means to be renewed by the Holy Spirit and set apart to members of Christ, that more and more we become dead to sin and increasingly lead holy and blameless lives. (b)

(Scriptural proofs after the fold.)

Click to read more ...

Saturday
Jan102015

Sunday's Hymn: The King of Love My Shepherd Is

The King of Love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his
And he is mine for ever.

Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul he leadeth,
And, where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love he sought me,
And on his shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
With thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
Thine unction grace bestoweth;
And O what transport of delight
From thy pure chalice floweth.

And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
Within thy house for ever.

—Henry W. Baker
There are two commonly used tunes for this hymn.

St. Columba

Dominus Regit Me

Other hymns, worship songs, prayers, sermons excerpts, or quotes posted today:

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.

Friday
Jan092015

Adopted by God

It’s my turn to post at Out of the Ordinary. I’ve written on the believer’s adoption, adding one more to my list of truths every Christian woman should know.

When you believed the gospel, you were adopted by God. He became your father and you became his child. Before you believed, you were estranged from God, but with adoption, you come into a loving father/child relationship with him. J. I. Packer explains that our “adopted status means that in and through Christ God loves [us] as he loves his only begotten Son and will share with [us] all the glory that is Christ’s now.”

Adoption is one of the saving benefits that comes to us through Christ’s work. The believer’s sins have been forgiven and they have been given right standing with God, so they can be adopted by him. Or to think of it another way, believers have been united with Christ, and the relationship they have with God the Father is in many ways similar to his. He is the unique Son of God, but those united to him, as his siblings, are also God’s sons and daughters—sons and daughters by adoption. 

Read the rest.

Here are the previous posts in this series: