Theology Conviction

“John Bunyan heralds the gospel of sanctification sweetly with this bit of verse:

Run, John, run. The law commands

But gives neither feet nor hands.

Better news the gospel brings;


It bids us fly and gives us wings.”

~Gospel-Driven Sanctification” by Justin Holcomb

Oh how sweet those words are. Encouraging. Hopeful. Inspiring. The law requires us to “run here, do this, do that…” but doesn’t provide any aid whatsoever. The gospel, on the other hand, offers a better way, the good news that it “bids us fly and gives us wings”. It’s a gift, the most wonderful gift.  How amazing it is, it leaves me in utter admiration…

As some of you may have heard in my testimony a few weeks ago, this was me, the 100% self-righteous “I’ve got this” girl. Ever sense I have been freed from the weight of working out “my” salvation, I have experienced so many things. God has blessed me with so much, and I am always excited to share what He has been doing in my life. Recently, I have been reading Note to Self, which is basically a devotional. It has great stuff, all gospel centered. One morning God revealed to me through this book an idol of mine, and that is my pride in “my" theology. Now the funny thing is that I’m 16 years old, how much theology can I really “have”? Is it really enough to be prideful of it? Yes. I mean can you say irony? I was very proud that I know a lot about God…know more about God and His plan than a lot of people do my age.

I know that I was born into a state of total depravity (not to be confused with utter depravity).

I know how God sent His Son as a substitutionary atonement for my sins.

I know about Christ’s virgin birth and Incarnation.

I know how the Trinity is unified and diverse.

I know how I am saved by faith alone.

One more thing…

I know that Satan fell out of heaven because of the sin pride.

I will say this once again, oh the irony. Being proud about knowing God? I didn’t even know that sin existed! But it does, and I was caught in it; caught in the same sin that kicked Satan out of heaven. I took the gift, and elevated it above the Giver.

By God’s wonderful grace, He revealed this sin to me and convicted me of it. I repented and am continuing to do so when the Holy Spirit convicts me to be worshiping that idol. But to be clear, knowing these things are not bad at all! They are good! They are wonderful! They are a blessing from God because He is a gracious God who reveals Himself to us. I am ever thankful for doctrine class, foundation training, books, and blogs that teach these wonderful truths to me. They are so glorious because we have a glorious God who, by His grace alone, allows me to understand it, love it, and crave more of it. There is one more thing I would love to share. How can I know these things and not love to share them? How can I keep them merely to myself? This is indeed great news, and in being able to understand it, I pray I may be able help others and encourage them with the gospel, as some of my dear friends encourage me. The gospel in and of itself is so freeing, bidding us fly and giving us wings. Praise the Lord, for He is good!

Why "God is Good"...

When wondering what I should title my blog, I debated between a whole bunch of random ideas that came to mind, and finally decided on “God is Good.” Why? Well lots of reasons. First off, I am not very crafty or witty when it comes to creative names. I did come up with a lot of ideas…but they all sounded pretty lame. The second reason I decided on “God is Good” is because it’s true! I will explain more on how and why later. But first, let me clarify some things.

The statement “God is good” can unfortunately so easily be turned into a nonchalant saying, or better yet, a cliché. For instance, when someone is having a rough day and you are feeling obligated to give them some words of encouragement and nothing else comes to your mind, you can always resort to “Well…uhh…hey…don’t worry…God is good”, leave immediately afterwards without any further conversation, and feel pretty good about yourself for being so godly. So while your friend is in tears because of (fill in the blank) and that’s all that comes to mind, my guess is that those three words said without any more explanation or encouragement most likely didn’t help them out too much. But hey, you were able to get God into the conversation…so brownie points to you…Oh boy, how I have experienced this exact conversation, and yes, I am the fool trying to give comfort by saying those same words.

My goal for titling my blog “God is Good” is much more than the cliché explained above. God is good. This is a true fact that I whole-heartedly believe, and would pray that my days are filled with this truth, not in the sense that I would suddenly have a “perfect life” with no pain, hurt, envy, or anything else that might cause me to sin, because that just isn’t true, or possible. Hear me loud and clear when I say that life is hard and has it’s challenges. I know. Everyone who is reading this knows. But also hear me on this: When we have Jesus on our side, He alone carries us through them. He alone is the one to turn to, because He alone is the one that accomplished everything we could and cannot do. So let’s rest in that truth, and preach it to ourselves daily. This is why I am writing this blog; in hopes that it will be a place where I can witness what God has been revealing to me, and how even when I doubt, He is God and He is good. I have so many specific stories I could share about when I find myself in disbelief of this truth, I am in utter anxiousness. Friends, I am here to proclaim it is by God’s grace and turning back to Him where we find peace…the only place where we can truly rest. Praise the Lord, for he is good!

~”The High Priest of ours understands our weakness, for he faced all the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:15-16