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Abraham: Called to Wrestle
Thus far—in our study of the life of Abraham, we have watched as God called this man out of a life of affluence and comfort to a life of wandering, worship, witness, warfare, and waiting—with each calling being accompanied by a new or expanded revelation of God’s plans for Abraham, and followed by a period during which Abraham’s stewardship of that revelation was tested. In most instances, his success rate was much like those that we experience in our own walks of faith—more often than not, a case of one step forward and two steps backward. However, there have been some exceptions to this pattern—such as in Genesis 14 when Abraham…
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Sanctification: Restoring the Soul through Prayer
During our previous exercise in Sanctification, we learned that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to… Birth us as the spiritual children of God; then, Mature us into sons and daughters of God who are committed to carrying on the work of Christ in the world. While the birthing part of the Spirit’s work is accomplished at the time of our Regeneration, the maturing part is something which takes place over time, as the Spirit works relentlessly yet lovingly within us to restore our souls to their original function as mediators between our spirits and bodies—or, as the conduits through which the knowledge of God’s will is transferred from…
