We Love God!

God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

I affirm with John 3:16 and 1 Timothy 2:4 that God loves the world with a deep compassion that desires the salvation of all men. Yet I also affirm that God has chosen from before the foundation of the world whom He will save from sin. Since not all people are saved we must choose whether we believe (with the Arminians) that God’s will to save all people is restrained by His commitment to human self-determination or whether we believe (with the Calvinists) that God’s will to save all people is restrained by his commitment to the glorification of His sovereign grace (Ephesians 1:6,12,14; Romans 9:22-23). This decision should not be made on the basis of metaphysical assumptions about what we think human accountability requires. It should be made on the basis of what the Scriptures teach. I do not find in the Bible that human beings have the ultimate power of self-determination.
John Piper

P.T. Forsyth once said, 'The worst sin is prayerlessness.' We usually think of murder, adultery, or theft as among the worst. But the root of all sin is self-sufficiency, independence from God. When we fail to wait prayerfully for God's guidance and strength, we are saying, with our actions if not our lips, that we do not need Him. How much of our service is characterized by 'going it alone?'
Charles Hummel

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Page 86 Ac 18:21 But as he left, he promised, "I will come back if it is God’s will." Then he set sail from Ephesus. Ac 21:14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, "The Lord’s will be done." Jas 4:15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that." Ro 1:10 And I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. Ro 9:19 One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" Ro 15:32 So that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. 1Co 4:19 But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. 1Co 16:7 I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 1Pe 3:17 It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. God’s Moral Will: His Perfect Will – His Revealed Will Ezr 10:11 Now make confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples