I try to listen to the news everyday and sometimes, like today, the news distresses me so much that it saps my strength to lift my heart up to the sky to comfort my soul.

But thank God for His ministers!

I felt down today but turned to Desiring God and I was reminded of the evilness of human heart: how wicked it is beyond repair, capable of committing any and all unthinkable sins and crimes. But God, in His own providence, mercy and grace, in His own time and choosing, for His own glory and praise, took our heart of stone and gave us the heart of the flesh (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

Yes, what do you expect from a corpse?

We are like a pile of corpses before God says to us, “Let there be light,” (Genesis 1:3, 2 Corinthians 4:6) In our dead and dark hearts, He created a new heart that desires God.

My friends, the Bible is true. Before God raised us up and brought us to Christ, we were dead (Ephesians 2:1).

No dead person can call on God!

It is God who raises the dead and calls him/her to life (just as Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead).

That is what salvation is all about.

And Paul writes:

“He who began a good work in you will perfect it (or finish it) until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 NASB

So salvation, from the start to the end, is the work of the Holy Spirit, not our “free will.”

Why? God, by His mercy and grace, designed it that way. Why do people question that design? ??‍♀️

And God, by His own eternal plan and purpose, made it in a way that those He called to eternal life will never be lost.

Woah!

Jesus said,

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” John 6:37 NASB

This truth gives me goosebumps; it creates in me adoration, gratitude, and worship of God.

That is why we preach the Gospel, to find those who, from the beginning of time, were chosen by God to be His (Ephesians 2:1).

Please listen to this short Q&A with John Piper. ///