Ruel Z Chavez's Blog (23)

Last October 26, 2012, I told all these words to myself:

Life is too short to dwell in painful past for too long. Learn to forgive and rest in the abundant grace of God in Jesus. In the end, you will leave everything and the thing that matters most is your…

There are people who believe that holding on and never giving up a hopeless relationship is an evidence of strength. I respect the decision of those people who decide to persevere, but as for myself, I now see it more as a display of strength to finally give up a hopeless relationship.…

Question:

“Scottish Puritanism was responsible for our nation’s founding – built on conquering all lands for Christ and His Kingdom on God’s terms through evangelism. Why the radical decline?”

Answer:

My history might be incorrect. I thought the Covenanters from Scotland, Puritans from England, Huguenots…

"If you experience peculiar sadness, and you are persuaded that God is with you and, through his love, is making you increasingly fruitful, your emotional limp will be less noticeable."

"Our cultural narrative for depression is that it is a mental illness best treated with medication and some cognitive restructuring. This hasn’t always been…

"God will eventually test you in all areas of your life, but He will not let your trials become greater than you can bear. Let God use trials to help you grow. Do not measure your progress, your strength, or what God is doing. His work is not less efficient because what He is…

Last May 22 this year, I prayed to the Lord seeking for his will in my family. I remember when I was still single, every time my emotion got attach to a girl, when at home, I knelt before the Lord praying, "Lord if this woman is your will for me, let the feeling grow and have its way but if not, take it away from me." I did that I think for at least four times…

I am about to sleep. But as usual, before I sleep, I opened my Bible and read Psalm 142.

My two kids are with me. We are just done evening devotion. And after that, I played chess with my second son, Ashriel Edward. He is 10. 

While reading Psalm 142, I talked to my self as usual. This is my way of talking to…

If we are not our own but the Lord's 

It is plain both what error is to be shunned

And to what end the actions of our lives ought to be directed

We are not our own

Therefore, neither is our own reason or will to rule our acts and counsels

We are not our own

Therefore, let us not make it our end to seek what may be agreeable to our carnal nature

We are not our own

Therefore, as far as possible, let us forget…

Ever since God exhibited himself to us as a Father, we must be convicted of extreme ingratitude if we do not in turn exhibit ourselves as his sons.

Ever since Christ purified us by the laver of his blood, and communicated this purification by baptism, it would ill become us to be defiled with new pollution.

Ever since he ingrafted us into his body, we, who are his members should anxiously beware of contracting any stain or taint.

Ever since he…

This post is a response to Kayla's inquiry about prayer. When she brought up her uncertainty about the correctness of her prayer, the first thing that came into my mind is the book of Psalms - the inspired prayer book of the Bible. Someone said that in the Psalms, we learn to pray in the school of prayer from the masters themselves. I believe these masters were…

The presence of God turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water (Psalm 114:7-8). This is a historical fact recorded in the Bible (Numbers 20:1-13). It is a literal rock turned into springs of water.

What are the lessons we can learn from these two verses in Psalm 114? I think it is this: that no matter how difficult our…

While I was reading Psalm 112 this morning, the second part of verse 1 caught my attention – “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord.” And then three other things in the passage spoke to me that describe the man who fears the Lord.

1. His children will be mighty in the land, v. 2.
2. Wealth and riches are in his house, v.…

In spite of my current situation in life, I was glad that a pastor friend invited me to speak on the second anniversary of their church last May 1. He gave me the invitation and I noticed that their theme is about "Love as the Key."

 …

Luke 8: 1-15 is about "The Parable of the Sower." It is a very familiar parable. I have preached it myself for several times and I have heard also numerous messages based on this passage. But none struck me when my mind was opened to the immediate historical context when Jesus gave this parable.

As usual, it has been said repeatedly that four types of listeners of…

Luke Chapter 15:11-32 is the popular section of the Bible about "The Parable of the Lost Son." I was trained to think in our subject on biblical interpretation during my seminary days that a parable has only one central message. But I often hear preachers who preach from parables with multiple emphases. So I told to myself, maybe it is now time for me to deviate from the usual standard set by…

" The righteous will flourish like a palm tree., they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green proclaiming, 'The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him' " (Psalm 92:12-15).

As people grow old, they cannot…

HISTORY OF CALVINISM

The history section of the book has two parts: the biography of John Calvin himself and the development of Calvinism beginning from 16th century until the 20th century. The summary of life’s story of Calvin was divided into two stages: his period of development both as a person and as a thinker and his period of ministry.

1. Brief Biography of John Calvin

His period of development starts with a remark on his superior…