Leaving Beyond – Grounded In Scripture

Written by: April J. Buchanan

 “We are never so sure of our salvation as when we see the corruption of our own hearts and the need of Christ.” ~ Richard Baxter

It is not humility to say, “I wonder if I’m saved, look at what I’ve done.” Neither is it humility to say, “Today I am assured more than yesterday of my salvation because I’m doing pretty well.”

There’s a fatal flaw here. We are not saved by our good works and we do not lose our salvation because we have a “bad day”.

You may say, “But does the Scripture not say to examine ourselves? Does that not require then that we look at our lives and test to see if we are saved? How can we do that and not be discouraged one day and hopeful the next? What are we examining then, if not works?”

Great question!

You would perhaps agree that we are not saved by works. Right? How then do we examine ourselves and see if we are in the faith, apart from works? Where is there any encouragement in that? Won’t we find ourselves unworthy sinners and once again “need salvation”?

We examine ourselves to see if we are truly saved by evidence of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in us. We are looking for fruit. We are testing to see if we have believed the truth or embraced a counterfeit. We are testing to see if we have adopted one of many forms of works-based righteousness or if we have truly been born again.

No truly born-again Christian ever examines himself and finds himself worthy of salvation. He never achieves such success. Upon examination, he may find what assaults his conscience and threatens his assurance but he is once again driven to Christ. He remembers Christ and he grieves how he has sinned against God. He repents and finds no hope in his good works but in Christ alone.

The Christian knows he is saved by grace alone and not that he has ever merited such Grace. We are not looking to see if we have paid off Grace. We are not looking to see if we have now earned our salvation. We are looking to see if we have truly been born again by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. We are looking to see if there’s evidence of new life in us that assures us that God has saved us and He is working in us making us more like Him.

When we examine ourselves, we may be discouraged to see how we are not growing or maturing as quickly as we thought we would, or we may see remaining sin dwelling in us. The Christian does not see such an examination as a failure to maintain their own salvation, but sees the sacrifice of Christ on their behalf and repents of their sins.

We cannot earn, keep, or lose our salvation—it is a gift of God. We don’t earn it. We can’t keep it by our works. We can’t lose it because salvation is of God. We test ourselves to see if we are truly born again.

The man who looks at his works—good or bad—and says I am saved because I do good works or I am lost because I have sinned, is trusting in his works for salvation. The Christian examines himself to see if his faith is in Christ alone and when he sees in himself remaining sin, he cries out against his own heart, repents of his sin and trusts in Christ alone. He runs to Christ! The man with religion and a works-based righteousness will ever be in despair or pride.

The Christian’s trust is in Christ alone—Who He is and what He has done. We praise God for His grace that is sufficient. We weep over our sins that remain in us and we long for that future glorification when there will be no more sin, especially our own.

The moment we begin to look at our works and think we are good with God because of our works or we may lose our salvation because of our works, we are in danger and we MUST hear and remember the Gospel again!

It is not humility that says, “I think I am saved because I’m doing good,” or “I think I may lose my salvation because I’m not doing well.” That is to call God a liar and to say that what Jesus did on the Cross wasn’t enough.

The Christian hates his own sin more than any other sin. Examining oneself is painful. We see our sin for how putrid and wretched it is. We understand the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. We boast not in our works. We remember Christ! We remember the Gospel. We repent of our sins and we trust in Christ alone. We are motivated to live godly lives and we are enabled to do so because of what Christ has done and by His ongoing work of grace in us by the Holy Spirit.

Our salvation is the result of the Triune God and for His glory alone.

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“It is a fearful thing to ascribe to man that which belongs to God alone. Let the saints tremble at such blasphemy.” ~ John Owen

What if she was wrong?

She loved you. She spoke with such tenderness, and her very presence radiated with such peace and light that you just believed that what she said must be true.

When you were discouraged, her words were water that refreshed your thirsty soul. She spoke with such confidence that it stirred in you a confidence that you wanted to believe could be true even for you, though as much as she believed it, and as much as she believed it for you, you still struggled to believe it for yourself. You wanted it to be true, even if not for you, for her.

You began to survive off her words. She spoke “life” into you when you felt only death. She spoke hope in you when you felt only despair. You began to lean in to hear her speak words into you.

She seemed to have a direct line to God and heard Him speak to her with such regularity as no prophet in Scripture ever heard God. She spoke on behalf of God with such regularity that you’re convinced she prophesied even in her sleep.

She prophesied over you. She spoke life into you. She spoke declarations with such authority that you were convinced all of hell trembled at her words. She spoke with such authority that her words did not return void but went out to achieve and accomplish all they were sent to do. She was anointed such as she was extraordinary. She was no regular Christian. She was anointed with an anointing ordinary Christians stand in awe of. They flock to her and sit at her feet to hear from her and receive from her what they cannot get apart from her. She teaches them her ways so that they too can carry such an anointing, such power, such authority.

Friend, my heart is ravished within writing these words. There are so many who are so deceived by such evil teachings of Word-Faith, Prosperity Gospel and NAR that you and I “know her”! She’s the prayer group leader, the pastor’s wife, the Women’s Ministry director, the Sunday School teacher, the Bible Study teacher, the small group leader. She’s your aunt, mother, grandmother. She’s your neighbor, local business owner, missions trip organizer. Maybe, she’s you.

When she’s spoken of, she is placed at such prominence as only belongs to Jesus. When you hear of her, it is as you expect those words to be attributed to God alone, but they are spoken of her. The Holy Spirit, who it is said guides us in truth and does not speak of Himself but of Christ, is spoken of very much in regard to her and is always pointing to her—her words, her authority, her anointing.

Oh, does it grieve your heart to hear God so blasphemed? Attributes belonging only to God being ascribed to man.

How do we not tremble when those who are mere men are venerated as if they are in the place of Christ? How do we have no fear when mere man dares speak words on behalf of God that He has not spoken?

We have one Lord, one Savior. We need no other. No need to apply.

As influential as she is, if she is deceived, then you are in danger. Follow not her ways. Call her to repent. If she does not, do not be led astray by what has deceived her.

Seek truth. Desire truth. Test all things according to sound doctrine. Stand firm.

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“Behold the terror of the Lord, and let His holiness make your soul tremble; grace alone delivers from wrath.” ~ John Owen

If I never tremble, I have never feared such holiness that intrinsically is so pure that there’s no other appropriate action than to put me away, and under just punishment for all eternity.

Why eternity? I’ll never be able to enter such beauty, such perfection, such holiness, such righteousness on my own. Even my best efforts are self-motivated and stained. If God lets me into His presence, as I am on my own, then He cannot be holy, righteous, or just. The only way to enter in is by stripping Him of His Divine Attributes— which so many are willing to do—or to be stripped of any hope in oneself, agree with God that we deserve His wrath and enter in the only way possible, through Christ.

Many love a Jesus today. He’s their BFF, their life-coach, the one stripped of His Divine Nature and merely a man like us: He gets us. In any attribute of divinity that He is allowed to maintain it is equally ascribed to man as well. He has taken the hand of these and raised them to be just like Him—equal in authority, power, position, honor and favor. He saw them as victims of their sins, raised them up, and has given them the call to be savior of the world and to go out with authority and power that cannot be distinguished from Christ Himself.

We don’t tremble anymore. We don’t stand in awe. God has been made to be so like us that we feel we are doing God a favor, that He needs us, that He is trying His best but unless He finds someone to partner with He can’t accomplish His will. We’ve never studied the Perfections—Attributes—of God. We don’t know Him. If we did, we might fear that our next breath would not be a gift and we could face His Holy Righteous Undiluted Wrath that we justly deserve. We don’t tremble. We don’t know Him.

God has been so demoted and stripped of His uniqueness that He is just like us. He must save us because if He doesn’t, He’s not loving. We put demands on God. We don’t even need Him. We have authority and power to speak what we desire and to command sickness to obey us, Satan to fear us and obey us, finances to obey us. We have become our own god.

We speak of God but He is not the God of the Bible. He has similarities but He exists for our good and to give us the desires of our hearts that we baptize in Biblical language and call good and claim is pleasing to God.

We have no fear of putting words in His mouth and claiming He speaks to us with such regularity that sometimes we are annoyed with Him for interrupting our sleep, our meal, our message. We are special because we hear God speak to us outside of Scripture and we need not fear that we could be the false prophets Scripture warned about. We are above the Scriptures; those warnings simply don’t apply to us.

We don’t need the Gospel or Christ. We may give Him appearances in what we speak but He really just gets in the way of our anointing, our power, our authority, our greater miracles than His. It is our time to shine.

Are you grieved? My heart despises writing such words and yet they are realities that plague the church. Such pride reeks in our pulpits and pews, prayer meetings and Bible studies. Many do not fear God because they do not know God. They have a Jesus, a gospel and another spirit.

Grace and Peace, y’all.
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“The soul that knows its own misery will glory only in the mercy of God, and in nothing else.” ~ Thomas Watson

The fool says, “I need no such grace to change this heart of stone and seek God for my own—for if it be my will to do so, I freely trust that I can as I will when I so desire”. The wicked heart is deceitful, such as even to convince the wretch he has in himself such a desire for God that can be pleasing to such holiness. The man of whom has come to know his own wretchedness cries out against his wicked heart and rejoices only in such grace that could move his heart to know such love and such joy in another that once his sinful heart despised.

The wicked boast in their ability and their autonomy, their willingness to choose righteousness. They know not the depths of their own depravity or the beauty of such holiness that, if not now, will soon cause such horror to their mind that they lash out for all eternity against it. They do not later come to love God; they continue in their hatred toward Him. They neither love God now nor will they love Him then.

We know not how sinful we really are. His commands are plain to all, for He has revealed them to us. We know not how bound our will is and how evil our hearts toward Him. We are free, yes—free to the slavery of our will bound in sin. The fool says, “Let me choose when I will”; whereas the one who has come to know the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit cries out against his heart and cries out only: Grace! Grace! Amazing Grace!

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“Faithful men finishing well is a demonstration of God’s sustaining grace, not the merit of the man.” ~ R. C. Sproul

Earlier this week, I heard Tom Pennington’s tribute to John MacArthur. While truly beautiful, I was profoundly encouraged when he said, “We needed to see one who finished well.”

Many men have fallen in various theological camps in recent years. Many of those were not surprising, as their theology proved them false long before their secret, sinful private lives were publicly revealed. Others it did come as a surprise, as their theology was sound, but in private they were living in unrepentant sin. We pray that among these are those who are truly regenerate, as few among them—made known publicly—have submitted themselves to church discipline and stepped out of the pulpit.

Praise God for the encouragement to the saints to see men who submit to church discipline and are truly repentant. Far too many don’t and further victimize victims, while portraying themselves as the victim. Wolves often have a very loyal support system in place among other pastors who minimize their sins, exalt them such as the kingdom of God “needs them,” silence anyone who warns of them and silence the voices of any possible victims. They also have very loyal, deceived followers.

Often, it is evident, to the Biblically discerning, that these men are not called of God—as their false teachings make it plain. They are also often recognized as supporting others who teach falsehood, blaspheme God, and are caught in sin. They give their support of restoring these men to the pulpit as if the church cannot survive without them. They are wolves protecting one another.

Then there are those that their theology was sound. We tested their teachings. They were otherwise doctrinally solid. But in their private lives, they were living in unrepentant sin.

God is gracious, and if they do not repent, He exposes them—for their sake and the sake of the purity of His bride. He removes them from their position and puts another in their place.

Among wolves this does not happen. They are exposed, but they play the victim. Other wolves restore them. Their concern is not for the purity of the bride, faithful exposition of the Word, or the glory of God. Their concern is for their position, their influence, their supposed anointing, their power, and their authority. They convince their followers that the church “needs them.” God does not need them! They are replaceable. They are wolves!

So many in the church have been so influenced by false Word-Faith, Prosperity Gospel, and NAR teachings that they truly believe that the church will fail in her mission without these men. They excuse their false teachings, behavior, and sin that brings reproach on the name of Christ to a watching world and that blasphemes God, exalts man, demotes God, preaches a different gospel, and leads many astray. Why? They believe that without these men the mission of the church will fail and they promise all their sinful hearts desire NOW!

While God permits these wolves to continue in their work that is contrary to the truth, it is not because He needs them, but rather, they are part of God’s judgment against those who reject the truth. He does make use of them, but not as many have wrongly believed. The church has long stood against their false teachings, and it has served to strengthen the church in the truth as she stands against error and heresy. They are not the hero’s the church is looking for. We have one hero—Christ Jesus our Lord.

We may be encouraged that He is sovereign and every Word He has spoken is true. We have His Word by which to test every other word said in His name. His promises are true, and His children find assurance and confidence in them.

We can trust that God has gifted the church with Biblically qualified men and that He has given to His bride the ability to test all things to see if what is taught is true. He has not elevated the man in the pulpit such as the church cannot survive without him—by which all his sins and false teachings can be excused. It is a humble calling and a beautiful gift of God, sustained by God’s grace and one of which will bring glory to God as these men submit themselves to the Word in their own lives and to faithfully expositing the Word in the pulpit, trusting God with the results. A reward awaits these few and faithful men.

Be encouraged, dear saint, when we see them finish well, as it is to the glory and praise of God who has kept them to the end. It is all the Grace of God and no man has room for boasting. And let us likewise praise God for His grace even in revealing wolves that were in our midst.

It is all of grace and all for the glory of God.

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“We do not pray to change God’s mind, but to be conformed to His eternal, perfect purpose.” ~ John Owen

Some would foolishly say that they cannot pray that God’s will be done, because to do so, they believe, is a lack of faith. Is it ignorance of who God is, or is it something worse that would lead to such a foolish statement?

Have we no understanding of the Sovereign, Efficacious Will of God—that will by which He decrees all things according to His good pleasure and His wise counsel, which cannot be thwarted or frustrated by man?

Have we no understanding of the comfort to the children of God, that we can trust that God is sovereign, and that He is not reacting to circumstances but He governs all things according to His will? Have we no understanding that our faith is not in a god that is irrational, capricious, or whose decisions are contingent upon what man will do?

To strip God of His sovereignty, or of governing all things after the counsel of His will, proves the ignorance, arrogance, and foolishness of man. It is to deny that God is God.

God is not a god of disorder; rather, He is a God of order. He didn’t just wind things up and leave it up to man to keep it going by taking up our supposed authority and power over all things. God is still God.

While it may seem unsettling to some that God is even sovereign over the weather, over sickness, and all things, to the child of God that ought to encourage our faith. God is sovereign. If He were not, then what reason would we have at all to pray?

When we learn more of who God is, our faith is greatly encouraged. We do not have a blind faith or wishful thinking, for our God has revealed Himself in Scripture and in creation. He has made Himself known to us.

The ignorant cling to beliefs that demand of them a faith that leads them after counterfeits and to practices that dishonor God and blaspheme His name, His character, who He is, and what He has done. What they think they do to honor Him, in reality strips Him of the glory He is due and of who He is. But even this is not outside His will. He allows such things, and all according to His will, and ultimately for His own glory.

Those who hate the God of Scripture will create many counterfeits and lead men after them. Their god is ascribed many of the Attributes of God, but none are perfect, and all are corrupted by man. They have a gospel much like the gospel in Scripture, but it is corrupted. No man has ever been able to recreate a god of their own that is like the God of Scripture. Man always creates an imperfect counterfeit that, when compared to Scripture, proves false. Many come close, as they adopt so much of the language, beliefs, and practices of the true, but the imperfect will never compare to what is holy and will always be nothing more than a cheap counterfeit.

God, in His perfect will, ordains all things. What we understand as the Attributes of God, are best known as His Perfections. God’s will is not something we can bend or manipulate. It is perfect. We pray, and we are changed and conformed to His will. The more we learn of who God is, we do not want to change Him, and the more we want to be changed by Him.

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“True religion is not a fanciful zeal, but a heart turned to God in truth and obedience.” ~ Richard Sibbes

Do I hate what sins my own betray my Lord, or do I merely hate their hindrances to my desires I think myself now to deserve, and to give me would please my Lord? Do I feign examination that I may find what may be a sacrifice in order to win the favor of my Lord, that my humble examination and sacrifice may curry His favor and He may be pleased to bless my sacrifice? Do I despise my sin, or do I sacrifice what hinders my greater desire that I may grow in favor to gain what I truly love and desire? Do I love God?

What if my beliefs are the very thing that are the vile, putrid meditations of my sinful heart that I delight in day and night, convincing myself that the pollution that reigns in me is a pleasing aroma to my Lord? Does my faith honor Him, or is my faith part of the vain imaginations of my own mind? Is my faith genuine and pleasing to God, or is it corrupted by my sinful heart and what assures me each day that I shall have what I desire and it pleases God for me to have it? Is my faith pure and undefiled? I have faith. I may have great faith. But is my faith born of God?

Am I worse than my neighbor who has no faith of which he ascribes at all? Does my worship, praise, and sacrifices repulse God? Do I offer them in His name, having found what works to give me what I desire? Do I ascribe to Him praise and sing truth to Him, offering what is otherwise good to Him but my sinful heart rests solely in rebellion, convincing me that God is pleased with me because of all I do for Him and how I give, worship, and sing to Him? How could He not give me what I desire?

But for His mercy, would my worship offered to Him, rather than bring upon myself the favor I think I have earned, now justly cost me my life? Do I know and love the God I claim to know? Has my own heart deceived me? How do I love it so?

Do I pray, sing, worship, and give with zeal, passion, and sincerity, yet my faith is not born of God but rather earns me no favor with God and only adds to His just wrath against me? Do I boast of my faith—that my own heart has deceived me is pleasing to God—and yet does violence to His name? Do I love God? Does it please Him when I call Him my Lord?

The man with a counterfeit is often full of pride, self-deceived, and lacks introspection. He takes personally any objective correction and denies himself the truth that would humble him and command him to repent. He thinks himself of great importance to the mission of God. He thinks that God needs him and the mission would fail without him. He has made himself of such importance that he’s convinced others that he is irreplaceable. He bears all the marks of a lost man with religion and not a man who has been born of the Spirit—truly regenerate—and is becoming conformed more to the image of Christ.

The counterfeit walks as parallel to the holy as possible. Many are deceived and follow after what is false, and worse, doing so in God’s name, offering Him false worship, false praise, and offering to Him false obedience and false sacrifices.

Lest God be gracious, he be damned. Oh, may God be gracious and merciful toward sinners such as ourselves, and above all, may He receive the worship and praise He is rightly due. May our praise bring Him glory.

Sanctify us in the truth, Oh Lord; Your Word is truth.

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“The Word is the field in which Christ, the pearl of price, is hidden. Oh, then, search this field! Study the Scriptures. There is no danger of digging too deep here.” ~ Thomas Watson

Do yourself a favor. Pull up one of your pastors sermons. This may prove especially challenging if your pastor is neither an expository preacher nor a topical preacher. Far too often, many today, cannot truly be identified with either.

Open Your Bible! When he says where you will be in the passage, pause him! Go to that passage. Read it in its entirety. Do not listen to his sermon. Study the passage yourself. If that means putting days between you and your Bible and the remainder of his sermon, do it!

Ask questions of the passage. Who wrote it? Who did they write it to? What was going on at the time it was written? Where does it fit within redemptive history? What kind of book is it—Epistle, History? This truly matters! If you have time, read the entire book to get the flow, especially if this is an epistle. Take your time and don’t be in a rush.

Pray and ask God to help you understand what the text says and what it truly means. You’re not looking for something mystical to jump off the page at you. You’re not looking to see what it means to you. You’re not looking for new revelation. You’re going into the text to see what it meant when it was written so you can understand what it means now and how it correctly applies to your life. You’re asking if this text is simply describing something or if it is a command and prescribing something that you are to obey as well.

Read multiple commentaries. Go back and read the passage again. Then, when you believe you have a good grasp on what the original author meant when they wrote it, hit play.

Is your pastor claiming new revelation? Is he honoring the original authors intended meaning and bringing the correct meaning of that passage to bear on the mind of his audience or is he claiming something foreign to the original authors intended meaning? Is he opening that text up as you just did and going into it to bring out of it it’s correct meaning, or is he coming to the text with his own ideas and using that text to say what he wants it to say?

Is he working more diligently than you just did to be faithful to the meaning and exposition of that text or is he treating God’s Word with irreverence and making his approach sound mystical and super-spiritual but what he is really doing is using Scripture to preach his own message and leading you and others astray?

How are you learning to treat God’s Word from the example set before you in the pulpit? Are you learning a high view of Scripture and as a result you have a high view of God or are you hearing messages that are good for a sound-byte to make the pastor more popular but are insufficient for helping you grow and mature in your faith?

Test his teaching against the text. What is he preaching—himself, his imaginations, claims of extra-biblical revelation, or the Word?

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“The main trouble in the church today is that people are not interested in the truth. They are only interested in experiences.” ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones

You can’t deny that she has a way with words. She grabbed you and drew you in less than a full sentence. As you read her post, you almost forgot where you were. It read so well you began to see yourself sitting with her, and no longer were you reading, but you were in her home, sitting at the table over coffee and fresh baked bread, an aroma so strong you could almost smell it. She was now talking to you. She was speaking right to your broken places. She was ministering to the depths of your soul, and her words felt like she understood you in a way that you hadn’t felt seen or understood in a long time.

Compare this dear sister with the woman who has felt unseen by her husband, and another man comes along and he knows exactly what to say. She never imagined she could be someone who would commit adultery. She despised the very thought of it. But she never saw it coming. He may not have even come to her with such evil intentions, but in a short time she lifted her head ashamed and realized that she had been swayed by his charm—his words that seemed to minister to the broken and lonely places in her soul.

We may more readily guard ourselves against the second illustration, recognizing our sinful hearts and God’s warnings against such temptations. But we are so quick to drop our guard against the first. We are swayed by words that speak to our hearts. We read her words and sit at her table. We satisfy our soul drinking deeply from what promises to quench our thirst.

We test her words by how they make us feel. We meditate on her words, certain that there’s just no way she could have known exactly what we needed. We foolishly convince ourselves that our circumstances, problems, and personal feelings that we struggle with are so incredibly unique that if someone speaks to those places, then it must be from God, and it must be for us, and they must be truly from God.

As much as this may sound unloving, it’s said with genuine love: your situation, hardship, loss, struggle, personal struggles are not unique. If you fail to see that, then you are easy prey for those with bad theology and those with bad intentions. The truth is, we all struggle, and we can comfort one another, but it must be in the truth. Just because she shares Scripture and “gets you” doesn’t mean her words are true. Before you sit at her table, test the food.

Be careful in our weakness. Be daily in God’s Word, learning the truth so when we are weak, we remember the truth and when those who come to minister to us in our weakness with false words, we may not fall prey to them but stand firm in the truth.

There’s a lot of well-written false theology in your newsfeed—many who write about how great you are, how unique your testimony is, and how you are special. They pull you up out of your pit, but they do so by appealing to your sinful heart that wants to hear how great you are, how special you are, and how you are going to do big things, and how the world needs your testimony.

Dear friend, their message is not Good News! It is contrary to it. It makes you the hero. You don’t need to be your own hero. We make terrible gods. We need to hear the Gospel. We need to hear Scripture opened and exposited from faithful expositors of God’s Word. We need to pray and ask God to help us in our weakness. We need the truth. And we need to hear that Christ is enough, Scripture is enough, the Gospel is enough. We don’t need another “you are enough” false gospel.

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria

Written by: April J. Buchanan

“Our hope is not in our ability to persuade, but in the power of God to regenerate.” ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones

If I look to my family for the hope of their salvation, I will grieve and torment my own soul day and night.

If I look to myself—my intellect, my wisdom, my cunning—in order to find some way to win them to Christ, I show myself to be opposed to the Lord I claim to belong, love, and trust.

But if I look to Christ, my heart may not be unburdened of desire, yet I have hope—hope held in tension with sorrow—for what remains in them and what is ahead of them lest they repent.

Yet looking unto Christ, I have hope: hope for my own soul and hope that He alone is able to save them.

When my words seem wasted upon them and they cast them aside, my Lord hears me and is never troubled by my desperate cry. I seek not to manipulate the will of perfection, but I pray to the God of salvation, that He may take out their hearts of stone, change their will, and grant them faith and repentance.

Late Evening Meditations.

Grace and Peace, y’all
Soli Deo Gloria