Sin is not a passive adversary; it is relentlessly active, constantly seeking to ensnare you. It operates without pause, always plotting, always whispering temptations, striving to lead you astray from the path of righteousness.

Recognize this reality: sin's persistence demands your vigilance. You must remain ever-watchful, for sin will not relent. Yet, take heart, for in this battle, you are not alone. Christ himself is your shield and strength, providing the means to resist and overcome.


"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." – Matthew 26:41


—The Forge (Daily Dose #0013)

2 Corinthians 10:3-6

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

This is the very perfection of a man, to find out his own imperfections.

—Augustine

Going through the motions is not enough, and is a disservice to yourself and everyone around you. You must stand upon the promises of God, and live them out each day. If faith isn’t alive and active within you, then it is dead. I encourage you dear reader to dive deeper in prayer with the Lord.

Do not be satisfied with a rote routine. Instead, seek the Lord, give thanks to Him in all circumstances, notice Him in the mundane, and rejoice in His kindness toward you. 
He is worth it!


"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
— Jeremiah 29:13


—The Forge (Daily Dose #0014)

Public announcement to all those who are believers and nonbelievers alike.

Collect for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost

Grant us, O Lord, not to mind earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to cleave to those that shall abide; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Wherever man may stand, whatever he may do, to whatever he may apply his hand, in agriculture, in commerce, and in industry, or his mind, in the world of art, and science, he is, in whatsoever it may be, constantly standing before the face of his God, he is employed in the service of his God, he has strictly to obey his God, and above all, he has to aim at the glory of his God.

—Abraham Kuyper

When I think that I’m unfairly hated, I try to remember that I’m unfairly loved.

—R.C. Sproul

When you sin, do not delay repentance. It is playing with fire. Sin separates you from God, and allowing it to go unaddressed only hardens your heart and deepens the divide. Don’t go to sleep with sin weighing on your soul, and think you can deal with it later. Every moment that passes without repentance is a missed opportunity to restore your relationship with God. Immediate repentance brings healing, forgiveness, and peace.

And remember, repentance is not just an obligation; it’s a gift. It opens the door to grace, allowing you to experience the mercy of a God who is eager to forgive. Don’t carry the burden of sin any longer than necessary. Acknowledge your wrongdoing, turn from it, and seek God’s forgiveness right away. In doing so, you can rest in the assurance of His grace and begin anew.


"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." — 1 John 1:9

—The Forge (Daily Dose #0017)

Charles Hodge: On Christian Nurture:

[It is] a scriptural truth that the children of believers are the children of God; as being within his covenant with their parents, he promises to them his Spirit; he has established a connection between faithful parental training and the salvation of children, as he has between seed-time and harvest, diligence and riches, education and knowledge. In no one case is absolute certainty secured or the sovereignty of God excluded. But in all, the divinely appointed connection between means and end, is obvious.

That this connection is not more apparent, in the case of parents and children, is due in great measure, to the sad deficiency in parental fidelity. If we look over the Christian world, how few  nominally Christian parents even pretend to bring up their children for God. In a great majority of cases the attainment of some worldly object is avowedly made the end of education; and all the influences to which a child is exposed are designed and adapted to make him a man of the world. And even within the pale of evangelical churches, it must be confessed, there is a great neglect as to this duty ... We of course recognize the native depravity of children, the absolute necessity of their regeneration by the Holy Spirit, the inefficiency of all means of grace without the blessing of God. But what we think is plainly taught in Scripture, what is reasonable in itself, and confirmed by the experience of the church, is, that early, assiduous, and faithful religious culture of the young, especially by believing parents, is the great means of their salvation.

This world is all the hell that ever a true Christian is to endure, and it is all the heaven that unbelievers shall ever enjoy.

—Jonathan Edwards