Bulletin Edition January 2018

SAFE IN HIS HANDS
“His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me” – Song of Solomon 2:6.

Our salvation in Christ is sure, safe and certain as the powerful hands of God (Dan. 4:35; John 10:27-30). Believer, you are in good hands with Christ, being made one with Him (John 17:22).
His hands are sovereign hands able to save. “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25).
His hands are strong hands able to keep us from falling. “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,” (Jude 1:24).
His hands are tender hands able to teach us the way of salvation. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matt. 11:28-29).
His hands are wise hands able to guide us. “For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand (Psalm 95:7).
His hands are loving hands that were wounded to put away our sin. “Now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself ” (Heb. 9:26).
His hands are caring hands able to supply all our need in Him. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).
His hands are victorious hands able to receive us to Himself in glory forever. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:3).
Believer, aren’t you pleased that you are in His hands? Aren’t you delighted that His left hand is under you and His right hand does embrace you and receive you? Oh, how happy and thankful we are to be in His sovereign, wise, strong, tender, loving, caring and victorious hands, under His continual care and rejoicing in Him and His great salvation.
Tom Harding

ALWAY
Matthew 28: 18: And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Everyday this world becomes increasingly more hostile toward Christ and his people, especially as we declare the gospel of Christ which he has sent us to preach. But Christ assures his people, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” With the GodMan as our Strength, Christ says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.” Then he adds one more word of assurance, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Believer, scripture declares many ways Christ shall be with you, alway.

· Above You—Eph 4:10: He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

· Within You—John 17: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

· Before You—Deuteronomy 31: 8: And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

· Behind You—Is 52:12:…the God of Israel will be your rereward.

· Around You—Psalm 125:2: As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even forever.

· Underneath You—Deuteronomy 33: 27: The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

· Face to Face—1 Corinthians 13:12: For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
Clay Curtis.

“MY BELOVED IS MINE, AND I AM HIS”
Song of Solomon 2:16
These are the words of the CHURCH, the words of all of the redeemed.

1. He is mine because the Father GAVE HIM TO ME! “Thou gavest them me” (John 17:6), and I am His because the Father gave me to Him (John 6:37).

2. He is mine and I am His BY A DIVINE UNION! As the vine and the branch, the head, and the body, my one husband is Christ (Eph. 5:28-32).

3. He is mine and I am His BY PURCHASE! He bought me, redeemed me from the law and justice by His precious blood (I Peter 1:18-19). I own that “I am not my own, I am bought with a price.”

4. He is mine and I am His BY A MUTUAL AFFECTION! He loves me; that I CANNOT EXPLAIN except to say that the cause is found in His great heart. I CAN EXPLAIN why I love Him. “He is altogether lovely,” and He has shed abroad His great love in my heart, enabling me to love Him and His.
5. He is mine and I am His FOREVER! The union of Christ and His church can no more be dissolved than can the trinity, “I IN THEM AND THOU IN ME” (John 17:21-23).
Henry Mahan.

The voice of one
In Bethabera, beyond Jordan, a group of men were sent to enquire of John as to who he was. Instituting a new ordinance and preaching a strange doctrine, the great Sanhedrin demanded an explanation. After exhausting their speculations they finally asked this question: What sayest thou of thyself? John answered them without hesitation, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.” It occurred to me as I read the account in John 1, that both parties were sent. The committee was sent of the Pharisees in Jerusalem; John was a man sent from God. The Levites and priests stood with all the reputation, influence, and prestige of organized, established religion. John stood alone in the power and purpose of God. He had only this to offer those who questioned his ministry; “I am the voice of one!”

1. I am the voice of one authority – the true and living God.
2. I am THE voice of one NOT a majority opinion.
3. I am the voice of one message, the gospel of Christ. “The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand.”
4. I am the voice of one way of salvation – substitution. “Behold the Lamb.”
5. I am the voice of one reason for salvation, the grace of God. “A man can receive nothing except it be given him from above.”
6. And His voice was one in that it was in harmony with all the other voices.
God help us in this place and give us the heart to be the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord.” Darvin Pruitt
Alone
Do you ever feel alone? Seemingly walking another direction from everyone else? Isolated? On your own?

This is not uncommon for the Lord’s people. Sooner or later they will know what it is to walk this path – to be alone. The One they follow, and the Message they bring, is not welcome here, nor is it wanted. As with their Master they will find that others treat them with reserve and distance themselves from them. The world, friends, and even family, misunderstand, misrepresent and misjudge. The gospel of God’s grace is no more welcome today than it was when Christ sent forth His twelve disciples to preach it in their day and generation. The natural man receives not the things of God – he opposes them, rejects them, despises them and closes his ears to them.

It is understandable then, that in the face of such natural opposition, from so many, that the child of God can feel isolated – alone. Like a faint, flickering candle in a very dark room. Yet, whatever the outward appearance, the reality is so different. For I tell you, that however he may feel, the child of God, in Christ, is never, never, alone! Whatever the opposition of men around him, whatever the disinterest, whatever the disdain, he walks with a Companion so close, so true, so faithful, so trustworthy, so near, and in such a union, that the world could never understand! Christ has said unto His own “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” – and He never does! Indeed, the very cause that sets the believer apart from others, that makes him feel alone, is the very same thing that ensures that the believer, unlike any other, is never, ever, truly alone! He has – unlike the wicked who perish – the “one thing needful”… Christ and Him alone.
Ian Potts

An Eternal Union With Christ
The believer’s eternal union with Christ is a subject that few seem to grasp, though it is written as with a sunbeam upon the pages of Holy Scripture. We are “Accepted in the Beloved,” and have been from eternity. That union of our souls with our Savior was made by the triune God himself before the world began, and can never be dissolved or even altered. The Lord God sees us in His Son, as one with His Son, and as His Son, because we really are in His Son, as one with His Son, and as His Son. Therefore it is written, “…as He is so are we.” As no spot, blemish, or any such thing is in Christ, but only perfection, His Father is well pleased in Him, and with all who are in Him. The Book of God declares, “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel” (Numbers 23:21). Therefore, we shall “have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is so are we in this world.”
Don Fortner

Num 10:33 And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them.
What a comforting reality! Christ our Ark goes before us just as the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before the children of Israel in the wilderness. Christ is the Way to God and Christ makes a way for his church, each believer in particular, in this wilderness as we journey through it. He is our resting place and he searches out a resting place for his church, each believer in particular, in this wilderness.
We follow Christ our Ark, through faith. Christ is our Mercy Seat where God meets with us and has mercy on us because Christ has redeemed us from all our iniquity. He is the one in whom God has made his everlasting covenant of grace in our hearts to never turn away from us to do us good.
Gracious Lord Jesus, make all your beloved sheep to know that you are leading your dear children along. Please never take your presence from us! Whether we be suffering in the valleys or rejoicing upon the mountains all is well as long as you are leading us in the way we must go. Make us always find our way and rest only in you. Amen!
Clay Curtis.

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