Feb 18
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I am Magdalene, I am Zacchaeus, I am the thief, I am the harlot, I am the publican, I am the prodigal, and one of Christ’s murderers; yea, worse than any of these; and yet God was so far off from rejecting of me, as I found afterwards, that there was music and dancing in his house for me, and for joy that I was come home unto him. John Bunyan
CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S GRACE
Do we really have confidence in the grace of God? If we do, we will be satisfied with His grace and His grace alone. If we have confidence in His grace, we will not try to offer up anything of our own as a reason for God to bless us. If we have confidence in His grace, we will rest secure that, whatever happens in this life, God will preserve us blameless for the next life. If we have confidence in His grace, we will not try to build a church with fleshy enticements but will be satisfied with preaching and teaching the grace of God, knowing that God will call His sheep by that Gospel. If we have confidence in the grace of God, we will not be quick to judge others but will be patient with our brethren, knowing that God grows His people at His own rate and that what His grace has begun, His grace can finish. If we have confidence in the grace of God, we believe that all things are moving in their proper direction to their assigned goal. Joe Terrell
Rest
Rest is a sweet word to the weary soul; all seek it but only believers find it. Paul wrote, “We which have believed do enter into REST” (Heb. 4:3). He did not say we shall enter but we DO enter into rest.
There is a sweet repose, a calm peace, and a sweet rest in Christ. We can trust Him to forgive the past, provide for the present, and guarantee the future. If you can believe God, you will find in Christ all you need.
Henry Mahan
ONE DOCTRINE, TWO WORKS
Deuteronomy 32:2: My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
The gospel of Christ is one doctrine: “my doctrine.” This one doctrine declares the absolute sovereignty of God, our total fall in the first Adam and our complete salvation in the last, the unconditional election of God’s people in Christ, the limited atonement accomplished by Christ for his people, the irresistible grace of the Holy Spirit quickening us together with Christ, the perseverance of the saints by Christ’s preserving hand, our resurrection and glorification in and by Christ. It is one glorious doctrine glorifying our triune God in Christ in the salvation of his people.
Yet, brethren, by this one doctrine God accomplishes two works in us. Our new heart which God created in the new birth is tender like the herb. (Eze 11: 9; 36: 26) It is continually renewed as Christ’s doctrine “distills as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb.” At the same time, Christ’s doctrine falls heavy upon our sinful flesh “as the showers upon the grass”, laying it low like field-grass after a hard rain. “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it.” (Is 40: 6-8)
Brethren, this is why we must hear the doctrine of Christ preached continually! In Romans 7, Paul speaks of us not being able to do what our inner man is willing to do because of the sinfulness of our flesh. But in Galatians 5, he speaks of us not being able to do what our sinful flesh is willing to do because of the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet, our strength to walk in the Spirit so that we shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh is not of us. How then shall we mortify the flesh? How shall we put off the old man and put on the new? How are we renewed in the spirit of our mind? It is given us through the hearing of faith—the hearing of Christ’s person and victorious work! Therefore, we must hear the gospel preached continually because our great Prophet promises, “My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass.” (Rom 8: 10-13)
Clay Curtis.
Two Troubled Souls
(1 Kings 2:26-34 & Gen. 32:24-26)
Here we see two men in some pretty difficult situations, two men very anxious about situations that have confronted them because of their stubbornness and sin of days gone by.
One man (Joab) lays hold of the HORNS of the altar and will not let go. The other man (Jacob) lays hold of, SOMEONE and will not let go. One man is cursed and will die right where he stands, the other one is blessed and will live a life of honor and glory to God.
One man will not let go of HIS TRADITION, religious forms and trinkets and will perish with them. The other will not let go of HIS GOD and will be blessed to see the almighty Sovereign workings of the Triune God in dealing with his past sins, and his future pilgrimage!
Which man are you? Will you sit in the church building and hang on to your religion without Christ, never letting go of its form, ritual, tradition and legalism? Or are you that man who has seen the Son and your abominations, foolishness, and sinful trickery and must have the Son’s blessings, substitution and Redemption before you go on in this world?
May God give us much grace and daily mercy to wrestle with Immanuel and never let go. For in Him and by Him and through Him are all blessings whether they be on earth or in the Heavens !
Drew Dietz
Two Great Evils
Jeremiah 2: 13
“For my people have committed two evils; They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”
There are two great evils that describe the condition of man in every age.
First, he has forsaken the promised redeemer. It was not moral reform or threat of punishment by which the Lord reconciled Adam in the garden. It was by a substitutionary death of a chosen sacrifice and the promise of him who would accomplish it. What Cain forsook at his altar was the promised redeemer. He forsook him who is the fountain of living waters.
Secondly, he has attempted by his own hand to make a way to have his own source of water. He hews and chips away until he has what he believes will provide that precious water but, it is broken and cannot hold the eternal drink. Man has been laboring for thousands of years to make these watering holes but the results are always the same – They are broken and cannot hold water. The water of life is in the Lord himself. Thirsty souls are bidden of him. Come and drink.
Darvin Pruitt
There Are Only Two Kinds Of People
There are only two kinds of people in the world – – – the righteous and the wicked. Interestingly, the righteous believe themselves to be wicked. That is why they need the Gospel. The wicked believe themselves to be righteous. That is why they do not need the Gospel.
Todd Nibert.
Holy Seed in Leafless Tree
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, NJ
Clay Curtis
Isaiah 7: 16: For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
The Lord sent Isaiah to preach: “go and tell this people”–meaning the LORD will save his remnant through the preaching of the gospel of Christ Jesus, Immanuel, the Holy Seed.
Some will hear and it will be a savor of death unto death unto them, the cities of their hard hearts shall be wasted without the Lord to inhabit them, the houses of their bodies shall be left without the Spirit of Christ to dwell therein, and they shall be left utterly desolate just like the land of Israel, just like Ahaz. But God’s remnant shall be filled with the Spirit of Christ. They shall be made willing and they will believe and be established because the Substance in them shall be Christ the Holy Seed. And thus they are called the holy seed.
The LORD declared to Isaiah that he would accomplish this through Isaiah’s gospel, by the word preached. The LORD shows us here, between Isaiah and Ahaz, how some will harden their hearts against him when they hear this gospel. But–Romans 3: 3: For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4: God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar. Did the unbelief of multitudes in that nation Israel prevent the veracity and faithfulness of God in bringing forth Immanuel, the Lord Jesus Christ? No, not at all. Did Ahaz’ unbelief hinder God in destroying these enemy kings and delivering the 200,000 who were captive? No, not at all. Neither shall the unbelief of multitudes hinder the faithfulness of God from effectually forming Christ in his people and saving them from their sins in newness of life.
In this 16th verse, the Lord declares through Isaiah’s word that he shall give an immediate sign to testify that his covenant is sure in his Immanuel. Here is what Isaiah says, “Now, Ahaz, concerning the land that thou abhorrest, concerning these two evil kings who have now compassed you about,” Isaiah points to his own child, the child he holds in his arms and says, “Before this child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good–within a very short time–the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.” Ahaz might have asked, “Now what did you say that boy’s name is again?” Isaiah says, “Sherjazzub–it means the remnant shall return.”
And the Holy Spirit has given us the word which shows us that both Pekah and Remaliah’s son were killed and the land forsaken, and a remnant returned, in a short time just as the Lord said it would come to pass (2 Ki 15:30; 16: 9.) This was but a token shown physically. Just think what the Lord shall do through his true Son among his true sons! Clay Curtis.
Loose Him and Let Him Go!
When Lazarus walked out of his tomb, freshly raised from the dead, he was yet bound hand and foot in the grave-clothes that had been his appropriate attire while dead. But grave clothes are not appropriate attire for the living, so the Lord commanded that he be loosed and set free.
There is a great lesson for us in this: just because a man has been raised from spiritual death does not mean he will immediately be loosed from the garments of death that bound him while he was yet dead. It is the job of ministers of the gospel and every believer to gently and lovingly remove the grave clothes of those newly born again. This process can take a long time. In fact, it shall not be complete until God removes the final layer of grave clothes – this body of death called the flesh – and gives us our heavenly dwelling (resurrected body). Even though we are inwardly alive, until then, we will have much of the appearance of dead men.
So, patience is called for, with regard both to others and ourselves. We may find true brethren guilty of serious sin, yet we must not conclude, therefore, that such a one is lost. We may find our brethren still bound by traditions that are associated with spiritual death. We may even see among those death-wrappings some scraps of those rotting, filthy rags of self-righteousness.
If we were to look at a snapshot of the scene in Bethany, we might justifiably conclude that Lazarus was a dead man, for all we would see is grave clothes. But those who saw him walking and likely heard his muffled cry, “Get me out of these death-rags,” knew that, all appearances to the contrary, Lazarus was alive.
Joe Terrell