Jul 18
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The Poor Man’s Concordance and Dictionary
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3).
Are you happy? Yes! But I am not without times of sorrow and depression. Like any human, I weep over loved ones, friends, sickness, death, and disappointment. But I sorrow not as those who have no hope. CHRIST IS MY HOPE! He loved me, gave Himself for me, and will make ALL THESE THINGS work together for my eternal good.
Are you at rest in your soul? Yes! But I am not free from concern and conviction over my sins and my infirmities. I love Christ but not as I should or as I desire. I am satisfied with Him, His mercy, His grace, and His love; but, I will never be totally satisfied until I wake with His likeness.
Do you have peace? Yes! But that peace with God, peace of conscience, and peace in any situation or condition is not based on my merit, feelings, nor religious duties. CHRIST IS MY PEACE! He said, “In ME ye have peace. In the world ye shall have trouble.”
Any man or woman who claims continual, uninterrupted joy, rest, and peace in this world is either not telling the truth or has no connection with reality! True joy, rest, and peace are things we enjoy in Christ IN THE MIDST of troubles, afflictions, and infirmities.
Paul’s exhortation was “rejoice in the Lord.” When I am conscious of my weakness, failure, and sins, I rejoice in Christ, my righteousness. When I am concerned about food, clothing, and shelter, I rejoice in Christ, my provider. When I am grieved, Christ is my comfort. When I am faced with death, Christ is my life! So, it is not necessary to put on a false face and deceive others. We are still human; but, our peace, rest, and joy is Christ. HTM
The Gospel of Joy and Peace In Believing
‘Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.’ (Rom. 15:13).
These words of inspiration encourage my weary heart. The gospel of God in Christ is so designed to give God all the glory for the salvation of sinners (1Cor. 1:30-31). But thank God, it is also designed to give to broken, sinful and weary sinners joy and peace through the gospel (Rom. 5:1). Notice this also, it is “joy and peace in believing,” not working, not ceremony and the traditions of men, but by simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that we may abound in hope (Heb. 11:6). The Lord Jesus Christ is the whole believer’s hope before God and men (Col. 1:27; 2:9-10; 3:11). This is constantly brought into our heart and thoughts through the power of the Holy Spirit, Who shall take the things of Christ and show them unto us, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you” (John 16:13-15). Tom Harding
A BELIEVER’S PEACE
Where does a believer find real and genuine peace? On what foundation can we rest and say in truth, “It is well with my soul?” I’ll tell you; it lies in this, that we are justified by faith and not by works. Christ Jesus stood in my place before God. I was guilty with nothing to pay; doomed to hell, and Christ took my place. He died for me! How can I perish? How can I be punished for sins which have already been laid on Christ and for which He has already suffered? God demands of me that I keep His holy law perfectly. I cannot do it. But Christ has kept it for me. He kept it, magnified it, made it honorable in my flesh. What more can God demand of me? I am washed in the blood of Christ; I am risen and seated at His right hand in Christ. You may ask, “How is all this yours?” I reply, “By the grace of God, through the merits of Christ, revealed by the Spirit of God THROUGH FAITH!” God said, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” I do believe, I sincerely believe in Christ; therefore, I have eternal life.
Henry Mahan
God Offers Peace – Man Declares War
Joe Terrell
“I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war.” (Psalms 120:7)
We may judge our hearts, and judge them accurately by this Scripture. When the Lord Jesus came into this world, he came as a man of peace. Jesus Christ, “…came and gospel-preached peace to you who were far away [that is, the Gentile] and peace to those who were near [that is, the Jew].” (Ephesians 2:17) If one carefully reads the words of the Lord Jesus, he will discover that everything he said was designed to bring peace between God and men. Even as He rebuked, His aim was not so much to wound as to correct men and bring them to repent, that is, to stop their warfare against God, and be at peace with Him. But most would have none of His word.
His call for peace was answered by shouts of war. He stretched out His hands; they raised their fists. He claimed to be the Son of God, and men took up stones to stone Him. He said that none could come to Him unless God had given the grace to do so, and many of His disciples no longer followed Him. He declared that God was free to pass by one and save another, and they took Him to the brow of hill that they might throw Him over. He claimed to be their king, and they shouted, “Crucify Him!” Hear our Lord’s words as He echoes Psalm 120.7: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. (Matthew 23:37)
As Christ goes forth in gospel preaching, the result is much the same as when He was on the earth so long ago: men gnash their teeth at the gospel of peace. How does this Man of Peace affect you? Do His claims enrage you or bring peace to your heart? Does the fact that Son of God has come threaten you or fill you with the hope of God’s salvation? Does the sovereignty of God’s grace offend your pride or stir hope in you that even such a one as you might be saved? Does Christ’s royal claim make you assert your right to choose and do as you wish, or does it make you bow before Him and find peace beneath the His scepter? Those who refuse the Man of Peace now shall find a Man of War in time to come. (Exodus 15.3; Isaiah 42.13; Revelation 19.11-16) “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Psalms 2:12
The One Pearl of Great Price
Posted on May 30, 2018 by gregelmquist
“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls.
Who when he found One Pearl of Great Price, went and sold all that he had
and bought it”
Matt. 13:45-46
Over the years men collect a jewelry box full of pearls. In one drawer
they keep the pearls of “good works”. These pearls come in various sizes
and shapes.. depending on the sacrifice they made for them. Some were given
to them by the people they helped…but most of them they awarded to
themselves. So many men are hoping to trade with God their valuable little
pearls…in exchange for eternal life. The problem is these pearls are
strung together on the rotting thread of self-righteousness. When tried by
fire in the day of judgment this thread will break and all the pearls will
be lost forever. Their value is only in our imagination, for the scripture
says: All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and that which is highly
esteemed among men is an abomination to God.
Another drawer is full of equally worthless pearls…the pearls of
“religious experience”. These pearls are all polished to a brilliant shine
by constant handling. They are often taken out to admire…especially in
times of doubt. There is the pearl of warm feelings and emotions
experienced at a time of past religious dedications. There is the pearl of
verses memorized, and doctrines learned. There is the pearl of baptism,
church membership, and faithful attendance. These gaudy trinkets are often
taken out and worn in public by their owners to impress other men with their
knowledge of God. Like the dangling phylacteries off the robes of the
Pharisees these pearls are used to intimidate the less spiritual. To those
who posses the One Pearl of great price, these people look as foolish as a
senile old lady overdressed with cheap outdated costume jewelry. One says;
‘But my mother and father gave me these pearls. Why they have been in the
family for generations. They have very great sentimental value. They’re
heirlooms. What will my family say if I get rid of them?’
Dare we open another drawer? Here we find a collection of pearls that have
great value in this world, but like the others are worthless in the next.
Here are the pearls of “worldly pleasure, popularity, power, and
possessions”. Thy give great contentment to the flesh. They indulge the old
man with much enjoyment, but he can never get enough of them. In the end,
they addict him to the world so that he becomes unconscious to the Spirit of
God and has no interest in the One Pearl of Great Price
All these pearls must be sold to posses the One Pearl of Great Price. You
can not wear the One Pearl of Great Price even as a center piece around
which other jewels are enhanced. No, it will be owned and displayed as a
solitaire, or it will not be worn at all. This pearl can not be the “center”
of attention. Oh no. He must get “all” the attention. The wise merchant
gladly sells all he has to buy the One Pearl of Great Price.
Greg Elmquist.
Reconciling Truth and Experience
Our Lord said, in John 6:45, that everyone that “…hath heard and learned of the Father”, comes to Christ. What do you suppose it is that the Father teaches? He teaches THE Gospel! For someone to claim to have come to Christ prior to knowing the Gospel is to admit that he is not taught of God. Further, it is to hold up a religious experience above the clear declaration of Holy Writ.
What does a person believe before he believes the truth? He believes the lie. What experience can a person have prior to experiencing the Grace of God that only comes by the hearing of the Gospel? Any experience prior to hearing and believing the Gospel is to be immediately and summarily discarded and disowned upon receiving the Gospel. What would be the possible benefit of the witness of Paul, the Apostle, if he had counted his vast and formidable religious experiences as anything but dung? (Philippians 3:4-9).
Tim James
A Head Knowledge or Born Again?
Drew Dietz
The mere belief of facts and doctrine concerning Christ will not save a man’s soul. Doctrine is so very important as it is spoken in love and truth, yet as old Luther said: “The life of Christianity consists in possessive pronouns.” Christ is Lord yes, but Christ is my Lord! Christ is the Redeemer yes, but Christ is my Redeemer. God does not by pass the head in the calling of His sheep, but He never calls anyone without the Heart being taken over by the lovely and precious and conquering King of Glory! I want to ‘know Him’ and be found having His righteousness; not just a head knowledge of facts and historical truth about Him that even the devils have, that will one day prove to be a deception of all things good.