{"id":247,"date":"2010-10-27T13:57:30","date_gmt":"2010-10-27T13:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=247"},"modified":"2010-10-27T13:58:31","modified_gmt":"2010-10-27T13:58:31","slug":"bulletin-articles-issue-43-october-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=247","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Articles Issue #43 October 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unwilling to Do something<\/strong>
\nThe problem with sinners is not that we are unwilling to do
\nsomething to save ourselves but that we are unwilling to do
\nnothing that we might be saved by another. (John 3: 19, 20.)
\nFaith takes nothing from you, faith takes nothing done by you,
\nfaith demands you add nothing, only believe and continue
\nbelieving, not in anything you have done or not done. Faith is
\ncasting your care, your whole self, your whole eternal salvation
\ninto the hands of Jesus Christ.
\nClay Curtis<\/p>\n

Recognizing Leprosy
\nDrew Dietz<\/strong>
\n\u201cAnd there came a leper to Him\u2026(Mark 1:40).\u201d
\nAs I looked at this passage of scripture I thought to myself, \u2018not many people in this
\ncountry think too much or even know very much about this disease of leprosy\u2019. I
\nwondered and noted that this is exactly what people think about sin in our day\u2026that
\nis they DON\u2019T THINK ABOUT IT. It is in some one else, it is in a far away country
\nand does not apply directly to me\u2026it\u2019s a third world country problem; so they say
\nabout leprosy, so I say about you who know nothing of the blackness and corruption
\nwithin our own hearts! Oh may the blessed Holy Spirit cause us to be made aware of
\nthe iniquity within and the vileness that permeates all that we do! Then and only
\nthen will we react the same way this poor leper did\u2026\u2019came to Him, beseeching Him
\nand kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me
\nclean\u2019! Clean, whole, forgiven and this done so \u2018immediately; that\u2019s what I want,
\nthat\u2019s what I need. Have you been made to see this is you, this is what God sees\u2019
\nwhen He looks at you and I without the blood of Christ over us, in us and for us?
\nJust because sin is something we may think is small or insignificant doesn\u2019t mean it
\nwon\u2019t throw you head long into Hell itself! Come to Him my friend, Come to Him
\nbowing and owning His sovereign right to damn you or cleanse you; may He \u2018will\u2019
\nyour cleansing today for His great name\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n

Mark of Covenant Grace<\/strong>
\n“And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and
\nthe heart of thy seed, to the LORD thy God with all thine
\nheart, and with all thy soul that thou mayest live”
\n(Deuteronomy 30:6).
\n!
\nere we read of the true circumcision. Note the author of it
\n“The LORD thy God.” He alone can deal effectually with our
\nheart and take away its carnality and pollution. To make us love
\nGod with all our heart and soul is a miracle of grace which only
\nthe Holy Ghost can work. We must look to the LORD alone for
\nthis and never be satisfied with anything short of it.
\nNote where this circumcision is wrought. It is not of the flesh
\nbut of the Spirit. It is the essential mark of the covenant of grace.
\nLove to God is the indelible token of the chosen seed; by this
\nsecret seal the election of grace is certified to the believer. We
\nmust see to it that we trust in no outward ritual but are sealed in
\nheart by the operation of the Holy Ghost.
\nNote what the result is-“that thou mayest live.” To be carnally
\nminded is death. In the overcoming of the flesh, we find life and
\npeace. If we mind the things of the Spirit, we shall live. Oh, that
\nJehovah, our God, may complete His gracious work upon our
\ninner natures, that in the fullest and highest sense we may live
\nunto the LORD. Charles Spurgeon (Faith\u2019s check book)
\n“God has given no pledge which He will not redeem,
\nand encouraged no hope which He will not fulfil.”
\n\u2010 Charles Haddon Spurgeon<\/strong><\/p>\n

GOD’S WOUNDING AND HEALING<\/strong>
\n“I wound and I heal.”–Deut. 32:39
\nIt is no little comfort to the afflicted child of God to be thus
\ndivinely assured that both the wounding and the healing flow
\nfrom one Hand–that Hand a Father’s. The sword that
\nwounds–“bathed in heaven”–bears upon its point the balm that
\nheals. Meditate awhile, my soul, upon this wondrous truth; and
\nshould you, like the stricken deer, endure your wound in solitude,
\nthe assurance that He who smites is He who heals, may rouse you
\nfrom your lonely sorrow, and draw you closer to the heart of Him
\n“by whose stripes we are healed.”
\n“I wound.” What majesty in these words! How worthy of Him
\nwho is the sovereign disposer of sickness and health, of life and
\ndeath, from whose belt hang the keys of the grave and of Hades.
\nTo His Hand, O my soul, trace the wound which now fills you
\nwith sore pain and grief. What is the sword? Is it the visitation of
\nbereavement–the decay of health–the loss of wealth–the
\nfickleness of friends–the unkindness of other believers–or the
\ntaunt and cruel slanders and reproaches of the world? Rise above
\nthe sword that has pierced you, and see only the Hand that holds
\nand controls it. “I wound.” It is a loving Father’s voice. O Lord, I
\nlose more than half my sorrow when I hear Your voice, “It is I,”
\nand when faith responds–“He Himself has done it.”
\nAnd whose Hand inflicts the spiritual wound? Who convinces of
\nsin–gives the broken heart–imparts the humble, contrite spirit–
\nand brings the soul to His feet with the prayer, “God be merciful to
\nme the sinner.” Still the language is–“I wound.” Then, Lord, let the
\n“sword of the Spirit” pierce me through and through, might it but
\npenetrate the deep-seated evil of my heart, revealing to me more
\nof my sinfulness, thus preparing me for the touch of that Hand
\nthat heals the broken in heart and binds up their wounds.
\n“And I heal.” Blessed Lord! Who can heal the wounded spirit–
\nwho can bind up the broken heart but Yourself? My wound is too fresh, my sore too tender, my sorrow too deep, for any hand
\nbut Yours to touch. Lord, Your wounds are my healing–Your
\nblood my balm–Your soul-sorrow my heart’s joy. Keep me from a
\nfalse healing. Let Your blood be the only balsam of my wounded
\nconscience; let Your love be the only solace of my troubled spirit.
\nPrecious Jesus! smite and bruise me as You will, may but the
\nhand that bears in its palm the scar of the nail pour the wine and
\nthe oil of Your love into my bleeding, sorrowing heart. “Heal me,
\nO Lord, and I shall be healed.”
\nBut, perhaps, your wound is self-inflicted, and the consciousness
\nof this keeps you back from Christ. Your own hand has pierced
\nyou! You have sadly departed from God, have wilfully sinned
\nagainst conviction, against your own conscience; against so much
\ndivine love experienced, so much covenant mercy received, so
\nmany rich blessings given, so many sins pardoned and
\nbackslidings healed, and wanderings restored. Be it so. Still the
\nlanguage of God is–“And I said after she had done all these things, Turn
\nunto Me.” “I will heal their backslidings, I will love them freely–for my
\nanger is turned away from him.” Bring, then, these wounds to Jesus
\nwhich your own or another’s hand has inflicted; and with the
\nbalm that flows from His own pierced heart, He will heal you. “O
\nIsrael, you have destroyed yourself, but in Me is your help found.” Oh,
\nremember that there can be no wound too deep or too desperate
\nfor Christ’s healing, loving touch.
\nOctavius Winslow<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I will love them freely.” – Hosea 14:4<\/strong>
\nThis sentence is a body of divinity in miniature. He who
\nunderstands its meaning is a theologian, and he who can dive
\ninto its fullness is a true master in Israel. It is a condensation
\nof the glorious message of salvation, which was delivered to
\nus in Christ Jesus our Redeemer. The sense hinges upon the
\nword “freely.” This is the glorious, the suitable, the divine way
\nby which love streams from heaven to earth, a spontaneous
\nlove flowing forth to those who neither deserved it, purchased
\nit, nor sought after it. It is, indeed, the only way in which God
\ncan love such as we are. The text is a deathblow to all sorts of
\nfitness: “I will love them freely.” Now, if there were any
\nfitness necessary in us, then he would not love us freely; at
\nleast, this would be a mitigation and a drawback to the
\nfreeness of it. But it stands, “I will love you freely.” We
\ncomplain, “Lord, my heart is so hard.” “I will love you freely.”
\n“But I do not feel my need of Christ as I could wish.” “I will
\nnot love you because you feel your need; I will love you
\nfreely.” “But I do not feel that softening of spirit which I could
\ndesire.” Remember, the softening of spirit is not a condition,
\nfor there are no conditions; the covenant of grace has no
\nconditionality whatever; so that we without any fitness may
\nventure upon the promise of God which was made to us in
\nChrist Jesus, when he said, “He that believeth on him is not
\ncondemned.” It is blessed to know that the grace of God is
\nfree to us at all times, without preparation, without fitness,
\nwithout money, and without price! “I will love them freely.”
\nThese words invite backsliders to return: indeed, the text was
\nspecially written for such–“I will heal their backsliding; I will
\nlove them freely.” Backslider! Surely the generosity of the
\npromise will at once break your heart, and you will return,
\nand seek your injured Father’s face.<\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unwilling to Do something The problem with sinners is not that we are unwilling to do something to save ourselves but that we are unwilling to do nothing that we might be saved by another. (John 3: 19, 20.) Faith takes nothing from you, faith takes nothing done by you, faith demands you add nothing, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=247"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":251,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247\/revisions\/251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}