My spiritual life began in looking to Christ\nonly. The way I persevere in the faith is by continuing to look to Christ only.\nMy desire is that the last breath I take here on earth will be looking to\nChrist only. The employment of eternity, albeit without this sinful nature,\nwill be looking to Christ only! \u201cWe shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as\nHe is\u201d (I John 3:2), and will still look to Him only. \n \n \n \n ~Todd Nibert<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unity<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let us not set ourselves up as critics and judges\nof the conduct and lives of other believers. Let us not spend our time finding\nfault with one another, picking out weaknesses and exaggerating differences of\nopinion and practice. Rather, let us spend our time endeavouring to help one\nanother and to avoid doing and saying things that may cause others to stumble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can do this by making our fellowship to be in\nChrist (not in form and traditions), by loving one another in spite of\ndifferences, and by avoiding collisions on the points wherein we differ. I am\nnot suggesting for a moment that we compromise the gospel or the fundamentals\nof our faith; but, as there are no two snowflakes exactly alike, there are no\ntwo people exactly alike; therefore, the foundation of our fellowship is our\nlove for Christ and our love for one another, not perfect agreement on every point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fact of the matter is that I do not agree or\napprove of all that I do, think, and say! \u201cBeloved, let us love one another;\nfor love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.\u201d\nBy God\u2019s grace, I intend to love and encourage every believer in Christ, our\nsovereign Lord. I shall endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit of God in the\nbond of peace for the glory of our Lord, the well-being of his church, and the\nwitness of the gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Henry Mahan <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Black and White Of The Gospel<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are no grey areas in the Gospel. Salvation is all of\ngrace or all of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
works. There is no in-between. Christ is either All in\nsalvation or He is<\/p>\n\n\n\n
nothing in salvation. There is no in-between. Man is\neither completely<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sinful and unable to save himself, or he is his own saviour.\nThere are no<\/p>\n\n\n\n
grey areas. The Bible is either God\u2019s infallible Word, or\nthe production of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
fallen man. How we thank God for this! I find the\nolder I get, the more<\/p>\n\n\n\n
grey other things become. Things I once felt strongly\nabout, I no longer<\/p>\n\n\n\n
feel so assured! I do not have enough information to make\na proper judgment<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and there are other points of view that have as much validity as\nmine! How<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul\u2019s words, \u201cWe see through a glass darkly\u201d describe my\nsight! With so<\/p>\n\n\n\n
much grey, how thankful I am for the black and white of the\nGospel!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pastor Todd Nibert<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is the Christian to do in the world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is his mission?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here it is\u2014\u201cAs Thou hath sent me into the world, even so have I\nsent them into the world\u201d (John 20:21). This is the Christian ‘s mission; he is\nnot to shut himself within the walls of a monastery or convent. Christianity\ndoes not consist of joining a brotherhood or sisterhood. What did he come to\ndo? To glorify God. How did he live? By the Father. “As the living Father\nhath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall\nlive by me” (John 6:57). This makes it all so simple; Christ is the\nstandard for everything. It is not a question of mere right or wrong according\nto human rules. It is simply a question, is it worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ?\n \n \n ~Scott Richardson\n(1923-2010)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humility<\/strong> Pride cannot live beneath the\ncross!<\/strong> “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know\nhereafter.” John 13:7<\/a> Peter could not apprehend the design of our Lord in washing the\ndisciples’ feet, and impatiently expressed his surprise, “You shall never\nwash my feet!” Our gracious Savior in effect replied, “Wait a little,\nPeter\u2014and you will see the reason for My doing so. You do not realise now what\nI am doing\u2014but later you will understand.” “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I\nhave done to you.” John 13:15<\/a> When our blessed Lord uttered these words, He had just washed\nHis disciples’ feet, and wiped them with the towel with which He was girded. John MacDuff<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE THE LOVE OF GOD – “God\nis love.” 1 John 4:16<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n “The only real mystery\nof the Bible,” says an old writer, “is a mystery of Love.” “God\nso loved the world that He gave His only- begotten Son.” What! that for a\nlost and ruined world, the Prince of Life should leave His Throne of glory,\ntravel down to a valley of tears, and expire by an ignominious death on the\nbitter tree! Love unutterable! unspeakable! The reflection of the skeptic of a\nby-gone age, may have formed at times the musing of better minds, “This is\nfar too great- it is far too good to be true.” Infinite majesty\ncompassionating infinite weakness! The great Sun of heaven, the Fountain of\nuncreated light, undergoing an eclipse of darkness and blood for the sake of a\ncandle that glimmered in nothingness in comparison with His beams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “God so loved the\nworld.” Man never can get farther in the solution of the wondrous problem.\nEternity itself will form a ladder- the saints climbing step by step its\nascending glories- but, as the prospect widens, each new altitude will elicit\nthe same confession, “the love of Christ, which passes knowledge.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n My soul! seek to enter into\nthe secrets of this Love of your adorable Redeemer! Before all time, that love\nbegan. We have glimpses of it bursting out from the recesses of a past\neternity- “Then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him, and I was daily\nHis delight, rejoicing always before Him!” And “when the fullness of\nthe time had come,” though foreseen were all His untold sufferings-\nnothing would deter Him from pursuing His anguished path- “He set His face\nsteadfastly to go to Jerusalem;”- no, as if longing for the hour of\nvictory, He exclaimed. “There is a terrible baptism ahead of me, and I am\nunder a heavy burden until it is accomplished!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think of that love now! The\nlive coals in the censer of old form a feeble type of the burning ardor of\naffection still manifested by our Great High Priest within the veil, in behalf\nof His own people. There He bears the name of each indelibly engraved on His\nbreastplate; loving them at the beginning, He will love them even unto the end.\nEarthly love may grow cold and changeable; earthly love may die. Not so the\nlove of this “Friend of friends.” It is strong as death- surviving\ndeath, no, as deathless as eternity! Listen to His own exponent of its\nintensity- “As the Father has loved He, so have I loved you!” “You\nsee in Him;” says an old writer, “an ocean of love without bottom,\nwithout bounds, overflowing the banks of heaven, streaming down upon this poor\nworld to wash away the vileness of man!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blessed Jesus! how cold, and\nfitful, and transient has been my love to You in comparison of Your love to me!\nBring me more under its constraining influence. May this be the superscription\non all my thoughts and actions; my occupations and my time\u2013 ‘I am not my own.\nLord, I am Yours! How can I love You enough, who have so loved me! My life\nshall henceforth be one thank-offering of praise for Your redeeming mercies.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n Standing this night on the\nshores of this illimitable ocean- surveying its length and breadth- every wave\nmurmuring, “Peace on earth and good-will to men,” “I will lie\ndown and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in\nsafety.” Psalm 4:8<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My spiritual life began in looking to Christ only. The way I persevere in the faith is by continuing to look to Christ only. My desire is that the last breath I take here on earth will be looking to Christ only. The employment of eternity, albeit without this sinful nature, will be looking to […]<\/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-6517","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\/6517","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=6517"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6518,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6517\/revisions\/6518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong>
\n<\/em>The following is from Octavius Winslow’s sermon,<\/em>
\n<\/em>“Daily Cleansing, or Christ Washing His Disciples\nFeet”<\/em>
\n
\nHumility<\/strong> is an essential\nelement of the true
\nChristian. As humility is one of the first
\nprinciples of our Christianity, so it is an
\never growing and deepening one.
\n
\nNothing more closely evidences an advance in
\nthe divine life as our growth in Humility of mind.
\n
\nThe nearer we approach to heaven, the lower
\nwe grow in the estimate of ourselves.
\n
\nAs the fruit ripens for the gathering grows more
\nmellow, so the soul that matures for glory
\nbecomes more humble an Christlike, and is
\nwilling not only to wash the saint’s feet, but
\neven to be trampled under foot of the saints.
\n
\nWe learn to take the low place as we become
\nmore deeply sanctified, ready for any and every
\nwork and office the Master may assign us.
\n
\nIt is the bough most richly laden with fruit that
\nbends downwards, and hangs the lowest. So
\nthose Christians who have the richest gifts and
\nare favoured with the greatest usefulness think
\nthe most lowly of themselves, and hide their
\ngifts and graces and usefulness deepest in
\nthe shadow of Christ’s cross, and are the
\nbest prepared for the lowliest service of love
\nto the saints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n(Charles Spurgeon<\/a>)
\n
\n“He humbled Himself.” Philippians 2:8
\n
\nJesus is the great teacher of lowliness of heart<\/em>. We\nneed daily to learn of Him.
\n
\nSee the Master taking a basin and towel to wash His disciples\nfeet!
\nFollower of Christ, will you not humble yourself?
\nSee Him as the Servant of servants<\/em>\u2014and surely you\ncannot be proud!
\n
\nSurely this sentence is the compendium of His biography<\/em>:\n“He humbled Himself!”
\n
\nWhile on earth, He was always stripping off first one robe of\nhonor and then another\u2014until He was fastened to the bloody tree. And there He\nemptied out His inmost self, pouring out His life-blood, giving up His\nall <\/em>for us\u2014until they laid Him penniless in a borrowed grave!
\n
\nHow low was our dear Redeemer brought! How then can we\nbe proud?<\/em>
\n
\nStand at the foot of the cruel cross, and count the purple drops<\/strong> by which you have been\ncleansed of your infinite sins! See the thorn-crown; mark His scourged\nshoulders, still gushing with encrimsoned rills. See His hands and feet given\nup to the rough iron, and His whole self to mockery and scorn. See the bitterness,\nand the pangs, and the throes of inward grief, showing themselves in His\noutward frame. Hear the horrid shriek: “My God, my God, why have\nYou forsaken Me!”<\/em>
\n
\nIf you do not lie prostrate on the ground before that cross\u2014you\nhave never seen it!
\nIf you are not humbled in the presence of the dying Jesus\u2014you do\nnot know Him.
\n
\nYou were so lost <\/em>that nothing could save\nyou\u2014but the sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son.
\nThink of that, and as Jesus stooped for you\u2014bow yourself in\nlowliness at His feet.
\n
\nA sense of Christ’s amazing love to us\u2014<\/em>has a greater\ntendency to humble us than even a consciousness of our own guilt!
\n
\nMay the Lord bring us in contemplation, to Calvary\u2014and then we\nwill no longer think of ourselves with pompous pride. We shall then take the\nhumble place of one who loves much, because much has been forgiven. Pride cannot live beneath the cross! <\/strong>Let us\nsit there and learn our lesson\u2014and then rise and carry it into practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\nAuthor unknown<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\nHow often are we impatient when we cannot at once see the\ndesign of the Lord’s dealings with us<\/em>. Sometimes, when events run contrary\nto our desires and expectations\u2014we are ready, like Jacob, to say, “All\nthese things are against me!” <\/em>While in reality, none of them are\nagainst us\u2014but all are, in a wonderful way, working together for our good.
\n
\nOh for more confidence in Him who, in infinite wisdom, is so\nordering the circumstances of our lives as to promote our spiritual welfare\nhere\u2014and our eternal advantage in the world to come.
\n
\nEven in the present life, the Lord sometimes shows us the\nmeaning of His past dealings with us, and convinces us that when He was leading\nus in a rough <\/em>path\u2014He was leading us by the right <\/em>way\ntowards the city of habitation.
\n
\n“Blind unbelief is sure to err,
\n And scan His work in vain!
\n God is His own interpreter,
\n And He will make it plain!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\nAuthor unknown<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\nOur gracious Saviour, who is Lord of all, thus stooped to one of\nthe lowest acts of service to teach His disciples in all ages . . .
\n to serve one another in love,
\n to stoop to each other’s need, and
\n to regard no office of kindness beneath them which they\nmight have occasion to perform.
\n
\nAnd in all spiritual matters, so far from seeking to exercise\nlordship over each other\u2014that they should each be willing to take the lowest\nplace, and minister to each other’s help and comfort. “Whoever will be\nchief among you\u2014let him be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be\nministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.”\nO Lord, impart unto us Your grace\u2014that we\nmay be Your true followers, and tread in Your steps<\/strong>.
\n
\nIn serving grace, in lowly love,
\nIn true humility,
\nMay Jesus my example prove,
\nMay He my pattern be!<\/p>\n\n\n\n