John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye\nsee me: because I live, ye shall live also.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am<\/em> in my\nFather, and ye in me, and I in you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By God\u2019s sov\u2019reign grace united<\/p>\n\n\n\n To His Son eternally,<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can never be divided<\/p>\n\n\n\n From my cov\u2019nant Surety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God\u2019s free love, from everlasting,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Made me one with His dear Son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blessed union, strong, unchanging,<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am with my Savior one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once in Christ, in Christ forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus His promise ever stands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Life and death and hell together<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cannot tear me from His hands!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oft I fall, but God unchanging,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faithful to His cov\u2019nant stands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He will never charge with sinning<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those for whom His Son was slain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One with Jesus, one with Jesus,<\/p>\n\n\n\n By eternal union one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n One with Jesus, one with Jesus,<\/p>\n\n\n\n O what wonders grace has done!<\/p>\n\n\n\n One with Christ from everlasting!<\/p>\n\n\n\n One with Him upon the tree!<\/p>\n\n\n\n One with Him on high ascending!<\/p>\n\n\n\n One with Him eternally!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the New Testament the nature of the union between Christ and\nhis church is set before us everywhere. It is so constantly and so clearly set\nforth that it cannot be missed, except by those who choose not to see it. Every\nact of Christ on earth is set forth in the Scriptures of truth as being, in\nsome way, connected with his union with the us and our union with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Was he circumcised? \u2014 We are\ncircumcised in him (Colossians 2:11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Was he crucified? \u2014 We were\ncrucified with him (Galatians 2:20).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Did he die? \u2014 We died with\nhim (Romans 6:8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Was buried in the tomb? \u2014 We\nare buried with him (Romans 6:4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Was raised up from the dead?\n\u2014 We risen together with him (Colossians 2:12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Did he ascend on high and sit\ndown in glory? \u2014 God has made us sit together in heavenly places in him\n(Ephesians 2:6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Does he live? \u2014 He lives in\nme (Galatians 2:20).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Book of God this union of Christ and his members is traced\nout in everything our Lord did, in every act of obedience, and in everything he\nsuffered during his transitory abode upon earth, and in everything he has\nreceived in his glory because of his obedience to the Father as our Surety and\nSubstitute. The Scriptures show us, in the clearest and most prominent light,\nthat there is an eternal union between Christ and his beloved people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It\nis time to seek the Lord.” (Hosea 10:12).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This\nmonth of April is said to derive its name from the Latin verb aperio, which\nsignifies to open, because all the buds and blossoms are now opening, and we\nhave arrived at the gates of the flowery year. Reader, if you are yet unsaved,\nmay your heart, in accord with the universal awakening of nature, be opened to\nreceive the Lord. Every blossoming flower warns you that it is time to seek the\nLord; be not out of tune with nature, but let your heart bud and bloom with\nholy desires. Do you tell me that the warm blood of youth leaps in your veins?\nThen, I entreat you; give your vigour to the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was\nmy unspeakable happiness to be called in early youth, and I could fain praise\nthe Lord every day for it. Salvation is priceless, let it come when it may, but\noh! An early salvation has a double value in it. Young men and maidens, since\nyou may perish ere you reach your prime, “It is time to seek the\nLord.” Ye who feel the first signs of decay, quicken your pace: that\nhollow cough, that hectic flush, are warnings which you must not trifle with;\nwith you it is indeed time to seek the Lord. Did I observe a little grey\nmingled with your once luxurious tresses? Years are stealing on apace, and\ndeath is drawing nearer by hasty marches, let each return of spring arouse you\nto set your house in order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear\nreader, if you are now advanced in life, let me entreat and implore you to\ndelay no longer. There is a day of grace for you now \u2014 be thankful for that,\nbut it is a limited season and grows shorter every time that clock ticks. Here\nin this silent chamber, on this first night of another month, I speak to you as\nbest I can by paper and ink, and from my inmost soul, as God’s servant, I lay\nbefore you this warning, “It is time to seek the Lord.” Slight not\nthat work, it may be your last call from destruction, the final syllable from\nthe lip of grace. \n \n \n \n C.H.\nSpurgeon<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Assurance<\/p>\n\n\n\n At one time or another, every believer struggles with assurance.\nAssurance of our salvation can never be found by looking at ourselves. \nNothing about us can give any assurance of salvation. Nothing we do, or\ndo not do, can give any assurance of salvation. Assurance can only be had\nby looking to Christ who is our salvation. Charles Spurgeon once said, \u201cI\nlooked to Christ and the dove of peace flew into my heart. I looked into\nmy heart and the dove flew away.\u201d Assurance is had through faith in\nChrist. Through faith in Christ a believer is given FULL assurance.\n \u201cLet us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having\nour hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure\nwater\u201d (Hebrews 10:22). My conscience cannot destroy my assurance if I\nknow that Christ shed His blood to pay for my sin. Faith in Christ also\ngives us the knowledge that Christ is our righteousness. A believer has\ncomplete assurance knowing that Christ is our righteousness. \u201cAnd the\nwork of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness\nand assurance for ever\u201d (Isaiah 32:17). Every child of God is assured of\neternal life because Christ, who is our righteousness, died, was buried, and\nrose again for us. What sweet assurance! \n <\/p>\n\n\n\n ~Frank Tate<\/p>\n\n\n\n LOOK TO CHRIST <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLook unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: <\/p>\n\n\n\n for I am God, and there is none else.\u201d Isaiah 45:22<\/p>\n\n\n\n I constantly tell sinners to look to Christ. Don\u2019t look to your\nworks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Look to Christ to be everything God requires of you. Don\u2019t look\nat <\/p>\n\n\n\n your sins. Look to Christ and His redeeming blood. Don\u2019t look to\nyour <\/p>\n\n\n\n failure. Look to Christ the successful Savior. Don\u2019t look at\nyour <\/p>\n\n\n\n weakness. Look to Christ and His strength. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Frank Tate<\/p>\n\n\n\n Promise and Call<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe PROMISE is unto you and to your children, and to all that are\na far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall CALL.\u201d<\/em> Acts\n2:39.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the promises of God and the\ncall of God are necessary for his glory and for our salvation. The promises of\nGod, without the call of God, would make God a liar and it would make us\ndisinterested. The call of God, without the promises of God, would make God\nmutable and it would give us nothing in which to place our hope. Oh Lord, call\nus by the gracious Spirit and enable us to place our hope in thy precious\npromises which are all yea and amen in Christ. \n \n ~Greg Elmquist<\/p>\n\n\n\n God has revealed to me what I am. I now see that the only\nway He could love me, would be to do so freely. \n \n ~David Eddmenson <\/p>\n\n\n\n ARE YOU A BEGGAR?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar\nfrom the dunghill . . . \u201c<\/em> 1 Samuel 2:8<\/p>\n\n\n\n Begging is something that is repulsive to\nthe proud nature of man. When a person is reduced to begging physically, we\ndon’t even like to look at them. There is a shamefulness associated with it\nthat we dread and avoid. My flesh fears this condition even worse than death.\nBeing unable to work, having nothing, and being dependent upon the mercy of\nothers is unthinkable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spiritual begging is something to which\nsinful man is even more opposed. Inability, bankruptcy, and utter dependence\nupon another, spiritually speaking is absolutely unthinkable, especially to\nreligious people. When our father Adam rebelled against God, he gained an\ninsidiously evil attribute that we are all born with: PRIDE! In this spiritual\npride, we fear and despise worse than anything, the idea of being unable to\nplease God and utterly dependent upon His mercy. Pride deludes us and tells us\nthat we are quite capable of taking care of ourselves, thank you very much! Me\nand “the man upstairs” have an understanding. Sure, I’ve sinned like\neverybody else, but I’m doing the best I can. I’m not a religious fanatic or\nanything you know, but I blah, blah, blah, . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n However much we deny and avoid the fact,\nour true position before God is that we are dirty, shameful, worthless,\nmiserable BEGGARS! Like the bum on the street, we are unable to work. Whatever\nwe do to earn favour with God only puts us deeper in debt. We also have nothing\nto our account. Some who are unable to work physically, yet have personal worth\ndue to an inheritance or previous labours, but not us! We inherited nothing but\ndebt and have never been able to do anything of any merit. We are utterly dependent\nupon MERCY!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have heard this objection to this truth:\nYou don’t have to beg God to save you, He is ready to pardon. I agree that God\nis willing, ready and delights to show mercy, but He has never done so to\nanyone but a beggar. God is not so anxious to clothe sinners that He will not\nfirst strip them of their self-righteous rags. He is not so ready to lift up\nthat He will not first bring low. No sinner has ever been shown his condition\nthat has not flown to the Mercy Seat, the Lord Jesus Christ, and pleaded for forgiveness\nand favour. No true beggar has ever come to Christ in vain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s mercy for beggars. Are You a beggar? \n ~Chris Cunningham<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a\nbeautiful order in the covenant of grace, and the economy of redemption. For,\nas the whole Three persons of the GODHEAD all concurred in the vast design, and\nall guaranteed to each other concerning the several offices in the departments\nof grace, so it became essential, that in the carrying on and completing the\nwork, each almighty person should be engaged in it in his own specific office\nand character. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Father\ngave the church; the Son redeemed the church; and God the Holy Ghost sanctifies\nthe church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n God the\nFather appears in the Old, Testament dispensation, holding forth the promised\nSaviour with all his blessings, as coming for salvation; God the Son takes up\nthe wonderful subject under the New Testament dispensation, as thus coming and\nfinishing all that was promised in the Old; and now that the Son of God hath\nfinished transgression, made an end of sin, and is returned unto glory, God the\nHoly Ghost is come down, agreeably to Jesus’s and his Father’s most sure\npromise, to render effectual the whole purpose of redemption, by his divine\noffices in the hearts of the redeemed. And thus the church is taught to give\nequal and undivided praise and glory to the united source of all her mercies,\nin the Father’s love, the Son’s grace, and the Spirit’s fellowship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n MYSTICAL UNION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see\nme: because I live, ye shall live also.<\/p>\n\n\n\n John 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am<\/em> in my Father, and ye\nin me, and I in you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The believer\u2019s vital union with Christ the Mediator is an\neverlasting union of grace. This union between Christ and our souls is,\nas Spurgeon<\/strong> put it, \u201cthe nearest, dearest, closest, most\nintense and most enduring relationship that can be imagined.\u201d We live because\nChrist lives, and our lives are hid with Christ in God. This is a relationship\nthat is closer than that of a husband and wife, or children and their parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MYSTICAL UNION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This union of Christ and his people is one of the greatest\nmysteries revealed in the Book of God. \u2014 \u201cWe are members of his body, of his\nflesh, and of his bones<\/em>\u201d (Ephesians 5:30). It is a mystical union of grace.\nWe are members of Christ. We form his mystical body. This is the closest\nrelationship imaginable. It is such a close relationship, such a close union,\nthat the Lord Jesus Christ would be as incomplete without us as we would be\nwithout him (Ephesians 1:23; Colossians 2:9-10). We are identified with him;\nand he is identified with us. He has made us essential to himself, just as he\nhas made himself essential to us! He is the head of the body and we are the\nmembers of that body. That is a truly vital union! \u2014 \u201cWe are members of his\nbody<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n PARTAKERS OF CHRIST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As Eve derived her life from the Adam (Genesis 2:18-25), so we\nderive our life from Christ. As Eve was made partaker of Adam\u2019s nature, so we\nare made partakers of Christ\u2019s nature. As Eve\u2019s life was but an extension of\nAdam\u2019s life, so our life is but an extension of Christ\u2019s life. He is eternal\nlife; and we have eternal life by the gift of God. That eternal life is \u201cChrist\nin you<\/em>\u201d (Colossians 1:27). We are partakers his life. Our spiritual life\nproceeds from and is sustained by Christ. It is the source of our present\nspiritual life, and of our eternal life in glory with Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us never diminish one aspect of our Savior\u2019s work to make\nanother appear more glorious.<\/strong> All that Christ is made to us\nand all that he does for us is vital. We cannot be saved without his work for\nus; and we cannot be saved without his work in us. Both are vital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. John 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 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