What Is Your Comfort?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
by Henry Mahan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are you happy? Yes! but I am not without times of sorrow and\ndepression. Like any human, I weep over loved ones, friends, sickness, death,\nand disappointment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I sorrow not as those who have no hope. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
CHRIST IS MY HOPE! He loved me, gave Himself for me, and\nwill make ALL THESE THINGS work together for my eternal good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are you at rest in your soul? Yes! but I am not free from\nconcern and conviction over my sins and my infirmities. I love Christ but not\nas I should or as I desire. I am satisfied with Him, His mercy, His grace, and\nHis love; but I will never be totally satisfied until I wake with His likeness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you have peace? Yes! but that peace with God, peace of\nconscience, and peace in any situation or condition is NOT based on my merit,\nfeelings, nor religious duties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
CHRIST IS MY PEACE! He said, “In ME ye have peace. In\nthe world ye shall have trouble.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any man or woman who claims continual, uninterrupted joy,\nrest, and peace in this world is either not telling the truth or has no\nconnection with reality! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
True joy, rest, and peace are things we enjoy in Christ IN\nTHE MIDST of troubles, afflictions, and infirmities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul’s exhortation was “rejoice in the\nLord.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I am conscious of my weakness, failures, and sins, I\nrejoice in Christ, my righteousness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I am concerned about food, clothing, and shelter, I\nrejoice in Christ, my provider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I am sick, Christ is my healer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I am grieved, Christ is my comfort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I am faced with death, Christ is my life! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So it is not necessary to put on a false face and deceive\nothers. We are still human; but our peace, rest, and joy is Christ!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on Thee.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
—–<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four times it was said of Abraham that he,\n\u201cBuilded an altar and called upon the Name of the Lord.\u201d The altar speaks of\nthe sacrifice of Christ, which reveals the attributes, or the Name of the God\non whom we call!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Todd Nibert<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NO TURNING BACK!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
THE LATE South Carolina preacher B. B. Caldwell\n(1899-1976) tells an interesting story. It seems that once in the midst of\nstudy and sermon preparation at home in Greenville SC, he felt a strong need to\nleave the house and go uptown. As he reached for his hat, Mrs. Caldwell asked\nhim, \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d \u201cI don’t know. The Holy Ghost said for me to walk\nup main street, and I am going!\u201d \u201cOh!\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As he walked uptown, he saw a black lady sitting in the sun with\nher grandchildren. As was his custom he would stop and greet such humble souls.\n\u201cGood morning, good lady, how are you doing?\u201d \u201cOh, I is doin\u2019 fine!\u201d said she\nwith a big smile. \u201cWell, are you a Christian, are you saved? Do you know the\nLord?\u201d Caldwell asked her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes I is, and yes I do,\u201d was her dialect reply. \u201cThen, Granny,\nhow long have you been in the way?\u201d \u201cOh, I guess it\u2019s been 40 years or more\nsince de Lord saved me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood,\u201d said Mr. Caldwell. \u201cNow may I ask you another question?\u201d\n\u201cOh, yes!\u201d \u201cHave you ever thought of going back to the world?\u201d She very\nstrongly replied: \u201cWell, sir, the flesh in me might think it, but that is not\nthe true me\u2014I didn\u2019t leave nothin\u2019 back there to go back for!\u201d She reflected a\nfew minutes and added, \u201cAnd besides all dat, son, I done passed the \u2018turn-back\nstation.\u2019 Redeemed by His blood and Heaven bound, and no turning back!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then the preacher realized the\nreason why he felt prompted to go uptown. He had been given blessed truth and\nan illustration he needed for his sermon. Thanking the good lady and giving a\nlittle treat to each of her grandchildren, Brother Caldwell walked on back home\nto his study! As he recounted the incident to his wife, he felt such\nconsolation in knowing that God leads His dear children along the way and gives\nthem the encouragement they need. May He encourage our readers today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The way to happiness! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “Blessed (Happy)<\/em> is he whose\ntransgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed (Happy)<\/em> is\nthe man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity.” Psalm\n32:1-2<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the old adage says: May ours be the happiness of one who is . . .content with\nless than little, pleased with whatever pleases his Father, anxious for\nnothing, thankful for anything, prayerful in everything; and can say with Paul,\n“I have learned to be content <\/em>whatever the circumstances.\nI know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every\nsituation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in\npoverty.” (Philip. 4:11-12). Oh, to be found in Christ….(Phil.3:9).** \n Thomas\nGuthrie<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe gospel has something for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some say well, it\u2019s not for those who won\u2019t believe.. Yes,it\nis.. it is a display of God\u2019s grace to sinners and a record of what it took to\nsave them, whether they believe or not.. It has condemnation for those who\nwon\u2019t believe. God will judge people for what they knew and didn\u2019t act upon..<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gospel has a full record of the prophecies that predicted\nChrist\u2019s coming, what he would perform and the results of His actions while he\nwas here.. It\u2019s a record of what He accomplished.. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For a believer it\u2019s a statement of comfort. it\u2019s also a record\nof who God is and what he finished on the cross.. No matter what people say\nabout the Bible it is the perfect book in telling the story..<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it has even more than that.. It has instructions to those\nthat believe, in what is expected of them while they are here on this earth..\nThe epistles are literally a gold mine in precepts, commands and\nadmonishments.. They show the relationship between Christ, His church and His\ncommandments..<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is nothing lacking in the wisdom of God\u2019s word.. There is\nno greater book ever written on this earth nor has there ever been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Henry Mahan <\/p>\n\n\n\n HEAVEN \u2013 Pastor David Eddmenson <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and\nreceive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.\u201d \u2013 John\n14:3 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Heaven is only heaven because that is where Christ will be.\nEternal life is only wonderful because eternity will be spent with Christ our\nGod. To be a child of God is to be an heir of all that is God’s, but the\namazing thing about being an heir is being a joint-heir with the Lord Jesus\nChrist. To live eternally without sin is a glorious and wonderful thought, but\nto live forever with Him who was made to be sin for us, is beyond my\ncomprehension. Christ is heaven to the child of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abel’s offering<\/p>\n\n\n\n Genesis 4:1-15<\/p>\n\n\n\n By Henry Mahan 1926-2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n v. 1.We have been bound in our thinking by pictures and stories\nin children\u2019s Bible story books that present a totally unrealistic view of the\nfirst family. Adam and Eve are pictured with only two sons, one of which killed\nthe other and left them with only Cain, the fugitive, until Seth was born when\nAdam was 130 years old. There were no children born to Adam and Eve\n before the fall, but you can be certain that there were many born to them\nafter the fall (Gen. 5:4). Cain was the first man-child. It is not certain that\nhe was the first child or that Abel was the second. One commentary suggests\nthat by the time Seth was born, Adam probably had as many as 32,000\ndescendants. As you will note in reading the Scriptures, the birth of a female\nwas not usually even mentioned, only the male, and not all of them by any\nmeans. It is believed that when Cain was born to Eve, she thought he was the\npromised Messiah; \u2018I have gotten the man from the Lord.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n v. 2. God has singled out these sons of Adam to teach to all\nredemption by blood (Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:22) and to condemn salvation by works\n(1 Peter 1: 18-20). The way of Abel is the way of grace, and the way of Cain is\nthe way of works. Here is the crossroads, and all who attempt to come to God\nmust choose one or the other. There are only two religions in the world\u2014grace\nand works (Rom. 11:6). Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n v. 3. Cain and Abel were not young boys at this time, but they\nwere evidently heads of households with wives and children and occupations. Nor\nwere these the first sacrifices offered to God for sin, for it is certain that\nGod had instructed Adam as to how he was to worship and approach the living\nGod. Adam, in turn, had taught his sons and daughters as Abraham taught Isaac\n(Gen. 22:6-7). As their father had done before them, Cain and Abel, as heads of\nfamilies, brought their sacrifices and offerings to God. Cain brought the fruit\nof the ground, which he had raised, and Abel brought a lamb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n vv. 4-5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What was wrong with Cain’s sacrifice?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a bloodless sacrifice, thereby denying his need of the\nRedeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Cain would be his own priest, his own\nmediator, and his own intercessor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It denied that he was a sinner before God, who deserved\ncondemnation and death. He approached God on the grounds of his own merit and\nworks. He was proud of the fruit of his fields (Rom. 6:23).<\/p>\n\n\n\n He refused God’s revealed way of worship and acceptance (Luke\n24: 44-47; Eph. 1:6-7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why did God have respect to Abel’s offering?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was an offering of faith (Heb. 11:4). Like Abraham, Abel\nbelieved God. He came to God as he was told to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was an offering typifying Christ\u2014the lamb of God\u2014as we see in\nthe Passover lamb (Exo. 12:5-6). Alamb, the innocent dying for the guilty. A\nmale of the first year, in the prime of life.Without spot or blemish; Christ\nwas without sin.Slay it, shed its blood, and roast it with fire; Christ\nsuffered and shed his blood for our sins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was an offering confessing his sins and owning that they\ndeserve death. Our sins deserve the wrath of God; and in order to justify us,\nthe Lord Jesus must die before the Justice of God (Rom. 3:23-26). Christ, our\nsubstitute, made full satisfaction before the law of God and the justice of\nGod, thereby enabling God to be just and the justifier of those who believe in\nChrist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n v. 6-8.Cain was angry and became depressed. The religion of\nworks yields no comfort and no communion with God. Men go about their\nceremonies but find no peace; they make professions and act religious but find\nno rest nor assurance because God is not reconciled (2 Cor. 5:19).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cain was not angry with himself as he should have been, but he\nwas angry with God and with his brother who believed God. Instead of looking\ninto his own heart and finding the reason for his troubles, he turned on Abel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cain, rather than repenting and coming to God by faith in Christ\nJesus, rose up against his brother and killed him. The first human blood shed\non earth was over salvation by grace or salvation by works. Cain would come to\nGod not by grace through faith in Christ, but by his own works and merit\n(Eph.2:8-9). This battle still rages and the results are the same. God is the\nsame, sin is the same, men are the same, the way of life through the blood of\nChrist is the same, and \u2018the way of Cain\u2019 still persecutes the way of faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What Is Your Comfort?<\/p>\n\n\n\n by Henry Mahan<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are you happy? Yes! but I am not without times of sorrow and\ndepression. Like any human, I weep over loved ones, friends, sickness, death,\nand disappointment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But I sorrow not as those who have no hope. <\/p>\n\n\n\n CHRIST IS MY HOPE! He loved me, gave Himself for me, and will\nmake ALL THESE THINGS work together for my eternal good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are you at rest in your soul? Yes! but I am not free from\nconcern and conviction over my sins and my infirmities. I love Christ but not\nas I should or as I desire. I am satisfied with Him, His mercy, His grace, and\nHis love; but I will never be totally satisfied until I wake with His likeness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you have peace? Yes! but that peace with God, peace of\nconscience, and peace in any situation or condition is NOT based on my merit,\nfeelings, nor religious duties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n CHRIST IS MY PEACE! He said, “In ME ye have peace. In the\nworld ye shall have trouble.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Any man or woman who claims continual, uninterrupted joy, rest,\nand peace in this world is either not telling the truth or has no connection\nwith reality! <\/p>\n\n\n\n True joy, rest, and peace are things we enjoy in Christ IN THE\nMIDST of troubles, afflictions, and infirmities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul’s exhortation was “rejoice in the Lord.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n When I am conscious of my weakness, failures, and sins, I\nrejoice in Christ, my righteousness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When I am concerned about food, clothing, and shelter, I rejoice\nin Christ, my provider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When I am sick, Christ is my healer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When I am grieved, Christ is my comfort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When I am faced with death, Christ is my life! <\/p>\n\n\n\n So it is not necessary to put on a false face and deceive\nothers. We are still human; but our peace, rest, and joy is Christ!<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed\non Thee.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What Is Your Comfort? by Henry Mahan 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, […]<\/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-6733","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\/6733","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=6733"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6734,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6733\/revisions\/6734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n Our happiness depends in a very small degree upon what is external<\/em> to\nus. The springs of happiness lie deep within<\/em>. Yet, how common it is\nto think otherwise! Hence . . .the keen pursuit of pleasure, lovers’\nsighs, war’s fierce ambition, the student’s patient labor as he feeds his\nmidnight lamp with the oil of life, the panting race for fleeting riches, the\ndesperate struggles some make to keep themselves from sinking into poverty, and\nthe toil and trouble others endure.
\n And to say nothing of the sins <\/em>which these may alike\ncommit, simply . . .to rise in the world, as it is called, to keep a better\ntable, to wear a better dress, to live in a better house than satisfied their\nhumble, but happier parents.
\nThese paths, crowded and beaten down though they are by the feet of thousands\nwho are treading on each other’s heels–never yet conducted any man to\nhappiness. Never! It lies in another direction. Whatever his condition is . . .\npoor, or rich; pining on a sick bed, or with health glowing on his cheek; to be\nmarried tomorrow, or to be hanged tomorrow. “Blessed,” or, as we\nwould say, Happy<\/em>, “is he whose transgressions are forgiven,\nwhose sin is covered!”
\nThe way to happiness<\/strong> does not lie in attempting to bring our\ncircumstances up to our desires–but our desires down\nto our circumstances.
\n To indulge an unsanctified and insatiable ambition, to attempt to bring\nour circumstances up to our desires–is to attempt to fill a sieve <\/em>with\nwater. The passions that in such a case seek gratification, are like that\nwretched drunkard’s<\/em> thirst–they burn the fiercer for\nindulgence, and crave for more the more they get. It is often difficult, I\ngrant, to bring our desires down to our circumstances. On the other hand, he\ndoes not attempt a difficult <\/em>thing, but an impossible <\/em>thing–who\nattempts to bring his circumstances up to the height of his ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“Nature<\/em> is content with little,
\n grace<\/em> is content with less,
\n lust<\/em> is content with nothing!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n