He prayed till He groaned, He groaned till He\nwept, He wept till He sweat, He sweat till He bled, He bled till He died; and\nall to make us a warm bath wherein our cold and foul souls might be washed pure\nand clean. Never was anything washed at so high a rate as the Christian soul.\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thomas Adams <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our Lord Came on Purpose<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our Lord came on purpose, to save a particular people, and He<\/p>\n\n\n\n
accomplished what He came to do! If you are one of those\nparticular<\/p>\n\n\n\n
people, and if He accomplished salvation for you, then He will\nnotify<\/p>\n\n\n\n
you of it through the preaching of His Word. In His\nnotification, He will<\/p>\n\n\n\n
convince you of the fact that you are a sinner; the worst sinner\nyou\u2019ve<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ever known! That is the very reason why He had to die! It was to\nsave<\/p>\n\n\n\n
you from your sins. His death was God the Father\u2019s free gift to\nyou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And in His free gift, you are completely redeemed! It was all\nappointed<\/p>\n\n\n\n
by the Father, and obtained by the son. To Him be glory forever! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pastor Gabe Stalnaker<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For one hundred and twenty years, Noah built the ark. Every\nstroke of the hammer pronounced God\u2019s judgment of sin, but it also sounded out\nthe mercy of redemption. If you stay outside the Ark (Christ) you will die. If\nyou get in the Ark (Christ) you will live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Calvary, on the day of the Lord\u2019s crucifixion, the hammer of\nthe Roman soldier again sounded the same message. \u201cThe wages of sin is death,\u201d\nGod is so holy, just and righteous that He will not excuse sin, even when it is\nfound on His beloved Son. Yet the hammer also sounded the message of mercy and\ngrace, \u201cBut the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.\u201d\n(Romans 6:23) God\u2019s hammer will either break you to pieces in your unbelief, or\nin faith believing, by the substitution of our Savior will break Christ the\nRock into pieces in your room and stead. (Jeremiah 23:29) Which message is\nGod\u2019s hammer sounding out to you? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
David Eddmenson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ\nthe power of God, and the wisdom of God.\u201d <\/em> I\nCorinthians 1:24<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many religionists perceive\nthe power of God to be something given to them so that they can accomplish\ngreat things, when, in fact, the power of God is Christ, which power is\nexercised for us, but not by us.<\/strong> ~Joe Terrell<\/p>\n\n\n\n ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Lord Jesus\u2019s high-priestly\nprayer to His Father found in John<\/p>\n\n\n\n chapter 17, verse 9 it is revealed who Christ prayed for. \u201cI\npray for<\/p>\n\n\n\n them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast\ngiven me;<\/p>\n\n\n\n for they are thine. In this glorious chapter Christ tells us\nrepeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them that God the Father gave to Christ. (Vs. 9)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them to whom He gave eternal life. (Vs 2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them who know Him and His Father. (Vs. 3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them to whom Christ manifested God\u2019s name. (Vs.6)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them God gave to Christ out of the world. (Vs.6)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them that have kept his Word. (Vs. 6)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them who have received His Word. (Vs.8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them who know that Christ came from God. (Vs.8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them who believe that God sent Christ. (Vs. 8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them that belong to Christ. (Vs.8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them that belong to God. (Vs. 8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them in whom Christ is glorified. (Vs. 10)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them who are in the world. (Vs. 10)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them who God keeps. (Vs. 10)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them that God makes one with Him and Christ. (Vs.11)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them who have the joy of Christ. (Vs. 13)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them who the world hates. (Vs. 14)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 They are them who are no longer of the world. (Vs. 14)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are you one of \u201cthem\u201d for whom Christ prays? If not, do you\ndesire to<\/p>\n\n\n\n be? Our Father has never turned down one yet. You can be one of<\/p>\n\n\n\n them if you so desire. \n \n ~David Eddmenson<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is one glaring thing that believers and unbelievers have\nin common. They both want THEIR righteousness to be exalted. For the\nunbeliever, it is something they have produced by their Will, their Works, or\ntheir Wisdom. For the child of God, it is Christ, who alone is ALL their\nwisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Greg\nElmquist<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It Is Expedient\nFor You” <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n John 16:7<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Our Lord had just told his\ndisciples that he must suffer, die, rise from the dead and ascend back to his\nFather in heaven, that there he would prepare a place for them, and that at the\ntime appointed he would come again to receive them unto himself. Then he\nassured them that upon his ascension back into heaven he would send the\nComforter, the Holy Spirit, to minister to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These things are all recorded in\nJohn 13, 14, and 15. They should have flooded the disciples’ hearts with joy.\nThe disciples should have been full of questions about these great, mysterious\nand wonderful things. Instead, sorrow filled their hearts. Then the\nSaviour spoke to quieten their fears and show them the necessity of his going\naway, his death upon the cross, resurrection, ascension and heavenly\nexaltation. He said, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient\nfor you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto\nyou; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pause a moment and learn a lesson\n– Those things that appear to be most grievous in their experience are often\nmost expedient in their end. Thank God that he does not deal with us according\nto the folly of our own wills, but graciously gives us what he knows is good\nfor us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n An expedience is that which is,\nbeing constrained by necessity, the best course to follow. Our Lord, in\nthis place, is essentially saying, “It is both necessary and good for you\nthat I should suffer, die, rise from the dead, and go back to my Father in\nheaven.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The expedience should be obvious –\nHad he not gone away, had he not suffered and died as our Substitute upon the\ncursed tree and ascended back to heaven, we could not have been saved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n (1.) He could not have finished the work which he had come to do\n(Heb. 10:5-10). <\/p>\n\n\n\n (2.) God could not be just and yet justify them that believe\n(Rom. 3:24-26). <\/p>\n\n\n\n (3.) There would have been no atonement for sin\n(Heb. 9:22). <\/p>\n\n\n\n (4.) We could never have obtained the forgiveness of sin,\nreconciliation to God, peace, pardon and righteousness (Col. 1:20-22). <\/p>\n\n\n\n (5.) We would have no Forerunner, High Priest and Advocate in\nheaven (I John 2:1-2). <\/p>\n\n\n\n (6.) There would have been no way of access to God for guilty\nsinners (Heb. 10:19). <\/p>\n\n\n\n (7.) Christ could never have saved his people from their sins\n(Matt. 1:21).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us always think of the Holy Spirit with holy awe and\nreverence!<\/strong>
\n
\n(Charles Spurgeon<\/a>)
\n
\nLet us always think of the Holy Spirit with holy awe and reverence<\/strong>,\nremembering that . . .
\n it is the Spirit who quickens <\/em>us,
\n it is the Spirit who instructs <\/em>us,
\n it is the Spirit who sanctifies <\/em>us,
\n it is the Spirit who preserves <\/em>us,
\n it is the Spirit who makes us fit <\/em>to be partakers of\nthe inheritance of the saints in light!
\nSo unto the ever-blessed Spirit be glory and honour and praise, forever and\never!<\/p>\n\n\n\n