Repentance

Have you ever wondered if you had "done it right" when you trusted in Christ for your eternal salvation? I will admit to having had doubts and fears to run through my mind over this issue in the past. But a friend and brother in Christ as well as a fellow blogger has helped me see that faith doesn't look inward at itself, but upward to Christ and beholds Him. In sharing the Gospel with someone, a certain person seemed to have trusted Christ, but later he began to have these doubts and fears as to whether he had "done it right" or not. The main issue in his mind was that this was eternity in question, and it better be right! He was right in that he understood the importance of the matter, but there was something that he was missing, something very important. This person understood that God loved him. He understood that God had done everything to make His gift of salvation available to him, and anyone that wanted it, but the one thing he was terribly unsure of was how to get it. I asked him if he wanted to be saved, and he desperately did. I asked him to think logically about it for a moment, and he did. I said that God being God, knew that he wanted desperately to be saved. Also, I asked him if it made any sense that the God of love who had gone to the great lengths He had to make salvation available to him, would then say, "I'm sorry, but you didn't do it just right when you received My gift of salvation, so you can't have it." He agrees that it would make no sense whatsoever, and it seemed that it was at this point that the "light" came on and he rejoiced in his salvation! The beautiful thing is that God has done it all, and therefore it is out of our hands, except to just accept that it is ours through Christ. I offer that this is true Biblical repentance unto salvation. This dear soul changed his mind, realized who God really was, he already knew he was a sinner and needed Christ, and now he had received what Christ had already done for him! Folks, this is really Good News! God bless you all.

Christmas Grace

Don't really have much in the way of anything prepared to say, just that my heart is so thankful for our Savior who came to earth 2,000 plus years ago to that cave, basically as I understand it, to take on sinless Human Flesh so as to not only save us from our sins, but to identify with us.(Heb.4:14-16). It simply amazes me to think that we can just talk to the God of the universe & know that not only does He hear us, He cares! He also answers us, maybe not always in the way we'd like, or at the time we think He ought, yet His answers are always best & at the perfect time & way we most need it. I have friends tonight who are going through trials that just about are ready to pull them under, yet God's grace is sufficient for them. So it is with you & me. I just want to say, a very Blessed CHRISTmas to you & yours, whatever may be your situation. Remember, Jesus Christ cares, He went to the cross & suffered for you & me in ways we'll possibly never understand yet He did it because He loved you & me so much that He could not let us go to hell without His giving it all so we could have eternal life if we'll just trust Him. OK, I'm gonna stop for tonight & just say Merry CHRISTmas.

God's Grace

We hear a lot about God's grace, & we write a lot about it, & this is good. But it seems we don't always see it in action like we should. I am one of the worst in this, I am pretty good at talking about it but not as good at living it. One of the sweetest verses in the Word of God on this subject of the grace of God is Ephesians 2:7, in which God says that in the endless ages to come He will show the exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness toward us as believers through Christ Jesus! In other words, God's grace will be on open display all throughout eternity just because we're in Heaven as trophies of His grace! Sometimes we may wonder when we go through hard times how they could ever be used for His glory, or even less, our good? I think of Job in the Bible, & I am just now beginning to see God's abundant grace in this Book like I never have before. Job went through unspeakable suffering, & it was not because of any sin in his life, even though his legalistic friends tried to pin that on him. In fact, God doesn't come right out & tell us in so many words just what caused all Job's suffering except that He allowed it. Yet, at the end of the Book, in Job's response to God, I believe we do see at least part of the reason God allowed the horrendous suffering He did in Job's life. That reason makes all of what he suffered worth it all. In Job 42:5, he says to God, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You." In other words, I have heard quite a bit of men's opinions of You, from these so-called friends of mine & others, but now I know You in a much more personal way through this suffering." What could be better than to know God better? Paul longed for this type of knowledge of God in Philippians 3:10, & he was glad to suffer, even if it meant his death, to get that deeper knowledge. Jesus said that eternal life is to know God & Jesus who God sent.
Recently God in His grace helped us see at least some of why He allowed a tough time in our life awhile ago, & it ended up being so we could experience His grace in a deeper way. Was it worth it? No doubt! Praise the Lord.

Real Thanksgiving

You may or may not be aware of a man who lived over 350 years ago, his name was Martin Rinkart & he was a German pastor who lived through one of the bloodiest times in modern history, what has been called the thirty-years war. The suffering & death that occurred during this time can hardly be described, but as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, pastor Rinkart stayed with his little flock that suffered untold persecution & pain themselves, unto the end. Not long after the war ended & peace came to the war-riddled area, pastor Rinkart left this world & went to be with his Savior. Yet while here, he accomplished more good than we could imagine. One of the most lasting blessings we have from the crucible of suffering brother Rinkart endured is a beautiful Thanksgiving hymn that has quickly become my very favorite, titled Now Thank We All Our God actually written during a time of intense suffering & heartbreak for pastor Rinkart & his people. The weary pastor had been literally performing funerals for his people all day long, & nearly collapsed from the heartache, yet through it all, the Lord brought this beautiful hymn from his heart. If you have the chance, check this beautiful hymn out on YouTube, there is a great version of it played masterfully by Dr. Sean Jackson on the organ. It will be well worth your time. It is amazing how much grace our wonderful Savior can give when we trust Him for it!! A truly joyous Thanksgiving to you all, & may the Lord bless you!

Who's your Quartus?

If you remember, & probably you don't, it's OK really, I posted quite awhile back on a brother in the Lord that Paul briefly mentioned in the 16th chapter of Romans as he was thanking God for those brothers & sisters in the Lord God had used in his life. He said a few things about each one, & when it came to Quartus, all he said was "Quartus, a brother." I said at the time I posted earlier, & I still believe, that Paul simply referred to this dear brother as an encourager to him. I'm reading between the lines, but it seems that Quartus may have been the type of believer & brother in Christ who was just there for you in all types of situations, both good & horrible. Do you have those in your life like this? If you do, thank God for them now. I have been blessed by quite a few, but those that really stand out are my beautiful & Godly bride, & my Dad who led me to Christ many years ago. A couple older & very Godly pastors also come to mind here. I'd love to hear anything on your mind regarding this as well. May the Lord bless you.

What A Position!

I was just thinking of the joy & glory of our position in Christ as believers. We have died to sin, not that we must die to sin, or that we will one day die to sin, but when you & I believed in Christ, & received Him, we were identified with Him, or as the Bible transliterates rather than translates, we were BAPTIZED into His death & resurrection! We have died, in the past with continuing effects, to sin & have risen, again in the past with continuing effects, to new life in Him! Now, that doesn't mean that we'll always live like it, but we can & should! It's like Paul said in Ephesians 5:8, we ARE light in the Lord, now let's walk as children of light! Wow, that's just the tip of the iceberg, but it's amazing just in itself. Let's bask in it & let it translate down into, as that great old Bible teacher, J. Vernon McGee would say, shoe leather! God Bless you all!

The Gospel really IS Great News!

I've meant to post many times but just didn't take the time, but I wanted to just say a few words about the Gospel. It is great news! We often clutter it up, & worse, we alter it, & distort it until it is unrecognizable, & we even turn it into a conglomeration of impossible demands or at best, vague ideas that really mean little or nothing in everyday life. What is the genuine great news of the Gospel? Christ died for our sins, was buried, & rose again, all according to the Scriptures! It wasn't something just made up, it was prophesied from of old!

It is so good, that God says, "Hands off!" We're not to tinker with it but tell it! If we are tempted to tinker, God says we're under a curse until we come to our senses! (See Gal.1:6-9). I don't believe Paul ever wrote when he was any hotter than when he had a few choice words for those who were hoodooing the young Galatian believers! Things haven't changed much today, but when someone who is literally dying for the truth of God's Word finally hears the undiluted Gospel of the Grace of God, they rejoice in its wonder-working power!

OK, I'm done for now, I just wanted to share that with you, because not long ago I shared it with a poor fellow who was literally about ready to call it quits because he knew he was a sinner & hungered & thirsted after salvation, yet all he'd heard was these convoluted man-altered versions of the real thing. He wanted true Biblical grace!! He only found it in the real Gospel in God's Word!! May the Lord bless all of you real good!

Look to Him!

I know I haven't posted in awhile, but I just wanted to drop a quick note about something that is fresh on my mind now. A lot of times, it seems that our flesh, & certainly the enemy of our souls, Satan himself, & even the world-system opposed to God, will influence our thinking, & can discourage us due to it. I know that is my experience now & then. But God is so good, that He has given us great truth in His Word to combat such subtle attacks. Some Scriptures that have been such a blessing & help to me in the battle are Acts 13:38-39 & John 3:14-16. If there is something, anything that seems to be holding you back from a fervent faith in the Lord Jesus, remember what Paul said in the Acts passage we shared, that all that believe in Christ are justified from ALL THINGS, no matter what they are! Jesus Christ died to make you & me right with God no matter what those things might be! Also, as Jesus Himself pointed out to Nicodemus in John 3, just like the rebellious Israelites in the desert looked to that snake on the pole, when we look to Christ who bore our sin, died & then rose victorious, He saves us, period! And as believers, sometimes we need to look to Him again to revitalize that faith! We do that of course through His Word! God is so good! He constantly looks out for us & when we struggle, He is so faithful to point out treasures in His Word that help us just when & where we need it most! I just had to share that with you today!

The Man or the Mansion?

I love the Psalms, & I believe I've mentioned before that my favorite of the Psalms is the 73rd. Asaph, the human writer, had obviously walked with the Lord for many years & was on intimate terms with Him. Because of this, when he hurt, he poured out his hurting heart to his God, & this Psalm is a beautifully poignant example of this. Just this alone is a great lesson to us who know the Lord. It doesn't do us any good to hold our feelings & hurts in, thinking that they might offend our Savior! He knows them already anyway, why hide them from Him?

Oh well, I've gone off in a direction I hadn't planned when I began this particular blog, so let's get back on track. BUT before I do, since I've already headed off on this rabbit trail, let's say that there is a time when we should hold our tongues when in front of others. The 15th verse of this Psalm records Asaph as saying, "If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of Thy children" He seems to be saying that if he just poured out his heart indiscriminately in front of possibly some young believers, he may have caused them to stumble in their own walk with God & he didn't want to do that. This is wise. But he certainly could & should do so with God, which he did. I can certainly recall many times I've gone walking out in the woods or somewhere alone with just me & the Lord, & poured out my heart to Him.

And with this, we begin to ease our way back into what I meant to say from the beginning! The most wondrous portion of this whole powerful Psalm to me is verses 23-26. In this portion Asaph has now worked through all his bitterness & inner turmoil, & his faith is now secure again. He says to God, "Nevertheless I am continually with Thee: Thou hast holden me by my right hand.Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." This is so precious! But let's look especially at that 25th verse: "Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee." Now, no doubt this man had some loved ones with the Lord, as we all do. But I love what he says, even though he undoubtedly is looking forward to seeing them again, he realizes that the only One who really matters is his God. If it were not for Christ, we'd have no hope of Heaven & neither would any of our loved ones, or anyone at all, for that matter. We are right to look forward to the mansions He is preparing for us in Heaven, but Jesus Himself, the Man in the Glory, as Dr. Vernon McGee used to say, is the One who really makes Heaven HEAVEN!

I know there were many other things we could have said, like the difference between Old Testament & New Testament views of Heaven, & the literal meaning of "mansions" & so forth, but I trust this little bit of rambling, actually this whole bunch of rambling means a little something to you! May the Lord bless you all for stopping in!

Commitment

I'm not exactly sure how I want to say what I have in my heart to say, but I'm gonna try nonetheless! One of the glories of knowing Christ is knowing that when I trusted Him, He made a commitment to never cast me out! I know the Bible says, Paul more specifically, that he knew Whom he had believed & that He is able to keep that which he had committed unto Him against that Day. But what did he commit to Him but his eternity? All we can do is just commit it to Him & as Paul said, He is able, & willing I might add, to keep us forever!

But back to the original point. Christ's commitment to keep us forever when we come to Him for salvation brings so much security to my often timid heart! My wonderful bride & myself said from the beginning of our marriage that we were going to make it work & that divorce was not an option. She has put up with far more than I have, but after 23 plus years, we're still together & I truly love her even more today than at the first, & I loved her a truckload then! Truly knowing that commitment is there doesn't make it sterile or wooden, it brings stability! And we're just frail humans! Jesus is LORD! He is so wonderful, I wish I could put into words just how wonderful it is knowing Him. If you don't, all I can do is tell you that He loves you & wants you to come to Him just as you are, as He said in Mt.11:28. He will never cast you out either, as He promised in John 6:37! If you do know Him, you know what I mean when I say how wonderful He is!
Well, I'm gonna close this rambling session with a verse that is becoming more & more dear to me the longer I live & know the Lord. Isaiah 51:6. Here is God's Word to us: "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but My salvation shall be for ever, and My righteousness shall not be abolished."God Bless you for reading!

ALL Things!

Brothers & Sisters,

Welcome to 2011. Yep, just as per usual, I'm almost 2 weeks late, but welcome anyway! I've just been thinking & thanking lately! Thinking about how good God is & then thanking Him for it. A Bible text that I memorized awhile ago has surely come in handy lately! The older I get in the Lord it seems the more I see my need of Him, & there are times brothers & sisters that I just plain see myself as an abject failure in a lot of ways & places in my life. I don't say that to elicit sympathy or to be anything but honest. But then, the Lord in His matchless, infinite grace, as the hymn goes, reminds me of this particular text & my heart soars! OK, what is the text, you ask? Just get to the text! OK, here it is, Paul is speaking in Acts 13:38 & 39, & he says, "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses." I just want to replace that period at the end of verse 39 with 32,994 exclamation points!
There is that little potent phrase in the middle, ALL THINGS! We're justified, made right with God about all things in our lives! Not just some things with the rest for us to take care of, or most things, or everything BUT... No, it is ALL things! If you have trusted Christ as your own Sin-bearer too, but those failures & embarrassments that have been a part of your life come rushing back in, remember this wonderful little text. I can almost see you smiling now, just like I do whenever it comes to mind! May the Lord bless you all!