Hallelujah Tis Done

When He Comes

2012-01-14T01:15:00.000-05:00

Have you ever thought of what it will be like when Jesus returns, and we're in His blessed presence? I know that I almost always think of the fact that I'll see those wonderful Hands with nail-pierces in them, that paid such a dear price for my salvation all because of His great love for me. We who have come to Him as He invites us to, and has given us glorious rest from the tyrannical burden of our sin, we know that it will be a joy beyond description and even the possibility of full expression now when we see Him! We'll run to Him, and rejoice in seeing our Best Friend! I know this because we have Scriptural proof of it. Peter, who sinned as much as any of us, yet he came to know Christ, and even after he had denied his Savior so terribly, as we often do, when he realized Jesus was on the shore after His resurrection, what did he do? Did he run away from Jesus in shame and fear because he had failed his Savior so badly? Let's let the Scripture speak for itself on it. "But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea." (Jn.21:4-7) Peter ran to his Savior! Not long after this, the Lord Jesus in His loving way, allowed Peter to express publicly his genuine love, imperfect as it was, for his Savior, and then He told him to feed His sheep, which he did through his 2 great epistles. Our sins are gone, as the great old hymn sings with joyous abandon, and we need to do as Psalm 107:2 says, let those of us who are redeemed by the Lord, say so!!I'm saying so right now. Maybe you want to as well, then go for it! May the Lord bless you.

Repentance

2011-12-30T22:14:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-25T00:04:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-06T21:20:00.001-05:00

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

2011-11-22T22:12:00.001-05:00

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?

2011-10-25T21:26:00.001-04:00

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!

2011-10-22T00:21:00.000-04:00

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!

2011-10-07T22:43:00.003-04:00

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!

2011-08-26T17:40:00.004-04:00

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?

2011-02-11T19:58:00.003-05:00

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

2011-02-04T00:42:00.003-05:00

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!

2011-01-11T14:58:00.002-05:00

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!

Just Had To Post........

2010-12-14T22:02:00.002-05:00

I don't know, I just needed to post tonight. I know it's been a long time, but i wanted to post a note about the joy of knowing Christ, just in the everyday ins & outs of living. He once said that we should come to Him & He would give us rest! I wonder if you've done that? I did that for the first time about 32 years ago this very week, & my life has not been the same since. Oh, it surely has not been a parade or Sunday School picnic! But it has been a joy! Joy as we know doesn't mean all happiness & giddiness all the time. But it does include a deep sense of His presence even in hurtful & sometimes excruciating pain, & not all of it is physical. This post may be the most convoluted mess you've ever seen! If so, I apologize, but the joy of knowing Christ just bubbled over tonight & I wanted to share it with my friends! His joy is not a feeling only, but that is included. I'll end with this word from the Word! One of my favorite texts! The psalmist Asaph has just come through one of the most horrendous spiritual battles of his life, & God brought him through it. Hey, Asaph, been there, done that, will probably do it again. God will be there then too. Here is our buddy Asaph's words, & God Bless!

"Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Ps.73:23-26)

No Comparison!

2010-09-28T23:21:00.002-04:00

I'm a baseball fan. I'm a Cincinnati Reds fan, & I congratulate them on winning the National League Central championship tonight. As I watched them rightfully celebrate a hard-fought win that caps off a hard-fought season, I couldn't help but think about our meeting with our wonderful Savior one Day! As exciting as this win was for me, it will pale in comparison, in fact there is NO comparison with what it will be like when we see our beloved Savior face to magnificent Face! It is so wonderful to know Him! If you don't, you can, He wants to be your Savior too. As He Himself said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My Word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." (Jn.5:24). May the Lord bless you!

I've Seen the Light!

2010-07-02T21:07:00.002-04:00

There's a grand old hymn that says, "Send the Light, the blessed Gospel light, let it shine from shore to shore. Send the Light, the blessed Gospel light, let it shine forevermore!" I've seen the reality of that once again. While chatting with someone who felt he had to endure in good works to be assured he was saved, it became apparent that this person was becoming more & more in despair, thinking he was hopeless. He wanted to be saved, but saw no changes in his life & concluded he could never be saved. He thought there must be more to receiving salvation than faith in Christ because he thought he believed in Him. He found out that his "belief" was only a general belief that Jesus was in fact God, but he was still thinking he had to get to a certain point of faithfulness to conclude God had saved him. When I was able to show him that the Bible says that salvation is not of works but by trusting in the Lord Jesus alone, he became joyful, seeing the truth that salvation is by faith in Christ alone! Jesus died & rose again to pay for his sins, & though they were many, as it is with us all, he saw that they were all paid for! He was ecstatic & so was I! The LIGHT came on for him! He saw it! I saw it again too! It really "works" when a sin-darkened soul sees the Light of the glorious Gospel of Christ! "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." I trust you've seen it for yourself too!

What Is Our Influence?

2010-04-26T21:54:00.004-04:00

Many if not most know the title of this humble blog is taken from one of the many beautiful hymns of Mr. Philip Bliss, who has come to be my very favorite hymn-writer. The more I know of this humble man of God, the more I appreciate him. Knowing the truth of fallen human nature, I am positive that brother Bliss had his sins & faults, but I have never read of one of them. Most all that I have read about the man was written by those who knew him personally & very closely. I won't go into a whole lot here, except to say that in reading about the funeral service & the days following, it is no exaggeration to say that hundreds came to know the Savior through the Godly influence of this dear brother's short 38 years. I like especially part of what the pastor who preached his funeral said. Roughly, it was that no one should try to answer all the questions that were undoubtedly swirling through friends' & family's minds about why such a vibrant & young man of God's life should be snuffed out so soon & so violently, as the train wreck that killed him & his wife was absolutely horrific & ghastly. There would be no help from thinking that a colossal mistake was made, as the man said, no mistake was made, God cannot make one. As the lives that were touched & changed for Christ through his influence began to add up, the truth of God's grace even in horrific death shines forth & bathes even our darkest fears & doubts in its marvelous light! I'll close this brief post by quoting the apostle Peter, in his 1st Epistle, chapter 2, verses 9 & 10 which describes our salvation experience to a "T": "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." I trust all that read this have come to Christ in simple faith & found these words exceedingly true. If not, why not come today? May the Lord bless you!

The Miracle of Grace

2010-01-27T18:42:00.004-05:00

Jesus said as He prayed, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (Jn.17:3) I recently, just today actually, have begun to recover from a nasty (is there any other kind?) stomach bug, & missed 2 days of work. I rarely miss work, so I know I was sick! But as I was just a few minutes ago thanking the Lord for bringing me through it, I began to think about folks who have illnesses from which they will not recover, barring a miracle from God. That also made me think that the grace of God itself is the greatest miracle of all. Just recently I heard a lady say that she had been diagnosed with inoperable cancer just over a year ago, but that this last year since that diagnosis had been the best year of her life! The reason: she had come to know the Lord better! That brought our verse to mind when Jesus prayed to His Father about what the experience of eternal life is all about! I could just as easily have titled this post, "the miracle that is grace" since there can be no greater miracle.
As I look back over my life, I can recall at least once when we were going through a time that I would not wish upon an enemy, but I also recall the Lord's closeness & peace as almost never before. Sometimes those who don't know God question why or how a supposed as they would say, loving God could allow all the sickness & disaster in the world. Of course, none of us presumes to be able to answer all questions of this nature, & I most certainly do not mean to minimize the pain that people suffer. But we know from God's Word that sin is the reason that pain & suffering & ultimately death have invaded God's once-perfect creation, & that those who know Him through faith in His Son have eternal life in Him. This world & its sin & suffering as well as its delights are not all we have. We have the Lord in our lives to comfort us as we go through it, & also eternal life with Him in Heaven. That is at least part of why the Bible speaks of eternal life not only as in Heaven after we leave this world, but beginning the moment we trust Christ! Those who have neglected or rejected Him only have the here & now, & therefore when they lose it, they lose it all. We as believers in Christ can say with Paul, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Phil.1:21) But no one has to be without Christ! He died for all & therefore for YOU & me! Thank you for letting me get this off my chest! May the Lord bless you all.

Saved Again!

2009-09-18T21:26:00.003-04:00

What in the world kind of heresy is this guy promoting, you ask? Before you deblog me, or take me off your list, please hear me out. I certainly do NOT mean that I or anybody else for that matter has lost their salvation & then regained it! The Holy Spirit has gone out of His Way to make it clear that salvation is eternal. Also, if it were possible to lose it, of course it is not, but for the sake of argument, if it was, then the Bible is also clear that it could never be regained. But all this is for other times. What I mean here, is that the Lord delivered me (saved!) from a very real spiritual battle recently, & this is not the first time He's done this in my life, hence the title! I won't go into the details here, but let's just say that 1 peter 5:8 was in play. I truly felt like I was being swallowed up in fear & dread, the enemy seemingly trying to destroy my faith. Then, a verse I had not thought of in awhile popped into my head, & it was just what I needed! Almost like the Father was right there, & said, "Here is what you need." Of course, I heard no voice, just His word from Isaiah right then when I desperately needed it! In case you are wondering, that verse, or the portion that came to my mind was this: "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him." Then, my mind went over to Rev.12 & the picture of Satan & the woman there, & the flood out of his mouth designed to swallow her up, & the earth helping her by swallowing it up! Again, the contexts of these texts are for another time, but no doubt, the text He brought to my mind just when I needed it fit my situation to a "T" like we say down here in NC! God is so good! He should have thrown me out years ago, but because He is good & faithful & magnificently merciful & gracious, He has not done so (Jn.6:37). I just had to "say so" about my Redeemer's work in my life! (Ps.107:2) How about you?

In Praise of My Savior

2009-08-23T21:32:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to post a few lines to do as the great text in Psalm 107:2 says, "Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy..." I'm "saying so" right here & now! My Savior certainly is patient & kind with me, not giving up on me but rather completing that good work that He began in me the day He saved me! There is nothing good in my flesh, but neither is there in any son of Adam on this green earth! (Ro.7:18). But thankfully our wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ, has shed His precious sinless blood so that we can have eternal salvation & can be washed perfectly clean in an absolutely holy God's searching eyes! There is no doubt that we who are simply trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ & His death on the cross will one day be in glory with Him forever. But, we will be there, not because of anything we have done, but because of what HE has done! (Ti.3:4-7). I just had to post a few lines in praise of my wonderful Savior Jesus Christ because His love is more wonderful than anything in Heaven or earth. If you have come to believe in Him as your Savior, why don't you drop by & just share a few words from your redeemed heart in praise of your Savior as well! I'll be delighted to listen, but far more importantly, so will He. May the Lord bless you.

Remember..........

2009-05-25T09:34:00.003-04:00

I am thankful that this is Memorial Day, a day set aside that we especially remember our fallen heroes who have made it possible for us to sit here in the freedoms we have, to write posts like this, & for you to read them. These were men & women of integrity who loved freedom themselves & were willing to die for it. I cannot even imagine the bravery & character that would cause someone to do that. I thank God for them, I really do, & I know you do too.

Now, that being said, let me say that there is a FAR MORE important remembering that we ought to do, we who are saved by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ from sin & the hell I know I deserve! Paul said it to Timothy, "REMEMBER JESUS CHRIST, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel..." (2 Ti.2:8, NASB; Emphasis Added)

As much integrity & character as these brave men & women posessed, it is only fading leaves compared to the perfect holiness that our Lord Jesus possesses! He is holiness, light & Life! One of my favorite verses, John 17:3, says it so well. Jesus Himself says, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

So, today as we enjoy remembering our fallen heroes who bought our freedom to worship & assemble & speak what we believe, freedoms, by the way, that can be lost, let's thank our God & remember Jesus Christ, who bought our freedom from sin & hell, freedoms that cannot be lost. And, by the way again, if you know Him, praise God! If not, then right now, if you realize your need, believe in Him Who died in your place, taking the penalty that our sins earned us before a holy God & then you can praise Him as your Savior too. May the Lord bless you all.

Christ is Everything!

2009-05-11T21:04:00.004-04:00

I don't know any one particular reason why I wanted to make this post except to publicly express how wonderful it is to have the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior & my very Life! When I look at myself I become very discouraged because I see a sinner who is not really getting much better, but when I look away from myself & see my magnificent Savior, I get joyful again! Some would say that we shouldn't cling to experiences, but though I do not cling to experiences themselves, I get a sense of deep joy when I think on just how my gracious Lord Jesus has blessed my life so many times, & still does.
I may not be blogging as much in the near future, I am just "blogged out" for the time being. I need to spend more time with my wonderful Savior anyway, so I just want to close out this post with a quote from one of my favorite writers, Horatius Bonar. He said, "I am not satisfied with my faith," says one. No, of course you aren't; nor will you ever be; at least I hope not! The Bible does not say, "Therefore being satisfied with our faith we have peace with God;" it says, "being justified by faith, we have peace with God."...Now then, there is but one thing with which Almighty God is satisfied –entirely satisfied –and that is the Person and work of His Son. It is with Christ that we must be satisfied, not with ourselves, nor anything about us! When we cease from ALL our labors, and ALL our righteousness, and ENTER INTO HIS REST, pardon and peace will come without delay." Pardon my grammar, but ain't that great!! It makes me think of our theme song for this blog, "Hallelujah, ’tis done! I believe on the Son; I am saved by the blood of the crucified One." May the Lord bless you all!

The Sense of Sin

2009-04-11T12:08:00.003-04:00

Hey y'all. I just had a thought cross my mind & I wanted to discuss it with you. My wife & I were just discussing a movie that came out a few years ago, & actually this could fit the description of likely 99.9% of all Hollywood offerings in the last 20 or more years. But the main character didn't know who his dad was & his Mom was rather a so-called "free spirit." This of course was portrayed as positive, & sin was seen as a non-existent concept. Keep that thought.

OK, now just recently I was chatting with a very cordial, but adamant, unbeliever. But there's a catch to this person. He used to be evangelical Christian! Unfortunately I fear his number is legion. Anyway, as we chatted, one thing he made clear was that he saw no need to be saved from sin. He was comfortable in his life of unbelief. Unfortunately we were not able to chat long. I hope we can chat more soon. But the point in this post (yes, there actually IS one!) is that these two incidents I believe are intimately related. I recall my own conversion to Christ was largely due to a tremendous sense of sinfulness hanging over me, & in me. It separated me from God, & it seemed to be suffocating. Thankfully soon thereafter I trusted Christ! Matthew 11:28 became gloriously true in my own life! As I've stated before, though I can't pinpoint an actual exact moment that I trusted Christ, I do know that there was that time, because though I'm still FAR from what I ought or even want to be, I still know that Christ is my Savior because I have believed in Him, actually I have grabbed onto Him as a drowning man grabs onto a lifeboat!

Anyway, back to my original point, whatever the factors were that led this man to become comfortable in his unbelief, in my mind anyway, a large part of it almost had to be the influence Hollywood has played in making sin seem irrelevant at least, & nonexistent at most. I know the ultimate source behind it all is Satan (Ep.6:12), but Hollywood is certainly a favorite tool of his. Now, I also take a large part of the blame along with the church as a whole. Yet the ultimate responsibility for the lost person is the lost himself. Oh well, I've started to ramble, & that is my sign to sign off! May the Lord bless you all.

Grace For Me, Law For You

2009-04-10T11:47:00.002-04:00

The Gospel is Good News!! The Great News of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ, the very Son of God Himself, has died for my sin & yours as well, & this being true, He offers us eternal salvation on the sole basis of our belief in Him for that salvation! But, you may also be aware, that there are many who, though they themselves may very well have understood that & received this most wonderful of all gifts freely, yet for whatever reason, the most likely being that it is sinful human nature, they will not offer you this same opportunity! Instead, they add other oppressive requirements, such as turning from all sin, or at least a promise to do so, or maybe a full surrender of every area of your life BEFORE you can be saved by receiving this gift! And dear reader, may I come clean with you? I have been guilty of this same terrible offense myself. I have freely received this most wonderful of all gifts, but there was a time when I also made some of these same requirements for others to receive it. I no longer do, thank God, but I have in the past.
This Good Friday that traditionally has been celebrated by the church as the day Jesus died on the cross for us, let's once again focus on this greatest of all gift-Givers, & His greatest of all gifts that has ever been given to mankind & if you have not received it as of yet but would like to, know that God is at your side waiting to give it freely to you if you will but take it by faith! Don't get me wrong, there will be requirements in order to follow this greatest Person in all time & eternity as your Lord, but you can only begin to do this after you have received His gift of life & His Spirit who comes to indwell you at the moment of faith in Christ! Read John 3:16-18 as well as Revelation 22:17, God's final invitation to you in the Bible, & believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!! May the Lord bless you today & every day!

I Don't Know!

2009-03-21T21:50:00.003-04:00

No, I haven't become an agnostic! But I am compelled to write a brief note here concerning something that at one time in my life was absolutely earthshaking, & I'm not even sure that fully explains the importance it carried in my mind at that time. It was literally a matter of life & death to me. The issue I refer to is knowing the exact time that I was born again. There was a time in my young Christian life in which I had heard that unless a person knows the exact time he or she was saved, that it is very likely the person is not saved! For whatever reason, I uncritically accepted it at that time as truth & feverishly tried to delve into my past (what a waste of time!) to figure out the exact moment so I could have assurance! Talk about a total waste of time & energy, but I spent years, yes I said years, trying to do just that. It literally spent much of my spiritual as well as physical energy. Then, I heard of some very well-known Christians say that they could not point to an exact time, & for a brief moment I experienced a euphoric relief! But, whether it was ingrained habit, or just my rabid introspective nature, I went back to hunting down that elusive exact moment! Then not too long ago, I ran across the teaching ministry of a dear brother who is with the Lord now. His name is Chester, or as he was known, Chet, McCalley. Great Bible expositor. He founded & pastored a Bible Church in Kansas City for nearly or maybe it was over 40 years before his Homegoing. There is a great web site for his teachings in audio format, http://www.wordoftruth.net/. He made a statement that really hit home for me. In a lesson on some Bible truth, I forget what it was now, he made the off-hand statement that he had absolutely no idea when he was born again, & then he made an even more startling statement! He said he was very thankful that he did not know! I thought, "I sure would like to know why you are glad!" Then he told us! I hope any of you fellow strugglers who may be dealing with this will hear what he said next. His reasoning was that he thought if he did have an idea, he would make a "shrine" out of that time, & never move on with the Lord. That is not his exact words, but it is the jist of what he said. It reminds me of the bronze snake Moses had put on the pole for the bitten Israelites to look at in faith & be healed back in Numbers 21 that the people of Israel in later times had made an idol out of & worshipped it! Nehushtan good king Hezekiah called it & then summarily destroyed it! I am not sure but I do think I know my heart well enough that if I did know the exact time, I may almost worship it as well, & never really live in the present & look to the future while walking daily with Christ. I still don't do that anywhere near as much as I would like, but I am learning to trust God with the exact time & just rejoice in His salvation through Christ & hopefully tell as many about it as possible.

Before I end this post, may I say that if you do know the exact date & time, then praise the Lord! You have a great gift as well, & there is certainly nothing wrong with that! Every soul is unique & we have our own needs that God is certainly aware of & sensitive to. He knows how to get our attention & what we need. I just wanted to make that clear before I concluded.

OK, this short note turned into a long one, but I just wanted to share that in case anyone else may be going through something similar. If not, then I guess the Lord knew I just needed to get it off my chest! May the Lord bless you all!

The 1949 Ford

2009-03-06T20:58:00.004-05:00

This post is obviously a little different than most for me. Actually it is a lot different. But, don't run off on me yet! I do plan to bring all this around to a spiritual concept in time. But for now consider this. General Motors & Chrysler are in dire straits financially, especially GM from what I read & hear. GM is said to be in its worst shape in 75 years...75 years! Part of the problem may very well be that these companies are just not producing automobiles that are worth what folk have to pay for them. Let's now go back to 1949. The year my Mom & Dad were married! (Obviously I don't remember it!) Ford was about to go bankrupt. Their post-WW2 cars & trucks (1946-1948) were pretty much the same-old, same-old & folk were just tired of them & weren't buying them. Then came the 1949 Ford. An all-new design, & one that I still say was way ahead of its time, just like Chuck Jones' animation in cartoons! All of a sudden, Ford was back in business! They were producing a car once again that people wanted. So, they sold like hotcakes. My point is that if GM is to survive, & I really would like for them to, my heart still skips a beat whenever I see a 1957 Bel-Air, they need to do the same thing Ford did in 1949, start making a product that folks want to buy once again, one that is at least in enough people's minds worth the purchase price.
Now, to move this up to a spiritual plane. Jesus said to let our light so shine that folk would see it & glorify our Father in Heaven (Mt.5:16). But before that He said we are the salt of the earth, & one thing salt does is to create thirst. Our lives ought to create a thirst in folks for the Living Water that we have & offer! We are not offering them a life of drudgery & pain, & that if they sweat & work hard enough, they might make it. We are offering them eternal life as a gift, bought & paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22:17!
We are offering the very Best in Heaven & earth, time & eternity! But, if we do not let Him shine through us, then as He said, we are like the salt that loses its saltness, it's only good to be thrown out & trampled on, like Jesus implied in John 15:6.
Oh well, this post may be a big disjointed mess, but it was like Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street when young Marvin was being used by a shifty so-called psychiatrist for his selfish ends, & Kris said to Marvin, Something just popped into my head & I'm going to SAY it! May the Lord bless you all.

What Can Suffering Do?

2009-01-17T16:37:00.004-05:00

A tremendous little-known OT Minor Prophet, Zephaniah, has made an amazing statement concerning suffering, & it is in the context of the future Great Tribulation to come on the earth, before Christ's glorious Millennial Reign! In chapter 3, verse 12 of his prophecy, Zephaniah prophesies, "I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD."
Have you ever faced the question, often posed by those outside of the Faith, of why God allows some to have all or more than they need, while seeminly He allows others to suffer terribly without His apparent care? Some have actually used this seeming inequity of life to blame God & walk away from Him rather than to trust Him as the righteous Judge of all the earth to do right. This verse may have at least a partial answer for this tough question. Certainly we will not adequately answer this question on this humble blog! But I believe we can gain some valuable insight into it through this great Bible text. What if one actually did suffer the loss of everything he had in this world, but it caused him to finally see his need of a Savior, & he trusted in Christ? Certainly this is a worthy trade, though it is not a trade at all! Paul helps us to see the truth of this when he says, "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ..." (Phil.3:7f, NKJV, emphasis added)
Granted, suffering does not cause everyone to turn to Christ in faith, but it does for some! I suppose finally we must say along with Paul again, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (Ro.11:33) Some may still try to use the suffering in the world as an excuse to run from God & deny Him now, but it could actually turn out to be our friend if we allow it to draw us nearer to Him. Nothing could be better than to be nearer to Him. Thoughts?

So Amazingly Simple!

2008-12-21T14:45:00.005-05:00

This CHRISTmas, I have been thinking about our wondrous Salvation Story & the amazing simplicity of it all! Paul did say that there is wonderful simplicity in Christ, & that if we are not careful, the enemy of our souls will distort that glorious reality in our lives. He said to the Corinthian believers: "But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." (2 Co.11:3, NKJV) How tragic when the Lord Jesus Christ has done it all for us that so many believe they must do something or go somewhere, or in some way earn their salvation. I was thinking recently that though I know myself all too well, since I have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, there is no way that I can be lost! What joy that brings me in this CHRISTmas season!

A magnificent verse of Scripture that recently came alive to me is Isaiah 51:6 that says, "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." About the only thing that will last is our salvation in Christ! It is not tainted by sin! I cannot earn it, or participate in it in any way except to simply receive it by faith! God is so good, & I trust that everyone reading this has received their eternal salvation by faith in Christ as well! May the Lord bless you & Merry CHRISTmas!

Orchestrated Or Allowed?

2008-12-05T20:40:00.003-05:00

Brothers & Sisters in Christ, I must share an insight that a sister in Christ shared in a post on another great blog, in which she was simply making a passing statement, but God used it to throw light on a subject that I've begun to be more clear on recently, but this just opened the flood-lights on it for me! She was mentioning about how our Lord either orchestrates or allows everything to His glory! The thought then came to me, & most of you are probably going "DUH! We've known this for years!" Yes, I have too, but this just made it so clear I wanted to shout! OK, continuing!! The thought came that those things that are according to the holy character of our Lord, He orchestrates, examples being creation, & salvation through Christ. Both of these momentous events are according to & commensurate with His holy character & all of His perfectly harmonized attributes, so He orchestrated them! An example of something that He allowed is sin to come into the world & mar His wonderful creation, because it is definitely AGAINST His holy character & attributes, so He would never orchestrate such a thing, though He knew it would occur. He only allowed it, since ultimately He can use even this awful thing to His glory & our good, the ultimate example of this being the CROSS!!! Amen & Amen, thank You Lord Jesus! What are some of your thoughts? May the Lord bless you all!

All CHRISTian CHRISTmas Music

2008-12-01T11:15:00.004-05:00

OK, here's my first shameless plug as a blogger! But it is only shameless because I don't believe there's any need to be ashamed of what it is about!

If you love Christmas music that exalts the Savior, then I believe you will love the Christimas music that the Bible Broadcasting Network (BBN) is playing beginning today & going all the way through the month of December. BBN is found online at bbnradio.org. BBN is heard in 8 languages, including of course, English. You may also want to listen to some of the other languages' music as well, especially the German! You can choose your language to listen to as you access the BBN Radio web page.
You may live in an area in which you can receive a radio signal for a BBN station. If not you can listen online. I must say it is the most beautiful music this side of Heaven! I truly pray that you have the best CHRISTmas ever!

God is so Good.

2008-11-28T10:53:00.003-05:00

As I was thinking a moment ago, it just hit me that if we as believers sense that we have drifted from the Lord through neglect, or even outright sin in our lives, we don't have to seek to do some type of penance, or hope that we can be eloquent enough in a prayer to turn God's head back toward us. In fact, we don't have to necessarily do anything. I remember reading a great sermon by a great Bible preacher of the past, Dr. John R. Rice, entitled simply The Backslider. In that message, he had about 5 points, including such great topics as Is the Backslider saved or lost, What is a Backslider, & the like. Yet the very best part is the last which is simply How to Get Back into Full Fellowship with God or something on that order. It was the shortest & simplest portion of that powerful sermon, & it conveyed all that the believer needs to do to return to fellowship with God. Dr. Rice said that the believer only needs to return in his heart to the Lord & cry out in the genuine sorrow of his heart that he wants back in fellowship & like the Prodigal Son who just took that first step back toward Home, the Father does the rest!
During this Thanksgiving Season, I believe one of the greatest blessings that we, believer or unbeliever, has for which to thank God is that, as a newfound blogger said, God is for us! We don't have to somehow make God aware of our desire to turn toward Him, we need to just do it! If we're wanting to come to Him, or return to fellowship with Him as believers, we can know without a doubt that it is only because our gracious, loving God has first been seeking us!
The lost person can believe in Christ as Savior & we believers can turn back to our Savior in just an instant of time! So, I was just thinking, God is so good! What do you think? May the Lord bless you all!

Isaiah 57:1

2008-11-15T13:25:00.005-05:00

"The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come."

Have you known a Godly & Christlike person that was taken in death at a rather young age, & wondered about it? My very best friend was one of the Godliest men I've ever known, who loved & served the Lord all his Christian life. He died doing that very thing at a youth event at his church, of a heart attack at 42. My wife's very good friend, & a Godly pastor who I came to love & respect greatly, died on Christmas Day, 2003 at 40. I am sure all of you could multiply the examples exponentially. I must admit, the thought as to "why" did cross my mind, yet I must also honestly say, though I am far from a mature spiritual giant, I have been walking with the blessed Lord long enough to know His reasons are always best though I rarely see the "whys" & "wherefores" at the time.
As I read this verse recently, I wondered if maybe this explains at least part of the "why." I know it is specifically directled to Israel & therefore is not a direct answer to why Godly believers die young today. Yet it is interesting to me, & at least a possibility. But this also raises another question: Why NOT me? I am thankful I still have time to serve my loving Savior & also time to repent of the myriad sins & blunders I make every millisecond as well! Yet I must say that I wonder more at why I am left to keep serving my Savior while much more Christlike & gifted brothers & sisters are taken all around.
Maybe part of the answer is also found in the death of Robert Murray McCheyne's young brother. Dear, Godly pastor McCheyne, who died at 29 himself in 1843, was saved at age 16 due in part to the influence his own brother's death played in his life, helping him realize the brevity of life & his need to have the Savior as his own. Maybe the Lord can use the death of Godly people to open the eyes of the rest of us so we can draw closer to our wonderful Lord & get the correct perspective on life. Who knows, but God Himself? I do know that He is absolute Love & only does what is ultimately best in all situations whether I understand it or not. I appreciate all of your patience in reading this! I look forward to your thoughtful responses. My blog readers are the best! God Bless you all.

When We Can't Pray

2008-10-25T10:40:00.003-04:00

"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Ro.8:26-28, NKJV)

Has there ever been a time when you just felt a great urge to pray, but didn't know how to express it, or as strange as it may sound, what to even express? I can remember a few times, when I just lifted up a grunt, or groan toward the Lord, because the pain & confusion was just too heavy & thick to say anything. I have a strong suspicion that I am not the only one. Well, one of the many benefits (Ps.103:1-5) of being a child of God is that this is enough, when we just cannot express our prayer needs. Our Father knows our needs, & our hearts. He also knows how to supply those needs in such a way that we'll receive them.
I used to think that verse 28 was a new thought after the verses before it, but they are perfectly interrelated! God knows that sometimes it is only severe trials & testings that will get us on our knees so to speak, & it is then that He can use those hard things He lovingly allows into our lives to all work together for good! Not that they are good, but they work together for our good!
Notice however this only works for those called by Him & who love Him. This of course are His children in fellowship with Him! All can be His children if they'll just trust in Christ as Savior, then this magnificent promise is good for you as well! I trust the Lord will use His precious Word in your life today!

Our Brother..........

2008-10-14T22:16:00.003-04:00

"Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church here, greets you. So do Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus." (Rom.16:23, Amplified Bible).

Paul was naming some special people God had used in his life in this tremendous final chapter of Romans, & he had said something specific about just about all of them, & then comes this man, Quartus. As far as I know, he is only mentioned this one time in all the Bible. The KJV simply says of him, "...& Quartus a brother." Some other translations of the Scriptures have Paul saying of him, "...Quartus the brother..." & the like. I am probably making far more out of this than is actually in the text, but something really neat just seems to be in Paul's mind as he mentions this brother in the Lord. Under divine inspiration, he doubtless had a good reason to include Quartus in this special list, & also to describe him in such simply sublime terms. I envision a humble believer who was just there for you if you had a need, & was so in tune with his Savior that he just radiated the joy of the Lord. I may be way off-base, but I don't think so. Paul had made the amazing yet true statement that without a single automobile or Internet or airplane, the Gospel had spread all over the then-known world! (see Col.1:23b) No doubt it was through the Spirit of Christ working through quiet, unassuming brothers & sisters who gladly presented their entire beings to the One who died for them & rose again. Oh, brothers & sisters, I'd like to be a brother like ol' Quartus, wouldn't you?
Thoughts?

Psalm 27:8

2008-10-11T19:10:00.000-04:00

"When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek."

What a precious text of Scripture! Certainly this reveals the intimate & loving communion between a believer abiding in fellowship with the Lord & the Lord Himself. This entire Psalm, as so many in the Psalter, reveals this beautiful closeness that the Lord so desires from us.
You know, I was looking over the Book of Acts this week, & a great Bible teacher now with the Lord, Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, made a tremendous point in connection with the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, & the Lord's faithful disciple, Ananias (not Sapphira's infamous husband!). As the Lord directed Ananias to go & lay hands on the freshly converted Saul, Ananias understandably balked at first! His response is almost funny! "Lord! Don't You know all the bad things this fellow has done, & that he came here to keep on doing those awful things..." Certainly this is a very rough paraphrase, but the point is clear! Ananias felt comfortable being very open & candid with the Lord, obviously something he was in the habit of doing. Dr. Morgan pointed out that the supernatural simply seemed natural to these early believers! The point is, that they were completely at home with the Lord! The reverse was also true...He was at home in their hearts & lives as well! Isn't that what Paul meant when he said what he did in Ephesians 3:17? Listen to the Amplified version of that text: "May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love..." Now we know that once we trust in Christ for eternal life, that positionally we are in Him forever, but in our everyday lives, the Lord wants to do what Paul said in Ephesians 3:17, & what He was doing in Ananias' heart in Acts 9! The Lord desires much more than we do, even at our best moments, to be in intimate, close fellowship with us! This is encouraging, yet also sobering, to think how many times I have left my wonderful Savior desiring much closer fellowship with me while I went off to do some pointless thing in light of eternity...
Anyway, I'm not really sure what my reaon for posting this was, but I do know that we as believers can be as close to the Lord as we want to be, since He has made every effort & put everything in place for it to be so! Let's be like David when he said, "When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek." May the Lord bless you all!

Psalm 116:15

2008-09-13T19:27:00.000-04:00

Precious in the sight of the LORD
Is the death of His saints. (NKJV)

I have wondered just what this means that the death of His saints is precious to the Lord? I know the Lord cares about everything in our lives, but a thought recently came to me about this that I would like some feedback on from the fine folks that drop in to this blog from time to time. Do you think it is possible that this may mean, at least in part, that it is especially precious to Him when each of His sons & daughters comes Home to Heaven with Him? Certainly there is far more than this, but do you think this could at least be a part of what this precious promise means?
AND, on top of that, if this is true, then for us to persevere in faithfulness to the end of our lives & to have an abundant entrance into His Kingdom & presence (2 Pe.1:10-11) brings even more joy to HIS holy heart?? So, our faithfulness being rewarded at the Bema seat of Christ not only brings joy to US, but also to HIM?? Just a thought, & I am looking forward to your thoughts as well!! May the Lord bless you all!

Psalm 84

2008-08-04T21:28:00.000-04:00

This Psalm has always been among my favorites, but lately the Lord is making it even dearer to my heart. I've been listening to some teaching on this Psalm from the late Bible preacher & teacher, Dr. Ray Stedman, & it has certainly blessed my heart, & I wanted to share a snippet with you. This Psalm of course concerns the OT saint who greatly desires fellowship with God in the physical Jewish Temple. Yet they also knew that God was much bigger than the Temple & only in His grace did He choose to meet with them there. (1 Ki.8:27)
Dr. Stedman made the analogy of the OT Temple representing the believer's physical body today & how that the Holy Spirit of God dwells in us today! (1 Co.6:19-20). So, this Psalm is actually presenting the joys of fellowship with God in daily life for the believer! I especially like what he says concerning vv.5-6!
"Happy are the people whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a source of springwater; even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings." (HCSB) Only when we realize that our strength is only in God are we able to really enjoy life with God. He then related a true story that had happened that week, keeping in mind that Dr. Stedman went Home to be with the Lord in 1992. He said that a young man who was struggling with some great personal problems was under a great cloud of depression. He came to visit Dr. Stedman's church, & Dr. Jack Mitchell, also now with the Lord, was preaching a message uplifting the grace & forgiveness of God in Christ. At the end of the message someone overheard him say to a friend, "Oh, what a load of guilt has been lifted from my heart today!" This young man was so enthralled by Dr. Mitchell's message that he returned again that night for more. He made an appointment to speak further with an associate pastor, Dave Roper, about his problems & new hope in Christ. They were enjoying their talk together in the car while stopped at a red light. When the light turned green, a moving van ran the light & plowed into the car, instantly killing the boy, but hardly scratching brother Roper. They were all greatly stunned & saddened by this, since they were praying for him at that very time, but also they were thankful that the Lord had used Dr. Mitchell to make his valley of Weeping (Baca) a spring for God to bless him before he left this world! The Psalmist went on to pray in v.8 for God to make him that kind of man, & I so want that as well. But you know, I must admit to all of you dear brothers & sisters in Christ, that sometimes I fear what is necessary to make me like that. I want to be a blessing, but so often I don't want to experience what is necessary for it to come to pass.
Thanks for your prayers & for taking the time to read my ramblings! May the Lord bless you all as you serve Him today!

What Joy!

2008-07-12T21:33:00.000-04:00

I don't know about y'all, but I have had a tendency since my earliest remembrance of being introspective. I don't mean just sort of , but to the point of almost making myself crazy. Well, you can imagine that in the matter of salvation, this can become very discouraging. But I want to say with joy in my heart that even in the midst of all my introspective questions that to this day pop up in my mind, the way to send them packing is to remember the wonderful promises of God to the believer in Christ! Some that clear out the doubts & fears in my heart are John 6:47, Matthew 11:28, Ephesians 2:8-9 along with Titus 3:5-7 among some others like Acts 13:38-39. Now I still struggle with living the Christian life quite often, but my wonderful Savior Whose Spirit lives in me helps me in that matter as well! Isn't it a joy above all others to belong to the Savior Who loves us so? I trust you all who are reading this have placed your trust in Him as well. If you have not, you can do that right now! He died for you! He rose again & wants more than anything to save you if you will but trust Him to do it! Thank you for letting me share this joy with you!

The Beauty of Grace!

2008-06-15T16:47:00.000-04:00

Today is Father's day. I am not a father, but I am so thankful for the ones that I have! Wait a minute!! The ones?? Yes, & I know that most if not all of you know that I mean both my earthly, & as thankful as I am for him, even more so my Heavenly One that my earthly one helped me find by introducing me to His Son Jesus Christ many years ago!! My earthy dad has always been such a wonderful, consistent witness for his Heavenly Father that it is likely best that I am not a father myself. If I was, I would definitely not be anywhere near the father that my Dad is!

But you know, this brings up an interesting point. I wonder if any of you have ever struggled with wondering exactly when your date of conversion to Christ was? I used to just worry myself silly over this! Strange as it seems to me now, this was once a life-or-death struggle. I had heard evangelists say such things as if you did not know when you were saved that you likely were not! I now know, & I unashamedly thank men like Bob Wilkin & others at GES, for helping me see, it is not so important to know when one was saved as to know that one is saved now. Thankfully I do know that. I also wonder if any of you have ever been so infatuated with having a conversion story that you even embellished the one you have to make it more "thrilling"?

Brothers & sisters, I am so thankful for God's grace in Jesus Christ! He has given me a wonderful wife who loves me & Him, & most of all He has given me eternal life in Christ! There is nothing in this world like knowing Christ & having the assurance of Heaven! OK, I'll stop rambling. Happy Father's Day!

Number 21

2008-05-16T21:34:00.000-04:00

Today is our 21st anniversary as husband & wife. My wife is a gem. She almost decided at our first meeting, a blind date, to just let me go my way, but thankfully, changed her mind at the last! I was away from the Lord at the time, though in seminary, & she helped me draw back into fellowship with Him. Thank the Lord for a good, Godly wife. May the Lord bless you all.

Psalm 107

2008-05-02T21:23:00.000-04:00

"For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." v.9. How true this is! This entire Psalm is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I can certainly remember the emptiness of being lost & how the Lord has often made the truth of this verse a reality in my own life. Of course I know that I am saved whether I sense His presence or not, but this truth is so sweet that I just had to share it with my blog brothers & sisters! Any comments? God Bless.

Psalm 73

2008-04-02T21:37:00.000-04:00

This is my favorite Psalm for many reasons. I may go into some or all of these reasons in subsequent posts, or possibly in responses to this post.

Do any of you have a "favorite Psalm?" If so, what might it be & why? I love the Psalms, mainly because Christ is so clearly presented in so many of them! Looking forward to your insightful & delightful responses!

You're Asking For It!!

2008-03-21T15:22:00.001-04:00

Here is a direct quote from Luis C. Rodriguez in the Foreword to Bro. Zane Hodges' book, Absolutely Free: "The gift of eternal life was received just by asking for it!" As far as I can remember, I never read anywhere in that entire book where bro. Hodges ever mentioned that one should be"asking for" eternal life in order to receive it. May I say right here & now that I do not have a problem with the phrase, or the concept for that matter. But I have heard from free grace people before that asking for eternal life can be dangerous since a person may not actually believe Jesus will give it to him, though he asks for it. I trust that I am not being nitpicky, I just wanted some feedback from you all about this. It seemed especially ironic that this phrase came in the foreword to this particular book! OK, I'll be looking forward to what you folks have to say regarding this! May the Lord bless you.

In Christ!

2008-03-09T21:28:00.000-04:00

News Flash! Colossians 2:9-10 comes immediately after Colossians 2:8! I never was very good at Math, but I figured that one out right away! Seriously, these verses just overflow with meaning today, as always, but seemingly it is more clearly seen at least to me to day than ever!
May I just post these tremendous verses for us here: "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power." (NKJV)
WOW! Verse 8 is so indicative of the world today! There are so many false teachings & teachers who are actively seeking to take us captive that we just can't imagine! It reminds me of a Far Side cartoon I once saw where a camper lay sleeping in his sleeping bag with hundreds of rattlesnakes gathered all around him. One rattlesnake said to the rest, "OK, when I give the signal, let's all rattle!" The false teachers are like those rattlesnakes in more ways than one! The Holy Spirit through Paul wants to warn us of this far greater danger than even a pile of poisonous rattlers gathered all around us! But the Answer is infintely greater than the problem! Verses 9-10 gives us our hope!! Christ is God in bodily form, & we as believers are complete in HIM!! Check out how Dr. Ron Merryman translates this verse: "...and you keep on being having been completed in Him with abiding results." That makes me just want to shout! Who needs all this purpose drivel when we have the once-for-all truth?!! I hope being reminded of this truth makes your day just as much as it did mine today! May the Lord bless you as you serve Him this day!

HCSB

2008-02-14T20:23:00.001-05:00

I love the King James Bible. I was saved before I hardly knew there were other translations out there! I grew up on it, & will likely always use it in study & preaching. But I must admit that I also really appreciate the NKJV & the NASB. While I will likely never move away from using the old KJV for my primary study Bible, I have really begun to appreciate the HCSB, or Holman Christian Standard Bible lately. I am not a Greek scholar, & certainly not Hebrew, but I really like it's readability, & it sure seems accurate acording to what I have read & studied of the Greek & Hebrew under good conservative scholars past & present. But I must say that what truly turned me around to begin looking seriously at it was when I realized that good ol' Dr. Art Farstad who is now with the Lord, was one of the men who was in on the ground floor of the translation project. I really appreciated Dr. Farstad & am looking forward to meeting him in Heaven. Have any of you out there had any dealings with the HCSB & if so, what is your thoughts on the matter? I appreciate any & all comments. May the Lord bless you all.

I'm Not MAD but I like MAD People!

2008-01-12T14:38:00.000-05:00

What in the world has happened? Has a 2X4 slammed me on the haid? Nope, I'm referring to MAD people, or people who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior & are Mid-Acts Dispensationalists. They believe that the church did NOT begin at Acts 2, but sometime later, though as far as I know there is no absolute consensus in the group at the particular time that the church DID begin. But a main belief of MAD as I am aware is that water baptism is not for this dispensation. Personally I have yet to see enough Biblical substantiation to MAD to embrace it myself, but appreciate the folks I have met from that "camp." As far as I can tell they are grace-oriented believers & are very gracious.
I post this so that if there are any adherents to MAD, or other believers who have knowledge to share about them or just want to say howdy, please join in! God Bless you all in Jesus' Name!

My First Tagging!

2007-12-27T20:36:00.000-05:00

Bro. Ender over at his blog, Absolutely Free Grace has tagged me to tell 7 things about myself that hardly anyone knows, That should be exceedingly easy since not too many folk in the blogosphere knows me anyhow! But for the sake of fun & good cheer, here goes!

1) My sweet wife & I got married exactly 2 years to the minute from when we first met!

2) I barely know how to drive a manual transmissioned car, & would be fearful of driving one, especially in the mountains!

3) I cannot swim. In fact, I have a terrible fear of water!

4) I used to chew tobacco (MANY years ago! The Lord helped me quit that disgusting habit, though!)

5) I enjoy whistling!

6) I've never torn a car down, & then taken the parts & rebuilt it inside of a building!

7) I despise mathematics & am teriible at it!

OK, Hallelujah, 'Tis Done!

Now I'm tagging these distinguished bloggers: (sorry, I don't know how to link to these!)

1) Jack, or ExPreacherman over at http://expreacherman.wordpress.com/

2) TJ, or Liver & Onions, over at http://liver-and-onions.blogspot.com/

3) John, or The Earnest Contender, over at http://earnestcontender.blogspot.com/

This is fun! God Bless.

Moving Heaven & Earth

2007-12-25T14:27:00.000-05:00

It is evident that God wants people to be saved. He literally moved Heaven & earth to get everyone in place for His Son's coming into the world to be the Savior. He moved Heaven by creating a special star to point anyone interested to follow it to the Savior Himself! (Mt.2:1-12) Only some wise men took Him up on it, as far as we know. But it was there for all to see & follow anyway.
He moved the earth by having Caesar Augustus to force everyone to the place of their birth to register for a tax (Lk.2:1ff) This of course brought Mary & Joseph to Bethlehem Ephratra so Jesus could be born at the correct place according to ancient prophecy (Mi.5:2). He still does the same thing today. Those of us who are saved, He was willing to bring about some amazing occurrences to get the Gospel to us so that we could hear it, believe it & be saved! If you are not saved today, consider what God has done to save you. It is truly amazing. If you will just consider the evidence, you will begin to see just how God loves you & wants to save, not just a mass of people, but you, personally. Those of us who are saved, let's never lose the wonder of it all. God Bless & Merry CHRISTmas!

Who are the Fearful?

2007-12-04T21:35:00.000-05:00

Revelation 21:8 in the KJV says, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

My question is, who is "the fearful" at the beginning of the verse referring to? I don't think I've ever heard any Bible teachers comment on this. I know most modern translations render this as "cowards" or the "cowardly." Dr. Bob Wilkin I think does a great job of dealing with this awesome verse at the GES web site here: http://www.faithalone.org/news/y1993/93sep3.html
But I'd still like to hear what my brothers & sisters in Christ here have to say about this. Thank you for any insight. May the Lord bless you!

What Balaam Saw!

2007-11-18T22:12:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking about old Balaam in the Book of Numbers today. In that tremendous prophecy of Christ seen by old Balaam, he said this: "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult." (Nu.24:17, NKJV)
Isn't that amazing! Even old pagan Balaam could "see" our magnificent Lord Jesus Christ from way back across the centuries! But something stands out to me when I read this. Balaam had to say that he saw Him, but not near & not now. But we believers today can say that He is near to us, & we can "behold" Him right now without a second's delay! Whatever our need or joy, we can take it to the Lord right now, & He is near! We are so blessed in this age! But, blessings also bring responsibilities. At the Bema of Christ, we will give account of all the times that we tried to make it on our own rather than go to Him & let Him handle our lives. If old Balaalm could "see" Christ way off, then let's go to our dear Savior now & spend some quality time with Him just enjoying His blessed presence! God Bless you all who come here.

A Good Wife Is A Good Thing!

2007-11-10T15:22:00.000-05:00

In just a few short days the 2nd greatest gift of God to me is about to have a physical birthday! Of course you know that I am differentiating the physical from the spiritual birthday we experienced at the moment of faith in Christ for salvation!
But as I was thinking about my precious wife, I think about God's grace as well. When we met we were both already saved, but I was at a spiritual low point in my life, though I probably would not have admitted it at the time! I was a very carnal believer. Up one minute, down the next. Also, I was living so much like the world-system, I could barely have been noticed as a believer. Yet my wife accepted me. Now, let me also add that she has been a wonderful help in bringing me back to a closer walk with the Lord. I give the Lord Himself the number one credit for that, with my wife 2nd, & then good ol' Dr. J. Vernon McGee as 3rd! I had never heard him nor of him, until on the radio one day I came across this "funny" voiced preacher who offended me at 1st! Remember I was living a less than stellar Christian life at the time! But as I continued to listen to Dr. McGee & also my wife was influencing me, the Lord led me back to a closer walk with Himself. But, oh me! I came kicking & screaming a lot of the way & thereby caused myself & those around me some pain! But my wife has continued to be so gracious. When I absolutely blow it, she is always loving & merciful as well as gracious to me. I am thankful for her!! Thank the Lord for those who have either been influential in leading you to Christ or in the case of my wife, back to a closer walk with Him!

Hallelujah! 'Tis Done!

2007-11-06T21:33:00.000-05:00

Hallelujah! "Tis done.
I believe in the Son.
I am saved by the blood
Of the crucified One!

These are some beautiful words to a great hymn by Philip Paul Bliss (1838-1876). It beautifully reflects my beliefs as a Christian. This site is here for us to just talk & enjoy one another's company. All are welcome, believers in Christ as Savior or not, though believers will likely have the closest fellowship here. From time to time I hope to share some insights & just the joys of fellowship with God through Christ in my life. I hope you will feel free to share yours as well. If you do not yet know Christ as Savior, let me invite you to do as the 2nd line in the hymn says, believe in, rely on, put your trust in the Son of God, Jesus Christ & you too can have the absolute assurance that you are saved from a holy God's just wrath against our sin! Hallelujah! 'Tis Done! Jesus said, "It is FINISHED!" May the Lord bless you all who come this way.