2 Sides

Hadn't posted in awhile, and I just wanted to share something neat that the Lord helped me see from His Word while trying to help someone see the magnificence of our God's grace in Christ! Our salvation is like a coin, which of course has 2 sides. It is mighty hard to slice a coin in two, and separate the heads from the tails, but even if you could, you can't do that with God's eternal salvation in Christ! The "tails" side is our sins all being forgiven in Him because of His finished work on the cross FOR US! I just love Paul's joyful proclamation in Acts 13:38-39: "Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses."
BUT, the "heads" side of our salvation in Christ is one that many if not most believers are either unaware of or have forgotten, and that is that Christ's righteousness is given to us as a gift! Paul again says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, 21: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new...For He [The Father] hath made Him [The Son] to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." Ain't that wonderful! (Pardon the bad grammar!) Once we believe in Christ and His finished work for us on Calvary, we have this as a forever gift that He will never take back! Wow, I know it's late, but I just had to share that wonderful news with you! No wonder they call it the Gospel, and Paul says we better guard it with our lives! (Gal.1:6-9). God Bless you all real good, and sleep well!

When He Comes

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.

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!

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

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!

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!

What Joy!

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!