Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Saved By Grace Alone



     It is good to remember that we all come to God the same way, and that is by His matchless grace. As believers, we have nothing to boast of in ourselves. We are all simply sinners saved by grace. As the above verse says, we are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from ourselves, it is God's gift. We cannot even boast of having the faith to believe, that also is a gift of God!

     Here are some beautiful thoughts on this subject from today's devotional by John B Marchbanks in Comfort Of The Scriptures.



Comfort of the Scriptures

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

“I am a companion of all them that fear Thee, and of them that keep Thy precepts” (Psa. 119:63).
“Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” “As the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” It is the height of folly to suppose that because one belongs to a certain group or denomination, he is more accepted before God than one who belongs to some other group. Every true believer in Christ has been saved by the grace of God alone, and we are alike “accepted in the Beloved: in whom we have redemption through His blood.” Therefore we are to “minister ... one to another,” “to love one another,” to “bear ... one another’s burdens,” and to “follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.” “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”
We love all those who love the Lord,
Though different they may be,
For they are His, redeemed by blood,
And loved as well as we.
References: Gal. 3:26-28; 1 Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:10; 1 John 4:11; Gal. 6:2; Rom. 14:19; Phil. 2:4.

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Thursday, January 22, 2015

"Keep Pressing On!"



     May the Lord help us and remind us to live each day with the expectation that this might be our last day here! One soon coming day every saint, every blood-bought believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the entire bride of Christ, will be called up out of this scene, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord! Wherefore comfort one another with these words! (from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18) What a glorious hope of assurance every believer has! It could be today!

"So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees." (Hebrews 12:12 NLT)."For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18). "Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." (James 5:8).


Comfort of the Scriptures

Thursday, January 22, 2015

“Little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming” (1 John 2:28).
“He is faithful that promised” that “if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” To be living in the constant expectation of His return, to remember that it is a daily possibility, will serve to mold the Christian’s character and service, to the end “He may stablish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.” For after He comes for us and we stand before the judgment seat of Christ for our rewards, there will be “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints” back to this earth. Now, therefore, “the grace of God” is “teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”
Soon we shall go to meet the Lord;
Perhaps He shall come today,
To call us home to His glory,
Who’ve trusted Him as the way.
References: Heb. 10:23; John 14:3; 1 Thess. 3:13; Titus 2:11-13; 2 Peter 3:14.
From John B. Marchbanks Comfort Of The Scriptures



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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Jesus Is The Christ


     There are some that preach God, but deny that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, that was promised throughout the Old Testament of the Bible. Some might say, as long as we believe in God, everything will be ok, and that it is not that important what we might believe about Jesus. But I want to show, from the word of God, that what we think about Jesus, and who He is, is indeed VERY important!

     The word "Christ" in the new testament (the Greek language), is the same word as "Messiah" in the old testament (the Hebrew language). 



     Some other names given to Jesus from the Old Testament are: God's Servant, Prince Of Peace, Immanuel, which is the same as Emmanuel in Matthew 1:23, meaning  "God with us".

     Here are some verses from the Old Testament foretelling of Jesus:

“The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto Me (God); unto Him ye shall hearken.” Deuteronomy 18:15.

"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks... And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself..." (Jesus willingly came to this world to suffer and be crucified to pay the penalty for our sins.) Daniel 9:25,26.

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6.

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all... Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall my Righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities." Isaiah 53:3-6,10,11.

     Here are some verses from the New Testament connecting Jesus with the Promised One of the Old Testament:

"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: But he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.” 1 John 2:22-26.

“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” 1 John 5:1.

“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: He that believeth not God hath made Him (God) a liar; because he believeth not the record (promise) that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the Name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the Name of the Son of God.” 1 John 5:10-13.

“Let not your heart be troubled: Ye believe in God, believe also in Me… Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: No man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” John 14:1,6.

“And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16.

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Matthew 24:4,5.

“Let no man deceive you with vain words: For because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.” Ephesians 5:6.

“Beware lest any man spoil (deceive) you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of this world, and not after Christ.” Colossians 2:8.

“The woman saith unto Him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: When He is come, He will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He.” John 4:25,26.

“And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” John 6:69.

“And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” Matthew 1:16.

“Then He (Jesus) said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Luke 24:25,26.


Here is a very helpful article that applies very well to this discussion:

What is God’s plan for His people?

God was not suprised by the sin of Adam. 
He always knows everything that will ever happen.
God made everything to show his glory. Part of God’s glory is his great love and forgiveness.
There can be no victory over evil when there is no struggle against sin.
God’s plan has always been to show his power and goodness by rescuing lost sinners.
By defeating evil and changing the hearts of his fallen people, God shows his justice, power, and love.
Way back in Eden, right after Adam sinned, God told that he would send a child to crush Satan.
This promised child was not born for many thousands of years after that promise was made.
The promised child was Jesus.
Jesus is called the Christ. 
Long ago men who were Priests, Prophets, and Kings had oil or water poured over their heads.
They did this in a ceremony when they started their job of serving the people.
It was called “anointing”. It showed everyone that the person had a special job to do for God.
The Old Testament was written in the ancient Hebrew language.
God’s promised child was called the Messiah. It comes from that old Hebrew word.
The word for someone anointed in Hebrew is Meshiakh. In Hebrew is it ﬦשׁיח.
The Hebrew people waited for thousands of years for this Messiah to come.
The New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word for someone anointed is Christos.
In the Greek language the word Christos looks like this: Χριστος.
We take off the Greek ending on the word and it becomes, “Christ”.
So Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, God’s anointed one. He was that child God told Adam and Eve about.
The job Jesus came to do was to pay for the sin and guilt of his people.
When he suffered and died on the cross he died in their place.
God does not just forget about our sins. He came as Jesus Christ to pay for those sins Himself.

     HERE is the link to the above article by Bob Burridge.

     I trust this will be of help to those that might be struggling with the matter of  who Jesus is, and just how important it is to understand clearly, and be not deceived that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Promised One, the Messiah, the King of kings and Lord of lords!

"But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His Name."  John 20:31 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other Name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12.


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Tuesday, January 13, 2015

A Fruitful Christian


     I really enjoyed today's devotional in  , by John B. Marchbanks.


Comfort of the Scriptures

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord (the word of God); and in His law doth he meditate day and night” (Psa. 1:1-2).
The believer who separates himself from all known evil, who heeds God’s admonition to “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God,” and who can truthfully say to the Lord that “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts,” that person will be a fruitful Christian, “like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” For when we delight in and obey the Word of God, we are abiding in Christ, who said, “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love,” and, “He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing.” Our Lord further said, “Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples.”
Would you be fruitful for the Lord,
And show Him forth each day?
So that men might see and want Him,
Who alone is the way?
References: Rom. 12:2; Jer. 15:16; Psa. 1:3; John 15:10,5,8.

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