Weighed in the Balances

"Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting." Daniel 5:27.

     The word wanting means lacking, or deficient. Scripture says "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Hebrews 9:27. This is when everyone who has not received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, will be "weighed in the balances!"

     All of the good works anyone could do, do not tip the scales in your favor, concerning where you will spend eternity. For even one small sin outweighs a lifetime of good works. And Scripture says "For there is none righteous, no, not one... for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:10,13.

     So, on this scale, and at this time of judgement, everyone who has not believed on the Lord Jesus, that He came down to this earth to suffer and die for our sins, and that He alone has paid the price for our sins through His blood, will indeed be found lacking and deficient on the day of judgement.

     Do not be fooled by thinking you can live a good enough life to be seen as clean and righteous in the sight of God. Remember the words that Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6.

     The gospel message is the good news of the free grace of God! None of us are worthy of ourselves to attain God's favor. But the grace of God, through His Son Jesus Christ, is available to any who will call on His Name!

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8,9.

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23.

"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.

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13.

     I pray that any who read this who are trusting in anything else to win favor with God, will seriously consider these words, and put their trust entirely in the Lord Jesus Christ. Confess your sins to Him, acknowledge to Him your need of a Saviour, and trust His word and His promises, and you will be saved. Then you will have the full assurance of knowing your sins are forgiven, and you will have the joy and peace of knowing that you will spend all of eternity in Heaven with the Lord!

Contact information and prayers:

phil.419.a@gmail.com

Jesus Loves You!

Yet There Is Room!

Come! hear the gospel sound-

"Yet there is room!"

It tells to all around-

"Yet there is room!"

Though guilty, now draw near,

Though vile, you need not fear,

With joy you now may hear-

"Yet there is room!"

God's house is filling fast,
"Yet there is room!"
Some guest will be the last,
"Yet there is room!"
Yes! soon salvation's day
To you will pass away,
Then grace no more will say-
"Yet there is room!"

"Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.  And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.  And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled." Luke 14:21-23.

     This is one invitation you do not want to turn down! God Himself is inviting you personally to His banqueting table! There is a seat reserved there with your name on it, just for you! All things are ready at this banquet, there is nothing left for you to do, but to come, just as you are!

     We may not realize this, but we are all poor, crippled, blind and lame when it comes to cleaning ourselves up, and making ourselves worthy of a seat at God's banquet table. Before we come to the Lord, we are all dead in our sins. "We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind." Isaiah 64:6(NLT).

     It does not matter how you are living, or what you have done; there is forgiveness with God. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. The "whosoever" in that verse includes YOU! He is inviting YOU to His banquet table!

     We are now in what is called the day of grace. Grace is the unmerited favor of God towards us. Since we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, none of us can make ourselves clean and pay the penalty for our sin debt. But Jesus, the Son of God, willingly came down to this earth and led a perfect, sinless, holy, life. Then He freely shed His  blood on the cross, and died to pay the debt we could never pay. We are saved by acknowledging to God that we are dead in our sins and on our way to an eternity in Hell, and believing that Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sin. Once we put our faith and trust in Jesus as our Saviour, as unworthy as we are, we are seen as pure, and clean, and righteous in the eyes of God. Because now, when God looks at us, He see's His Son, who is the sacrifice for our sin. This is the grace of God.

     But this day of grace that we are now in, will not last forever. One day, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is going to  come again, and call all believers, all who have trusted Him for their salvation, up into Heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17). This will close the day of grace. That is what the hymn is speaking of when it says:

 Yes! soon salvation's day

To you will pass away,
Then grace no more will say-
"Yet there is room!"

     Also, if you die without trusting Jesus as your Saviour, you will spend eternity separated from God in Hell. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Hebrews 9:27. The judgement spoken of here, is facing God with no sacrifice for your sins. "The wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23a. The death being referred to here is eternal death in Hell.

     I pray that, right now, you will seriously consider these words. This is not bad news, it is declaring to you the good news of the grace of God! Please do not neglect this or put it off for another time. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2. You do not know what day will be your last, and where you will spend eternity is too important to neglect!

     So, back to the banquet table! God loves you so much, He is extending His invitation to you to join Him at His table! Right now you can be adopted into the household of faith and become a child of God. All things are ready, that is, Jesus shed His blood and died for you. Once you receive the free gift of salvation, you are washed, cleansed, and forgiven, and are now worthy to take your seat at His table!

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23.

     As long as we are in the day of grace, "there is room" for YOU!

Contact information and prayers:

phil.419.a@gmail.com

Jesus Loves You!

     

     

     

        

The Rest Of God

From Egypt lately come,

Where death and darkness reign,

We seek our new, our better home,

Where we our rest shall gain:

Hallelujah!

We are on our way to God.

          As God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt at the Red Sea, those that have been born again, by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, have been delivered from an eternity of suffering and darkness in Hell. "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:" Colossians 1:13.

          Though, as believers, we are still in this world, but no longer of this world, now we look and long for our eternal home in Heaven! "And 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." John 14:3.

          By believing on Jesus, we have rest at this present time. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28. We have rest from being under the Law of Moses, and trying to please God by our own good works, which is impossible to do. By grace, our sins are forgiven by the finished work of Jesus. Who shed His precious, sinless blood on Calvarys' cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

          Along with this present rest He has given us, we also look forward to entering the eternal rest of God. "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." Hebrews 4:9.  "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." Revelation 21:1-5.

         Praise the Lord! We, as believers, have such a glorious future ahead of us! Let us not be overcome with worry and stress and fear, but rather be filled with joy and happiness and thankfulness. "We will praise the LORD now and forevermore. Praise the LORD!" Psalm 115:18.

We're marching to Zion,

Beautiful, beautiful Zion;

We're marching upward to Zion,

The beautiful city of God.

          

Contact information and prayers:

phil.419.a@gmail.com

Jesus Loves You!

Perfect Peace!

A mind at perfect peace with God:
Oh, what a word is this!
A sinner reconciled through blood:
This, this indeed is peace!

     The world offers many, many ways to attempt to give us peace. At best they are only temporary measures, and oftentimes the consequences leave us worse off than what we were to start with.

     Jesus said "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27.

     As believers, we can easily be deceived, and seek to find our peace by following after the things of this world. This would include looking inwardly, and trying to find something good in ourselves, rather than looking to Jesus. "Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ." Colossians 2:8 (NLT). "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: " Romans 7:18.

     
By simply following and trusting God, and casting our cares upon Him, we can enter into a peace far above anything this world can offer. The believer knows that whatever may be the trial, Jesus is with us through it, and He will never leave us or forsake us. Even if there are on-going trials that will never end while we are in these bodies, when looked at in the light of eternity, they are but small things. "Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later." Romans 8:18 (NLT).

     I encourage you, as brothers and sisters in Christ, to take advantage of this peace that Christ alone offers you, by trusting and believing His promises. ""And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7.  "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." Isaiah 26:3.


     To those that have not received the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, you too can enjoy this peace. If you are tired and worn down, unable to find hope and peace in what this world offers, there is One who can satisfy your every need. Jesus has made all things ready, and His invitation still stands: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23. "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee." Job 22:21.
    

        

Contact information and prayers:

phil.419.a@gmail.com

Jesus Loves You!

Bearing Fruit

"I am the true vine, and my Father is

the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned... Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit..."   John 15:1-6,8.

     Jesus says "I am the true vine". He also says "I am the way, the truth, and the life". For a believer, the only real, genuine source of life and strength is in Jesus. A vine yields the proper juice and nourishment to all the branches, whether these are large or small. All the nourishment of each branch passes through the main stalk, or the vine, that springs from the earth. So Jesus is the source of all real strength to believers. He is our leader and teacher, and gives to us, the needed grace and strength to bear the fruits of holiness.

     Then Jesus says "My father is the husbandman". This means vine-dresser, or gardener. This means that God gave, or appointed, His Son to be the source of blessings to man; that all grace descends through Him; and that God takes care of all the branches of this vine - that is, of all who are by faith united to the Lord Jesus Christ. God the Father has the deepest interest in, and it is of great importance to Him that His church should receive these blessings and bear much fruit. Being fruitful means honoring God and bringing glory to His name through our lives.

     "Now ye are clean through the word" means the father has chosen to use His word to prune and purify us.

     "Abide in me": Just as a branch will shrivel up and die when it is cut off from the vine, we are helpless to produce fruit for God if we are not abiding in Jesus. He must be our source of strength and wisdom if we are to produce real, lasting fruit.

     "Without me ye can do nothing": We are promised that if we abide in Jesus, and allow His word to cleanse and purify us, we will produce much fruit. Trying to live a good life on our own terms, separate from God, might appear good, but will never produce the real, lasting fruit He wants us to produce!

     "Cast forth as a branch": Again, if we are trying to put on a good outward profession, but inwardly are in rebellion with God, in the eyes of God, all of our so-called good works are good for nothing, and worthy only to be cast into the fire and be burned.

     "Herein is my Father glorified". Just as the purpose of a vine is to produce good fruit, we are saved in order to bring glory to God. And in His word, He gives us an outline of how to do this. Let us not deviate from His instructions, but rather delight in His ways and look forward to hearing Him say " Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Matthew 25:21.


     It is good to consider that for a believer, we can be in rebellion and disobedience to God, and our works will be burned and come to nothing, but this does not affect our salvation. We are saved by His grace, and nothing of ourselves. We may miss out on His rewards and praise, but since our salvation does not depend on us, we can do nothing to lose it. Anyone who has acknowledged their sins to God, and believes that the shed blood of Jesus cleanses
them from their sins, is saved. "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." John 10:28.

     If, however, you have not come to the end of yourself, if you have not acknowledged your need of a Saviour, God's word says you are dead in your sins, and on your way to an eternity in Hell. Do not be so foolish to think that living a good life and outwardly putting on a good show, while inwardly you are refusing to admit you are a sinner in need of salvation, will give you favor in the eyes of God. For "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do."  Hebrews 4:13. 

Contact Information: Email: phil.419.a@gmail.com Twitter: @419Dave Google: +David

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