Just sharing.

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“Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?”

Luke 24:38

“Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest O Israel, my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?” The Lord cares for all things, and the meanest creatures share in his universal providence, but his particular providence is over his saints. “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him.” “Precious shall their blood be in his sight.” “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose.”

Let the fact that, while he is the Savior of all men, he is specially the Savior of them that believe, cheer and comfort you. You are his peculiar care; his regal treasure which he guards as the apple of his eye; his vineyard over which he watches day and night. “The very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Let the thought of his special love to you be a spiritual pain-killer, a dear quietus to your woe: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” God says that as much to you as to any saint of old. “Fear not, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” We lose much consolation by the habit of reading his promises for the whole church, instead of taking them directly home to ourselves.

Believer, grasp the divine word with a personal, appropriating faith. Think that you hear Jesus say, “I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.” Think you see him walking on the waters of thy trouble, for he is there, and he is saying, “Fear not, it is I; be not afraid.” Oh, those sweet words of Christ! May the Holy Ghost make you feel them as spoken to you; forget others for awhile — accept the voice of Jesus as addressed to you, and say, “Jesus whispers consolation; I cannot refuse it; I will sit under his shadow with great delight.”

 

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The Land of Comfort
====================

I was counseling a member of the church.

They were explaining how their diligence in doing what God said
had made a major turnaround. They were attributing it to one
thing after another, but I noticed turnaround started exactly at
the point when they lost their job.

Often during our periods of comfort and security, we abide in
our strength and wisdom. When that security is removed then we
pray like we never have before, we listen to the messages like
we never have before, we change like we never have before.

As painful as it is,

...sometimes we can’t be reached in the land of comfort.

 

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He will be our light! Christ is Coming Again! The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22:3-5 NIV __________________ Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:9,13 KJV __________________ How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant. Hebrews 9:14,15 RSV __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.”

John 16:15

There are times when all the promises and doctrines of the Bible are of no avail, unless a gracious hand shall apply them to us. We are thirsty, but too faint to crawl to the water-brook. When a soldier is wounded in battle it is of little use for him to know that there are those at the hospital who can bind up his wounds, and medicines there to ease all the pains which he now suffers: what he needs is to be carried thither, and to have the remedies applied. It is thus with our souls, and to meet this need there is one, even the Spirit of truth, who takes of the things of Jesus, and applies them to us.

Think not that Christ hath placed his joys on heavenly shelves that we may climb up to them for ourselves, but he draws near, and sheds his peace abroad in our hearts. O Christian, if thou art to-night laboring under deep distresses, thy Father does not give thee promises and then leave thee to draw them up from the Word like buckets from a well, but the promises he has written in the Word he will write anew on your heart. He will manifest his love to you, and by his blessed Spirit, dispel your cares and troubles. Be it known unto thee, O mourner, that it is God's prerogative to wipe every tear from the eye of his people.

The good Samaritan did not say, “Here is the wine, and here is the oil for you”; he actually poured in the oil and the wine. So Jesus not only gives you the sweet wine of the promise, but holds the golden chalice to your lips, and pours the life-blood into your mouth. The poor, sick, way-worn pilgrim is not merely strengthened to walk, but he is borne on eagles’ wings. Glorious gospel! which provides everything for the helpless, which draws nigh to us when we cannot reach after it — brings us grace before we seek for grace! Here is as much glory in the giving as in the gift. Happy people who have the Holy Ghost to bring Jesus to them.

 

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Rock Of Ages Or Rock Of Offense?

You cannot be neutral with Jesus; He is either your Savior or someday, He will be your judge.

The Tenants
After Jesus had just given the Parable of the Tenants, “the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet” (Matt 21:45-46). And they were right. It was about them, but also about anyone else who rejects the cornerstone, which is Jesus Christ Himself (Matt 21:42). He told the Jews “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits” (Matt 21:43), and it was in a little over a decade after the church began its missionary work for the Gentiles.

Much fruit was borne, mainly through the Apostle Paul who was the chief apostle to the Gentiles. The Jews thought they had a birthright to the kingdom because they were the children of Abraham, but it is not about race; it’s about grace. They needed to be born again or born from above (John 3:3-7), so whoever rejects this cornerstone, will also be rejected by Christ on Judgment Day. Jesus said that “the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him” (Matt 21:44).

The Foundation
Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone of the church. The Apostle Paul wrote that “no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:11). And if you’ve trusted in Christ, then “you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Eph 2:20). For the last 2,000 years, the church has been “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Eph 2:21), but we are also part of this building because “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph 2:22).

The Apostle Peter recognizes that the church is also part of the building, being built stone by stone, as he says, “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 2:5). A stone by itself is nothing. It can be moved, it can be tossed around, or even buried, but when you join stone upon stone, and lay that upon the foundation that’s already been laid, it’s not so easy to move it. In fact, it resists change or moving from one place to another. The church that Jesus said that He would build is still prevailing today, and not even death has prevailed against her. Any saints that die for their faith are ushered into the kingdom, so not death can prevent us from being with the Lord (Rom 8:38-39).

Rock of Offense
Isaiah the Prophet wrote about Christ that “He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah he will be a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured” (Isaiah 8:14-15), and great was the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD when the Roman armies destroyed much of Jerusalem. Josephus writes that about 1.1 million non-combatants died in and around Jerusalem, many dying of hunger. It’s not like they hadn’t been warned thought. In referring to the magnificent temple, Jesus shocked the disciples by telling them that “there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Matt 24:2), and that did come to pass (70 AD).

God knew that this Rock would cause many to stumble, because they see the cross as foolishness, so when Jesus referred to Isaiah’s quote, He said, “And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him” (Matt 21:44). What Christ said 2,000 years ago is still relevant today. There is no neutrality with Christ. You are either for Him or against Him. You either rest upon the Rock of Ages, or the Rock falls upon you someday (Heb 9:27; Rev 20:12-15).

The Chief Cornerstone
Today, people are still rejecting Jesus Christ, and so nothing has changed since the Apostle Peter wrote, that “the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (1 Pet 2:7). When John the Baptist saw the Sadducees and the Pharisees, he told them to “not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham” (Matt 3:9). As it turned out, God did raise up many “living stones” (1 Pet 2:5) as part of the church that Jesus has been building for the last 2,000 years. In a prophecy recorded in the Book of Psalms, it was foretold that “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Psalm118:22), and so He has. He is the Chief Cornerstone for us who believe, but Paul writes that Jesus Christ is “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense” (Rom 9:33a). Thankfully, whoever it is who “believes in him will not be put to shame” (Rom 9:33b).

Conclusion
One church that was shrinking and dying may have been dying because they did not evangelize. They were as one man said, “The Frozen Chosen.” He said, evangelize or fossilize, and he’s right. Since God has chosen us from before the foundation or the creation of the world (Eph 1), it is our duty to seek out others who may also be chosen. We may not know who they are, but God will use us as a means to reach them. “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Heb 1:1-2), and today, He speaks to us and tells us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:19-20).

 

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He will be our shepherd... Christ is Coming Again! Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Revelation 7:15-17 NIV __________________ But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:9,10 KJV __________________ Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 3:2,3 NASB __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.”

Luke 22:46

When is the Christian most liable to sleep? Is it not when his temporal circumstances are prosperous? Have you not found it so? When you had daily troubles to take to the throne of grace, were you not more wakeful than you are now? Easy roads make sleepy travelers. Another dangerous time is when all goes pleasantly in spiritual matters. Christian went not to sleep when lions were in the way, or when he was wading through the river, or when fighting with Apollyon, but when he had climbed half way up the Hill Difficulty, and came to a delightful arbour, he sat down, and forthwith fell asleep, to his great sorrow and loss. The enchanted ground is a place of balmy breezes, laden with fragrant odours and soft influences, all tending to lull pilgrims to sleep.

Remember Bunyan's description: “Then they came to an arbour, warm, and promising much refreshing to the weary pilgrims; for it was finely wrought above head, beautified with greens, and furnished with benches and settles. It had also in it a soft couch, where the weary might lean.” “The arbour was called the Slothful's Friend, and was made on purpose to allure, if it might be, some of the pilgrims to take up their rest there when weary.” Depend upon it, it is in easy places that men shut their eyes and wander into the dreamy land of forgetfulness.

Old Erskine wisely remarked, “I like a roaring devil better than a sleeping devil.” There is no temptation half so dangerous as not being tempted. The distressed soul does not sleep; it is after we enter into peaceful confidence and full assurance that we are in danger of slumbering. The disciples fell asleep after they had seen Jesus transfigured on the mountain top. Take heed, joyous Christian, good frames are near neighbours to temptations: be as happy as you will, only be watchful.

 

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Why seeker-friendly churches are losing seekers



Trevor was raised in a traditional church but quit during his early teens. Now that his partying days are over he’s feeling the urge to return. Trevor decides to try a large church that’s supposed to be really great for people his age.
Parking is easy, with friendly men to guide him to an empty spot. A smiling woman hands him a flyer as he enters a darkened, windowless room with two huge screens projecting time-bomb style countdowns. There’s an elevated stage beneath a rock-show style lighting truss. Trevor finds a seat and shares a nod with a slightly older couple down the row.

As the clock strikes zero a young man with a guitar takes the stage. “Welcome to _________church. Let’s all worship,” he says. As he strums his first note people all over the sparsely populated auditorium begin to stand. So Trevor stands. He’s never heard the song they’re playing.
Original Photo © David Murrow
The crowd remains standing as the band transitions to another song Trevor has never heard.

Trevor looks around. Lyrics appear on the screen, but hardly anybody is singing them. In fact, no man around him is even making the attempt. Instead, the men stare blankly at the stage, hands in pockets, while the band rocks out. The man down the row is checking something on his iPhone.
Then the band plays a third song he’s never heard.
Then a fourth. Still no one sings.

Finally the band stops, except the keyboardist, who plays quietly under the opening prayer, which is delivered by a smiling, muscular man covered in tattoos. The prayer is brief – 20 seconds long, and ends with a handclap and a loud AMEN! The tattooed man invites the congregation to take their seats, introduces himself and welcomes the visitors. After a couple of announcements the band fires up another song. Immediately the crowd begins rising to its feet. So does Trevor — reluctantly.
The band plays two more songs Trevor has never heard. Trevor checks his watch: he’s been here almost 25 minutes and all he’s done is stand in the dark listening as a band plays songs nobody seems to know.
The whole thing feels like a show to him. Like canned entertainment. So he slips out the back door and decides not to come back.
* * * * *
Church growth experts tell us that visitors decide in the first 10 minutes whether or not they will return. Entire books have been written to help churches with their “front door” experience. Consultants emphasize easy parking, friendly greeters and a seamless check-in for kids’ church.


But nobody’s addressing the elephant in the room: the uncomfortable situation we create for visitors by front-loading our worship services with music. Most contemporary churches offer almost nothing of interest to a visitor during the first 30 minutes of the service.

On top of this, we’ve done away with the bulletin and order of worship, so guests have no idea what’s about to happen, or how long the service will go on. We dropped these to create the illusion that the worship service is “organic” or “Spirit-led” (even though most contemporary services are planned down to the minute). Our most ardent worshippers really dig this organic vibe, but we’re achieving it at the expense of our newbies.
Seekers come to church for two reasons: they want to hear a good sermon that relates to their life, and they want to meet friendly people who are like them. Asking them to stand in the dark for half an hour singing songs they don’t know is the opposite of seeker-friendly.
If you want to make your service more welcoming to visitors, I’d offer the following suggestions:

1. Provide something besides music in the first ten minutes. Don’t worry about your latecomers missing out (the reason people come late is they know nothing much happens in the first 20-30 minutes). Here are some suggestions:

• Start your services off with one song, and then go straight into some teaching (or start the sermon. That will teach people to be on time.)
• Perform an object lesson to set up the sermon.
• Play a video testimony.
• Report on a mission project.

1. Shorten your worship sets to a maximum of 2 consecutive songs. Singing is good. Making visitors stand for long periods of time isn’t.
2. Set clear time expectations, like this: “Our message today is 25 minutes long; we should finish up by 12:15.”
3. Ask the congregation to sit or stand in unison. This was standard practice in all of Christendom until about 10 years ago, until some Christians decided that standing during every verse of every song is mandatory. It’s not enough for the song leader to say, “Stand or sit as you please.” What actually happens: 80% of the congregation stands anyway, due to social pressure. The 20% who remain seated get a nice view of their neighbors’ backsides.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: God desires our worship. Yes he does. But his greater desire is to seek and save the lost. We can worship him in a way that makes visitors feel like guests rather than outsiders.

 

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The time has come for judging the dead Your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great-- and for destroying those who destroy the earth." Revelation 11:18 NIV __________________ And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. John 17:22-24 KJV __________________ I saw no temple in it (heaven), for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. Revelation 21:22,23 NASB __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“He began to wash the disciples’ feet.”

John 13:5

The Lord Jesus loves his people so much, that every day he is still doing for them much that is analogous to washing their soiled feet. Their poorest actions he accepts; their deepest sorrow he feels; their slenderest wish he hears, and their every transgression he forgives. He is still their servant as well as their Friend and Master. He not only performs majestic deeds for them, as wearing the mitre on his brow, and the precious jewels glittering on his breastplate, and standing up to plead for them, but humbly, patiently, he yet goes about among his people with the basin and the towel.

He does this when he puts away from us day by day our constant infirmities and sins. Last night, when you bowed the knee, you mournfully confessed that much of your conduct was not worthy of your profession; and even tonight, you must mourn afresh that you have fallen again into the selfsame folly and sin from which special grace delivered you long ago; and yet Jesus will have great patience with you; he will hear your confession of sin; he will say, “I will, be thou clean”; he will again apply the blood of sprinkling, and speak peace to your conscience, and remove every spot. It is a great act of eternal love when Christ once for all absolves the sinner, and puts him into the family of God; but what condescending patience there is when the Saviour with much long-suffering bears the oft recurring follies of his wayward disciple; day by day, and hour by hour, washing away the multiplied transgressions of his erring but yet beloved child!

To dry up a flood of rebellion is something marvellous, but to endure the constant dropping of repeated offences—to bear with a perpetual trying of patience, this is divine indeed! While we find comfort and peace in our Lord's daily cleansing, its legitimate influence upon us will be to increase our watchfulness, and quicken our desire for holiness. Is it so?

 

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Nails In The Fence
===================

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.

His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time
he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the
fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.

Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger,
the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He
discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those
nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at
all.

He told his father about it and the father suggested that the
boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold
his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his
father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by
the hand and led him to the fence.

He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in
the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say
things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can
put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many
times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there."

A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

 

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I will give you the crown of life Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. Revelation 2:10b,11 NIV __________________ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21 KJV __________________ No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory. Your sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And the days of your mourning will be over. Isaiah 60:19,20 NASB __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“She gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.”

Ruth 2:3

Her hap was. Yes, it seemed nothing but an accident, but how divinely was it overruled! Ruth had gone forth with her mother's blessing, under the care of her mother's God, to humble but honourable toil, and the providence of God was guiding her every step. Little did she know that amid the sheaves she would find a husband, that he should make her the joint owner of all those broad acres, and that she a poor foreigner should become one of the progenitors of the great Messiah. God is very good to those who trust in him, and often surprises them with unlooked for blessings.

Little do we know what may happen to us to-morrow, but this sweet fact may cheer us, that no good thing shall be withheld. Chance is banished from the faith of Christians, for they see the hand of God in everything. The trivial events of to-day or to-morrow may involve consequences of the highest importance. O Lord, deal as graciously with thy servants as thou didst with Ruth.

How blessed would it be, if, in wandering in the field of meditation to-night, our hap should be to light upon the place where our next Kinsman will reveal himself to us! O Spirit of God, guide us to him. We would sooner glean in his field than bear away the whole harvest from any other. O for the footsteps of his flock, which may conduct us to the green pastures where he dwells!

This is a weary world when Jesus is away — we could better do without sun and moon that without him — but how divinely fair all things become in the glory of his presence! Our souls know the virtue which dwells in Jesus, and can never be content without him. We will wait in prayer this night until our hap shall be to light on a part of the field belonging to Jesus wherein he will manifest himself to us.

 

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The Unforgiven
===============

While cleaning the house, I had your CD "Words for Healing"
playing in the background. The story you related about
forgiveness was playing; and to tell you the truth, I was
thinking it could be perceived negatively because the young
girl died.

However, as you were repeating the words, "I forgive you,"
something hit home. I thought, "Is there anyone I haven't
forgiven?" I was confident there wasn't. However, a few
previous negative incidents were brought to my awareness.
As the situations came to mind, in my heart, I asked each person
for forgiveness. I felt such a weight lift from me and peace
surrounded me.

Then I asked the Lord if there was anyone else I hadn't
forgiven. In answer, I was impressed with the response,
"Yes, Me!"

I was shocked and appalled at the thought. Why would God
suggest I had unforgiveness in my heart toward Him? Then I
realized that there have been situations in which I doubted,
questioned and even subconsciously blamed God for, and I
needed to forgive Him for my perception of Him "allowing those
things to happen to me."

So, with tears of shame, I told Him I forgave Him.

Afterwards, I thanked Him for revealing my misdirected
thoughts and asked for His forgiveness for falsely accusing
Him.

His Word says, "And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

This incident also helped me realize why we need to forgive
even if we perceive we are blameless (obviously, God was not
to blame). Unforgiveness, on our part, greatly hinders our
relationship with God.

It was definitely a MountainWings Moment!!

Thank you so much for your ministry.

~A MountainWings Original by Janet Littlefield, Sunnyvale, CA~

Words for Healing at www.MyHealingCD.com

 

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He will wipe every tear from our eyes And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:3,4 NIV __________________ His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Matthew 25:21 KJV __________________ Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you without blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing. Jude 24 RSV __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.”

Ecclesiastes 1:7

Everything sublunary is on the move, time knows nothing of rest. The solid earth is a rolling ball, and the great sun himself a star obediently fulfilling its course around some greater luminary. Tides move the sea, winds stir the airy ocean, friction wears the rock: change and death rule everywhere. The sea is not a miser's storehouse for a wealth of waters, for as by one force the waters flow into it, by another they are lifted from it. Men are born but to die: everything is hurry, worry, and vexation of spirit.

Friend of the unchanging Jesus, what a joy it is to reflect upon thy changeless heritage; thy sea of bliss which will be for ever full, since God himself shall pour eternal rivers of pleasure into it. We seek an abiding city beyond the skies, and we shall not be disappointed. The passage before us may well teach us gratitude. Father Ocean is a great receiver, but he is a generous distributor. What the rivers bring him he returns to the earth in the form of clouds and rain. That man is out of joint with the universe who takes all but makes no return. To give to others is but sowing seed for ourselves. He who is so good a steward as to be willing to use his substance for his Lord, shall be entrusted with more.

Friend of Jesus, art thou rendering to him according to the benefit received? Much has been given thee, what is thy fruit? Hast thou done all? Canst thou not do more? To be selfish is to be wicked. Suppose the ocean gave up none of its watery treasure, it would bring ruin upon our race. God forbid that any of us should follow the ungenerous and destructive policy of living unto ourselves. Jesus pleased not himself. All fulness dwells in him, but of his fulness have all we received. O for Jesus’ spirit, that henceforth we may live not unto ourselves!

 

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Why Are Many Called But Few Chosen?



The Bible says that not many mighty or noble are called, but why does Jesus say many are called, but few are chosen?
Many are Called
In referring to the Parable of the Wedding Feast, which is about who will be and who won’t be in the kingdom, Jesus said that “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt 22:14). This is why Christ taught that we must “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many” (Matt 7:13). Notice the way that is easy leads to destruction, and it’s the major six-lane interstate that many are driving down, but as for the narrow gate, it’s narrow because not many are entering into it.

This is because it’s single-file, or one at a time, since “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matt 7:14). What’s surprising isn’t that many are going the wrong way and only a few are entering by the narrow gate, but what’s surprising is that anyone is saved all, since we all fall infinitely short of God’s glory (Rom 3:23). We do not get what we deserve (Rom 6:23a) but what we need (Rom 6:23b) when we trust in Christ. It’s not the wages of eternal death but the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, so it is only “To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3). The fact that He knows them all by name indicates He has a personal relationship with them…a personal relationship with the few, not the many.

Not Many Mighty
If God only called the qualified or the rich, powerful, or famous, most of us wouldn’t stand a chance, but God’s ways are contrary to the ways of the world. Of course God has called some who are considered rich or “mighty” in the eyes of the world, but the Apostle Paul wanted the church to recognize the truly amazing grace that God provides. He writes, “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth” (1 Cor 1:26). That includes most of us…and I say, “us,” meaning me, so “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are” (1 Cor 1:27-28), but why? It was “so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor 1:29). If we can boast about anything, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Cor 1:31). For certain, God “does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit” (Job 37:24).

Hidden from the Wise
The Jewish leaders, as intelligent as they were, and “righteous” as they thought they were, just didn’t get it. That’s because “None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor 2:8), but this is just what God had planned, using evil for good (Gen 50:20; John 3:16), and why Jesus prayed to the Father, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children” (Matt 11:25). Trusting in Christ is not a matter of intellectual knowledge or achievement, but humbling oneself before Almighty God. There is no reason to boast at all, for it only by grace we are saved; not by knowledge or trying to become righteous or by doing good works (Eph 2:8-9), although the saved will do works, if they are indeed saved, however these things are not discovered by empirical knowledge but “these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (1 Cor 2:10).

Opposed to the Proud
James writes that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6), and submission to God takes humility (James 4:7). Jesus Christ always submitted to the Father’s will during His earthly ministry (John 5:19, 6:38, 8:29), and we know God’s will is that He is “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (1 Pet 3:9).

God’s will for us is the same as it was for Israel, and that is that we should repent and be saved, for He takes “no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways” (Ezk 33:11). You cannot turn to God until you turn away from evil, and today, God commands everyone to repent (Acts 17:30), but thankfully, it is God Who grants repentance (Acts 5:31, 11:18; 2 Tim 2:24-26). Given that fact, I don’t believe He will grant repentance to a stubborn, prideful heart. Jesus warned that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt 7:21), so even though they declared they had a relationship with the Lord (Matt 7:22), Jesus will “declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matt 7:23).

This matches up with what Jesus had often said that many are called, but only a few are chosen. Many will believe they are saved (Matt 7:22) but Jesus said that those same “many” will be turned away (Matt 25:40). The many are shut out of the kingdom while the few are able to enter in through Jesus’ Christ’s atoning work on the cross (2 Cor 5:21), but that’s because they humbled themselves before God.

Conclusion
Many are called but few are chosen because many refuse to repent of their sins and be saved. Having one foot in the world and the other in the kingdom just doesn’t work. They may have had some works that looked good to the world (Matt 7:21), but they failed to follow Christ’s imperative commands (Matt 25:35-36, 28:19-20) as doing it unto Him (Matt 25:40). The ramifications for doing nothing for Him are disastrous (Matt 25:41-46). The many who think they are saved outnumber the few, but that’s expected as even our Lord said we should not uproot the weeds, saying “lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them” (Matt 13:29).

Only God knows the heart (1 Sam 2:3, 16:7; 1 Kings 8:39; Luke 16:15), so we must allow the weeds to grow up with the wheat, and at the harvest, the Lord Jesus Christ will sort them out, and in time, “the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age” (Matt 13:40). Daniel the Prophet writes of this time, saying “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” (Dan 12:2-3). Brothers and sisters, this is ample reason to “be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall” (2 Pet 1:10), because many are called, but few are chosen.

 

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Then the righteous will shine like the sun The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Matthew 13:41-43 NIV __________________ But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 1 Peter 4:13,14 KJV __________________ Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4 NASB __________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“We are all as an unclean thing.”

Isaiah 64:6

The believer is a new creature, he belongs to a holy generation and a peculiar people — the Spirit of God is in him, and in all respects he is far removed from the natural man; but for all that the Christian is a sinner still. He is so from the imperfection of his nature, and will continue so to the end of his earthly life. The black fingers of sin leave smuts upon our fairest robes. Sin mars our repentance, ere the great Potter has finished it, upon the wheel. Selfishness defiles our tears, and unbelief tampers with our faith. The best thing we ever did apart from the merit of Jesus only swelled the number of our sins; for when we have been most pure in our own sight, yet, like the heavens, we are not pure in God's sight; and as he charged his angels with folly, much more must he charge us with it, even in our most angelic frames of mind.

The song which thrills to heaven, and seeks to emulate seraphic strains, hath human discords in it. The prayer which moves the arm of God is still a bruised and battered prayer, and only moves that arm because the sinless One, the great Mediator, has stepped in to take away the sin of our supplication. The most golden faith or the purest degree of sanctification to which a Christian ever attained on earth, has still so much alloy in it as to be only worthy of the flames, in itself considered. Every night we look in the glass we see a sinner, and had need confess, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.”

Oh, how precious the blood of Christ to such hearts as ours! How priceless a gift is his perfect righteousness! And how bright the hope of perfect holiness hereafter! Even now, though sin dwells in us, its power is broken. It has no dominion; it is a broken-backed snake; we are in bitter conflict with it, but it is with a vanquished foe that we have to deal. Yet a little while and we shall enter victoriously into the city where nothing defileth.

 

[beensetfree]

Scripture Gives Us Many Reasons to Be Happy



When someone says, as many have, “Happiness isn’t in the Bible,” it’s not even slightly true. Even in versions that don’t frequently use the words happy and happiness, the concept is conspicuously present, not only in its many synonyms (see here and here), but in words such as contentment, peace, delight, and dozens of others in every translation.
Consider this verse: “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love” (Micah 7:18). Such a passage may not seem to be about happiness, yet if we understand its meaning, won’t we be flooded with happiness?

“Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made known his salvation” (Psalm 98:1-2). There are no joy-related words in this verse, yet doesn’t it make you joyful?
Consider the lame man who leaped and praised God (see Acts 3:1-10).His story won’t appear in a study of words related to happiness, but he was obviously overwhelmed with happiness.

“We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). No word for happiness is mentioned here, but how does it make you feel to know that Jesus is your advocate, your defense attorney? Can you imagine Jesus standing between you and your accuser, Satan (see Revelation 12:10)? The thought makes me smile, rejoice, and praise God.

Every passage that mentions our redemption; our new nature in Christ; and God’s love, grace, and mercy also makes a profound statement about our grounds for happiness.
What about eternal life? Puritan David Clarkson wrote, “Eternal life and happiness are reciprocal, and used as convertible terms in Scripture.” [1]
Revelation 7:16-17 offers a description of the eternal Heaven on the New Earth. It doesn’t mention any of the synonyms for joy and happiness. Yet happiness is exactly what it communicates:

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

When the Bible says that God is for us and that nothing shall separate us from Christ’s love (see Romans 8:31, 39), no words for happiness are used, but the reasons for it jump off the page.

Even in the darkest portions of Scripture, such as Job or Lamentations, we’re hard pressed to find any chapter that doesn’t offer reasons for happiness.
Love, peace, contentment, kindness, grace, mercy, comfort, singing, praise, worship, favor, prosperity, deliverance, rescue, salvation, thanksgiving, satisfaction, chosen, redemption, gospel, trust, goodness, beauty, wonder, awe, excellence, and hope: don’t all these words evoke happiness?
If we grasp how happiness-saturated Scripture is, it will radically affect our perspective as God’s children and greatly expand our outreach to the world. Whatever else the plan of God and the gospel of Jesus encompasses, without question it includes our happiness.