Judas The Preacher

To obey the truth, and not to know it is impossible. To know the truth and not obey it is unprofitable. Saving knowledge is not as the light of the moon to sleep by; but as the light of the sun to work by. It is not a loiterer in the marketplace but a laborer in the vineyard.  A man may be a great scholar and yet be a great sinner. Judas the traitor was Judas the preacher! 

The snake which has a pearl in its head has poison in its body! The tree of knowledge has often been planted and flourished where the tree of life never grew! All abilities and gifts without grace and holiness are but like Uriah's letters, which were the death warrants of those who carried them! 

Mere head knowledge will be as unhelpful to the soul, in the judgment day as a painted fire is unhelpful to the frozen body, in a cold day. Theoretical knowledge may make the head giddy, but it will never make the heart holy. How many professors are there, who have light enough to know what should be done but have not love enough to do what they know! 

Give me the Christian who perfectly sees the way he should go and readily goes the way he sees! That is barren ground which brings forth no fruit. "To him who knows to do good and does it not to him it is sin." (James 4:17) The sins of ignorance are most numerous, but the sins of knowledge are most dangerous! That sinner's darkness will be the greatest in hell whose light was the clearest on earth! 

There are many who set a crown of glory upon the head of Christ by a good profession and yet put a crown of thorns upon his head by an evil conversation. By the words of our mouth, we may affect to adore religion; but it is by the works of our lives that we adorn religion. As trees without fruits are unprofitable so knowledge without good works is abominable! Leah and Rachel are fit emblems of knowledge and obedience. Knowledge, like Rachel is beautiful. But obedience, like Leah is fruitful. 

[William Secker]

John 13:17 ... If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

James 1:22 ... But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Matthew 7:21 ... Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ❤

Even Your Own Relatives ...

The world that is, the world dead in sin, and the world dead in profession, men destitute of the life and power of God must have something that it can see. And, as heavenly things can only be seen by heavenly eyes, they cannot receive the things which are invisible. Now this explains why a religion that presents itself with a degree of beauty and grandeur to the natural eye, will always be received by the world; while a spiritual, internal, heartfelt and experimental religion will always be rejected. 

The world can receive a religion that consists of forms, rites, and ceremonies. These are things seen. Beautiful buildings, painted windows, pealing organs, melodious choirs, the pomp and parade of an earthly priesthood, and a whole apparatus of 'religious ceremony', carry with them something that the natural eye can see and admire. The world receives all this 'external religion' because it is suitable to the natural mind and intelligible to their reasoning faculties. But the quiet, inward, experimental, divine religion, which presents no attractions to the outward eye, but is wrought in the heart by a divine operation the world cannot receive this, because it presents nothing that the natural eye can rest upon with pleasure, or is adapted to gratify their general idea of what religion is or should be. 

Do not marvel then, that worldly professors despise a religion wrought in the soul by the power of God. Do not be surprised if even your own relatives think you are almost insane, when you speak of the consolations of the Spirit, or of the teachings of God in your soul. They cannot receive these things, for they have no experience of them; and being such as are altogether opposed to the carnal mind, they reject them with enmity and scorn. 

[J. C. Philpot]

John 14:17 ... Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

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John 8:3-11

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The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So, what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:3-11)

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Eat The Garbage!!

I believe that one reason why the church at this present moment has so little influence over the world, is because the world has so much influence over the church! Nowadays, we hear mere professors pleading that they may do this and do that, that they may live like worldlings. My sad answer to them, when they crave this liberty is, "Do it if you dare. It may not cost you much hurt, for you are so bad already. Your worldly cravings show how rotten your hearts are!  If you are hungering after such dogs' food, then go dogs and eat the garbage!" 

Worldly amusements are fit food for pretenders and hypocrites. If you were God's children, then you would loathe the thought of the world's evil joys. Your question would not be, "How far may we be like the world?" But your cry would be, "How can we get away from the world? How can we come out of it?" 

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

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2 Corinthians 6:14-17 ... Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

1 John 2:15-16 ...  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. ❤

Unbelief of Zacharias

Zacharias was so much astonished at the message of the angel, that he wanted to see some sign or miracle to prove that the angel came from God. Why was it wrong in Zacharias to desire a sign? Because he had already had one. The glorious appearance of the angel, which had filled him with fear, was a sufficient sign. God does not wish us to believe things without any proof. If he were to send a prophet to speak to us, he would give us some sign to show us that the prophet really came from him. When Moses spoke to the Israelites in Egypt, he gave them two signs; his rod was turned into a serpent, and his hand was made white with the leprosy. (Exodus 4) 

God is angry when men will not believe, after he has given them a sign. It was sinful in Zacharias not to believe after he had seen the glorious angel.  Thus, we find that though he was righteous before God, he was still subject to sin. Unbelief is a great sin; for it is an insult to the truth of God.  The angel rebuked the unbelieving priest, saying, "You shall be speechless." This gentle chastisement would at once remove the doubts of Zacharias and remind him of his sin. In this way, God deals with his own people, when they forget what a great God He is.  Zacharias at length came out of the temple. It was now expected that he should bless the people in those beautiful words recorded in Numbers 6:24-27, beginning, "May the Lord bless you and keep you;" but he could not speak, and he made signs to show the people what he had seen in the temple. 

Each division of priests remained to serve in the temple from one Sabbath to the next; in a few days, therefore, Zacharias returned to his own house among the hills. What a history he had to unfold to Elizabeth! For he was able to inform her in writing. What a proof she beheld of the power of God in the silence of her husband! We should take notice of God's dealings with others. "Whoever is wise, and will observe these things, even he shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord." (Psalm 107:43) How humbly and gratefully Elizabeth behaved on this occasion! She acknowledged the goodness of the Lord in having condescended to look upon her affliction; for she had been exposed to much reproach on account of having no child. 

When troubles are removed, we are apt to overlook the Lord's merciful hand! Perhaps we have been suffering under some trial; the unkindness of a relative, the dread of sickness, or the pressure of poverty God removes the trial, and we forget how much it weighed us down before, and so we omit to thank the Lord heartily. A holy minister named Rutherford, in one of his letters, written two hundred years ago, says, that one of the things which most showed him his own wickedness by nature, was his feeling more disposed to call upon the Lord in trouble, than to thank him when delivered. Let us think over the things that troubled us a few years ago and bless the hand which has lightened our load. 

[F. L. Mortimer]

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Love is Best Understood Through the Cross

The cross was certainly the most visible act of God’s love towards us. It was also planned. It wasn’t an accident. I think sometimes people think that Jesus was this man on earth and he was kind of like a leaf on a river and got carried to and from and somehow ended up on the cross, got lucky and paid for everyone’s sin, or maybe unlucky, depending on how you look at that. That’s not actually what it was. Yes, people made choices and decisions that resulted in Christ going to the cross, but the decision made before the world was created was that Christ would go to the cross to pay for sin, so what we see is this act of love on the cross was intentional. It was planned. 

Also though, the cross was about God, primarily. We often think of the cross as being about us. Now, we are beneficiaries of the work that was done there, but the cross, first and foremost, was God glorifying himself in the creation of a people for himself, doing something only he could do. So, when we want to understand love let’s understand that its planned, it’s about God, but it’s also about people. It’s about us. The cross is the way in which God shows his love for us, so love has a God-facing component, it often has a man- or woman-facing component, but the cross was also sacrificial. It was undeserved and costly. 

The last point is that it was an objective good. God said the cross was good. God said the cross accomplished his plan, so love is something that has a right answer. It has a God-grounded right answer, so the things we can learn just briefly by looking at the cross: Love is planned, love is about God, love is about man, love is sacrificial, and there is a right answer to this question, but love is best understood through the cross.

[Excerpt from First Baptist Church New Smyrna Beach Fl.)

John 3:16 ... 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.

Ephesians 5:2 ... And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Romans 5:8 ... But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.❤

Finally Free!!

A living, breathing relationship with the Savior of the world will drive porn out of your life quicker than anything else. When you turn your eyes to Jesus, there isn’t room for anything else in your heart because He fills it up. When you open the blinds of a pitch-black room, the sunlight drives away the darkness. 

[Heath Lambert]

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Galatians 2:20 ... I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Romans 5:5 ... And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

1 John 1:9 ... If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Revelation 3:20 ... Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. ❤

Oh, What a Picture!

I seem to have some feeling about Divine things; but alas! this afternoon am as stupid as usual. Nothing, nothing will break this hard heart! Oh, that I may be directed by the Spirit of truth to the right way of happiness! I fear that I am not affected as I ought and have only a faint desire to become a Christian and that merely to escape hell. 

Lord, have mercy upon me! Lead a right! Break this hard, hard heart! You, Lord, know what I would have even the forgiveness of my sins. During service I was as cold as a stone! Oh, when will this vile heart be melted and subdued by divine grace? I have no faith, no humility, no sense of sin, no confidence in the promises, no fear of the threatened punishments; nor anything that I ought to have! 

Oh, what a picture! O Lord, break this heart into ten thousand pieces! Oh! I would sooner suffer all horrors and terrors imaginable and be saved at last than be in my present dreadful and stupid state. Break, break, oh, break my heart, and make me give it entirely to You, O blessed Savior! 

 [Ruth Byron, age 17)

Ezekiel 36:26 ... A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

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The Year Before Our Eyes!!

The year before our eyes may hold in its bosom events which may deeply concern and affect us. We do not know what is to come. What personal trials, what family trials, what providential trials may await us we do not know. Sickness may attack our bodies, death may enter our families, difficulties may beset our circumstances, trials and temptations may distress our hearts, snares may entangle our feet, and many dark and gloomy clouds, may make our path one of heaviness and sorrow. Since every year hitherto has brought its particular trials then we cannot expect the coming year to be exempt. 

If, indeed, we are His then whatever our trials may be, His grace will be sufficient for us. He who has delivered us, can and will deliver us. He who has brought us thus far on the road, who has so borne with our wayward behavior in this wilderness world, and never yet forsaken us will still guide and guard us. He will still be our God, our Father and our Friend not only to the end of the next year, but to the end of our life. 

Blessed with His presence, we need fear no evil. Favored with His smile, we need dread no foe. Upheld by His power, we need shrink from no trial. Strengthened by His grace, we need not panic at any suffering. Knowing what we are and have been, when left to ourselves the slips that we have made, the snares that we have been entangled in, the shame and sorrow that we have procured to ourselves well may we dread to go forth in the coming year alone. Well may we say, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here!" (Exodus 33:15) 

[J.C. Philpot] 

Deuteronomy 33:25 ... Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

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The Law Leads to Christ!

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming not the realities themselves. For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. (Hebrews 10:1) 

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17) 

This image was inspired by many verses in the Bible that talks about the Law (given by Moses) and how it ultimately leads to the Person of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that the Law was a shadow of the good things coming, meaning that the purpose of the law was much bigger than what appeared at face value. 

Ultimately the Law was unable to save, but that it pointed us to the need of a Savior. I had this vision of Moses holding up the two tablets of the 10 commandments, and the first thing I thought about was Christ hanging on the cross. So, for this image I wanted to combine the Old Testament and New Testament all in one frame. I hope this picture is an encouragement to you today!

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Galatians 3:24 ...  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Romans 10:4 ...  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.❤

Your Only Account ...

Let no one judge you in your walk or journey in this life. Your only account is to God alone. Anything else is both static and meaningless chatter. 

[Christopher Gregory]

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Romans 14:4 ... Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

Romans 14:10 ... But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:15 ... But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. ❤