The Source!!

God reminds us how foolish and unwise it is, thus, to forsake the sole source of true happiness. It is a very forcible image that is here employed God is a Fountain, a Well of Life. He is the source and spring of all true life, pleasure, holiness, and hope! In Him is a continual freshness of all that can fill the soul with joy. In Him are inexhaustible streams of mercy, grace, and consolation. But men forsake this Fountain, for cisterns yes, for broken cisterns, from which soon leak out the few drops of water they may contain. 

A traveler in the Holy Land tells us that he found the land riddled with the remains of these broken cisterns. When water was needed, they would just dig one of these little clay cisterns in the ground. It would hold water for a time, but soon, when the sun was hot and weather dry, it would crack and leak and so another and another would be needed. 

Ah, what pains and trouble men take in hewing out broken cisterns like these wealth unsanctified by true riches, the acquisition of knowledge with no end beyond its possession, a position and name that shall dazzle those around, schemes of self-indulgence and pleasure, a comfortable home where God is forgotten, some object of affection which engrosses every thought; how often something of this kind steals the heart from God! But before long there is sure to be a crack, a leak; and the joy and the comfort is dried up and gone! 

So, God in His tender compassion would have us see this and remember that nothing can ever take the place of Himself as our well-spring of joy. 

[George Everard] 

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Jeremiah 2:13 ... For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

John 4:13-14 ...  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. ❤

Born to Die!!

 Jesus was born to die ~ so you could live.

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Mark 10:45 ... For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Matthew 1:21 ... And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

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. ❤

Plank Eye!

Few sins are as subtle yet as destructive, as judging the motives of others. Unlike actions, which can be seen and weighed, motives belong to the secret chambers of the heart territory reserved for God alone. When we presume to know why someone acts in a certain way, we trespass into God's jurisdiction. We are usurping the throne of God, who alone can infallibly search hearts and minds and motives. "There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?" (James 4:12) 

Paul reminds us that the Lord will one day reveal the secret motives of every heart. "Judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts." (1 Corinthians 4:5) Until then, our call is to love to assume the best, to cover in love, to entrust hidden things to God. The humble heart says, "I am not God, so I dare not judge the secret motives of others." Scripture masterfully summarizes the antidote: "Love… bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1 Corinthians 13:7) 

Love gives the benefit of the doubt; it presumes sincerity until clearly proven otherwise. A heart ruled by Christ, errs on the side of grace. Lord, forgive me for the arrogance of assuming that I know the hidden motives of others. Teach me to walk in humility and love. Guard my mind from judging the motives of others, my tongue from slander, and my heart from pride. May I be found faithful in judging my own sin, while leaving the secrets of others to Your perfect wisdom. 

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

Matthew 7:3 ... And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

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Delivered For You!!

Who delivered up Jesus to die? 

Not Judas, for money. 

Not Pilate, for fear. 

Not the Jews, for envy. 

But the Father, for love!

[Octavius Winslow]

Romans 8:32 ...  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Romans 4:25 ... Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Luke 9:44 ...  Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.

Acts 2:23-24 ... Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. ❤

The Half-Converted Cowboy!

There is grief in my spirit when I go into the average church, for we have become a generation rapidly losing all sense of divine sacredness and reverence in our worship. God has been abridged, reduced, modified, edited, changed and amended until He is no longer the high and lifted up God whom Isaiah saw! We've reduced the God of Abraham and Jacob, to a "stuffed God" that can be appealed to by anybody at any time. The religious clown on the radio can break into his fun and say, "Now we will have a minute of prayer." 

In the religious concert, the half-converted cowboy dressed like an idiot will say after he's twanged out some catchy numbers, "Now I'll do a holy number for you." The God of today's Christianity is a weakling a little cheap, palsied God that you can pal around with. He's the "man upstairs." He's the fellow that can help you when you're in difficulty and not bother you too much when you're not. It is a major tragedy in the life of any man, to live in a church from childhood to old age with nothing more than some synthetic God compounded of sentimentality and logic but having no eyes to see, no ears to hear and no heart to love the holy God of Scripture! 

In the majority of our church meetings, there is scarcely a trace of reverence, little sense of the divine Presence, no solemnity, no awe, no holy fear. But so often there is a dull or a breezy song leader full of awkward jokes, in an effort to make everything hold together. The most pressing need just now is that we who call ourselves Christians should frankly acknowledge to each other and to God that we are gone far astray. We should confess that we are worldly, that our moral standards are low, and that we are spiritually cold and lethargic. We need to cease our multitude of unscriptural activities, and cease trying to sanctify carnal and worldly projects by promoting them "in the name of the Lord" and "for the glory of God." 

We need to return to the message, methods and objectives of the New Testament! We need boldly and indignantly to cleanse the church of all who sell cattle in the holy place; and overthrow the tables of the moneychangers! This must be done in our own lives first and then in the churches of whom we are a part. We need men and women who love the Savior, until adoration becomes the music of their soul until they don't have to be fooled with entertainment and amusement! 

[A. W. Tozer] 

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2 Timothy 4:3-4 ... For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Romans 12:1 ... I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Psalm 29:2 ... Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. ❤

The Gate of Heaven!

The best and sweetest flowers of Paradise God gives to His people when they are upon their knees. Prayer is the gate of heaven, a key to let us in to Paradise. 

 [Thomas Brooks]

Hebrews 4:16 ... Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. ❤

Seeking Faith...

Some of you seek for faith much in the same way as you would dig for a well. You turn the eye inward upon yourself and search amidst the depths of your polluted heart to find if faith is there; you search amid all your feelings at sermons and sacraments to see if faith is there; and still, you find nothing but sin and disappointment.

Look full in the face of Jesus.

Drink in His Word.

Faith comes by hearing the voice of Jesus. 

[Robert Murray McCheyne]

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Jeremiah 29:13 ... And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Romans 10:17 ... So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Mark 11:22 ... And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. ❤

He Will Save His People From Their Sins!

Here we stand on holy ground. This verse (Matthew 1:21) is the first explicit announcement of the mission and purpose of the incarnate Son. Before He speaks a word, works a miracle, or calls a disciple Heaven unveils His identity in one radiant sentence. He is Jesus, which means Savior. Not counselor, not social reformer, not moral example, but Savior. He does not come to assist men in saving themselves, but to save them altogether. He enters this fallen world, not to improve sinners, but to rescue them from their sins and damnation. 

The name Jesus reveals the very heart of God toward sinners. The Father ordains salvation, the Son accomplishes salvation, and the Spirit applies salvation. Jesus is God coming down from Heaven to earth, to save His people from their sins. His very name announces His office: He WILL save. Not might save, or try to save, but WILL save His people from their sins. His saving purpose cannot fail, because it rests upon His divine nature and His sin-atoning death. Sin is man's greatest plague. 

Sin alienates from the thrice holy God, blinds the mind, hardens the heart, corrupts the will, and damns the soul forever! All misery in time and eternity, flows from sin! Yet here is the good news: Jesus rescues His people from sin's penalty by His sacrifice, from sin's power by His Spirit, and from sin's presence when He returns. Being a Divine work, this salvation is complete, eternal, and irrevocable. How sweet this name is to sin-wearied hearts. His righteousness satisfies the law which we broke. His sin-atoning death pays the full punishment for our sins. His intercession secures the eternal glory of every soul He redeems. None for whom He died, shall ever be lost. 

Mark the objects of His salvation: His people. Jesus did not come to make salvation a possibility, but to save an actual people whom the Father gave Him before the foundation of the world. He purchased them, effectually calls them, sanctifies them, and will one day present them faultless before His glory with great joy. Their salvation does not depend upon their hold on Him but upon His hold on them. Here, then, is the essence of the gospel: Jesus will save His people from their sins! To utter His name with faith, is to confess both our ruin, and His remedy, both our sin, and His salvation. His name is His promise: Jesus will save His people from their sins. Eternally blessed are all who trust in Him. 

[Charles H. Spurgeon] 

Matthew 1:21 ... And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. ❤

I Scarce Can Take It In!

"And when I think that God His Son not sparing Sent Him to die I scarce can take it in That on the cross my burden gladly bearing He bled and died to take away my sin!" by Carl Gustav Boberg, 1885

The words of this beloved hymn capture something far greater than poetic beauty they express the soul-staggering wonder of the gospel. "And when I think that God, His Son not sparing sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in!" This is the awe-filled confession of a redeemed sinner who has glimpsed the infinite cost of divine love! That the glorious God infinitely righteous and perfectly holy would not spare His own beloved Son but deliver Him up for an ungodly people who had rebelled against Him, is a truth that overwhelms the heart! 

When Abraham was asked to offer Isaac, his only son, as a sacrifice, God provided a substitute. But when the Father gave His Son at Calvary, there was no substitute for Him for Jesus was the substitute! The cross is not merely a demonstration of love it is the only means of salvation. On that cursed tree, the spotless Lamb bore the full weight of divine wrath not for His own sins, for He had none but for the countless, crimson sins of His people! 

"That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin!" The sin was ours. The guilt was ours. The punishment was ours. Yet Christ bore it all, gladly and willingly. This was not a cold transaction, but a mission of infinite compassion. He who knew the joy of perfect fellowship with the Father, took upon Himself the horror of forsakenness and wrath. He who upholds all things by the word of His power, was nailed to the accursed tree by sinful hands for all of the sins of all of His people. 

Who can comprehend such mercy? The angels veil their faces in awe before this redeeming grace, and the saints shall sing of it forever. Let your heart be stirred again by the wonder of the cross. Meditate on the cost. Marvel at the love. Worship the Savior who bled and died to take away your sin. And when you think on such love, such sacrifice, such glory does not be ashamed if you scarce can take it in. Eternity will not exhaust the praise due to Him who gave His life for us. Let every breath now be spent in adoration of the One who bore both your sin, and the divine wrath due to you. 

[Charles H. Spurgeon] 

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

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The Thief on The Cross

How does the thief on the cross fit into your theology? 

No turning from his sins, No baptism, no communion, no confirmation, no speaking in tongues, no mission trip, no volunteerism, and no church clothes. He couldn’t even bend his knees to pray. He didn’t say the sinner's prayer and among other things, he was a thief.  Jesus didn’t take away his pain, heal his body, or smite the scoffers. 

Yet it was a thief who walked into heaven the same hour as Jesus simply by believing in Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. He had nothing more to offer other than his belief that Jesus was who he said he was. No spin from brilliant theologians. No ego or arrogance. No Shiny lights, skinny jeans, or crafty words. No haze machine, donuts, or coffee in the entrance. Just a naked dying man on a cross unable to even fold his hands to pray.” 

For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son so that whosoever believed in him would not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) 

I read this today and was reminded of the simplicity of the Gospel. 

[Author Unknown]

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Acts 16:31 ... And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

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

Mark 1:15 ...  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. ❤

False Faith!

There is a false faith in which multitudes are confidently resting. There is a false faith by which multitudes are deceived and will perish forever in Hell. 

A false faith may be greatly enlightened and knowledgeable in gospel truth. (Hebrews 6:4) 

A false faith excites the affections. (Stony Ground Hearers)

A false faith reforms the outward life. (The Pharisees)

A false faith may speak very well of Christ. (The Jews) 

A false faith confesses sin. (Saul) 

A false faith may humble itself in sackcloth and ashes. (Ahab) 

A false faith may repent. (Esau - Judas) 

A false faith may diligently perform religious works. (The Pharisees) 

A false faith may be very charitable and generous. (Ananias) 

A false faith may tremble at the Word of God. (Felix) 

A false faith may experience much in religion. (Hebrews 6:1-4) 

A false faith may enjoy great religious privileges. (Lot's wife) 

A false faith may preach, perform miracles, and cast out demons. (Matthew 7:23) 

A false faith may attain high office in the church. (Diotrephes) 

A false faith may walk with great preachers. (Demas was Paul's companion) 

A false faith may be peaceful and carnally secure. (The Five Foolish Virgins) 

A false faith may even persevere and hold out until the day of judgment (Matthew 7:22-23). 

If you have the faith of God's elect, it will bear examination. If you do not, if you are resting in a false faith, you need to be awakened so that you may flee to Christ in true faith.

[Don Fortner]

Isaiah 55:7 ...  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Joel 2:13  ... And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Acts 3:19 ... Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. ❤