Beggars

Christians have nothing to be smug about. We are not righteous people trying to correct the unrighteous. As one preacher said, Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. 

The chief difference between the Believer and the Unbeliever is forgiveness. 

[R. C. Sproul]

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1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ... Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Ephesians 2:8-9 ... 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.

Colossians 1:14 ... In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: ❤

Amazed!!

We need to do more than sing "Amazing Grace." We need to be repeatedly amazed by grace. 

[R.C. Sproul]

 

Psalm 33:8 ...  Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. ❤

Return To God!

When we find ourselves depressed, down, irritated, annoyed, or otherwise unhappy, we need to return to the source of our joy, and then we will see those circumstances that are sapping our joy in perspective. The circumstances of this life will pale into insignificance when compared to that which we have received from God. 

 [R.C. Sproul]

 

Zechariah 1:3 ... Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.

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.

1 Peter 2:25 ... For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.❤ 

Worship God.

Worship must not be designed to to please the unbeliever or the believer.  Worship should be designed to please God.

[R. C. Sproul]

John 4:24 ... God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Psalm 96:8 ... Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.❤

I Voted

Christians, this world is not our home, We are just passing through. But, we do have a duty as an ambassador of Christ to use our life and our voice to shine a light in this dark world, to speak out against evil, and stand up for godly principles. No candidate is perfect. We shouldn't expect one to be without flaws, no human is. But, we must look beyond personalities to all the policies candidates promote and vote as close to Bible principles as possible, especially if we are called by His name. What's important to God must be important to us. Plain and simple. 

You decide for yourself whom you are going to vote for.  But, if you are a Christian make sure you choose to serve the Lord and His ways, not your opinions, feelings or blindly follow the media agendas. All of Scripture, the whole counsel of God, provides wisdom for us. The counsel of God is our rule for living. It is our responsibility to live it out.

Proverbs 21:30 ... There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord.❤

Our Source

When we find ourselves depressed, down, irritated, annoyed, or otherwise unhappy, we need to return to the source of our joy, and then we will see those circumstances that are sapping our joy in perspective. The circumstances of this life will pale into insignificance when compared to that which we have received from God.

[R.C. Sproul]

 

Philippians 4:7 ...  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.❤

A Comfort and A Terror

The doctrine of God's omnipresence appropriately fills us with awe.

In addition, the doctrine also proves to be comforting. We can always be certain of God's undivided attention. We don't ever need to stand in line or make an appointment to be with God. When we are in God's presence, He is not preoccupied with events on the other side of the world.

The doctrine is, of course, not at all comforting to the unbeliever. There is no place to hide from God! There is no corner of the universe where God is not. The wicked in Hell are not separated from God only from His benevolence. His wrath is with them constantly.

For the unbeliever, the doctrine highlights the fact that people cannot hide from God. Their sins are done in God's presence. Like Adam, they seek to hide. However, there is no corner of the universe that God's gaze, either in love or wrath, fails to reach.

God's omnipresence is a comfort to the believer, and a terror to the unbeliever!

[R. C. Sproul]

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Job 34:21 … For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.

Proverbs 15:3 … The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Jeremiah 23:24 … Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.

Hebrews 4:13 … 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.❤

Hell is Hell

Many people hope for a second chance after death, yet nothing in Scripture gives the slightest hope of that. The Bible says that "it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

In recent years, there has been a revival within evangelical circles of the heretical doctrine called annihilationism, which holds that the wicked are merely annihilated. Their punishment is that they cease to exist. But the Bible is very clear that the punishment of Hell is conscious and unending, a place where the wicked "will go away into everlasting punishment" (Matthew 25:46).

Almost all the biblical teaching about Hell comes from the lips of Jesus. Modern Christians have pushed the limits of minimizing Hell, in an effort to sidestep or soften Jesus' own teaching.

There is no biblical concept more grim or terror-invoking, than the idea of Hell.

The Bible describes Hell as a place of outer darkness, a lake of fire, a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, a place of eternal separation from the blessings of God, a prison, a place of torment where the worm never dies.

A breath of relief is usually heard when someone declares, "Hell is a symbol for separation from God." To be separated from God for eternity is no great threat to the impenitent person. The ungodly want nothing more than to be separated from God.

Yes, Hell is separation from the grace, care, and love of God, but not from God Himself. The biggest problem for those in Hell will not be separation from God, it will be the presence of God that will torment them. In Hell, God will be present in the fullness of His divine wrath, actively punishing the wicked. Hell is an eternity before the righteous, ever-burning wrath of God. He will be there to exercise His just punishment of the damned. They will know Him as an all-consuming fire.

When we are saved, we are saved from God Himself! We are saved from exposure to His fierce wrath and punishment!

Perhaps the most frightening aspect of Hell is its eternality. People can endure the greatest agony, if they know it will ultimately stop. In Hell there is no such hope. The Bible clearly teaches that the punishment is eternal. Punishment implies pain. Mere annihilation, which some have lobbied for, involves no pain. Jonathan Edwards said, "Wicked men will hereafter earnestly wish to be turned to nothing and forever cease to be, that they may escape the wrath of God!" "They called to the mountains and the rocks: Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!" (Revelation 6:16) 

Hell, then, is an eternity before the righteous, ever-burning wrath of God, a suffering torment from which there is no escape and no relief.

No matter how we analyze the concept of Hell, it often sounds to us as a place of cruel and unusual punishment. If, however, we can take any comfort in the concept of Hell, we can take it in the full assurance that there will be no cruelty there. It is impossible for God to be cruel. Cruelty involves inflicting a punishment that is more severe or harsh than the crime. Cruelty in this sense is unjust. God is incapable of inflicting an unjust punishment. The Judge of all the earth will surely do what is right. No innocent person will ever suffer at His hand. The last judgment will be administered by a perfectly just and righteous Judge, so there will be nothing arbitrary or unjust about it.

[R. C. Sproul]

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God Created.

Nothing could be more irrational than the idea that something comes from nothing.

[R. C. Sproul]

Genesis 1:1 … In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Psalm 148:5 … Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created.

Romans 1:20 … For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:❤

Opinion About Abortion

We are all aware of hellfire-and-damnation preachers who rave and scream about the decadence of the world. It can become tiresome to listen to all of that. I think we all respect people who can disagree with others in a spirit of charity, and as a rule, I try to abide by that as much as I can. But when it comes to this question of abortion, my tolerance dissipates. I’m convinced that the matter of abortion facing the American public right now is the greatest wickedness in our nation’s history. It makes me almost ashamed to be an American. I’m ashamed of the medical profession, but I’m most deeply ashamed of the church for its failure to scream literally, “Bloody murder” about abortion.

Abortion is a monstrous evil, and if I know anything about the character of God, I am totally convinced that this is an outrage to him. From the beginning to the end of sacred Scripture, there is a premium on the sanctity of human life. Anytime we see human life cheapened -as it clearly is in the wanton destruction of unborn children- then those who have an appreciation for the value and the dignity of human life need to stand up and protest as loudly as they possibly can.

From a biblical standpoint, the issue focuses on the origin of life. It would be merely sophistry for me to accuse somebody of murder if in fact they were not killing a human life. I think the biblical evidence is manifold that life begins at conception. We see that repeatedly in the literature of the prophets in the Old Testament, in the psalms of David, and in the New Testament where at the meeting of Elizabeth and Mary, after she has conceived Jesus, John the Baptist, as yet unborn, bears witness to the presence of the Messiah, who also is not yet born. Neither one of these are born infants, and yet there is communication taking place. Jeremiah and the apostle Paul both speak of being consecrated and sanctified while they were still in their mothers’ wombs. These and a host of other passages indicate clearly that life begins before birth and, I believe, at conception. I just pray that this nation will sober itself about this and do something to restore the sanctity of life.

[R.C. Sproul]   Ligonier Ministries

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Loving Him

If we love Christ, it is appropriate to love Him extravagantly, for He is worthy of extravagant love.

[R.C. Sproul]

Matthew 22:37 ... Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

2 Thessalonians 2:16 ... Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,

Revelation 5:12 ... Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.❤

Deepening Knowledge

Unless we know God deeply, we cannot love him deeply. Deepening knowledge must precede deepening affection.

[R. C. Sproul]

Proverbs 15:18 ... The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.

Ephesians 3:17-18 ... That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Philippians 3:8 ... Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,❤

Stability

Hope is called the anchor of the soul because it gives stability to the Christian life. But hope is not simply a 'wish' (I wish that such-and-such would take place) rather, it is that which latches on to the certainty of the promises of the future that God has made.

[R.C. Sproul]

Hebrews 6:19... Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

Lamentations 3:22-24 ...  It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

Jeremiah 29:11 ... For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. ❤

The True Church

The visible church may be distressingly and sorely fractured and fragmented into all different kinds of denominations and groups, but the invisible church is the true body of Christ. Everyone who is in Christ, and in whom Christ dwells, is a member of this one universal church.

[R.C. Sproul]

Romans 12:5 ... So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

1 Corinthians 12:12 ... For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

Ephesians 4:4-6 ...  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;  One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.  ❤