Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name.

Psalm 66:1-4

Free Agents But Not Free Wills

All men are FREE AGENTS with the power to choose, act, and decide according to their character and nature! But, to say that man has a FREE WILL is to say that he has the power to act contrary to his own nature.

Our sinful natures have destroyed our will to do good and brought our wills into bondage and captivity to sin. Man’s will is bound to, and determined by, his sinful nature. He has a will, but it is NOT FREE. It is the servant of sin. Only God in Christ can give a man the will to obey Him. “Thy people shall be made willing in the day of THY POWER” (Ps. 110:3).

Pastor Henry T. Mahan (bulletin 1986)

A Fallen Saint

“Peter went out and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:62

Peter had sat in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. He had walked on the water to go to Him. He had lived in the full assurance that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. “We believe and are sure,” he said, “That thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” the words of blood redemption had gone to Peter’s heart from the very lips of Jesus Christ Himself (Jn.6:88). Peter had seen the power of the Lord when he spoke to the raging waves of the sea and stilled them – the Lord Jesus saved Peter’s life that day, and Peter knew it too.

Now this same Peter has denied the Lord he loved and believed – even cursed and swore he never knew him. Look at him now as he goes off in the darkness sobbing as he goes. Imagine the guilt and fear that weighed upon his afflicted conscience? Imagine the suggestions from Satan, the prince of darkness, saying to him, “There is no hope for you now.” Only those who have experienced such a thing know how Satan can work with a guilty conscience to drive it to despair.

I am sure Peter thought, as many have since, “There is no way out of this dilemma I find myself in.” A poor soul like this can despair of ever being recovered. He sank in deep mire where there was no standing. I will tell you this, if Jesus Christ does not make intercession for such a person and strengthen his faith, and send some light into his darkness, Satan will sift him. Those who dream they are a match for Satan’s accusations are ignorant of his devices.

Does our Lord Jesus know all this? Of course he knows. His intercession had already secured Peter, not from falling but from falling away. Not from bitter weeping but from final despair. Peter had a sad and fearful fall, but he had a fearless and faithful Advocate with the Father. Peter fell, but just about the time the enemy began to rejoice over him, he rose up again – forgiven and restored.

Dear fallen saint, don’t despair. Maybe you see no way in your present darkness to be restored, but Jesus Christ can see for you, He is the way. Look out of your wet eyes to him. Your heart is aching but the Lord Jesus feels it. Trust him. Wait upon Him. Your weeping may endure for a night, but joy will come in the morning.

Pastor Bruce Crabtree

“The very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

Matthew 10:39

There seems to be much anxiousness among the people of God at this time with the Covid-19 virus and the upcoming election. It would be good at this time as always to remind ourselves of God’s absolute sovereignty in all things. This truth does not breed irresponsibility on our part or at least it shouldn’t; yet at the same time it should relieve us of anxiety.

God’s children are spoken of as “the apple of his eye.” No one is going to stick his finger in God’s eye, so nothing is going to touch us that He has not ordained for His glory and our good. Surely some of us have lived long enough in this world to recognize that we are poor judges of what we think is good for us and what is not.

Let us meditate more upon His purpose, His glory, and less on what we perceive may happen. Pastor David Pledger

COME DOWN FROM THE CROSS AND WE WILL BELIEVE

At the cross, the religious leaders of the day said, “He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him” (Matt. 27:42). They falsely claimed that if they saw a miracle, they would believe on Christ. Isn’t this what many people are still saying in our day? They say if they see miracles they will believe. They say they will believe if the Lord will miraculously provide for them or heal them. But this is not true. The only way any sinner will ever believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, through the preaching of the Word. (I Cor. 1:21-24) Let us always make much of the preaching of the Word of God. If hearing the Word of God preached will not convince a man to trust Christ, you can rest assured no miracle will be able to do it either.