He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Proverbs 11:28-30

Pastor Frank Tate will be with us on Thursday, July 14.

Tuesday, July 5, I am scheduled to preach at Grace Baptist Church in Danville, Ky.

FAITH

Faith is not life giving, but proof of life. Faith is not a work for salvation, but a work of salvation. Faith is not what saves us, but is certain proof God has saved us. Faith is not a condition we meet, but the condition God’s Spirit puts in us to “make us meet” (Col.1:12). Is all this important? Do we split theological hairs here? NO! NO! For the Glory of God is at stake! That other (false) gospel says faith is man’s work, man’s will. But no, faith is “not of yourselves, but the gift of God” (Eph.2:8). Faith is “according to the working of His mighty power” (Eph.1:19). Therefore, it is “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph.1:6) . . . and not rather “to the praise of our faith.”

Paul E. Mahan

THE GOSPEL: CHRIST IS ALL

The message of the gospel of God is God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 1:1-3). The gospel sent by God to sinful men only has one message: Christ. The gospel declares that Christ is all. The message that Christ is all is too simple for the intellectual man, too plain for the man with itching ears, and offensive to the self-righteous religious man who wrongly feels that he has something he can add to his standing before God. But the message that Christ is all is good news from a far country to a sinful man. A sinful man loves the simple message that Christ is all. I have no righteousness of my own but Christ is all my righteousness. I have no holiness of my own but Christ is all my sanctification. I have no wisdom of my own but Christ is all my wisdom. I am completely lost and undone, dead in trespasses and sins, but Christ is all of my salvation. Thank God that Christ is all!

Pastor Frank Tate

Always A Hopeful Symptom

“And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not” (Luke 3:15).

Let us always thank God when we see a spirit of reflection on religious subjects coming over the mind of an unconverted man. Thinking and deliberation are the high road to conversion. The truth of Christ has nothing to fear from sober examination. We invite inquiry. We desire to have its claims fully investigated. We know that its fitness to supply every need of man's heart and conscience is not appreciated in many cases, simply because it is not known. Thinking, no doubt, is not faith and repentance. But it is always a hopeful symptom. When hearers of the Gospel begin to "muse in their hearts," we ought to bless God and take courage.

J. C. Ryle

The First Tomorrow

The very first tomorrow is recorded in Genesis 1:8 “... And the evening and the morning were the second day.” Everything that happened on that first tomorrow was ordained by God before time began, and came to pass according to the eternal purpose of our Sovereign Lord. That very truth can be said of every tomorrow since, and of every tomorrow that is yet to come. Brethren, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Heb. 13:8). He holds every tomorrow in His omnipotent hands. WE CAN TRUST HIM! He is worthy of our trust! AMEN?" Pastor Gene Harmon

No Condemnation In Christ

Consider this dreadful truth for a moment. Our sin in fallen Adam charged to us has separated us from God,"But your iniquities have separated between you and your God" (Isaiah 59:2). In Adam we are, "…estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies." (Psalm 58:3). In Adam guilt, judgment, death and sin entered into us, "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men" (Rom. 5:12).