O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Psalm 63:1-3
Psalm 23
Some believers are troubled because they cannot always and at all times feel the joy and comfort set forth in Psalm 23. We should remember that, though David lived long and wrote much, he wrote only one 23rd Psalm. There are other psalms; psalms of conviction, praise, prayer, seeking, and mourning. In fact, even this Psalm closes with our walk through the valley of death.
This valley of death is our entire journey through life. The fall of Adam put the stamp of death on everything and everyone. But we are walking through. It is not our home, and it is a valley of the SHADOW of death.
Christ has removed the substance and sting of death for us. The shadow of a dog can’t hurt; the shadow of a gun can’t kill. “I will fear no evil.” He does not say there will be no evil; but, because He is with me, I don’t FEAR the evil.
Pastor Henry T. Mahan (bulletin 1986)
OPTIONS
Have you ever made a phone call and a voice comes on and says push 1 or 2 or 4, then when you push that number it starts all over again? How frustrating. In every part of life there are too many things to choose from, in going to a restaurant, in choosing a car, what kind of computer should I get, on and on it goes.
But there is one thing in which there are no options; SALVATION from sin and condemnation (Rom. 8:1). God in His Holy Word has made it plain and straightforward; “This is my beloved Son, hear Him.”
God says there is ONE WAY to come unto Him (John 14:6), One who has the power to give eternal life, One who has the power to make God the Father known, One in whom a sinner can be accepted. The Holy Scriptures tells us there is One Righteousness; One Savior of sinners, One Mediator between God and men, “The man Christ Jesus.” One who has the power to give life and quicken whom He will. God says there is One whom He appointed heir, One by whom He will be addressed by, One by whom He will address sinners by, One JUST ONE.
God will give no man any wiggle room here, freewill won’t do, works won’t do, merit has no place, and law keeping won’t be accepted. The Lord God said it this way, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life: but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36).
I am so thankful that God the Father brought me to the place where there was no way out from under the guilt and condemnation of my sin and revealed the ONE WAY in which He would accept and make me righteous. That Way is through and by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor Donnie Bell
Salvation
Is my salvation that I claim to have according to the word of God? Is it according as God has chosen me in Christ before the foundation of the world? Is it according as God has blessed me with all spiritual blessings in Christ before the foundation of the world. Is it according to God predestinating me to the adoption of His children before the foundation of the world? Is my salvation according to the good pleasure of His will before the foundation of the world? If I can trace my salvation in Christ before the foundation of the world then I can be sure that my salvation is according to the word of God (Eph. 1:3-14). Anything short of “before the foundation of the world” won’t do. Pastor John Chapman
The Saints of God
“To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:7).
Who are these saints to whom Paul is writing? Every believer who is saved by the grace of God is a saint. We are totally sanctified in the Lord Jesus Christ, by His effectual blood sacrifice for us (Heb. 10:14; 1 Peter 1:18-20). The Lord Jesus Christ is made to the believer sanctification; He is our total sanctification before God the Father (1 Cor. 1:30). There is no such thing as progressive sanctification. We grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18) but our wicked flesh is never sanctified in our salvation (Rom. 7:18-24). Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit making us new creatures in Christ, giving unto us a new holy nature in the new birth (2 Cor. 5:17, 2 Peter 1:4). That which is of the flesh is just that flesh but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6; Eph. 4:24). Thank God salvation is all of grace (1Peter 5:10)!
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