Sunday, January 16, 2022

HYMN OF THE DAY

Compared with Christ, in all beside
No comeliness I see;
The one thing needful, dearest Lord,
Is to be one with thee.

The sense of thy redeeming love
Into my soul convey;
Thyself bestow, for Thee alone,
My All-in-all, I pray.

Less than Thyself will not suffice
My comfort to restore;
More than Thyself I cannot crave,
And thou cans’t give no more.

Loved of my God, for Him again,
With love intense I’d burn;
Chosen of Thee ere time began,
I’d choose Thee in return.

Tune: “Amazing Grace”, p. #236

So completely was Jesus bent upon saving sinners by the sacrifice of Himself—that He created the tree upon which He was to die, and nurtured from infancy, the men who were to nail Him to the accursed wood! - Octavius Winslow

DRASTIC CHANGE COMING

There is a drastic change coming for every individual who has ever lived in the history of this world. For those who die in their unbelief, there will be a change they could never have imagined. Their eyes will suddenly be opened to see devils and the souls of others who are damned with them. Such horror they will experience can never be grasped in this lifetime.

Brother Scott used to say, 'Sinners are skating on thin ice over the very pit of hell.' and when the thin ice breaks through they will immediately sink into eternal misery the mind could never conceive.

There is a drastic change coming for the believer also. Here they live by faith. They walk by faith, and they see by faith. Their walk is often slow and their sight is often dim. But when their soul and body sever one from another they will experience a wonderful change. They will be with Christ their Lord immediately - "having a desire to depart and to be with Christ; which is far better," (Phil.1:23).

But not even this is the best part that awaits every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. They wait - and rest while they wait the resurrection of the body, when soul and body will be reunited in a glorified state.

No man can imagine the glory that awaits the believer in that hour. It will be so eternally wonderful that even their glorified minds cannot fully grasp it. Even the apostle John said, 'it doeth not yet appear what we shall be: (and then he gives a hint as to why) but we know that, when he appears, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is," (1Jh.3:2). Free from sin forever; In the very image of our living and loving Lord and Redeemer. What a desired change is coming! And this is a change to live and die for.

When I stand before the throne,

Dressed in beauty not my own,

When I see Thee as Thou art,

Love thee with un-sinning heart,

Then, Lord, shall I fully know -

Not till then - how much I owe. - Bruce Crabtree

BY THE GRACE OF GOD

I am not what I ought to be, ah, how imperfect and deficient. I am not what I wish to be; I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good. I am not what I hope to be; soon I shall put off, with mortality, all sin and imperfection. Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say that I am not what I once was, a slave to sin and Satan. And I can heartily join with the apostle and acknowledge that, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” - John Newton

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes... I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.” (Psalm 119:71, 75).

Many years ago, Martin Luther was going through a great and heavy trial for the sake of the Gospel of Christ. He read these verses and cried out, “Strike on Oh Lord, strike on! For I know, now, that thou lovest me!” What a terrible thing to miss the faithfulness of our Lord by shunning and murmuring at the afflictions He has sent - in His infinite Love and Grace to His child! In doing so, we avoid the blessing. Lord, give us the faith to trust and believe you! To cry out, “Strike on Lord, Strike on!” That we might see your love, faithfulness, and righteousness once more! - Kevin Thacker