"I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Thy servant; for I do not forget Thy commandments." (Psalm 119:176) ______________________________________________________________________
IN JESUS FIND SWEET REST TUNE TO "Am I a Soldier of the Cross?" CM WORDS BY Jim Byrd
1. Come unto Jesus, weary one, Your wretchedness confess; He sits upon His gracious throne, And gives to sinners rest.
2. ‘Tis not by works of righteousness, That guilty souls are blessed; Those filthy rags you must detest, In Jesus find your rest.
3. He was the perfect Sacrifice, For those by sin oppressed; He fully paid our ransom price, In Jesus find your rest.
4. Ye weary saints, severely tried, Come lean upon His breast; He ever lives, Who for us died, In Jesus find sweet rest.
O WHAT LOVE! "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). The love of Christ for His people is a glorious truth to dwell upon. Here is a soothing balm for the souls of sinners who have been brought to believe on His name. His love for His bride is as eternal as He is. Behold our Savior becoming the Surety of His elect before the world was made (Hebrews 7:22; 8:6), accepting full responsibility for our deliverance from every effect of sin. In love He joined Himself to our nature and, in the fulness of time, redeemed us from the curse of the law by His substitutionary death. "Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it" (Ephesians 5:25). By the sacrifice of Himself the Redeemer made reconciliation for iniquity and worked out for His people a perfect righteousness. It was because of His everlasting love that He laid down His life for His sheep and now our Advocate ever lives to make intercession for us. At the appointed hour we are born again by the power of His Spirit Who reveals the gospel of free grace to our hearts. In love He continually watches over His own and governs all things which concern His little ones, working everything together for our good. Soon He will bring all of His children unto Himself and "so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). John Flavel, reflecting upon the love of Christ for His people, wrote these words many years ago. "Put the beauty of ten thousand paradises like Eden into one. Put all trees, all flowers, all fragrances, all colors, all tastes, all joys, all sweetness, all loveliness into one and it would be less than the love of Christ as one drop of rain is less than all the lakes, rivers, streams, seas and fountains of all the earth." Christ’s love for His church is unchangeable, immeasurable and everlasting. "...Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end" (John 13:1). -- Pastor Jim Byrd ______________________________________________________________________ SONS OF JACOB SAVED BY GRACE When we look at the life of Jacob, we see a sinner who had many problems due to his own sinful ways. If we are honest, we can all identify with Jacob in his sin. But when we study Jacob’s life, we find in him something amazing. It had nothing to do with any supposed goodness or righteousness within himself. In the matter of God saving Jacob, it was said of Jacob and Esau, "For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth" (Romans 9:11). Jacob’s salvation was all due to the sovereign grace, love and mercy of God in Christ.
Amidst all his sin and problems, Jacob had a God-given longing to seek the LORD. Someone may ask, "Why didn’t God give this same longing to Esau?" God does not give us any reason for His sovereign choice. God left Esau to his own desires and devices, and God was just to do so. If God had left Jacob to himself, he would have been no better off than Esau. Why didn’t God let both perish in their sins? It is because He is a God of mercy and grace Who has purposed to glorify Himself in the salvation of "a remnant according to the election of grace" (Romans 11:5). The question we must consider is this – DO WE HAVE A GOD-GIVEN LONGING TO SEEK THE LORD? All who seek the LORD shall find Him. And all who find Him can identify with Jacob, not only in his sinfulness, but also in the grace and mercy of God that Jacob found in Christ. "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed" (Malachi 3:6). –Pastor Bill Parker
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