"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:6-7) ************************************************************************** SALVATION IS OF THE LORD Tune to "My Faith Has Found A Resting Place" CM/DOUBLE Words by Jim Byrd
1. Behold our great and sovereign God, The source of boundless grace, Ordained a people for Himself, Of Adam’s fallen race. The Father chose His only Son, To be our Surety; And grace was given us in Him, In old eternity.
2. When time had in her fulness come, The Lord from heav’n above; Came down to be the Son of Man, What sacrificial love. To save His people from their sins, Christ suffered, bled and died; The law demanded death for sin, Now God is satisfied.
3. The tomb could not the Savior hold, From death the Lord arose; And now He sits upon His throne, Triumphant o’er His foes. He is our Shield and Hiding Place, Our freedom from the law; Rejoice in Christ our Righteousness, And comfort from Him draw. ************************************ Daily Readings- August 21-27 Sunday - Jeremiah 29-31 Monday - Jeremiah 32-33 Tuesday - Jeremiah 34-36 Wednesday- Jeremiah 37-40 Thursday - Jeremiah 41-44 Friday - Jeremiah 45-48 Saturday- Jeremiah 49-50 ************************************ SCRIPTURE READINGS TODAY: MORNING: PSALM 97 EVENING: LUKE 5:12-26 ************************************************************************** "LOOK, THERE’S THE CAPTAIN" I am often asked how to be a witness for Christ. A witness is one who tells what he knows and what he has experienced. Perhaps this illustration will help. Two boats passed each other on the Mississippi River, one a ferry, loaded with people, the other carried freight. A worker on the ferry pointed toward a man on the other vessel and said to a nearby passenger, "Look, there’s the captain." When the passenger asked how the man knew the captain and why he pointed him out, the man told this story. "Years ago we were going along just like this when I fell overboard. About the time I went into the water, that boat was passing alongside of us and the captain dove into the water and rescued me, otherwise I would have drowned for I could not swim. I’ll never forget him and every time his boat passes I like to tell somebody about him and say, ‘Look, there’s the captain.’"
My friends, in Adam, and through personal guilt, I had fallen overboard into the depths of depravity with no ability to save myself. If left alone, my soul would have been justly and eternally swept away beneath the waves of vindictive justice. But, the Captain of my salvation came to the rescue. The Son of God joined Himself to human flesh, lived a life of obedience to divine law and then culminated His obedience with the death of the cross. He died that God might be a just God and a Savior; He laid down His life to put away my sins and establish a perfect righteousness which God freely imputes to this unworthy sinner. In time, He sent the gospel to me and by His Spirit gave me a saving interest in Christ. He was revealed to me as the One who had accomplished redemption. I was brought to repentance from dead works and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He rescued me from perishing. Everything God required for my eternal salvation has been fully accomplished by my Substitute. I am complete in Him. It is my delight and privilege to direct your attention to Him and proclaim to you, "Look, there’s the Captain of my salvation," or, as John the Baptist said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"
To be a witness of Christ, then, is to tell people Who rescued you and how He did it. It is to exalt that One who was appointed to be the Savior of His chosen people, Who made our peace with God by the blood of His cross. *************************************************************************** "THE WAY THAT I TAKE" " But He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10).
In the midst of Job’s miseries he found comfort in knowing that the Lord knew both where he was and the way that he took. Though the future is dark and unknown to us, it is a great consolation to every believer to be reminded that all the steps of life have been arranged according to the infinite wisdom of our covenant God. He Who chose me unto salvation and redeemed me by the blood of His Son, Who has declared me to be the righteousness of God in Christ, long ago determined "the way that I take." With unlimited knowledge, in unfathomable love and with unerring accuracy He leads me in the path He ordained. The way I must go has been marked out by my all-wise and all-caring Guide. It is true that I cannot see the path ahead, yet it is enough for me to know that my loving Father determined it. And how comforting to be assured that the fiery trials of life cannot destroy me. "I shall come forth as gold." "The King’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold" (Psalm 45:13). The righteousness of Christ has been imputed to me and I cannot be destroyed, though I may often be cast into the furnace of affliction.
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