"I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." (Isaiah 43:25) *************************************************************************** WE BEGIN ANOTHER YEAR TUNE TO: FROM EVERY STORMY WIND LM WORDS BY JIM BYRD
1. With humble hearts we gather here, And so begin another year; Another year, to us obscure, But by Thy grace we shall endure.
2. To us the future is unknown, But trusting Thee we journey on, Relying on Thy providence, We face this year with confidence.
3. By day and night our Refuge be, Cause us to always rest in Thee; To look to Christ for everything, And to His Name all honors bring.
4. Without Thy presence and Thy care, To travel on we would not dare; Be Thou our Guardian and our Guide, And evermore with us abide. *************************************************************************** Daily Readings - January 1-7 Sunday - Genesis 1-3 Monday - Genesis 4-6 Tuesday - Genesis 7-9 Wednesday- Genesis 10-12 Thursday - Genesis 13-15 Friday - Genesis 16-18 Saturday - Genesis 19-21 *************************************************************************** CONGREGATIONAL SCRIPTURE READING: PSALM 90 *************************************************************************** HUMMINGBIRDS AND VULTURES "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the Word of the Lord endured for ever. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you." (1 Peter 1:23-25)
Both the hummingbird and the vulture fly over our nation’s deserts. All vultures see is rotting meat, because that is what they look for. They thrive on that diet. But hummingbirds ignore the flesh of dead animals. Instead, they look for the colorful blossoms of desert plants. The vultures live on corruption. They fill themselves with what is dead. But hummingbirds live on the beauty of life. They fill themselves with freshness and life. Each bird finds what it is looking for. We all do. What are you looking for as you continue through this life? Do you spend your time seeking for the decaying and dying things of this world or do you spend your time in the living Word of God? God’s Word always leads us to the eternal beauty and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. It leads us to rest in Him alone for an abiding righteousness and glory that will never fade away. –copied *************************************************************************** ACCEPTED "To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." (Ephesians 1:6) Think for a moment of the glory and majesty of Almighty God. If a believer ponders in his heart the wonder of God’s grace, he soon realizes his own unworthiness and utter vileness. How could it ever be that He, before whom the moon and stars are not pure in His sight, accepts such sinners? Yet the infallible Word of God declares that He indeed has accepted some men in the Beloved. Who are they? How are they made accepted? According to Ephesians 1:3-14, they are those who have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ. They are those who have been chosen in Christ from the foundation of the world. They are those who have been predestinated to the adoption of children by Christ. They are those who have been accepted in Christ. They are those who have been redeemed by Christ, forgiven their sins by Christ, illuminated in Christ, gathered in Christ, and given an inheritance in Christ. They are those who have been given faith after they heard the Gospel. They are those who have been sealed by the Holy Spirit in Christ. This was all done for them to the praise and the glory of God’s grace. This was accomplished for them by Him Who doeth all things after the counsel of His own will. To the hopeless, and only the hopeless, this is good news! –Pastor Tim James *************************************************************************** NO ACCEPTANCE WITHOUT PERFECTION The Word of God is clear; His people are "accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). It is also clear that He will only accept those who are perfect. "It shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein" (Leviticus 22:21). If the Lord’s people are acceptable to Him, then it stands to reason that we must be without blemish and if we are without blemish, then we are perfect, and since there is no perfection in us, that perfection must be found "in the Beloved." The righteousness we require is in Christ which is freely and graciously imputed to us. He established that righteousness by His death. "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Co. 5:21). Having Christ we have the righteousness God demands and approves of. Only by His sacrifice could this perfection be brought in and sinners be made acceptable to God. Let every true believer rejoice in Christ. "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works" (Ecclesiastes 9:7). –Pastor Jim Byrd
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