"He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18) *************************************************************************** LEAN UPON THE LORD
Tune "AM I A SOLDIER OF THE CROSS?" CM Words by JIM BYRD
1. Let every anxious child of God, Remember God is King; Recline your weary soul on Him, Who governs everything.
2. Our Father’s purpose ever stands, And changed it cannot be; Jehovah reigns throughout the world, By absolute decree.
3. He is the Lord of heav’n and earth, His will shall none frustrate; For who could challenge or defeat The mighty Potentate?
4. ‘Tis here His troubled children find, True comfort, peace and rest; In all things see the work of God, For what He does is best.
5. So let us lean upon the Lord, And trust His perfect will; All things shall work out for our good, God’s purpose to fulfill. *************************************************************************** Daily Readings --March 4-10 Sunday - Deut. 11-13 Monday - Deut. 14-16 Tuesday - Deut. 17-20 Wednesday- Deut. 21-23 Thursday - Deut. 24-27 Friday - Deut. 28 Saturday - Deut. 29-31
CONGREGATIONAL SCRIPTURE READINGS TODAY: MORNING: HEBREWS 13:5-21 EVENING: LUKE 11:14-28 *************************************************************************** LIFE 101 I am often called upon to sit at the bedside of folks who are about to die. Over the years I have become convinced that, on a purely natural level, dying people know how to live. I have yet to hear someone who is facing eternity say, "I wish I had bought a bigger house," or "I regret not devoting more time to my career." Instead, I have often heard plaintive groans such as, "I wish that I had been a better husband or wife," or "If only I had spent more time with my kids," or "Why did I waste so much time and energy on bitter grudges?" I have also noticed that those who attend a dying relative or friend quickly let go, if only for a short time, the petty differences on which they have expended precious energy. These natural lessons are of great spiritual value. We are told in Scripture that we are dying. In our youth, we know this in our heads. As the years go by, we not only know it in our heads, but also feel it in our bones...yet I am not convinced that we really believe it in our hearts. If we knew that we would not see tomorrow, which, by the way, we are not promised, what manner of folk might we be? How precious would one more gathering of the saints to worship be! How hungry would we be to hear the glorious Gospel of Sovereign Grace just once more! How easy it would be to say "I’m sorry," or "Please forgive me!" How necessary would it be to embrace our loved ones; dandle our children on our knees! How ready would we be to receive kindness, mercy, even pity! David said in Psalm 39:4, "Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am." Moses said in Psalm 90:12, "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Death is a great university, and the lessons learned there are of inestimable worth. DEATH is LIFE 101. –Pastor Tim James _________________________________________________________________________ MY STANDING AND MY LIFE
My standing before God is in no way affected by how I live my life. I am justified by God’s grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. I stand forever blessed in the Savior Whose blood secured my pardon and Whose impeccable righteousness has been imputed to me. God sees no sin in me for He sees me in His Son Who was manifested to take away my sin by His substitutionary, sacrificial death. By God’s sovereign appointment, I am "in Him," and being "in Him," I have no sin (read 1 John 3:5). "In Him" I am always accepted.
Having established that, let me also say this. While my standing before God is in no way affected by the way I live my life, yet, the way I live my life IS affected when I am taught by the Holy Spirit of my perfect standing in Christ. I have been brought to love His gospel, submit to His Lordship, seek His will and bow to His authority. While it is true that I fail miserably in doing these things perfectly, yet I endeavor to walk in this world in a manner that reflects favorably upon my Lord, His gospel and His church. I want my motives to always be for the glory of God. I want my attitude, words and deeds to be honoring to Him and beneficial to those around me. I desire to be a godly man, a man of exemplary character. I look forward to the day when I will be done with this horrible monster of sin that afflicts me and mars all that I do.
Every child of God desires to adorn the doctrine of God our Savior by our attitude and deeds. We want to do His revealed will, to glory only in the Lord and to rejoice in Him always. As we make our pitiful attempts to do these things, let us ever be mindful of and thankful for our Redeemer in Whom we have always been accepted. While our standing before God does indeed affect our lives, our lives in no way affect our standing. In Christ we are justified for time and eternity. –Pastor Jim Byrd
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