MY BROTHER-FRIEND Tune to "O FOR A THOUSAND TONGUES" CM Words by JIM BYRD
1. Poor, weak and sinful though I am, I have a heav’nly Friend; Christ Jesus is His precious Name, He loves me without end.
2. Though I was ruined by the fall, Christ bore my guilt and blame; He died and saved my sinful soul, His praise I will proclaim.
3. In seeking grace my Brother-Friend Pursued this wand’ring sheep; He rescued me from sin and death, And He my soul will keep.
4. Each day new blessings from above, My Friend supplies for me; He fills my heart with joy and peace, And guides unerringly.
5. Someday my life on earth shall end And I will leave this place; Then shall the greatest joy be mine, To see my dear Friend’s face.
SCRIPTURE READINGS TODAY: MORNING: PSALM 31:19-24 EVENING: JOHN 8:33-59
Daily Readings - Oct. 13-19 Sunday - Matt. 27-28 Monday - Mark 1-3 Tuesday - Mark 4-5 Wednesday- Mark 6-7 Thursday - Mark 8-9 Friday - Mark 10-11 Saturday - Mark 12-13
"I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." (Isaiah 43:25)
SOVEREIGN MERCY IS ROYAL KINDNESS If God is pleased to bestow saving mercy, is that not His prerogative? And is it not also His right, if He shows mercy, to bestow it upon whom He will? Mercy is not a matter of debt, but of royal kindness which God gives when and where it seems good in His sight. "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy." Though men balk at the thought of distinguishing kindness, their complaint has no merit. The King declares, "Is it not lawful for Me to do what I will with Mine own?" –Pastor Jim Byrd
ALL GOOD THINGS THROUGH CHRIST All things are transmitted and conveyed to us through Christ. As our rich commodities, such as jewels and spices, come to us by the sea, so all heavenly blessings sail to us through the red sea of Christ’s blood! Christ is that spiritual pipe through which the golden oil of mercy empties itself into the soul! Christ is all in all. He is a treasury and storehouse of all spiritual riches! You may go with the bee from flower to flower and suck a little sweetness here and there, but you will never have enough until you come to Christ, for He is all in all. There is enough in Christ to scatter all our fears, to remove all our burdens, to supply all our needs. –Thomas Watson
OUR GREATEST NEED If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness of and redemption from sin. Our greatest need was righteousness before a holy God. Our greatest need was spiritual, eternal life. God, therefore, sent His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and He, by His obedience unto death, met and fulfilled all our needs, our greatest need – eternal salvation. –Author unknown
ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY "There arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but He was asleep. And His disciples came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish" (Matthew 8:24-25). It was not calm seas nor gentle breezes that forced our Lord’s disciples to flee to the Savior; it was boisterous waves and howling winds. It was only when they feared for their lives that they cried to Him and it was then that they experienced the blessedness of His glorious presence and realized His authority over the forces of nature.
No believer’s life will be exempt from troubles. The Lord never promised freedom from the ordinary discomforts that men experience in this world of sin, sickness and trouble. Lifelong attendance in the school of affliction is mandatory. The Lord has assured, however, His presence to strengthen us and His grace to sustain us. When the disciples were in the boat and the sea grew angry from the storm, they watched in horror as their vessel filled with water. Fearing for their lives and at their wit’s end they cried out, "Lord, save us: we perish." And yet, HE WHO IS LIFE was in the boat with them; perishing was an impossibility! They were never in any real jeopardy and they should have known that, but they forgot, as we often do. He who of God has been made unto us "wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption" will "never leave us nor forsake us."
The Lord’s disciples learned valuable lessons from that trial which they could not have learned any other way. Don’t be dismayed in time of trouble; fall back upon the word of the Lord; lean upon thy God. May the Lord enable us to be good students in the school of affliction remembering that "tribulation worketh patience." –Pastor Jim Byrd
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