I am not in the habit of making a New Year’s resolution, but I am as resolved this year as ever before in a few areas.

I am still resolved to seek to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. My desire is for the Father to not see me as I am, but to see me in His blessed Son.

I am still resolved to know more of the Lord Jesus Christ, for to know Him is life eternal.

I am still resolved to seek Christ and His righteousness and to have no claim of any righteousness which I have earned.

I am still resolved to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. I am resolved like Joshua of old, “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15).

I am still resolved to give thanks in all things, because no one has as many reasons to be thankful as a child of God (I Thes 5:18).

I am still resolved to show love for people, especially for the brethren, so that we can worship the Lord and fellowship together in unity and peace.

It doesn’t make a bit of sense for anyone to expect a reward for something he didn’t have anything to do with. Faith is the gift of God, and everything is the gift of grace from start to finish. All good works are of God. From God’s eternal purpose all the way to eternal glory, it is all of God’s grace in Christ. You can count your dung if you want to, but is sure smells bad.

Pastor Jack Shanks

SAVING FAITH

SAVING FAITH is a mysterious and wonderful thing, and also very rare. While it is true that all religious folks have some kind of faith, and some of them have much faith or great faith; yet there are very few who have saving faith. The one who has this precious, saving faith knows that his faith is a gift of God and that it came to him through the hearing of God’s Word (Eph. 2: 8,9; Rom. 10:17). He knows that his faith is sustained by the power of God and would wither and die apart from that Divine power and grace (I Pet. 1:5).

Saving faith does not lead a man to be always looking back to a time in history when he believed, but causes him to be concerned with Christ at the present. Saving faith never causes a man to look to his faith, but to God, to Christ, the origin and object of his faith; thus he doesn’t glory in self but in the Lord (I Cor. 1: 30, 31). Saving faith never causes a man to look to his attainments and experiences as a ground or basis of his safety and assurance, but to Jesus Christ and him crucified and nothing else. Saving faith will cause a man to be obedient and submissive to the Lord, but will never lead that man to look to his obedience and submission as any part of that righteousness wherein he is accepted of God. Saving faith, as a friend and protector of our souls, stands up against that natural self-righteousness which we have and rebukes that hypocrite which dwells within each of us. Saving faith will never lead a man to measure and compare himself with other sinners, but with the Saviour of sinners, so that he may understand what the apostle Paul meant when he said, “I am the chief of sinners.” Saving faith will lead a man to say, “All of my righteousnesses are as filthy rags, but I am complete in Him.” Saving faith will bring a man to say “I abhor myself, but my Saviour and Lord is altogether lovely.” Do you have saving faith?

Pastor Maurice Montgomery

An old preacher once said, “If you wish to be disappointed, look at others; if you wish to be disheartened, look at yourself; if you wish to be encouraged, look to Jesus Christ.”

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