New Years Eve by J.C. Philpot

"This is a reading age—and as books are cheap, largely read, and easily procurable, the press has come to embrace a wider circle and to possess a greater influence on the public mind than any other medium of communication. The Christian press has spread itself in all directions, and exercises an influence scarcely inferior to that of the pulpit. Works, therefore, written by gracious men, whether living or dead, may be viewed as exercising a ministry of their own, running, as it were, parallel to that of the pulpit, and in harmony with it—but possessing the advantage of penetrating into places, and speaking on occasions where the voice of the living preacher cannot come, as well as of being accessible at all times, lying silently and unobtrusively on the table or the bookshelf, ready to be taken up or laid down at pleasure—and, if we have well chosen them, our trustiest friends and wisest counselors, who will always tell us the truth without fear and without flattery.

Now may the Lord bless you, and lift up the light of his countenance upon you, and give you peace! May you, during this year of grace; receive much grace; and may you proceed onwards towards heaven! And may we as a church, as members of churches, as ministers, as deacons, mutually strive together for the faith of Jesus, and be edified therein! And may the Lord save the ungodly! If the last year is clean gone and you are not yet pardoned and forgiven, let not another year roll away without finding mercy!

Now, my friends, in the highest and best sense, I wish you all a happy new year."

(J. C. Philpot, "New Years' Address" 1868)

A more palatable Christmas by Eric Wilson

I suppose no greater time of the year manifests the nature of man than this season. Throughout the year many churches seem to pervert the gospel and preach a more palatable sermon to the flesh. They teach lessons and stories and ignore the message of Christ finished work. They bring the world into the church to entice the worshipers and discard His abilities and work. They add to the theatrics with pictures, idles, and symbols of blasphemy. And every week under the pretense of spirituality the lost wonder in to fill their emotional needs only to be empty by that afternoon. With that it should not surprise any of us the apparent zeal people go into this holiday season with every year. But still my heart sinks to see all that man does with the pretense of religion. They take what they know as religion and mix it with the world. Christmas was clearly brought over from Paganism to entice those to the Roman Church. Christmas services of today teach stories and ignore the message of Christ life, death, resurrection, ascension, and Word. Nowhere in the scripture speaks of or records a celebration of Jesus birth, but the same scriptures says clearly we should remember His death. Ignoring this many not only embrace and celebrate the nativity but change it to fit a 60 minute pageant. They worship it with idles and symbols and fight for idolatrous nativity scenes to be displayed in public. And on December 25th there are those that exhibit joy in the remembrance of the birth of Jesus, but seek no pleasure in the Savior. It seems for this single day the religion of self is amplified to demonstrate the flesh more than usual. There is no different it appears than any other day.

And so it should be for you and me as well. We should spend this day and season as we should spend every day of the year. Believers should spend every day in thanks and praise to God for His gift of His Son. We should embrace songs such as Joy to the World and sing them all year round. Since it is not improper but lawful to meditate upon the Lord on any day it shouldn’t be in the power of other men’s superstition, or our own, to make such a meditation improper for this one day as well. We need not act like super-pious religious idiots over a day that truly has absolutely no more religious significance than any other. And like any other day we should live it to serve the Lord. And like any other day we should give thanks to Him. Let us remember that everyday and opportunity is provided us by divine providence. The day may be afforded us to tell everyone who Christ is, to preach the message of His finished work, to call everyone to reconcile to God. It is not by accident that once a year all unbelievers are faced with the truth that Christ became flesh to save His elect.

With all of this, I am not saying it is wrong to come together, give gifts, send cards, or especially give thanks for the gift of His Son. I enjoy, most of the time, this season and the good will it promotes. And I love, am humbled, and honored for any opportunity to praise the lord and share the meaning of His Son and the Gift of Grace. Let us repent from any religiosity and false representations of Christ. This day like any other day let us exalt it to glorify God.

any season by Don Fortner

While I loathe the religiosity of this holiday season, the silly plays, the idolatrous pictures and representations of Christ and the angels of God, and pretense of spirituality by people who have no interest in the glory of God, I am delighted for this season of the year (for any season) that brings families together, encourages kindness and good will, and promotes thoughtfulness of and generosity to others. It is perfectly all right to exchange gifts with and send cards to family and friends. (I cannot imagine a reason for anyone objecting to that!) But I suggest that each of us find a way to acknowledge and do something special for someone from whom we expect nothing, maybe even from someone from whom we expect abuse. “Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” - Don Fortner

Christmas is coming by A.W. Pink

Christmas is coming! Quite so; but what is "Christmas"? Does not the very term itself denote its source-- "Christ-mass." Thus it is of Romish origin, brought over from Paganism. But, says someone, Christmas is the time when we commemorate the Savior's birth. It is? And who authorized such commemoration? Certainly God did not. The Redeemer bade His disciples "remember" Him in His death, but there is not a word in Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, which tells us to celebrate His birth... -
By Arthur Pink

Superstitions regarding the season by C.H. Spurgeon

We have no superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly we do not believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas. First, because we do not believe in the mass at all, but abhor it, whether it be sung in Latin or in English. Secondly, because we find no Scriptural warrant whatever for observing any day as the birthday of the Savior; and consequently, its observance is a superstition, because not of divine authority. 'Superstition' has fixed most positively the day of our Savior's birth, although there is no possibility of discovering when it occurred. ... It was not till the middle of the third century that any part of the Church celebrated the nativity of our Lord; and it was not till very long after the Western Church had set the example, that the Eastern adopted it.... Probably the fact is that the "holy" days were arranged to fit in with the heathen festivals. We venture to assert, that if there be any day in the year, of which we may be pretty sure that it was not the day on which the Savior was born, it is the 25th of December. ... Regarding not the day, let us, nevertheless, give God thanks for the gift of His dear Son. – by Charles Spurgeon

There are no atheists in Hell by C. H Spurgeon

How will unbelief look in the flames of hell?

There are no infidels anywhere but on earth!
There are none in heaven, and there are none in hell.

Atheism is a strange thing. Even the devils never fell
into that vice, for "the devils believe and tremble."

And there are some of the devil's children that have
gone beyond their father in sin, but how will it look
when they are forever lost?

When God's foot crushes them, they
will not be able to doubt his existence!

When he tears them in pieces and there is none to
deliver, then their sophistical syllogisms, their empty
logic, their brags and bravadoes, will be of no avail!

Oh, that they had been wise and had not darkened
their foolish hearts, but had turned unto the living God!

by C.H. Spurgeon

Thy Word Is Truth by Todd Nibert

Jhn 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

These were the words of our Lord in His great High Priestly prayer for His people. In John 14:6 He said, "I am the Truth." But here He says, "Thy word is Truth." This is a reference to the written word of God. The Bible is the inspired word of God. It has no error in it. The Scriptures alone are our only rule of faith and practice.
There are many who profess to believe the Bible to be inspired, but they do not believe "the Scriptures alone". They believe there is truth in other religions. They believe there is truth in man's philosophy. They even believe there is truth in their feelings, impressions, and religious experiences. That is not believing the Scriptures alone. That is believing the Scriptures and...........
The Bible has a monopoly on the Truth. There is no truth in other religions. They are all based upon a false premise. There is no truth in our natural way of thinking, nor in our feelings, nor in any religious experience which is contrary to the word of God. Truth is not subjective. It is not subject to our experience, feelings, traditions, and beliefs. Truth is objective. It is not something we discover internally, in our hearts. "All men are liars." The Bible is the objective standard of truth, and the Bible has a monopoly on the Truth! If we leave this position, then anything goes! Truth becomes subjective. Truth becomes relative. It becomes impossible to know the Truth! By Todd Nibert

Have we not leaned upon a thousand things? By J. C. Philpot

"You are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man's hand and wounds him if he leans on it!" Isaiah 36:6

Have we not leaned upon a thousand things? And what have they proved? Splintered reeds that have run into our hands, and pierced us! Our own strength and resolutions, the world and the church, sinners and saints, friends and enemies, have they not all proved, more or less, splintered reeds? The more we have leaned upon them, like a man leaning upon a sword, the more have they pierced our souls!

The Lord Himself has to wean us . . . from the world, from friends, from enemies, from self, in order to bring us to lean upon Himself. And every prop He will sooner or later remove--that we may lean wholly and solely upon His Person, love, death, and righteousness! By Jospeh Philpot

Two Doers by Clay Curtis

John 3:20-21 “For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

Every person within the world fits into one of these two categories. There is no in between, no middle ground, either a person does that which God views as evil or a person does that which God views as truth. When Isaac’s wife Rebekah conceived, the twins within her struggled against one another and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. These two diametrically opposite individuals can not be in agreement with one another. In fact he that does evil hates he that does truth. The only difference in the two is the grace of God.

At the core of the unbeliever’s refusal to come to the light is his unbelief in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Belief in Christ means bowing before God and declaring all my deeds unrighteous while at the same time declaring Christ, who finished THE WORK, as the only way by which I can have a right standing before God. The condemned not only does not come to the light but he hates the light. He is in darkness and he loves darkness therefore he will not have fellowship with light. The condemned would sooner deny Christ than have his own deeds discovered as evil.

The believer would rather deny himself and magnify Christ, for Christ’s deeds have been made the believer’s deeds by imputation. In Christ the believer sins not. In Christ the believer fulfills the law. By Christ’s finished work death has no claim on the believer for according to God’s grace he has never sinned. In Christ the believer is seated at the right hand of the Father. The believer’s testimony is that all his righteousness is Christ alone. What deeds did I, myself, do? I was conceived in sin, I came forth from my mother’s womb speaking lies, my heart is only evil continually and desperately wicked; that is the sum total of my deeds. The banner of the believer is: it is not I that doeth truth, but Christ alone for He is truth, it is not I that cometh to the light but Christ who is the Light draws me to Himself, it is God who keeps me. My deeds are nothing; His deeds are everything. By Clay Curtis

Their homes were holy places by CH Spurgeon

These first believers were in such a condition that their homes were holy places. I beg you to notice this, that they were breaking bread from house to house, and did eat their food with gladness and singleness of heart. They did not think that religion was meant only for Sundays, and for what men now-a-days call the 'House of God'. Their own houses were houses of God, and their own meals were mixed and mingled with the Lord's Supper. They elevated their meals into diets for worship. They so consecrated everything with prayer and praise that all around them was holiness unto the Lord. I wish our houses were thus dedicated to the Lord, so that we worshipped God all the day long, and made our dwellings temples for the living God.

Does God need a 'special house'?

He who made the heavens and the earth, does he dwell in temples made with hands? What crass ignorance is this! No house beneath the sky is more holy than the place where a Christian lives, and eats, and drinks, and sleeps, and praises the Lord in all that he does. There is no worship more heavenly than that which is presented by holy families, devoted to his fear. To sacrifice home worship to public worship is a most evil course of action. Morning and evening devotion in a cottage is infinitely more pleasing in the sight of God than all the cathedral pomp which delights the carnal eye and ear. Every truly Christian household is a church, and as such it is competent for the discharge of any function of divine worship, whatever it may be. Are we not all priests? Why do we need to call in others to make devotion a performance? Let every man be a priest in his own house. Are you not all kings if you love the Lord? Then make your houses palaces of joy and temples of holiness. One reason why the early church had such a blessing was because her members had such homes. When we are like them we shall have "added to the church daily of the saved." by C.H. Spurgeon

What will heaven be like? By Todd Nibert

What will heaven be like? The scriptures actually give very little information. However, the information the scriptures do give is sufficient to make the child of God long for heaven. One reason we long for heaven is because we will have glorified bodies. Another reason is because we will be without sin. But the chief reason we long for heaven is to see the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ said in John 17:24, "Father I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am." Notice, he didn't merely say, "I will that they be where I am..." but, "I will that they be with Me where I am." Heaven is being with Christ and beholding His glory. We cannot see Him now as we desire. Our sins and unbelief clouds the view. But even though we can't see Him now as we desire, we will one day. "We shall see Him as He is." And until then, we say with Job, "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand in the latter days upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom 1 shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold Him, and not another: though my reins be consumed in me."
By Todd Nibert

Jesus deserves our best! By C.H. Spurgeon

Some Christians live and act and talk as if there were no judgment to come; toiling for wealth as if this world were all. They are as careless of souls, as though hell were a dream. Unmoved by eternal realities, unstirred by the terrors of the Lord, indifferent to the ruin of mankind, many professors live like worldlings, and are as unchristian as infidels. This is an indisputable fact, but one to be lamented with tears of blood. We are the purchase of Jesus' death upon the tree- he has bought us dearly, and he should have us altogether for himself. It should be the one end and object of our desire, to crown that head with gems, which once was crowned with thorns.

Jesus deserves our best!

Every wound of his claims us, and every pain he bore, and every groan that escaped
his lips, is a fresh reason for our holiness and complete devotion to his cause. How must he grieve over us because we have not that tenderness of heart, that melting of love, that vehemence of zeal, that earnestness of soul which we ought to exhibit! By C.H. Spurgeon

Has God Given Everybody "The Right" To Choose? By Scott Price

When the wondrous gospel of free and sovereign grace in Christ is preached usually the objection from the mouth of those who do not believe it is; God gave man a freewill choice to choose Him or reject Him (sometime phrased, "to accept or reject Christ"). A few things are involved here and must be dealt with.

#1) This idea of man's "right to choose" is an anti-christ idea. It attempts to strip away grace and mercy making God obligated to man. The whole concept of mercy is that it is not obligated. Think of the illogic of this unrighteous doctrine, that God Almighty would give the command to believe the gospel of Christ and then gives men the "right" to reject Christ in the gospel. How stupid can this be? Where does this come from? It comes from the idea, which many who even claim to be Reformed, Sovereign Grace, and Calvinists, teach that this is not a command but rather a gracious "offer". Now, an offer can be rejected, but a command must be obeyed! It is simple to see that man does not have the God-given right to not to believe the gospel.

#2) Man's inability to choose good over evil, or Christ in the gospel is very clear from the Scripture's description of Mankind. This is the essence of Total Depravity. Man, by nature, has a spiritually dead wicked heart and is unable to understand spiritual things or move to seek God. Man cannot do good, be righteous, obey any law, or fulfill any conditions that might be placed on him to attain eternal life. This Biblical doctrine of Man's inability is rejected when faith is made to look like an offer to accept or reject. The Bible teaches that faith is a sovereign gift of God that the Spirit works in the mind of God's elect, CAUSING them to choose Him.

#3) These who object to God's particular grace say that God gives everybody an "equal chance to be saved". The fact is that God has seen fit for some to NEVER hear the gospel. We can dismiss the "equal chance" theory.
God is the only being who has "rights" by nature. He has Divine rights by virtue of who He is. Man is dependent on God for salvation from start to finish. God's people are given the faith to believe this and to love depending on Him for mercy and grace. Thank God it does not depend on our choice! We would chose sin. Adam and Even did, even before they had a sin nature. Think of the haughtiness and pride of self righteous man demanding the "right" of choice. Utter wickedness! By Scott Price

Holy Spirit Conviction by W. W. Fulton

God separates you in a time of conviction and repentance, then brings you forth as God’s son or daughter! We have a “short cut” in religion today — men bypass Holy Spirit conviction and Bible repentance, and think they are getting to Christ. How utterly deceived they are! Go back through history to the days of Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Gilbert Tennet and others during the time of the Great Awakening, and you will see how God separated souls in those times, bringing them through the valley of Holy Ghost conviction and to the place of death at the Cross. You there see sinners who are raised to walk in newness of life in the Lord Jesus Christ!

The same was true among the Baptists of the South, around the year 1800 when their Broad River Association was formed near Spartanburg SC. People heard that the power of God was among them, and came from many miles around to “get in on it.” Some came to mock, to criticize and tear down, only to find themselves no match for the Almighty Spirit of God who cut them down as they approached the area where meetings were in progress! Sinners were literally broken in spirit and brought to mourn over their sins and their old sin nature, and many looked to the Bleeding Lamb of God as their Sin-Offering and were gloriously delivered to walk in newness of life in Christ. Some Presbyterians and Methodists in the area came under the power of the meetings. How we need this in our days! Amen. By Brother W. W. Fulton

Whips and Chains and Biscuits Tim James

(Mar 5:3-4) Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.

The treatment afforded the demoniac of Gadara is a treatise on the means used by false religion to keep its converts committed to its cause. In Mark 5:3-4, two words are used to describe this vile religious practice. The religious folks efforts to recover this poor sinner, were two-fold, to bind and to tame.

Their first efforts were to bind this sinner in fetters and chains. There can be no doubt that this is the illegal use of the law to control behavior (which is all the law can do, it never reaches the heart). This approach to life is the tool of those who would "make a fair show in the flesh". These love themselves and no one else, and believe themselves to be responsible for the behavior of others. They operate in the realm of guilt mongering. They keep folk in check with their rules, their regulations, their personal convictions and inability to look at their own behavior. They use scripture as a chain to bind the mind, and fetters to bind the feet, thereby keeping their subjects exactly where they want them.

The other means used to control folk is to tame them. There are only two ways to tame a wild beast, either with a whip or a biscuit. The whip is the slavish fear of wrath. Those who use this tactic hold their "beasts" in fear of loss and fear of punishment. They make God out to be a petty ogre, veritably licking His lips with pleasure at the thought of someone messing up, so He can ravage their lives. The biscuit is the promise of reward, the pat on the back, the public praise for the job well done. It is the carrot on a stick, held before the mule, to keep him pulling the plow while he stupidly chases what he can never attain. These are wicked means of control. THE GOSPEL SETS MEN FREE! BY Tim James

True faith! By C.H. Spurgeon

True faith is, in every case, the operation of the Spirit of God. Its nature is purifying, elevating, heavenly. Wherever true faith is found, it is: the sure mark of eternal election, the sign of a blessed condition, and the forecast of a heavenly destiny. If you have true faith, you have infinitely more than he who has all the world.

Faith is
the eye of the renewed soul, the hand of the regenerated mind, the mouth of the newborn spirit.

Faith is
the evidence of spiritual life, the mainspring of holiness, the foundation of delight, the prophecy of glory, and the dawn of endless knowledge.

Faith is
the assurance of sonship; the pledge of inheritance; the grasp of boundless possession; the perception of the invisible.

Within your faith there lies glory, even as the oak sleeps within the acorn. Time would fail me to tell of the powers, the privileges, the possessions and the prospects of faith. He that has faith is blessed, for he pleases God, he is justified before the throne of holiness, he has full access to the throne of grace and he has the preparation for reigning with Christ forever. By Charles Spurgeon

Thy Word Is Truth by Todd Nibert

Jhn 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

These were the words of our Lord in His great High Priestly prayer for His people. In John 14:6 He said, "I am the Truth." But here He says, "Thy word is Truth." This is a reference to the written word of God. The Bible is the inspired word of God. It has no error in it. The Scriptures alone are our only rule of faith and practice.

There are many who profess to believe the Bible to be inspired, but they do not believe "the Scriptures alone". They believe there is truth in other religions. They believe there is truth in man's philosophy. They even believe there is truth in their feelings, impressions, and religious experiences. That is not believing the Scriptures alone. That is believing the Scriptures and...........

The Bible has a monopoly on the Truth. There is no truth in other religions. They are all based upon a false premise. There is no truth in our natural way of thinking, nor in our feelings, nor in any religious experience which is contrary to the word of God. Truth is not subjective. It is not subject to our experience, feelings, traditions, and beliefs. Truth is objective. It is not something we discover internally, in our hearts. "All men are liars." The Bible is the objective standard of truth, and the Bible has a monopoly on the Truth! If we leave this position, then anything goes! Truth becomes subjective. Truth becomes relative. It becomes impossible to know the Truth! By Todd Nibert

My church by Donald Fortner

Your people, Master, I would serve choose the best place for me;
Give me the gifts most needed now, that I might useful be.

My all I consecrate to you, my God, my sovereign Lord,
Oh let me serve your cause on earth to spread your gracious Word.

Your church on earth I take to be my family in this world;
A faithful member make of me, to honor you, my God.

When I have served my usefulness in your kingdom below,
I would to your triumphant church in heaven’s glory go.

There I shall serve you as I would, with that great ransomed throng,
To whom I hope, by grace divine, I rightfully belong.

By Donald Fortner

Walking with God... by Don Fortner

"Enoch WALKED with God...." Genesis 5:24
I am not an ambitious man. But I am ambitious for these four things. For the attainment of these four things I am prepared, by the grace of God, to sacrifice everything else. I count all other things to be but rubbish by comparison.

1. I want to know Christ (Phil. 3:10). Yes, I believe that in measure I do know him. God has revealed his grace and glory to me in the Person of his dear Son. Still, I want a growing, spiritual, experimental knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to know all that he has done for me. I want to know him. I want to know him fully.

2. I want to be totally committed to Christ. I want to totally lose my life to Christ and in Christ, so that I can truthfully say with the Apostle Paul, "For me to live is Christ." I want to be committed to Christ as he was to the Father, so that my heart says to him in all things, "Not my will, thy will be done" It is my continual prayer that God will give me a heart-- committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, committed to his will, committed to his gospel, committed to his people, committed to the cause of his glory in this world.

3. I want to be like Christ. My heart longs to be like him, conformed to him, made into his likeness. I want to be like him love, tenderness, and thoughtfulness, in zeal, dedication, and devotion, purity, holiness, and righteousness.

4. I want to live in communion with Christ. Like Enoch of old, I want to walk with God. I know these goals are not attainable in this life. Yet, they are the things for which my soul hungers and my heart thirsts. I cannot be satisfied with less. "I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:13-14). "I shall be satisfied when I awake with Christ's likeness" (Psa. 17:15), but not until then. "Enoch WALKED with God...."
By Donald Forter

What Have I Done? By C.H. Spurgeon

What have you done for him who died to save your wretched soul? What have you done for his church? What have you done for the salvation of the world? What have you done to promote your own spiritual growth in grace?

Ah! I might hit some of you that are true Christians very hard here; but I will leave you with your God. God will chastise his own children. I will, however, put a pointed question to you-- Are there not many Christians who cannot recollect that they have been the means of the salvation of one soul during this year? Come, now; look back. Have you any reason to believe that directly or indirectly you have been made the means this year of the salvation of a soul?

I will go further. There are some of you who are older Christians, and I will ask you this question: Have you any reason to believe that ever since you were converted you have ever been the means of the salvation of a soul? It was reckoned in the East, in the time of the patriarchs, to be a disgrace to a woman if she had no children. And yet, there are some of you here that have been spiritually barren, and have never brought one convert to Christ. You have not one star in your crown of glory, and must wear a starless crown in heaven. Oh! How many have you brought during this year?

Come, Christian, what have you done?

Alas! alas! you have not been barren fig-trees, but still your fruit is such that it cannot be seen. You may be alive unto God, but how many of you have been very unprofitable and exceedingly unfruitful? by Charles Spurgeon

True love to Christ! by C.H. Spurgeon

The Lord Jesus possesses all kinds of lovelinesses compacted into one perfect loveliness! all perfections blended to make one perfection! Every sweet concocted and distilled to make one perfect sweetness! Oh, how one longs for but a moment's sight of Christ in glory! One might be content to have only a dry crust, and to lie in an underground dungeon for the rest of one's life, if one might but gaze on his blessed face for once, and hear him say, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." Those who truly love the Savior wish to know all that can be known about him.

True love likes to become familiar with the object of its affection; its heart is set upon that object, it studies it, and can never know it too well or too closely.

True love to Christ thinks of him from morning till night; it is glad to be released from other thoughts that it may follow only its one darling pursuit.

True love to Christ seeks to get to him, to live with him, to live upon him, and thus to know him so intimately that things which were unobserved and passed over at the first, stand out in clear light to the increased joy and delight of the contemplative mind.

If you have but a 'spark' of love for Jesus in your heart, Jesus has a 'furnace' of love for you in His heart! By C.H. Spurgeon

The time of Love by Don Fortner

There is a day appointed by God for the salvation of his elect,
a day fixed from eternity when grace will come to the chosen
sinner, an hour determined before the world began when the
Good Shepherd will seek out and find his lost sheep.

There is a time fixed before time began, called "the time of love,”
when the predestined child, the elect sinner, redeemed by the
blood of Christ, must be saved. At that hour, salvation must
and shall come to the soul loved of God with an everlasting love.

Only one thing is really important in this matter, only one
question must be answered, only one issue must be settled.
“Do you believe on the Son of God?”

You will know that God has saved you, that you are chosen,
redeemed, and called by grace, when you find yourself believing
the gospel. Do you believe? If you do, the Lord has sought you
out and found you by his grace.

-byDon Fortner

Sitting at Jesus Feet by Don Bell

Luke 10:39
What a world of meaning is in these words, "Mary, which also sat at his feet, and heard his word." This is indeed the "one thing needful." It means peace for those who sit at his feet, for they who submit to him have peace through his precious blood. It means holiness, they who learn of the Lord Jesus, learn the horridness of sin, but he teaches them "things lovely and pure." It also means strength, sitting at his feet they learn by him that he is all their strength, for he is their food, his righteousness their clothing. It means wisdom, he who instructs them in his word is the very Wisdom of God. He teaches them that this is true wisdom, that makes the wisdom of the world to be foolishness.

"Sitting at his feet" means zeal, for the love of their Lord Jesus fires up their heart and soul. They become zealous for his name, for his gospel, for his glory. It means loyalty, for they are loyal to their sovereign, their King, who is the King Of Kings. They serve under his banner, and they will be loyal to him all the days of their lives, they are loyal to his commands, his laws. For it was him who defeated all their enemies, and is the "captain of their salvation."

The long and the short of "sitting at his feet to hear his word, is the one thing needful." (Luke 10:39-42). We who believe do indeed love him, for he first loved us. O beloved, what a world of blessings there are in "sitting at his feet, hearing his word." Don Bell

What is a Church? By Don Fortner

Baptists have constantly debated the meaning of the word "church", or assembly, for the last century. Their debate, I fear, has done much harm to the kingdom of our Lord and to the honor of His name. A church of Christ is much more than a congregation of men assembled together for the purpose of promoting a creed and continuing the ordinances. If we are a true church of Christ, we have much stronger ties than the waters of baptism produce.

Every true local assembly is a miniature of the church universal, as described by Paul in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 11-22. A true church is a "habitation of God through the Spirit". It is important that we, as believers, be properly immersed, observe the Lord's Supper, and hold to a sound creed. But, this is the question of great concern, "Are we a habitation of God?" If not, all these other things are mere vanities of religious ritualism!

A church is a family, united by the blood of Christ. A church is a body, with Christ as its head. A church is a kingdom, under the dominion of Christ. A church is a brotherhood, established in the love of Christ. A church is a temple, built upon Christ, the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets.

It is our desire that the Savior's promise will be constantly fulfilled to us as a church of Christ – "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Christ's presence is the one thing we must have! Are we a habitation of God through the Spirit? Let us walk in love, "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Let us be careful that we "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby we are sealed unto the day of redemption. By Donald Fortner

The Cause of Salvation by A. W. Pink

It may be shown from scripture that the CAUSE of salvation is not a single one, as so many suppose-- the blood of Christ. Here, too, it is necessary to distinguish between things which differ. First, the ORIGINATING cause of salvation is the eternal purpose of God, or, in other words, the predestinating grace of the Father. Second, the MERITORIOUS cause of salvation is the mediation of Christ, this having particular respect to the legal side of things, or, in other words, His fully meeting the demands of the law on the behalf and in the stead of those He redeems. Third, the EFFICIENT cause of salvation is the regenerating and sanctifying operations of the Holy Spirit, which respect the experimental side of it, or, in other words, the Spirit works IN us what Christ purchased FOR us. Thus, we owe our personal salvation equally to each Person in the Trinity, and not to one (the Son) more than to the others. Fourth, the INSTRUMENTAL cause is our faith, obedience, and perseverance; though we are not saved because of them, equally true is it that we cannot be saved (according to God's appointment) without them. By A.W. Pink

The way to hell? By Spurgeon

That eye which sees anything good in man is a blind eye. That eye which fancies it can discern anything in man, or in anything he can do to win the divine favor, is stone blind to the truth as yet, and needs to be lanced and cut, and the cataract of pride removed from it. People have the idea that going to church and chapel, taking the sacraments, and doing certain good deeds that pertain to a respectable profession of religion, are the way to heaven. But that is the way to hell.

Poor sinners, trust Jesus Christ now. Just as you are, come to him now. Bring nothing with you, come empty handed. Do not robe yourself, come naked. Do not wash yourself, come filthy. Do not seek to soften your heart, come with it hard as it is. You cannot come to Christ any other way. Come now to his cross.

He that believes is justified from all things. Your sins are gone, your soul is accepted.
You are saved, and you shall see his face, and sing his love in glory everlasting! By C.H. Spurgeon

Three books by J. C. Philpot

There are three books which, if a man will read and study, he can dispense with most others.

1. The book of Providence--and this he reads to good purpose, when he sees written down line by line the providential dealings of God with him, and a ray of Divine light gilds every line.

2. The Word of God--and this he reads to profit, when the blessed Spirit applies it with power to his soul.

3. The book of his own heart--and this he studies with advantage, when he reads in the new man of grace the blessed dealings of God with his soul-- and in the old man of sin and death, enough to fill him with shame and confusion of face, and make him loathe and abhor himself in dust and ashes.

by J.C. Philpot

God's Gracious Gifts by Scott Price

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and, comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning. By His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures." James 1:17-18

God's people can gather in their minds much to be thankful for as they understand the above text. All gifts and spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3) are all given to us, by God, based on the one predominant fact, that we are "accepted in the Beloved" (Eph 1:6). God sovereignly bestows His gifts in our direction on purpose; His purpose in Christ. Everything that Christ is to us, for us, and in us is a gracious gift of God. God Almighty loved His people so much that He gave His only begotten Son so all that is required from them, or lacking in them is supplied in, by, and through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Faith and repentance are spiritual blessings that are both gifts from God. Christ purchased these by His own blood and the Spirit distributes and applies these gifts to God's people. Many other gifts could be added to the list, but in closing let me mention a good gift that most would look on as not really something positive. That gift is suffering and persecution. Note in Philippians 1:29 "For unto you it is given to you in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake." Also, in Romans 8:28, the "all things" mentioned includes some things which are not real pleasant at the time they are experienced: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." In Genesis 50:20 God's inspired word shows an example of Romans 8:28 in action in the grace shown to Joseph and others: "But as for you, ye meant it for evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." Let us not forget that God is wise in all His works and is gracious even. This can only be seen and understood by faith and not by sight. by Scott Price

ALL THAT THE FATHER GIVETH ME by Wylie Fulton

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me…No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him…It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me” (John 6:37, 44-45).
Anytime and anywhere you find a person who has experienced the power of God, you find one that was elected by God the Father, given to God the Son to redeem, and then quickened into spiritual life by God the Holy Spirit. Election is the Golden Charter of salvation, the basis on which grace does its perfect work. None are saved but those chosen in Christ — “Ye have not chosen me but I have chosen you” (John 15:16). None are redeemed and called but the elect only. We know nothing of an ineffectual, halfway “redemption” nor of a “calling” that fails to secure its object. Christ standing at a heart’s door, failing to gain entrance and turning away in defeat is not a picture of the salvation experienced by Paul the Apostle, for it is a caricature, a cheap and unscriptural deception. God’s salvation of God’s elect is the surest thing in all the world.

In preaching, we do not know the elect from others, and we publicly proclaim the word of salvation within the hearing of all. But the message discriminates, reaches only those whose hearts God opens to receive it, as Lydia’s in Acts 16:14. Say, my hearer: Has God opened your heart to His great, effectual and fully successful work of salvation? Or, do you still fancy that God’s merely “tries” to save sinners and that you have the power to defeat Him, to turn Him down? My soul! If such be your position and experience, you know nothing of the salvation Paul had.

submitted by Wylie W Fulton

THE SPIRIT WORKS WITHOUT HELP OF MAN

The blessed Spirit, like the wind,
Blows when and where He please;
How happy are the men who feel
The soul-enlivening breeze!

He forms the inward mind afresh,
Subdues the love of sin,
He takes away the heart of stone,
And plants His grace within.

He sheds abroad the Father’s love,
Applies redeeming blood,
Bids both our guilt and grief remove,
And brings us near to God.

Lord, fill each dead benighted soul
With life and light and joy!
None can Thy mighty power control
Nor Thy glorious work destroy.

by Benjamin Beddome

Growing in grace by C.H. Spurgeon

We meet now and then with supposed 'perfect people', but the most of us dare not whisper the word perfection. When I have overcome a whole body of sin and have risen to be somewhat like my Lord, it seems to me as if a new body of death were formed about me.

I kill one dragon, and lo, his body yields a crop of monsters. My evil nature seems to have coats like an onion, and when I have taken off one of them, it only lays bare another quite as offensive. Will it not be so to the end of the chapter?

You may be growing better; I hope you are, but I shall be all the more hopeful that you are so, if you fear that you are growing worse. If you think less and less of yourselves, it is probably true that you are growing in grace. But if you think more and more of yourselves, it is highly probable that you are growing in pride. C.H. Spurgeon

The faults of great men by J. C. Philpot

Luther did not come forth as a theologian fully furnished with a scheme of doctrines, or as a warrior armed at all points--but advanced slowly, as himself a learner, from one position to another, gradually feeling his way onward; taking up no ground on which he had not been clearly set down, and which he could not firmly maintain from the express testimony of God. It is true that this gradual progress of his mind involved him at times in contradictions and inconsistencies, not to say mistakes and errors--which his enemies have availed themselves of, to sully and tarnish one of the noblest characters, both naturally and spiritually, that the world has ever seen.

Admiration, or what a popular writer of the present day calls "hero-worship," should not indeed blind us to the faults of great men. But a discerning eye, while it admits Luther's inconsistencies, sees displayed more manifestly thereby, the mercy and wisdom of God. The Lord, indeed, was no more the author of Luther's errors than He was of Luther's sins! But as He mercifully pardoned the one, so He graciously passed by the other, and over-ruled both to His own glory! By J.C. Philpot

Contemplation of the Divinity by C.H. Spurgeon

The proper study of a Christian is the Godhead: The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father.

There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity. Other subjects we can compass and grapple with-- in them we feel a kind of self-content, and go our way with the thought, "Behold I am wise." But when we come to this master-science, finding that our plumb-line cannot sound its depth, and that our eagle eye cannot see its height, we turn away with the thought, that vain man would be wise, but he is like a wild donkey's colt; and with the solemn exclamation: "I am but of yesterday, and know nothing." No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God. By C.H. Spurgeon

Why was His soul troubled? By Octavius Winslow

"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." Mark 14:34

In this lay our Lord's greatest suffering: His soul sorrow. Compared with this . . . the lingering, excruciating tortures of the cross, the extended limbs, the quivering nerves, the bleeding wounds, the burning thirst; were, as nothing. So long as our blessed Lord endured the gibes and insults and calumnies of mere men, not a complaint escaped His lips. But, when the wrath of God, endured as the Substitute of His people, entered within His holy soul, then the wail of agony rose strong and piercing, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Why was His soul troubled?

He was now bearing sin and, consequently, the punishment of sin; the wrath of God overwhelming His soul. Divine justice, finding the sins of God's elect meeting on His holy soul, exacted full payment and inflicted the utmost penalty! By Octavius Winslow

The Life and Story of the True Servant and Martyr of God, William Tyndale

I said in my last devotion that I am a debtor to so many people that God has used to carry His word and message. To those that He has provided to fill the hearts of His elect with food and gladness in times of most need. To those that in the face of true evil, God gave strength to continue to His glory. Please in this do not see the exhortation of man but the providence of God.

Small part of the life of this Martyr for God taken from Fox’s Book of Martyrs.

For these and such other considerations this good man was stirred up of God to translate the Scripture into his mother tongue, for the profit of the simple people of his country; first setting in hand with the New Testament, which came forth in print about A.D. 1525. For this act Cuthbert Tonstal, bishop of London, with Sir Thomas More, being sore aggrieved, despised how to destroy that false erroneous translation, as they called it. (In time they were able to commit the Emperor to a decree banning his text and through trickery had William Tyndale imprisoned where he remained until his martyrs death.)

Such was the power of his doctrine, and the sincerity of his life, that during the time of his imprisonment (which endured a year and a half), he converted, it is said, his keeper, the keeper's daughter, and others of his household.

At last, after much persecution and imprisonment, although he deserved no death, he was condemned by virtue of the emperor's decree, made in the assembly at Augsburg. Brought forth to the place of execution, he was tied to the stake, strangled by the hangman, and afterwards consumed with fire, at the town of Vilvorde, A.D. 1536; crying at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice, "Lord! open the king of England's eyes."

Rain from Heaven by Eric Wilson

Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless He left not Himself without witness, in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. (Acts 14:16-17)

Nevertheless He left not Himself without a witness. He has, in the most decollate times of spiritual famine, always provided the seeds of His grace and gave us rain from heaven. I am a debtor to so many people that God has used to carry His word and message. To those that He has provided to fill the hearts of His elect with food and gladness in times of most need. To those that in the face of true evil, God gave strength to continue to His glory.

John Staupitz (1460-1524), the Vicar-General of the Augustines in Germany, was unique in that within the ceremonial hypocrisy of the established church he was one who believed and preached God's grace. God led him to counsel a young monk concerning that plain truth of salvation. “I cannot and dare not come to God, till I am a better man, I have not yet repented sufficiently”. “A better man!”, would the Vicar-General say, “Christ came to save not good men, but sinners”. This message, by the grace of God, weighed heavy on the heart of this young monk whom we know by the name of Martin Luther.

Martin Luther (1483- 1546) preached grace, Christ, and scriptures alone in direct rebellion to the established church. And for this faced continual persecution and at times certain death for his belief. Many times he found himself on trail and alone in his message. But the Spirit protected him and guided him to write many articles and commentaries on various books of the bible. In addition to these, in 1517 he posted a list of problems (95 to be exact) he saw with the church. In this hard-hitting list he attacked the Church’s view of indulgences, which were the payments to the Church for attaining pardon from sin. Luther saw these payments as an abomination to the forgiving work of Christ. “The Ninety-Five Theses” were a call for debate, although a debate never took place. This call did, however, shake the people of Germany. Luther’s challenge went unnoticed for some time by the established Church, but the people did not let it die. Through the providence of God, a call of Sola Grata, Solo Christo, Sola Scriptura, as the Christians’ sole faith, hope, and authority began to ring throughout Germany and other parts of Europe. From this reformation came others like Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531), John Calvin (1509-1564), and Henry Jacob (1563-1624) who for his preaching was thrown into prison. In the case of Henry Jacob, he fled to Holland and later in 1616 retuned to England to preach. After his death and from this church 6 people broke out to form the first particular Baptist church despite the inevitable persecution they were sure to face from the King.

During this time a young man by the name of John Bunyan (1628-1688) found himself in a struggle with his flesh and hungry for the truth that may ease his pain. He found a copy of Martin Luther’s commentary on the book of Galatians. Bunyan stated that he thought that “as if this had been written for my heart”. And by the grace of God, much prayer, and possibly the pages of this book he in time found peace. Though an uneducated tinker, he went on to be a great preacher and prolific writer. But his newfound grace filled heart came with a temporal price. Bunyan spent many years in prison for his preaching and this at the expense of a wife and blind child he was unable to care for when he was jailed. But the Spirit strengthened him and guided him despite the pain he felt not to compromise his message and the glory of God. John Bunyan wrote many books and among them were Grace Abounding the Chief of Sinners and the more well know Pilgrim’s Progress. Through his preaching and others of his time it brought forth other reformers of the Church such as John Gill (1697-1771), Alexander Carson (1776-1844), Joseph Philpot (1802-1869), C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1932), and A.W. Pink (1886-1952).

In what seems in contrast to these men, in Texas there was a young boy named Benajah H. Carroll (1843-1914) who had declared his own personal war against God. He hated the gospel and rejected Jesus and vowed not to believe. Carroll had a God fearing mother who prayed fervently for her son and finally convinced him to attend a church camp in 1865. Carroll came back more humbled and convicted. That night his mother stead up all night and read him John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. When she got to the part about doubters castle his heart was filled with such rapture as never before. His mother declared that next morning that her son had found the Lord. Benajah H. Carroll went on to become a preacher and wrote 33 different books and countless published sermons.

Ralph Barnard (1904-1969) became a preacher as well in Texas and was well received by many of the churches. He was a dynamic speaker with a gift of preaching and people never shied away from hearing him. But it was in the late 1940s that he happened to purchase (for a dime) a second-hand book of sermons by Benajah H. Carroll. As he said, just one sentence from a sermon on John 5:25 ‘unlocked everything and "ruined" my ministry’! It was through this book that the grace of God flowed and convicted Barnard and his message would change. As He found himself preaching Christ now he found that the reception to this gospel changed as well. One of the defining moments came at the Fundamentalist ‘Sword of the Lord’ Conference at Tocoa Falls, Georgia, in summer 1949. Ralph Barnard preached for an hour on sovereign grace and by the next morning the conference was in turmoil. By the middle of the week the other Pastors there had publicly denounced him and asked Barnard to leave. Bernard found many doors now closed to him and he was ostracised for his Calvinistic views. Despite that many of the congregations were deeply disturbed, the Spirit lead him to continue to find others that were hungry.

1950, Pastor Don Wells of Pollard Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky called a new assistant Pastor by the name of Henry Mahan. Henry was a young man, an excellent speaker, but in his words “didn’t know anything”. He had a command of words unfortunately without the Word to preach. In preparation to become the new assistant pastor Henry came up to Ashland to find a new house. In the true providence of God, at this same time Pastor Don Wells invited Ralph Barnard to come to speak that same Sunday. Henry Mahan attended that day and energetically set in the front row. As Barnard stood up to preach, he said in a low voice: ‘I don’t know why I am here, but I’m sure it has something to do with the foreordaining purposes of God’. Then he asked: ‘Can anyone here quote Romans 8:28?’ It was then that this young new assistant pastor, Henry Mahan, stood and quoted the verse, but left out the last phrase. Barnard asked him if that was all he knew of that verse. Henry replied: ‘Yes’. Then Barnard said: ‘Let me quote the verse for you’. He began quoting the verse slowly: ‘for all things work together for good to those who love the Lord, to those called according to his…’ Then, when he came to the word ‘purpose’, he bellowed it at the top of his voice. Then he looked at Mahan and said: ‘Young man, when you understand the meaning of that word "purpose" you will have the key that unlocks the Book of Romans and the whole Bible’. By the grace of God Henry learned the meaning of “purpose” and as it was ordained by God he was lead by the Spirit and Pastured the 13th Street Baptist Church in Ashland Ky.

There may be no greater temporal blessing that God can provide than to allow one to see in their lifetime the fruits of their labors. It was from those pews of the 13th Street Baptist Church that Henry Mahan Pastured that he seen a fruitful season and that so many others were called to Pastor other churches. Joe Terrell of Grace Community Church in Rock Valley Iowa, Paul Mahan of Central Baptist Church in Rock Mt Virginia, Charley Pennington of Grace Fellowship Church in Wheelersburg Ohio, Tom Harding of Zebulon Baptist Church in Pikeville Kentucky, Bill Parker who toke over for Henry and is the current Pastor of the 13th Street Baptist Church, and Todd Nibert of Todd’s Road Church in Lexington Kentucky all came from and sat under Henry before preaching to their own congregations. And it was the pulpit of a Sovereign Grace Church that God used and guided that preacher to deliver a message that convicted me and called me to His flock. It is these and other Pastors that I hunger to listen to and read that God has provided to fill my heart with food and gladness, and in that He did good….

To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. Acts 10:43

Present Day Evangelism by A. W. Pink

The nature of Christ's salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day "evangelist".

He announces a Savior from hell rather than a Savior from sin. And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of fire, who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness! The very first thing said of Christ in the New Testament is-- "You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." (not from the wrath to come)

Christ is a Savior for those realizing something of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, who feel the awful burden of it on their conscience, who loathe themselves for it, who long to be freed from its terrible dominion. And He is a Savior for no others. Were He to "save from hell" those still in love with sin, He would be a minister of sin, condoning their wickedness and siding with them against God.

What an unspeakably horrible and blasphemous thing with which to charge the Holy One! By A W. Pink

Eight Statements on Justifying Faith by Martin Luther

MARTIN LUTHER'S EIGHT STATEMENTS
ON JUSTIFYING FAITH

1. Faith without works is sufficient for salvation, and alone justifies
2. Justifying faith is a sure trust, by which one believes that his sins are remitted for Christ's sake; and they that are justified are to believe certainly that their sins are remitted.
3. By faith only we are able to appear before God, who neither regards nor has need of our works; faith only purifying us.
4. No previous disposition is necessary to justification; neither does faith justify because it disposes us, but because it is a means or instrument by which the promise and grace of God are laid hold on and received.
5. All the works of men, even the most sanctified, are sin.
6. Though the just ought to believe that his works are sins, yet he ought to be assured that they are not imputed.
7. Our righteousness is nothing but the imputation of the righteousness of Christ; and the just have need of a continual justification and imputation of the righteousness of Christ.
8. All the justified are received into equal grace and glory; and all Christians are equally great with the virgin Mary, and as much saints as she is.

Martin Luther

A natural religiosity by J. C. Philpot

There is in some people a natural religiosity--that is, a disposition to be religious. If they had been born in Turkey, they would have been devout Muslims; if in Italy, they would have become priests, monks, or nuns, and as ready to burn a heretic as their fathers; if born and bred in England, they would be devout churchmen, pious dissenters, and so forth--just as the various circumstances of birth and education, habits and associations, might dispose or determine.

Now to these naturally religious minds, when fully ripened and blended with a stern spirit of self-denial, which usually accompanies and grows up with it, no system so thoroughly adapts itself as that of Popery--for it just meets and gives full play to that habit of mind which yields, like clay, to every object of groveling, superstitious veneration. By Joseph Philpot

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ by Don Bell

(Romans 13:14)
What does it mean to put on the Lord Jesus? It doesn't mean that we can put Him on, and take him off as putting on and taking off clothes. It means that we are to arm ourselves, arm our minds with Christ. We are to arm our minds with the whole person of Christ, as God and sinless humanity. Arm our minds with his love, his eternal electing love, with his righteousness (it is the only one acceptable to God Almighty), also arm our minds with his atonement, his bloody sacrifice put away sin once and for all. He alone makes us at-one with God. Put on Christ in his offices, as Prophet to teach us, as Priest to appear in the presence of God for us, as King to rule us and provide us our needs. Put on The Whole Christ, his whole salvation, for there is no salvation in any other name, any other way. (Acts 4:12, John.14:6) "We are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lust thereof."

Our fallen natures will seek to control us, and will excuse us when we fulfill the lusts of our flesh. We fulfill the lusts of our flesh when we indulge our minds to wander where they shouldn't, our tongues to say what they shouldn't, our bodies to do what they shouldn't, our feet to take us places we should not go. Why would any believer want to provide for their flesh? Why wouldn't a believer want to put on Christ so they would not make provision for the flesh? I am persuaded that those who continually make provision to fulfill the lusts of the flesh are not believers. "How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein" (Rom.3:2)? By Don Bell

God Rules! by Don Fortner

Our God is in control of this world- absolutely in control of it (Ps. 76:10). God, and God alone, is in absolute, total control of the entire universe. We can and should trust Him with implicit confidence in all things, and with all things. The Word of God, the promises of God, the prophecies of Holy Scripture are all utterly meaningless unless our God is the God who rules everything, whose will is always performed, whose purpose stands fast, whose thoughts are irresistible!

Here is the basis of our faith and the foundation of our comfort- Our God is in control- as fully in control of Satan, the demons of hell, and the thoughts and deeds of wicked men as he is of the angels about his throne. We live in a world of woe. We are often tossed to and fro in this world, confused and perplexed by many things. Let us ever rest ourselves in our God.

"All things are of God." All things are ordered by our heavenly Father for our good. All things are arranged by God's infinite wisdom and omnipotent arm for his glory. Nothing is beyond his dominion. If the god you trust can be controlled, hindered, or even influenced by you, by Satan, or by all the powers of earth and hell, then the god you trust is no God at all, and you are an idolater.

Our God is not a spectator or even a competitor in this world. He is the Ruler of it. Salvation is knowing him, the only trueand living God as he is revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ his Son, the God-man, our Savior (John 17:3). He who is our God is the only God you can trust. by Don Fortner

The Word of This Salvation by Chris Cunningham

We see from the context what this word is. It is concerning Jesus, the promised Savior (vs. 23) and Him crucified (vs. 29) by Whom is the forgiveness of sins (vs. 38) through faith in Him alone, without the deeds of the law (vs. 39). This is the gospel of free grace through faith in the crucified Redeemer. The word is life (Phil. 2:16) and by divine, distinguishing grace these people could be told, it is sent to you!

There are vast multitudes of whom this could never be said. Psalm 147:19 He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. 20 He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord. Even today, there are many people who have never heard, and probably never will hear, the truth as it is in Christ Jesus. Even many who have the Bible, God’s complete and infallible revelation of Himself, have not the word of this salvation in the sense that we do!

What greater blessing could God bestow upon any sinner than to send to him the word of salvation? This good news from a far country is vital and refreshing as cold waters to a thirsty soul. It is thus with you and me? Could we live without the gospel? If so, then surely our life is death. Sooner could this flesh thrive without water than my soul without the water of life! For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. John 6:55 There is no substitute for HIM. This world has nothing that can sustain us; give us Christ or we perish!

What cause for endless praise and thanks! While the masses starve for lack of bread, we feast upon bread from heaven itself, without any want. What grace that of all the peoples upon this earth, the word of this salvation is sent...to you.

Gratitude
O Thou whose bounty fills my cup
With every blessing meet!
I give thee thanks for every drop
The bitter and the sweet.

By Chris Cunningham

CHRIST PRECIOUS by Wy. Fulton

"Unto you therefore which believe HE IS PRECIOUS" (2 Peter 2:7).

The ONE who is precious to saved souls is the One who suffered the curse of God for them. He is the rejected cornerstone to those who believe not, as we note from the context, vs. 2 - 10. The natural man can only oppose Him and will never understand the relationship of sweetness and preciousness that exists between a saved soul and his Savior!

Notice:
A persecuted Christ is precious to persecuted souls.
A wounded, beaten Christ is precious to wounded and beaten souls.
He is precious to souls under the immediate attack of Satan.
A Crucified Christ is precious to crucified souls.
A Dying Christ is precious to dying souls.
He is precious to souls who have been killed to Satan, to the Law and to sin, and risen to new life in HIM.
A Risen Christ is precious to risen souls.
A Justifying Christ is precious to justified souls.
A Conquering Christ is precious to conquering souls.

And did you know, my friends, that it is only the one who has suffered the pangs of death in the House of Holy Spirit Conviction, been brought from a time of his own suffering into the glorious liberty of the sons of God — it is only that crucified and resurrected sinner, justified in Christ Jesus and living the life of faith in Him — it is only the soul with an experimental acquaintance with these things who can truly say,"UNTO ME, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS PRECIOUS!"

Christ Jesus our Living Lord is the very Preciousness of God, and we are complete in Him. HE is all that God can give to a poor lost, fallen, hell-deserving sinner like me that can bring me into a right relationship with HIMSELF.

In the midst of trials, sufferings, disappointments of this life, I come back to the one point. He delivered my poor soul, and I know that still HE IS PRECIOUS TO ME. Can you say that? - A saved sinner, Wy. Fulton

The Question Nobody is Asking by Todd Nibert

The Question nobody is asking is stated in Job 25:4, "How then can man be justified with God? Or how can he be clean that is born of woman?" To the natural man, the answer to this question would be placed under the category of dull and uninteresting subjects. We are by nature so selfish and man centered that this question simply is not important to us. But the fact that nobody is asking this question does not take away from its importance. If we can learn the answer to this question, we have learned the gospel!

The issue behind the question can be stated like this. How can God be consistent with His justice, and yet justify somebody who is unjust? If somebody asks, "Why bring up the question in the first place? Does it really even matter? It matters because the word of God brings it up. But let me answer the question by asking another question. What would you think of a human judge who justified people who were guilty? What would you think of a judge who let a serial killer go free to walk our streets? Would it matter to you? If God does let people who are guilty into heaven without His justice being satisfied, than God would be no more just the human judge who let the serial killer go free. We shudder at the implications of a God who is not just. The God of the Bible is holy. In His holiness He hates sin. In Hebrews 1:9 we read, "Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity." God is so holy that He cannot let sin go unpunished. When He described Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:7, He said that He "would by no means clear the guilty". But not only is God holy; we are sinful and guilty! The scriptures say in Romans 3:10-12, "There is none righteous, no not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is non that doeth good, no not one."

If God is so holy that He "will by no means clear the guilty", and we are guilty, how can God bring any guilty sinner into heaven? The Bible does provide us with an answer to this question. We read in Romans 3:25-26, "God set forth Christ to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness.....that He might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus".

The word "propitiation" means literally "an atoning victim". The sins of God's elect were placed upon Christ on the cross. God was the one who placed them there. Only He had the authority to do it. Christ was actually made sin. "For He hath made Him to be sin." God laid this sin on Christ, and the He poured His wrath out upon Him. He punished the sins of His people in Christ. Christ was guilty as the sinner's substitute. He was charged with the sins of His people. But the imputation of guilt was not the only imputation going one. That perfect righteousness that Christ worked out was imputed to everybody that He died for. And now everybody that He died for is counted not guilty. By virtue of what Christ did on the cross, the people that God brings into heaven are not guilty! That is how God can be just and yet justify the ungodly. They are actually made just by imputation. Many believe that Christ was making salvation a possibility on the cross if we will just do our part. But Christ was not making salvation a possibility. He was saving! He literally accomplished the salvation of all of God's elect. This is how an unjust man can be just with God.

And dear friends, we can trust the Saviour who accomplished a salvation like that!

by Todd Nibert

No Works Added to Christ by Wylie Fulton

"CHRIST died for you," we are told by today's preachers, "but He also died for Judas. It is what you do, what you add to His death that results in salvation." Then Christ is not sufficient and He lied when He said, "It is finished" (John 19:30). Also when He said, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37).

Every species of Arminianism and legalism is criminal, for it steals from the glory that belongs to CHRIST ALONE in salvation. The Arminian will say, "You have to accept His atoning death, or He died in vain as far as you are concerned." The preacher of works will say, "Accept Christ but you must also do good works, hold out to the end, live by the 10 Commandments and the Golden Rule [or whatever his favorite works are] — because if you don't DO THESE THINGS, the work of CHRIST ALONE is not enough!" This is implied if not spoken.

We are not Arminians, we are not legalists, nor are we antinomian. We believe it's all of GRACE. What Christ did and what He is now doing is all our salvation. We cannot and dare not add anything to it. He is sufficient. True, a believer will live a good consecrated life, but that's the evidence of salvation, not the condition.

A good preacher of grace was once asked, "Don't you believe in good works?" He replied, "Yes, of course, I believe in good works. I also believe in chimneys, but I wouldn't want a chimney to be the foundation of my house! Neither are good works the foundation of my spiritual house; they are the adornment, the evidence, but CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK ALONE IS MY FOUNDATION!"
"On Christ the SOLID ROCK I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand."
— Editorial by Wylie Fulton in our old periodical Truth for Today, 1991

Do You Hear What the Law Says? By Scott Price

Many times in my life I have heard folks talk about doing the best they can and being accepted by God on that basis. You hear folks talk about how the saints in the Old Testament where save by keeping the Law. You hear of folks who believe in a "second work of grace" wherein they may live a sinless life. All of this is simply hogwash. All men and women without exception are practicing sinners. We all sin more often than not. Sad to say this means it is their "tenor of life". Everything we do is stained with sin. To say otherwise is to be self righteous.

How may we test this statement? An honest reading of Romans 7 would prove it easily. Some have gone as far as saying that chapter speaks of Paul BEFORE his conversion. Another test: Do you think you keep the Law? Do you think you have EVER kept the Law? If so, let me ask you a another question. On your very best day when you where at your spiritual peak could you keep just one Law? If you say yes then let me ask you if you can keep that one Law at your spiritual peak like Christ kept it. NOT POSSIBLE!! God's standard is to continue always to keep the Law like Christ did. That is God's absolute standard: The perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Anything short of that is a curse (Gal 3:10).

The Scripture is clear in Psalm 39:5 that man at his very best state is altogether vanity. That is at his best! Isaiah, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit said that all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. That is our best deeds! The only remedy is for a Representative and Substitute to be responsible for my sin, all of it. He must purge it, remit it, put it away as far as the East is from the West. This takes the blood of the God-Man Mediator. He then puts me in a perfect state of justification and will not ever impute sin to me because He has imputed righteousness to my account. He gives me a new heart to want to serve Him and do good works by faith. Should we sin that grace abound? God forbid! Repent! Repent for thinking you could ever keep the Law and repent for breaking that same Law. Think on it. By Scott Price (exert from the Gospel of Grace Newsletter)

The Simplicity that is in Christ by Chris Cunningham

"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."2 Cor. 11:3

The word here does not mean "shallowness" or "easiness." Though the Gospel is simple in the sense that it is all Christ and only Christ, it is certainly not shallow or easy. It (He) is foolishness to the natural man and we cannot receive it (Him) without a miracle of grace (1 Cor. 2:14). Religion has a "simple gospel" which anyone can receive; even those who go on despising and rejecting the true Christ of the Bible. Man has devised an easy way to escape hell without ever meeting or bowing to the sovereign Christ (Matt 7:13). Anyone can walk the so-called "Roman Road," but only the regenerating power of God the Holy Spirit can turn a God-hating rebel into a loving son of God. The Spirit only does this work as Christ is presented in the pure, unadulterated Gospel.

The word here means "singleness" or "bountifulness" signifying that in Christ there is complete fullness so that there is no need to add anything to Him. In fact if anything or anyone is added to Him, He will "profit you nothing" Gal 5:2. This is the reason for Paul's fear. If Christ does not profit you, there is no profit for you anywhere in heaven or earth and you must experience God's unrestrained wrath upon you in your sin. It is Christ alone Who saves and sustains the sinner. Acts 4:12 It is not only that He is the only one Who can save a sinner, but that it is Him, without the addition of man's will or works, Who saves.

Many preach hell to frighten people, heaven to bribe people or works to motivate people. The Scriptures say much about hell, heaven and works, but the "simple" message of God's word is Christ and Him crucified. There is no reason or excuse for ever preaching anything or anyone else. 1 Cor 1: 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. By Chris Cunningham

The Paradox Of Scripture by Todd Nibert

According to Webster, a paradox is "something apparently absurd or incredible, yet may be true in fact; a tenet contrary to received opinions." How full the Word of God is with paradoxes. Here are a few:

1. The only way up in the kingdom of heaven is down (Matt. 20:20-28).
2. The pre-requisite for spiritual strength is weakness (II Cor. 12:9-10).
3. The most mature in the kingdom of heaven are the most child-like (Matt. 18:1-4).
4. The church is the only society on earth where unworthiness is required for membership. Being a sinner is the prerequisite for salvation (I Tim. 1:15).
5. The blessed of. God are the poor, the hungry, and the persecuted. Those who are not blessed are the rich, full, and loved (Luke 6:20-26).
6. The believer gains assurance of his own personal acceptance before God based wholly upon something he personally had nothing to do with, but what Somebody else has done (Rom. 4:5-8).
7. The believer is instructed to be totally content and totally discontent at the same time (Phil. 4:12).
8. The believer would not dare come before God on the basis of any work performed, yet longs to be rich in good works (James 2:19).
9. The believer knows he is without a shred of righteousness before God, and yet knows he stands without a shred of sin before God (I John 1:8-10).
10. The believer is at the precise same time happy and sad, rejoicing and miserable, pessimistic and optimistic (Rom. 7:14-25).

An unbeliever can never understand these paradoxes. A believer may not be able to explain them, but he understands them because he has experienced them. By Todd Nibert

The Gift of Quiteness by Chris Cunningham

(Job 34:29) "When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?"

As the text implies, it is man's nature to make trouble. I observe that most not only take great pleasure in causing trouble for others, but seem to thrive upon it themselves. People seem discontent unless their lives are a constant turmoil of confusion and chaos. We are even entertained by it. The popular tabloid TV programs enthrall people with shows having titles such as "Children Who Want to Kill Their Parents" and "Sisters Who Steal Their Sisters' Husbands."

This, of course, is just an expression and illustration of our spiritual condition. Men and women are raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame (Jude 13). How accurately are we described in Isaiah 57:20, But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
Not only is our wicked heart a busy hive of evil and unrest which manifests itself in society in many ways, but our real problem is that all of this enmity is really directed toward God. If I kill my parents or steal my brother's wife, or have pleasure in them that do such things (Rom; 1:32), I'm not sinning against them, but GOD (Ps. 51:4). My real trouble is with HIM.

This being the case, then I see that my great primary need is peace with God. It is in the very face of God Himself, my Creator, that I am casting up my mire and dirt and foaming out my shame; and I shall have eternal damnation for it. I must somehow be at peace with GOD, and yet how can this be, seeing that The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity (Ps. 5:5).

The Lord Jesus Christ has made peace with God the Father, for His people, through the precious, priceless blood of His cross (Col. 1:20). Only He has the power to speak to the troubled sea, Peace, be still, and make it calm as glass. Only He can break the wild ass's colt (Job 11:12) and make him lie down like a lamb. He is the unspeakable Gift of quietness. Who then can make trouble (Rom. 8:34)? by Chris Cunningham

No New Doctrine by CH Spurgeon

It is no novelty, then, that I am preaching; no new doctrine. I love to proclaim these strong old doctrines that are called by nickname Calvinism, but which are truly and verily the revealed truth of God as it is in Christ Jesus. By this truth I make my pilgrimage into the past, and as I go, I see father after father, confessor after confessor, martyr after martyr, standing up to shake hands with me . . . Taking these things to be the standard of my faith, I see the land of the ancients peopled with my brethren; I behold multitudes who confess the same as I do, and acknowledge that this is the religion of God's own church.

I have my own opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel if we do not preach justification by faith without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing unchangeable eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross.

George Whitefield said, "We are all born Arminians." It is grace that turns us into Calvinists.

I do not ask whether you believe Calvinism. It is possible that you do not. But I believe you will before you enter heaven. I am persuaded that as God may have washed your hearts, He will wash your brains before you enter heaven.

Calvinism did not spring from Calvin. We believe that it sprang from the great founder of all truth. By C.H. Spurgeon

Why do you believe the doctrine of the trinity? by Don Fortner

We worship one God in the Trinity, or "Tri-unity", of his sacred Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and adore each of the Divine Persons as the God of all grace by whom we are saved. What is the basis of our doctrine in this regard? Can we prove the doctrine of the Trinity upon logical, scientific grounds?

I frankly confess my inability to produce a single argument drawn from nature or logic to prove the doctrine of the Trinity. It is a mystery filled with such grandeur that it defies comprehension by every finite mind. But our faith does not stand upon nature and logic. It stands upon the Word of God alone! I believe this doctrine because it is revealed in the Scriptures; and I see the beauty of it because I believe it.

The Apostle John states the doctrine of the Trinity plainly. "There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" (I John 5:7). In addition to this definitive statement there are numerous examples in which the Trinity is set before us.
1. The Baptism of Christ (Matt. 3:16-17).
2. The Baptismal Formula (Matt. 28:18).
3. The Apostolic Benediction (II Cor. 13:14).
4. The Promise of the Son to Pray to the Father for the Gift of the Spirit (John 14:16).

The New Testament declares that God the Father is God (Rom. 1:7), God the Son is God (Heb. 1:8), and God the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). Yet, these three Divine Persons are one God (Deut. 6:4). Someone has accurately stated it this way: "The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead invisible (John 1:18); the Son is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested (John 1:14-18); the Spirit is all the fullness of the Godhead acting immediately upon the creature (I Cor. 2:9-10)."

See that you grasp this doctrine firmly. We worship one God in three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in essence, being, power, and glory, yet, distinct in personality and performance. This doctrine is altogether a matter of faith, simply believing what God has written. There is nothing even remotely similar to the Trinity in creation by which it can even be illustrated. By Pastor Donald Fortner

Arminianism vs. Calvinism by Julianne

One way to boil down the essential differences between these two views is to pose this question: is man able to choose God prior to God’s intervention? That is, are men only drowning and in need of choosing to grab the life ring God how thrown them in Jesus (Arminianism); or are men already at the bottom of the sea, dead, in need of discovery and resuscitation by God (Calvinism).

Though the Synod of Dordt (and other such convocations) rejected Arminianism as unbiblical, many professing Christians believe it to be true today. Why?

One reason is that human nature drives man to be in control. Individuals naturally want to believe this. So they want to think they “make a decision” for Christ. They want to believe they have enough goodness in them to recognize the goodness of God and embrace Him. Humans want to believe their problem is not their corrupt nature so much as a lack of knowledge of this God who loves them.

They also misunderstand God’s love. They think His love is not “true” love when He predestines them. However, the Bible makes it clear that it is God who initiates and accomplishes this redemptive relationship (Ephesians 1; Romans 9, etc.). God chooses men, not vice versa.

Submitted by Julianne at semper reformanda
This was only a small exert of a couple of paragraphs that ment the most to me, to read the complete article click(READ MORE…)

Precious and glorious by J. C. Philpot

All that Jesus is and has, all that He says and does is precious and glorious . . .
His miracles of mercy, while here below;
His words so full of grace, wisdom, and truth;
His going about doing good;
His sweet example of patience, meekness and submission;
His sufferings and sorrows in the garden and on the cross;
His spotless holiness and purity;
His tender compassion to poor lost sinners;
His atoning blood and justifying obedience;
His dying love, so strong and firm;
His lowly, yet honorable burial;
His glorious resurrection;
His ascension and present reign and rule;
His constant intercession for His people.

What beauty and glory shine forth in all these divine realities! A view of His glory and a foretaste of the bliss and blessedness it communicates has a transforming effect upon the soul. We are naturally . . . proud, covetous, worldly, grievously entangled in various lusts and passions, prone to evil, averse to good, easily elated by prosperity, soon dejected by adversity, peevish under trials, rebellious under heavy strokes, unthankful for daily mercies of food and clothing, and in other ways ever manifesting our base nature.

To be brought from under the power of these abounding evils, we need to be conformed to the image of Christ. Now, this can only be by beholding His glory by faith. "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory!" 2 Corinthians 3:18 It is this believing view of the glory of Christ which supports under heavy trials, producing meekness and resignation to the will of God. By Joseph Philpot

My path by J. C. Philpot

My path has been, and is, one mainly of trial and temptation, having a heart so evil, a tempter so subtle, and so many crosses and snares in which my feet are continually caught and entangled.

All here on earth, is labor and sorrow. Our own sins, and the sins of others, will always make it a scene of trouble.

Oh, you hideous monster, sin! What a mighty power it has--a power which grace alone can subdue. It seems sometimes subdued, and then rises up worse than before. Well may we cry out, "Oh, wretched man that I am!"

"Hold me up, and I shall be safe!" Ps. 119:117
By Joseph Philpot

The end will make amends for all! By J. C. Philpot

What a world it is of sin and sorrow! How everything serves to remind us that we are all passing away! I feel for you in your trials and afflictions, so various, painful, and multiplied. But dare I wish you free from what the all-wise, all-gracious Lord lays upon you? Could He not in a moment remove them all? Our Father sees fit in His wisdom and mercy to afflict His children, and we know that He would not do so unless it were for the good of their soul. What can we say then? All we can do is to beg of the Lord that He would support, comfort, and bless them. It is in the furnace that we learn our need of realities, and our own helplessness and inability. The furnace also brings to our mind the shortness of life, and how vain all things are here below.

Affliction are sent to . . . wean from this world, make life burdensome, and death desirable. I well know that the poor coward flesh is fretful and impatient under afflictions, and would gladly have a smoother, easier path. But we cannot choose our own trials, nor our own afflictions. All are appointed in fixed weight and measure; and the promise is that all things shall work together for good to those who love God.

Wherever we go, and wherever we are, we must expect trials to arise. But it will be our wisdom and mercy to submit to what we cannot alter, and not fret or repine under the trial--but accept it as sent for our good. We need trial upon trial, and stroke upon stroke to bring our soul out of carnality. We slip insensibly into carnal ease; but afflictions and trials of body and mind stir us up to some degree of earnestness in prayer, show us the emptiness and vanity of earthly things, make us feel the suitability and preciousness of the Lord Jesus. The path in which you have been led so many years is a safe way, though a rough and rugged way. The end will make amends for all! By Joseph Philpot

Witnessing by Henry Mahan

"Go home to thy friends and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee" (Mark 5:19). The Lord had shown great mercy to this poor sinner, setting him free from demons and from sin. Now He tells him to go home to his family and friends and be The Lord’s Witness. Do not go home and begin to preach. Do not go home and take up the great doctrines of grace and expound them. Do not go home and strive to bring everyone to your views and beliefs. Do not go home and condemn all who do not see what you see. Go home and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you! Not what great things you have read or heard, but what great things you have experienced! This is the way to begin our witnessing. There never is a more interesting story than the story a person has experienced, lived, and felt. If you would really interest others and get their attention, tell them what great things the Lord has done in you and for you! Notice, the Lord said, "Tell them what great things the Lord hath done." It is a story of free grace. Not what we did, willed, or gave, but what He did for us by his own free, sovereign, and undeserved love. We will not convince them nor change them, any more than another man could convert us. But the Lord, who did great things for us, can do great things for them if He is so pleased. And He is pleased to use the faithful witness of those who go and tell "how great things the Lord hath done for thee." By Pastor Henry Mahan

They Shall be My People by Don Fortner

"And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.”
-- Jeremiah 24:7

There are some men and women in this world whom God has chosen to salvation from eternity, who must and shall be saved (John 15:16; 2 Thess. 2:13). There is a multitude, scattered among the fallen sons of Adam, in every age, in every nation who must be saved. The number of God’s elect is so great that no man can calculate it, though it always appears as only a remnant at any given time.

The number is unalterably fixed by God. All the elect must be saved. Nothing can prevent their salvation.

The Lord Jesus Christ has made atonement for the sins of God’s elect and redeemed them from the curse of the law by his own precious blood (Gal. 3:13). Contrary to popular opinion, Christ did not die for all men. He refused to even pray for all men (John 17:9, 20). All his work was and is for his elect alone. To say otherwise is to declare that his work, his atonement, his intercession, all his work as the sinner's Substitute was and is futile, meaningless, and vain. The death of Christ was for his particular, chosen, elect people (Isa. 53:8; John 10:11) for the satisfaction of justice on their behalf.

All God’s elect, having been redeemed by the blood of Christ, shall be called from death to life by the irresistible power and almighty grace of God the Holy Spirit (Gal. 3:13-14; Psa. 65:4; 110:3). Repentance toward God, faith in Christ, and eternal life are the results of the Spirit's call. Theses are things effectually wrought in God’s elect (not offered to them) by his almighty grace. There is specific day appointed by God in which each of
his elect will be called to life and faith in Christ by the gospel (Psa. 110:3; Ezek. 16:68). God will see to it that the sinner whom he has chosen will be in the place he has ordained, with his heart thoroughly prepared to receive the gospel, at the appointed time. And he will send his Word to that sinner in the irresistible power and grace of the Holy Spirit. In that day, God says, regarding every chosen, redeemed sinner, “They shall be my people.” By Donald Fortner