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"If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free...So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed!" (John 8:31-32,36)

Fresh as the Sunrise

October 24, 2017 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning; for You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble” (Psalm 59:16).
“Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You” (Psalm 143:8).

The poet J. E. Raneim wrote:

Are you weary, are you heavy hearted?
Are you grieving over joys departed?
Do the tears flow down your cheeks unbidden?
Have you sins that to men’s eyes are hidden?
Do you fear the gathering clouds of sorrow?
Are you anxious what shall be tomorrow?
Are you troubled at the thought of dying?
For Christ’s coming Kingdom are you sighing?
Tell it to Jesus,
Tell it to Jesus,
He is a friend that’s well known.
You’ve no other such a friend or brother,
Tell it to Jesus alone.

We would do well, when we rise in the morning and look into the mirror, to ask ourselves, “In whom is my trust this morning?”

If we look within, we’ll be distressed. If we look back, we’ll be defeated. If we look around, we’ll be distracted. We would do well to have a higher view of life. To be dismayed, we should look before. To be delivered, we should look to Christ. To be delighted, we should look up… up to the Face of our Lord Jesus Christ for:

  1. Salvation from our sins: “Look unto Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God and there is none else (Isaiah 45:22).
  2. Forgiveness for our many offenses: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).
  3. Knowledge of God’s working in us: “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
  4. Assurance of God’s presence with us: “For He Himself said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
  5. The supply of everything we need: “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
  6. Protection until Christ returns: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thessalonians 5:23).
  7. Receiving us to Himself and our home in Heaven: “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

Let each of us, every morning, say with our whole heart;
 
When the sun rises over the hills, I will look to You (Matthew 28:20).
When my spirit seems void Your presence, I will speak to You (John 16:24).
When my prayers seem unheard, I will know You are listening (Jeremiah 33:3).
When temptations try to lure me, I will seek Your aid to resist (James 4:7-8).
When bad memories persist, I will know You can cleanse my memory (Heb. 9:14).
When my faith seems weaker, I will ask You for stronger faith (Luke 17:5).
When my weakness plagues my efforts, I will ask for Your grace (2 Cor. 12:9).
When I feel alone, I will know You are with me (John 14:18).
When I seem defeated, You will give me victory (Philippians 4:13).

The old German hymn, if we let it, will cause us to praise like this:

When morning guilds the skies, my heart awaking cries,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Alike at work and prayer… to Jesus I repair …
May Jesus Christ be praised.
When sleep her balm denies, my silent spirit sighs,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
When evil thoughts molest…with this I shield my breast,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Does sadness fill my mind, a solace here I find,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Or fades my earthly bliss, my comfort still is this,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
In heaven’s eternal bliss, the loveliest strain is this,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
The powers of darkness fear, when this sweet chant they hear,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Be this, while life is mine, my canticle divine,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Be this the eternal song, through all the ages on,
May Jesus Christ be praised.

Will we ever learn to rise in the morning and look beyond our mirror to see the living Christ of the Universe waiting for us to come to Him in prayer? Will we lift our spirits to the presence of the Father where Christ is waiting as our intercessor—our attorney—to plead our cause and give to us the mercy and grace to bountifully supply for us our deepest needs?

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews. 4:15-16).

To Ponder:

  1. Are you struggling to find God’s help with trials that seem to surround you?
  2. Do you lack the spiritual strength to rise above and beyond your trials?
  3. Are you searching in God’s Word to gain the strength you need from Him?
  4. Are you memorizing and trusting His promises to you?
  5. Will you commit to being totally yielded to His will for every hour of your life?

To Pray:

Father in Heaven, every morning please convict me, give me the grace to repent and turn from my many weaknesses and sins; please cleanse me, fill me, and by Your Spirit’s grace and power use me today to reach others with Your wonderful Gospel of salvation. I ask this for Your glory in Jesus’ Name.

To Remember:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, for Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:35-37).

Belief, Christian Witness, Christianity, Condemnation, Courage, Discipline, Faith, forgiveness, Grace, Life Struggles, Prayer, Repentance, Spiritual Growth, Worship Tagged: Christianity, condemnation, courage, faith, forgiveness, grace, prayer, salvation

God’s Relation To The Unregenerate World

February 15, 2017 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”(Romans 1:18 NASV)

Where is God? He is where He has always been, creator of and ruler over His creation.

God’s wrath is an exercise of his justice and abhorrence of man’s rebellion. God’s wrath hangs like Cicero’s Sword of Damocles over every man and woman walking on the face of this earth. Our lives hang by less than horsehair. Indeed, the very breath of God suspends them.

But why is God so angry and wrathful, you ask. Was the Psalmist correct when he said, “God judges the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psalm 7:11)

 Romans chapter 1 gives us the reasons why God sits in wrathful judgment over mankind.

Mankind suppresses the knowledge God has given regarding Himself. “That which is known about God is evident with them for God made it evident to them.” (v. 19).

  1. Mankind has deliberately failed to honor God as the God of the universe. “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God.” (v. 21)
  2. Mankind fails to “give thanks to God” for who He is. (v. 21)
  3. Mankind has become “futile in their speculations; and their foolish heart was darkened.” (v. 21)
  4. Mankind professes to be wise, but “they became fools.” (v. 22)
  5. Mankind is idolatrous. “They exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” (v. 23)
  6. Mankind is enslaved physiologically and psychologically by the lusts of their thoroughly depraved nature. (v. 24)
  7. Mankind has elevated the philosophy of humanism denying theism. (v. 25)
  8. Mankind has turned to the acceptance and practice of the LGBT lifestyle. (vs. 26-27)
  9. Mankind has been self-subjected to every form of evil, contrary to the laws and nature of the righteous, holy nature of the Creator. (vs. 28-31).
  10. Mankind practices and gives approval to the evil actions of other men. (v. 32)
  11. Mankind ridicules any idea of future judgment by God. (v. 32)

There are a dozen divinely revealed reasons why God’s relation to man puts man in danger of eternal damnation in hell. [Read more…]

Belief, Christianity, Condemnation, Eternity, Evil, forgiveness Tagged: culture, faith, Holy Spirit, regeneration, salvation, sovereignty, Spiritual Truth

Sick and Angry

October 18, 2015 by Beryl Smith 1 Comment

“ Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.”
(Eph. 4:25-27)

Can any right thinking individual not feel sick, when they see our nation devolving in corruption and immorality? Politicians lie to get votes. Businessmen lie and cheat to make deals. Our public educational system is engulfed by secular humanism. The onslaught of Islamic militants appears to succeed in their godless jihad around the world. Our nation seems to be satisfied to forsake its opportunity to provide leadership in the world; and political apathy seems to be a cancer eating at our national foundations. But is the thing that bothers me the most?

It appears to me that the main reason why this nation is crumbling is that the Evangelical Church has surrendered in the spiritual battle and has given the devil, Satan and his minions, free reign to destroy this nation. And I place the blame squarely on the spiritual leadership in the Evangelical Church. Preachers won’t preach against the holocaust of abortion – some of their members have joined the abortion industry that has resulted in the murder of over 60 million of our unborn children. [Read more…]

Abortion, Christianity, Church, Culture, Evangelical Church, Judgement, Separation Tagged: abortion, culture, Evangelical Church, Judgement, persecution, separation, sin

Let’s Get This Straight

September 4, 2015 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from Thee, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”
(Psalm 139:13-16)

God ordained and planned your life before He spoke the Universe into existence. He ordained the day of your conception, the day of your birth, and the day of your death. God is the author of life, the sustainer of life, and the consummator of all earthly life by His providence.

Abortion is premeditated murder. Murder is the killing of a human being with intent to kill (malice aforethought). It is condemned by God and worthy of damnation in hell. In our post-Christian culture, the murder of the unborn is subjected to the choice of the mother bearing the child. It is culturally accepted as pre-birth, partial birth, and of post birth, as seen in the damnable practice of removing a child to harvest its organs for sale. Culture willfully accepts abortion as normal solution to an unwanted pregnancy, particularly in cases of rape, incest, or the health of the mother. [Read more…]

Abortion, Christianity, Condemnation, Culture, Death, Evil, forgiveness, Grace, Judgement, Life Struggles, Mercy, Murder, Sin, Suffering, Trials Tagged: abortion, condemnation, culture, death, faith, forgiveness, grace, Judgement, mercy, murder, sin

Beryl Smith

AvatarBeryl has a great love for studying the Bible and Christian theology. Beryl is a 12th generation descendant of Ralph Blaisdell, an English Puritan who came to America from Bristol, England in August, 1635 on the sailing ship “The Angel Gabriel.”
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