"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

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“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).

East-West Separation

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“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will He keep His anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:8-14)

If you take a few moments to Google the idea of the universe expanding, this is what you will find:

The American astronomer Edwin Hubble made the observations in 1925 and was the first to prove that the universe is expanding. He proved that there is a direct relationship between the speeds of distant galaxies and their distances from Earth. This is now known as Hubble’s Law.

The galaxies outside of our own are moving away from us, and the ones that are farthest away are moving the fastest. This means that no matter what galaxy you happen to be in, all the other galaxies are moving away from you. However, the galaxies are not moving through space, they are moving in space, because space is also moving. In other words, the universe has no center; everything is moving away from everything else.

There is no separation in a person’s life like the separation from the companionship of a loved one. Different causes produce the anguish from such a separation: military service, emotional estrangement, divorce, incarceration, and death. These and others can cause a sadness and almost unbearable, crushing depression.

If we were only animals, separation would most likely not produce severe sadness. Some animal species are deeply affected by separation. The study of the African Elephant, as an example, indicates that the memories of these huge beasts are deeply affected by the death of one of their herd. But we are quite different from any of the animals God created.

We humans were created for a unique fellowship and communion with our Creator. The fact of sin—disobedience to God’s law by our first parents, produced a progeny of lawbreakers who through history have illustrated alienation from God. We have been alienated from that common-union for which we were created—the union of God’s Spirit in our spirit. That’s what originally made Eden perfect.

It is the Christian religion that teaches reconciliation of man with his Creator by means of a mediator. The Scripture says,

“God wills that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth; for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (I Timothy 2:4-5).

You know, I think that David the King knew this long before Edwin Hubble made his discovery. After his sins of adultery and murder, the Psalmist was granted to learn the spiritual principle that God’s forgiveness of our sins is easily depicted as being removed from us by His grace further and further from those acts whereby we sinned against God and our fellow friends. The records of our sins and failures might be kept in the memory of friends—especially those against whom we sinned heniously. They may be kept in the records held by civil authorities. With todays computer technology they can pull up every speeding ticket, every act of tax evasion, and display it right in front of us or others. Look how the investigating agencies are digging into the political machinations of our political parties. Emails….telephone conversations, you name it. You are on record.

But that’s not so with your moral transgressions against the God of the Universe, if you have repented and asked forgiveness from Him. Look what King David says:

  1. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
  2. The Lord does not always scold us; He doesn’t keep His anger forever.
  3. He doesn’t always deal with us in accordance with our sins.
  4. He doesn’t always give us the penalty we really deserve.
  5. If we truly fear Him and repent of our sins He will show us mercy.
  6. God treats us like a loving human father would treat us.
  7. God knows everything about us—He knows every secret we keep.
  8. God knows every weakness, every character flaw, and every evil motive.
  9. And in spite of all that we have done to deserve His displeasure…
  10. God is willing to forgive us and separate our sins from us “As far as the east is from the west.”

Think of it! Meditate on the fact. If the universe as we know it is expanding, then the distance between our past sins and failures are drifting further and further away from us. We may be tempted to hold onto our past failures; but God has removed and is continually removing our confessed and forsaken sins away from us. He does this in order that we might serve Him every day with a clear conscience and a desire to allow Him in His power and grace to live through us toward others for His glory and the benefit they might receive by our positive witness to His grace in forgiveness. Now that is the mercy of God! Learn it. Grasp it. Cling to it, and rejoice that you are His forgiven child.

Let’s Get This Straight

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“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…]

Hell? Who Said So?

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 “In that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  (Matthew 13:42)

On any given Sunday in America it is doubtful that many of the preachers will be speaking on the subject of hell. Many of them don’t even believe in hell. The word is used more often as a curse word than as a description of the place where the living dead are suffering in torment.

Let’s face it, hell doesn’t mean very much to us. Hell doesn’t disturb us. I can’t help but wonder whatever happened to “hell fire and damnation” preaching. It wouldn’t take much of that to thin out the crowd in most of today’s mega churches.

If you are an evangelical Christian believer, I wonder when you last heard a sermon on hell. I wonder if you have ever spoken to anyone about this place prepared for the Devil and his angels and that eternal abode of the vast majority of unbelieving, unrepentant humanity.

On July 8, 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” to a congregation in Enfield, Connecticut. It was Spirit empowered and produced dramatic results.

Listening to Edward’s sermon, some worshippers clung to the edge of their seats, fearing that they would drop into hell. While he kept preaching, some moaned, crying out, “What shall I do to be saved?” You won’t find this kind of reaction in the average Evangelical Church today. I doubt you will find people crying out to be saved by God. Edwards proclaimed,

“Natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked.”

Nor will you hear that kind of preaching today.

Few people realized that Jesus preached about hell more than any other individual we find in the New Testament. Why was He so deadly serious and consistently preaching on hell? Consider these facts:

  1. He created hell.
  2. He sustains and governs hell.
  3. He sees the vast majority of mankind as fearing neither Him nor hell.
  4. He will one day be the judge of all men.
  5. He will send unbelieving men and woman to the torments of hell for eternity.
  6. He knows that His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension provide the only means for deliverance from eternal damnation in hell.

What grieves me is the almost total abandonment of preaching on hell in Evangelical churches today. It is as though pastors don’t agree with what Jesus said about hell. They are too educated and sophisticated. After all, such preaching might anger some people. It might cause some people to flee to churches where they will be coddled in their depravity and will have their felt need for self esteem met by preaching that is soothing and personally uplifting. They prefer a religious life coach rather than a real preacher who tells it like it is.

How we need the attitude of Jesus today. He wept over Jerusalem, knowing they would not come to Him for life. Paul was willing to be accursed by God, if only his fellow Jewish brethren could find salvation in the Messiah they had crucified. As the valley of Hinnom – the garbage dump south of the walls of Jerusalem – constantly burned and maggots fed on rotting flesh, so the eternal Gehenna, Hell, waits for the death of the unbelieving of this world. May we be awakened from our lethargy to truly believe the words of Jesus,

“So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:49-50).

Oh, that we believers might have revival in our hearts. That the Spirit would cause us to see into eternity and truly grieve, pray for, and endeavor to see our loved ones and friends delivered from the curse of condemnation that is on their souls for refusing to acknowledge and trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.