GOOD Friday

It is finished! 
John 19:30

Hark! the voice of love and mercy
   Sounds aloud from Calvary;
See! It rends the rocks asunder,
   Shakes the earth, and veils the sky:
      'It is finished!'
Hear the dying Savior cry.
  
'It is finished!' What assurance
   Do the wondrous words afford!
Heavenly blessings without measure
   Flow to us from Christ the Lord:
      'It is finished!'
Saints the dying words record!

Finished all the types and shadows
   Of the ceremonial law,
Finished all that God had promised;
   Death and hell no more shall awe:
       'It is finished!'
Saints, from hence your comfort draw.

Saints and angels shout His praises,
   His great finished work proclaim;
All on earth and all in heaven
   Join to bless Immanuel's name:
        Hallelujah!
Endless glory to the Lamb!
                         Jonathan Evans   1748-1809

If we be dead with Christ, we believe that we 
shall also live with Him. Romans 6:8

       

       

Beholding Him

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of 
the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face 
beholding as in a glass (a mirror) the  glory of the 
Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to 
glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 3:18

Reader, there is so much emphasis on works these days
within the church. We are so busy going from one thing
to another that there is not time to sit before Him with
His Word and ponder to Whom we belong. In chapter
three of Corinthians Paul shares how Moses put a veil
over his face so the people did not see the glory fading.
The law is unable to keep anything. As we wait upon
Him in the secret place, abide in His presence, we are
changed into His image from glory to glory. Then we
can go forth and do His work in His power.

Ask Of Me

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, 
ask whatever you will, and it will be given you. 
John 15:7

Reader, I have always had trouble with this verse. Here
are some comments that I found helpful.

In creation God acts sovereignly and alone. But in the 
unfolding of HIs redemptive purposes, He wills it other-
wise. He chooses to unite with Himself human instru-
ments and share with them the excitement of creativity. 
The incarnation is part of the working out of this plan.

In sending His Son to become a man, God revealed in 
a new way His purpose to limit Himself to working in 
and through a relationship with man. The vital, indis-
pensable part of this working relationship is prayer. 
God communicated His will to the Son in the intensive 
exercise of prayer that occupied so many of our Lord's 
nights in desert places.

This brings us to the basic divine principle in prayer--
that God unites His people with Himself in whatever He 
wants to do, first leading them to pray and then giving 
the thing for which He burdened them to pray.

The same principle is taught by the Lord Jesus in His
Upper Room discourse under the symbolism of the vine 
and the branches. Abiding in Him is the condition He 
established for our asking and His acting. What had 
been set up.  Arthur Matthews

You see, reader, it all comes back to one word, "abiding."
Jesus says, "without Him, we can do nothing." I wonder
if when we are judged at the Judgement Seat of Christ,
it will be for what Jesus has done through us, His power
not ours?
It is always about Him.
The judgement is not for sins because those have been
paid for.

His Glorious Indwelling!!!!

We Are Clueless

But as it is written:
Eye has not seen, nor ear
   heard,
Nor have entered into the 
   heart of man
The things which God has
   prepared for those who love 
Him. 
I Corinthians 2:9

Dear Reader, so many confusing things are going
on in our world today--much of the turmoil is
clearly predicted in God's Word in Daniel, Eze-
kiel, Zechariah, Isaiah, to name a few books in
the Old Testament. However, the storms that
blow affect many of us personally. Sometimes
the pressure hardly lifts from day to day. Psalm
90 written by Moses near the end of his life con-
tains these words:

"We finish our years like a sigh...
The days of our lives are seventy years; and if 
by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it 
is soon cut off, and we fly away..."

Dear one, take heart and look at what God has
promised us:

And God will wipe away every tear from their 
eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow,
nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for 
the former things have passed away. Then He
said, "Behold, I make all things new..."
Revelation 21:4, 5

We Rejoice in Hope

...we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom we have gained access by
faith into this grace in which we now stand...
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1, 2

Every Christian is justified by faith and has peace
with God--therefore he rejoices in hope of the glory
of God. It simply cannot be otherwise. It is true of
you, too. Since Christ has justified you for time and
eternity, since He has established peace between you
and God for time and eternity, then He will also give
you the glory of God when in due time He presents
you with all His own, having neither spot, nor wrin-
kle, nor any such thing. You may look forward to
this day with joyful expectation.  Paol Madsen

Reader, All is due to Christ alone. This is how Paul
knows that the Romans also, though personally un-
known to him, could rejoice in hope of the glory of
God.
REJOICE!  His coming in glory is closer than what
we can comprehend...

Consider it Pure Joy!

Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, re-
joice! Philippians 4:4

It is a good thing to 'rejoice in the Lord.' Perhaps
you have tried it but seemed to fail at first. Don't
give it a second thought, and forge ahead. Even
when you cannot feel any joy, there is no spring
to your step, nor any comfort or encouragement
in your life, continue to rejoice and 'consider it
pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds,' 
( James 1:2) regard it as joy, delight in it, and God 
will reward your faith. His Holy Spirit will sustain 
you in your bold advance and fill your heart with 
gladness and praise. You will find that your heart 
is exhilarated and refreshed by the fullness within.  
Selected

Be filled with the Spirit...Sing and make music in 
your heart to the Lord. Ephesians 5:18-19

Let us sing even when we don't feel like it, for in this 
way we give wings to heavy feet and turn weariness 
into strength. John Henry Jowett

Reader, do you know that you can sing before the
Lord with tears streaming down your face? Yes,
you can!

A Red Flag

Kept by the power of God. 1Peter 1:5

You have remained true to God under great and in-
tense trials, now beware of the undercurrent. Do not 
be morbidly introspective, looking forward with 
dread, but keep alert; keep your memory  bright be-
fore God. Unguarded strength is double weakness be-
cause that is where the "retired sphere of the leasts"
saps. The Bible characters fell on their strong points,
never on their weak ones. Oswald Chambers

Reader, We let God handle the big problems but we
want to handle the small stuff ourselves. We cannot 
live out the Christian life in victory if we are discon-
nected from the vine. Have you ever said, "Not to
worry, I've got this?" Well, for the Christian it is a
red flag!