Things Go Downhill

Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the 
world, and death by sin; and so death passed 
to all men, for that all have sinned. 
Romans 5:12

My claim to my right to myself entered into the human 
race by one man, and another Man took on Him the 
sin of the human race and put it away.

Sin is a thing I am born with and I cannot touch it; 
God touches sin in Redemption. In the Cross of Jesus 
Christ, God redeemed the whole human race from 
the possibility of damnation through the heredity of 
sin. The condemnation is not that I am born with a 
heredity of sin, but if when I realize Jesus Christ came 
to deliver me from it, I refuse to let Him do so, from 
that moment I begin to get the seal of damnation. 
"And this is the judgement" (the critical moment), 
"that the light is come into the world, 
and men loved darkness rather than the light." 
Oswald Chambers

Going on in Romans 5 we find this verse:

So then through one transgression there resul-
ted condemnation to all men, even so through 
one act of righteousness there resulted justifi-
cation of life to all men. Romans 5:18

Living Bible: Yes, Adam's sin brought punish-
meant to all, but Christ's righteousness makes 
men right with God, so they can live.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our 
behalf, that we might become the righteousness 
of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21

Living Bible: For God took the sinless Christ 
and poured into him our sins. 
Then, in exchange, he poured goodness into us. 

Reader, the hour is late and it is so important that you
grasp these scriptures and make Christ your own.
We are saved not by good works, or joining church,
or being baptized. We are saved when we believe that
we were born sinners, BUT, that God has provided us
with eternal life through Jesus Christ His Son. Yes,
salvation is for everyone, but we have to choose it.
May you grasp this and act on it!

Secure In His Love

Since He did not spare His own Son for us but
gave Him up for us all, won't he also surely give
us everything.  Romans 8:32

Blessed be God, our God,
Who gave us His well-loved Son,
The Gift of gifts, all other gifts in one;
Blessed be God, our God!

What will He not bestow,
Who freely have this mighty Gift unsought,
Unmerited, unheeded, and unsought;
What will He not bestow?

He spared not His Son!
'Tis this that silences each rising fear;
'Tis this that bids the hard thought disappear;
He spared not His Son!

Who shall condemn us now?
Who shall recall the pardon or the grace,
Or who the broken chain of guilt replace?
'Tis God that justifies!

The victory is ours!
For us in might came forth the mighty One;
For us He fought the fight, the triumph won;
The victory is ours!  
Horatius Bonar 1808-89

Reader, I am moved by the poetry of Horatius Bonar,
a man born and bred in Scotland.

He came from a long line of ministers who have served 
a total of 364 years in the Church of Scotland. One of 
eleven children, his brothers John James and Andrew 
Alexander were also ministers of the Free Church of 
Scotland He married Jane Catherine Lundie in 1843 and 
five of their young children died in succession. Towards 
the end of their lives, one of their surviving daughters was 
left a widow with five small children and she returned to 
live with her parents...  Wikipedia

This dear man never fails to move me when I read what
he has written. Bonar suffered deeply, but His faith was 
not superficial, nor was it in vain. The website below gives
a fuller picture of Horatius Bonar.

https://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/bbonar.html

Do It Yourself?

Bringing into captivity every thought
   to the obedience of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5

In our Lord's life every project was disciplined to the 
will of the Father. There was not a movement of an 
impulse of His own will as distinct from His Father's--
"The Son can do nothing of Himself."
Then take ourselves--a vivid religious experience, 
and every project born of impulse put into action 
immediately, instead of being imprisoned and disci-
plined to obey Christ. 

This is a day when practical work is overemphasized, 
and the saints who are binging every project into cap-
tivity are criticized and told they are not in earnest for 
God or for souls. True earnestness is found in obeying 
God, not in the inclination to serve Him that is born 
of undisciplined human nature. It is inconceivable, 
but true nevertheless, that saints are not bringing e-
very project into captivity, but are doing for God at the 
instigation of their own human nature which has not 
been spiritualized by determined discipline. 

We are apt to forget that a man is not only committed 
to Jesus Christ for salvation; he is committed to Jesus 
Christ's view of God, of the world, of sin, and of the 
devil, and that will mean that he must recognize the 
responsibility of being transformed by the renewing 
of his mind.  Oswald Chambers

Reader, as I typed this, I was thinking about the
'projects' I have undertaken:

"What are my motives? Is God still in this or am I
using this for myself? Why did I decide to do this?
Was He the initiator?"

Chambers reminded me that one reason I need to stay
in scripture with the purpose of a renewed mind, is so
that I can know God's will. If I stop and pay attention
I realize that my days are made up mostly of the little
things--like cleaning toilets--, rather than the things
that are recognized as 'spiritual.' I ask you, "Do you
sometimes look with jealousy at another's giftings,
gifts and callings that are not yours?" I have fought
this battle! I believe scripture teaches that we will be
rewarded according to our obedience, not according
to what we think we have achieved, or should be achie-
ving. Besides, God keeps much of that a secret.

How the Mighty Have Fallen

Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly
pressed to consider well the main end of his life and
studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eter-
nal life (John 17:3) and therefore to lay Christ in the
bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge 
and learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom, 
let everyone seriously set himself by prayer in secret 
to seek of Him (Prov 2:3). Everyone shall exercise him-
self in reading the scriptures twice a day that he shall 
be ready to give such an account of his proficiency 
therein.  Rules of Harvard in 1636

Reader, Harvard was established only16 years after
the arrival of the Pilgrims and the signing of the
Mayflower Covenant. A foundation was laid that has
undergirded our nation for over 200 years. A bill is
being considered in California that would ban the sale
of Bibles because this book does not share their world
view of gender. The church is no longer the cutting
edge in our culture. Darkness is descending.

Firmly Fixed

My righteous one will live by faith. Hebrews 10:38

Keep your eyes firmly fixed on the infinite greatness
of Christ's finished work and His righteousness.
Look to Jesus and believe--look to Jesus and live! In 
fact, as you look to Him, unfurl your sails and bravely 
face the raging storms on the sea of life. Do not exhi-
bit your distrust by staying in the security of the calm 
harbor, or sleeping comfortably through a life of ease. 

Sail away! Spread your sail toward the storm and trust 
in Him who rules the raging sea.
"Put your hope in God."  Psalm 42:5    JR Macduff

When I cannot feel the faith of assurance, I live by the 
fact of God's faithfulness.    Matthew Henry

Reader, each day is a new challenge. I find the com-
meant of Matthew Henry is what keeps me on an even
keel. I cannot trust my faithfulness but I can live by
God's faithfulness. His Word is full of God caring and
intervening on behalf of His kids. However, if I am not
careful, I miss His faithfulness to me. Our battle is in
the mind.

A Sense of Urgency

In the last couple of weeks I have had a sense of urgency
regarding just how much time we have left. In the last wk
alone, one man discovered 147 different articles that had
prophetic significance. Syria has within its borders the
three main countries mentioned in Ez 38:2--Russia, Iran
and Turkey--each of whom wants to take out Israel. Then
I watched a dvd of a woman who has the gift of evangel-
ism and who shares the Gospel with all she meets. Claudia
has greatly encouraged me to be much more proactive in
sharing the Good News of Salvation with others. Just yes-
terday I sat next to a woman in church who was hungry for
God but had no idea how to seal the deal. We went through
Rom 3:23; 6:23; 10:9,10. Tears fell as we prayed together.

Reader, my encouragement to you is to equip yourself to
be able to share the Gospel and then talk to people about
Jesus. Claudia's website is posted below where she gives
her testimony and also how God uses her voice and her
heart to bring as many as possible into the Kingdom. You
can also order the dvd from her website.

(Jesus says,) "For the Son of Man has come to seek 
and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10

'...when you see all these things happening, know that 
the Kingdom of God is near. Assuredly, I say to you, 
this generation (the generation that sees Israel be-
come a nation) will be no means pass away till all 
things take place. 
Heaven and earth will pass away but My words will 
by no means pass away." Luke 21:31-33

Claudia's website:
http://www.soulsaviour.org

Please share this with others!!!!

Eagles Wings

Descend from the crest. Song of Songs 4:8

Bearing the burden of crushing weight actually gives 
Christians wings. This may sound like a contradic-
tion in terms, but it is a blessed truth. While endur-
ing a severe trial, David cried, "Oh, that I had wings
of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest." Ps 55:6
Yet before he finished his meditation, he seems to
have realized that his wish for wings was attainable,
for then he said, "Cast your cares on the Lord and
He will sustain you." Ps 55:22
The word "burden" is described in my Bible commen-
tary as being "what Jehovah has given you." The 
saints' burdens are God-given, leading us to wait on 
Him. And once we have done so, the burden is trans-
formed into a pair of wings through the miracle of 
trust, and the one who was weighted down "will soar 
on wings like eagles." Isa 40:31 
Sunday School Times

Reader, there is something to back up these really
ridiculous claims. King David wrote Psalm 23 when
he was exiled from Jerusalem because his very own
son had betrayed him. It seems to be a process for
most of us. David could not have written these words
at the beginning of his trials with Saul, but he learned
to lean on God and wrote psalms of pain which con-
tained words of praise. Psalm 23, written in the cruci-
ble of anguish is the best known psalm today.

The Lord IS MY Shepherd.
I shall not want...