"Dying Grace"

"It is finished!" -- Jesus' final words on The Cross, John 19:30

"Death is a great dread. It is easy to say 'God is Love' until death has snatched away your dearest friend, then I defy you to say that 'God is Love', UNLESS GOD'S GRACE HAS DONE A GREAT WORK IN YOUR SOUL!" -- Oswald Chambers

Give away your life... To The God of Great Grace.  

Grateful

Lust is the Unholy Heartbeat of Sin

As a pastor, but mostly as a believer, I can say with all of my heart that I hate Sin and the devil. It pains me to see Sin and the devil destroying holy marriages, precious families, and individual lives.

Lust is especially an ugly thing. Lust is self-centeredness clearly exposed. I have heard it said that "Lust is the rawest form of selfishness." It's true. Lust is the Unholy Heartbeat of Sin. Lust allows the devil to take over the controls of our lives and to lead our eternal souls to Sin's destination -- eternal devastation. Lust will leave us lifeless.

My Dad has told me many times this truth about sin:

Sin will take you further than you ever wanted to go.
Make you pay more than you ever wanted to pay.
Keep you longer than you ever wanted to stay.

I plead with everyone reading this blog today: Please choose love over lust, life over death, Heaven over Hell and The Life-giving LORD over the life-stealing devil. I plead with you to minimize future regrets later on in your life by allowing The Blood of Jesus to cleanse you of all sin, now. Please.

John 10:10 (GWT) -- "A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, But I came so that my sheep will have life and so they will have everything they need." -- Jesus

Grateful

Cause Hope to Arise Within Me

"What can death do to me? I've already died. You cannot defeat defeat. You cannot break brokenness."  

-- E. Stanley Jones

 

Pray with me;

"Lord, take fear far from me. 

You have defeated my greatest and my last enemy, the devil and death itself. 

Cause Hope to arise within me. Resurrected Hope has a Name -- 'King Jesus'.

Occupy the Throne of my Soul. Be my Indwelling Inspiration always and forever and today. 

Amen and Amen."

You are Faithful and I am...

Grateful 

In the Grave, In the Ground...

Yes. it's Holy Saturday...

Lo, in the grave He lay, Jesus, my Savior...

The Seed of Hope is planted in the ground. Death, Grave, and Hell? BEWARE!

Grateful 

What is The Death of Prayer?

Selfishness is the death of prayer.
-- Andrew Murray

Lord, let self-centeredness stay dead in my life,
so that prayer can stay alive.
In Jesus' name. Amen.

Grateful

From Life into Sin, From Sin into Life

Because of the first Adam, we died out of Life into Sin, which leads to death.

Because of the Second Adam (Jesus), we can now die out of Sin and reenter into Life.

 

 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

-- Galatians 2:20 (NLT)

 

Holiness Unto The LORD!

Grateful

Destroyed and Restored

Jesus destroyed our death when He was crucified on the cross.
Jesus restored our life when He was resurrected from the grave.

Now, that's Good News, brothers and sisters.
He was Faithful, so we are..
...Grateful!

At The End of the Road

When John Todd, a nineteenth-century clergyman, was six years old, both his parents died. A kind-hearted aunt raised him until he left home to study for the ministry. Later, this aunt became seriously ill, and in distress she wrote Todd a letter. Would death mean the end of everything, or could she hope for something beyond?

Here, condensed from The Autobiography of John Todd, is the letter he sent in reply:

"It is now thirty-five years since I, as a boy of six, was left quite alone in the world. You sent me word you would give me a home and be a kind mother to me. I have never forgotten the day I made the long journey to your house. I can still recall my disappointment when, instead of coming for me yourself, you sent your servant, Caesar, to fetch me. "I remember my tears and anxiety as, perched high on your horse and clinging tight to Caesar, I rode off to my new home.

Night fell before we finished the journey, and I became lonely and afraid. 'Do you think she'll go to bed before we get there?' I asked Caesar. 'Oh no!' he said reassuringly, 'She'll stay up for you. When we get out o' these here woods, you'll see her candle shinin' in the window.' "

Presently we did ride out into the clearing, and there, sure enough, was your candle. I remember you were waiting at the door, that you put your arms close about me-- a tired and bewildered little boy. You had a fire burning on the hearth, a hot supper waiting on the stove. After supper you took me to my new room, heard me say my prayers, and then sat beside me till I fell asleep.

"Some day soon God will send for you, to take you to a new home. Don't fear the summons, the strange journey, or the messenger of death. God can be trusted to do as much for you as you were kind enough to do for me so many years ago. At the end of the road you will find love and a welcome awaiting, and you will be safe in God's care."
-- Vernon Grounds

A few days before his death, Dr. F. B. Meyer wrote a very dear friend these words: "I have just heard, to my great surprise, that I have but a few days to live. It may be that before this reaches you, I shall have entered the palace. Don't trouble to write. We shall meet in the morning."
-- Mrs. Charles Cowman, "Consolation,"

At the end of the road we will find love, welcome, and God's care.
Grateful

Both an Exit and an Entrance

Death, for the child of God, is not just an exit from this life, but also
an entrance into God's presence forever.
-- Pastor Margaret Michael

Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?
-- 1 Corinthians 15:55 (GWT)

Grateful

Weary Prisoners of Sin? Yield Now to Jesus!

If I am a slave to myself (my disposition of sin, my right to myself), I am to blame because at a point a way back I yielded to myself. If I obey God I do so because I have yielded myself to Him. Yielding to Jesus will break every form of slavery in human life.
-- Oswald Chambers

All who are weary prisoners of sin are invited to yield now to Jesus! Listen to the wonderful words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 11:28, yes, hear Him calling out to all who are burdened and in bondage: Come to Me, and I will give you rest!

Lord, help us to yield only to You, because whatever and whoever we yield to takes control of our lives. We want to be controlled only by Your holy, perfect love never by human, perverted lusts. Teach us to yield to You, embracing sanctification, lest we yield to sin when in temptation. Let us not become prisoners of anything except Your holy, perfect love. In Your Matchless Name, we pray. Amen.

Don’t you know that if you offer to be someone’s slave, you must obey that master? Either your master is sin, or your master is obedience. Letting sin be your master leads to death. Letting obedience be your master leads to God’s approval.
-- Romans 6:16 (GWT)

Holiness Unto The LORD!
Grateful

The Last Enemy

The last enemy He will destroy is death.
-- 1 Corinthians 15:26 (GWT)

Now, that's Good News, heh?
Grateful

A Wonderful Life Sentence!

The Death-Dealing Sin, the Life-Giving Gift

(12-14) You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we're in — first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn't sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it.

(15-17) Yet the rescuing gift is not exactly parallel to the death-dealing sin. If one man's sin put crowds of people at the dead-end abyss of separation from God, just think what God's gift poured through one man, Jesus Christ, will do! There's no comparison between that death-dealing sin and this generous, life-giving gift. The verdict on that one sin was the death sentence; the verdict on the many sins that followed was this wonderful life sentence. If death got the upper hand through one man's wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides?

(18-19) Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right.

(20-21) All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn't, and doesn't, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that's the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life — a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.
-- Romans 5:12-21 (The Message)

Raise His Praise!
Grateful

Snatching Them From The Door of Death

17 Some were fools; they rebelled
and suffered for their sins.
18 They couldn’t stand the thought of food,
and they were knocking on death’s door.
19 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and He saved them from their distress.
20 He sent out His word and healed them,
snatching them from the door of death.
21 Let them praise the Lord for His great love
and for the wonderful things He has done for them.
22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and sing joyfully about His glorious acts.
-- Psalm 107:17-22 (NLT)

Holiness Unto The LORD!
Grateful

Earthquakes in Many Places? Inescapable!

As I reflect over the past year or so, I am immediately reminded of three earthquakes around the globe, literally -- Haiti, New Zealand, and Japan. These words from the lips of our Lord are inescapable:

(7) When you hear about wars and threats of wars, don't be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn't the end. (8) Nations and kingdoms will go to war against each other. There will be earthquakes in many places, and people will starve to death. But this is just the beginning of troubles. (9) Be on your guard! You will be taken to courts and beaten with whips in their meeting places. And because of Me, you will have to stand before rulers and kings to tell about your faith. (10) But before the end comes, the good news must be preached to all nations. -- Mark 13:7-10 (CEV)

Click: Need Perspective? A Thousand Questions

And I said: Here am I, send me.
-- Isaiah 6:8 (NIV)

On Christ The Solid Rock We Stand!
Grateful

Everyone Who Believes in Him... Come!

In all the public pageantry of Christmas, let's not miss the personal promise of Christmas. Jesus came to be more than a decoration. The Son came to be the Father's demonstration of love, that we might be delivered from every sin and the eternal death it deals.

The personal promise of Christmas is a directed declaration to all who will individually embrace His inclusive invitation recorded in John 3:16-17 (NLT):

(16) For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (17) God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.

This Christmas will you and be among Everyone Who Believes in Him? Will we come to the earthly cradle and receive God's Heavenly Compassion? Will we come?

Jars of Clay Singing "Drummer Boy"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb0hAPimGrU

Come They Told Me... Pa RumPa Pum Pum!
Grateful

We Were Restored to Friendship With God By the Death of His Son!

My friend, Brian, leads our Mens' 20/20 Dawn Patrol Bible Saturation every second and fourth Tuesday morning of the week. Presently, we are saturating in the New Testament Book of Romans. This morning our concentration was on Romans 5. The opening paragraphs are so inspiring that I sensed I should share them with all the world, especially with you :-).

(I invite you to read these wonderful words aloud and to discover how long it takes for your own soul to be moved):

(1) Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. (2) Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. (3) We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to endure. (4) And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. (5) And this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. (6) When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. (7) Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good. (8) But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (9) And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s judgment. (10) For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by His life. (11) So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God—all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God. -- Romans 5:1-11 (NLT)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Rest, O My Soul

(7) Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. (8) For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, (9) that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living. -- Psalm 116:7-9 (NIV)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Precious Death?

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.
-- Psalm 116:15 (NIV)

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
-- The Apostle Paul's Words in Philippians 1:21 (NIV)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

God Loved Us First + God Loves Us Most

2 Corinthians 5:21 gives us a deep look into God's love for us: God made Him (His Son) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus was made sin for us, taking on our penalty -- eternal death. Will we now be made Holy in Him, taking on His righteousness -- Eternal Life?

Let us never forget that:
(1) God Loved Us First + (2) God Loves Us Most!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, INDEED!

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

His Arms-Wide-Open, Crying Invitation

From His first cry at His birth in Bethlehem's manger to His final cry at His death on Jerusalem's cross, God's Only Son had His Arms-Wide-Open inviting us to enter a love-relationship with the Trinity that begins on earth and continues for Eternity. Good news, indeed!

And the Good News gets Gooder, in that, His Arms-Wide-Open, Crying Invitation is still being extended to us. Christmastime accents the Christ Child's invitation. Let's respond to His invitation and let's invite others to also come to Bethlehem's Boy, yes Calvary's Lamb, for Heaven's forgiveness at Christmastime and all the time. We can turn His crying into laughing by receving The Gift of His Life with our Arms-Wide-Open and by sharing The Gift of His Life with our Arms-Wide-Open to others.

ALL... JOY TO YOUR WORLD! ALL THE BOYS AND GIRLS NOW! :-)
Grateful