The last post on this blog (scroll down) was concerning God's faithfulness with a sermon by Pastor Chuck Smith based on Lamentations the third chapter, verses 21 to 24,which follow:
"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him."
This post will continue with more about the good Lord's faithfulness. We need - during these chaotic and lawless times - to have something hopeful to hang on to, and what better hope than to dwell on God's faithfulness, and the fact that His promises will all come true! The hope that true believers in Jesus as the Savior have far better things on the horizon which are soon to transpire!
"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of that great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." - Titus 2:13-14
Part of the secret to endurance, besides the fact that God's promises will always come true - as they always have - (and to have faith that that is for sure), is to wait patiently with endurance for Him to ease our burdens and to comfort us with His presence (which He does right now to some degree), but also we have the blessed hope of Jesus' return for His "sheep" and the hope of eternal life in a much better place than what this present world offers.
Verses 25 and 26 of Lamentations 3 encourages us : "The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD."
Part of "seeking" the Lord, is not just the initial coming to salvation, but to continually seek Him after that - everyday - by frequent daily prayer and to pour over His Holy Word the Bible daily, as a continual feast to feed you spiritually. Someone has said, "A prayerless Christian is a Christ-less Christian."
This blog has stressed often that the good Lord wants to fellowship with His people. When we do that by much prayer and Bible reading and studying, we will grow to know the Lord better; to know His attributes and character; and thereby learn to love Him more and more, day by day. It is like with your friends and loved ones: the more time you spend with them, the better you know them and the more you love them and want to spend time with them. That is how we should feel about the LORD. You will find that a warm, loving, close, intimate, personal relationship will develop between you and God through His Son Jesus Christ - when you fellowship with the good Lord constantly. That is what it is all about, folks! Nothing is more important than your relationship with the Lord! Nothing!
Following is a 36 minute Christian video titled : "The Stage Is Set For the Second Coming." I highly encourage you to watch it because there are many spiritual gems to be found there... about your Christian walk, as well as the fact that our Savior could return at any time now.
Going back to the faithfulness of God: faithfulness is an attribute of God. But to obtain the fulness of the faithfulness of God, we must realize that it depends on our walking with God and yielding to the guidance of His Holy Spirit. We, too, therefore should be faithful to read and obey His Word and His Will. Think about it: we only have that faith and have our own faithfulness by God's grace anyway! When we receive Christ as our Lord, the Holy Spirit indwells us and brings the blessings of love, peace, joy, and faithfulness... Galations 5:22; Ephesians 1:13
"And the heavens shall praise Thy wonders, O LORD: Thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints." - Psalm 89:5
[Red Flowers of Cannonball Tree]
Another way to view God's faithfulness is to realize the fact that God will NOT fail you !! or abandon you!!
"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." - Hebrews 13:5
The basis of the above verse at Hebrews 13:5 is from the Old Testament: Joshua 1:5, which tells us:
"I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."
Charles Haddon Spurgeon wrote a devotional about "He Never Fails" based on Joshua 1:5, a portion of that devotional follows:
"Beloved, a life of warfare is before us, but the LORD of Hosts is with us. ...... Have we to contend with cunning and powerful enemies? Here is strength and valor, prowess and victoryl Have we a vast heritage to win? By this sign we shall achieve our purpose: the LORD Himself is with us. .... When I meet death, who is called the last enemy, I pray that I may be at peace. Only let my great care be to please the LORD in all things. Oh, for faith and holiness, for these are a pleasure unto the Most High."
[Taro Fields, Overlook Near Hanalei, Kauai, Hawaii]
Keep watching !
Keep looking up!
Your redemption is near!
Following are salvation Scriptures for those who may not yet have accepted and believed in Jesus as the Savior. These verses are also excellent for Christians to share with unsaved loved ones .
Here is a short 8 minute video by Dr. Charles Stanley on the subject of salvation; please watch!
Remember, simply repeating "a sinner's prayer" does NOT, in itself, save you. It is good to have a model or example to help one to understand, but many have mindlessly repeated a formula type prayer and thought they were saved but by their lifestyle, etc., showed evidence that they were not truly born again. You are saved by faith and belief in Jesus as THE SAVIOR! Realize that His shed blood can wash you clean of your sins and save you for life eternal. You must repent - a complete change of mind in conformity to the Lord's will, and then turn your life around to be obedient to His commands (as best we frail finite humans are able to do). It would be best to say your own heartfelt and sincere prayer, and to ask for His forgiveness.
Think how Jesus suffered an agonizing death for you, bled for you, died for you, so that you might have life eternal! He paid your sin debt in full at His death. It was a debt so great that none of us could ever have paid it on our own. (Works do NOT save you!) Ephesians 2:8-9
What love !
What mercy!
The least we can do is follow Him as best we can and share the Gospel with lost souls! Out of our own love for Him and our gratitude to Him for all He has done for us.
Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend - and life !!
"If you are hanging on by a thread, make sure it is by the hem of Jesus' garment." - recent quote on outdoor church sign
To Christians, the above quote says volumes and its message is clear.
In other words, in trials and sorrows and storms of life, when there seems to be no way out or no relief in sight, just simply turn in faith to Jesus and hang on - He will help you! Pray and pour over the Bible daily. God's Word has power!
"If ye love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. " - Jesus at John 14:15-18
Truly the words of Jesus above at John 14 are very comforting. If you are a true believer (born again - a spiritual birth) the Holy Spirit will dwell in you and be with you always - even in the worst of trials!
This post could almost end right here! Jesus almost says it all in John 14. With the good Lord and the Holy Spirit, we are given power to endure and keep on keeping on.
Another wonderful help to enable us to hang in there with hope and faith is the fact that true Christians have the blessed hope at Titus 2:13-14 which tells us:
"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
[Waimea Bay, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii]
Following is a quote of David Livingstone, a 19th Century missionary from Scotland, who gave his life making Christ known in Africa :
"Lord, send me anywhere; only go with me. Lay any burden on me - only sustain me. Sever any tie but the tie that binds me to Thyself."
What a wonderful and Christ-like attitude - which we true believers should endeavor to emulate.
Two important things to remember (although there are many other spiritual things to remember besides these two):
(1)Wait on the Lord ! ( Psalm 27:14) : "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say on the LORD."
(2) The Lord will never leave you or forsake you! (Hebrews 13:5):
"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
Please watch the following video: a hymn about how "Jesus paid it all":
In the 3 minute hymn above it mentions about being before the throne of Jesus, which reminded me of the judgment of believers when they die and face the Bema seat of Jesus. Following is a quote about what to expect when we face Jesus Christ's judgment - a partial quote from Dr. Charles Stanley:
"He will not shame, humiliate or discipline us for how we lived. Rather, it is a time to give an account for both the worthy and the worthless things we did in life. The basis on which Jesus judges us is:
(1) How much truth do you know.
(2) How much opportunity do you have.
(3) How are you responding to the opportunities God gives you."
The above quote by Dr. Stanley does not exactly have anything to say about enduring any suffering. However, if you are busy doing the Lord's work and obeying Him - you will find joy in doing His will and you will be thinking on spiritual things more so than your trials and afflictions : And that is a blessing from the good Lord!
"In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength." - Isaiah 30:15
More needs to be written here concerning the above verse at Isaiah 30. Hopefully soon! Although the verse is pretty self-explanatory.
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." - Psalm 46:1
The main thing should be kept the main thing!
The main thing is God and Jesus!
Put the good Lord first in your life, and see what He will do!
In the last post on this blog, we discussed how God understands us. Following is a 39 minute sermon by Pastor Charles Lawson titled "A God Who's For Us".
It is an encouraging sermon. Pastor Lawson reminds us that we are complete in Christ.
Hebrews 13:5 tells us, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
One commentator has said, "Seek to be able to trust God's promises with simple and childlike faith. Rest upon it....... Coming where it does, this promise is meant to reassure us in whatever position we are.....The words must mean that God will be in all our circumstances....... "I will not leave thee" must mean I will guide thee: choose thy lot, appoint thy changes; where thou comest thou shalt be brought by Me."
What comforting and reassuring words from Hebrews 13:5 !!
"Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7
"That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." 1 Corinthians 2:5
What if you are not saved, not a believer in Jesus Christ as the Savior? Following are some Scriptures for you:
Romans 10:9,10,13 tells us: (9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." - John 14:6
"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and every one that loveth Him that begat loveth Him also that is begotten of Him." - 1 John 5:1
"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." - 1 John 5:13
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16
Jesus loves you and is waiting for you with open arms to embrace you with love and forgiveness if you repent and believe in Him as the Savior with all of your very being.
Surrender to Him now while there is still time!
"(For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) - 2 Corinthians 6:2
Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend...... and life !!
