Month: January 2017

Isaac And Ishmael, An Allegory For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. (Galatians 4:22-23) Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does the Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave …

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In the account in Mark 14:72, of Peter’s reaction to his denial of Jesus, it tells of his going out and weeping bitterly. I wondered why, at the core, he was doing that. Was it because he was exposed as the fraud he really was? Was he disappointed that the brave warrior he envisioned himself to be had crashed and burned? Was it because the One who knew everything about him, loved him with an unfailing love? I am thinking that it must have been for all of these reasons. In Peter’s ongoing revelation of the Christ, over the period …

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Mark 11:20-26 20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. 22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever …

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The believer did not always live to Christ. He began to do so when God the Holy Spirit convinced him of sin, and when by grace he was brought to see the dying Saviour making a propitiation for his guilt. From the moment of the new and celestial birth the man begins to live to Christ. Jesus is to believers the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He has so completely won our love, that it beats alone for him; to his glory we would live, and in defence …

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Psalm 104 104 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. 2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: 3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: 4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: 5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. 6 Thou coveredst it with the …

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It is a happy way of soothing sorrow when we can feel–“HE careth for me.” Christian! do not dishonour religion by always wearing a brow of care; come, cast your burden upon your Lord. You are staggering beneath a weight which your Father would not feel. What seems to you a crushing burden, would be to him but as the small dust of the balance. Nothing is so sweet as to “Lie passive in God’s hands, And know no will but his.” O child of suffering, be thou patient; God has not passed thee over in his providence. He who …

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On January 15th, representatives from 70 different countries will gather in Paris, France for an unprecedented global conference.  The stated goal of this conference is to promote a “two-state solution” as the way that lasting peace will be brought to the Middle East. In Israel, there is a tremendous amount of concern that whatever is agreed upon at this conference will immediately be used as the basis for a UN Security Council resolution that would permanently divide the land of Israel and create a Palestinian state. But things would have to move very rapidly in order for that to happen, …

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“Colossians 3:4 That Which is Hidden Shall Appear A. Christ Is Our Life Phil. 1:21 – for to me to live is Christ. I John 5:12 – He that hath the Son hath life. John equates possessing Christ with possessing eternal life. He IS our life. He dwells within us. John 11:25 – He is the resurrection and the LIFE. John 14:6 – He is the way, the truth and the LIFE. He is our life… and our life is hidden with Him in glory. B. Christ’s Glory Was Hidden From the World During His Earthly Ministry Jesus came to …

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Reflections Redemption is the restoration of all things under God – central to which is the restoration of MAN back to God. God finished this restoration in and through His Son, Jesus Christ. The way back to God is not by adopting a body of teaching. It is not by finding a religion with which I can be comfortable. It is not by finding the right spiritual guru and submitting myself to him. The only way back to God is through THE WAY – Jesus Christ. I am restored back to God only if Jesus Christ makes Himself one with …

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Reflections From the Psalms Salvation belongs unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah. (Ps. 3:8) Don’t think of this statement, “Salvation belongs unto the Lord,” as a matter of God possessing the right to mete out salvation to whomever He pleases. That is not the point here. Rather, salvation belongs to the Lord in that He alone is LIFE. God has given life in the Son — indeed, Jesus said, “I AM the life.” Thus, salvation belongs to the Lord because Jesus Christ is THE life, the ONLY life, and it is only as we come to …

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Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also fills the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appears before God. (Ps. 84:5-7) “The valley of Baca,” literally means, “valley of weeping.” It is a low place wherein there is sorrow. But you will note that this valley of Baca is not a permanent home for God’s people. No. It is merely a place — or, a temporary season, if you will …

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I am so sorry that you are feeling this way. Let me first encourage you that you are not alone in feeling like you are not good enough for God. Many people, of ALL ages, struggle with this feeling. It is hard to see any good in ourselves sometimes, especially because we know who we really are deep down—not the face we put on for others, but the dead, rotted soul that sin has made us inside. Truly, Romans 3:23 confirms that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And God, who is all-knowing, is quite …

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