The Quiet

I was sitting and pondering on what to write today and between work, the kids, and various other circumstances I really have not given it much thought today.

So I am going to say nothing profound ( like I ever do anyway ).  I am going to be quiet and meditate upon the Lord and rest.  Yes rest.  Not to fret over whether I had written anything or not. 

After all our Lord and Savior would slip away to just be quiet with the Father.  He went away and prayed.  He had quiet time.

The Second Person of the Godhead, the Eternal Son of God, and the One who Created all that there is wanted to get away from the demands of life to pray and rest.

Are you or I better than Him>

The Powerful Gospel and the Resurrected Christ

Romans 1:4 (New American Standard Bible)

who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:1-6 (New American Standard Bible)

The Fact of Christ's Resurrection

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Good News that
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The Cross and my Savior

The Cross.
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Built to Last or Shaky Ground?

A Mighty Fortress is our God

We had a storm here in North Carolina last night and a mighty storm it was with howling winds, horizontal rain, flashes of lighting illuminating the night sky, and thunderous rolling thunder emanating from the belly of the storm. We, my wife and I, watched the storm both in awe and with a measure of anxiety at the raw power being displayed before us in the symphony of light and sound.  With the storm raging all about us I did the unimaginable

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The Compassion of the Lord

For the LORD will vindicate His people, And will have compassion on His servants,When He sees that their strength is gone,And there is none remaining, bond or free.

Deuteronomy 32:36

One of the great questions often brought up during times of adversity is whether God really cares, is He truly compassionate?  Is He the compassionate, loving, and kind God presented by Modern Christianity or is He a stern, authoritarian, and unapproachable deity reigning from on High?  God does care, He is Love, and His compassion will never fail.

God’s compassion and Love are not like or own in that His love is perfect and complete needing nothing to add to it.  Within Himself, that is the Godhead, He has both the capacity to love and be loved.  This is
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Sola Scriptura

Solely Scripture??

What do those two little words mean and what impact have they had on the course of Christendom over the last five hundred years?  Quite simply Sola Scriptura means that the Bible is the only inspired and authoritative Word of God and is accessible to all (that is, perspicuous and self-interpreting) and that Holy Tradition is not needed to interpret it as administered through the Roman Catholic Church and its Magisterium.
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Christ the Victor

Christus Victor????   Absolutely

Christus Victor is a view of the Atonement as a divine conflict and victory over the hostile powers that hold humanity in subjection.  But what truly holds us in subjection?
Our wills and lust? Of course ( James 1:4 ) but also the entire curse placed upon Creation at the time of the fall ( Genesis 3 ) and spiritual forces operating around us ( Ephesians 6:12 , Daniel 10:12-13, 2 Corinthians 10:4 ) that we are usually oblivious to.  So a very good question that must be asked is just what exactly was Christ victorious over and how does that victory apply to us.
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God our Redeemer

God Our Redeemer and Salvation

God is our Creator and our Redeemer.   HE is Our Salvation and our Rock upon which we stand.  He alone is able to save us from the miry clay we find ourselves in and place us upon the solid rock, but why do we need a savior in the first place?  What condition has humanity found itself in that we are unable to save ourselves or anyone around us? 

It is called sin and we are born into it as sure as God reigns over all His creation.  David, the man after God’s own heart, describes it this way in Psalm 51:5, “ Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. “  WE are all sinners and every aspect of our lives is blackened by its treacherous grasp. 

Romans 5:12 tell us that, “….as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. “  We are all guilty and unable to seek God on our own (Rom 3:10-18) because we are dead in our sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1).  We cannot even trust ourselves to know our condition or the truth about it since our hearts speak transgression (Ps 36:1), lies about the reality of God (Ps 53:1), and is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9).

Who then is this God who both tells us of our state and the cure for our wickedness?  He is the living Redeemer (Job 19:25), a Rock (Ps 19:14), and the Most High God (Ps 38:35).

He too is our salvation (Exodus 15:2) and our stronghold (Ps 18:2) but how do we approach or come to know this powerful deity?  He Himself came being  born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23-25), was given marvelous names such as Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace( Isaiah 9:6), and HE took the name Jesus to seek and save those that were lost( Luke 19:10).  His is the only name given under heaven whereby men must be saved (Acts 4:12) and through His gospel God has provided salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).

It is through the foolishness of this word preached, 1 Corinthians 1:21 and Romans 10:14 that those of us who were perishing came to believe.  This is wholly the gift of God and we can do nothing to earn, merit, or obtain so great a salvation about from Christ (Ephesians 2:1-9).  While we were dead God showed His love for us (Romans 5:8) and made it possible for us to confess and believe (Romans 10:9-10). 

An amazing thing has now occurred, we who were dead are now alive in Christ (Romans 6:11, Romans 8:10, Ephesians 2:5) and we are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17).  We are members of the family of God (Ephesians 2:19) and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17) to the promises made to Abraham (Galatians 3:29).

Repent and call upon the name of the LORD while HE may be found for HE has never turned away anyone He has called and His burden is light.  His name is Jesus and His substitutionary death upon the Cross of Calvary paid for your sins so won’t you come and taste and see that the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever.  What do you have to lose beside the guilt of your sins and an eternity in Hell?  Fall on your knees in humility and call out to the one who alone is able to save you.

God bless and save you.

The Creator

Who is this God we serve?

He is the Creator!!  God is awesome, incredible, and magnificent but what do we really know about this Being that holds sway over everything, both seen and unseen? We can know Him through His inspired Word, the Bible. This Bible is an amazing book whose writing spanned approximately 1500 years and roughly 40 authors including shepherds, priests, kings, doctors, tax-collectors, and fisherman who all had one thing in common, the belief in  Almighty God.

The opening lines of Holy Scripture, Gen 1:1 states, “ In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth. “ The all powerful Creator was taken for granted from the very outset of human history and His sovereignty never encroached upon by others.

Isaiah 40:28 declares, “ Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired.” HE is untiring, everlasting, the LORD, and it is almost beyond belief that we have not heard of or acknowledged Him. Our God has created the stars, and leads them, calling them by name, Isaiah 40:26.
This same Creator revealed Himself in the flesh and all things came into being through Him and apart from Him nothing came into being that has came into being, John 1:1-3

Colossians 1:15-17 says, “ HE is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. “

This Maker of all things, who also holds them together, is Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. He is declared to be the God of Creation and the obedient Son sent from the Father to seek and save that which was lost.

Paul declares in Romans 1:18-20 that God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness in those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes have been clearly seen, being understood in what has been made, so they are without excuse.

The question is are you without excuse??
Do you know personally the Creator of all things and submitted your will to the Maker of heaven and earth? Seek Him today while He may be found and humbly thank Him for the grace and mercy that He has already bestowed on your life. Have you suppressed the truth about the Creator of the universe while ignoring His call to repentance and faith in Christ Jesus? 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, “ Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.”

Do you personally know this Creator of the universe?  Seek Him today while He may be found and thank Him for the mercy and grace that He has already bestowed upon your life.