Unconditional Love

"Who, when he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." [1 Peter 2:25]


"Surely he hat borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken." [Isaiah 53: 4-9]


Jesus Christ loved his people with unconditional love. It did not matter how much he was rejected, he was spat upon, he was buffeted, he was beaten. When he hung on the cross, he said: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." "Greater love hath no man than this, that he should lay down his life for his friend, but while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Christ loved us while we were yet enemies. It would be easy for us to say, "I would be willing to die for anyone on this earth." But as my sister pointed out, it may be easy to die for someone, but you would find it very hard to give your life for someone that had personally injured you. However, Christ, gave his life for those that had rejected Him, that had forsaken Him, that had hurled insults at him (the thief on the cross), that had smitten him and beaten him. Christ died for the ungodly. Christ died for his enemies. His love was unconditional. There was nothing we could do. There was nothing we had to offer. There was no good in us. We were dead in our trespasses in sin, and Christ died to make us righteous. "What wondrous love is this?" 


Brethren, pray to have this kind of love. All that you experience on this earth, all the heart ache, all the pain, pales in comparison to what Jesus Christ went through. May the Lord make you more and more like Christ as you run the race. The Lord be with you.

Soli Deo Gloria

Friendship

"A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." [Proverbs 17:17]


"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up." [Ecclesiastes 4:9]


"It is not good for man to be alone." [Genesis 2:18]


God gives us brothers, friends, and family to walk beside us and to help us. We cannot stand alone. We will be unable to stand unless we have a friend to hold us up. Brothers, "a cord of three strands is not easily broken." If one falls, there are two people ready to pick up their fallen brother. God's economy is wonderful and perfectly ordained. He understands how weak we are. He understands how easy it is to fall away. Thus, he gives us friends to help us, brothers to defend us, families to love us. God speaks very highly of friendship. It is the essence of the gospel. Christ died for us while we were yet enemies. He is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. 


To those that despise this friendship, this accountability, "beware to them that fall when there is no one to pick them up." You are denying the essence of the gospel. God holds us up as a friend. When we turn back to the world, he pulls on us and brings us back to His sheep fold. Without God, we cannot stand. Without his hand to guide, his love to save, his arm to lead, we will fall. Likewise, without brothers to help us, we will not stand. We will fall and will not be able to get back up. Don't despise the care and concern your friends and brothers exhibit. "A brother is born for adversity." "A friend loveth at all times." No matter what happens, your friend will love you. This is the definition given of true friendship. It is the friendship that Christ exhibited on the cross. Praise the Lord for his love and concern for us. Praise the Lord for giving us an example in His son. May the Lord cause us to be full of the love of God toward our brothers. May the Lord teach us this kind of friendship. The Lord be with you.


As an example, this past week, I worked the 11:00p.m. to 7:30a.m. shift at the hospital. Usually, these kinds of shifts really wipe me out physically, and I often find it hard to stay awake during the drive home. Well, out of the blue, one of my friends, called me the morning after the shift to make sure I had made it home safely. This may seem like a really small example or insignificant, but I can't tell you how much it meant to me.    

Soli Deo Gloria

Isaiah 61

This passage of Scripture is very dear to me. God is so kind and gracious. He loves His people. Listen to these tones of love, written with the finger of God. 


"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that hey might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.


"And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generation. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.


"For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burn offering; and that I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are son in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD  will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations."

Soli Deo Gloria

As We Look At this Slain Lamb

Brethren, the following is a daily devotional from Grace Gems. I stole the post and the title from the email that was sent out. I receive devotional from Grace Gems once a day. This one was very good, and I would like to share it with you...


"Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne!" Revelation 5:6 

As we look at this slain Lamb--let us mark the direful malignity of sin! It was sin which . . .
  drew Christ from His throne in glory;
  humbled Him to the condition of humanity;
  made Him "a man of sorrows" all His days;
  hunted His life from infancy, and
  finally nailed Him to "the accursed tree!"

Had not man sinned--Jesus would never have become incarnate! Hence, every pang and woe which He endured in body and soul, from His miraculous birth to His ignominious death--were inflicted by sin!

Christians! wearers of Christ's name! professors of Christ's religion! Will you love sin? Will you be in league with and cherish that in your heart--which slew the Lamb of God? O, if you love sin; if you are resolved not to forsake it; if you do not hate it as the enemy of Christ, and your own soul--you are hugging that to your heart, which drove the nails into the hands, and thrust the spear into the side, of the Lamb of God!

"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Revelation 5:12 

"Let the Words of My Mouth"

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my hear, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." [Psalms 19:4]


"Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer ever man." [Colossians 4:6]


Beloved, many errors have made there way into the church. Many of the doctrines that are characteristic of the godly have been chiseled away at, and because of this, because our doctrines are no more sacred, we have stopped practicing piety. We have stopped practicing godliness. 


Brethren, I would like to ask..."Why is it, that your speech is so much like the world?" I guarantee you, if you were standing behind a curtain, and some ungodly person was listening to you speak, they nor anyone else would think you a Christian. The speech that so graces the lips of the ungodly has become norm in our churches. I would like to lay out for you why this is such a problem:


1. By calling yourself a Christian and speaking with such disgusting words, you are attributing everyone of those words to Jesus Christ as if he would use them.
2. "By their fruits shall ye know them." What fruits are you bearing? 
3. You lack the sobriety to keep a bridal over your mouth. 


Beloved, if anyone can bridal the tongue, the same is a perfect man, but is it really that hard to refrain from using profanity? Do you really need to use expletives just like the world? You are using words that mean nothing for spiritual nourishment, they don't communicate things that are pleasant, nice, kind, lovely and of good report. They are words that are used by the world. So, what are you doing? I know, I am not being very loving by bringing this up. I just need to forbear and let all of you do what you want. Actually, let's look at life through different glasses. Because I love the Lord, I am jealous for His name, and you should be as well. You are to put off the former man. You are to forsake the evil and cleave to that which is good. Why is your speech so full of rottenness? Why do you find it necessary to speak so profanely?


I would like to give you a few examples of people that cared deeply about what they said and how they spoke. 


Samuel:


"And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground." 
[1 Samuel 3:19]


Samuel cared about what he said. Each one of his words was said with purpose. 


David:


"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my hear, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." [Psalms 19:4]


David cared deeply about how he lived. It is interesting that he speaks about the meditations of the heart. In Mark's gospel, it says, "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, words...etc"


Daniel Webster:


Daniel Webster was one of the greatest orators America has ever known. Read his speeches. You may argue that we no longer live in the 19th century, but actually, we live in a century where rules no longer apply, children are expected to remain so until age thirty, and education has been destroyed. We no longer teach our children how to speak or what to say and what not to say. 


So, our speech is no longer spoken with grace and eloquence. We can no longer rebuke someone without using horrible profanity. Yes, even professing Christians cannot refrain from using terrible, God blaspheming language. Who are you identifying yourself with? Why are you continually speaking with such filth? I plead with you to learn from Jesus Christ, and his servants. Learn from David and Samuel. Practice piety, and please stop using profanity. 


May the Lord bless you as we unite in the fight against the Evil One. The Lord be with you.

Soli Deo Gloria