Category: God’s kindness

Abounding Grace

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

“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” (Lamentations 3:22,23 KJV).

What a timeless verse; what a faithful Creator God!

The political, economic, medical, social, religious, and moral issues facing our beloved United States of America are causing Christians here to want to leave this planet. Several Bible believers have expressed this heartfelt attitude to me in the recent past: “I wish the Lord would come and take us out of here!”

Beloved, while we should be “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13), we should not be so anxious for the Lord to return that we ignore why He left us in the first place. He did not save us so we could beg Him to come and get us; He left us here to be His “vessels,” His “lights in the world,” His “ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20; Philippians 2:15; Philippians 3:20; 2 Timothy 2:21). May we not be lax in sharing with others the Gospel and God’s Word rightly divided.

Think about it. If the Lord Jesus Christ really came today to remove His Body from Earth, the most glorious dispensation ever, would end! All those who heard us preach the Gospel of Grace, and rejected it, would have no chance to be saved (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). God would just give them over to Satan’s lie; they did not want His truth so He would give them their preference—error, the Antichrist.

Yes, with each passing day, our Dispensation of Grace is growing shorter and shorter and shorter. To have operated almost 2,000 years now is quite a miracle; that it still operates even now despite all of the wickedness, is another fact our human mind cannot grasp. Just as Jeremiah wept over the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem (586 B.C.), God’s punishment on Judah’s prolonged spiritual wickedness, he still praised JEHOVAH God for not completely wiping out His (Jewish) people. That same faithful God is the only reason any of us even remain here! “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20b).

Glorious Freedom #3

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof” (Romans 6:12 KJV).

The third verse of Haldor Lillenas’ classic 1917 hymn “Glorious Freedom” highlights today’s Scripture.

“Freedom from pride and all sinful follies;
Freedom from love and glitter of gold;
Freedom from evil temper and anger;
Glorious freedom, rapture untold!”

Once, when we were lost, under the control of the Adversary, separated from the Creator God, on our merry way to eternal hellfire, we “were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past [we] walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Ephesians 2:1-3). What a description!

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us [given us life and power to function in life] together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)” (verses 4,5). Now, we are dead with Christ and raised with Christ (Romans 6:3-11). Today’s Scripture says that we do not have to serve sin anymore; sin does not have to reign as a king over us anymore. We can choose to walk by faith in our new identity in Christ.

We are freed from pride (Philippians 2:5-11), for it is not us, but Christ living in us (Galatians 2:20). We are freed from foolishness (Ephesians 5:3,4; Titus 3:3), for we have Christ’s wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30; 1 Corinthians 2:9-16). We are freed from materialism, for “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10; cf. 1 Timothy 6:6). We are freed from unrighteous anger; we are to be “kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven [us]” (Ephesians 4:26,32).

Freedom, not to serve self, but to serve others! Inexpressible delight indeed! 🙂

Faith During Life’s Storms #8

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

“And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm” (Matthew 8:25,26 KJV).

Like Israel learned in today’s Scripture, we too must realize to trust the Lord Jesus Christ when “the storms of life” batter us.

We re-read Romans 5:1,2: “[1] Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: [2] By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” What is that “hope of the glory of God?”

Blackness abounds in our universe—astronomical dark voids between celestial bodies. One day, God Himself will illuminate them with His glory… with us! Romans 8:18,19 explain: “[18] For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. [19] For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.”

While we Christians are God’s children today, we do not look it. These sinful bodies cannot reflect Jesus Christ’s radiant glory (manifested in Matthew chapter 17). Our inward bodies (soul and spirit) are redeemed; our outward bodies are not (Romans 8:18-25). They are “earthy” (bearing Adam’s marred image), but one day—the Rapture—we will have “heavenly” outward bodies (1 Corinthians 15:40-58). Those bodies will shine very brightly, manifesting outside the glory we have inside now, lighting up the heavens for Jesus Christ’s glory (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:14)! “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6,7).

Saints, always thank Father God in prayer, rejoicing that He will one day physically remove us from this fallen world forever. Until then, life’s troubles that Satan uses to distract us, are to be considered not worthy of our consideration, and not worthy to be compared with our glorification! 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Should the King James’ term ‘Christ’ actually be ‘Lord’ in 2 Thessalonians 2:2?”

 

The LORD’S Great Love for Israel

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

“Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine [grape/raisin cakes]” (Hosea 3:1 KJV).

JEHOVAH commissions the Prophet Hosea to live out his message so the children of Israel can see His great love for them!

From Hosea’s perspective, the Jews’ Assyrian and Babylonian captivities are approaching, JEHOVAH’S response to their centuries of idolatry (Leviticus 26:28-39). With a broken heart, He must now rid His Holy Land of the nation Israel, and send them away to foreign lands. His people have not honored His Word but rather have trampled it under foot. They do not believe His Word to them: they have willfully abandoned His Covenant of Law. They have defiled His land with their child sacrifices, violence, injustice, and idols of wood and stone. Like a wife cheating on her husband, the houses of Israel and Judah have been so unfaithful to the God who delivered them from Egyptian, satanic, and sin’s bondage. They have ignored Him and worshipped dead idols!

In chapter 1, God instructed Hosea to marry Gomer. It is soon apparent that she is a prostitute, for, after giving birth to Hosea’s first child, Gomer delivers two children whose paternal origin is unclear. In the context of today’s Scripture, Gomer has since left Hosea and is now prostituting on the streets. Hosea is instructed of God to purchase Gomer back, and God orders him to love Gomer in the same manner He loves adulterous Israel. The children of Israel are to see Hosea’s life and learn the doctrine being communicated.

From our perspective, JEHOVAH—some seven centuries after Hosea—shed His blood on Calvary’s cross to—beyond our day—redeem Israel, buy her back from her satanic and idolatrous captivity, forgive and cleanse her, and despite her infidelity, re-marry her and return her to her Promised Land forever (Hosea 2:14-23). The Apostle Paul affirms that Hosea’s prophecy—Israel’s restoration and redemption—will occur after our program ends (Romans 11:15-36). Saints, what a loving God we serve!

Our latest Bible Q&A’s: “Who will accompany Jesus at His Second Coming?” and “When will the Old Testament saints be resurrected?”

Riches and the Ages to Come #6

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

“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 KJV).

If Israel’s believing remnant is to endure the seven-year Tribulation’s economic depression, she must remember that faithful JEHOVAH is with her, and that He will bless her in due time.

In conclusion, we will briefly survey the “wealth” of Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures regarding Israel’s kingdom riches:

  • Israel is God’s earthly people, so He will bless them with earthly possessions—this includes sizeable real estate. In due time, Israel will possess all the Middle-Eastern territory between Egypt and the Euphrates River (Genesis 15:18-21).
  • Solomon’s prosperous kingdom was nothing compared to what awaits Israel. Just as the Gentile Queen of Sheba brought Solomon untold riches, Gentiles will lavish redeemed Israel and her King Jesus Christ with unfathomable wealth (Isaiah 60:1-22; Isaiah 61:6).
  • Jesus promised His little flock that, everything they lost for Him, they would receive 100-fold from Him (Matthew 19:29,30; Mark 10:28-31). Israel’s believing remnant will gain 100 times more wealth than what they had before they even came to Christ!
  • During the seven-year Tribulation, the book of Job will comfort Israel’s believing remnant, who like Job, suffer the loss of their material possessions because of Satan’s policy of evil (James 5:10,11; Job 1:1–2:13). As Job was doubly blessed of God after his temptation ended (Job 42:10-13), so Israel will receive compensation many times over for her losses, when Jesus Christ returns to establish His earthly kingdom.
  • In the kingdom age, when Jesus Christ reigns over Earth, the curse of sin will be lifted (Isaiah 11:1-16; Isaiah 51:3). Every harvest of crops will be overwhelmingly abundant, and immediately after reaping, planting for the next harvest can begin (Deuteronomy 33:28; Joel 2:19; Joel 3:18,20; Amos 9:11-15)!
  • Most importantly, for all of eternity, Israel will enjoy JEHOVAH’S spiritual riches—His forgiveness, His fellowship, His grace, His salvation, and His life (Hosea 2:14-23; Hebrews 8:8-13; 1 Peter 2:9,10; Revelation 21:1ff.).

Never forget, beloved, Israel still has her worst experience ahead, but after that, her greatest experience ever is bound to happen as well! JEHOVAH will see her through it all! 🙂

Evil Seen and Punished

Saturday, July 26, 2014

“The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3 KJV).

Certainly, God sees evil, and in due time, He will punish it!

One of the lamest so-called “arguments against God’s existence” is the presence of unpunished evil (this is also an “argument against the police’s existence!”). Oddly, these Bible scoffers then ridicule the “cruel, vengeful God of the Old Testament.” It seems like that sinful man is determined to criticize God no matter what He does!

A very wise Christian once pointed out that the atheist really defeats himself or herself with their mind-games, conceding that evil unpunished will forever remain unpunished because God supposedly does not exist. To say that evil does exist is to presume that good also exists, and that just as there is one source of evil there is also one source of good. To say that God does not exist is to make our lives meaningless. What we do in our lives really will not make a difference in the long run. No, certainly the atheist would disagree with us when we continue their assumptions into the long-term; their ideas are more comfortable when applied only to the here-and-now.

Ecclesiastes 8:11-13 reminds us: “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.”

The wicked, Bible rejecters, haters of the Lord Jesus Christ, have “days which are as a shadow.” Until God stops them from breathing His air, drinking His water, eating His food, and enjoying His world, He will continue to offer them His love, grace, mercy, and peace through Jesus Christ our Lord. Indeed, the atheist’s evil will not remain unpunished, so may he or she come to God through Jesus Christ to have that wrath satisfied before it is eternally punished.

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Does God chasten us when we sin?”

 

Until Seventy Times Seven

Friday, July 25, 2014

“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21,22 KJV).

What is Jesus Christ really communicating in today’s Scripture when He says, “Until seventy times seven?”

The Bible student should always be mindful of every word in the King James Bible; when God’s Word is specific, it is for a reason. Today’s Scripture is such an instance where Bible specifics, not just “general fundamentals,” are important. When the Apostle Peter came to Jesus and asked Him how often he was to forgive his brother (any Jew) who sinned against him, Peter inquired, “Till seven times?” In Scripture, seven is the number of perfection or completion (the creation week, for example, is the first time Scripture mentions the number seven; cf. Genesis 2:1-3). Nevertheless, Jesus answered, “Until seventy times seven.” It is our firm conviction that Jesus did not randomly select this number; He was teaching a doctrine about a special completion.

In Daniel 9:24, the angel Gabriel explained to the Prophet: “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” It would take seventy weeks of years—or 490 years—to cleanse the nation Israel. For 490 years, God would patiently deal with Israel’s sins and purge her of all wickedness (to be followed by Jesus Christ’s earthly kingdom, the latter part of the verse). Verses 25 and 26 explain that 69 weeks of years (or 483 years) were fulfilled before Calvary, and the final seven years (verse 27) are still awaiting fulfillment (the future seven-year Tribulation).

What Jesus was saying in today’s Scripture was (paraphrased), “Peter, you are to forgive your Jewish neighbor to the extent I forgive your Jewish nation.” According to the foregoing verses, the schedule of Daniel 9:24 was operating when Jesus spoke those words to Peter! Amazing! 🙂

Unappreciative Apostates

Sunday, July 20, 2014

“When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images” (Hosea 11:1,2 KJV).

Israel is not the only nation in history to abandon the one true God….

I recently read that, according to one poll, 10 percent of Americans read their Bible daily. While this is most assuredly not shocking (we know the reason for the rapid moral decay!), it is a troubling reality. The first book ever printed here in the United States was the Bay Psalm Book, the Bible’s book of Psalms in English (printed in 1640). Now, the Bible is the least of most Americans’ daily concern!

A nation once known for its Bible missionaries, Bible-teaching universities, and Bible-supporting legal system, now has “better” things to offer the world than Jesus Christ—“education” and entertainment. Just as sure as Israel rose for God’s glory, and fell when she abandoned Him, so our great American nation will surely fall in due time (yea, the current deterioration is just a precursor!). We should truly thank God that, unlike Israel of old, we live in this the Dispensation of Grace, and His grace is temporarily withholding that wrath (2 Corinthians 5:18,19)!

Today’s Scripture is JEHOVAH’S testimony through the Prophet Hosea about how much Israel’s God loved her. He had rescued her so miraculously from Egyptian bondage, that she would forever serve Him in the land that He had given her forefathers. Israel was to be God’s “son,” a nation of people who would not only know God’s will, but who would also delight in accomplishing it with Him; out of the riches of His grace, He would bless them immeasurably, spiritually and materially. Yet, Israel refused; they did not want God’s love, God’s commandments, God’s will. Instead, Israel became a spiritual prostitute, worshipping and serving pagan idols, their own will. (Sound familiar?) Not too long after Hosea preached, the Assyrians and Babylonians took Israel away!

Yea, Israel’s history confirms, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17).

When the Church Confers

Friday, July 18, 2014

“…[G]ive attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:13).

Having attended a grace Bible conference via the internet these last six days, I devote today’s devotional to reflecting upon it.

Anytime we meet with like-minded believers in Jesus Christ, it should be the most enjoyable experience this side of heaven. Moreover, when two-dozen Holy-Spirit-filled, knowledgeable yet humble, preachers of God’s grace to us in Jesus Christ, teach from the King James Bible rightly divided, the lost will hear the Gospel of Grace many times over, and the saints will be greatly edified many times over.

The conference was a very refreshing time for people who were confused about soul salvation unto justification and eternal life, and an equally encouraging time for Christians who needed either establishment or stabilization in sound Bible doctrine. No one went home without hearing the Gospel of God’s Grace (Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for our sins), no one went home without hearing about proper Bible study (Paul’s apostleship to us), and no one went home without having heard about the infallibility and reliability of the King James Bible. What they do with that information is their decision, not ours.

In accordance with today’s Scripture, attendance was indeed given to reading, exhortation, and doctrine. Attendance to “study[ing]… rightly dividing the word of truth” was certainly given (2 Timothy 2:15); attendance to believing those verses, however, that is the hearer’s prerogative. Those who did trust the Gospel presented, they passed from death to life; those who believed the sound Bible doctrine presented, they were liberated from denominational yokes and prisons, and Bible perversions. Yea, some heard more sound Bible doctrine in six days, than they heard in all their lives in “church!”

Such a conference of sound Bible doctrine redounds to the Lord Jesus Christ’s glory alone, it resounds throughout the heavenly places, and it abounds in the hearts of us who believe. O, the manifold grace of God to all mankind! O, the manifold grace of God that enables us in Christ to tell all of lost mankind about that manifold grace of God to them! 🙂

NOTE: I highly recommend the 2014 Grace School of the Bible Summer Family Bible Conference to you. You may access its archived videos and MP3’s here.

At Calvary #5

Saturday, June 21, 2014

“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24 KJV).

The chorus of William R. Newell’s classic 1895 hymn “At Calvary” highlights today’s Scripture.

“Mercy there was great, and grace was free,
Pardon there was multiplied to me,
There my burdened soul found liberty
At Calvary.”

“Mercy” means “pity, compassion,” God holding back what we deserve (His wrath). “Grace” is God’s unmerited favor—it is free to us (apart from our works) because Jesus Christ paid for it with His life (it is not “cheap grace!”). In Christ, we are liberated from sin’s dominion and works-religion bondage (Galatians 5:1)—the “redemption,” the purchasing of our freedom, through Jesus Christ’s shed blood. We received “redemption through [Christ’s] blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of [God’s] grace” (Ephesians 1:7; cf. Colossians 1:14). The riches of God’s grace—where our sin abounds, God’s grace abounds far, far, far, far more (Romans 5:20). God’s forgiveness, His abundant pardon, is offered to us at Calvary’s cross.

For our dear readers who are lost, who have never come to a point in their lives where they relied exclusively on Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for their sins, we urge them to do so today before it is eternally too late. No matter what you have done in your life, there is no sin so vile that Jesus Christ’s blood cannot cover it. At Calvary, the God of the Bible offers all the mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness you will ever need, but none of it can be applied to you until you trust Jesus Christ alone as your personal Saviour.

After soul salvation unto eternal life, we join our Apostle Paul in reflecting upon our former lives, and we conclude with him, “but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:13,14). Indeed, the mercy, grace, faith, and love of Jesus Christ are more than enough.

Saints, being mindful that our (self-) life ended at Calvary, and our (eternal) life began at Calvary, let us sing “At Calvary” with grateful hearts! 🙂