Unto Us A Child Is Born

Isaiah 9:6-7
For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful, (because He IS wonderful and wondrous) Counselor (because in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge), Mighty God (for He is a refuge and a fortress), Everlasting Father (the ancient of days, the self-existent I AM), Prince of Peace (chiefest of 10,000; our propitiation Rom. 5:1, He restores my soul Psalm 23:3). Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

"We Would See Jesus!"

John 12:20-21... Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

By this time in John’s account, Jesus had performed some wondrous miracles including raising Lazarus from the dead. I don’t know if those Greeks wanted to “see” Jesus because they were “believers” or if they just wanted to see who this “celebrity” was.
Curiosity is the lust of the mind to see great men, remarkable places, and uncommon things, said Thomas Hobbes, 1651.

Glorious Day!

       "Living, He loved me; 
         Dying, He saved me;
         Buried, He carried my sins far away;
         Rising, He justified freely forever;
         One day He's coming... 
         Oh glorious day, oh glorious day!" 

Today is a Glorious day! Jesus IS here because we are here.
Matt. 18:20: For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.

I Am Thankful

Isaiah 57:19 God says... 
I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him that is far off and to him that is near,  and I will heal him.

The word “peace” there is the Hebrew “Shalome” which encompasses a great deal of meaning, including: completeness, soundness, welfare, safety, health, prosperity, tranquility, contentment, friendship of human relationships, and with God, especially in covenant relationship, completeness, soundness, welfare, safety, health, prosperity, tranquility, contentment, friendship of human relationships and with God, especially in covenant relationship.

The Heart of True Ethics

by John MacArthur

It is common in the evangelical church today for people to verbally acknowledge that the Bible, as God’s Word, is the final authority for both what they believe and how they live. Yet in reality, a clear connection between that public confession and personal conduct is rare.

Instead of looking to the Bible, many professing Christians look to psychology and sociology for supposed solutions to personal needs and social ills. The rise of postmodern thought has similarly skewed the church’s understanding of right and wrong—as an unbiblical tolerance (in the name of love) has weakened churches to the point where they are as soft on truth as they are on sin. Popular television shows, from Oprah to Leno to the average sitcom, have had a tangible effect (and not for the better) on how American Christians think through everyday issues. The political arena, too, has played a major role in shaping an evangelical understanding of morality, as words like “Republican” and “Democrat” or “liberal” and “conservative” have come to redefine the difference between what is good and what is evil.

Love One Another

John 15:12-14  
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you! If that was the only scripture in the New Testament (after Pentecost), I think verse 12 would suffice... IF we would accomplish it. And make no mistake... we CAN accomplish it by walking and living in the Spirit...by abiding in Christ.

Partakers of the Divine Nature

2 Peter 1:3-4
As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption and moral decay that is in the world through lust.

ANGUISH

Isaiah 53, but first I’d like to read in Luke 22:44,
“And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” 

There is a song which reads...
    "May I be willing Lord, to bear daily my cross for Thee;
     even Thy cup of grief to share; Thou hast borne all for me.
     Lest I forget Gethsemane;
     Lest I forget Thine agony;
     Lest I forget Thy love for me;
     Lead me to Calvary."

And Psalm 22:14-17, which prophesy Jesus was so aware of, says...
I am poured out like water; all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaw; You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.

SALVATION

Why is there this need for salvation... and from what?

The greatest danger we face in life is the holy wrath of God against our sin. But the glory of the gospel is that the One from whom we need to be saved is the very One who saves us.
   ~ R. C. Sproul 

For a great many people, this “concept” of needing salvation is very alien and inconceivable because they perceive nothing wrong or dangerous in their lives and have limited awareness, if any, of eternity or spiritual matters.
But as an example of impending danger... if a jet taking off from the airport were losing altitude and heading straight for you in your house, you would need to be saved, but you wouldn't know it unless someone came running in there and shouted what was about to happen. So one can see that "feeling" safe is no proof that one is safe at all.
Man desperately needs salvation but does not feel the danger at all.

TRUTH

John 18:37... Jesus is brought before Pilate and interrogated to some extent, then Pilate said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the TRUTH. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.

Knowing God – Learn of Jesus

John 6:51, 53-58...
I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
Verse 60... This was a hard saying for many who heard Him.

Our Only and All-Sufficient Portion!

"Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind; and there was nothing to be gained under the sun!" Ecclesiastes 2:11

Our Creator God

Shared July 9, 2023 at Breaking of Bread Service, Wellspring Bible Fellowship

I read Psalm 104 - again. It is an amazing psalm to read and meditate on again and again, as well as all of the Word of God.
 
We worship the Creator God of Psalm 104. The world does not know the God of Psalm 104. Their god is the creature and not the Creator.
 
We are literally surrounded with the work of His Will, by His Word and His Hands; ...a glorious picture of God as Creator and a sweeping view of the world God made. Nothing anywhere is untouched by His creation and wisdom. Because He wants us to see and take pleasure in Him, He not only creates, but He speaks through His creation.
Rom. 1:19-20 says, What may be known of God is clearly seen, for God has made it evident. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are seen and understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

Without the Shedding of Blood

1 Kings 8
I have read this chapter many times... with AWE!
Solomon had finished building the temple after 7 years. And after some additional time, they were sacrificing sheep and oxen while bringing the ark up to the temple....verse 5 says...
King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude.

Persistent Friend

Luke 11:5-9

5 And He (Jesus) said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves.
6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him.
7 And he will answer from within and say, Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you.
8 But I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
9 And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

Scofield's Notes on New Testament Epistles

Introduction to the Epistles of Paul 

The Epistles of the Apostle Paul have a very distinctive character. All Scripture, up to the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion, looks forward to the cross, and has primarily in view Israel, and the blessing of the earth through the Messianic kingdom. But "hid in God" Eph 3:9 was an unrevealed fact--the interval of time between the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ and His return in glory; and an unrevealed purpose-- the outcalling of the ecclesia, the church which is Christ's body. In Matt. 16, our Lord announced that purpose, but wholly without explanation as to how, when, or of what materials, that church should be built, or what should be its position, relationships, privileges, or duties.

All this precisely constitutes the scope of the Epistles of Paul. They develop the doctrine of the church.

How Is It?

(James Smith, "Manna in the Wilderness" 1863)

When we look around upon people and observe their ways, we see that there is . . .
not a sin prohibited, but they willfully commit it;
not a duty prescribed, but they cheerfully neglect it;
not a mercy bestowed, but they wickedly abuse it;
not an attribute of God's nature discovered, but they daringly insult it;
and that they have altogether become abominable, filthy, and condemned!

The Alarming Sentence!

James Smith, 1802—1862

"A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it — but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard: For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree — and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil!" Luke 13:6-7

No place is as dangerous for an unconverted person, as the church of God. It is to be feared that many join the church before they are truly converted; and yet very, very few — are ever converted after.

How Spiritual Power Is Lost

One of the strangest and saddest stories of the Old Testament history is that of Samson. It is also one of the most instructive. He was by far the most remarkable man of his day. The grandest opportunities were open to him, but after striking temporary victories, his life ended in tragic failure – all through his own inexcusable folly.

Time and again it is said of him that "the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him," and in the power of that Spirit he wrought to the astonishment of his people and the discomfiture of the enemies of the Lord. But in Judges 16:19-20, we see him deserted of the Lord, though unconscious of it, his strength gone from him and he about to be taken into wretched captivity, the sport of the godless, and to die with the enemies of the Lord a violent and dishonored death. 

Come Out From Among Them

Therefore, come out from among them (unbelievers) and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. 2 Cor. 6:17

Be separate!
This involves more than just gathering together for a couple of hours on Sunday mornings. In many cases, the gathering is of believers AND unbelievers. What fellowship is THAT?

The Virgin Birth and The Resurrection

Invariably, around the dinner table with family or at some outdoor venue with strangers, a believer is challenged with someone’s declaration, “I don’t believe in God.” This could arise out of general conversation about religion, as a counterpoint in which no one ever agrees, or as direct opposition in response to “Let’s pray” (say grace) before dinner, or as an intentional provocation or confrontation to the believer’s faith. This is the kind of defiance, on an unbeliever’s part, that develops from fear... fear of the unknown.

Romans 1:18-32

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.