The Manifold Grace of God

December 31

Bob Hoekstra

The manifold grace of God . . . but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ . . . Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.  (1Pe_4:10; 2Pe_3:18 and Gal_6:18)
The manifold grace of God is such an appropriate truth for our concluding meditation. It is both humbling and faith building to be reminded of the majestic diversity of God's grace.
God's grace is manifold. It is like a heavenly diamond with innumerable facets. Every vantage point reflects a new insight into the gracious resources of our Lord. From some biblical viewpoints, the justifying grace of God is seen: "justified freely by His grace" (Rom_3:24). Yet, our devotional studies have concentrated upon sanctifying grace, grace for growing. "But grow in . . . grace." Many scriptural vistas display this sanctifying grace in its manifold beauty. It can be seen stabilizing the inner man. "It is good that the heart be established by grace" (Heb_13:9). It can also be seen in its edifying ability. "I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up" (Act_20:32). From another angle, God's sanctifying grace can be seen for its strengthening capacity. "Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2Ti_2:1). It can also be observed in its fruit producing role: "and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth" (Col_1:6). It can also be seen in its ministry developing function. "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1Co_15:10). From still another viewpoint, the sanctifying grace of God can be seen sustaining through the agonies of one's "thorny impossibilities." "My grace is sufficient for you" (2Co_12:9). What heavenly riches await us in a lifetime of observing, and appropriating, God's manifold grace.
What final words would be fitting for us now? The closing benediction in so many New Testament epistles would be perfectly suitable. "Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit" (Gal_6:18). Ultimately and essentially, grace is found in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and it is experienced through His work in our hearts, as we humbly seek to know Him more and more. "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
Dear Lord of manifold grace, I earnestly yearn to grow in every aspect of Your grace. Lord Jesus, I humbly desire to find increasing intimacy with You. Please work Your grace deeply into my heart  and manifest it fully through my life, in Your matchless name, I pray, Amen.

Spurgeon & Chambers Devotions December 31st

Morning, December 31

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.”

John 7:37

Charles Spurgeon

Patience had her perfect work in the Lord Jesus, and until the last day of the feast he pleaded with the Jews, even as on this last day of the year he pleads with us, and waits to be gracious to us. Admirable indeed is the longsuffering of the Saviour in bearing with some of us year after year, notwithstanding our provocations, rebellions, and resistance of his Holy Spirit. Wonder of wonders that we are still in the land of mercy!

Pity expressed herself most plainly, for Jesus cried, which implies not only the loudness of his voice, but the tenderness of his tones. He entreats us to be reconciled. “We pray you,” says the Apostle, “as though God did beseech you by us.” What earnest, pathetic terms are these! How deep must be the love which makes the Lord weep over sinners, and like a mother woo his children to his bosom! Surely at the call of such a cry our willing hearts will come.

Provision is made most plenteously; all is provided that man can need to quench his soul’s thirst. To his conscience the atonement brings peace; to his understanding the gospel brings the richest instruction; to his heart the person of Jesus is the noblest object of affection; to the whole man the truth as it is in Jesus supplies the purest nutriment. Thirst is terrible, but Jesus can remove it. Though the soul were utterly famished, Jesus could restore it.

Proclamation is made most freely, that every thirsty one is welcome. No other distinction is made but that of thirst. Whether it be the thirst of avarice, ambition, pleasure, knowledge, or rest, he who suffers from it is invited. The thirst may be bad in itself, and be no sign of grace, but rather a mark of inordinate sin longing to be gratified with deeper draughts of lust; but it is not goodness in the creature which brings him the invitation, the Lord Jesus sends it freely, and without respect of persons.

Personality is declared most fully. The sinner must come to Jesus, not to works, ordinances, or doctrines, but to a personal Redeemer, who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. The bleeding, dying, rising Saviour, is the only star of hope to a sinner. Oh for grace to come now and drink, ere the sun sets upon the year’s last day!

No waiting or preparation is so much as hinted at. Drinking represents a reception for which no fitness is required. A fool, a thief, a harlot can drink; and so sinfulness of character is no bar to the invitation to believe in Jesus. We want no golden cup, no bejewelled chalice, in which to convey the water to the thirsty; the mouth of poverty is welcome to stoop down and quaff the flowing flood. Blistered, leprous, filthy lips may touch the stream of divine love; they cannot pollute it, but shall themselves be purified. Jesus is the fount of hope. Dear reader, hear the dear Redeemer’s loving voice as he cries to each of us,

“IF ANY MAN THIRST,

LET HIM

COME UNTO ME

AND DRINK.”

My Utmost for His Highest

December 31st

Yesterday

The God of Israel will be your rereward. Isaiah 52:12

Oswald Chambers

Security from Yesterday. “God requireth that which is past.” At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise from remembering the yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace is apt to be checked by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them in order to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual culture for the future. God reminds us of the past lest we get into a shallow security in the present.

Security for To-morrow. “For the Lord will go before you.” This is a gracious revelation, that God will garrison where we have failed to. He will watch lest things trip us up again into like failure, as they assuredly would do if He were not our rereward. God’s hand reaches back to the past and makes a clearing-house for conscience.

Security for To-day. “For ye shall not go out with haste.” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, unremembering delight, nor with the flight of impulsive thoughtlessness, but with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays present irreparable things to us; it is true that we have lost opportunities which will never return but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past sleep, but let it sleep on the bosom of Christ.

Leave the Irreparable Past in His hands, and step out into the Irresistible Future with Him.

Evening, December 31

“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”

Jeremiah 8:20

Charles Spurgeon

Not saved! Dear reader, is this your mournful plight? Warned of the judgment to come, bidden to escape for your life, and yet at this moment not saved! You know the way of salvation, you read it in the Bible, you hear it from the pulpit, it is explained to you by friends, and yet you neglect it, and therefore you are not saved. You will be without excuse when the Lord shall judge the quick and dead. The Holy Spirit has given more or less of blessing upon the word which has been preached in your hearing, and times of refreshing have come from the divine presence, and yet you are without Christ. All these hopeful seasons have come and gone—your summer and your harvest have past—and yet you are not saved. Years have followed one another into eternity, and your last year will soon be here: youth has gone, manhood is going, and yet you are not saved. Let me ask you—will you ever be saved? Is there any likelihood of it? Already the most propitious seasons have left you unsaved; will other occasions alter your condition? Means have failed with you—the best of means, used perseveringly and with the utmost affection—what more can be done for you? Affliction and prosperity have alike failed to impress you; tears and prayers and sermons have been wasted on your barren heart. Are not the probabilities dead against your ever being saved? Is it not more than likely that you will abide as you are till death for ever bars the door of hope? Do you recoil from the supposition? Yet it is a most reasonable one: he who is not washed in so many waters will in all probability go filthy to his end. The convenient time never has come, why should it ever come? It is logical to fear that it never will arrive, and that Felix like, you will find no convenient season till you are in hell. O bethink you of what that hell is, and of the dread probability that you will soon be cast into it!

Reader, suppose you should die unsaved, your doom no words can picture. Write out your dread estate in tears and blood, talk of it with groans and gnashing of teeth: you will be punished with everlasting destruction from the glory of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. A brother’s voice would fain startle you into earnestness. O be wise, be wise in time, and ere another year begins, believe in Jesus, who is able to save to the uttermost. Consecrate these last hours to lonely thought, and if deep repentance be bred in you, it will be well; and if it lead to a humble faith in Jesus, it will be best of all. O see to it that this year pass not away, and you an unforgiven spirit. Let not the new year’s midnight peals sound upon a joyless spirit! Now, now, now believe, and live.

“Escape for thy life;

Look not behind thee,

Neither stay thou in all the plain;

Escape to the mountain,

Lest thou be consumed.”

The last day of the year!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

("Daily Bible Readings in the Life of Christ" J.R. Miller, December 31, 1890)

"Jesus said unto him: Follow Me!" John 21:19

We have come now to the last day of the year! For a whole year in these daily readings, we have been walking with Christ. Is there any better word with which to close this book and close the year, than this last invitation of Jesus, "Follow Me!" This is the true outcome of all learning of Christ. Mere knowledge, though it be of spiritual things, avails nothing--except as it leads us to follow Christ.

We have seen Jesus in all the different phases of His life. We have heard many of His words. Now it remains only for us to follow Him. The outcome of seeing and knowing Jesus--should be holy living and doing. The last day of the year suggests also the same duty.

Who is satisfied with his life as it appears in retrospect? The past, however blotted, must go as it is; we cannot change it, and we need not waste time in regretting. But the new year is before us, and if we would make that better than the stained past, it must be by following Christ more closely.

To follow Christ is to go where He leads--without questioning or murmuring. It may be to a life of trial, suffering, or sacrifice--but it does not matter; we have nothing whatever to do with the kind of life to which our Lord calls us. Our only simple duty is to obey and follow. We know that Jesus will lead us only in right paths, and that the way He takes slopes upward and ends at the feet of God!

The new year on which we are about to enter is unopened, and we know not what shall befall us; but if we follow Christ we need have no fear. So let us leave the old year with gratitude to God for its mercies, and with penitence for its failures and sins; and let us enter the new year with earnest resolve in Christ's name to make it the holiest and most beautiful year we have ever lived.

~ ~ ~ ~

More on Walking with Jesus the Way We Received Him

Bob Hoekstra

As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.  (Col_2:6-7)
The manner in which we received the Lord is the very same manner in which we are to walk in Him. "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him." We received Him by grace, we must walk by grace. We were born again by the Spirit, we must walk by the Spirit. Furthermore, when we first received Christ, He was our only hope. Now, we are to walk with Him the same way.  
It is good to recall how Jesus was the comprehensive focus of our beginning with Him. When we received Him and His forgiveness, we knew He had to provide all that was needed for our salvation. We agreed with the word of God that there was no other hope than Jesus. "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me' . . . Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Joh_14:6 and Act_4:12). We knew that we could supply nothing ourselves. We were spiritually dead, having no righteousness at all: "dead in trespasses and sins . . . all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Eph_2:1 and Isa_64:6). We had entered the blessed condition of being convicted of our own spiritual bankruptcy. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Mat_5:3). Jesus was our comprehensive focus, our only hope.
This is how we are to walk in Him today. We need the Lord Jesus as much now for living the Christian life, as we needed Him at the beginning to be born again into it. For growth and victory and fruitfulness, He is the one we must focus upon. "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving." We need to be rooted in Him, having our faith reaching out to Him for nutrition and strength, even as the roots of a tree reach into the soil. We need to be built up in Him, having our lives developed by His work in us. We need to be established in the faith, allowing Him to stabilize us through the study of His word. This will lead to lives of overflowing appreciation, grateful that "Christ is all and in all" (Col_3:11). Truly, we need the Lord Jesus as much now for living the Christian life, as we needed Him at the beginning to be born again into it.
Lord Jesus, my all in all, You were my only hope for beginning a new life with You. Today, You are my only hope for growing in this life with You. Please remind me that my need for You never diminishes. It is constant and comprehensive. Thank You for always being available!

A Better Way

December 30, 2014 by Charles R. Swindoll Romans 12:10-13 Yourself. Yourself. Yourself. We're up to here with self! How very different from Jesus' model and message! Instead of a "philosophy" to turn our eyes inward, He offers a fresh and much-needed invitation to our "me first" generation. There is a better way, Jesus says. "Be a servant. Give to others!" Just listen: "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others" (Phil. 2:3-4). Know what all that means? Well, for starters, "nothing" means just that. Stop permitting two strong tendencies---selfishness and conceit---to control you! Let nothing either of them suggests win a hearing. Replace them with "humility of mind." But how? By regarding others as more important than yourself. Look for ways to support, encourage, build up, and stimulate the other person. And that requires an attitude that would rather give than receive. "Humility of mind" is really an attitude, isn't it? It a preset mentality that determines ahead of time thoughts like this: I care about those around me. Why do I always have to be first? I'm going to help someone else win for a change. Today, it my sincere desire to curb my own fierce competitive tendencies and turn that energy into encouraging at least one other person. I willingly release my way this day. Lord, show me how You would respond to others, then help me do the same. To get started in this unselfish lifestyle, let me suggest three basic ingredients: giving, forgiving, and forgetting. Once we make up our minds to implement the truth of Philippians 2:3-4 (taking a special interest in others) or Galatians 5:13 (serving others in love), those three basics will begin to emerge. Instead of always thinking about receiving, we'll start looking for ways to give. Instead of holding grudges against those who have offended us, we'll be anxious to forgive. And instead of keeping a record of what we've done or who we've helped, we'll take delight in forgetting the deed(s) and being virtually unnoticed. It is impossible to give yourself away at arm's length. Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll, Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishers). All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

Spurgeon & Chambers Devotions December 30th

Morning, December 30

“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.”

Ecclesiastes 7:8

Charles Spurgeon

Look at David’s Lord and Master; see his beginning. He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Would you see the end? He sits at his Father’s right hand, expecting until his enemies be made his footstool. “As he is, so are we also in this world.” You must bear the cross, or you shall never wear the crown; you must wade through the mire, or you shall never walk the golden pavement. Cheer up, then, poor Christian. “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.” See that creeping worm, how contemptible its appearance! It is the beginning of a thing. Mark that insect with gorgeous wings, playing in the sunbeams, sipping at the flower bells, full of happiness and life; that is the end thereof. That caterpillar is yourself, until you are wrapped up in the chrysalis of death; but when Christ shall appear you shall be like him, for you shall see him as he is. Be content to be like him, a worm and no man, that like him you may be satisfied when you wake up in his likeness. That rough-looking diamond is put upon the wheel of the lapidary. He cuts it on all sides. It loses much—much that seemed costly to itself. The king is crowned; the diadem is put upon the monarch’s head with trumpet’s joyful sound. A glittering ray flashes from that coronet, and it beams from that very diamond which was just now so sorely vexed by the lapidary. You may venture to compare yourself to such a diamond, for you are one of God’s people; and this is the time of the cutting process. Let faith and patience have their perfect work, for in the day when the crown shall be set upon the head of the King, Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, one ray of glory shall stream from you. “They shall be mine,” saith the Lord, “in the day when I make up my jewels.” “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.”

My Utmost for His Highest

December 30th

“And every virtue we possess”

All my fresh springs shall be in Thee. Psalm 87:7 (P.B.V.)

Oswald Chambers

Our Lord never patches up our natural virtues, He remakes the whole man on the inside. “Put on the new man”—see that your natural human life puts on the garb that is in keeping with the new life. The life God plants in us develops its own virtues, not the virtues of Adam but of Jesus Christ. Watch how God will wither up your confidence in natural virtues after sanctification, and in any power you have, until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through a drying-up experience!

The sign that God is at work in us is that He corrupts confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but remnants of what God created man to be. We will cling to the natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us into contact with the life of Jesus Christ which can never be described in terms of the natural virtues. It is the saddest thing to see people in the service of God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them, depending on what they have by the accident of heredity. God does not build up our natural virtues and transfigure them, because our natural virtues can never come anywhere near what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands. But as we bring every bit of our bodily life into harmony with the new life which God has put in us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that are characteristic of the Lord Jesus.

‘And every virtue we possess

Is His alone.’

Evening, December 30

“Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end?”

2 Samuel 2:26

Charles Spurgeon

If, O my reader! thou art merely a professor, and not a possessor of the faith that is in Christ Jesus, the following lines are a true ketch of thine end.

You are a respectable attendant at a place of worship; you go because others go, not because your heart is right with God. This is your beginning. I will suppose that for the next twenty or thirty years you will be spared to go on as you do now, professing religion by an outward attendance upon the means of grace, but having no heart in the matter. Tread softly, for I must show you the deathbed of such a one as yourself. Let us gaze upon him gently. A clammy sweat is on his brow, and he wakes up crying, “O God, it is hard to die. Did you send for my minister?” “Yes, he is coming.” The minister comes. “Sir, I fear that I am dying!” “Have you any hope?” “I cannot say that I have. I fear to stand before my God; oh! pray for me.” The prayer is offered for him with sincere earnestness, and the way of salvation is for the ten-thousandth time put before him, but before he has grasped the rope, I see him sink. I may put my finger upon those cold eyelids, for they will never see anything here again. But where is the man, and where are the man’s true eyes? It is written, “In hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment.” Ah! why did he not lift up his eyes before? Because he was so accustomed to hear the gospel that his soul slept under it. Alas! if you should lift up your eyes there, how bitter will be your wailings. Let the Saviour’s own words reveal the woe: “Father Abraham, send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.” There is a frightful meaning in those words. May you never have to spell it out by the red light of Jehovah’s wrath! 

Spurgeon & Chambers Devotions December 29th

Morning, December 29

“Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”

1 Samuel 7:12

Charles Spurgeon

The word “hitherto” seems like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. Twenty years or seventy, and yet, “hitherto the Lord hath helped!” Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health, at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea, in honour, in dishonour, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation, “hitherto hath the Lord helped us!” We delight to look down a long avenue of trees. It is delightful to gaze from end to end of the long vista, a sort of verdant temple, with its branching pillars and its arches of leaves; even so look down the long aisles of your years, at the green boughs of mercy overhead, and the strong pillars of lovingkindness and faithfulness which bear up your joys. Are there no birds in yonder branches singing? Surely there must be many, and they all sing of mercy received “hitherto.”

But the word also points forward. For when a man gets up to a certain mark and writes “hitherto,” he is not yet at the end, there is still a distance to be traversed. More trials, more joys; more temptations, more triumphs; more prayers, more answers; more toils, more strength; more fights, more victories; and then come sickness, old age, disease, death. Is it over now? No! there is more yet-awakening in Jesus’ likeness, thrones, harps, songs, psalms, white raiment, the face of Jesus, the society of saints, the glory of God, the fulness of eternity, the infinity of bliss. O be of good courage, believer, and with grateful confidence raise thy “Ebenezer,” for—

He who hath helped thee hitherto

Will help thee all thy journey through.

When read in heaven’s light how glorious and marvellous a prospect will thy “hitherto” unfold to thy grateful eye!

My Utmost for His Highest

December 29th

Deserter or disciple?

From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. John 6:66

Oswald Chambers

When God gives a vision by His Spirit through His word of what He wants, and your mind and soul thrill to it, if you do not walk in the light of that vision, you will sink into servitude to a point of view which Our Lord never had. Disobedience in mind to the heavenly vision will make you a slave to points of view that are alien to Jesus Christ. Do not look at someone else and say—‘Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why cannot I?’ You have to walk in the light of the vision that has been given to you and not compare yourself with others or judge them, that is between them and God. When you find that a point of view in which you have been delighting clashes with the heavenly vision and you debate, certain things will begin to develop in you—a sense of property and a sense of personal right, things of which Jesus Christ made nothing. He was always against these things as being the root of everything alien to Himself. “A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesseth.” If we do not recognize this, it is because we are ignoring the undercurrent of Our Lord’s teaching.

We are apt to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we have had. If there is one standard in the New Testament revealed by the light of God and you do not come up to it, and do not feel inclined to come up to it, that is the beginning of backsliding, because it means your conscience does not answer to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you for going on as a more true disciple of Jesus Christ, or for going back as a deserter.

Evening, December 29

“What think ye of Christ?”

Matthew 22:42

Charles Spurgeon

The great test of your soul’s health is, What think you of Christ? Is he to you “fairer than the children of men”—“the chief among ten thousand”—the “altogether lovely”? Wherever Christ is thus esteemed, all the faculties of the spiritual man exercise themselves with energy. I will judge of your piety by this barometer: does Christ stand high or low with you? If you have thought little of Christ, if you have been content to live without his presence, if you have cared little for his honour, if you have been neglectful of his laws, then I know that your soul is sick—God grant that it may not be sick unto death! But if the first thought of your spirit has been, how can I honour Jesus? If the daily desire of your soul has been, “O that I knew where I might find him!” I tell you that you may have a thousand infirmities, and even scarcely know whether you are a child of God at all, and yet I am persuaded, beyond a doubt, that you are safe, since Jesus is great in your esteem. I care not for thy rags, what thinkest thou of his royal apparel? I care not for thy wounds, though they bleed in torrents, what thinkest thou of his wounds? are they like glittering rubies in thine esteem? I think none the less of thee, though thou liest like Lazarus on the dunghill, and the dogs do lick thee—I judge thee not by thy poverty: what thinkest thou of the King in his beauty? Has he a glorious high throne in thy heart? Wouldest thou set him higher if thou couldest? Wouldest thou be willing to die if thou couldest but add another trumpet to the strain which proclaims his praise? Ah! then it is well with thee. Whatever thou mayest think of thyself, if Christ be great to thee, thou shalt be with him ere long.

“Though all the world my choice deride,

Yet Jesus shall my portion be;

For I am pleased with none beside,

The fairest of the fair is he”

The grand secret of daily comfort in Christianity!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

(J.C. Ryle, "Do You Have a Priest?")

"We have a great High Priest who has entered Heaven, Jesus the Son of God." Hebrews 4:14

Christ, the great High Priest in Heaven, is ever doing the work of a Friend, a Protector, a Counselor, and an Advocate, on behalf of His redeemed people. He is ever watching over the interests of His people, and providing a continual supply of all that they need. To . . .
sympathize with them in all their troubles,
guide them in their perplexities,
strengthen them for their duties,
preserve them in their temptations--
all this is part of Christ's present priestly office.

Note His tenderness and sympathy--so that He can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Note His forbearance and patience--so that He can bear with our weaknesses and pity our mistakes. Note His wisdom, His faithfulness, His readiness to aid--who can describe or number up these things?

Christ, as our great High Priest, is ever interceding for us in Heaven. It is written, "He is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him, because He ever lives to make intercession for them!" (Hebrews 7:25.) It is asked by Paul, "Who then is the one who condemns? No one! Christ Jesus who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us!" (Romans 8:34.) Jesus is carrying believers safely from grace to glory, by His almighty intercession!

Reader, let us thank God daily that Christ is doing the work of a Priest for us in Heaven. Let us be thankful for the "precious blood" of Christ--but let us not be less thankful for His precious intercession.

Christ's continual Priesthood is the grand secret of a saint's perseverance to the end. Left to ourselves, there would be little likelihood of our getting safely home to Heaven. We might begin well--and end ill.
So weak are our hearts,
so busy is the devil,
so many and ensnaring are the temptations of the world
--that nothing could prevent our making shipwreck!

But, thanks be to God, the Priesthood of Christ secures our safety. He who never slumbers and never sleeps is continually watching over our interests, and providing for our needs. While Satan pours water on the fire of grace, and strives to quench it--Christ pours on oil, and makes it burn more brightly.

Christ's continual Priesthood is the grand secret of daily comfort in Christianity. Oh, what an unspeakable comfort it is to remember that we have a great High Priest in Heaven, who never forgets us night or day, and is continually interceding for us, and providing for our safety! Christian, that great High Priest who died for you and intercedes for you--will never forget His people, or allow one lamb of His flock to perish! The merciful and faithful High Priest who began a work for you on the cross, will bring that work to a triumphant conclusion.

Reader, think of Jesus Christ as a loving Friend, to whom you may go morning, noon, and night, and receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. Of all the offices that Christ exercises on behalf of His people, none will repay thought and study so richly, as that of His present priesthood.

~ ~ ~ ~

Daily Promises

Blue Letter Bible
December 29, 2014

But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called [thee] by thy name; thou [art] mine. When thou passest through the waters, I [will be] with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (Isaiah 43:1-2)

Take heed, O children of faith, to the voice of the Lord, for He has redeemed you and brought you unto so great a salvation! Through fire, famine, and flood—through all earthly perils—the Lord is with you protecting and sustaining you. Know this and be comforted!

Sovereign Grace Missionary Baptist Church "Where The Truths Of God’s Word Have Been Taught For More Than Fifty-Three Years” 1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501 December 28, 2014 Newsletter Number 497 Brother Randy Johnson, Pastor Brother Ronnie Henderson, Song Director Pastor E-Mail: pastor@sgmbaptist.com Web Site: www.sgmbaptist.com

Our Prayer Request: All of Our Military, Their Family’s & All the Civilian Workers in The Middle East, Zee Mink Fuller and Family, Her son’s Bryan Armstrong and Hunter Hackie, Daughter Shannon, and Brother Philip & Sondra Thornsberry, Johnnie Stephens, Alecia Stephens, and children, Frankie Baldridge and daughter, Buckie Thompson, Frank & Sonya Trusty, Frank & Dawana Reigel, Andrew Preston, Larry & Martha Mollette and Her Family, Larry Mollette II & Family, Kerry Pennington, Kim Poole, Danny & Nita Mollette, The Muncy Family, Wendell Henderson, Judy Dunn, Martha Gray, Joshua Kidd, Matthew Kidd, Ronnie and Sarah Henderson, Ronnie Henderson Jr. & Children, Ricky Henderson and Family, Jacie Henderson, Velma Hammond, Charles, Don Hammond and Families, Archie & Barbara Griffin, Bro. & Sister Bob Keller, Donna Johnson, James and Luann Reynolds, Timothy Fails, Nathan & Claire Fails, Jacob Ramsey, Jerry Hughes, Teresa Bookout, Pastor G. L. Burr, Melody Carr, Janie Capps, Imajo Tracy, Linda Hughes, Roy Lemmon, Rosie Tomlin, James and Lynn Tomlin, Pat Abercrombie, Donna Jones, Dale Trahan, Ricky and Margaret McCoy, Brother David O’Neal, James, Diane & Brooke Thomas, Gina Peel, Brother Kelley and Sister Hinson, Melissa Elliott, Megan Whitaker, Manual Seymour, Sr., Brother Jerry and Sister Jean Dodson, Mr. Hedges, Danny Hammond, Claire’s friend, Brother Curtis Pugh, Brother Dan Sullivan and the work in Thailand, Brother Raul and the work in Romania, and Bro. Sergey Mochalov and the Churches in Russia.

A Though From Your Pastor: Seeking God’s Kingdom First. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 The Lord Jesus said “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness…”, however I believe it is not always the case in our daily routine. What the Lord means here is in everything you do seek God and his righteousness first. We are not to worry about what is best for us, what is best for our family, what is best for our bank account, what is best to have the best, and etc, etc, etc. God and His righteousness are to be our first and foremost thought in everything. We do not have to build our life, or search what is best for us, God and His righteousness is best for us. This goes back to living by faith and not by sight. The question we must all ask ourselves is “do we trust the Lord”? The Lord Jesus went on to say “…and all these things shall be added unto you.” If we seek Him and His righteousness then He will take care of those things we have need of. The thinking of a Christian does not have to be what is best for us, it should be what is best for the Lord and if we do then God will supply what we need but the truth is we did not need it in fact the pain of over eating was not worth it because about four hours later we are hungry again. Sometimes we overload on a new car or a new house and get more than we can really afford and in time we discover we have more than we can afford. If we seek God and His righteousness first then everything will be sufficient in our life. Sometimes we allow our desires in life control our thinking and we receive pains in life for our choices. God said He knows what we have need of before we ask, therefore we ought to trust the Lord and ask Him what we need and He will supply. The Lord had just told us to pray "Give us this day our daily bread." verse 11 why should we ask God to give us our daily bread? Because we trust His to give it to us, this is walking by faith. Seek God first, and He will supply, make this your way of life, and God will add all things to you. Beloved I know it sometimes seems like God is far from us, like He has forgotten us, like sometimes He is not supplying our needs, but He is. When God say He will supply, it means He will give us what we have need of, not what we think we need. We often mix up the need with the want, what we need is what God gives us and when we take what God gives then we will not overload at that buffet, we will not buy more house or car than we need. Wait on the Lord and be joyful and happy with what He has given you. When we seek worldly things we must be careful because it will take our minds off the Lord. God said “…Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Verse 24 you cannot serve two masters nor can you serve two desires. If you serve the desires of God first then you will not serve fleshly desires. But once you began to think fleshly then your desires for God leave and wrong decisions are made. Do you remember the old WWJD (what would Jesus do) I always thought it was a good question because before you do it, ask would Jesus do it? Well here the question is “what will God do for me”? Seek God first…!

A Thought For The Week: The battlefield! There is not a place which a believer walks in—which is free from snares. Behind every tree—is the tempter with his barbed arrow! Behind every bush—is the roaring lion, the Devil, your great enemy, prowling around, looking for some victim to devour! Under every piece of grass—hides the deadly adder! This present world is the battlefield; Heaven is a place of complete victory and glorious triumph. This present world is the land of the sword and the spear; Heaven is the land of the wreath and the crown. This present world is the land of the garment rolled in blood and the dust of the fight; Heaven is the land of the trumpet's joyful sound—the place of the white robe and of the shout of conquest. Oh, what a thrill of joy shall shoot through the hearts of all the redeemed, when their conquests shall be complete; when death itself, the last of foes, shall be slain; when Satan shall be dragged captive at the chariot wheels of Christ; when He shall have overthrown sin and trampled corruption as the mire of the streets; when the great shout of universal victory shall rise from the hearts of all the redeemed! "He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever!" Revelation 21:4 By Charles Spurgeon

Beyond this, I have no great desire to live: "For to me—to live is Christ and to die is gain!" Philippians 1:21 God will preserve me—as long as He has service for me to do. Beyond this, I have no great desire to live. "I desire to depart and be with Christ—which is better by far!" Philippians 1:23 By John Newton taken from his letter.

Church News: Happy Birthday Sister Donna Johnson Friday January 02 Happy Birthday Sister Sarah Henderson Saturday January 03

Daily Promises

Blue Letter Bible
December 28, 2014

[[To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth.]] God [is] our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

Be assured, O believer, that the Lord your God is with you. He shall shelter your spirit in His mighty house forever. Never need you fear, for He is even now your aid against all manner of trouble. Rejoice, therefore, in His love and power!

More on an Invitation to Pray at the Throne of Grace

Bob Hoekstra

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  (Heb_4:16)
Seated upon the throne which rules this universe is the sovereign, holy, Judge of all humanity. Yet, He is also the "God of all grace" (1Pe_5:10). All who relate rightly to Him (through humble faith in Jesus Christ) can come boldly to that throne, praying with assurance that mercy and grace will be His response.
Truly, the Lord Jesus is the reason that we can answer the invitation to "come boldly to the throne of grace." His death on the cross opened the way for us to come into God's presence, allowing us to talk to Him directly in prayer. It is as though the Holy of Holies is now our family den. God is our Father, who delights to commune with His children as we pray to Him: "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us" (Heb_10:19-20). This "new and living way" is the new covenant of grace. It is by the Lord's grace alone that we can come to His throne of grace, that we might live daily by His grace.  
At this inviting throne of God, we "obtain mercy." Mercy is heaven's wondrous companion to grace. Mercy is God's provision for holding back from us the awful things that we actually deserve, due to our sin and rebellion. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon" (Isa_55:7). Now, each day, His children can benefit from the faithful mercies of God. "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lam_3:22-23).  
Also, at this inviting throne of God, we "find grace to help in time of need." Our initial need was for the Lord's saving grace, which brought forgiveness for our ungodliness and made heaven our eternal home "For by grace you have been saved through faith" (Eph_2:8). Our ongoing need would be for transforming grace for the developing of a godly life here on earth. "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age" (Tit_2:11-12). In prayer at the throne of grace, we find God's continuing supply of grace. That grace is irreplaceable and sufficient to sustain us through, and use us in, the needy situations we encounter daily at home, work, school, church, — wherever.
O Lord, supplier of all mercy and grace, I rejoice that Your mercies are new every day. Have mercy on me, dear Lord! I praise You that Your all-encompassing grace is available through humble, trusting prayer. Pour Your grace out on me, dear Lord!

An Invitation to Pray at the Throne of Grace

Bob Hoekstra

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  (Heb_4:16)
If we are going to live by grace, we must relate rightly to the God of all grace: namely, by walking in humble dependence. Continual, Spirit-led prayerfulness is the basic way to express humility and faith to the Lord. How fitting it is, then, to consider God's invitation to pray at the throne of grace.  
The throne to which we are invited is the throne of God, revealed to the Apostle John. "Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne" (Rev_4:2). This honored King of the universe is the Creator of everything, exercising His sovereign will by His infinite power. "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created" (Rev_4:11). This is a throne of everlasting holiness, as declared constantly by angelic creatures. "And they do not rest day or night, saying: 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!' " (Rev_4:8). For the godless, this will become a throne of judgment. "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it . . . And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God . . . And they were judged, each one according to his works . . .  And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev_20:11-13, Rev_20:15).  
If this throne were only characterized by sovereign power, holiness, and judgment, we could never approach it with any expectation of blessing. Yet, for those who will humbly receive eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, this is a throne of grace. "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace." We can approach this throne with spiritual confidence, because Jesus is seated there with the Father. "And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne . . . stood a Lamb as though it had been slain . . . Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!" (Rev_5:6, Rev_5:12). The worthy one, who died for our sins, has opened the door to an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father. "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father' " (Rom_8:15). Dread of God is replaced with boldness, by the grace of Jesus Christ: "in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him" (Eph_3:12). Now, this throne is to us an altar of prayer for mercy and grace!
Abba, Father, I bow before Your throne, acknowledging You as the sovereign Creator and the holy Judge. Yet, I boldly approach You as my dear, intimate Papa! Although I deserved judgment, now through Jesus, I humbly expect mercy and grace!

O the wonders couched in electing love!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

(James Smith, "God's Special Treasure" 1860)

"For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth--the Lord your God has chosen you to be His own special treasure!" Deuteronomy 7:6

God highly prizes His people. Yes, it is impossible to say how highly He prizes them. Those are wondrous words, "For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own special treasure!" Psalm 135:4

Did the shepherd prize his flock? God calls His people, "His flock, His beautiful flock."

Does the miser prize his wealth? God says of His people, "You shall be a special treasure unto Me above all people; for all the earth is mine."

Does the prince prize his jewels? God says of His people, "They shall be Mine, in that day when I make up My jewels!"

Does the bridegroom prize his beloved and dearly purchased bride? It is written, "As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride--so shall your God rejoice over you!"

Does the reigning monarch prize his crown? God has said, "You shall be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God."

What wondrous love, such expressions as these represent! How precious must the Lord's people be to Him! Truly they are His special treasure!
God CHOSE them to be special unto Himself. He chose them out from among others. He chose them in preference to others.

He chose them out from others, on purpose that they may be a special people unto Himself. And in so doing, He acted FREELY. It was not on account of anything He saw in them, or on account of anything He expected from them; but in the exercise of His most free and holy sovereignty, He chose them to participate in the glory of His Son!

In choosing them, He acted also DELIBERATELY. It was no hasty choice. His thoughts had been eternally filled with them. His heart had been eternally set upon them. Therefore He chose them in Christ before the foundation of the world!

In choosing them, He acted WISELY--as He really desired to have them. For each one of them is ready to confess that if God had not chosen them--that they would never have chosen Him! The nature regulates the choice; and as our nature is carnal and impure--we would never have chosen God, who is spiritual and holy.

His choice was just an early expression of His LOVE. The love which chose them--would do anything for them, and give anything to them! Therefore God spared not His own Son--but delivered Him up for them all; and in so doing, gave them the assurance that He will also freely give them all things in Christ.

O the wonders couched in electing love!

This act of choosing such creatures as we are, to be a special people unto Himself, displays . . .
such grace,
such condescension,
such infinite wisdom and love!

God's election says, "The Lord loves you!" Loves us! Yes, and with a love that is eternal, immutable, sovereign, infinite, and free! All the love of God is lavished upon us as His special people in Christ. Oh, those wondrous words of Jesus, "You have loved them--even as You have loved Me!" John 17:23

But few among the worldly wise,
But few of nobler race,
Obtain the favor of Your eyes,
Almighty King of grace!

~ ~ ~ ~

Daily Promises

Blue Letter Bible
December 27, 2014

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:44-45)

By God's compelling love, we have the honor of sharing kindness and compassion to others—including our enemies. For those who believe, the love of Christ abundantly pours forth and causes overwhelming joy and peace within our hearts. It is by His great compassion that we can love others and know of God's unfathomable adoration for us. How beautiful is salvation! It allows us to share unconditional love for others.

More on a Biblical Example of Spirit-led Praying

Bob Hoekstra

We . . . do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will . . . being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.  (Col_1:9-12)
In our previous meditation, we began to examine a classic illustration of Spirit-led praying. The basic request of this majestic prayer concerned learning about, and walking in, the will of God. We "do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him." Now, we consider more on a biblical example of Spirit-led praying.  
A significant aspect of the will of God involves fruitful laboring unto the Lord: "being fruitful in every good work." The abounding grace of God is able to produce abundant ministry in our lives. "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance for every good work" (2Co_9:8).  
The very core of God's will is next: "increasing in the knowledge of God." Getting to know the Lord is the supreme issue of life. "I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord" (Phi_3:8). The corollary prayer in Ephesians has this as its fundamental request: "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" (Eph_1:17). A key verse for our grace devotionals suggests the connection between God's grace and knowing Him. "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2Pe_3:18).  
Another vital part of God's will for us is spiritual empowering: "strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power." With the Lord of grace Himself as our strength, there is no limit to what we can do. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phi_4:13). Yet, such divine power is often imparted for reasons other than we might imagine: "for all patience and longsuffering with joy."  
The final aspect of God's will mentioned is gratitude: "giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light." Since all of these riches are God's grace available through humble, trusting prayer, no wonder that the Lord concludes with a reminder about grateful hearts.
Heavenly Father, I have a deep desire to be fruitful in service unto You. I have a strong yearning to know You more and more. I have a desperate need to be strengthened by You. I am overflowing with gratitude toward You. In humble faith, I cry out to You!

Daily Promises

Blue Letter Bible
December 26, 2014

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

As Christ came as a child to live and die for His people, so too will He come again arrayed in victory, charging forth in holy righteousness to announce the final consummation of His heavenly kingdom! Great shall be that day! Great in sorrow! Great in joy! All authority is given Him: to judge and to save. Trust upon the saving lifeblood of the risen Lord and rejoice in His return! Mighty will be His host and unparalleled the joy that shall reign eternal upon all His people!