Morning Devotional

Philippians 3:13-14

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

As we look to begin a new year, let's learn to leave the past in the past. Paul tells us here to leave the past behind and reach for the future. What is our future? As children of God our future is an eternity with our God.
Paul reminds us we are to be ever pressing toward the prize. What prize? The greatest prize ever given. Eternal life with our Lord and Savior. Paul refers to this prize as the high calling of God on Christ Jesus. What is he talking about? Think about it for a moment. We are called from on high by God the Father to salvation in Christ Jesus. What greater prize or calling is there than that!!!
So with the beginning of the new year I encourage those of you who are God's children to forget your old sinful past and work toward the final goal and prize in eternity. Follow our Lord's commandments. Praise His name with every breathe we take. Let those around us have no doubt whose we are and who we are!!! And pray this is the year our Lord returns and calls His saints home to be with Him.
And for those of you who are not a child of God? I pray our Lord will open your spiritual eyes and save you soul this year. If His Holy Spirit is convicting you of your sin and He is calling you to Himself, I encourage you to stop running from Him. Fall at His feet and accept His free gift of salvation from hell and eternal torment. Believe on the name of Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.



Praise ye the Lord!!!

Stephen McCool

The last day of the year!

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("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.

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Daily Promises

Blue Letter Bible
December 31, 2015

O death, where [is] thy sting? O grave, where [is] thy victory? The sting of death [is] sin; and the strength of sin [is] the law. But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:55-58)

Death defeated! The Law stripped of power! No longer crushed beneath the fell weight of the curse! Praise the Lord that the resurrection of Christ has secured your own resurrection, O people of the Almighty! Hell can hold no victory over you, O believer, for you are a child of the Most High, made into a new creation. Perfect! Righteous! Clothed exquisitely and adorned in beauty befitting the bride of Christ Himself! Christ has cleansed you unto righteousness, so go forth in that righteousness, steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the good work that all God's children desire!

Morning Devotional

Psalm 47

“O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah. God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!

 

Stephen McCool

Spurgeon & More Daily 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.”

 

 

 

December 30

JESUS SHALL REIGN

Isaac Watts, 1674–1748

The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets. (Psalm 50:1)

The spread of Christianity has been phenomenal. In spite of cruel persecution of Christ’s followers in the first three centuries a.d. and from time to time through the years since, His kingdom has continued to spread to “realms and people of every tongue.” Periods of attack on believers have served only to increase their fervor and growth. Then in recent years, with the rapid development of technology—radio, television, gospel films, Bible translations and distributions—the preaching of the gospel has been heard by more people than ever before in the history of mankind.

When this stirring hymn was written in 1719, however, the evangelical missionary movement that we know in our time had scarcely begun. In 1779 William Carey was one of the first to try to persuade Christians to carry the gospel message to heathen countries of the world. Isaac Watts was certainly quite prophetic when he paraphrased this text from Psalm 72. It is still considered one of the finest missionary hymns ever written and has been sung in countless native tongues. In the South Sea Islands in 1862, 5,000 primitive people sang this hymn as the king abolished their native laws and established a Christian constitution.

It is thrilling for us to realize that the praise of Jesus, Bethlehem’s humble Babe, is continuing to spread and that some day soon His kingdom will “spread from shore to shore” and every tribe, language, people, and nation will bow down and exalt His name together.

Jesus shall reign where’er the sun does his successive journeys run, His kingdom spread from shore to shore till moons shall wax and wane no more.

From north to south the princes meet to pay their homage at His feet, while western empires own their Lord and savage tribes attend His word.

To Him shall endless prayer be made and endless praises crown His head: His name like sweet perfume shall rise with ev’ry morning sacrifice.

People and realms of ev’ry tongue dwell on His love with sweetest song, and infant voices shall proclaim their early blessings on His name.

       For Today: Psalm 10:16; 72; Isaiah 33:17; Zechariah 14:9; Revelation 11:15

Rejoice in the many endeavors in our day that work to spread the gospel around the world. Resolve to do more personally to assist through prayer and financial support.

 

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!

All seemed dark and mysterious!

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(John MacDuff, "Loving Counsels" A New Years Address, 1868)

"On my bed I remember You; I think of You through the watches of the night." Psalm 63:6

Some of you can look back over this past year to a time of sickness, when you experienced divine help and consolation--when first you were summoned to retire from the busy throng, and from the scenes in which you delighted. All seemed dark and mysterious. The consciousness that health had departed--that disease was progressing--and that pain and weariness was confining you, as a prisoner, to the bed of suffering. All this pressed hard upon your spirit, and filled your soul with despondency and gloom. The trying dispensation, instead of appearing what it eventually proved--a precious blessing--seemed to be a dire and heavy calamity!

But He, who works His purposes of mercy and love towards His children, in a way often contrary to their expectations and plans--did not leave you to linger in darkness and despair. He came to you in the night watches--He made all your bed in your sickness--He brought promise upon promise to cheer your drooping spirit! He taught you that your sickness and suffering, were needed--to refine, elevate, and sanctify you! He taught you that He designed, thereby . . .
  to draw you nearer to Himself,
  to wean your affections from the world, and
  to bring your will into sweeter and more perfect harmony with His own!

Oh! surely, you have good reason, this day, to bless God for that bed of suffering--that couch of weakness, and those wearisome days, and long sleepless nights, if, thereby, you have . . .
  been enabled to realize more fully, that God is your all, your portion, your Father;
  been brought into closer relation, and more endeared intimacy, and fellowship with Jesus--the sympathizing Brother--the tender loving Friend;
  become more deeply sensible of the Holy Spirit's work within you--of His power to comfort, support, and sanctify you.

Looking back upon that eventful period, your feeling now is:
"Thank God for my trial-time of sickness--for calling me away from the busy throng, that I might be alone with Him! Thank God for teaching me . . .
  my own weakness--and His strength;
  my own emptiness--and His fullness;
  my own sinfulness--and His pardoning love;
  my own utter helplessness--and His upholding, comforting, and sustaining grace!

Thank God . . .
  that the anguish of that season of pain, distress, and suffering--was so often solaced by His love;
  that its loneliness was so often dispelled by His gracious presence;
  that its gloom was so often brightened with His smile;
  and that its calamity was so often sanctified by His grace!

Thank God that I can now sit loosely to the world, and feel, that I am only a stranger and a pilgrim in it, journeying to my heavenly home! Thank God that I can rest in the assurance of having One ever near, to whom I can reveal every doubt, and care, and perplexity--on whose arm I can confidingly lean in 'coming up from the wilderness;' from whose infinite fullness I can at all times obtain . . .
  strength for duty,
  patience for suffering,
  support under weakness,
  and comfort in the midst of sorrow!

His grace is 'sufficient' to bear me up amid all earthly trials and sorrows, temptations and infirmities--and His strength can guide and uphold me in duty, service, and suffering--until that blessed hour, when, the conflict ended, and the victory won--He shall conduct me safely to my eternal home!"

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Daily Promises

Blue Letter Bible
December 30, 2015

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:27-28)

If we are truly believers in Christ, then we will also be followers of Him. Because we believe in and follow Jesus, we will live eternally in heaven with Him. Once we have been saved, no one can take away our salvation!

Spurgeon & More Daily 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!

 

 

Amazing Grace – Inspiring Hymns for Daily Devotions

December 29

THERE’LL BE NO DARK VALLEY

William O. Cushing, 1823–1902

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:4)

There is a land of pure delight, where saints immortal reign;

Eternal day excludes the night, and pleasures banish pain.

—Isaac Watts

In every life there will be some “dark valleys.” Difficult days cannot be avoided. In fact, the lives of some believers seem to be filled with affliction and suffering. But for the child of God, there is glorious relief just ahead … the return of Christ and the promise of a land of endless delight. The prospect of Gods’ tomorrow also means a time of joyous reunion with loved ones who have preceded us. Truly “there’ll be songs of greeting when Jesus comes …”

William Orcutt Cushing knew the meaning of “dark valleys” in his life. After more than 20 years of successfully pastoring Disciples of Christ churches in the state of New York, he suddenly lost the ability to speak. Then his wife died at the age of 47. During this “valley period” Cushing became interested in hymn writing and wrote more than 300 hymn texts, including such other favorites as: “Under His Wings,” “When He Cometh,” and “Hiding in Thee.”

Ira David Sankey, the hymn’s composer, worked as a soloist and songleader with evangelist D. L. Moody for nearly 30 years in campaigns throughout the United States and the British Isles. “There’ll Be No Dark Valley” was widely used by Sankey in many of these meetings. The hymn’s simple repetitive message and singable melody still provide encouragement and comfort to God’s people.

There’ll be no dark valley when Jesus comes; there’ll be no dark valley when Jesus comes; there’ll be no dark valley when Jesus comes to gather His loved ones home.

There’ll be no more sorrow when Jesus comes; there’ll be no more sorrow when Jesus comes; but a glorious morrow when Jesus comes to gather His loved ones home.

There’ll be songs of greeting when Jesus comes; there’ll be songs of greeting when Jesus comes; and a joyful meeting when Jesus comes to gather His loved ones home.

Refrain: To gather His loved ones home, to gather His loved ones home; there’ll be no dark valley when Jesus comes to gather His loved ones home.

       For Today: 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17; 2 Peter 3:13, 14; Revelation 22:5, 12.

Hear these words of encouragement “I will come back and take you to be with me …” (John 14:1–3).

 

 

 

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”

 

If a man carried a bag of gunpowder with him!

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      (George Everard, "Heart-Work" 1871)

"Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23

Remember that the heart regulates the life. If the heart is right, then . . .
  the hands will do right--they will not steal or be idle, but do their work faithfully;
  the feet will move right, not going where they should not, standing in the way of sinners, or treading forbidden paths--but walking straight in the ways of godliness;
  the eyes will look right, not coveting forbidden fruit, or reading debasing literature--but spying out work that ought to be done, and looking kindly and pleasantly on those around;
the ears will hearken aright, not eagerly drinking in false reports, or the advice of those who have not yet learned to teach themselves--but ever willing to listen to a faithful reproof, or to a word of wise counsel;
  the lips will speak aright, not uttering words of slander, or falsehood, or folly--but words of truth and purity and love, words of earnest prayer and of grateful praise.

But HOW shall the heart be kept right?

1. First of all, remember that He  who made the heart, can alone fashion and dispose it to that which is good. Whatever is amiss, He knows how to remedy it:
  He gives it a new mainspring--He puts within it the love of Christ, instead of the love of the world;
  He sends His Holy Spirit to control and order its unruly passions and affections;
  He can cleanse it from all its defilements;
  When the chain is off the wheel, He can replace it--I mean, when something has turned our desires from their right object, He can restore them.

Then ask earnestly for grace, "Create in me a clean heart, O God! Incline my heart to Your testimonies! Let my heart be sound in Your statutes that I may honor You!"

But then, He bids us to be workers together with Him in this matter. There is that which He alone can do--but there is that which is our part by His grace to do also.

2. You must take care not to run into scenes of temptation. If a man carried a bag of gunpowder with him, he would be very careful not to go where sparks were flying about--he would feel that in a moment a spark might be his destruction.

Now your heart is very like that gunpowder--a little thing may set it all alight with evil passions! Words may be spoken that may arouse unholy thoughts or desires--therefore be careful. Never go near places where the devil is accustomed to come. Keep far away from the theater, the dancing-room, and never enter the bar of a tavern if you can avoid it.

3. You must watch against any evil thoughts lodging in your mind. You may not be able to prevent them arising, but endeavor to drive them away as soon as you can. A flock of birds may fly over your head--but you would not let them build a nest in your hair! Little flies or insects in summer are very troublesome sometimes--but you take pains to keep them from getting into your eyes, or irritating your face and hands. In the same way, watch against every bad thought.

Remember that among the thousands of thoughts that pass through your mind in a day, there is not one hidden from God! He understands your thoughts afar off, and in His sight the thought of foolishness is sin. Therefore be watchful--do not dwell on anything that may pollute the mind. Cast away murmuring thoughts, angry thoughts, impure thoughts--and pray that God would preserve you from them. "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be always acceptable in Your sight, O Lord!"

4. But to keep away thoughts that do harm--nourish thoughts that will do you good. "Finally, brothers . . .
  whatever is true,
  whatever is noble,
  whatever is right,
  whatever is pure,
  whatever is lovely,
  whatever is admirable,
  if anything is excellent or praiseworthy
--think about such things." Philippians 4:8

There is a good old proverb, "Fill the sack with wheat--and there will be no room for chaff!" Fill your heart with kind thoughts, grateful thoughts, holy thoughts--and you will be safe. Let God's thoughts which are given to us in the Bible--leaven all your thoughts. Hide in your heart the promises and precepts of His Word.

5. But above all, live in a spirit of prayer. Believe that God is always ready to hear you--and often go to Him for help. Draw near to God--and He will draw near to you. Nothing will keep your heart in a holy, happy frame, so much as prayer.

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Daily Promises

Blue Letter Bible
December 29, 2015

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-Four Years” 1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501 December 27, 2015            Newsletter Number 548 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, Ted O'Bonion, Larry Mollette II & Family, Kerry Pennington, Kim Poole, Danny & Nita Mollette, The Muncy Family,  Wendell Henderson, 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, Donna Johnson, James and Luann Reynolds, Timothy Fails, Nathan Fails, Jacob Ramsey, Jerry Hughes, Pastor G. L. Burr, Melody Carr, Janie Capps, Imajo Tracy, Linda Hughes, Roy Lemmon, Rosie Tomlin, James and Lynn Tomlin, Pat Abercrombie, Donna Jones, Diane Thomas, Brandy Sullivan, Gina Peel, Tammy Hairston and family, Brother Kelley and Sister Hinson, Manual Seymour, Sr, Brother Jerry and Sister Jean Dodson, Dewayne Sewell, The Harris Family, Teresa Bookout, LittleTitan Thomas (Trent and Tiffane Thomas child), 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 Thought From our Pastor:   Happy New Years; Keep Up The Work Of The Lord."And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come." Luke 19:13   Without a deep explanation of this passage, I will explain it significance to us in our time. As the Lord was leaving these ten servants and gave them some money (about 13 - 15 Dollars) to continue the business or as the Lord said it "...Occupy till I come." Now while this word "Occupy" means - to busy oneself with, that is, to trade - to us in the 21st Century it would mean to continue with the tools the Lord has given us to continue in His work until Jesus returns. Do not forget it was the leaders of the first church, (the church at Jerusalem) that the Lord Jesus commissioned and commanded to carry the gospel to every man, woman, and child in the world, and baptizing them as He saved them. This order has not changed, just because times are hard and it appears that maybe the Lord is ready to return we cannot let up. We must all, every believer in Jesus Christ and every church of Jesus Christ work until Jesus returns. We better be working hard when He does return. For Jesus to return and churches and believers not working hard would be a failure on our part. We all cannot look at the times, and see the ugliness and ungodliness of the world, these are they we should be going after. As the New Year's approaches let us all, churches and believers dedicate ourselves to work a little harder getting the gospel to the world. Let us think about this word "Occupy" and continue to move forward until Jesus returns. The Lord could return at anytime or He could wait a few more years. We simply do not know, but what we do know is what we are suppose to do until He returns. We are to use the talents He has given us all and to use them to reach a lost and dying world. I know as we look around the churches here in America we see a dwindling in church size and in salvations, however, this does not tell us to slack-up because the Lord is returning soon but rather it tells us we have a harder work to perform. The Lord said in Luke 19:14 "But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us." but Jesus never told them to stop or slow down, He rather told them to keep busy. The world will always hate the Lord and because they hate Him they will always hate the Christians and churches, however, the Lord continued until He allowed them to take His life. The Lord warned us of the wicked and spoke about their future in Psalms 92:6 - 7 "A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. (7.) When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:" A " brutish man" is a stupid man and they simply do not know the Lord, and this is the world in general. and this is the reason the world has waxed worse and worse. They simply do not know the Lord, nor do they know their destination, so while they seem to " flourish" as the spring grass and the church seem to be dwindling do not loose faith in the Lord's power to bring forth a true revival, even here in America. Now we might think and say the Lord is done and His return is imminent, but we do not know the will of God until He reveals it. Please pray with me and work with me to revive the church and believers hearts to work harder in the New Year to get the gospel out to more lost sinners than we did last year. Maybe a revival in America starts with a revival of the believers and churches. I believe God is still using us in a mighty way. Even though the talents may be fewer and less powerful, it doesn't take much for God to work, remember He built the world out us the breath of His mouth. Let us not forget, the Lord is returning, where will be in this work when He returns. Luke 19:15 "And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading."

A Thought For Your Week:   How Does Grace Save?      Practically all professing Christians profess to believe that salvation is by grace. You can hardly find a church member of any denomination who will out and out deny that salvation is by the grace of God. The Bible so oft en declares that salvation is by grace that few men will boldly deny it. But the trouble is that many think and speak of grace in such a way as to frustrate it. The grace they think and speak of is not grace at all. It is so mixed with human works and merit that it is (as Paul says) "no more grace."    There are some things of earth that no human pen or brush can do justice to--- such things as storms, rainbows, cataracts, sunsets, icebergs, snowflakes, dewdrops, etc. Because God made them, no man can properly describe them or paint them. And grace is something in God that no human tongue can do justice to; no man can give an adequate treatment of it. But, by grace, we can keep from frustrating grace in our own thinking and speaking and living. And none except the children of grace will honor grace in thought and word and deed.    It was only after Saul of Tarsus had been saved by grace that he said, "By the grace of God I am what I am." Paul thus gave grace the credit for his conversion. A great change had taken place in his thoughts and affections and ambitions, and he attributes this change to the grace of God. He once believed in salvation by works and profited in the Jewish religion above many men of his age, but it pleased God to call him by His grace, and reveal His Son Jesus in him (Gal. 1:14). He once knew Christ after the flesh and hated Him---he once had a carnal or fleshly conception of Christ and looked upon Him as an imposter and boasted that he would be separated from Him; but since grace wrought in his heart, he delights to say, "For to me, to live is Christ." He was once ambitious for worldly honors and human praise, but since grace wrought his conversion he was ambitious to be well-pleasing to Christ. By C. D. Cole You can read this complete article at: http://gracebbc.dyndns.org:81/colegrace.html

Church News:   Happy New Years to everyone this next Friday January 01, 2016   Happy Birthday to Sister Donna Johnson On Saturday January 02

Quote for The Week:   "Until a miracle of grace be wrought upon him, no soul can have a feeling sense of his lost condition. For until then, he is deaf to God’s calls, and without any godly sorrow for sin." - Arthur Pink

 

Spurgeon & More Daily Devotions December 28th

Morning, December 28

 

“The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God.”

Galatians 2:20

Charles Spurgeon

When the Lord in mercy passed by and saw us in our blood, he first of all said, “Live”; and this he did first, because life is one of the absolutely essential things in spiritual matters, and until it be bestowed we are incapable of partaking in the things of the kingdom. Now the life which grace confers upon the saints at the moment of their quickening is none other than the life of Christ, which, like the sap from the stem, runs into us, the branches, and establishes a living connection between our souls and Jesus. Faith is the grace which perceives this union, having proceeded from it as its firstfruit. It is the neck which joins the body of the Church to its all-glorious Head.

 

“Oh Faith! thou bond of union with the Lord,

Is not this office thine? and thy fit name,

In the economy of gospel types,

And symbols apposite—the Church’s neck;

Identifying her in will and work

With him ascended?”

 

Faith lays hold upon the Lord Jesus with a firm and determined grasp. She knows his excellence and worth, and no temptation can induce her to repose her trust elsewhere; and Christ Jesus is so delighted with this heavenly grace, that he never ceases to strengthen and sustain her by the loving embrace and all-sufficient support of his eternal arms. Here, then, is established a living, sensible, and delightful union which casts forth streams of love, confidence, sympathy, complacency, and joy, whereof both the bride and bridegroom love to drink. When the soul can evidently perceive this oneness between itself and Christ, the pulse may be felt as beating for both, and the one blood as flowing through the veins of each. Then is the heart as near heaven as it can be on earth, and is prepared for the enjoyment of the most sublime and spiritual kind of fellowship.

 

 

Amazing Grace – Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions

December 28

CHRIST RETURNETH!

H. L. Turner, 19th century

I will come again, and receive you unto Myself. (John 14:3 KJV)

The promise of Christ’s return has been a source of much comfort to God’s people through the centuries. However, it has also caused disagreement and even some divisions within the church. Not all Bible students and groups of Christians are agreed on the outline of future events. Even a casual acquaintance with the study of eschatology (the doctrine of the last things) will soon introduce such conflicting terms and interpretations as postmillennialism, amillennialism, premillennialism, posttribulation, midtribulation, and pretribulation.

Each of these positions has the support of excellent biblical scholarship and many sincere Christian followers. It is easy for believers to get confused with the many aspects of Christ’s return.

Although Christians may disagree on some of the specifics related to future prophecy, most will agree on these basics: Christ will return personally—Acts 1:11; His return will be visible—Revelation 1:7; He will come in power and glory—Mark 13:26; and His coming will consummate His salvation and judgment—John 5:21–29; Hebrews 9:27, 28. The anticipation of Christ’s coming places a responsibility upon believers both individually and corporately even now: To live lives of purity (1 John 3:3) and to be involved in getting the gospel to every nation before His return (Matthew 24:14; Mark 13:10).

“Christ Returneth” first appeared in Ira D. Sankey’s Gospel Hymns, No. 3 in 1878. It has since been widely used to impress and challenge God’s people with the truth of the imminent return of their Lord.

 

 

Evening, December 28

 

“I came not to send peace on earth, but a sword.”

Matthew 10:34

Charles Spurgeon

The Christian will be sure to make enemies. It will be one of his objects to make none; but if to do the right, and to believe the true, should cause him to lose every earthly friend, he will count it but a small loss, since his great Friend in heaven will be yet more friendly, and reveal himself to him more graciously than ever. O ye who have taken up his cross, know ye not what your Master said? “I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother; and a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” Christ is the great Peacemaker; but before peace, he brings war. Where the light cometh, the darkness must retire. Where truth is, the lie must flee; or, if it abideth, there must be a stern conflict, for the truth cannot and will not lower its standard, and the lie must be trodden under foot. If you follow Christ, you shall have all the dogs of the world yelping at your heels. If you would live so as to stand the test of the last tribunal, depend upon it the world will not speak well of you. He who has the friendship of the world is an enemy to God; but if you are true and faithful to the Most High, men will resent your unflinching fidelity, since it is a testimony against their iniquities. Fearless of all consequences, you must do the right. You will need the courage of a lion unhesitatingly to pursue a course which shall turn your best friend into your fiercest foe; but for the love of Jesus you must thus be courageous. For the truth’s sake to hazard reputation and affection, is such a deed that to do it constantly you will need a degree of moral principle which only the Spirit of God can work in you; yet turn not your back like a coward, but play the man. Follow right manfully in your Master’s steps, for he has traversed this rough way before you. Better a brief warfare and eternal rest, than false peace and everlasting torment.

Search the Scriptures!

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      (George Everard, "A Talk about the Family Bible" 1878)

The word Bible signifies Book; and when we call it the Bible, we mean that it is the Book of books--the best Book, the wisest Book, the Book that will do us the most good of any in the world!

If all the other books in the world were destroyed, however great and irreparable the loss--if men still had the Bible, they would be far better off than if this were destroyed and all other books remained.

It is the Book that alone can tell . . .
  how sin can be forgiven,
  how temptation can be overcome,
  how trouble and sorrow can be met,
  how tears can be wiped away, and
  how death can be the gate of everlasting life.

It is indeed the best companion . . .
  for days of trial,
  for the day of sickness, and
  for the hour when we must part from all below!

Oh what a treasure is a well-read Bible! It is . . .
  a mine of gold,
  a hive full of honey,
  a field covered with a rich harvest.
It is a tree of life, of which every twig bears precious fruit.
It is an ocean full of pearls.
It is a river full of the purest water of life.
It is a sun whose beams warm and cheer the heart.
It is a bright star that can guide the pilgrim through the darkest night.
It is a granary stored with the finest of the wheat.
It is a medicine-chest, from which we may find a remedy for every malady of the soul.
It is a Mount Pisgah, from which we can view the promised land of Canaan.
All this and much more, is the Bible to those who love to search it and explore the depths of heavenly wisdom which it contains.

Dear reader, whatever you forget, never, never forget to read something out of this precious Book day by day.
The Scriptures warn against . . .
  the fear of man,
  the allurements of worldly pleasures,
  the snare of pride, and
  the temptation of doubt and unbelief.

Search the Scriptures! Whatever you have done hitherto, begin now to search them daily as for hidden treasures!
Go deep into this precious mine.
Ponder what you read.
Compare one part with another.
Compare the commands and precepts with your own daily life.
Bring its promises to bear on your heart and temptations.

When we read the Scriptures, we should pay good heed to it. There are depths and heights in many of the simplest verses, that we can never reach. Therefore we ought to turn them over again and again in our minds. We must mark, learn, and inwardly digest them. A few verses or even a single verse well thought over, and still better, well prayed over--will bring more profit and help than many chapters listlessly or carelessly read!

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Daily Promises

Blue Letter Bible
December 28, 2015

[[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!

What is to be our resource in the hour of affliction and sorrow?

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      (George Everard, "Family Sorrows" 1882)

What is to be our resource in the hour of affliction and sorrow?

There is one passage of Scripture that has been to me an anchor of hope and strength in many a dark and sorrowful day, and I desire that it might be cherished in the memory of each reader, and its guidance followed when trouble comes: "Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully." 1 Peter 5:7 (Amplified version)

Go then to the mercy-seat in the Savior's name, and bring your whole care and sorrow, and leave it at your Father's footstool.

Consider His Fatherly HEART. "He cares for you." As a father pities his children, yes "as one whom his mother comforts"--so tenderly does the Lord deal with those who fear Him and trust in Him.

Consider His Fatherly HAND. It is the hand of love that smites. It is the hand that has bestowed our every mercy--which holds the cup of sorrow. It is the same hand that in due season will remove our trials, and lift us up from our depths of distress, and set us again on the rock of safety and peace.

Consider His Fatherly EYE. It is ever upon us for good, and not for evil. He knows our sorrow, and beholds every affliction and calamity that befalls us. "Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him, upon those who hope in His mercy."

Consider His Fatherly EAR. He hears every sigh, every moaning, every cry. He bows down and inclines His ear to every petition. "His ear is open to our prayer."

Consider His Fatherly PURPOSE. Read the twelfth chapter of Hebrews, and see how He wills only our good. He would make us "partakers of His holiness." He would purify us from the dross of our corruptions, and make us fit for His presence.

Consider His Fatherly PROMISE. He has promised that He will "never leave us nor forsake us." He has promised that He will make "all things work together for good to those who love Him." "He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

Ah, Christian, trust yourself wholly to your Father's care, and He will not disappoint your confidence!

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