Friday 30 June 2017

If you admit a pig into your parlor among your friends

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"Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful--but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life!" Revelation 21:27
If we do not exactly know the particulars of what Heaven is--then we know to a certainty what it is not. We are sure that it is not like earth--there are no ale-houses, gambling parlors, or theaters there.

How then could those whose hearts are set upon these things--possibly be happy even in Heaven, where they would be separated forever from all that they love? Heaven must be a Hell to an unhumbled, unsanctified sinner--even if he could be admitted there. The company, the employments, the enjoyments--are of the same kind with what he despised on earth. If you admit a pig into your parlor among your friends--he would find no pleasure there. He would rather be in the sty, or wallowing in the mire in a ditch!

Well, such were some of us--yes, such were all of us once! And you, my dear friends, though you were not vile profligates like me--you were carelessly swimming down the stream of the world, and, when upon the edge of the whirlpool which would have eternally swallowed you up--He snatched you with a strong hand, set your feet upon a rock, established your goings, and has put a new song in your mouth!
"By the grace of God I am what I am!" 1 Corinthians 15:10
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Daily Promises


Blue Letter Bible
June 30, 2017
As far as the east is from the west, [so] far hath he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)
My prayer: Father, I stand in complete amazement of Your unrelenting love for Your children. Thank You for the blood of Your Son and the eternal grace that You pour out upon us. It seems so unbelievable that You choose to remove and forget our many transgressions against you. Yet You do just that! Make us worthy of Your remarkable mercy and grace.

Morning Devotional June 30, 2017

John 8:12

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”



O child of God, are you following the Lord today or are you following the ways of the world? Are you following the light or are you following the darkness? Jesus instructed His people to follow Him and only Him. Yet we see so many who claim the name of Jesus following after the ways of this old sinful world.
In our sinful state we would rather follow the darkness of this world. But, Jesus saved us from that sinful state and has brought us into the light. Yet, as rebellious children we are drawn back into our life. And O what a struggle it is to flee the temptations of this life. O how satan uses those temptations to draw us from the light.
Our best defense in these times is to stay in God's Word and to be continually in prayer with our Heavenly Father.
O unsaved soul, are you tired of walking in the darkness? Has the Holy Spirit of God been convicting you about your sinful ways? Are you starting to desire to come into the light? When Jesus calls, answer. When the Great Shepherd finds you in the snares of this old world, do not resist. Do not try to hide. Step into His light. Believe on His name. Repent of your sin. Fall at His feet and worship Him.



Praise ye the Lord!!!

Stephen McCool Sr.

Thursday 29 June 2017

He who gave--has an undoubted right to take away!

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(John Newton's Letters)

"Naked I came from my mother's womb--and naked I will depart. The LORD gave--and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." Job 1:21

Believers are free from condemnation--but not free from pain, sickness, poverty, losses, crosses, sudden trying changes, and what we call premature death. These trials give occasion for the exercise and manifestation of many graces which are not so visible in the sunshine of prosperity. Our trials are further sanctified, to wean the people of God more from the world, and to weaken the body of sin which still dwells in them.

He who gave--has an undoubted right to take away. We are sure that His sovereignty is combined with His infinite wisdom and goodness--and that, when He crosses our wishes, no less than when He grants them--He does all things well! He does not afflict without a need-be--neither will He permit a trial to continue longer than is necessary. Be still, my soul, and know that He is God!

You are in the best hands--and I leave you with Him who loves you and will make all things work for your final benefit.

Oh, the mercy to be enabled to trust ourselves and those whom we love--to Him, and to see them confiding in Him likewise and resigned to His wise disposal. This all-sufficient God can and does make His people more than equal to any and every trial He appoints for them.

But I am a poor creature--and am daily learning that without Him I can do nothing.
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Daily Promises


Blue Letter Bible
June 29, 2017
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)
Praise the Almighty King! May all glory be given to the Father who is conforming us to His righteousness. In spite of our wicked sin nature, God takes great joy to mold our hearts into His beautiful uprightness. For we are also promised that every good work in us comes from Him for the purpose of His honour (Hebrews 13:21).

Morning Devotional June 29, 2017

Isaiah 55:8-9

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”



In these verses God puts mankind in his place. God makes it clear that man is much lower than our Creator. O the audacity of man to think he can be as mighty as the God of Heaven!!! O how blasphemes for man to even think he can function on his own without intervention from God.
Since the fall of Adam, man has tried to free himself from his Creator. Yet we are helpless in this endeavor. God has proven to us over and over that we can do nothing without His approval. O how easily we forget it was God who gave Adam dominion over the earth. This was not Adam acting on his own. Nor was it Adam taking this dominion from God. It was given to Adam as a responsibility to be a good steward of God's creation. But after the fall, because of man's sin, he lost all communion with God. Only through God's grace and by the faith God put in man could man once again commune with his Creator. And all this only by God's election and choosing for Himself a remnant. A chosen people He has prepared for Himself. A people so precious to Him that He sent His only begotten Son to be the sacrifice that would cover all their sin from the fall of Adam till they are called home to be with Him.
If you are reading this today and you are not saved look to Christ. Fore through Him only will you find true peace and joy in this life. If His Holy Spirit is convicting you of your sin and pointing out all your faults and has put a desire in you to seek help, believe on the name of Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.

Luke 5:32

I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”



Acts 3:19
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”



Acts 4:12

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”






Praise ye the Lord!!!

Stephen McCool Sr.

Wednesday 28 June 2017

I bequeath my pastor's soul to the devil!

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(Thomas Brooks, "A Word in Season to Suffering Saints")

"Covetousness, which is idolatry." Colossians 3:5

Covetousness is explicit idolatry.

Covetousness is the darling sin of our nation.
Covetousness being idolatry--is highly provoking to God.

This leprosy has infected all sorts and ranks of men.

Whatever a man loves most and best--that is his god. The covetous man looks upon the riches of the world as his Heaven--his happiness--his great ALL.
  His heart is most upon the world,
  his thoughts are most upon the world,
  his affections are most upon the world,
  his discourse is most about the world.

He who has his mind taken up with the world, and chiefly delighted with the world's music--he has also his tongue tuned to the same key, and takes his joy and comfort in speaking of the world and worldly things. If the world is in the heart--it will break out at the lips. A worldly-minded man speaks mostly of worldly things. "They are of the world, therefore they speak of the world," John 4:5. The love of this world oils the tongue for worldly discourses, and makes men . . .
  forget God,
  neglect Christ,
  despise holiness,
  forfeit Heaven.

Ah! the time, the thoughts, the strength, the efforts--which are spent upon the world, and the things of the world--while sinners' souls lie a-bleeding, and eternity is hastening upon them!

I have read of a greedy banker, who was always best when he was most in talking of money and the world. Being near his death, he was much pressed to make his WILL. Finally he dictates:

First, I bequeath my own soul to the devil--for being so greedy for the muck of this world!

Secondly, I bequeath my wife's soul to the devil--for persuading me to this worldly course of life.

Thirdly, I bequeath my pastor's soul to the devil--because he did not show me the danger I lived in, nor reprove me for it!

"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction!" 1 Timothy 6:9
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Day by Day by Grace


Bob Hoekstra
June 28, 2017
God's Promise to Deliver Israel
"I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt…I will certainly be with you…I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt…to a land flowing with milk and honey…So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go." (Exodus 3:10, 12, 17, 20)
Again, we see our God of promises pouring out His guaranteed plans like a cascading waterfall. They include God's promise to deliver Israel. These promises build upon God's fundamental commitment to Abraham to call out a people for His own glory and purposes. The central promise reveals the rescuing heart of God, who wants to deliver people from bondage, and bring them into blessing. "I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt… to a land flowing with milk and honey."
Our God is a God of compassion. When Israel was in cruel bondage in Egypt, God's heart was moved with concern. "And the LORD said: 'I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows'" (Exodus 3:7). The prophet Isaiah put it this way. "In all their affliction He was afflicted" (Isaiah 63:9). Thus, the Lord committed Himself to deliver them. "So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go."
When the Lord Jesus walked upon this earth, He demonstrated the same compassion. "But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). This same loving compassion led Jesus all the way to the cross to deliver us from the bondage of sin.
The delivering work of God for Israel was not only from bondage; it was to substantial blessing: "to a land flowing with milk and honey." Israel was not only rescued from great heartache, but they were brought into a joyous bounty. When Joshua and Caleb saw the land, they described it as "an exceedingly good land" (Numbers 14:7). This same pattern (from bondage to blessing) is how Jesus works on our behalf. He delivers us from spiritual death to fullness of life. "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
Dear Lord, my Deliverer, I praise You for rescuing me from the bondage of sin. I rejoice that You have brought me into the richness of fellowship with You. What a gracious plan You have provided—to make all of this available by means of Your faithful promises!

Tuesday 27 June 2017

Those tokens of divine love!

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(John Newton's Letters)

"Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning--but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure." Ecclesiastes 7:3-4

Every day almost I meet with new occasions of admiring the wisdom, care, and faithfulness of our great Shepherd--as He adjusts His dispensations exactly to our need and state.

When the enemy is spreading a snare for our feet, when our deceitful hearts are beginning to start aside, when we have perhaps actually taken some steps in that path which, if persisted in, might terminate in apostasy--oh then, how gracious, how seasonable, how beneficial--are those tokens of divine love (called afflictions in the language of mortals) which He sends to break the snare, to check our progress in sin, and to recall our wandering feet into the path of duty and peace!

How many turns of my life can I recollect of which, though at the time they were not joyous but grievous, I may now say, "I would have perished--if I had not been made wretched!"
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"Sadness is often a happy means of seriousness. That affliction which is impairing to the health, estate, and family--may be improving to the mind, and make such impressions upon it as may alter its temperament very much for the better. Afflictions tend may make the heart . . .
  humble and meek,
  loose from the world,
  penitent for sin,
  and careful in duty.
It will follow, on the contrary, that by foolish mirth, the heart is made worse--more vain, more carnal, more sensual, more in love with the world, and more estranged from God and spiritual things." Matthew Henry
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Daily Promises


Blue Letter Bible
June 27, 2017
The steps of a [good] man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth [him with] his hand. I have been young, and [now] am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. [He is] ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed [is] blessed. (Psalm 37:23-26)
Never shall the Lord forsake the righteous. Never shall the bride of Christ want for any good thing. The Lord is kind and merciful and will always see fit to bless His people whom He loves so dearly. Rejoice in and give thanks for the Lord's constancy! He shall never fail and we shall never be ashamed.

Morning Devotional June 27, 2017

Isaiah 6:8

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”



I will be speaking to the men of God who are reading this today.
Are you willing to go if the Lord were to call today? Where are you willing to go? When are you willing to go? Do you have your own stipulations on when and where you will go? Or are you waiting on the Lord to make the way? There is a difference.
So many of God's men are so consumed with the ideas of the world or by the suggestions of friends and family that when the Lord does call they have no desire to go.
Notice in the sixth chapter of Isaiah, Isaiah does not hesitate nor does he question the Lord. When the question is asked by the Lord “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Isaiah immediately says “Here am I; send me.”
How many godly men do we all know who are well versed in God's Word and seem to have a desire to share with others the knowledge our Lord has given them of His Word? But when asked if they will go to pastor or will they go to the mission field, they say “not me”. And we hear every excuse for why they won't go or in their eyes, why they can't go. Whether it is their family or their job, or the worldly comforts they are accustom too. Most are not willing to leave behind the riches and comforts of this world for a life of living strictly by faith in God for their every need.
What good does it do us to have a knowledge of God's Word if we are not willing to use it to His glory? How many of the Lord's churches are starving and many even dying out because no one will go?
I challenge you all to think on these things. If God has given you a desire to teach His Word and to share the knowledge He has given you then is He calling you to go or has He something right where you are? Are you willing to go as did Isaiah and the other prophets in the Old Testament and the Apostles and other men were in the New Testament? Or will you set back and keep the riches of God's Word to yourself?



Praise ye the Lord!!!

Stephen McCool Sr.

Friday 23 June 2017

They were once like us--sorrowing, suffering, sinning!

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"Oh magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!" Very wonderful have His dealings been with me, since the day when He took me by the hand to bring me out of Egypt.
We have nothing that we can properly call our own--but sin and misery!
I wish to be more thankful for what the Lord has been to me--but I long to rise a step higher still, to be enabled to contemplate His character, as displayed by the cross of Christ, so that I may continually admire and adore Him for what He is in Himself. He would have been great and glorious, wise, powerful, holy, and gracious--though I had never been brought into existence, or had been left to eternally perish in my sin as I deserved.
The redeemed before the throne--look how they shine! Hark how they sing! They were not always as they are now. They were once like us--sorrowing, suffering, sinning! But He has washed them from their sins in His own blood--and wiped away their tears with His own nail-pierced hands!
"All glory to Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding His blood for us! All glory and power to Him forever and ever! Amen." Revelation 1:5-6
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Daily Promises


Blue Letter Bible
June 23, 2017
And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with you. Amen. (Romans 16:20)
Soon. Soon the end of the age. Soon the victory shall be won. Our great foe shall meet his end—this is assured! Nevermore shall we be assailed. We shall at last be at rest. It is promised. Alleluia

Thursday 22 June 2017

Give the devil and sin an inch!

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(Ralph Venning, "The Plague of Plagues!" 1669)

Beware of such sins as the world calls little sins! They say: "What harm is there in an innocent lie?" Alas, what a contradiction this is! Can a lie be innocent? One says, "Oh, it is only a trick of youth!" Yes, but it is such a trick as may cost you going to Hell! Another "deceives his neighbor and says: I am only joking!" Proverbs 26:19. Yes, but he who sins in jest or makes a jest of sin--may be damned in earnest!

Consider that no sin against a great God, can be strictly a little sin--though compared with a greater one, it may be. But however little it is--to account it so, makes it greater.

The nature of the greater sin is in the least sin. A spark of fire, or a drop of poison--have the nature of much more sin.
God has severely punished sins that have been looked upon as little sins, indeed, some of them well-meant sins--as when Uzzah took hold of the Ark when the cart shook (2 Samuel 6:6,7). When men only looked into the Ark--it cost them dearly! "The LORD killed seventy men from Beth-shemesh because they looked into the Ark of the LORD!" (1 Samuel 6:19). Gathering a few sticks on the Sabbath was severely punished! (Numbers 15:32-36).
These seem to be small matters--but in sin, we must not consider so much what is forbidden--as why it is forbidden, and who forbids it.

Besides, a little sin makes way for a greater sin--just as a little boy-thief entering a house, makes way for a man-thief to enter.

It is hard to sin once and only once--to commit one little sin and only one. Give the devil and sin an inch--and they will take a mile! Vain babbling increases to more ungodliness. A little leak in a ship, may by degrees fill it with water and sink it. The Devil does not much care by what sins we go to Hell, whether small--or great; whether by religious formality--or open immorality.

If a man makes no conscience of little sins, to which the temptations can be only little--then how little conscience is he likely to make of great sins, to which there are greater temptations?

If Judas betrays his Lord for thirty pieces of silver--then what would he not do for more?

Beware then of little sins!
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Daily Promises


Blue Letter Bible
June 22, 2017
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14)
Take heart in the evident promise of your salvation: that always and forever shall your soul be filled to overflowing with abundant and eternal life! Never shall you thirst. Never shall you dry up. Never shall your soul be parched. Rather take joy in this: unto everlasting shall your heart's thirst be quenched as rivers of God's living water pour down from heaven as you bask in the glory of God's own Son: Christ Jesus.

Tuesday 20 June 2017

Father knows best!

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(John Newton's Letters)

"My times are in Your hands!"
Psalm 31:15

This world seems all uncertainty--yet all is under the unspeakably gracious and infallibly wise direction of our Heavenly Father.

Oh! This is the great thing to be desired--to be savingly interested in the promise which engages that all things shall work together for our good--to give us a fitness for the inheritance of the saints in light, so that at last we may attain to His eternal joy. That will make rich amends for all the trials we can meet with along the way.

Our heavenly Father knows best, what is good for us. Oh, for grace to yield ourselves simply and cheerfully to His wise management. Hitherto He has helped us, and all His paths have been mercy and truth. What reasons have we to praise Him for the past--and to trust Him for the rest!

The Lord knows, and He permits me to tell Him what I feel or fear or wish. But when I have done so, it befits me to submit all to Him and to say, "Not my will--but may Your will be done." I aim to say this from my heart, and to account it not only my duty--but my privilege to prefer His choice to my own.

The Lord graciously adjusts all our concerns--and it is our privilege to peaceably and thankfully submit to His judicious management. Our times are in His hands. Vastly more than we are aware of, depends upon the Lord's wise controlling of all our affairs. Is it not a comfort to a blind man, to have an unfailing guide whom he may fully and safely trust?

May we be willing to leave all our concerns in His skillful and faithful hands--to live to Him and for Him today, and to trust Him for the events of tomorrow.

Oh how happy we are--when we can leave all in His nail-pierced hands!
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The time is short--our obligations are unspeakably great--and Heaven will make amends for all!

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(John Newton's Letters)

"Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows." John 16:33

Every step we take, brings us nearer to our Father's house! We shall soon be at Home--where the wicked cannot trouble, and where the weary are at rest.

How wisely the Lord varies His dispensations!

They are not all painful--lest we should be too much cast down.

Nor are they all pleasant--lest we should forget what and where we are.

Nor do our troubles come all at once. They are parceled out at different intervals, that one wound may be well healed before another is inflicted.

The Lord has wise reasons for all that He does--and we shall, before long, know them more clearly. In short, He does all things well! May we even now be thankful and yield a sweet submission to His holy will. He has a sovereign right to dispose of us as He pleases--and He has promised that He shall work all together for our good.

He has promised us peace in Himself--but in the world, He bids us to expect many trials and sorrows. The same or equal or greater afflictions--are common to all His people. We would never say, "This is too hard!" if we considered that we are sinners, and therefore always suffer less than we deserve.

The time is short--our obligations are unspeakably great--and Heaven will make amends for all! Surely then we should cheerfully, yes thankfully, take up our crosses, and follow our Lord--since we are assured that if we suffer with Him and for Him, we shall also reign with Him. Time flies apace, and past troubles will return no more. Every pulse we feel, beats a sharp moment of the pain away--and the last stroke will soon come. Then sorrow and sighing shall flee away--and joy and gladness shall come forth to conduct us Home! That time will come--yes, it is drawing nearer every hour!
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Daily Promises


Blue Letter Bible
June 20, 2017
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Give over every concern to the loving and sovereign hand of the Lord. Only He can answer your heart's cry from the vast wealth of His heavenly bounty. Trust in Him. Lean on Him. And He will lead you into all righteousness.
Sovereign Grace Missionary Baptist Church
"Where The Truths Of God’s Word Have Been Taught For More Than Fifty-Five Years”
1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501
June 17, 2017          
 Newsletter Number 624
Brother Randy Johnson, Pastor                   Brother Ronnie Henderson Sr., Song Leader
Pastor E-Mail: pastor@sgmbaptist.com                                          Web Site: www.sgmbaptist.com
“A Church Seeking To Please God In Prayer, Song, Preaching, And Worship.”
Please Join Us As We Pray For:
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, Tyrell Loyd, Bonnie, Ted O'Bonion, Larry Mollette II & Family, Kerry Adcock, Kim Poole, Danny & Nita Mollette, The Muncy Family, Lee & Mary Mollette, 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, Vickie Adkins, 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, Linda Hughes, Donna Jones, Brandy Sullivan, Gina, Brother Kelley and Sister Hinson, Manual Seymour, Sr, The Harris Family, The Morris Family, Teresa Bookout, Little Titan Thomas (Trent and Tiffane Thomas child), James – Diane and Brooke Thomas, Jace Fails, Steve Sparks, Sister Ann McSwain, Brother Archie and Barbra Griffin, Brandy’s Mother, Elaine Sparks, James daughter’s mother-in-law, Rick McCloskey’s brother, David Leman, Danny Hammond,  Brother Curtis Pugh, Brother Dan Sullivan the work in Thailand, Brother Raul and the work in Romania, Bro. Sergey Mochalov and the Churches in Russia.

A Thought From our Pastor:

Abstain!“Abstain from all appearance of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:22
 
One of the greatest problems of believers in Jesus Christ is to abstain from evil, but God has demanded of us to do it. While we are yet sinners even while in the gracious salvation of God. No human is perfect and we should never expect another to be perfect. God warned us through the Apostle Paul, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Romans 12:3 As Christians we must think soberly because it is easy for proud believers to tend to believe that somehow they are more highly and more respectfully above others. But as we think soberly and not thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought, we should remember that we are all sinners saved by the grace of God. And as sinners none of us are better than the other. We must believe that all the goodness in us if in Jesus Christ and given to us by the holy Spirit through the grace of the Father. Paul went on to say in Romans 12:3b “…according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”  We must understand that God deals with us independently of each other. It is God that takes a single lump of clay and molds each of us the way He chooses too. One He may give many gifts of grace, another somewhat less, and some He may have made them a vessel for destruction. There is not injustice with God He has the right to do as He please, just as you would if you created something. Therefore, the more you know, the stronger you are, is the more blessed with Gods “measure of faith”. Therefore, I believe it is wrong to be critical of one who lacks the graces you do. However, lacking grace, faith, and understanding is one thing, but to disobey God is another. Christians often get themselves into trouble by knowingly disobeying God. Even the simplest believer knows it is wrong to disobey God. Therefore, it is our job to avoid sin in our lives and to worship God with all our being. God warns us throughout His word to avoid evil and sin. We should not be around it, nor be a part of it so that we are not tempted. The less temped you are the less likely you are to disobey God.
 
Now to our main point. We are not only to avoid sin but we are also to avoid putting ourselves in a place that even looks like sin. Notice exactly what God said “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” In other words, don’t put yourself in a position that it is going to make you look like you are sinning. Let me use this example, if you are sitting in a bar where drinks are served, one might assume you are consuming alcohol, and if you are sitting with a pretty woman one might assume you are with her instead of your wife. Now all of this is assumption, but you are going to be mad it someone claims they saw you. But here is the question, who’s fault is the misunderstanding? It is yours for allowing yourself to be seen in “…appearance of evil.” We don’t need to forget that God also told us “That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.” 1 Thessalonians 4:12 How are we walking honestly before them if we are walking with them? Folk’s don’t sit with sinners unless you want to look like one of them. Regardless of the measure of faith that God has given to us, we all know by faith alone to avoid sin, and here God tells us to even avoid the appearance of it. I finish with this thought, please read it very careful. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians 4:8
 
EVERY MAN HAS A SOULBy Elder Milburn Cockrell (from his article called, “The Loss Of The Soul”
 
   What is a soul? It is the spiritual, the best and most noble part of man, and it is distinct from the body. It is the immortal part of a man which allies him with angels and God who are spirits. Speaking of the immortality of the soul, Jesus Christ said: "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28). Luke records Him saying: "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do" (12:4).
   According to Jesus Christ, man may go so far as to kill the body, but here the power of man ends. Christ clearly distinguishes between the state of the body and the state of the soul. The state of the soul would not be different at death, if the soul sleeps after death as does the body. Jesus Christ taught that a soul could be lost but not annihilated.
   The soul outlives the body and is superior to the body. When Rachel died at the birth of Benjamin it is said that "her soul was in departing" (Gen. 35:18). Here we see death is the departure of the soul from the body to the world of the spirits. When Elijah wanted the dead child to come back to life he prayed: "O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again" (I Kings 17:21). The Lord answered Elijah's prayer, "and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived" (v. 22). Here again we see the soul left the body at death and existed separated from the body. This proves its immortality. Then we see that this immortal soul returned to the body of the child and the child lived. If the soul can exist separated from the body, it is not the same as the body.
   The powers and properties of the soul are amazing. The soul retains its powers when the body is mutilated or destroyed. This demonstrates its superiority to the body. The soul is capable of thought and reflection, matter is not. It has power to contemplate God's being as well as His government over the world. The soul is capable of enjoying the friendship of God and of reciprocating His love.
   The body is the house of the soul (II Cor. 5:1; Job 4:19; 13:12). The body is compared to the house, and the soul to him that lives in the house. Man is more noble than the house he lives in, so is the soul more noble than the body. The body is the clothing or garment of the soul (II Cor. 5:2-4), and we know that the body is more than raiment (Matt. 6:25). As clothing is worth less than the body, so the body is worth less than the soul that it covers. The body is a tabernacle in which the soul worships God (II Cor. 5:1; II Pet. 1:14), and a worshipper is more honorable than the place of worship (Heb. 3:3). Even so the soul is more honorable than the body. 
 
Church News:
Happy Birthday Brother Larry Mollette Friday June 23rd                       

Thursday 15 June 2017

You will see the reason

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(Edward Payson, 1783-1827)

"What I am doing you do not understand now--but afterward you will understand!" John 13:7

Above all, I would say to the Christian: Never distrust the kindness, the love, the wisdom and faithfulness of your Savior--but confide in Him who has promised that all things shall work together for your good. Though you may not now know what He is doing--you shall know hereafter. You will see the reason for . . .
  all the trials and temptations,
  all the dark and comfortless hours,
  all the distressing doubts and fears,
  all the long and tedious conflicts with which you are now exercised.
You will be convinced that not a sigh, not a tear, not a single uneasy thought was ever allotted to you--without some wise and gracious design.

Say not, then, like Jacob of old, "All these things are against me!"
Say not, like David, "I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul!"
For all these things are for your good--and you shall never perish, neither shall any pluck you out of Christ's hand!

Why should you, who are sons of the King of Heaven--be lean and discontented from day to day? Remember that you are the heir of God and joint heir with Christ--of an incorruptible, eternal, and unfading inheritance!

Go to Jesus, the compassionate Savior of sinners, who heals the broken in heart, who gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. Go, I say, to Him!
Tell Him all your griefs and sorrows!
Tell Him that your souls cleave to the dust!
Tell Him that iniquities, doubts, and fears prevail against you!
Tell Him that you are poor and miserable and wretched and blind and naked.

Go to His mercy-seat, where He sits as a merciful High Priest. Go and embrace His feet, lay open your whole hearts--and you will find Him infinitely more gracious than you can conceive; infinitely more willing to grant your requests, than you are to make them. He is love itself--it is His very nature to pity.

Have you a hard heart? Carry it to Him--and He will soften it.

Have you a blind mind? Carry it to Him--and He will enlighten it.

Are you oppressed with a load of guilt? Carry it to Him--and He will remove it.

Are you defiled and polluted? He will wash you in His own blood.

Have you backslidden? "Turn unto Me," says He, "O backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings."

How great are the privileges which result from an ability to say, "Christ is mine!"
If Christ is yours--then all that He possesses is yours!
  His power is yours--to defend you!
  His wisdom and knowledge are yours--to guide you!
  His righteousness is yours--to justify you!
  His Spirit and grace are yours--to sanctify you!
  His Heaven is yours--to receive you!

You will never live happily or usefully--until you can feel that Christ, and all that He possesses, are yours--and learn to come and take them as your own!
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Daily Promises


Blue Letter Bible
June 15, 2017
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)
My Prayer: Heavenly Father, I praise Your great name in all of its fullness and grandeur! Thank You for cleansing me of my iniquities and bringing me to Your side. Guide and direct my paths in Your righteousness and cause me to desire Your ways. Continue to fashion me into Your holy image. For You alone are worthy to be praised in all Your goodness and mercy.

Wednesday 14 June 2017

Psalm 138

A Psalm of David. I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth.
Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.
Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

Daily Promises


Blue Letter Bible
June 14, 2017
Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. (Philippians 4:9)
The believer is most satisfied when he is most glorifying God with his life. Through his faith, God's grace works in his life to do good. Daily he is being conformed to the image and quality of the God he serves. Recognize, O Christian, whom God has made you and do well according this truth. And peace will be yours! So says the Word of the Lord!

Tuesday 13 June 2017

I may express all my complaints in one short sentence

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(John Newton's Letters)

My recent journey was very pleasant--but I ought to wish that it was profitable. I have had long experience how little I am able to improve by the most desirable advantages--and how little I am affected by a combination of the greatest mercies.

I may express all my complaints in one short sentence: "I am a poor creature!"
And all my hopes and comforts may be summed up as briefly, by saying: "I have a rich and gracious Savior!"

Full as I am in myself of inconsistencies and conflicts--I have in Him, a measure of peace. He found me in a waste howling wilderness--and He redeemed me from the house of misery and bondage. And though I have been ungrateful and perverse--He has not yet forsaken me--and never will. He is able to hold even me up--to pity, support and supply me to the end of life.

How suitable a Savior! He is made all things to those who have nothing--and is engaged to help those who can do nothing.
"Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost, those who come to God through Him--since He always lives to make intercession for them!" Hebrews 7:25
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Daily Promises


Blue Letter Bible
June 13, 2017
But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: (2 Corinthians 1:9)
Overpowering the strength of the law that had condemned us to death, God, in power infinite, raised us from our bodies moribund to new life! Eternal and holy are our new lives in Him. Rejoice in this outpoured show of God's great love for us! We are His people and He is our God Forever.

Monday 12 June 2017

The worst of Hell--and worse than Hell!


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(Ralph Venning, "The Plague of Plagues!" 1669)

Sin is worse than Hell!

Hell is only a punishment--but sin is a crime! The crime is more evil than the punishment. Hell is the punishment for the crime of sin. The very greatness of this punishment--argues the greatness of the crime, and the sinfulness of sin. That God is glorified on men in such a way--is a clear and full proof what an evil thing it is to sin against and dishonor God. Consequently Hell itself does not inflict so much hurt--as sin does. Hell, indeed, is a dismal place of horror and torment, the extremity of suffering--but it never had any existence until sin came. Nor could Hell have such extreme torments as it does--if sin were not there.

It is reported as a saying of Anselm, that if sin and Hell were set before him and he must go through one of them--he would choose to go through Hell, rather than sin!

Sin is the worst of Hell--and worse than Hell! Sin is what makes sinners cry out for the torment of devouring fire and everlasting burnings--which are no terror to righteous and upright souls (Isaiah 33:14,15). It is sin which makes Hell to be Hell. God was never angry--until sin made Him so. His wrath was never kindled--except by sin.

Now just as sin made Hell, so the more sin--the worse the Hell!

"These shall receive greater damnation!" Mark 12:40
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Daily Promises


Blue Letter Bible
June 12, 2017   
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)
Safety. Refuge. Protection. The Lord God Almighty is an impregnable fortress for those who place their trust in Him. He is a strong shelter to those who depend on His name. Never shall He fail. Never shall He weaken. Never shall those who trust in Him be dismayed! Trust in Him and take courage in His majesty!
 

Sunday 11 June 2017

Sovereign Grace Missionary Baptist Church
"Where The Truths Of God’s Word Have Been Taught For More Than Fifty-Five Years”
1217 Dillon Texarkana, Texas 75501
June 11, 2017          
 Newsletter Number 623
Brother Randy Johnson, Pastor                   Brother Ronnie Henderson Sr., Song Leader
Pastor E-Mail: pastor@sgmbaptist.com                                          Web Site: www.sgmbaptist.com
“A Church Seeking To Please God In Prayer, Song, Preaching, And Worship.”
Please Join Us As We Pray For:
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, Tyrell Loyd, Bonnie, Ted O'Bonion, Larry Mollette II & Family, Kerry Adcock, Kim Poole, Danny & Nita Mollette, The Muncy Family, Lee & Mary Mollette, 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, Vickie Adkins, 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, Linda Hughes, Donna Jones, Brandy Sullivan, Gina, Brother Kelley and Sister Hinson, Manual Seymour, Sr, The Harris Family, The Morris Family, Teresa Bookout, Little Titan Thomas (Trent and Tiffane Thomas child), James – Diane and Brooke Thomas, Jace Fails, Steve Sparks, Sister Ann McSwain, Brother Archie and Barbra Griffin, Brandy’s Mother, Elaine Sparks, James daughter’s mother-in-law, Rick McCloskey’s brother, David Leman, Danny Hammond,  Brother Curtis Pugh, Brother Dan Sullivan the work in Thailand, Brother Raul and the work in Romania, Bro. Sergey Mochalov and the Churches in Russia.

A Thought From our Pastor:

It Is A Lie To Deny Jesus Christ His Dew Glory!“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.” 1 John 2:22
When I hear so many people in this nation deny the Lord Jesus Christ and His due glory it makes me sick. God before the foundation of the world had chosen His Dear Beloved Son to come to this world to give His life as an atonement for the sins of many. God did not send His Beloved Son to die a miserable death as a partial substitute. Because the Son came to this world to redeem a remnant of the lost sinners. I must sit and scratch my head when I hear some people speak of Jesus Christ as a “partial substitute”, so does He get only partial glory for salvation? Let me tell you an absolute truth from God’s word, “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:14 that does not seem to be a partial Saviour that can only deliver a half-way salvation. If Jesus Christ is going to “redeem us from all iniquity” then what is left to be redeemed. What is it that educated people cannot understand about the word “all”. People must understand to deny Jesus Christ His due glory is to deny Him altogether. God said of Jesus Christ, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:” Philippians 2:9 God is not talking about the name of Jesus, other people had that same name, He is talking about His name as “Redeemer, Saviour, and The Christ. Only the Son of God can have these names and many more like them. These are the name that God The Father has given Jesus Christ and that is because He earned every one of them. Therefore, this man named Jesus The Christ who is the Son of the Living God sits on the right hand of Jehovah where a Son who did what He did should sit. All glory and blessings are to His glorious name. But, every day you hear millions upon millions shout that His blessed blood is not enough, that His death was not enough, that His resurrection was not enough, that the fact He sits on Gods right hand is not enough. What! But God said “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ…” That’s right all those people are liars, liars for trying to steal the glory due Jesus Christ. God went on to say “…He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.” Why, because you called God a liar. “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.” 1 John 5:10 What record did God give us of His Son, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son...He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 1 John 5:11-12 People can debate this all they want too. But be sure to let God be true and all men liars. "...let God be true, but every man a liar..." Romans 3:4 God chose to save a remnant of the sinner population for His Own Glory and none other, and that glory comes only through His Beloved Son Jesus the Christ. It does not come through us or any part of us. We are sinners, we will die sinners, but thanks be to Jesus Christ we will be glorified SAINTS if we believe in Him. “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,” Jude 1:14 Saint means - physically pure, morally blameless – there is only one way to be pure, or blameless and that is to be washed in the purifying blood of Jesus Christ. God said, "Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin...Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus," Hebrews 10:18-19 now you can believe man and go to the eternal hell fires or believe God and be redeemed, cleansed, and soon glorified. God said, And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved… Acts 16:31 Do you believe God or man, that is an eternal question.
 
Unfaithful Friends:By Elder Curtis Pugh
 
   There can be few things more disappointing than to be betrayed or abandoned by a person whom you thought was a genuine friend. Both the experience and the remembrance of it are painful for years to come. The Bible says,  “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint,” (Proverbs 25:19). As always, the Bible is right on! And what appropriate pictures this verse presents to us: “a broken tooth” and “a foot out of joint.” Both are painful!
   Not only are broken teeth and dislocated feet painful, the pain of them sometimes goes away for a time causing a person to forget about them and to think they can be depended on – then – all of a sudden in sometimes the most unexpected situations pain shoots through the body! And it seems that tooth-pain and foot-pain can be among the worst.
   So it is with undependable (unfaithful) friends! Just when you think you can depend on them they fail to be the friend you thought that they were. The experience is painfully sad! Like an arrow piercing the heart or a weight crushing the body is the feeling when supposed friends turn away.
   Both King David and the Lord Jesus Christ experienced such pain. David wrote:  “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me,” (Psalm 41:9). When a trusted friend steps on you – walks on you - it is indeed a time of discouragement and pain. The Lord experienced one of His disciples turning traitor on Him: Judas Iscariot by name. Sold out for thirty pieces of silver: the price of a slave! Knowing all along what Judas was going to do, the Lord treated Judas fairly and with compassion: always. But the Lord's kindness toward Judas did not deter him from his evil betrayal of his Divine Friend.
   Surely the Bible speaks of the Lord Jesus when it says, “...there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother,”  (Proverbs 18:24). Constant and caring in every situation: ready always to stick with you – who is a better friend than the Lord Jesus Christ? At Paul's first trial in Rome all his supposed friends there deserted him. Paul wrote about that sad experience saying: “At my first answer [trial] no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me...” (2 Timothy 4:16-17). Ah! There was for Paul a Friend who not only stood with him, but whose presence strengthened him!
   With a friend – the Friend – standing with you there can be no defeat! As the song says, “How can I be lonely when I've Jesus only, To be my companion and unfailing guide? Why should I be weary, or my path seem dreary, When He's walking by my side?” I hope He is your friend!
 
Church News:
Happy Birthday Sister Nita Mollette Saturday June 17th                              
 
Please pray with us as our Annual Bible Conference draws closer. September 15 – 16. We have three Speakers as of today. But the others have until August 01 to confirm. See our web site for more details.

It has put hatred into God Himself!

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(Ralph Venning, "The Plague of Plagues!" 1669)

"The wicked and the one who loves violence--His soul hates!" Psalm 11:5

God hates man for sin! It is not only sin, but sinners that God hates--and that for sin! It is said of God, that He hates the workers of iniquity (Psalm 5:5); not only the works of iniquity--but the workers of it.

It is because of sin, that the merciful God says, "Their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor!" Isaiah 27:11

This is the worst that can be spoken of the venom of sin, that in a sense, and to speak after the manner of men--it has put hatred into God Himself! Sin has made the Lord hate and destroy His own workmanship!
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Daily Promises


Blue Letter Bible
June 11, 2017
But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. (Hebrews 3:6)
Through the incredible faithfulness of Christ, we have admission into the glorious kingdom of God! It is by the beautiful sacrifice of Christ that we are made blameless in the sight of the Father. This unbelievable promise causes us to take heart as we hold fast to this great hope until the last day.

Morning Devotional June 11, 2017

Romans 8:18
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”



O what a hope we have in our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus!!! No matter what sufferings we go through in this life, we have that blessed hope that He will return for us and keep us with Him for all eternity!!! What a glorious thought to know that the trials and persecutions and the troubles we suffer here in the old sinful world will all be no more. The aches and pains and disease. The thorns and the thistles. The many afflictions we suffer here because of our sin. O what hope we have!!! To know beyond a shadow of a doubt that our Lord will take us away from all this some day!!!
O child of God, no matter what we suffer here. Grief from the death of a loved one. The daily sorrows and disappointments of dealing with those who are of this world. We have hope!!! Jesus Christ!!! The Son of God is our only hope!!! Without Him we have nothing.



Praise ye the Lord!!!

Stephen McCool Sr.

Saturday 10 June 2017

What a comfort is this!

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(Thomas Watson, "The Good Shepherd")

"I am the Good Shepherd--I know My sheep!" John 10:14
Christ knows all of His sheep.
His knowing His sheep--is His loving them. This is a great consolation.

He knows every one of their names
"He calls His own sheep by name." John 10:3

He knows all the sighs and groans they make.
"My groaning is not hidden from You." Psalm 38:9

Christ knows every tear they shed.
"I have seen your tears!" 2 Kings 20:5
He bottles their tears as precious wine! "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book." Psalm 56:8

He knows all their sufferings.
"I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them." Exodus 3:9
"The Lord saw the bitter suffering of everyone in Israel." 2 Kings 14:26
Christ knows all their good works--all their works of piety and charity.
"I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance." Revelation 2:2

"I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep!" John 10:11

"He will place the sheep at His right hand--and the goats at His left. Then the King will say to those on the right: Come, you who are blessed by My Father--inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!" Matthew 25:33-34

What a comfort is this!
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Daily Promises


Blue Letter Bible
June 10, 2017
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (Romans 8:30)
The Lord will glorify those whom He has already justified. The use of "glorified" here (in Greek, the proleptic aorist, edoxasen) presents the act of our glorification as being something complete and finished. Even though we cannot view it as a completed action from our human vantage point, God views it as already complete.

Friday 9 June 2017

Day by Day by Grace


Bob Hoekstra
June 9, 2017
God Working in Us What Pleases Him
Now may the God of peace…make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21)
Once again, our attention is focused upon Hebrews 13:20-21. In the two previous devotionals, we saw that the God of peace makes obedience available to us through the blood of Christ and then He equips us to do His will. Now we will see that this involves God working in us what pleases Him.
Obedience is about pleasing God, doing "what is well pleasing in His sight." This is why Christ died for us. "He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again" (2 Corinthians 5:15). Living to please self is the ultimate disobedience to God. As God's children, we want to live for His approval. "Walk as children of light…proving what is acceptable to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:8-10).
The ordained means for us to live pleasing in His sight is God at work in us: "the God of peace…working in you what is well pleasing in His sight." We cannot properly live obedient, pleasing lives for God, unless we look to Him to work within us. When the Lord is relied upon to work within us, He then expresses His heart and will through us. "Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20). This is how the early church effectively pleased the Lord in their service. "For He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles" (Galatians 2:8).
Ultimately, pleasing God by doing His will is an internal matter of the heart. "That He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints" (1 Thessalonians 3:13). When our Lord returns, He wants to find obedient children. He wants His followers to be "blameless in holiness before our God and Father." This is only possible as we trust our God to do a spiritually stabilizing work deep within us: "That He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness."
Not surprisingly, all of God's working within us is done "through Jesus Christ." It is all based upon who Jesus is, all that He has done for us, and all that He alone can accomplish as He lives in us!
Lord God of peace, I long to live pleasing in Your sight, holy and true. Please do Your effective work deep within my heart, through Jesus Christ, my Lord, Amen.