Month: July 2024

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” Acts‬ ‭16:25‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Most of the time when we read this passage we think of the miracle of the earthquake God sent and how the prisoners were loosed from their prison cells. But think about what a miracle these two men are as they praise God in such terrible circumstances. They had been beaten and bruised, unjustly and cruelly treated, thrown into the damp, dark prison and chained up. It seems they had every reason humanly to hang their heads in discouragement. But instead, we find them at the very darkest time, praying and singing praises to God! That is a miracle that only God can work in the hearts of men. And thank God, He still does! All throughout church history, we find similar courageous examples. Men and women of great faith in God, who would not give in to self pity or despair. They had such a love for Christ that they counted it a privilege to suffer for His sake. May God help us today in this world of suffering and woe. With His Spirit in us, we can rise above the darkness and give praise to our God.

“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs‬ ‭16:25‬ ‭KJV‬‬. One of the most difficult and humbling things for us to learn is, that we were not created to find our own way. We were designed to be led and directed by God. Without Him to lead us, we are like a man in the ocean with no sun, moon or stars. We have no idea what is the right way. When we are young we get many ideas about what we want to do and where we want to go. And to us, they seem like the right way. We allow ourselves to be influenced by this ungodly world and by our own selfish desires. And while our way may seem like the right way, we soon discover that it brings heartache and ruin. And the Bible tells us it ends in destruction. But what a joy it is to discover, that there is a right way! It is following Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Jeremiah 10:23 tells us, “…it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps”. By God’s grace, let us humble ourselves to follow our Saviour and He will lead us in the way that leads to life.

(Part 2) “and from Jesus Christ, Who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,” Revelation‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭KJV‬‬. As we continue looking at this blessed promise, of being “washed from our sins in His own blood”, we should recognize that the majority of church members today do not believe this. They seem to stop only with the idea of forgiveness and pardon. Most do not pause to consider that forgiveness alone is not enough. For instance, a criminal can receive a pardon and still be a criminal, because his nature is still the same. Likewise, a sinner could be pardoned and still be the same sinner. But the truth is, Jesus never offers forgiveness alone. Thank God, that is only part of what He promises to do! When He forgives He will also cleanse us from our sins in His precious blood! This is part of the miracle of true salvation. We are not just a group of forgiven sinners as most assume today. No! We are new creatures in Christ who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. We are a part of that blood bought, blood washed family whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Hallelujah! Let us praise the Lamb that was slain and Who shed His precious blood for us. By the power of His blood we can be changed.

(Part 1) “and from Jesus Christ, Who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,” Revelation‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭KJV‬‬. What a tremendous statement we find in the closing words of this verse. “(He) washed us from our sins in His own blood”. And yet, as powerful and as clear as these words are, we are living in an apostate religious generation that has either neglected or denied them. Today the emphasis has been changed in most churches. Most everyone in religion is talking about forgiveness and pardon of guilt, which we know is very important. This is what is meant by the remission of our sins. And we are very thankful for it. But where are the ones today who proclaim the washing and cleansing from sin that is so clearly revealed in God’s Word and made possible by the blood of Jesus? In many ways the Bible tells us that through the atoning work of Jesus Christ, we can be cleansed of all sin. And this happens because Jesus shed His own blood for us. His blood is so powerful that it not only brings pardon but it also provides cleansing for all who will trust Him to wash their sins away. By God’s grace, let us not settle for only a part of this great salvation. Let us believe that through His blood we can have both forgiveness and cleansing from sin.

“In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: And His children shall have a place of refuge.” Proverbs‬ ‭14:26‬ ‭KJV‬‬. The phrase ‘fear of the Lord’ is often used to describe a life of genuine faith in God. It is a life of reverence for God that produces godliness, love, and hope. And because this life has abandoned self confidence and placed all of it’s hope and confidence in the Unfailing God, it brings a quiet assurance. It produces a security in the soul because we are not relying on the arm of flesh which fails. Rather, we are leaning on the strong and everlasting arms of our Father in Heaven. Those who have this proper fear and reverence for God know also that in Him we have found a Refuge for our soul. We know that, even if all men turn against us we can still have rest in our souls because God is for us and He is with us. One of the marks of this ‘fear of the Lord’ is that we fear doing things that will wound His heart of love or hinder our relationship with Him. And walking in this loving relationship produces a confidence in our steps that fills life with joy and peace. By God’s grace, let us look away from self, and choose to place all of our confidence in God.

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,” Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭19‬ ‭KJV‬‬. What an amazing thought this is, that we as unworthy creatures, are able to enter into the holy place where God dwells. Let us consider this exalted privilege that we too often take for granted. Most of the time we think of prayer and coming to God in such routine and ordinary ways. But we should recognize that real prayer is entering God‘s holy presence through the merits of Jesus’ blood. It is the underserving creature gaining an audience with the Almighty Creator to bring our burdens to Him. We, who are denied access to so many places in this world, have been granted direct access to the thrice holy God of all glory. On a human level, we don’t have access to celebrities or government officials, and yet we can have access to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. We can’t even enter a ballpark unless we pay admission, and yet, through the shed blood of Jesus, we can come freely before the throne of God. This should remind us of how highly our Heavenly Father esteems the precious blood of His only begotten Son. By God’s grace, let us never take this privilege lightly. Every time we pray we should thank God that He has made the way for us to come to Him.

“And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” Exodus‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Let us consider these profound words God spoke to Moses: “When I see the blood”. While we may be familiar with the story of the Passover and the blood of the lamb being placed on the doorposts, we sometimes fail to see the great significance of the blood. Of course, that blood was a ‘type’, or representative, of the atoning blood of Jesus, which would be shed on the cross for our sins. But do we realize what God thinks of the blood? Do we understand that nothing else can prepare our souls to meet God? If He doesn’t see the blood upon us then we have no hope. In many modern churches, the emphasis has been shifted away from the blood. But God wasn’t looking for religious acts or asking if they believe. And today, He isn’t looking for church memberships or baptismal certificates, or to see if someone has an emotional experience. He was and still is, looking to see if the blood has been applied. It is by faith we apply the merits of Jesus’ shed blood upon our hearts and lives. And only as God sees that blood applied to us can we escape the wrath that is to come. May our souls rejoice with the songwriter as we sing: “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

“When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.” 1 Samuel‬ ‭17:11‬ ‭KJV‬‬. “And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man…?” (24-25‬) In these verses before David’s fight with Goliath, we see the reaction of the men of Israel to the Philistine giant. It is very clear that they are entirely focused on him. They were listening to His words rather than remembering the Word of God. They were looking at his size and strength rather than looking to the Almighty power of their God. So of course, with their focus only on him, they became fearful and discouraged. For us today, we are faced with these same kind of choices. We can focus on what men of this world are saying. We can look at all the wicked things they are doing. But if that is all we do and fail to remember Who our God is and what He has spoken, then we will be fearful and discouraged as well. We need to be so in touch with God’s Word and Who He is, that everything we encounter in this world is brought into proper perspective. For all of the prideful deeds of wicked people, we should always keep in mind, they are only finite human beings. But our God is the Infinite God Who they are going to answer to. Let us keep our eyes on Him.

“When I cry unto Thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: This I know; for God is for me.”Psalm‬ ‭56‬:‭9‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Many times we have thought of the words, ‘If God be for us, who can be against us?” And certainly those words are intended to be a blessing to us. But the blessing of that truth only comes when we remove the ‘IF’ and we become certain of this knowledge in a personal way, as the writer is here when he said, “This I know; for God is for me.” So let us ask ourselves, “Do I truly know and believe that God is for me? Am I certain that God is for me, or do I wonder sometimes if He is against me?” The reality is, many believers struggle with this question. They know what their answer should be, but in their heart they can’t understand why so many things happen as they do, if God is for them. They question why so much sorrow and suffering has come into their lives, if God is for me. But let us determine that by faith we are going to believe what God has said. God is not for me because my emotions are in a good place. God is not for me because I am a perfect child of His. He is not for me because I do certain good things. Rather, God is for me because I am His child and I belong to Him. He is for me because He has won my heart by His love. By God’s grace, let us be confident of this: God is for me.

“For mine enemies speak against me; And they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, saying, God hath forsaken him…” Psalm‬ ‭71‬:‭10‬-11 ‭KJV‬‬. One of the great lies that Satan wants us to believe is that God has forsaken us. As soon as we enter into some necessary process to prepare for a special mission, or we are reaping the consequences of having been disobedient to the voice of God, and things are not going as we expected, the tendency is to think: “God had forsaken me. He forgot about me.” In a moment we forget all the promises that God has given us through his Word: “Although my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.” (Psalm 27: 10) And our Saviour saying, “…and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matt.28: 20) This single promise from our Lord Jesus Christ should be enough to extinguish all the lying voices that are raised to make us believe that God has abandoned us. He who defeated death and freed us from the dominion of sin has promised. Who should we believe? Will we believe satan’s lies and his demons or what Jesus says? Let us sing along with the hymn writer: “Great, faithful, the promises that Jesus has given me. Great, faithful, I will trust in them forever.”