"Salvation is of the LORD." -Jonah 2:9

If my security in Christ and my final entrance into glory were dependent in any way on my works, before or after conversion, I would have no security. But, blessed truth, salvation is not in ANY way dependent on my works. Christ is my security and He alone will be the cause of my entrance into glory. There are three things that cause the security of my salvation and final entrance into glory: 1). The sovereignty of God . If He loves me now, it is because He always loved me, nothing in me caused His love. He loved me simply because He would. And if He loves me now, He will never cease to love me. "I am the LORD, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." 2). The blood of Christ . On Calvary's tree, when the sins of God's elect were placed upon Christ, He literally put them away [HEBREWS 9:26 ] . Because of the blood of Christ, I have no sins to give account of. If Christ paid my debt, it is paid! God's law and justice have been satisfi

"Lead me in T hy truth, and teach me." -P SALM 25:5 [KJV] What wonderful things does God sometimes shew us in His word! How our eyes sometimes seem to be anointed with eye-salve to behold wondrous things out of God's law [ P SALM 119:18 ] ! Sometimes in reading a chapter we see such beauty, such fulness, such sweetness, such glory in it, that it seems, as it were, to fill our very hearts. And what our souls want (I am sure my soul wants it, and it is my frequent cry to the Lord in secret that I may feel it) is to have this blessed truth taken out of the word of God, and applied to and sealed upon our hearts by the Spirit of God. I want no new revelation. Day by day I seem more satisfied of this, and more established in it—that all saving truth is in the word of God. I seek no visions, I desire no dreams, I want no airy speculations; but when my heart is brought to lie at the footstool of mercy, this seems to be the panting and breathing of my sou

“ When our God sent the flood, the whole world perished except those happy ones who were found in the ark. Even so, there is only ONE WAY of salvation for all persons living under heaven. There is only one name whereby they can be saved. Would you be saved, rich man? There is no way except that way whereby the poorest pauper is also to be saved. Would you be delivered, O man of intelligence? You must be saved in the same way as the most ignorant! There were not two arks, only one. So there are not two saviors, only one Savior! There was no other means of salvation except the ark; so "there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved," except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” - Gospel report by preacher Henry T. Mahan (1926–2019 A.D.) Please find enclosed link to audio Gospel sermons: https://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?speakeronly=true&currsection=sermonsspeaker&keyword=Henry_Mahan

My friend Keith Lamb in his delightful book ‘Failed yet Forgiven’ says “There are three phases of anticipation of the coming of the Lord in the New Testament scriptures. Them that Wait for Him [II THESSALONIANS 3:5; I CORINTHIANS 1:7 ] . Them that Look for Him [ PHILIPPIANS 3:20; H EBREWS 9:28 ] . Them that Love His appearing [II TIMOTHY 4:8 ] . May we learn to not only wait and look for His return but also to love the very thought of it. Jesus is coming back soon. How soon? We don’t know …but we are expecting Him.  For how long should we expect Him? Till He comes [I CORINTHIANS 11:12 & 16:22 ] . ‘Till He comes’ could well be the motto and watchword for the church. In fact, the early Christians loved the truth of the Lord’s return so much that they greeted each other with the Aramaic word maranatha . What did that word ‘maranatha’ mean? Simply translated, maranatha means “the Lord is coming back.” ‘Marana

"Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the L ORD ." -L AMENTATIONS 3:39, 40 [KJV] I believe in my conscience there are thousands of professors who have never known in the whole course of their religious profession what it is to have "searched and tried their ways;" to have been put into the balances and weighed in the scales of divine justice; or to have stood cast and condemned in their own feelings before God as the heart-searching Jehovah. From such a trying test, from such an unerring touchstone they have ever shrunk. And why? Because they have an inward consciousness that their religion will not bear a strict and scrutinizing examination. Like the deceitful tradesman, who allures his customers into a dark corner of his shop, in order to elude detection when he spreads his flimsy, made-up goods before them, so those who have an inward consciousness that th

Redemption’s theme will be my song, Both now and through the ages. The worthy Lamb, His finished work, The theme of all my praises. “Behold the Lamb,” the precious Lamb, Without a spot or blemish. None can in all they say or do, His perfect Self diminish. God’s Lamb He is in all He does, The sacrifice once offered, His own shall never die in sin, Since He for them has suffered. That precious blood so freely shed, For sinners vile and hopeless, Is sure for all His chosen ones, In Jesus Christ the Righteous. “Redeemed to God” now loud we sing, The payment just and right, Now not our own but His alone, All clothed in glory bright.   8.7 8.7  Tune: St. Columba Written by preacher Gary Shepard

“ Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night... ” -P SALM 91:5 [KJV] What is this terror? It might be the cry of fire, or the noise of thieves, or the shriek of sudden death! We live in the world of death and sorrow. This should not alarm us, for be the terror what it may—the promise is that the believer shall not be afraid. Why should he? God our Father is here—and will be here all through the lonely hours. He is an almighty Watcher, a sleepless Guardian, a faithful Friend! Nothing can happen without His direction, for even Hell itself is under His omnipotent control. Darkness is not dark to Him. He has promised to be a wall of fire around His people—and who can break through such a barrier? Worldlings might well be afraid, for they have . . . an angry God above them, a guilty conscience within them, and a yawning Hell beneath them! But we who rest in Jesus are saved from all these, through His rich mercy. “But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O J

"My soul followeth hard after T hee." -P SALM 63:8 [KJV] The Lord (we would speak with reverence) does not suffer Himself at first to be overtaken. The more the soul follows after Him, the more He seems to withdraw Himself, and thus He draws it more earnestly on the pursuit. He means to be overtaken in the end: it is His own blessed work in the conscience to kindle earnest desires and longings after Himself; and therefore He puts strength into the soul, and "makes the feet like hinds' feet" to run and continue the chase. But in order to whet the ardent desire, to kindle to greater intensity the rising eagerness, the Lord will not suffer Himself to be overtaken till after a long and arduous pursuit. This is sweetly set forth in the Song of Solomon, 5:2-8. We find there the Lord coming to His bride; but she is unwilling to open to Him till "he puts his hand in by the hole of the door." She would not rise at His first knocking, an

How wonderful is Christ’s administration in His kingdom of grace. He is present with all His creatures—but in a special manner with His own people—each of whom are monuments of His saving power. For He finds them all in a state of rebellion and enmity—and makes them His willing people. From the moment that He reveals His love to them—He espouses their cause, and takes all their concerns into His own hands. He is near and attentive to every one of them—as if there were only that one. This high and lofty One, who inhabits eternity, before whom the angels veil their faces—condescends to hold communion with those whom men despise. He passes by the kings and the princes—to manifest Himself to a humble soul in a mud-walled cottage. He ...comforts them when in trouble, strengthens them when weak, makes their beds in sickness, revives them when fainting, and upholds them when falling. He so wisely and effectually manages for them, that, though they are persecuted and tempted, tho

“… now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me ?” -ISAIAH 36:5 [KJV]   Here is a question for you and for me; On whom do you trust? Reader, this is an important question. Listen to the Christian’s answer, and see if it is yours. On whom do you trust? I trust, says the Christian, in the triune God of Scripture! I trust the Father, believing that He has chosen me from before the foundation of the world. I trust Him to provide for me in His providence, to teach me, to guide me, to correct me if need be, and to bring me home to His own house where the many mansions are! I trust the Son. The man Christ Jesus—is also the true God. I trust in Him as my Redeemer—to take away all my sins by His atoning sacrifice, and to adorn me with His perfect righteousness. I trust Him to be my Intercessor, to present my prayers and desires before His Father’s throne. I trust Him to be my Advocate at the last great day, to plead my cause, and to justify me. I trust H

"That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." -R OMANS 8:4 [KJV]   A person may be "in the flesh," as indeed we all are, and yet not "walk after it." To walk after it implies, a setting it up as a pattern, and walking in accordance with it. But a person may be dragged after another, as we see sometimes a child is dragged unwillingly along by its mother, who does not willingly walk with her. The child is not walking after its mother, nor hand in hand with her, nor side by side; but is compelled against its will to go a road which it hates, as to go to school when it fain would go to play.   So in a sense it often is with the child of grace; he is often dragged on by the flesh. He does not go after it willingly; he does not sin wilfully, but is entangled by the strength of the flesh, dragged on contrary to his best wishes, and sometimes in spite of his earnest cries, tea

“ For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to Whom be glory for ever. Amen.” - ROMANS 11:36 [KJV] Is there anything that comes to pass in the life of a believer (or an unbeliever) that is not appointed, ordained and purposed by God? According to this verse, all things originate with, are determined by and are brought to pass BY GOD. That being the case, why do His people complain of things which He brings into our lives? Why do we murmur like those who don’t know God? Discontentedness gives evidence of our depravity and the inconsistency of our faith. If we believe He sovereignly rules all things, let us not grumble about what He does, for what He does is good, right, according to His eternal will and for our welfare. If we rely on Him to always do what is best for us, then let us cease moaning about our troubles and rest in Him Who does all things well. Nothing is more damaging to our testimony and daily walk before others than to say that

“ Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." - II CORINTHIANS 1:3, 4 [KJV] What comfort we who are the people of God can find in these verses above. God is our Father, He is called the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. The self-existent one, Jehovah, the great I AM, is our comfort. He comforts us in times of sorrow. He comforts us in times of distress. He comforts us in trials and tribulations. Beloved, He comforts us at all times. We see then, we who are comforted by God are able to comfort others, our brothers and sisters in Christ, by telling them and reminding them how God Himself has comforted them and us at all times. Never forget that you are not alone when you go through trials, as a believer in Christ our great God is ev

"Thou hast set our iniquities before T hee, our secret sins in the light of T hy countenance." -P SALM 90:8 [KJV] Thus Moses the man of God testified, and so Job found it: "For T hou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth" [ J OB 13:26 ] . But though the Lord sets His people's sins in the light of His countenance, and brings them to bear with weight and power upon their conscience, and thus for a time at least lets them sink and fall into distress and grief, He will support them under the heavy load, that they may not altogether be crushed by it.   I do think, that if there is one single grace more overlooked than another in the Church of God at the present day, it is the grace of repentance. Though it lies at the very threshold of vital godliness, though it was one main element in the gospel that Paul preached, for he "testified both to the Jews and also to the Greeks repentance toward

"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins." - ACTS 13:38 [KJV] Forgiveness and pardon from all sin will only interest you if you consider yourself to be guilty before God. Our Lord said, "they that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick" [MATTHEW 9:1 2] . There is but one exclusive method by which God pardons sin, "through this Man." God will pardon sin, but not apart from this Man, Jesus Christ our Lord and His appointed, suitable sacrifice for sin [HEBREWS 2:17 ] . All of the sin of God's elect were so charged to Christ Jesus [II CORINTHIANS 5:21 ] and He so completely made satisfaction for them [I PETER 3:18 ] , that all who receive Him by God given faith shall never perish [JOHN 10:27-30; R OMANS 8:1 ] . Here are four important Biblical facts about the pardon of sin in Christ. 1). It is full and complete pardon. His precious blood does no

"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied." - I PETER 1:2 [KJV] Peter declares that we are "elect unto obedience." Election unto eternal life, unto salvation, unto the blood of sprinkling many gladly hear of, receive, and profess. This, they say, is sweet and precious doctrine. And so indeed it is. But do they find or feel any similar sweetness and preciousness in being chosen and ordained to know and do the will of God? Do they see and feel the blessedness of the precept being secured by divine decree, as well as the promise; and that there is a constraining power in the love of Christ under which they experience a holy and sacred pleasure in no longer living unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again, similar in kind, if not in degree, to the pleasure which they experience i

To be occupied with thoughts about God as He is revealed in the Scriptures will increase our faith. Much that passes for faith today is either sentiment or presumption. Faith must be based upon a true revelation of God, and we have this revelation in the Bible. The way to have a strong faith is to have a great and mighty God. Nobody’s faith can be stronger than he believes his God to be. I cannot have strong faith in a God who, I think, is weaker than men. If my God is weak, my faith, of necessity, will be correspondingly weak. I cannot have much faith in God if I believe He is being defeated on most battlefields. I cannot have much faith in God if I believe He is trying and failing, if I believe He is doing the best He can to accomplish as much good as He can and to save as many as He can. But if, like Job, I believe that “ What His soul desireth, even that He doeth” [JOB 23:13 ] , then with Paul I can say that “ He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or thin

Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands (24-26APR20) Heads-Up --- Please find enclosed encouragement in SO GREAT SALVATION by the perfect and finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ in saving poor, needy and wretched sinners by His sovereign free grace - God's unmerited favor - from our sins and from Hell: CHRIST IS THE WAY Our Lord declared, "I am the way; no man cometh to the Father but by Me" ! The scriptures plainly set forth the fact that because of our sin, we are separated from God and, of ourselves, there is NO WAY BACK TO GOD! The Lord taught this to Adam early; for when He "drove out the man, He placed a flaming sword WHICH TURNED EVERY WAY, to keep the way of the tree of life" [GENESIS 3:24 ] . There is no way back to life. But Christ, our Lord, has come to bring us to God. How shall He (as the God-man) deal with that sword of wrath and justice? Shall He command it to disappear? Shall He find a way around it? No! He will be the &

"By the fear of the L ORD men depart from evil." -P ROVERBS 16:6 [KJV] There is a very close and intimate connection between godly fear and being "holy in all manner of conversation." When do we drop into levity of conversation? When do light and frothy words fall from our lips? When do any of those hasty bursts of temper, or those fretful expressions, or that mere carnal, worldly talk to which we are naturally prone, hover upon our lips and break forth, more or less unguardedly, from our tongue? Is it not when this godly fear is not playing its streams as a fountain of life to well water the soul and soften it into humility and love, and is not springing up in wholesome checks and godly admonitions to keep the tongue as with a bridle and to rule that little member which, though so little, if untamed, defileth the whole body? But if this fear be in exercise, it will restrain that levity of speech which not only grieves and wounds our own co

I sing praise to Christ my Redeemer, The Savior Who came from above; His death has obtained my redemption, Thank God for the Gift of His love. CHORUS : O praise  the Name, The Name of our Savior and King; O praise the Name, The Name of our Savior and King. I sing praise to Christ for His mercy, He died in my stead on the tree; On Him fell God’s vengeance and justice, For unworthy sinners like me. CHORUS My sin-debt was cancelled completely, When God’s Sacrifice took my place; He died and secured my redemption, What covenant mercy and grace! CHORUS I trust in this gracious Redeemer, My Prophet, High Priest and great King; My Advocate, Shepherd and Savior, His praises I joyfully sing. CHORUS My heart is rejoicing in Jesus, His blood washed my sins all away; And when I shall see Him in heaven, I’ll sing through eternity’s day. CHORUS Tune: “ Redeemed, ” p. 475 (9.8.9.8. w/chorus) Words by Pastor Jim Byrd   

“ Thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people, even for salvation with Thine anointed; Thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.” - HABAKKUK 3:13 [KJV]   Christ Jesus did not leave heaven’s glory and come forth into this world to make a down payment on the salvation of spiritually bankrupt sinners. He did not come to do His part in salvation, leaving some aspect of it to be accomplished by the helpless for whom He came. He did not come to assist sinners in salvation; He did not come to instruct the lost in the art of self-salvation or to teach the spiritually diseased how to heal themselves. He did not come to put all men in a savable position. He came to save those the Father gave Him from every effect of sin by rendering to the law of God it’s just demands, a perfect life and the satisfaction of infinite justice by His death in their stead. He was raised again because He did in fact, “ s

“ But He is in one mind, and who can turn Him? and what His soul desireth, even that He doeth. For He performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with Him.” - JOB 23:13-14 [KJV]   What the Lord designs is what He does and nothing can stand in His way or cause Him to determine new counsels. Men desire many things which they may not do, cannot do or dare not do, but God has an incontestable sovereignty. His will is so perfectly pure that it is only right He should execute it; and He has an uncontrollable power to carry it out. “ Whatsoever the LORD pleased that did He” [PSALM 135:6 ] and always will, for it is always best. Whatever happens to us, it is God that performs it [PSALM 57:2 ] , and an admirable performance it will all appear to be when the mystery of God shall be finished. He performs all that, and that only, which was appointed, in the appointed time and method, which should silence murmuring because what was appoin