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

All deserve to be rejected, Yet Jehovah has elected, Multitudes to be perfected, In the Son of God . Christ to save us from all danger, Condescended to a manger; To the world He was a stranger, Lowly Son of God . Jesus Christ the only Savior, Came to bring us to God’s favor, Son of Man, the Mediator; Blessed Son of God . With His blood the Savior bought us, And in time He came and sought us, Of His gospel He has taught us, Gracious Son of God . When we see Him, we will know Him, And together we will show Him, That eternal praise we owe Him, Jesus, Son of God . -to the tune of the old hymn: “ Praise the Savior” Words by preacher Jim Byrd   http://www.sermonaudio.com/source_detail.asp?sourceid=13thstbaptist

"Wherefore H e is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by H im, seeing H e ever liveth to make intercession for them." -Hebrews 7:25 [KJV] If the gracious Lord did not live to make intercession for us, He could hardly be said to save us to the uttermost. But as He ever lives at God's right hand and is ever interceding, ever presenting the perfume of His acceptable mediation, this gives us a certain pledge of His love, His pity, and His power. Is not this very encouraging to all who come unto God by Him? And may we not say, "Such are we, O Lord; we do come, we daily come to T hee by Jesus Christ?" And do we not need all the encouragement that God may give us out of it? for we often sink very low through temptation and trial and the manifold afflictions of the way.   How blessed, then, it is if you can only trace this mark of grace in your soul when others seem almost lost out of sight. If you know anything of internal work, you know th...

  The longer I live, the more I feel that if there were one thing left undone, if the devil were not conquered, sin not expiated, justice not satisfied, the law not honored and magnified, death not overcome, and every burden not carried, I should not have a ray of hope.  I used to think I saw this as clear as the noon day thirty or forty years ago; but I saw it very differently then to what I see now, for I see and feel now that if one hair-breadth is left for me to do to merit heaven, or bring as a plea before God, I am undone for ever and ever.  But on the Mount of Calvary, the Lord Jesus Christ undertook the cause of His people; and there is not a jot or tittle that He left undone, but, "By one offering He perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14) . Here is complete perfection - "Saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation" (Isaiah 45:17) .               ...

"O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock." -Song of Solomon 2:14 [KJV] Jesus is the hiding-place, the only hiding-place from sin and self. "Thou art my hiding place," said David of old. This was shewn to Moses, in figure, when the Lord put him into the cleft of a rock, which Toplady has so beautifully versified, to paint the longing desires of his soul:  "Rock of Ages, cleft for me,  Let me hide myself in Thee!"  It is on this "Rock of Ages" that God has built His Church. As a rock, He is deep as well as high—so deep as to have under-bottomed the depths of the fall, so high as to be God's fellow, seated at His right hand. As a rock, too, He is broad as well as long—broad enough to bear millions of living stones built on Him, and long enough to reach from eternity to eternity. The apostle, therefore, prays that the Church at Ephesus may comprehend with all saints, "what is the breadth and length, and depth and height, and ...

"When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken." -Proverbs of Solomon 3:24-26 [KJV]

"The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?" -Jeremiah 5:31 [KJV] We live in a day much like that of the prophet Jeremiah's day - preachers and politicians tell lies, and the leaders in religion join with and assist them in these lies. What is really sad is that the vast majority of people "love to have it so." People complain about lying politicians, but if one comes along and simply speaks the truth, he would not be elected. I know it is not deemed politically correct in our modern society to say this, but truth is truth. For example, consider what is so great about our Gospel, true Christianity, that lifts it far above other religions? IT IS THE REVELATION OF GOD'S GRACE IN THE GLORIOUS PERSON AND FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST. Other religions have one or more "great" prophets who claim to speak for their god(s). True Christianity has Christ Who i...

"So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, H e was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God." -Mark 16:19 [KJV] The right hand of God means the right hand of power, of dominion, of authority, and of acceptance. When our blessed Lord went back to the courts of bliss, and the gates of heaven lifted up their heads, and the everlasting doors were lifted up, and the King of glory went in, H e sat down at once at the right hand of the Majesty on high. But what did this place of preeminence imply? It certified to principalities and powers, and the whole bright and glorious throng of angelic hosts, that God had accepted H is work and given H im for H is reward that exalted place of power, of honour, and of dignity. For remember this, that our gracious Lord went up to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God in H is human nature. He did not go up to heaven as H e came down from heaven only as the Son of God. He went up to heaven as the Son of man as well as ...

Sinners receive salvation from their sins and God’s wrath against them through trusting in Jesus Christ (John 3:14-18, 36).      Nothing more is required.      This truth does not set well with some religious people. They say faith in Christ is not enough for receiving salvation. They say sinners must add some work to their faith in order to be saved, and that they are not saved until they perform it.      One of the first instances of their false teaching occurred in the first-century church of Christ. Certain false teachers went to Antioch and told the Gentile believers there, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1). Their heresy was repudiated.      Within a few hundred years, other false teachers arose saying, “Unless you get baptized , you cannot be saved.”      Since the late-1800s, some false teachers have told us, “U...

Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands(2 7 -2 9 NOV20) 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 their sins and from Hell: "For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto them that call upon Thee." -Psalm 86: 5 [KJV] The sinner who has saving faith believes that there is a fullness of salvation in Christ for poor sinners "Wherefore HE is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by HIM" (Hebrews 7:25) . In the word of the Gospel Christ is held forth as an able Saviour - able to save men from their sins and from the wrath of God. His merit is a sufficient shield against the tempest of wrath which incensed justice is ready to exact against transgressors. The sinner who has saving faith knows that the righteousness Chri...

In Thy name, O Lord, assembling, We Thy people now draw near; Teach us to rejoice with reverence; Speak and may Thy servants hear. Let Thy word be food to nourish, Those whom Thou hast called Thine own; May Thy people's graces flourish, All our trust in Thee alone. Now with joy we come before Thee, Seek Thy face, Thy mercies own; Lord of life, of light, and glory, Bless this church before Thy throne. While our days on earth are lengthened, May we live them, Lord, in Thee, Cheered by hope and daily strengthened, 'Till Thy glory there we see. -Tune: Jesus Calls Us

The wonder of grace and the glory of God is that He is at the same time a “ just God and a Savior” (Isa iah 45:21) . All who look to Christ Jesus as their only righteousness do so because God has made them righteous in Him. He has given them faith to believe on Christ and thus is both “ just and the Justifier of him that believeth in Jesus” (Rom ans 3:26) . The thought of the Holy God making a sinner like me righteous is beyond human comprehension. Thank God it is not beyond believing when God gives us faith to do so. Believing on Christ, I declare that God has not only saved me through Christ and Him crucified but that He was right to do so! All to the praise of the glory of His grace. Men can have a “grace” that is less if they want but give me that grace that reigns in righteousness. Man fell and sin entered in on a just principle that, “ even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom ans 5:21) . This truly is good news. ...

"And they shall spring up as among the grass." -Isaiah 44:4 [KJV] The Lord's people are spoken of here as at once "springing up" under the influence of the water poured and of the floods given. We cannot mistake the spiritual meaning of the figure, as it is so clear and certain. In those burning regions where rain does not fall at all seasons from the skies, as in our dripping clime, the effect of copious showers falling upon the parched vegetation is almost miraculous. A few days completely reverse the scene, and on every side vegetation springs up as if it started with gigantic growth out of the bosom of the heated soil. To this the figure in the text alludes, "They shall spring up," that is, Zion's children, "as among the grass," with all that young and active growth which so clearly manifests the power and the blessing of God.   But what may we understand by the expression "grass?" May we not interpret it as emblematic ...

"Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace." -Romans 14:19 [KJV] What a sweetness is contained in the word "peace." Bunyan well represents this in his Pilgrim's Progress, where he speaks of Christian, after having been entertained in the "house Beautiful," going to sleep in the chamber called "Peace." And what blessed sensations are couched in that word "Peace!" It was the legacy that Jesus left to His Church. "Peace I leave with you, M y peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you;" and the Apostle says of it that it "passeth all understanding."   Now many even of the Lord's people seem as if they wanted and were expecting raptures. There is, I believe, a vast deal of enthusiasm in the natural mind of man, as is evident from what I may call its religious history in all ages; and this leads many who, in other points, seem rightly taught to look for wonderful vis...

  The Wonderful Cross   by D. G. Miles McKee (see Romans 3:23-28 ). “When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the young prince of glory died; My richest gain I count but loss And pour contempt on all my pride.” -Watts   Christ in His death opened the way into God's presence for us. Thank God for the Wonderful Cross! When Jesus said, “I am the way” (John 14:6) He meant, He was and is the only way to God.  If you are looking for God anywhere else other than the Lord Jesus, you, according to the Master, are going the wrong way. To look for another way is a subtle attack on the Lord Jesus.  Why? Because Jesus is not one of many ways, He is the way! He didn’t even say His teachings led to the way. No indeed, He boldly declared “I am the way.”   ‘The way’ was a particularly important idea to Israelites. Moses had instructed them, “You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has comm...

"And H e said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven ." -Luke 10:18 [KJV] It deserves our utmost attention and prayerful consideration to see, by the eye of faith, the display of wisdom and power shining forth in the way in which the all-wise God sent his dear Son "to destroy" or, as the word is in the original, to unloose "the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8) . Satan had, so to speak, spun a ravelled knot when he cast the cords of sin round man's heart. This tangled and tight-drawn knot could not be cut through as by a sword of omnipotent power; but had by infinite wisdom and patience to be unravelled through its whole length. The work which Satan had done was to be undone. Disobedience had to be repaired by obedience—the voluntary obedience of the Son of God, and therefore of infinite value. Sin had to be atoned for by sacrifice—the sacrifice of the nature which had sinned, in union with the Person of the Son of God, and therefore...

"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands; thy walls are continually before Me " (Isaiah 49:15-16) . This is a revelation of the Lord’s everlasting concern for and faithfulness to His people; here is our eternal security. How delightful to meditate upon our Lord’s unceasing care and concern for His children. If we could by faith behold the Lord’s unending designs of grace toward us, then like Paul we would be joyful in the Lord even in the midst of dark trials. We would lean upon His word of promise, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5) . Pay special attention to those words, "I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands." Our names are not painted on His hands lest we might think they could be rubbed out. Neither are our names said to be written on His hands lest we concl...

Then learn one thing! Jesus Christ is ALL in our justification before God! Only through Christ can a sinner have peace with the Holy God. Only by Christ alone can a sinner be accepted and admitted into God’s presence. HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS is the only robe which will cover us. HIS BLOOD is the only mark that will save us from eternal death. HIS NAME is the only name by which we shall obtain an entrance through the gate of eternal glory. I pity those who try to obtain God’s favor by their works; and I sound a clear warning—you are building on sand; you are spending money for that which is not bread; you will hear Him say, “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23) . BUT THIS I KNOW—not one person has ever entered heaven’s courts with any testimony but this: “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood—to Him be the glory” (Rev elation 1:5, 6) .   -preacher Henry Mahan http://www.sermonaudio.com/source_detail.asp?sourceid=mahan

"Blessed is the man whom T hou chastenest, O L ORD , and teachest him out of T hy law." -Psalm 94:12 [KJV] We may observe in the words before us, that the Lord puts chastening before teaching. Is there not something remarkable in this? Why should chastening precede teaching? For this reason. We have no ear to hear except so far as we are chastened. It was so with the prodigal. Until he was brought to his right mind by strokes of hunger, he did not think of his father's house; he had no heart to return; but a mighty famine sent him home. So it is with God's children; as long as they are allowed to wander in their backslidings, they have no heart to return. But let the rod come; let them be driven home by stripes; then they have an ear to listen, while God teaches them to profit, instructs them by His blessed Spirit, and speaks into their heart those lessons which are for their eternal good.   "And teachest him out of T hy law." "The law" in th...

  “ A debtor to mercy alone, Of covenant mercy I sing; Nor fear with Thy righteousness on, My person and offering to bring; The terrors of law and of God, With me can have nothing to do; My Savior’s obedience and blood, Hide all my transgressions from view. The work which His goodness began, The arm of His strength will complete; His promise is Y ea and A men, And never was forfeited yet; Things future nor things that are now, Not all things below nor above, Can make Him His purpose forego, Or sever my soul from His love. My name from the palms of His hands, Eternity will not erase; Impressed on His heart it remains, In marks of indelible grace. Yes, I to the end shall endure, As sure as the Earnest is given; More happy, but not more secure, The glorified spirits in heaven.” -preacher Augustus Toplady, 1771 A.D.

"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations." - II Peter 2:9 [KJV] Few will sincerely and spiritually go to the Lord, and cry from their hearts to be delivered from the power of a temptation, until it presses so weightily upon their conscience, and lies so heavy a burden upon their soul, that none but God can remove it. But when we really feel the burden of a temptation; when, though our flesh may love it, our spirit hates it; when, though there may be in our carnal mind a cleaving to it, our conscience bleeds under it, and we are brought spiritually to loathe it and to loathe ourselves for it; when we are enabled to go to the Lord in real sincerity of soul and honesty of heart, beseeching H im to deliver us from it, I believe, that the Lord will, sooner or later, either remove that temptation entirely in H is providence or by H is grace, or so weaken its power that it shall cease to be what it was before, drawing our feet into paths of darkness and evil....

"By H is knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew." -Proverbs 3:20  [KJV] When the Lord said, "Let there be light," instantly there was light. So when the Lord says, "Let the earth open," the heart immediately opens, the conscience is made tender, and the soul hears and receives what God speaks. And what follows this opening? The heart receives the dews and showers of God's grace that fall into it; and these dews and showers of God's grace communicate to it softness, fertility, and productiveness. O how we have to learn this by painful experience! Is not our heart as hard sometimes as the nether millstone; and to our feelings, utterly destitute of light, life and power, without one grain of brokenness, contrition, godly sorrow, spiritual desire, or fervent breathing after the Lord? This painful experience the Lord's people have to pass through perpetually, that they may know that "in them, that is, in their f...

"If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth , whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole." -Acts 4:9-10 [KJV] Peter and John were faithful preachers of the gospel. They were not afraid to meet men at their point of rebellion; they were preachers, not politicians. Peter could have said to the Sanhedrin court, "The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers hath made this man whole." He would have been right, everyone there would have agreed, and all would have been well. However, Peter and John would have been wrong, because they knew their point of rebellion.  They knew that those men refused to recognize Jesus Christ as God incarnate, as Messiah, and as Lord, and refused to admit their own guilt. Thank God for men like Peter an...

"And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace." -Acts 20:32 [KJV] Not only did Paul "commend" the church at Ephesus "to God," but he commended them also in an especial manner "to the word of His grace." There is a difference between "grace" and "the word of His grace." Nothing but grace can save the soul; nothing but superabounding grace can blot out and hide from the view of justice our aggravated iniquities. But "the word of His grace" is that word which brings this grace into the heart, which communicates life and power to the soul, which the Spirit by His inward teaching and testimony seals on the conscience, and by which He reveals and sheds abroad that favour of which He testifies. This is what the Lord's people  want. It is "the word of grace" that reaches their soul. It is not reading of grace in God's word that brings peace into their hearts; it is "th...

"That H e would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve H im without fear, in holiness and righteousness before H im, all the days of our life." -Luke 1:74,75 [KJV] Holiness consists mainly of two points:   1. Being made a partaker of the spirit of holiness whereby, as born of God, we are made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; set our affections on things above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God; have our conversation in heaven; put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him which created him; live a life of faith in the Son of God, and beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.   To be thus spiritually-minded, to be thus brought near unto God through His dear Son, to walk before Him in the light of His countenance, and to know something of spiritual communion with the ...

"THE WORLD BY WISDOM KNEW NOT GOD" -I Corinthians 1:21 [KJV] What did the philosophy of Greece do for its disciples? It made them ignorant worshipers of an "unknown God" (Acts 17:23) . The inscription on their altar published to the universe their ignorance and shame. How can I know God? Where can I find Him? Can science and philosophy tell me? Have they ever told anyone? No, never. "The world by wisdom knew not God." The schools of ancient philosophy could only plunge the human mind into darkness and hopeless bewilderment, and the schools of modern philosophy are not one bit better. They give no certainty, no safe anchorage, no solid ground of confidence, only hopeless speculation, torturing doubt, wild and baseless theory. That's all human philosophy in any age or any nation has to offer an earnest seeker of truth. How then are we to know God? If such a stupendous result hangs on this knowledge; if to know God is life eternal, and Jesus says it i...

Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands(20-22NOV20) 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 their sins and from Hell: "As Christ’s righteousness is the only merit that can exalt us to the presence and kingdom of God ; so that doctrine alone is to be considered as evangelical which depresses the righteousness of man and exalts the righteousness of Christ: leading us to trust, not on what we do, but singly on what He has done for us. The business of the Law is to knock us down from the pedestal of self-confidence, and grind us small; as Moses ground to powder, and dispersed the materials of the Israelitish idol. The business of Grace is to lift us from the dust, settle us upon Christ the rock of ages, put a new song of free salvation into our mouths."   -preacher Augustus Topl...

The light of heaven is the face of Jesus. The joy of heaven is the presence of Jesus.   The melody of heaven is the name of Jesus.   The harmony of heaven is the praise of Jesus.   The theme of heaven is the work of Jesus.   The employment of heaven is the service of Jesus.   The fulness of heaven is Jesus Himself. –copied Friends and neighbors, Flee today to Christ JESUS, "The LORD our righteousness" who alone is mighty to save all those who call upon His name. "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes." -Psalm 118:8-9 [KJV] Cheers!

"Underneath are the everlasting arms." -Deuteronomy 33:27 [KJV] The "everlasting arms" of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the divine Jehovah, are "underneath" every one of His people, and, being underneath them, they can neither fall through them nor out of them; but they are borne, and supported, and carried along by them until they are brought to the eternal enjoyment of a Three-One God. Now, if these "everlasting arms" were not underneath a man, so deceitful is his heart, so desperately wicked is his corrupt nature, such awful stratagems does Satan lay for his feet, and such numerous perils encompass every step, that he must infallibly perish.   But what we want to feel is, that these arms are underneath us. What good will the doctrine do us? The doctrine of the "everlasting arms" being underneath us will not satisfy our souls, if we feel that we are sinking fathoms. If we keep sinking, sinking, sinking, and are afraid, at time...

  " Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: a nd call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” -Psalm 50:14-15 [KJV] This offering is the sacrifice of praise. This should be offered up for all mercies, temporal and spiritual, and unto God, because they all come from Him; and because such sacrifices are well pleasing to Him, and are no other than our reasonable service, and agreeably to His will. They are offered up aright when they are offered up through Christ, the great High Priest, by Whom they are acceptable unto God, and upon Him, the Altar which sanctifies every gift, and by faith in Him, without which it is impossible to please God. -copied

  ‘ Me’ “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believe th on ME ha th everlasting life. " - John 6:47 [KJV]   Many believers lack peace, because, instead of looking at the object of their faith, Christ, (His doing, dying, rising again and exaltation), they are looking within themselves trying to find something to give them rest. However, nothing within us, or that flows from us, can give peace to the guilty conscience. The object of our faith lies outside of us. Remember, we are, in and of ourselves, hopelessly ruined, guilty, and under God's just sentence of death. We are utterly helpless to remedy that condition (Isaiah 64:6). We need some good news!  We need the gospel. So, consider our verse. “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believe th on ME ha th everlasting life " (John 6:47) .  “Yep” you say, “I know that verse, I first read it years ago.” But listen to me, the Lord doesn’t just want us just to know this verse, He wants us to believe...