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

"And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground." -Judges 6:39, 40 [KJV] Many of the Lord's people labour under doubts and fears, questionings and suspicions as to the reality of the work of grace upon their hearts; whether their convictions were not merely convictions of natural conscience, and whether their joys have been anything else but the joys of the hypocrite. "O," they say, "what would I not give to have a divine testimony that the blessed Spirit was leading me in the right path!"   It is through these very doubts that the evidence is obtained. Doubts lead to cries and groans after a divine testimony; and in answer to these cries the heavenly witness...

Paul the apostle ministered briefly in Athens, Greece ( see Acts 17:16-34) . Among his hearers were Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, men renown for their intellectual and logical abilities. When they heard Paul preach, they heard a doctrine new to them and contrary to their philosophies. They derided him as a “babbler” . Desiring to discuss this doctrine with Paul, they escorted him to one of their favorite meeting places, the Areopagus, which the Romans called Mars Hill. This was the ancient judgment seat of Athens, where Socrates had been condemned 300 years earlier. Paul showed no interest in their philosophies. He did not enter into dialogue with them. Rather, Mars Hill became Paul’s pulpit. He politely acknowledged their religious fervor and ignorance of the One he preached, and then reinforced the doctrine that was contrary to their philosophies. When they mocked him and his doctrine, he departed them, leaving them to their philosophical discussions. One can imagine wha...

The New Covenan t Shepherd by D.G. Miles McKee “I AM the good shepherd.” -John 10:10 [KJV] Anyone who has read the Bible will agree that the New Covenant is better than the Old. If we are to take the writer of Hebrews seriously, we must come to this conclusion. He makes this point when he says categorically that Christ Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises ( see Hebrews 8:6) . The New Covenant not only has better promises but it also has a, Better Hope (Hebrews 7:19) Better Sacrifices (Hebrews 9:23) Better Testament (Hebrews 7:22) Better Covenant (Hebrews 8:6) Better Substance (Hebrews 10:34) Better Resurrection (Hebrews 11:35)   The New Covenant is better. After all, which one of us wants to go back to animal sacrifices as a scheme of justification?   In the light of this, it’s hard to believe that we have some people today who insist that Jesus is a mere creation of God. He, they say, is only ‘the Son of...

Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress; Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed, With joy shall I lift up my head. Bold shall I stand in that great day, For who aught to my charge shall lay? Fully absolved through Thee I am, From sin and fear, from guilt and shame. This spotless robe the same appears, When ruined nature sinks in years; No age can change its glorious hue, The robe of Christ is ever new! -by Nicolaus Van Zinzendorf, 1740 A.D.