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

"Behold, the skin of the face of Moses shone, and they were afraid to come nigh unto him."  -Exodus 34:30 [KJV] Here see the glorious effects of being on the mount with God; of having free access to and holy converse with Him. When we draw nigh to God, and He draws nigh to us, our souls catch the splendour and glory of His grace. This revives our countenance, and makes our face to shine. Here is somewhat worthy our attention; for the holy inspirer calls upon us, behold. Lord! give us to behold this to our edification and comfort. (1st.) “When Moses came down from the mount his face shone, but he knew it not.”  O! it, is well for us, when we are so wholly taken up with the majesty and glory of our Lord, and see such splendour of grace and love shine on His countenance, as not to be looking at ourselves, and admiring our own gifts and graces. It is to imitate fops and fribbles in nature, to look in a glass to admire ourselves. To fall in love with our own beauty, i...

"Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."   -James 5:11 [KJV] There is something uncommonly soothing and consolatory in these words, concerning the Lord's grace, "that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."  Very pitiful! Sweet consideration to a child of God, under affliction! For it speaks in the tenderest and most endearing manner, upon all such occasions, that if afflictions abound, while the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy, there must be a needs be for them. My soul keep this thought always uppermost in thy remembrance; and carry it about with thee in thy bosom for constant use, to have recourse to, as occasion may require. And take another sweet lesson with thee, to help on thy mind to suitable exercises on this account. Hadst thou as much wisdom, and as much love for thyself, and what concerns thy most material interests, as Jesus hath, a...

"And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD." -Isaiah 54:13 [KJV] The teaching of God can only be known and realised by those who have seen an end of all creature perfection, and who are completely and experimentally destitute of all wisdom in the flesh. And God's teaching does not leave a man where it found him, dead, stupefied, worldly, unfeeling, and carnal. If he is in distress, it does not leave him in distress; if he feels guilty, it does not leave him guilty; if he is in darkness, it does not leave him in darkness; but it lifts him out of these evils. Thus God's people are continually led to come unto Him for His instruction, because they feel that without His special teaching they can know nothing as they ought to know. Nay, the more they have, the more they want to have; for no sooner is the light withdrawn, than the darkness is more sensibly felt. If any text of Scripture has been opened up to them, it makes them want to have others made k...

Does the LORD God allow events, good or bad, to happen with His permissive will…or is He the first cause of every event, good or bad, according to His eternal purpose and will?  And just to be clear, we may experience the events as good or bad, but in reality, they are all good, for our God is good, and can only do good!   And as always, we must go to Scripture for the truth concerning any matter, and not to our own thoughts, ideas, or opinions – “Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4) .  The following verses plainly and clearly declare that our Sovereign God is the first cause of all events in this world and the universe, heaven and hell included. “Then will I cause to cease….”   –Jeremiah 7:34 “I also will do this unto…and cause sorrow of heart…” -Leviticus 26:16 “He will cause him to come near unto him…” –Numbers 16:5 “The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten…” –Deuteronomy 28:25 “The King hearkened not unto the people  for ...

How little we understand of God’s dealings with us!  If we suffer the slightest set-back in this world’s goods or pleasures, we take it as a sign of God’s judgment and disfavor.  If we prosper in this world, we believe that it is evidence of God’s pleasure with us. But, it is likely the opposite.   When God would visit a man with judgment aimed at his destruction, He withholds not the worldly goods, but the spiritual ones; and the one He truly loves is often deprived of worldly goods so that he will more readily seek spiritual goods . Which would you rather suffer, blindness of eyes or blindness of heart? Which would you rather have, riches in gold or riches in grace?  Then, let each of us learn to not judge God’s ETERNAL dealings with us by His TEMPORAL dealings with us. I know that this is hard to do; but it is the essence of living faith to judge, not by what is seen, but by what is not seen, to live by faith in God’s promises, not by sight. ...

I received your letter, and think you overlook our ever adorable Jesus, in setting any value upon a poor, dirty worm such as myself. If His grace raised this poor, dirty worm from a dunghill and set it upon a throne with His princes, who shall have the glory—the worm or Jesus? Shall any of His due praise be given to the worm? God forbid!  As vile and base as I am—yet He lets me approach Him and converse with Him freely. He condescends to admit me into fellowship with Him; and He opens His treasures, and says, "All these are yours. I bought them for you with the price of My blood, but I give them to you as a free gift!" -preacher Wm. Romaine

Sin is a noun. It is what I am. Sin is a verb. It is what I do. Sin is an adjective. It describes me. Sin is an adverb. It describes what I do. Thank God for the promise of the Gospel, “Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins” ( Matthew 1:21 .) Before we can worship God in peace of conscience and liberty of heart, we must know, upon authority of God’s Word and by the power of God’s Spirit, that the entire question of sin has been forever settled by the blood of a divine sin offering. All of God’s claims and all our necessities as ruined, guilty sinners have been forever answered. This gives us peace; and in the enjoyment of that peace, we worship God. We have a perfect Sacrifice, and a perfect conscience.  -preacher Scott Richardson Gospel sermons here: https://www.sermonaudio.com/speakers/13611/sermons  

Come, sound His praise abroad, And hymns of glory sing; Jehovah is the sovereign God, The universal King.   He formed the deeps unknown; He gave the seas their bound; The watery worlds are all His own, And all the solid ground.   Come, worship at His throne; Come, bow before the Lord; We are His work, and not our own; He formed us by His Word.   Today attend His voice, Nor dare refuse His Word; Come like the people of His choice, And own our gracious God.   -Hymn: "I Love Thy Kingdom"   ------------------------ Every religion, except one, puts upon you doing something in order to recommend yourself to God . It is only the religion of Christ (which runs counter to all the rest by affirming that we are saved and called with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to the Father's own purpose and grace) which was not sold out to us on certain conditions to be fulfilled by ourselves, but was given us in Christ before the world bega...

“Moreover Whom He Did Predestinate, them He also Called…”   -Romans 8:30 [KJV] Election is the foundation-cause of our effectual calling. It is not because some are more worthy to partake of the heavenly calling than others, for we were 'all in our blood' (Ezekiel 16:6) . What worthiness is in us? What worthiness was there in Mary Magdelene, out of whom seven devils were cast? What worthiness was in the Corinthians, when God began to call them by the gospel? They were fornicators, effeminate, idolaters.  'Such were some of you, but you are washed'. Before being effectually called by God, we were not only without strength, but His 'enemies' (Colossians 1:21) . So the foundation of our effectual calling is election.  -preacher Thomas Watson (1620-1686 A.D. "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began....

Oh, there is more real value in one ray of the Spirit's light, beaming in upon a man's soul, than in all the teaching which books can ever impart! What tongue is sufficiently gifted to describe how precious is the gift of the Holy Spirit? How precious is His indwelling; an ever ascending, heaven panting, God thirsting, Christ desiring Spirit! How precious are all the revelations He makes of Christ!  How precious are.... the consolations He brings, the promises He seals, the teachings He imparts; all the emotions He awakens, the holy breathings He inspires, and the affections He creates. How precious are those graces in the soul of which He is the Author; the faith that leads to a precious Savior, the love that rises to a gracious God, and the holy affections which flow forth to all the saints!   -preacher Octavius Winslow (1808-1878 A.D.)

"Thy loving kindness is before mine eyes."   -Psalm 26:3 [KJV] This causes a peaceful conscience, a happy heart, and a holy life. What is meant by loving kindness? it is love expressed by action: the affection of the heart, manifested by acts of kindness. Thus the Lord speaks of His church in general, and of every individual member of it in particular, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.”  What then? This love manifests itself in time thus, “Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee”   (Jeremiah 31:3.) “I will betroth thee unto Me for ever in loving kindness”   (Hosea 2:19.) Being thus betrothed and drawn to the Lord, our souls have a sight and sense of His loving kindness. What is meant by its being “before our eyes?”  Its engaging the attention of our mind, captivating the affection of our heart, seeing our interest in it, feeling the refreshments of it, and rejoicing on account of it; knowing there is no separation from...

"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lift up his eyes, and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him, with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went unto Him, and said unto Him, Art Thou for us, or for our adversaries? And He said, Nay, but as Captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship. "   -Joshua 5:13-14 [KJV] Behold, my soul, what a most blessed portion here is, for thee to feast upon, in almost endless thought. Who could this be, that appeared to Joshua, but the Lord Jesus Christ? Who ever called himself the Captain of the Lord's host; but He whom the Holy Ghost hath called, "the Captain of our salvation?"   (Hebrews 2:10) . Is He not the same who appeared to Adam in the garden, to Abraham in his tent, to Jacob at Bethel, to Moses at the bush? And though He diversified His form, upon these and several other occasions; yet all were only intended t...

"That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world."   -Ephesians 2:12 [KJV] The apostle here tells the Ephesians that in their natural state, before divinely quickened and made alive unto God, they were "without Christ , " that is, without manifest union and communion with Him. Though in the purposes of God, and by their eternal election in Christ, they were members of His mystical body, they had not been baptized into Christ by the Spirit so as to be made living members of His spiritual body, the Church (I Corinthians 12:13) , and therefore had not "put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27) . And as they were, such were we. We were " without Christ "  in our Gentile days. He had no place in our thoughts. We knew nothing of His Person and work, blood and righteousness, beauty and blessedness, grace and glory. He was ...

  I CAN’T MESS IT UP!               A dear friend was talking about how blessed the Gospel of Christ’s grace was.  I cannot remember all the details we talked about.  I suppose we talked about electing love and redeeming grace and how the Lord in tender mercy called us out of darkness with a call we could not resist, and has kept us till that very day, and refused to let us go.   When saints get to talking about spiritual things they often talk about such subjects as these.  When our discussion was almost over, my dear friend put the icing on the cake, as it were.  “And the best thing about this Gospel,” he said, “I can’t mess it up!”    The Lord Jesus Christ has finished the work, it is already done, so, “I can’t mess it up.”   I am in Christ accepted and complete, and sealed unto the day of redemption; in Christ now and in Christ forever so, “I can’t mess it up.” ...

  I bless the Christ of God, I rest on love Divine And with unfaltering lip and heart, I call the Savior mine His cross dispels each doubt; I bury in His tomb Each thought of unbelief and fear Each lingering shade of gloom.   I praise the God of peace, I trust His truth and might He call me His, I call Him mine, my God, my Joy, my Light In Him is only good, in me is only ill My ill but draws His goodness forth And me He loveth still. ‘Tis He who saveth me, and freely pardon gives I love because He loveth me; I live because He lives My life with Him is hid, my death has passed away My clouds have melted into Light My midnight into day.    -Hymn, “This is my Father’s World”     PRIDE   Pride could be called the original sin.  It made Satan want to exalt his throne above God’s (Isaiah 14:13-14) .  It was the sin he used to tempt Eve.  “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, that your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be a...

“I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints)” (I Corinthians 16:15). The word addicted means, “to surrender one’s self habitually, or to become dependent upon, or to be very enthusiastic about.”  We usually use this word in a negative way, but here in reference to the believer it is very positive, "they have addicted themselves to the ministry." Believers have surrendered to Christ, submitted to Him, His rule and reign (Psalm 110:3; Acts 2:36; Philippians 2:9-10) . Believers are totally dependent upon Christ for all of their salvation (I Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 4:19) . Believers are very enthusiastic about the good news of God's mercy to sinners in Christ (Luke 18:14; I Timothy 1:15) . Their confession of faith is, "He has done all things well" (Mark 7:37) , in creation (Genesis 1:31) , in providence (Romans 11:36) , and in salva...

“It is Finished.”     -John 19:30 [KJV]   Every time I consider this passage, my mind focuses first on the “It.” All that God required concerning the redemption of God’s sheep…all that the law demanded for justice and judgment against His people…every type and shadow of Christ in the Old Testament is included in “It.” And though this frail creature fails to grasp the fullness of “it,” all was “finished.”   Everything God eternally purposed, decreed and ordained was finished by Christ’s one sacrifice for sin. And the marvel of this blessed truth is summed up with the word, “is.” That which He has done has been done forever! What a declaration of peace for a needy sinner from the mouth of the glorious Lamb of God.   -preacher Marvin Stalnaker

There has never been a single moment in my life that I have loved the Lord, as He ought to be loved. However, at the same time, there has never been a single moment in time when Christ did not love the Lord His God, His Father, with all His heart, soul, mind and strength.   In Christ, and with Him as my Substitute, I have kept the greatest commandment of all. Matter of fact, in Christ, I have kept “every commandment of God” perfectly and completely. My salvation has nothing to do with my works, my faithfulness, or my righteousness. My salvation has everything to do with His!                                                                         -preacher David Eddmenson

John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease”   -John 3:30 [KJV]   How is that manifested in us? When I see His faithfulness, I see my unbelief and need.   When I see His righteousness, I see my sinfulness and need.   When I see His love, I see my hostility and need.   When I see His patience, I see my resistance and need.   When I see His forgiveness, I see my levying and need.   Where does that leave me? Needing Him! I rejoice then with the apostle John – “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” -I John 4:10      -preacher Kevin Thacker

There are many things that are important to us; our families, careers, health, etc. However, there is  one thing that surpasses all others and it is our union to Christ . Nothing compares to this. It is the one thing needful above all others. Without Christ we are lost, our life on this earth is vanity, useless, but not so in Christ. In Christ we are loved, redeemed, forgiven, accepted, pardoned and righteous. Let’s never lose sight of what really is important. “But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”   -Luke 10:42                                                                    ...

"Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice."   - Psalm 51:8 [KJV]   Of all the sad consequences of sin, good Lord! deliver us from Antinomian licentiousness; which consists in being so hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, as to make light of it. Though David had been awfully licentious in his practice, yet we see the grace of the saint shine forth, in his brokenness of heart, sorrow of soul, and contrition of spirit for his sins. Never quote David’s dreadful fall, without his deep, soul-afflicted, heart-broken, sorrow and repentance. Never think of one without the other; lest you think slightly of the most cursed evil of evils, wilful sin against a gracious God. O! who can tell the horrors of soul, and terrors of conscience, David felt, when he uttered these words? Consider them, O my soul! The Lord make sin more dreadful to thy view, and hateful in thy sight.    (1st.) Spiritual joy and gladness of soul in the ...

"...and manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed on Him." -John 2:11 [KJV]   It forms a very sweet thought to the believer, that, amidst the general darkness and ignorance concerning the person of Jesus, in the days of His flesh, the glory of His Godhead was frequently manifested to His disciples, so that they knew Him, and believed on Him. And it is equally blessed, that now, amidst the darkness and ignorance of many who call themselves Christians, after Christ, (but who denying, or being unconscious of His Godhead, prove that they know Him not) the Lord hath not left Himself without a witness of who He is, to the minds of His faithful followers; but hath manifested forth His glory; and all true disciples believe on Him.    My soul! if thou wert called upon to give thy testimony to Jesus, concerning all the grand points which prove the Godhead of His person, and the eternal merits and efficacy of His blood and righteousness; how wouldest thou ...

"Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." -Romans 12:2 [KJV]   How shall we find the will of God acceptable? Only as we are renewed in the spirit of our mind, and are transformed and conformed to the suffering image of the sorrowing Son of God. How fearful, then, how dangerous, and yet how ensnaring is that worldly conformity which sets us in deadly opposition to that good and perfect will of God which was, and is "acceptable" to His dear Son, to all the holy angels round the throne, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to His spiritually-minded people on earth, and hateful to none but devils and carnal, ungodly men.    And how truly blessed to be brought out of the power and prevailing influence of this worldly spirit, and to be cast into the gospel mould, where, being renewed in the spirit of our mind, we prove that the will ...

"But let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them: let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee.  For Thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt Thou compass him as with a shield." -Psalm 5:11-12 [KJV] My All In All The Scriptures declare in Colossians 3:11, “CHRIST IS ALL AND IN ALL.” Those who believe Him and His covenant promises are convinced in heart and soul that CHRIST IS ALL! Then if Christ is indeed all to me, the loss of anything in this world for His sake would be no loss at all. Paul said, “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” If Christ is all, then I can say at all times with Jacob, “I have everything” (Genesis 33:9-11) . Esau said, “I have plenty,” but Jacob said, “I have EVERYTHING.” He, of God, is made unto us all things (I Corinthians 1:30) . If Christ is all to me, then the pleasures, profits, and honors of th...

'The Lord's First Parable'   Ref: Luke 5:33 -35 KJV 38 minutes with preacher Clay Curtis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTO162QMHlI  

  Glory to God on High! Let earth to Heav’n reply,  Praise ye His Name! Angels His love adore,  Who all our sorrow bore And saints cry evermore,  WORTHY THE LAMB! All they around the Throne Cheerfully join in one,  Praising His Name! We who have known His blood,  Sealing our peace with God Sound His dear Name abroad,  WORTHY THE LAMB!   Then when we change our place Yet shall we never cease,  Praising His Name! To Him our tribute bring,  Hail Him our Sovereign King And without ceasing sing,  Worthy the Lamb!   Hymn, “Come Thou Almighty King” Let us not lose heart, grow tired or discouraged, not become careless and indifferent in our labor of love and works of faith; for it is required of God’s servants that they be faithful at all times and under every condition.   God has a due season or an appointed time for His harvest and His judgments.   This “well doing” includes the bold preaching of His Gospel of grace, f...