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

"Through the tender mercies of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us." - Luke 1:78 [KJV] By "day-spring" is meant the day-dawn, the herald of the rising sun, the change from darkness to light, the first approach of morn, in a word, the spring of the day. But what is this "day-spring" spiritually? It is the intimation of the rising of the Sun of righteousness. It is not the same thing as the Sun of righteousness; but it is the herald of His approach; the beams which the rising sun casts upon the benighted world, announcing the coming of Jesus, "the King in H is beauty."   This expression was singularly applicable in the mouth of Zacharias. The Lord of life and glory had not then appeared; H e was still in the womb of the Virgin Mary. But H is forerunner, John, had appeared as the precursor, the herald of H is approach, and was sent to announce that the Sun of righteousness was about to arise. "There was a man sent f...

  Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands(25-27SEP20) 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: “ God does not save any man because there is anything in that man that deserves salvation. He saves sinners because He delights to show mercy. The reason for redemption is found in Him, not in us. His mercy planned salvation, His grace chose us, His love gave Christ to redeem us, and His power keeps us. "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy" (Romans 9:16). If you have been looking for some reason in yourself why God should show mercy to you, you look in vain! If you have weighed your works and considered your contributions to the kingdom in order to merit God's favor, you'll only be disappoint...

When God moves in salvation, He lays hold of a sinner and makes him a preacher. He lays hold of another sinner and makes him a hearer. He puts a message in the preacher, and gives him the ability to preach it. He puts faith in the hearer, and gives him the ability to believe it. And when the transaction is finished, ALL parties give God ALL the glory for ALL of it! The preacher cries: "Salvation is of the LORD!" The hearer cries: "Salvation is of the LORD!" The preacher takes no credit for the message! The hearer takes no credit for believing the message! They both in complete agreement say: "To God be the glory, great things He hath done!" -preacher Gabe Stalnaker

"I am H e that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." -Revelation 1:18 [KJV] O what a mercy that He who was dead lives at God's right hand! that He lives as a risen head; that He is not a dead Saviour; but a Saviour that lives for evermore; that can and does bless; that can and does comfort; that can and does bring the soul safely through all. He is not a Saviour that stands as it were upon the brink of a river, and pulls us out when we have swum half way out ourselves; He is not a Saviour that will take us half way to heaven, and then, as Rutherford says, let us "fend" or shift for ourselves. He must take us to heaven throughout. We are nothing, we have nothing without Him. He must be, as He is, our "all in all." We value Him in His death, nothing but His death could reconcile us to God; we value Him in His life, nothing but His life can save. We want salvation now; salvation in th...

NO WORRIES! ” Be careful ( anxious ) for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 4:6-7 What a wonderful scripture.  It’s a pity that we so often don’t believe it is there.  An epidemic of worry and anxiety seems to have invaded the homes and hearts of numerous believers.  Many followers of the Lord are now having sleepless nights and anxious days. The word ‘careful’ is also translated “worry.”  Worry, according to the dictionary definition, means “to slay, kill or injure by biting and shaking the throat" (as a dog or wolf does), from Old English ‘wyrgan’ "to strangle.  ‘Strangle!’ That’s what worry does to our faith. But consider the Lord Jesus, He could have worried about the Pharisees or Herod or the Sadducees or Judas Iscariot or others of the disciple...

"But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets" -Acts 24:14 [KJV]   Just because one is called a heretic doesn’t mean they are one.  Men thought Paul’s doctrine was heresy and they said that made him a heretic. As a matter of fact, God’s people have been called heretics many, many times over the centuries by religionists of every kind. On one occasion, for their own gain, some men cried out in the midst of a crowd, “Naboth blasphemed God!”   It is easy to say such an awful thing and many are likely to believe it as they did concerning Naboth.  But Naboth was not a blasphemer. He was a believer and worshiper of the living God. He was faithful to the birthright given him as all believers are to the birthright of God’s free grace to them in the Lord Jesus Christ. He would not abandon his inheritance. God’s elect have an inheritance...

"The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." - I Corinthians 4:20 [KJV] It is through the word of God in the hands of the Spirit, that this kingdom is set up in the soul. All God's people are agreed on this point, that they have no more religion than they have inward power. And all the living family are sighing, each according to his measure and season, after the manifestation of this divine power in their souls. Those that are under the law, and toiling under heavy burdens, are sighing after relief, and for that relief to come in divine power—power that shall cast all their sins into the depth of the sea. Those who having tasted that the Lord is gracious have lost their first love, are at times breathing out their inmost desire after power to revive their souls. Those who are beset with powerful temptations, and struggling, often ineffectually, with base lusts, are crying after power to deliver their feet from the fowler's snares. Those who are hard, need p...