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

"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 (1 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 to us a root...

"..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 shew the evide...

"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 of God is not on...

Jesus the God/Man  by  D.G. Miles McKee At the heart of the gospel, we have the man who is God.  Jesus, the God/Man rescued us with blood, His blood, died was buried and rose again.  This is what sets Christianity apart from all other religions.  In Christianity, we are not told to do something to discover God rather we see that God has spelled Himself out and declared Himself in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.   What a mysterious constitution there is in the person of the Lord Jesus.   He is the God/Man. He is one person with two natures, one human, the other divine. We have never seen anyone like Him nor, as a teacher, will we ever hear His like again.  He was and is unique and thus stands head and shoulders above all other religious teachers.   Consider this: As a man, He was born thousands of years after Adam, but as God, He beheld Satan fall long before Adam was ever created. (Luke 10:18). As a man, He was made. (Hebrews 1...

"This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." -Luke 15:2  [KJV] My soul! wouldest thou, by faith, review some more than ordinary representation of the Lord Jesus, to melt the finer feelings of thy heart, in the contemplation of His unequalled condescension and love? Let this be it, which the evangelist hath here drawn of the Son of God. Behold Him, encircled with poor publicans and sinners, alluring them to the arms of His mercy; and behold the self-righteous pharisees and scribes withdrawing from the sacred spot, and with all that indignation and scorn, which marked their character, murmuring at the grace of Jesus, saying, "This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them!" Well is it for thee, my soul, that the Son of God hath received sinners; else how should I have been looked upon by Him? And well is it that His table hath been spread for sinners; or how should I have been fed by Him?     Yea, Lord, is it not the very feature of Thy rich dispensation of...

"His bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob." - Genesis 49:24 [KJV] Our ancestors, you know, were celebrated bowmen. Victories were won at Cressy and Agincourt by the English yeomanry, who were skilled in the use of the bow. Latimer says, in a sermon preached before the king, that no man could be a good archer who did not learn from his boyhood; and the custom he tells us was for the father to put his hands upon the son's hands, to teach him how to shoot, and throw the whole strength of his body into the bow. When the boy drew the bow, it was not the strength of his own arm that drew the string, nor was it the keenness of his eye that directed the arrow to the mark. The child appeared to draw the bow and to direct the arrow; but the hand of the father was upon the hand of the child, and the eye of the father was guiding the eye of the child; thus though the child seemed to draw the bow, it was the strengt...

"I am the L ORD that healeth thee." - Exodus 15:26 [KJV] How does God heal the diseases of His people? He heals them chiefly by subduing them; for in this life they are never thoroughly healed. The promise runs: "He will subdue our iniquities" (Micah 7:19) . To subdue them is to restrain their power. Thus He sees one suffering under the power of unbelief. He gives him faith: this subdues his unbelief. Here is another poor languid patient, dying of exhaustion: He gives him strength. Here is a third mourning under his corruptions: He gives a drop of His blood to purge his conscience, and a taste of His love to warm his heart. He sees a fourth crying under the strong assaults of Satan: with one look Satan flies and the soul is set free. Thus with infinite wisdom blended with infinite love and power, He passes on from bed to bed of every sick patient, administering health wherever He goes.  This blessed Physician has a remedy for every disease, and the remedy is alwa...