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

" The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." — Proverbs of Solomon 13:4 [KJV] In the busy scenes of life, in the awful moments of death, the formal professor, as well as the profligate and profane, will desire to escape misery and woe, and enjoy heaven and happiness. But alas! how vain and fruitless are such desires! If these may be called good desires, 'the way to hell is paved with them,' saith an ancient father of the church. But in this, the wisdom of the children of God is manifested . They are diligent in the use of such means, which, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, will be crowned with a blessed end. They cannot rest in desiring, but in possessing; not in wishing, but enjoying. They find and feel their souls want continual supplies of food from Jesus, support from His promises, nourishment from His word and ordinances, and life from His Spirit. And as their desires are quickened, thei...

"If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." — I John 2:1 [KJV] In the glass of God's holy and righteous law we see what an unholy and unrighteous thing sin is; it is hateful in the eyes of a pure God; it has separated between God and the sinner, and tends to his eternal destruction. The gospel in no wise renders sin less odious to God, less heinous in His sight; far from it. Yea, rather it paints sin in the blackest colours, and shews its deepest malignancy, by the gracious method of its atonement. View the holy Lamb suffering for sin on the cross; see the streaming blood, and hear the direful agonies of the Son of God on account of sin; and say, O believer, is sin a little matter, a trifling thing? Learn daily sin's evil by its remedy—sin's poison by its antidote—the hell it deserved by the Person Who redeems. And ever, O my soul, hold fast this as a sacred truth, though God loves thy person in Christ Jesus, ye...

" God hath chosen us in Christ, before the foundation of the world." — Ephesians 1:4 [KJV] So the apostles wrote and preached, to comfort and establish their brethren in the faith of Christ, in the love of God, and in the sanctification of the Spirit unto all true holiness. The election of sinners, by God the Father in Christ Jesus, from all eternity, is the foundation from which all faith and hope spring. If this truth is rejected, the atonement of Jesus is made precarious, the work of the Spirit uncertain, salvation doubtful, faith void, the promise of none effect, and the hope of eternal life is made to depend on the will and power of weak and vile sinners, instead of the grace and truth of God. But in every age, men of corrupt minds, destitute of the truth, have opposed God's sovereign grace, everlasting love, and eternal purposes. God hath suffered it, "that those who are approved might be made manifest." — I Corinthians 11:19 . Humble, self-e...

" What shall we say then? shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" — Romans 6:1 [KJV] Believer in Jesus, what are thy thoughts? what is the answer of thine heart this day, in regard to thy walk and conduct in life, from the important doctrines of grace? Canst thou say, the everlasting love of God the Father, reigning through the righteousness of Jesus unto eternal life, manifested in the gospel, and applied by the Holy Spirit through faith, have the least tendency to give reins to thy lust, to open a door of licentiousness, and to encourage thee to continue in sin? Doth the belief of the guilt of sin, being atoned by the precious blood of Jesus, influence thee to the love of sin? Doth the knowledge of Christ's righteousness imputed unto justification of life, tend to make thee delight in unrighteousness and unholiness of life? By no means: God forbid! to bring such an heinous charge against divine truths; O what daring impiety! what horrid blasphemy...

The Day Zacchaeus Got Saved, Part 1   by D. G. Miles McKee   Luke 19:1-10. A great preacher was teaching his students about extemporary (impromptu ) preaching.  Without warning he told one of the young men to come up to the podium and preach on Zacchaeus. Here’s what the surprised young preacher said for his sermon. ‘Zacchaeus was a small man…so am I. Zacchaeus was very much up a tree … So am I Zacchaeus made haste to come down…and so will I.’ He sat down to thunderous applause and cries of ‘More, More, More.‘ ‘No’ said the old preacher, no more. He couldn’t improve on that if he tried’    The Biblical story of Zacchaeus is the saga of a small man who wanted to see Jesus. He was probably a youngish, physically fit man.  I say that because he was fit enough to run and active enough to climb trees.  I’ve rarely seen pensioners running or old men climbing trees.   The story starts with the word “behold ” (v2). This is a biblical word indicati...

" God is faithful, by Whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ." — I Corinthians 1:9 [KJV] While we entertain a notion of a God out of Christ, it affords no comfort to the mind to hear of God's faithfulness. Nay, if we were not blind to our state, as sinners, the thought would fill us with dread and horror. For how awful, how terrifying is this declaration from a faithful God: "I will by no means clear the guilty." — Exodus 34:7 . But "we know that the L ORD our God, He is God, the faithful God, Who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations." — Deuteronomy 7:9 . O this is the life of poor sinners' souls! this is the joy of their hearts! For whenever one reads of the COVENANT, it reminds of Jesus the Surety, the Mediator, of God in Christ, the God of love, our reconciled God and Father. We have no immediate access to the Father but by His Son Jesus Ch...

" Ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." — II Peter 2:25 [KJV] Scripture allusions continually remind us, "that salvation is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God who sheweth mercy:" therefore, not unto us, not to our free will, but to Thy free grace, O Lord, be all the glory . Like that poor silly creature, a sheep, we naturally stray into all kind of danger, but are unapt to return of ourselves. We never should unless the shepherd sought us. "We have turned every one to his own way," have lost ourselves in the wilderness of sin, are wounded by the wolf of prey, blinded by pride, self-will, and self-righteousness. We delight in our distance from the good Shepherd. We please ourselves in feeding on carnal lusts and sensual vanities, while our poor souls are in a starving, perishing condition. Unparalleled love! the sheep's wounds are healed by the Shepherd...