Happy New Year!

Though it Seems Not!

Though it seems not to natural sight,
That all is sweetness, joy, and light;
Though circumstances and events,
Are hard and don’t look heaven-sent;
Though heartache is found everywhere,
And sleep departs because of care;
These things you see, and feel, and know,
Will pass away, with all below;
And what remains, and will endure,
Established, settled, and secure;
Is what the God of Glory’s done
By sacrifice of His dear Son:
By righteousness, forgiveness, true;
His rising, making all things new:
By love that will not let you go,
And this, by eyes of faith, He shows.

by: John Pedersen on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 5:22am

Grace and Peace!

Seasons!!

Ecc 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

This portion of Scripture has always been comforting to me in every season of my life.
The seasons of joy, the seasons of hardships and grief and the seasons that simply linger as the days go by. Think back on the totality of your life so far and I know you will recognize what I am talking about. The interesting thing in the Scripture above is that there is a purpose to everything; it is God’s purpose for His creation, all of His creation.

Most often we don’t grasp the purpose but as believers we can know with certainty that every bit of it works for our good…………amazing thought isn’t it?

I spent a good many years blogging here and have loved every minute of it. The Lord used the writing and the study to grow me in the grace and knowledge of Him and I thank Him for that season.

When my husband of 38 years died almost 3 years ago I said that I would never remarry and at that time of course that was the way I thought and felt. It was my season of grief and widowhood. I remember the admonitions of the Apostle Paul when he said in his judgment a widow would be happier remaining a widow but that she was also at liberty to marry and I always thought that would be me. But then the Lord gave me different thoughts and different feelings and I desired to be a wife again, to be a help meet, to love a man and to be loved by him in return. I had a desire again to have intimacy and someone to tend to and someone to care for.

And so today I have a new season………….a new marriage, someone to walk this journey with again and I’m thrilled, pleased and so thankful. I probably won’t be around much but I guess we never really know what tomorrow will bring do we? In the meantime……………..

Blessings to all,
Grace and Peace!

Ain't it so!

This Inward Conflict!

(Philpot, "The Knowledge of Good and Evil" 1845)

"I know that nothing good lives in me—that is, in
my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what
is good—but I cannot carry it out." Romans 7:18

Now it is this which makes the Lord's people such a
burdened people—that makes them so oppressed in
their souls as to cry out against themselves daily,
and sometimes hourly—that they are what they are
—that they would be spiritual, yet are carnal—that
they would be holy, yet are unholy—that they would
have sweet communion with Jesus, yet have such
sensual alliance with the things of time and sense—
that they would be Christians in word, thought, and
deed; yet, in spite of all, they feel their carnal mind,
their wretched depravity intertwining, interlacing,
gushing forth—contaminating with its polluted stream
everything without and within—so as to make them
sigh, groan, and cry being burdened, "What a wretched
man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"
Romans 7:24

He would not be entangled in these snares for ten thousand
worlds—he hates the evils of his heart, and mourns over the
corruptions of his nature. They make the tear fall from his
eye, and the sob to heave from his bosom—they make him
a wretched man—and fill him day after day with sorrow,
bitterness, and anguish.

None but a saved soul, under divine teaching, can see
this evil—and mourn and sigh under the depravity, the
corruption, the unbelief, the carnality, the wickedness,
and the deceitfulness of his evil heart.

This inward conflict, this sore grief, this internal burden,
that all the family of God are afflicted with—is an evidence
that the life and grace of God are in their bosoms.

"Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord!
So you see how it is—in my mind I really want to obey
God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a
slave to sin." Rom. 7:25

Grace and Peace!

At-One-Ment!

Atonement= ‘at one with God’ THROUGH the sin atoning blood of Jesus Christ.

There are many in Christendom who embrace what is known as ‘universal atonement’; believing that Christ shed His blood for everyone and now it is only a choice (free will) left up to the individual as to the efficacy of the blood atonement.

However the whole of Scripture teaches us that those whose sins Christ atoned for on the bloody cross HAVE BEEN (past tense) reconciled fully to God and that God Himself has accomplished this reconciliation through Christ Jesus. We cannot reconcile ourselves to God by choosing to be reconciled, just as we can’t be saved by choosing to be saved. If universal atonement is in fact a truth (which we know it is not) then there also HAS to be universal reconciliation, universal faith and universal salvation.

(2 Corinthians 5:18) “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.”

(Romans 5:10) “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

(Ephesians 2:16) “And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.”

(Colossians 1:20-22) “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. (21) And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled (22) In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.”

We know of this reconciliation in our own individual experience (regenerated mind) when the Spirit reveals to us the blessed truth of the Gospel and by faith we see and rejoice in all the spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ Jesus. That is when we know that God has peace with us as He looks to the blood atonement and we know that NOW we can have peace with Him. Atonement and reconciliation decreed from eternity, accomplished in time at the cross, applied to and embraced by only those for whom it was intended. “It is finished” He cried and it was.

Grace and Peace!

Rejoicing!

1Th 5:16 Rejoice evermore.

To be glad, take delight, to make joyful, to gladden! Philippians 4:4; we are called to rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice and there is absolutely no reason why we cannot do that. We aren’t called to rejoice in our circumstances, our tests, our trials or our tears and temptations but to rejoice in the One who brings them to us for His good purposes and which work for our good. Certainly He gives us temporal reasons to rejoice as well, the birth of a new child for instance, the love of family and friends, reconciliations and even the rain that He sends us from heaven. But rejoicing in Him is different isn't it? He isn't temporal, He is the Alpha and Omega, He is Jesus, the same today, yesterday and forever!

I was blessed most recently to attend a Gospel conference in Kentucky with a dear friend in Christ and we rejoiced exceedingly because we were pointed to that very One! I was reminded of Luke 24:32 “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, while he opened to us the scriptures”? It’s a perfect description of hearing the Gospel proclaimed by faithful men whose life’s calling is to preach it because they love it! Nothing stirs the heart more than the love of Christ Jesus.

We didn’t rejoice in ourselves or the things of this life but we rejoiced together in the Lord our righteousness and our redemption by His blood. We rejoiced together that by His work our names are written forever in the Lamb’s book of life and that His electing love is from everlasting to everlasting and nothing can separate us from it. We weren’t pointed to our circumstances or our frames but we were reminded of the firm ground and foundation upon which we stand in common, therefore we always have reason to rejoice together as believers. We met new friends, hugged familiar ones and rejoiced together. What a blessed time it was!

“Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 1 Peter 1:8

I pray you are rejoicing in Him this day!

Grace and Peace!

Temptation!

A friend posted this thought the other day, “Never mistake temptation for opportunity” and yet that is how temptation comes to us doesn’t it? It appears as a subtle opportunity to fulfill whatever pleasurable desire of the flesh is ours, for a season! Hebrews 11:25

There was one fruit that was forbidden to Adam and Eve, yet Satan presented Eve an opportunity to look at the forbidden in a different way. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eye, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat” Gen 3:6…Eve was tempted and deceived and she seized the opportunity to fulfill the desire that was hers. Adam wasn’t deceived but fulfilled his own desire; he loved Eve more than he did God and they both fell.

Nothing comes to me without God’s hand, but the temptation is mine to claim and in that temptation I am humbled, my faith and my patience are tried and I see my weakness and my need of Christ, temptation has a purpose. I pray I might be led to prayer and watchfulness by those temptations and I might remember that in my flesh I am carnal, sold under sin. Only in Christ and the power of His Gospel can I flee the hour of temptation.

“And lead us not into temptation” Matthew 6:13a

“Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak” Mark 14:38

“Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand”. Psalm 37:24

Grace and Peace!

Righteousness!

Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments.

And the angel said to those who were standing before him, "Remove the filthy garments from him." And to him he said, "Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments." Zechariah 3:3&4

‎"Then they go into the entrance-hall, and whom do they find there? The King, and those with whom He is well pleased. They see, they understand clearly how every one there has been clothed in the wedding garment. “That covers thee entirely,...” it is said, “it covers both thy poverty and thy misery; put on this garment and thou wilt please the King. The Bridegroom has prepared it for thee and He Himself wears no other.” How highly favoured they are. Can they take any rest, or find any peace until they have clothed themselves in the garment of the Lamb? Well then, this garment is the all-sufficient atonement, righteousness, and holiness of Christ." H.F. Kohlbrugge

Grace and Peace!

Solitude!

It’s most comforting to enjoy one’s solitude, it is even desirous amidst this fast paced life we live today. Have you noticed that solitude is really always there in our minds? We live secluded in our minds regardless of the activity we are participating in, be it work, play or any activity! Conversations swirl around us and we lend an ear but our thoughts can be elsewhere, engaged in deeper thought or meaning and is the solitude of the mind.

1 Corinthians 2:11a “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?

Solitude is different than loneliness although outwardly they can appear as the same. Loneliness is when you feel as if something is missing, solitude for me is the inner man at rest while alone, satisfied and peaceful in my thoughts.

Psalm 63:5 “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

My morning has been one of joyful solitude and I always thank the Lord for times like these for I am renewed and refreshed.

Isaiah 35:1 “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad……..and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose”

Grace and Peace!

Wrest, Wrack and Torture!

Ralph Venning (c. 1622-1674) A Nonconformist pastor and theologian.
RE-POST!

Draw not conclusions from other men’s principles and then say that they are their opinions.

We may make the same complaint as David: “They wrest, torture and wrack my words.” Alas! Men set everything on hooks and stretch and twist every principle like a nose of wax. Alas! What a pity it is to see men invert and pervert one another’s words, and a length to draw such conclusions as would make one think they meant what they never meant!...So some mistook and misreported Paul as if he had said that we might do evil so good might come thereof (Romans 3:8). So the Jews despose that Christ said He would destroy the temple at Jerusalem in three days and raise it up again, when He spoke of His Body (Matthew 26:61; John 2:21). What words thus wrested and perverted may not be called heresy and (as they said of Christ’s words) blasphemy when, if taken as meant, and in their proper sense, they may be found very sound and consistent with truth??

Take heed therefore of…commenting upon another’s text.”

Some More Stuff!

What a great band of the 70’s and 80’s; Journey. I was trying to think back to how I listened to rock & roll when I was married to my cowboy who listened to country and I can’t remember. I probably listened to it while he was out doing his work and I was in doing mine. He never did like ‘my’ music although I grew very fond of country

I can’t believe it’s been two months since I’ve been here. I’ve been busy at work and at home and out and about a bit more often with friends and family so it’s been a nice summer. I went to the wedding of a young woman who I watched grow up in the church. It was a sweet day to hear them commit themselves to one another and to the Lord, what a blessing it was, plus we had a blast dancing away at the reception! We have had a hot, hot month when everything seemed to burn up and the last couple of weeks we have had some nice rains, thank you Lord.

The social network facebook has been quite interesting this summer as it seems it has become the place for Christendom to discuss the implications of the Gospel. So I read and glean and read and answer and read and get mad and read and laugh sometimes at some of the absurdities. Oh Christendom, Oh Christendom!!

I’m thankful though for facebook as I have met many wonderful Sovereign Grace Baptist believers and several pastors who are willing to minister to those who are outside the institutional church, especially with Sermon DVD’s.

I’m still reading Kohlbrugge and reading “The Poor Man’s NT Commentary” by Robert Hawker among a few other books that are stacked up and it’s all good reading.

I’m headed to Kentucky in September with my dearest friend and her girls for a Gospel conference and I’m really looking forward to it, Lord willing of course. Two and a half days of hearing the Gospel message face to face from Gospel preachers, what a blessing it will be.

Hope to be back blogging soon but I trust that if it is to be, it will be!

Grace and Peace!

The Lord is my Portion!

“My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” Psalm 73:26

This truth came to mind this morning as I read the plea of a young woman who is currently discouraged in the faith. She is an open and honest young woman when many in this day and age aren’t. Seems that so many want you to think they have no struggles or thoughts that are not ‘politically correct’ but of course we all do, we are all very much human. I encouraged her to read Hebrews 11 to be reminded of the saints of old and to be reminded that our faith takes endurance just as theirs did. We can be confident that the Lord provides that very endurance to every saint even in the midst of the most difficult trials and tribulations.

It doesn’t matter what the trial is the answer is still the same, the sweet truth of the Gospel! We can look for fulfillment in other ways; we can look for answers elsewhere, nothing will satisfy but Christ Himself and the truth of His Gospel. I know that many would see that she currently has no local ‘church’ to be a part of (as so many of us) and would blame that situation for her current discouragement but I don’t think that would hold true. I’m reminded of a young woman in the church who voiced her discouragement at being in church every Sunday and I’ve often thought that was because she was looking for fulfillment in that activity and not to Christ. I wonder, as she continues in the pew, if she has found that fulfillment yet, I hope so!

My point is simple; nothing outside of Christ satisfies the longing heart and that is why He is our portion. Portions of other things fade away don’t they? My portion of dinner soon disappears and portions of an inheritance don’t last forever but the inheritance we have in Christ never fades away and is reserved in heaven for us.
(1 Peter 1:4)

John Gill:

and my portion for ever; both in life and at death, and to all eternity; this is a very large portion indeed; such who have it inherit all things; yea, it is immense and inconceivable; it is a soul satisfying one, and is safe and secure; it can never be taken away, nor can it be spent; it will last always.

May the Lord be your portion this day and always!
Grace and Peace!

Summer Break!

Ahhh, wishful thinking on my part! Doesn't it look inviting to sit in those chairs and listen and watch the beautiful ocean? I don't think that is in my summer plans, I hope it can be in yours.

It's already a busy summer and it hasn't even started officially by the calender, so I'm not going to be diligent about blogging for now. I hope to see you in a couple of months but who knows what the summer will bring.

In the meantime enjoy yours!

Grace & Peace!

"Comfort for God's People!"

"Blessed be His name, Jesus Christ is the Fount and Source of all the real comfort we enjoy. He is THE WAY in which the consolations of the Gospel are conveyed to the hearts of His people. This we see in Isaiah 61:1-3: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has appointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to announce that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the Lord has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.”

Here we see Jesus filled with the anointing which secures comfort to every indigent, poor and needy child committed to His care and attention. In their poverty and misery these find substantial comfort in the unsearchable riches of Christ abounding in the Gospel. To hearts broken with a sense of sin, and rent with a dread of God’s wrath, Christ appears to bind up and soothe with the balm of His blood and the discovery of the love of God in the removal of all guilt, and the forgiveness of all sin. Comforts and joys abound as He reveals Himself as the Liberator of souls from spiritual captivity. These are by nature prisoners, locked up under Satan, sin, and law; but when He comes He brings liberty from the damning power and plague of sin, freedom from the law of sin and death, and deliverance from Satan’s vile slavery. The liberated ones are called to endure many a hard fight of affliction with Satan, sin, and self, and to experience seasons of torment from the miserable comforters who hug their chains of legal bondage; but He who graciously sets them free from their bondage, will see to it that His comfort shall not be lacking in the set time of His Father’s appointing. Pardon is comfort to a condemned criminal. Forgiveness is comfort to a repentant son. Justification is comfort to a convinced sinner. Acceptance is comfort to an outcast of Israel. These the consolations which God comforts by His word and Spirit.

Thomas Bradbury


Grace and Peace to all of God's People!

Spring Stuff!

Well spring has finally arrived after a long winter. It has been a wet one and I am thankful. After so many years in a drought situation you treasure each drop of moisture even though it causes all the typical hardships…mud, chilly temps, dirty dog feet and well you get the picture. Usually I have to warm up the carburetors with my hair dryer on my mowers but this year they both started up first try, one for the lawn, one for the weeds. Speaking of weeds I’m planning on pulling some out of the flower beds today! Guess I’ll have to wear my coat!

Currently it is the most stressful time at my job that I have ever experienced and I wonder sometimes if I should retire or go on. The older you get the harder it is for new challenges and changes and I’m not sure about my mindset. Is it “I can’t do this” or “I don’t want to do this” so I’m trusting that the Lord will direct my thoughts and steps. Boy do I miss my husband right now. He would encourage me and talk with me and it always helps to have that input.

Every time I go out I hear the doves and I’m reminded of our time on the ranch. I love how sounds can transport you to special places and those places become vivid again. Thank you Lord for the reminders.

I’m working on a blog about the ‘rule of grace’. It is always kind of interesting to me how those thoughts come about and then they start to gel and come together and it feels as if I’m compelled to write them down. My time is limited right now to work on it continuously with the yard work ahead but I jot a note here and there. I get excited when I read the Word and Scripture just moves on the page and it grips you in it's truth and power. Thank you Lord for the written Word!

Grace and Peace!

Deep Deep Love!

Jeremiah 31:3 “The LORD hath appeared from afar unto me saying: Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you”.

Everlasting: that is from eternity, always, eternal, lasting, perpetual, at any time, (beginning of the) world + without end.

A truth, an amazing and comforting truth from the Scripture that God has always loved His elect and He always will. His love is exactly like He is, sovereign and unchangeable. He not only loves us now in the present but it is the same love with which He loved us from all eternity. It is as the song says; ‘Vast, unmeasured, boundless and it changeth never, nevermore’.

We can only grasp and know this love by faith but faith is neither the cause of His love nor the beginning of it. There are those who believe and teach that God hated us and only began to love us in time commencing with faith but the Scripture attests otherwise. God Himself chooses whom He will love as evidenced by Romans 9:13 “As it is written, Jacob I have loved but Esau I have hated”. Faith and repentance are an effect and fruit of this very love that is shed abroad in our hearts at conversion and it endures forever. Nothing can or will ever separate us from it. It is the everlasting love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

We were by our very nature like all mankind, born dead in sins and trespasses and deserving of the damning wrath of God. We walked in those sins and trespasses and delighted in them in our unregenerate state according to Ephesians 2. But the Scripture doesn’t end there as it is only showing us that our nature is no different than the sons of disobedience. It is Ephesians 2:4-5 that gives us the full picture and focus of this chapter and it is; “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His GREAT LOVE with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).

Now we are alive in Christ so we can begin to comprehend the greatness of our union with Him. Christ is made manifest to us and His great love is revealed to us in His Works. His humble incarnation, His life of perfect obedience to God the Father and especially His going to the bloody cross to atone for our sins; these were works of great love for His people over 2000 years ago. This is the love we are to be rooted and grounded in and by faith we can begin to know the breadth of it, the length, depth and height of it. Ephesians 3:17-19. What a glorious gift, the gift of faith for even though it is not the cause of our union in Him by it we begin our lives of communion with Him.

While we sojourn here we will never fully comprehend His love for His own but the beginning knowledge of it stirs the very depth of our own hearts and minds; there is no greater love. I pray that we each can know this love and that we can begin to love one another as He has loved us. John 13:34.

Grace and Peace!

Accepted in the Beloved! Re-Post

I found this post while I was looking at some past comments. I shut off my comments some time ago because that was never my purpose in blogging, my purpose has always been to put down the process the Lord has taken me through in this journey of growing in His grace and knowledge. The journey involves so much doesn't it? I was encouraged to read this very post myself again because it so captures the essence of God's eternal love for His people which has never varied or changed. There is no shadow of turning with the Almighty! I think I'll have to find this sermon of Don Fortner's again and have a listen!

Ephesians 1:6 “to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved”.

Accepted, not acceptable and verse 4 explains to us how God did this wondrous thing. He did this by His grace, the grace that is free, sovereign, eternal, immutable and indestructible and it was BEFORE the foundation of the world. Being accepted in the Beloved declares to us that there is a union with Christ, an eternal union that Christ has with all of His people. This union never changes, never varies, is accomplished by God in eternity, not in time, not by us and is not dependent on our feelings, our deeds or anything else that we might think comes from us. This union is IN Christ and it is for His sake and what God doeth we cannot undo for it is altogether by grace.

Christ is the Beloved Son, our mediator, our surety. Hebrews 7:22 “by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant”; one who steps in the place of another before law. The law cannot touch the one who surety represents and Christ is our eternal surety. God ceased to look for anything from us, He looks to Christ as the Lamb slain, as that, which was done from eternity and we are ‘accepted in the Beloved’.

In Paul’s last letter to his beloved son Timothy, he tells him to be not ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor to be ashamed of Paul himself, a prisoner of the Lord in the affliction of the Gospel. And he reminds him that the Lord “hath saved us, and called us with a 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” 2 Ti 1:9

No doctrine is sound without this truth or that fails to recognize the believer’s everlasting union with Christ. We are one with Christ from everlasting and that union is now ”made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought to life and immortality to light through the gospel” 2 Ti 1:10

Christ was made manifest by His appearing, just as our union with Him is made manifest ( to make clear to our understanding) to us in time by the results of that everlasting union, the gifts that flow from His grace, our faith and the transformation of our lives. HE brings life and immortality to light and though it was given before time began we experience His grace in time when He brings that light and life to our soul and when we know what He did for us from eternity.

Salvation is a person whom we trust, we know, we seek, we love, we walk with and we believe. We live by trusting and resting in this very person, the Lord Jesus.

Christ is exalted!

Everlasting to Everlasting! (2)

Accusations and Reflection!
Eternal Justification!

Over the centuries there have been those who agree that from eternity the elect of God have all spiritual blessings in Christ, including justification. It isn’t some new fangled doctrine thought up by a bunch of heretics for it has been discussed by all the greats of the faith and conclusions have been drawn for both views. I actually did a word study on ‘heretic’ recently and you can find that study here.

As I continued my study and writing to further my blogging on this subject I found myself greatly agitated and wondering why. Reflecting upon that agitation I came to the conclusion that it was fueled by the recent virulent accusations against myself and the saints that I fellowship with in truth. It is an understandable human reaction to defend yourself and your beliefs when you are attacked and yet I found it very distasteful in myself. We stand before God, not men and so my own focus has been changed and I simply want to share a few things here. There is a plethora of material to read and to help further your own understanding, Lord willing of course!

John Gill, the beloved Baptist theologian in his “A Body of Doctrinal Divinity”, Book II, Chapter V, section II wrote his article “Justification as an Eternal and Immanent Act of God” and you can find that here. It is an enlightening read!

I found the following article entitled “The Doctrine of Eternal Justification in Light of the Westminster Tradition” (2) extremely helpful in understanding the thoughts of those who don’t hold to Eternal Justification and those who do. This was found in the Protestant Reformed Theological Journal and the author of the article was responding to the rejection of the doctrine of eternal justification. Quoting from the article which can be found here.

“We consider that, as long as our justification 1) has its source in the immutable and absolute decree of God 2) has its objective basis in Christ’s satisfaction on the cross, and 3) has its subjective realization in the elect by faith, we cannot see why any should object to the presentation of the doctrine as a decree to justify. While the various aspects of justification ought to be distinguished, they may not be separated. It must be maintained that the decree is irrevocable.”

I hope the Lord will give you a desire to search the Scriptures to see if these things be true.

“Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the thing that are not done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” Isaiah 47:10

“Yea I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it” Isaiah 47:11 b

Grace and Peace!

Everlasting to Everlasting!

Accepted in the Beloved!

Ephesians 1:3-6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved”

Chosen and accepted in the Beloved before the foundation of the world, what a glorious truth and comfort to the people of God. Praise Him from whom all blessings flow! We were blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ before the world began and these blessings flowed from the purpose and grace of God for His elect.

“Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” 2 Timothy 1:9

Our acceptance in Christ is solely a work of God from beginning to end. I doubt that many would argue that point, or at least I hope not. The Scriptures seem clear to me that the spiritual blessings that we have been blessed with are ours because of the Sovereign Decrees of God and those decrees were before time, before the foundation of the world. My name is in the Lamb’s book of Life, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world and it is called the book of life because of the decree of election unto eternal life in Christ.

Many questions come to the surface when people speak of eternal things and they can become confusing and can easily be misrepresented. The looming question for many seems to be, to put it simply, when were those spiritual blessings actually ours and what are they exactly? Some say from all eternity (I'm one of them), some say only in time. Does it matter you might ask? Well, whatever is taught in Scripture should matter to us because truth matters and we should diligently search trusting the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth. I certainly learned a valuable lesson just recently in how I use language to convey what I believe and so we must learn to express ourselves rightly lest we convey an erroneous idea, I hope and pray to do that!

For God wills nothing in time but what He willed from eternity.

Grace and Peace!

to continue

FAREWELL AMERICA!

Raising Your Hand!

We raise our hand over the course of our lives in many ways don’t we? We usually start in school when we want to ask a question or even give an answer and the teacher calls upon us to do so. We give the thumbs up when we like something and this gesture implies one thing and the thumbs down implies something different.

It is one thing to be called upon but it is quite another to raise your hand and admit an error, any kind of error. I, like all of mankind find admitting an error hard to do. It goes against our pride or our desire to be well thought of but at the same time I have found in the long run it is the easiest and the best to do. Thank you Lord for teaching me that.

I used the word “timeless” in a discussion about eternity and eternal things and I used it in complete ignorance and in an unknowing way. I certainly have never believed that eternity is timeless nor do I believe that God does not work out His decrees in time.

Because of the use of that word a young man has misrepresented the teaching of godly men and for that I have publicly apologized which I am also doing here. I myself learned that there is an actual doctrine that teaches timelessness and that is what these godly men have been accused of. I hope that his Christian integrity will show forth in his retracting any statement applied in the wrong way.

I raised my hand!

Grace and Peace!

Friday Stuff!

Listening to tunes and making cookies on this cold, snowy, windy Colorado evening. I always liked Bob Seger and this is one of my faves. I do laugh at myself because I actually have so many faves but maybe you do too!

Those of us who live in Colorado have several sayings about the weather. The story is if you want the weather to change just wait 15 minutes or you’ll hear ‘only in Colorado”. I think that has been true all over the states this year, a different year for sure. Last night when I came home from work it was 67 degrees, warm and sunny. Today was windy, cold and it snowed all day. It wasn’t cold enough for the snow to pile up as most of it melted. I can’t wait to see the wild flowers on the prairie this year because of all the moisture. I want to get in my car, take my camera and capture some beauty, DV!

It’s tough going in banking! There are so many regulations because of the fiasco of the mortgage industry which cause the little community banks to suffer greatly. It isn’t a fun job anymore but I’m thankful for what the Lord has provided. I can’t believe I’ve been working there 21 years this month. I remember in vivid detail the first day I went to work, I was scared to death and didn't think I could learn. I would sing every morning before I got out of bed "This is the day that the Lord hath made" so that I could remember to rejoice in His providence. Little did I know that the job He had given me to do was one He had equipped me to do. The ways in which He grows us and teaches us in our experiences still amaze me sometimes.

We are doing a bible study in a book by John G. Reisinger titled “Abraham’s Four Seeds” –A biblical examination of the presuppositions of Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism. Mr. Reisinger is of neither persuasion; instead he is a New Covenant theologian and he has much the same mind set that we do although there are some things that we disagree with. The Lord continues to bless us in growing in grace and in knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I’m still thinking spring
Grace and Peace!

Promises & Blessing!

The following is a quote that I've saved but I can't give credit to who deserves it because I don't know that. Thank you to the one who put it down as their thoughts so I could count the thoughts as my own and share them.

"I am a child of GOD (See John 1:12). HE loves me with an intensity that refuses to be diminished (Song of Solomon 8:7) HIS plans for me are always good. (See Jeremiah 29:11) HE loves me because HE has chosen to and not because of what I do or don’t do. (See Ephesians 1:4) HIS goodness and favour will chase me all the days of my life. (See Psalms 23:6)

Every blessing in Christ Jesus is already mine. (See Ephesians 1:3) By faith, I will enter into a path that is abounded by GRACE that my Heavenly Father has prepared for me. (See Romans 5:2) I am everything HE says I am. (See 1 Corinthians 15:10) I can do everything HE has called me to do. (See Philippians 4:13) I can have all that HE has called me to have. (See Psalm 84:11)

My days will only grow brighter.(See Proverbs 4:18) HIS favour is upon me and will never leave me.(See Lamentations 3:22-23) Nothing that comes my way can harm me. (See Isaiah 54:17) HE orchestrates my circumstances so that everything works for my good. (See Romans 8:28) Without respite and fear, I will hold tightly to the hope I say I have, because my GOD can be trusted to keep whatever it is that HE has promised. (See Hebrews 10:23)

I am LOVED with an everlasting LOVE (See Jeremiah 31:3). All my needs are already taken are of (See Phillipians 4:19), so there is no room for fear (See 1 John 4:18)"

Halelu YAH!

Leaning Leaning!

I was reminded of this hymn just the other day and I remembered that it was my very first favorite hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”. I think it was probably the song I heard when I went to church the first time as a believer. It comes from Deuteronomy 34: 27 which says: “The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms”. Of course we know that Jehovah God doesn’t have arms for us to lean on but He speaks to us in ways that we as creatures can understand. “This is what the learned people call an anthropomorphism which means that in order to understand some of God and to relate to Him, we attribute to Him human characteristics. (The word is made up of two main parts “anthro” meaning man and “morph” meaning to take the shape or form of.)”

Psalm 89:13 “You have a strong arm; Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted”; He is mighty to save, He is mighty with power, He is the Almighty. We remember that it was God who picked us up out of the miry clay and set us upon a rock, the Rock of our salvation the Lord Jesus. Psalm 40:2 We used to sing Psalm 37:23-24 in church and I was always comforted to know that although I might fall I would never be utterly cast down because His arms were underneath upholding me.

To lean on Him speaks to us in so many ways and I think that is why the song is so meaningful. He is our protection and we ought to know that if we trust Him with our very souls we can trust Him with every moment of our days. “The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate” Psalm 34:22

It is futile to put our full trust/confidence in men for all men are untrustworthy in one way or another and we all know that in our own experience. We must also include ourselves because we fail in being trustworthy as well because we are sinful creatures. We are told that it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man, Psalm 118:8 and yet how often we run to men thinking that they will surely protect and defend us only to find sore disappointment. He works those disappointments for our good and in them we are pointed to the trustworthy One. Certainly we have a measure of trust in those that we love but ultimately we should remember that our faith, trust and confidence should be in God alone.

I can’t lean for you and you can’t lean for me but what we can do is encourage one another with the Word of God as we see the day approaching. We can remind one another that the Lord is our Rock, our defender and our fortress as we keep on the path and as we trust Him on the journey. We truly are safe and secure!

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms

Grace and Peace!