Ezekiel 36:25-32

I was cleaning out my documents and ran across this great comment on this particular scripture in Ezekiel 36. I don't have an author's name but will post it as I find it a heartfelt interepretation of the scripture.

25)I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26)And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27)And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28)You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29)And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30)I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31)Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32)It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

Do these words bring you joy, are they a pleasant aroma, do they bring life to your soul? From the beginning God has set apart a people for himself to be born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. The Ezekiel scripture above is a promise that’s fulfillment does not depend on the volition of man, rather it is certain to take place in God's chosen vessels of mercy. God's faithfulness in preserving His people is a sure thing. Those born again WILL walk in the Spirit. They WILL struggle with the ever present reality of sin and they WILL indeed loathe themselves and long for the redemption of their bodies. But until that day they will--by faith--rest in their declared state of righteousness merited by the life of Christ, and be moved by the Spirit of God to walk in the light as He is in the light.Let the scoffers and mockers of grace trample Christ under foot; to this end they were appointed. Also let those who see the merits of Christ unfit to secure a seat at the table, labor and strive to earn the favor of God; to this end they too were appointed. But let those who have been brought low and broken, who see the depth of their depravity, weep and mourn for the appointed time. Then let them be renewed in their minds, renewed in strength, leaning fully on the grace of God in Christ and walking in obedience to His word; for to this end they were appointed.

Grace Cherished!

A wonderful message from Pastor Tim James:


http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=23152314234

Numbered Days!

 I have cancer. I don’t want it but I didn’t have a choice. I’m not whining because I know that even cancer hasn’t come to me by chance but by the loving Hand of my Lord, but I still don’t want it and He is ok with that…He knows my frame and remembers that I am but dust! Psalm 103:14

I could already write a book but I won’t. I could tell you all the hardships, how it changes lives, mine and those I love but I won’t. I will tell you that the clichés are true, time is more important and the family that He has given you is more precious.

Jesus healed the leper, the woman with an issue of blood and the daughter of Jarius, ruler of the synagogue. He healed the centurion’s servant and Simon’s wife’s mother. There was the man with palsy (Arise and take up thy couch), and the restoration of a withered hand and the blind man’s sight. He may not heal me but the comfort is in knowing the One who can.

It is of the greatest comfort to know that our Sovereign God determines the days of our life. I call them our numbered days, for He knows that exact number of them. He has appointed the limits and we cannot pass those limits. We cannot live a day longer or a day less than what is appointed to each of us. He has given us the medical field to help us along our days but they do not kill us with their inabilities, their failures, their malpractice, nor do they keep us alive by their knowledge, their tests and their treatments. All of it rests in the Hand of the Lord our God.

 “Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass” Job 14:5  

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”

“A time to be born and a time to die” Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

Grace and Peace

Thorns and a Worm!

I find it amazing that in the midst of living and doing daily things God does remind me of Himself in so many ways. Looking outside alone will turn my thoughts to the Creator be it the blue sky, the clouds, the stars at night, even the rainy days as He waters the land.  We were in the mountains this summer and that was a daily reminder of the beauty He created. 

But sometimes it is simply the mundane things that we tend to when He brings to mind those profound truths of Scripture that can stop you and bless you deep in your soul, I experienced that just the other day and I was so thankful.  

Of all the mundane things to be doing I was pulling weeds and since we had been gone for the majority of the summer there were plenty. I made myself comfortable sitting on a small stool and had my gloves on, sitting in the shade listening to sermons and hymns on my iPod.
  

There were many different kinds of weeds (under a big blue spruce tree) but the one that gave me the most trouble is called puncture vine; the thorns are hard and nasty. Even with gloves on I had a hard time not getting punctured and it hurt, big time!  

I continued on pulling weeds though and during the process found a worm, a green one. The two together, the thorns and the worm were vivid reminders in that moment of the Lord Jesus and His crown of thorns and the reason He suffered that pain and agony. My pain was so minimal, so it made me stop and think of His pain with the crown of thorns: 

Mar 15:17  And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head 

He suffered that pain and agony willingly for those He came to save, for those the Father gave to Him. In Scripture called the sheep, the elect ones, the redeemed, saints, the Church, but man is also called a worm; I am the worm.  

Job 25:6  How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?  

"Alas! And did my Savior bleed,
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?"  

Isa 41:14  Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.  

And He does, the Redeemer comes to us, helps us and we have nothing to fear.  

Hallelujah what a Savior  

Grace and Peace!

Precious Reminders!

A believer may look over his life, particularly the years he has believed the gospel, and find occasion for great sorrow and heartache over his sins and their consequences. He may bewail the fact he has “blown it” and find himself wishing he could do it over again.

He may even give place to those who, comparing themselves to him, dismiss him altogether as one who has “made shipwreck of the faith” and awaits only damnation for having “gone too far” and “continued to sin” after having known and proclaimed the truth.

It is a good thing to mourn over one’s sins, be they sins of the past or sins of the present, for sin itself is never a “good thing”. Moreover, the consequences of sin are sober reminders of its destructive nature. Some have been all but crushed under reminders of their past sins. Some who read this may be among them.
But those who believe the true gospel of God’s grace in Christ must be reminded and instructed in the following, and rest in it as the bedrock of their assurance of mercy, and eternal life:

1. God loves you, and has loved you always (Ephesians 1:4; John 3:16).

2. Your life has turned out exactly as God has intended. All the days ordained for you were written down before one of them came to be, and He ordained them and He wrote them down (Psalm 139:1-16).

3. It is impossible to “blow”, to “ruin”, the Christian life. The Christian life is God’s, and the Christian is God’s workmanship. (Ephesians 2:10a). God works in the Christian to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). God has prepared in advance every single good work you will ever do, and you, to this very day, have walked in every single one He prepared for you to do (Ephesians 2:10b).

None are lacking.

He shows His glory in various degrees and measures, and He has demonstrated His glory in you exactly as He has determined (Romans 12:3).

4. Nevertheless, do your past (and present) sins distress your heart and trouble your conscience? It cannot be otherwise for one who believes the gospel. Through the heartache and pain, know this: God has cast your sins into the depths of the sea and separated you from them as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), and this is and was true of you even during the time they were going on. Because Jesus Christ bore your sins (all of them: past, present, and future) on the cross and suffered the full weight of God’s justice toward you as your Substitute, He has nothing but affection, compassion, and good intentions toward you. This, and this only, is your motive for turning from and stopping sinful attitudes and practices: Thankfulness your sin debt has been paid and He loves you freely, and love, on account of this, for what pleases Him.
What is more, though He is opposite all sin, He has included even your sinful failures in His sovereign plan for your life and has ordained them to this end: He will ultimately bring good out of them and will preserve, protect, and bless you in spite of them (Romans 8:28-39).

5. Though some may look at the temporal consequences of your sins and say, “That is God’s punishment toward him, God manifesting His wrath toward him.” They only by this show ignorance of both the sinfulness of sin and the wrath of God. The temporal consequences of your sins are tokens of kindness and love from God, not wrath, for they have a purpose: They wean you from earthly affections and sharpen your focus on what matters, what is eternal and what is real. They also bring the tears, not of despair, but of mourning, tears He Himself will wipe away from your eyes when you are found in His presence.

God brings the tears to the end He should take them all away.

John Pedersen
July 30

We are fishing!

We are off for our annual fishing trip to Blue Mesa Reservoir. I am working at the campground this year, not quite sure why I made that decision but I did so will honor the commitment. :) Have a wonderful summer! We have an awesome fishing dog, she loves it!

Grace and Peace

The Boy!

I love this picture of the boy! I've called him that since he was born, not sure why it just seems to fit so perfectly. We have had girls for so long in our family so a boy....wow is all I can say. He's learning early the passion of his mom, riding his horse. What a little cowboy he is, following the tradition of the family!

Love him so much!

Wayfaring Stranger!

One of my favorite songs and a new wonderful rendition, listen if you have time. I've always thought the term 'wayfaring stranger' portrays a believer sojourning in this world very well. A stranger can be one who is in an unfamiliar place and doesn't belong and we can relate to that as this world is truly not our home.

Isa 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

Christ is the highway, the way and every true believer walks this way. It is the way of holiness, not our holiness (as some would have it) but His holiness which is imputed to us as He is our sanctification. The unclean shall not walk this way and although we are unclean by nature in Christ we are undefiled. (Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.)

Oh how we were fools before we knew Christ in the truth of His gospel. We erred in our thoughts about God, Christ and salvation and were on the broad road but those who are now in Christ do not err on the way of salvation for we have been taught of God. Oh how comforting that is. 

While here, as the song says, our pathway can be rough and steep and many dark clouds hover over us. But we must remember that we are only traveling through and when we go home to see our Father and our Savior we will roam no more. 

 Rev 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 

Grace and Peace!

 

Looking Unto Jesus!

“It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, ‘Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of his children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus.’ All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: he tells us that we are nothing, but that ‘Christ is all in all.’

Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument—it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking unto Jesus.” Keep thine eye simply on him; let his death, his sufferings, his merits, his glories, his intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to him; when thou liest down at night look to him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after him, and he will never fail thee.

Charles Spurgeon

The Conscience!

One of my favorite sermons!

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?m=t&s=7310714109

Saved By Grace!

In reading the scriptures, I not only find that salvation is by God's grace alone, but also that grace is shown to sinners in a way that honors His justice in the punishment of sin through the death and resurrection of Christ. What does the Bible say about divine grace??

1. GRACE WAS GIVEN TO SOME SINNERS IN CHRIST FROM OLD ETERNITY. "Who 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 Timothy 1:9)

2. GRACE IS FREELY GIVEN BUT ALWAYS ON THE BASIS OF THE SUBSTITUTIONARY DEATH OF CHRIST. "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24)

3. GRACE IS A SOVEREIGN GIFT FROM GOD. "And He said, I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee, and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy" (Exodus 33:19)

4. GRACE WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY ADDITIVE FROM MAN. "Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work" (Romans 11:5-6)

5. GRACE FOR GUILTY SINNERS IS ONLY TO BE FOUND IN CHRIST. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:14)

6. GRACE IS THE POWERFUL MOTIVATING PRINCIPLE THAT GOVERNS A BELIEVER'S LIFE. "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14)

7. AS GRACE IS THE THEME OF OUR SONG IN THIS WORLD, SO IT WILL BE IN ETERNITY. "By the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10)

---Pastor Jim Byrd

Grace and Peace!

The Doctrine of Made Sin

2 Corinthians 5:21

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

I spent several years trying to understand the uproar over the current teaching on Christ being made sin and I did want to put it all down in a simplified writing. I’m having a hard time with the desire to revisit it again and again and it really isn’t simple.  However I wanted to write down these 3 points that best bring together this doctrine and why I can’t embrace it. This doctrine denies the biblical doctrine of imputation and the imputed righteousness of Christ.

• Christ was in agony in the garden because He knew He was going to become one of us; going to assume our nature (meaning our sin nature)

• Christ had to be guilty with guilt of His own before our sins could be imputed to Him. According to this doctrine justice will not allow God to impute guilt to a man who is not guilty with guilt of his own.

• The teaching is true of ‘righteousness’. We first had to be made righteous before Christ’s righteousness can be imputed to us.

There is so much to refute in even these 3 points so I will copy a few distinct statements that helped clear up the issue for me, I hope it will do the same for you.

“I know that God did not make Christ “guilty” before He imputed the sins of His elect to Him.

I know that to say Jesus Christ was transformed into a sinful being in order to save sinners is blasphemy and is repugnant to the very heart of the gospel. He is ever the Lamb of God without blemish or spot, and separate from sinners.

I know the imputation of righteousness to God’s elect is not merely declarative of a condition that already exists but is constitutive. God justifies the ungodly. He calls those things which do not exist as though they did.

What is described above may be contrasted with the true gospel, which teaches that Jesus Christ bore the sins of His elect as a Lamb without blemish or spot, and endured the just penalty due to murderers, fornicators, adulterers, blasphemers, and thieves, paying their sin debt by the virtue of His righteous and holy life, that they might be accounted blameless and righteous in the sight of God.” John Pedersen

There is so much written down on this subject and this is just the tip of it but I believe gives the very basic ideas. I hope you will research, read and listen and not follow blindly anyone who teaches this or bury your head in the sand. I did for awhile until the Lord gave me the desire to know, I’m thankful that He did.

Grace and Peace,

eileen~

The Doctrine of Made Sin!

2 Corinthians 5:21

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

It’s difficult to know where to begin on this most disturbing doctrine that is currently circulating.  I need to do some research and see if there is correlating doctrine over the centuries of Christendom, I haven’t done that yet. I first heard of the current doctrine about 5 or 6 years ago but I didn’t understand the whole issue and quite honestly didn’t research it for myself. I rarely comment on things I haven’t come to conclusions on without research so I let it go thinking perhaps it was much ado about nothing (that’s what they would have you believe).  The Scripture certainly does say Christ was ‘made sin’ and often controversy such as this is simply over words and the understanding that others have of those words. At first glance that is what it seemed like but after further study and the ‘hearing’ of what was being said I realized it is more than a misunderstanding of words, it is an error! The questions are always; is it a life and death error? Is it another Gospel and does it change the Spotless Lamb of God.

Heb 13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

This doctrine began in the Sovereign Grace circles and so I became further acquainted with those who preach and uphold it as I circulated amongst these groups. I won’t be using names in this post because I am not into condemning ‘men’, instead I am commenting on doctrine. Sometimes people can’t separate those and it is then that the conversations and discussions become heated and the words ‘heretic’ and ‘false prophet’ abound. I have a hard time with labeling; I’ve been labeled myself so I generally don’t go in that direction and this will be no different.

Imputation is the traditional thought on how Christ was made sin and there are differences in how people perceive even that doctrine. I believe the Scriptures lay out a beautiful picture of how Christ bore our sin and hope to set down some of those pictures as I try and document my thoughts……..to continue

Grace and Peace

A Prelude to the doctrine of "Made sin"

There is a current (perhaps centuries old) doctrine that is circulating and has been for many years on the Scripture verse: 2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The current doctrine circulating is that Christ when upon the cross took INTO Himself our nature and that is how He was made sin and sets forth that it is more than imputation, I will get into the details as I post. That doctrine is disturbing to me because I know my own nature and IF Christ took the sin nature of man He would no longer be the Sinless Lamb of God without spot or blemish, Christ forever the same.

Often we are called to stand for what we believe is the truth, this is one of those times. We lose friends, we lose much in this temporal world but we are called to defend the truth. Christ IS the truth, therefore we must not draw back. I hope to set down my thoughts on the Scriptures that address this most important topic.

Grace and Peace,
Eileen

Our Lives Are Written In His Book

August 11, 2013 at 2:43am

John Pedersen

Our lives are written in His book,
Our days, ordained and planned,
Each thought, each deed, each word, each look,
Proceeding from His hand.

But what of sin? You say to me,
Of hurt, of heartache, sore?
Did God plan these, make these things be?
Bring all this from His store?

Oh yes, all things He has ordained,
He's penned before all time,
And yet by evil, He’s not stained,
Nor guilty of a crime.

The greatest sin was planned by Him,
The killing of His Son;
Before or after, there’s not been
A greater, no, not one.

Life’s Author mocked, betrayed, and killed
By hands of wicked men;
This, this crime, was by God willed;
This, authored, by His pen!

And this, by God, when Satan’s lust
Was slaked, and darkness fell,
This the day my sin-cursed life
Was saved, from Satan’s hell.

Here, the spotless Lamb of God,
Took all my sins away,
Here, His righteousness to laud,
The dragon He did slay.

On this day of murder, shame,
He wrote before the worlds,
He glorified His holy Name,
His righteousness, unfurled.

My life is written in His book,
My days ordained and planned,
Each thought, each deed, each word, each look,
Proceeding from His hand.

Remember!

"Remember, soul, Who holds and keeps you;
Through the trial, failure, falls;
He’s ordained the days that greet you;
Words, thoughts, and actions, ordered all;

He will ne‘er let ill befall you,
All He does is for your good;
For His glory He has called you,
For His sake truth’s understood.

He, your Sovereign, loves you ever,
Gave Himself, your life to save;
Nothing from His love can sever,
Nothing in life, or by the grave."

John Pedersen
March 21, 2013

The Pop Gospel is Evil, But There Is Good News.

The popular, “God loves everybody and Jesus died for everybody” gospel is not an innocent mistake in Bible interpretation. It is an evil perversion of the message of Scripture. It glorifies man and denigrates God. It presents the picture of a God who loves all mankind and desperately longs for the salvation of all mankind, but is powerless to actually bring about His desire without the consent of those He loves. If God cannot do something without your permission, your power of contrary choice is greater than God’s love and desire to save you. That makes you more ultimate than God. Heady stuff.

The essence of this perversion is this: self-glorification. Man is glorified when God needs man’s help to save him. Man is glorified when God loves all men the same, and salvation is found in whether man decides to love God back. Man is glorified when the difference between one person and another is not in God’s discriminating love, but in man’s; in a person’s own decision to exercise his “free will”.

From the beginning, not one single person has been saved by this perverse message. Not one. This claim is not arrogant. It is a claim required by submission to the message of Scripture, wherein it is plain God does not and will not save by a lie. God cannot and will not save by a message denigrating His holy character and exalting the inherent ability and power of moral discrimination found in man. For God to save a person by this perverse message would be tantamount to God bringing His salvation by an act of self- contradiction and a denial of His own faithfulness and power. As the Scripture says, God cannot lie, and He cannot deny Himself.

Now it is true enough that the pop gospel has been the handmaiden of many a moral reformation and a change of life direction. But this is not to be confused with salvation as it is biblically described. To believe the gospel in the biblical understanding of the term is to believe “unto righteousness”, i.e., to leave off trusting in one’s own righteousness and to accept, receive, and embrace the righteousness of God as it is revealed in Christ. It is simply impossible to be saved by believing a message which actually fortifies one in a conviction of one’s own righteousness by teaching that one’s own "acceptance" of Christ makes His cross-work effectual.

Now I realize that many in the “Reformed community” claim to have been saved under the pop gospel of “Evangelical Arminianism” and to have “grown” into the “Reformed Faith”. That is like claiming to have been given life by a lie and “grown” into the truth. It is a false claim and it is really an extension of the thinking inherent to the pop-gospel.

God is not like a “bait-and-switch” car salesman who gets you “in the door” by flattering you and glorifying you as master and commander of your life, only to later on break the news that it is really of Him you are in Christ. To think and speak of God this way is arrogance and affrontery to the true God.

The gospel of the Bible is good news. It tells how forgiveness is found in Jesus Christ and what He has done. It tells how God can be just and at the same time justify and forgive a sinner. Nothing in the gospel of the Bible complements or glorifies man. Nothing. All of the good news of the gospel is good news concerning God, and glorifies God and the effective work of Jesus Christ on the cross, who saved each and every one of those He came to save and did not waste one drop of His precious blood.

Would you know forgiveness and peace of conscience, and assurance of eternal salvation? Look to Christ. Not the "christ" of the pop-gospel, who would flatter you into a false hope and complement you into a pseudo-salvation, but the true Christ of the Bible, a Savior who really saves and Who keeps all who come to Him, renouncing their own pretended righteousness and embracing the perfection of His obedience and the satisfaction His death has made to the law and justice of God.

John Pederson

2/3/2013

The Boy!

It had been a very long time since we had a baby in the family, so of course this one is very, very special. He entertains us beyond imagination! He turned one this month, oh my how time does fly! Sometimes it is sad how quickly time flies by and how much we miss or neglect each day.

The old saying is to 'stop and smell the roses' and now that I'm retired I understand that a bit better. We can get so consumed by our responsibilities, especially at work, that we forget to enjoy all the Lord has provided for us.

It's the theme of the day you know.....'stress rules'. I'm thankful for this boy who brings us such joy, thankful for this new season to have the time and the mindset to look around and enjoy the bounty of the Lord.

 Grace and Peace!

Retired in Pictures!

The third day after I retired we went to Blue Mesa for two months to fish, wow! I had never fished from a boat so it was a new experience for me, plus being gone from home for 2 months, which was a bit hard. It certainly is a different lifestyle to be retired; I don't set the alarm for 6:00am and I don't plan around a 5 day work week.The biggest blessing for me is that I am no longer responsible for all the jobs I did working at the bank; and I'm thankful to the Lord that He lifted that burden.

Colorado is beautiful, especially the mountains so it was a joy to see them again, to breathe in the cool mountain air, to watch and listen to the rivers rolling along (my favorite) and to catch some awesome Kokanee salmon. We will go back up soon to hunt for mushrooms. In the meantime..............

Grace and Peace!

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!