His Riches

"The exceeding riches of His grace." Eph 2:7

JEHOVAH glories in His grace. It is His riches, His wealth. All its riches is intended for us, to be expended upon us. They are all treasured up in Jesus to be received by us. They are promised and presented to us. They exceed our thoughts, our expectations, our faith, we do not believe that God has provided and promised so much for our good as He has; and therefore we do not ask for, and expect so much. Let us this day think of " THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF GRACE." Jesus was the gift of grace, so was the Holy Spirit, and so are all spiritual blessings. Grace includes, and is the source from which flows all the church has received, is receiving, and will receive throughout eternity. Grace freely gives, but never sells. It has a bountiful eye, a tender heart, and a liberal hand. We are not straitened in God, but in our hearts. Oh, that we did but believe what God has revealed in reference to the riches of grace, and expect to receive according to His most liberal promises! There is an abundance of grace, and it is for us; for us this morning, for us whenever we apply. Let us therefore have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound!
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

The Believer's Daily Remembrancer by James Smith

Insignificance of the External

"Let it never be forgotten that the material part of a Christian Church is by far the least important part of it. The fairest combinations of marble, stone, wood and painted glass, are worthless in God's sight, unless there is truth in the pulpit and grace in the congregation. The dens and caves in which the early Christians used to meet, were probably far more beautiful in the eyes of Christ than the noblest cathedral that was ever reared by man. The temple in which the Lord Jesus delights most, is a broken and contrite heart, renewed by the Holy Spirit". ~ J.C. Ryle

O Sinner, Come Home!!

I love, love, LOVE this hymn. Loooooooooooooooove it! We sang it last night as a prelude to a sermon on the importance of sharing the gospel message with unbelievers. I decided to post it here as a feeble effort to do just that--share the blessed message of the gospel to someone who is needy. Who knows that the Lord might use this little blog post and the title I've given to it to alert one of His own that He is indeed calling that person to Himself.

Read the words carefully if you've come here in an unconverted state. Perhaps Jesus is calling YOU.

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
Mercies for you and for me?

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
Coming for you and for me.

O for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.

Refrain:
Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

(Please turn off the music on the sidebar and reverently listen as you read the words. Of course, you will read the refrain after each stanza and play this as many times as you need to.)

Archibald's Prayer

"O most merciful God! . . . Thou has a perfect right to dispose of me, in that manner which will most effectively promote thy glory: And I know that whatever Thou dost is right, and wise, and just, and good. . . .And when my spirit leaves this clay tenement, Lord Jesus receive it! Send some of the blessed angels to convey my inexperienced soul to the mansion which Thy love has prepared. And O! let me be so situated, though in the lowest rank, that I may behold thy glory. May I have an abundant entrance administered unto me into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; for whose sake and in whose name, I ask all these things. Amen."

Prayer uttered by Archibald Alexander, founder of Princeton Theological Seminary, shortly before his death in 1851.

Keep the Unity

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:1-6

The ministry of the Word which we heard yesterday was wonderful. That's the only way to describe it and the impact it had on my heart. I've heard many sermons over the years on the importance of unity in the church, but the two sermons preached yesterday on the above passage were outstanding. I can only thank the Lord for them. We were visited by a young man who has preached at our church many times before and how thankful I am to have had him come once again to preach to us. God has recently given him a church to pastor and he shared with us some delightful food that I'm sure his congregation has enjoyed.

What stood out for me from this two part sermon on this passage, was what Pastor X. emphasized about the diversity that is found in the body of Christ, believers from different ethnic groups, ages, genders, etc. all coming together as one. We're not being told in this passage to do something outside of what is true from chapters 1 through 3 of Ephesians, but to KEEP what we already have. I love that. We already have unity because of what we are in Christ. As he said, "you're a bird, so fly." Get it? We are in Christ and are one in Him. The apostle Paul is telling us to continue in what we already have. I like it that he said he didn't want to bring down the law heavy on us, telling is "DO, DO, DO," but was reminding us that we HAVE peace, so live it. That really blessed me so much.

I cannot do these sermons justice, but I hope you get the picture.

Your Rock

"Believe God's word and power more than you believe your own feelings and experiences. Your Rock is Christ, and it is not the Rock which ebbs and flows, but your sea." ~ Samuel Rutherford

Susannah

There is a sweet article at the Persecution Blog. It's entitled "She Refused to be a 'Sunday Only" Christian." Please read it, especially if you're a mom.