Sunrise, Sunrise

Sunrise September 24, 2014

From our Porch

Sunrise, September 24, 2014

From our Porch

On Wednesday morning I awakened to this gorgeous sunrise. In a few minutes it had turned from that deep orange to pinks and blues. It was breathtaking.

Whenever I see such amazing beauty, I am so grateful to God for giving us sight and perception. I know I've said that before, but each time it strikes me anew as to the generosity of our loving God.

 PSALM 95: 6-11

 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

when your fathers put me to the test

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

For forty years I loathed that generation

and said, 'They are a people who go astray in their heart,

and they have not known my ways.'

Therefore I swore in my wrath,

'They shall not enter my rest.' 

 'For there is one God, and there is 

one mediator between God and men,

 the man Christ Jesus,

who gave Himself as a ransom for all...'

- I Timothy 2:5-6
   
 

REPENTANCE

 

My Bible study group is studying I Thessalonians. In a commentary on that book, one author wrote, 'Repentance is not a philosophy of life. Repentance involves an allegiance to Jesus as Lord and Christ. For the Thessalonian Christians, repentance meant a change of allegiance from Caesar to King Jesus. For new Christians, that initial moment might be very clear, but idolatry is deeper than simply going to a temple to worship a false god. Idolatry is anything we put in place of God...People make idols out of history and nature and economics and politics...It is simply not true that once you say a prayer or have a certain kind of experience you are in...These Thessalonians had to keep turning to Christ for the rest of their lives, and so do we. They had to be continually delivered by Jesus through repentance and faith...Our final salvation does not rest on how good we are or how much we have changed. It rests upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus provides forgiveness and righteousness, and Jesus is continually at work to deliver us from the wrath to come.' 

 

 - from I & Thessalonians - The Hope of Salvation, James H. Grant Jr., edited by R. Kent Hughes. You can find this book in hardcover or for your Kindle at Amazon.com

Have a blessed Lord's Day.

The Rescuer

Photo Credit

'For he delivered [RESCUED] us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.' Colossians 1:12-15

 'He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of HIS MERCY. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior...'  Titus 3:5-6

'For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.' Romans 5:6-10

When Paul and Silas were in prison, the jailor asked them, 'What must I do to be saved?' They replied, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.'  You can read the whole account right here, Acts chapter 16.

A wise pastor asked his congregation not 'What was the date of your baptism?' nor 'Have you asked Jesus into your heart?' but 'Who are you trusting? Who are you following? Run to the Rescuer. He never turns anyone away.'

Author, Second Chance - A Tale of Two Puppies

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A Different Gospel?

'It is a temptation to think that by being nice and accommodating we can make the Christian gospel seem like a great little addition to everyone's life. But the gospel is not a great little addition. It is a soul-shaking, costly, demanding reality. The church cannot hide this fact! The gospel is not about self-therapy. Despite our pressured, taut, nervejangling age, the Christian message is not there just to make us feel better about ourselves or more able to cope. It is about coming before our great God and Savior, confessing our sins, entrusting ourselves to Him, and surrendering our claim upon ourselves to Him. What is needed, and what is most lacking in the church, is a little character in differentiating its message from self-help therapies and marketing strategies. Our deficiency is not that we lack the right technique. It is that we often don't have a real alternative.'

- David Wells, Tabletalk, January 2011. Read the entire interview here.



'...If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.' - Luke 9:23