God's Son Has Come

Matt.3:1-17
1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'" 4 Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15 But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
I stand reminded of the blessing of a humble and Spirit filled human being every time I hear my pastor preach. I realize that all pastors are not speaking the whole truth of the Lord. My pastor is so humble before the Lord, in his manner before his flock and takes great care to speak the whole truth. Today's lesson was on repentance and resolutions. It was taken from Matthew 3:1-17 and it highlights John the Baptist and how his ministry prepared the way for Jesus. John the Baptist was a humble servant who prophesied boldly, lived simply and baptized openly. The message he brought was that God's Son is here to save the repentant sinner and that judgement is coming for those who turn away from Christ!
Repent: Salvation is here, damnation is near!
Repentant sinner: confession (admission of sin)
                           : contrition (sorrow over sin)
                           : conversion (turn from sin)
Renounce your self dependence! Salvation is not dependent upon heritage, your righteousness, or your worldly accomplishments! Rely on the mercy of God! He is Savior king, He will transform your hearts and purify your lives! He is the righteous judge, His wrath is imminent, and his punishment is eternal! If you have given your heart to Christ, you must be baptized. The bible clearly show us that baptism is what God expects from His servants. Christ, by example, identifying with sinners and showing us the picture of salvation by his death and resurrection, in obedience to His Father's Word, was baptized. The Spirit anoints, that is to say, He sets us free by the power of His salvation! Jesus is God's beloved Son and our suffering Servant!  It is with a heart of love that I tell you that today is the day of salvation. Someone reading this may not have a tomorrow. Trust Christ today.
Lord, by Your power and for Your glory. Amen
Ps.2:6-8
6 "As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill."
7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.Is.42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

A Proof of a Work of Grace in the Soul

Zech.12:10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
This verse is speaking about when God will appear for the salvation of His people. In spite of His treatment by unrepentant sinners, there will be a great awakening to His glorious power. At Christ first coming He bruised Satan's heel by His birth, but with His second coming He will bring destruction to all the powers of darkness and death will be swallowed up in victory! The holy Spirit is full of grace and mercy. He shows men their weakness, guilt, want, ignorance, misery and danger. We must listen to God's Word and follow His commands. When Christ returns for His bride, the church, everyone who has a part in rebellion and unrepentant sin will feel remorse! They will be inconsolable! Lord, deliver us from wicked rebellion! There is still time for all to repent and follow You. Amen

What is Life?

What is life? It is oh so much more than a blood filled warm body or neurons firing in the brain and rhythmic heartbeats. These are just some of the Creators miraculous secrets of life. Life was created by a Creator, I AM! While it is true, your mother and dad caused you to be born, they are not your Creator! They were only part of God's plan to bring you here. And you are here for His purpose!
Is.44:6 "This is what the LORD says--Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.
Rev.22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Ex.3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
Ps.139:13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.1 Cor.6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.Lord, You are worthy! Amen

What Have You Offered Christ?

Luke 7:36-50  One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he answered, "Say it, Teacher." "A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?" Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly." Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven--for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?" And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
We must go before the Lord with a humble heart and the hope of mercy. We need to always remember that Christ is our everything! Just take time everyday to praise Him! He is worthy of all our praise!
Lord, we are all sinners and no one can judge another. Correct us when we start to think we are better than someone else. Our sin is equal in Your eyes and only You are the judge! Amen

Serve Him with One Accord

The conversion of the nations will be a glorious sight!
Zeph.3:9 "For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord.
Zeph.3:11-13 "On that day you shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me; for then I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones, and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain. But I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD, those who are left in Israel; they shall do no injustice and speak no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. For they shall graze and lie down, and none shall make them afraid."
Some serve the living God, others do not! There is only one God, He is faithful and just! His mercy is great and His judgment is sure to come soon to all those who deny Him!
Zeph.1:14-18 The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
Lord, we bow down and call You king! We long to be with You and to praise Your name forever! You alone are worthy of all our praise. Forgive us when we fail You and teach us Your way. Amen

The True Meaning of Christmas

Today I read this article written by Rev. Mike Shaw, a local pastor and President of the Alabama Baptist Association. He tells us about the true meaning of Christmas and breaks it down into three parts: God's gift, God's grace and God's glory. He begins with what the word Christmas means. It comes from 2 words meaning "to celebrate or worship"(mass) and the anointed one, the Messiah, Christ. It literally means the worship of or to celebrate Jesus Christ. He told of the OT truth Isaiah wrote about in the bible 740 years before the birth of Christ.
Gift:
Is.9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
John 3:16-18  "For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Before the birth of Jesus, His mother Mary was visited by an angel, Gabriel. She was a virgin and engaged to be married to Joseph.
Luke 1:26-28 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"
Grace:
"Favored" translated from the Greek word charis is where we get our word charity. In parts of the NT, it is translated "grace". Grace means "unmerited favor". Mary was told God's favor rested upon her, and because of her submission to God's plan, all of us can have God's grace. We are sinners and that sin separates us from holy God. We can never be good enough! Our hope is found in Christ alone!
In light of all the bad things that happen, Christ offers hope to all peoples. He gives grace to those who choose to seek Him, to call on Him, to love Him, to follow Him, to worship Him and to serve Him. And that grace has power to enable us to do all things.
Glory:
Luke 2:9-14 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"
Who were the first people to hear the good news of Christ being born? Kings, the wealthy merchants or people of means? No! Humble shepherds who were keeping watch over their flocks out in the dark of night!What terror they must have felt when these figures came from no where and were accompanied by great amounts of blinding light. But what joy they must have felt to hear that good news! It is still true today that Christ offers salvation to the world. Will you bow to Christ as Lord?

What Does the LORD Require of You ?

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Divine justice has been met by Christ alone! His blood was the atonement for our sin! There is no other way of reconciliation to God but through Christ! Our pardon rest solely on the willingness of Christ to humble Himself unto death on our behalf! With this in mind, we must be humble before the Lord!
When I read this, my heart is so over joyed! That an Innocent would take blame for me, a guilty sinner!
Lord God Almighty, how can we know the depth of You! It is hidden from our feeble minds and hearts. But, someday all things will be revealed. Forgive us and show mercy to the ones who do not know You. Open their hearts to Your good news. Open our mouths with the good news of You! Amen
I was born a sinner and it will not be denied! I am under the divine grace of a Savior who loved me and who was obedient to His Father when He died for sinful man. We must tell the good news that Christ died for all sinners, everywhere!!