And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.  Joel 2:32a

     The book of Joel repeats several times the phrase, “The day of the Lord.” You must always remember that every day belongs to the Lord, for He is working out His plans according to His schedule, accomplishing all He said He will do. This gives us hope in the turbulent times of our day. The  turbulent times in the book of Joel were caused by the sins of the people, and the turbulent times of OUR day are caused by the same. God always judges sin, and there is and will always be a consequence. For the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23a. Not only do we see God judging sin in the book of Joel, but He does so throughout the whole Bible. God set the standard of the law by which we are to live, and He has never compromised this standard. Honestly, with our sin nature, we could never keep the law of God perfectly. One thing the human race seems to do very well is sin. We don’t even need to try because it comes very naturally. As the old hymn says, “Prone to wander Lord I feel it.” So, if we can never keep the law of God, and God is going to judge based upon this standard, then we are all doomed- Except for the fact that God has a plan to solve that dilemma as well….. JESUS, our only hope.

 
And it shall come to pass:
     Always remember that whatever God has said will come to pass. The most important events that have come to pass are Jesus’s birth, death, and resurrection. These events made it possible for everyone to be able to accomplish, in Jesus, the requirements of all the law. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:3-4 ESV  Remember this very important point…. it is a walk we walk, not just a talk we talk. The old adage “Actions always speak louder than words” is very important in the Christian walk.

 
That everyone who calls on the name of the Lord:
     Jesus…. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Act 4:12 ESV  This is the standard by which one day all will be evaluated by God. The standard ….. accepting Jesus by calling on the only one who could ever save us from the consequence of being lawbreakers. The name, which describes the lawbreakers of God, is sinner. When you break laws of the land and are prosecuted, you are called criminals. To receive all the rights you once had, you would need a pardon. Before sin, man walked with God and had a relationship/fellowship with Him. Sin separated us from that fellowship, but a pardon was granted through Jesus, God’s only Son, who restores that fellowship. To call upon the name of the Lord is to realize your absolute need of an advocate on your behalf because of sin. There is power in that  name…the power to save.

 
Shall be saved:
     You must realize that you are in need before you can ever be saved. The person who believes that one day they will go to heaven because they are a good person is saying that they have lived up to God’s perfect standard. Jesus is the perfect standard, so unless you live better than Jesus, you have fallen short. To think you are good enough is to say you don’t need Jesus, which, in essence, is denying him. So where does that put us if we are honest with ourselves? None is righteous, no, not one Romans 3:10 ESV ….. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20 ESV …… For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 ESV  Just as stated at the beginning, “The wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23a ESV, the last part of that verse states, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23b ESV  Understand there is no special formula by which a person is saved, but the Bible makes clear where to start. It happens in the heart, and not just because words are spoken from the lips; actions prove the reality in life what a person believes in his heart. The greatest work or action you could ever do is to believe. Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent,” John 6:29 ESV  What you believe in your heart will come out in your speech. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10:10 ESV When you have come to grips with the fact that salvation comes only by Jesus, and the standard of his life, and your inability to ever live such a life, IT SHOULD LEAD YOU TO REPENTANCE. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret. 2 Corinthians 7:10 ESV  Which brings us back to—For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13 ESV Jesus IS our only HOPE!!

Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David

     For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. 
Hosea 6:6 ESV

     The book of Hosea is interesting in that God instructed the prophet Hosea to take a wife that He knew would be unfaithful to him. Hosea and his prostitute wife, Gomer, had three children and named each child with a name that reflected the broken relationship between God and His people Israel. The purpose in the book of Hosea is to illustrate the faithfulness of God in keeping His covenant even when His people were not faithful to Him. The book illustrates how God pursues and then redeems us from a debt that we could never repay. In the book of Hosea, Gomer represents Israel. In reality, it represents all who are the bride of Christ and the fact that we are prone to wander. We, as Christians, may be prone to wander, but God is forever faithful. With this truth it should cause us to passionately love God and not simply just know about Him.

For I desire steadfast love:
     Love without relationship will often end in rebellion. God’s love for us is without question, but our love for Him may not be as evident. In fact if we do not intentionally make the decision to love God, we will wander slowly away allowing other things to take priority. Remember this important fact…. love is a choice and not necessarily a feeling. Love can create feelings; but if you love only based on feelings, you will fall short of true love. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15 ESV  When focusing on his commandments, remember also his teaching when He was asked, “Which commandment is most important?” Jesus answered, The most important is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other greater than these. Mark 12: 29-31 ESV  You will only have this kind of love for God if you love him intentionally.

Not sacrifice:
     As Christians the greatest offering we can give to God is our lives lived intentionally for Him. Let this thought sink in. God gave His only Son as a sacrifice to pay the debt of our sins. How could
anything we offer up ever compare to his Son? When you feel you are giving something up in sacrifice to God, remember the sacrifice of God …. Jesus. The sacrificial death of Jesus means no more sacrifices are needed to pay the debt of sin, but instead we are to be living sacrifices. I appeal to you therefore, brothers by the mercies of God, to present you bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1 ESV  If you live your life attempting to sacrifice by doing more good than bad in order to find favor and forgiveness from God, then you are failing. If you could succeed in this logic of forgiveness and favor with God, then it would make the sacrificial death of Jesus unnecessary.

Knowledge of God:
     God does not want your tradition or ritual living to be your understanding of Him. God wants you to know him relationally. As a husband and a wife grow to know each other in a marriage relationship, so God wants you to grow in your understanding of Him. God will not divorce us for He is faithful, and the example in Hosea makes this clear. When we wander away, God will brings His bride…. the Christian / Church back to Himself. Salvation is not based on our ability but God’s faithfulness to His word. To have a knowledge of God is to know He will never leave nor forsake you. To have a knowledge of God is to understand He loves you more than life…. remember Calvary? To have a knowledge of God,… real knowledge, will cause you to live for Him. That is the difference between knowing about God and knowing Him in knowledge as Savior.

 
     Always remember, you and I are the Gomers, and Jesus is the Hosea who purchased us by paying the debt that we could have never paid. Satan will sell you as a slave, but God purchased you with the blood of His Son making you free. For this I will bow down in worship and be eternally grateful, for I have been BOUGHT by the BLOOD of the LAMB of GOD!

Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David

     The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings.”  
Daniel 2:47a ESV
     On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. 
Revelations 19:16 ESV

     One of the greatest delusions of our day is that everything is out of control. I have heard the question asked more than once, “if God is such a good God, why does He allow bad things to happen?” To this question I reply, “your are asking the wrong question.” The real question is, “why are you even here to ask that question?” Based on the logic as to why He allows bad things to happen, God would have destroyed Adam and Eve, and you wouldn’t even be here to ask that question. God chose to defeat evil and the consequence of evil by sending Jesus, His Son, to die for the sins of the world. This proves the value God places upon every life, that He would be willing to give His own life that we might live. So why does it seem that evil is winning? It’s not winning!!!!! God is merciful and has a patience that I cannot begin to understand but, He has His reasons. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, NOT WISHING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD REACH REPENTANCE. 2 Peter 3:9 ESV  With this thought, let us evaluate how we should view the reality that Jesus is King.

 
How do you see God?
     Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, who was not a follower of God, saw God as supreme over all gods and kings. He saw God in this light because Daniel, who was a devout follower, made it evident that God was real. How you see God will determine how you live. Do you see Him as King? A king rules over all things, and when he speaks, so it is decreed. Those who are under the rule of a king, hope he is a person of wisdom, mercy and compassion. God, as King, is more than words could ever describe, and he is worthy of all our worship praise and honor. The Christian who lives recognizing Him as such, will, as Daniel, affect the lives of all who observe how you live in respect to God as King.

 
All will see Jesus as King!
     One day the heavens will open, and, ready or not, the world will recognize Him as King of kings and Lord of lords. There will be no court to which to appeal nor a legal system that will intervene on anyone’s behalf. He is King and what He speaks will be the decree that will be. For those who are in Christ….GLORY!!!!!!!… but for those who are not…. eternal darkness and suffering beyond measure. I know the last part of my last sentence is not well thought of in this world today but it would be wrong for me not to tell the truth as warned by God. Hebrews 2:3 states, “how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”…… JESUS ….. there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. ACTS 4:12 ESV  To deny that you need Jesus for salvation would be as telling God, “you wasted your Son’s life; I could have made it on my own.” For a person thinking this way, it will not go well for them in the the final judgement. Again, He is King and what he decrees will be.

     The bottom line is this: God does and will deal with evil, but the ultimate and final judgement has not yet happened. There is time for repentance and the salvation for a person’s soul to everlasting life, and that time is now. The King one day will speak these words to every one of us, “Enter into my rest” or “depart from me.”

 
Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David

     And I will give you a heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 ESV

     So many times in this world our hearts are divided into many interest, and it becomes difficult to focus on what is important. As Christians we need to have a single focus in life…. Jesus. In him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28 ESV We are to have no other gods, which occupy our life, our thoughts, or our actions. It is what we need to pray for, ask, seek, and desire God to do in us- to create a clean heart with undivided attention. Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit with in me. Psalms 51:10 ESV Every thing in life is a heart issue, for this affects how our relationship with God will grow or diminish in daily living. In order for us to live our lives for God, two things must take place: the removal of the old and the gift of the new.

The removal of of the stone heart:
     Nothing grows in a pile of rocks. Rocks only reflect the external temperatures. If the sun is shinning and beating down upon them, the rock radiates heat. If the opposite is true- freezing temperatures- the rocks will be cold and undesirable to be close to. In fact the “cold to the bone” feeling only brings pain. So rocks are controlled by whatever the circumstances are around them and so is a heart of stone. Stone hearts have only concern for themselves and have no interest in the things of God nor concern for others. Stone hearts are the result of sin and without the intervention of God will never be anything different. The removal of the stone heart is an action only accomplished by God, for God knows nothing grows in stone. So how exactly does God remove a heart of Stone? He forgives, and makes it possible for us to feel and understand that forgiveness. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Psalms 32:1 ESV When a person’s sins are forgiven, that person will begin to feel things as the result of the presence of God which pulverizes the heart of Stone.

The gift of a heart of flesh:
     A heart of flesh acknowledges the presence of God. This is the result of the Holy Spirit that lives not in the stones of the temple that you can see with your eyes, but the temple of our souls- that is our hearts. Do you not know that your body is temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV As temples of the Holy Spirit, we can speak into the lives of others concerning the good new of Jesus Christ. Stones could never do this, so this is a precious gift and blessing we have from God. We do not need to be controlled by our circumstances, “For he who is in you is greater than he who in the world.” 1 John 4:4 ESV The heart of flesh makes it possible to walk in relationship with God. We were made for fellowship with God, and may this be a reality in your life. If it is, give God much Glory for the great things he has done in your life.

 
Because of his Grace ~ Pastor David

     The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV 

     The people of Israel had been defeated by the Babylonians as the result of compromise in their
worship of God alone. The book of Lamentation is filled with the cries of God’s people from this defeat, destruction, and captivity that they are experiencing. The bottom line of this book is incredible suffering without an end in sight, and the people lamenting… crying out to God. Think about this reality, ALL suffering in life today is the result of sin. In one’s life today a person can experience pain and sorrow that seems like it will never end, but there is hope. As long as a person has breath, there is hope because of God. By faith, even when God might not make sense, you can trust and have faith in Him. In the middle of all that they were experiencing, the people of Israel acknowledged these three truths.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases:
     God’s love is beyond our comprehension, for He loves us even when it doesn’t make sense for Him to do so. The captivity of the people of Israel was punishment not the absence of God’s love. The fact that he allowed this punishment, shows his love for them. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. Hebrews 12:6. ESV

His mercies never come to an end: they are new every morning:
     If a person wants to change the direction of their life, they must come to God in repentance of sin. David, who was called a man after God’s own heart, started his prayer of repentance in Psalm 51 with these words, “Have mercy on me, Oh God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” (1-2 ESV) We are given a promise in 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (ESV) Friend, that is mercy! Mercy because Jesus himself took our punishment upon the cross and gave us not what we deserved but abundant life. (John 10:10)

Great is your faithfulness:
     For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100:5 ESV ……. For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Psalms 117: 2 ESV God is faithful because he always does what he says. He revealed hundreds of years before Jesus came that He would send Him to  redeem us from sin and death. Jesus came, died in our place, and rose again. God also has told us that he will come again and then the judgement. God is faithful to his word. He has always been and will always be FAITHFUL!!!!

     In the world today there is much sin resulting in suffering. Not all suffering a person experiences is the result of sin, (example.. Job) but suffering is the result of sin. The word suffer did not even exist until sin. Daniel suffered with the rest of Israel as the result of the sin of a nation, but Daniel honored God even in captivity and suffering. One of the dangers that I am seeing today, is the open embracing of sin. If a people will not lament over sin in their life, they will soon lament over the consequence of that sin’s choice. Every choice in life has a consequence without exception. By faith a person who makes the choice to follow after the things of God has this belief. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV So the only thing that remains for today is the question, what will be your choice? My prayer for you and for myself is that we will ALWAYS make the right choice. The right choice is this as found in Joshua 24: 14-15 ESV Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him is sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in who’s land you dwell. “BUT AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.” Amen

Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David

     Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Jeremiah 31:31 ESV

     A covenant made between two people is a strong vow or promise that is never to be broken. Often the vows in a marriage of a man and woman are referred to as a covenant. A covenant is normally initiated by one and presented to another and upon agreement is consummated. Isn’t it interesting that in the New Testament the church is referred to as the bride of Christ? God has initiated every relationship between His creation and Himself. God so loved all the life that He had created that when His human creation sinned, causing separation from Him, He initiated a plan… covenant … to restore them back to Himself. In the Old Testament (Covenant) God wrote on stone the law of covenant required to restore a right relationship with Him. But as the covenant that was written upon stone could be cold and hard, so was the heart of man. So much so that God made a new covenant to be written where it could make a difference in the mind and heart at the same time. To have the law in your mind is eternal knowledge. To have the law in the heart is life. To have the Law in your mind and heart is eternal life. Jesus, the person by whom the new covenant would be established, was given by God and was God in the flesh to make eternal life possible.

The Law:
     God’s laws have requirements; and if those requirements are not followed or accomplished, there is a consequence….a sentence of death. The truth is, with our sinful natures, we will never be able to accomplish nor keep all the requirements. So why would God make for us that which is impossible to accomplish? It makes clear our need for Him to intervene on our behalf. God has never asked of us what He is not willing to do. This is why Jesus, God in the flesh, came and did for us what we could not do – accomplish the requirements of the law. Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplish.” Matthew 5:17-18 ESV  In fact, when Jesus spoke of the law, He made us understand that the law is a heart issue. The Law… Do not commit adultery. Exodus 20:14 ESV  The Heart…. Jesus said, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his HEART” Matthew 5:28 ESV

The Law in our minds and hearts:
     It was asked of Jesus by a Pharisee, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Matthew 22:36 ESV Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your HEART and with all your SOUL and with all your MIND. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40 ESV  All this makes the point of the new covenant that was foretold in the book of Jeremiah… the law is a heart issue of loving God.

How to go from stone to flesh:
     As in Ezekiel, this is accomplished by God. 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 I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. Ezekiel 36:26-27 ESV  In short, it is a work of God, not your works. For by Grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV

     God does not want a person to just know about Him; He wants a person to know Him from the inside out. He desires for us to have life abundantly as a result of his work accomplished on the cross. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10 ESV  Let me close with a passage from Romans that pretty much sums this up. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:1-8 ESV

Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David.

     But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his woulds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 ESV 

     Imagine with me what the experience of seeing the vision of things to come involving Jesus would like. Hundreds of years before Jesus became a man, the prophet Isaiah wrote of the events surrounding his birth, life, death, and resurrection. Everything Isaiah foretold concerning the life of Jesus happened. We have the privilege of looking back in the history of Isaiah and are blessed in seeing the prophecy fulfilled. These prophecies as well as many others concerning the life of Jesus in he Old Testament would validate that he, Jesus, was and is the Son of God. It would be impossible for one man to fulfill all the prophecies surrounding his life in such a perfect, detailed way like Jesus did except for this fact – he is God’s only Son.
Years ago I heard a term that is sad and dangerous at the same time. That term is “gospel hardened.” That is when you have heard the stories and historical facts surrounding the life of Christ so much that they cease to have an effect upon your life. It is when you begin to take for granted all that you have received as a person/Christian form God. One dangerous part of being gospel hardened is you fall away from your first love with Jesus. When this love wanes, your lifestyle evangelism for Christ becomes less evident. In fact, at times it may be difficult to see the difference between the person who claims to be a Christian and the person who does not. With this thought let us take a moment and remember what it took for Jesus to be the Savior of the world. For all those who would believe and call upon him for Salvation from the consequence of personal sin, let us remember the sacrifice and punishment Jesus took in our place.

HE WAS PIERCED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSION
     The nails that were placed in his hands and feet were nails of punishment for crimes that required capital punishment. The crime? Sin…. My sin. We have been taught that Jesus died in our place, and He truly did, for the nails that pierced his hands and feet were nails provided by our sins.

HE WAS CRUSHED FOR OUR INIQUITIES
     Every time the fist of a Roman soldier hit Jesus, it was a fist intended for our sin. The crushing weight of the cross was the crushing weight of our sin. The mental crushing of rejection from all who followed him just days before was rejection intended for us. All of this because of our sins.

UPON HIM WAS THE CHASTISEMENT THAT BROUGHT PEACE
     When all the wrath that was intended for us was poured upon Jesus, he died. However, just before he died, He said these words, “It is finished.”  What was finished? the plan God had intended was complete. the plan to redeem us back to Himself by paying a debt He did not owe… our debt. The debt of sin for which there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood by the perfect lamb of God…. His only Son. We can have peace of mind because as a Christian, we know that one day we will stand before God debt-free of sin. All the consequences of sin are taken care of on the cross of forgiveness provided by Jesus.

WITH HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED
     Every wound Jesus experienced was the salve that healed the wounds of sin in our life. The suffering that God, in the flesh, suffered for the pain and suffering that sin causes in our life. We do not have to suffer the consequences of sin and separation from God any longer because of Jesus.
     Oh what a Savior!!!! May we never be gospel hardened concerning Jesus. May we reflect, meditate, and think often of all that Jesus, the perfect lamb of God and Savior of the world, accomplished for us. To God be the glory, for great things he has done…… OH WHAT A SAVIOR!!!!!!!

Because of His Grace ~Pastor David

My beloved is mine, and I am his.  Song of Solomon 2:16 ESV

     When reading Song of Solomon, you realize that if this were a screen play movie, it would not have a G rating. This book is very descriptive of the love a man has for his bride and proper timing of exercising that love. Personal, intimate, longing, pure, commitment, physical descriptive, and faithful are just a few of the words that describe this relationship. What do we learn from this book about the love of Jesus for us? While this book is a beautiful description of the physical and emotional make up of the relationship between a man and his bride as well as the intenseness of that relationship, as Christians we are the bride of Christ, and we need to realize the intenseness of His love for us. Love, not in the romantic ways described in the Song of Songs, but rather in a personal relationship with one who has done everything to prove and give intentional love. This love longs to reach out to those to whom he loved and died for. It shows and proves His intentional love. This is not just a casual love that comes and goes, but an eternal love without end. It is love bonging for the one for whom it was intended…. His bride.
How should we as Christians/His bride respond to such love?

My Beloved Is Mine
     We acknowledge him as our Savior. Mary the mother of Jesus, knowing she was carrying Jesus, God’s only Son, spoke these words. “My should magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Luke 1:46-47. As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit and we should have ownership of this fact. Our spirit should rejoice in God my Savior. As Mary could not hide the fact that she was pregnant with the Son of God, it should be evident to all those with whom we have contact that we bear the Holy Spirit in our lives. Christians should announce the fact that we love Jesus, and as willingly as a bride would show the ring of engagement, we show the ring of engagement by the Holy Spirit in our lives. We do all this as a result of His love for us.  We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

I Am His
     As the old song says, “Now I belong to Jesus, Not for the years of time alone, but for eternity,” Jesus is our eternal love because he made it so on Calvary. the reason we are His is because we have been bought with a price.  Your were bought with a price, So glorify God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:20 ESV  As a groom would purchase a wedding ring and place it upon the finger of this bride, so Jesus gave us the seal of the Holy Spirit and placed it in our hearts. The bride of Christ – what a precious privilege to be recognized as such and to be in a relationship with one who loved me so much that he was willing to, and did, die for me. Died to redeem me from my past and give me an eternal future. Undeserving as I am, He still loved me and willingly did so.

     Perhaps we have Song of Songs because it shows the love that can only be experienced in an Unadulterated relationship. A relationship that involved mind, body, and soul. So it is, not in a physical way but in an intimate relationship with Jesus. As a man would give a woman his last name in marriage, so Christ gave me His name … Christian. As a bride would and should remain faithful to only her groom whose name she bears, so should we, as the bride of Christ, remain faithful to only Him. What a joy to have eternal love in Christ alone and to be called His bride.

Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David

     Now may our Lord Jesus Christ , and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good HOPE through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 2 Thessalonians 2: 16-17 ESV

     The word vanity is used thirty plus times in the ESV translation of the book of Ecclesiastes. The first and last chapter has this verse, “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” Pretty much the book describes everything we do as vanity and can leave you feeling a bit like, what’s the point of living, for it all comes to nothing. That would be true, if the reality of Jesus wasn’t. It is true that everything in this world and its experiences may come to nothing, but a life lived in Christ, is a life that has purpose and meaning. Purpose and meaning because Jesus is eternal and all that is done for Him will never come to nothing. We have hope because of his grace, which comforts our hearts and establishes meaning in life in every good work and word.

 
COMFORT OF HEART:
     Jesus says to those who are in Christ, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God believe also in me.” John 14:1 ESV …. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27 ESV What you believe will determine how you live. To be comforted in your heart, Jesus must be the focus of your life. You live believing who He is-the Son of God; and what He has done- saved you by His grace.

 
ESTABLISHED IN GOOD WORKS:
     For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 ESV … Let us hold fast the confession of our HOPE without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. Hebrews 10:23-24 ESV Never let us waver from the fact that we are saved by the grace of God and not works. (Ephesians 2: 8-9) Let us also never waver from the fact that as a result of being saved by God, our life work will make evident that fact. James says it best, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show my faith by my works.” James 2:18 ESV

 
ESTABLISHED IN WORD:
     I have stored up you word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalms 119:11 ESV … Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalms 119:105 ESV … I wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in his word I HOPE Psalms 130:5 ESV… God’s word is to be active in us, which is the evidence that we are established in Him and He is in our heart. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16 ESV 

 
     Life without Christ is truly vanity. However, because of Jesus, life has an eternal purpose that He will accomplish in every Christian. This gives hope in the present and the future because Jesus is here, and he is in the future. Vanity, what does that mean to the Christian?
It means nothing to those who are in Christ, living intentional for His purpose.

 
Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David

A wise king sifts out the wicked, And brings the threshing wheel over them. Proverbs 20:26 NKJV

     The concept of living under the rule of a king is foreign to us who vote for our leaders. We play a large part in who governs us in our land. But a king is appointed and given ultimate authority over his subjects. If he is a good king, the people and land prosper. If he is a evil king, the people live under a burden, and the land does not prosper. So how do you differentiate between a good and bad king? A good king has many good traits, and a bad king would obviously have evil ways. A good king is a servant leader, merciful, and very wise. These are just a few traits that describe the King of kings and Lord of lords. (1 Timothy 6:15 ESV) To make clear of whom we are speaking, we are speaking of Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus’s kingdom is not of this world, but is a kingdom of invitation. In becoming a part of His kingdom, we submit ourselves to His authority over our lives and are willing to follow him as King and Lord. His kingdom is a kingdom built on love and was established based on love from the beginning of time. So let’s look at the three good traits listed above of a good king, and better understand Jesus as King.

 
SERVANT LEADER:
     For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and gave his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45 ESV Jesus gave the ultimate example of being a servant leader when He came and served those whom He would call into His kingdom… which was not of this world. A good leader will always be an example to those who he/she leads. Jesus gave the invitation, “Follow me,” which involved taking up a cross. He would lead the way in this by taking up His cross and defeating all the consequence of wickedness. Jesus followed the will of His Father by dying for the sins of the world. He sacrificed Himself; and when following Him, we should become living sacrifices to God. (Romans 12:1)

 
MERCIFUL:
     Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 The throne of Jesus is one of mercy. He became like us, being born as a man, yet totally God. When we approach His throne, He is not as one who doesn’t understand, for He has experienced all that comes with being flesh and its temptations, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4: 14-16) He has defeated wickedness by living wise and overcoming sin.

 
VERY WISE:
     There will be a day when all will gather before the throne and Jesus in his wisdom will know who is part of His kingdom and who is not. When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angles with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and will separate people one from the other as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25: 31-34 ESV …… Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angles.” Matthew 25:41 ESV ( Read Matthew 25:31-46 for this full account. ) As the wise king in Proverbs 20:26, He will sift out the wicked. This is not wickedness based on our standard of goodness or wickedness, but God’s standard. To be wicked before God is to have rejected His Son, His teachings, and His sacrificial death for our sins upon the cross. God is very wise in who is and is not a follower of His Son King Jesus.

 
     Accept the invitation to follow, making Jesus King and Lord of your life. Choose you this day whom you will serve. My prayer for you is, that you will be wise in your choice.

 
Because of is Grace ~Pastor David