My Needs - His Fullness!

 My Needs - His Fullness!

All plenitude is in Christ, to answer all the needs of His people. In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead, that out of His fullness, I may receive all spiritual blessings!

Have I destroyed myself by sin? I have deliverance from Him who is mighty to save from sin and wrath!

Is my life fleeting - and passing away like a shadow? Jesus is the Ancient of days, and endures forevermore!

Are my days short-lived and full of trouble? Jesus is my life, and the joy of my heart!

Am I exposed to contempt? Jesus shall be my crown of glory, and diadem of beauty!

Am I traveling through the wilderness? Jesus is my staff, and on Him I lean all the way!

Am I on my last journey to my long home? Jesus is my leader, and my rewarder!

Am I a sheep? Jesus is my pasture, and my green pasture too!

Am I hungry and thirsty? Jesus is my heavenly manna, and gives me to drink of the water of life!

Am I weary? Jesus is my rest and refreshing! Am I reproached? Jesus will wipe away the reproach of His people! Do I sit in darkness? Jesus is my light! Do I have doubts? Jesus is my counselor! Am I filthy? Jesus is my sanctification! Am I blind? Jesus, and none but He can open the eyes of one born blind! Am I naked? Jesus has white clothing to cover the shame of my nakedness!

Am I exposed to the hurricane of adversity? Jesus is a refuge from the storm, a shelter from the blast, rivers of water in a desert, the shadow of a great rock in a weary land!

Am I in danger from disease and death - or from sin and satan? My life is hidden with Chist in God! When He shall appear, I shall appear with Him - immortal in my body, and glorious in my soul!

Do I suffer in my character? Jesus was numbered with transgressors, called a glutton, a drunkard, and a devil!

Must I undergo death and be laid in the grave? Jesus has taken away the sting of death, and robbed the grave of its victory!

Would I go to God and to glory? Jesus is my way, and must admit me into the palace of the great King, where I shall abide forever!

My needs are many - but His fullness is infinitely more!

The morning dews and fructifying showers water the fields, and refresh the parched furrows. But what are they, compared to the exhaustless ocean of Jesus?

What is all that I enjoy here below, compared to the exuberant fullness of Heavenly bliss? O! then, how shall my soul be replenished - when possessed of this infinite All, through eternity itself!

~James Meikle~

(The End)

The Bitterness Of Sin!

The Bitterness Of Sin!

"Your ways and your deeds have procured these things unto you! This is your wickedness - it is bitter, because it reaches your heart!" (Jeremiah 4:18).

 
Sin is the most dark subject that can engage our attention - but we have become so familiar with it, that it scarcely affects us at all. Not so the Lord - He calls it "that abominable thing which He hates." Yes, God hates nothing but sin - and no one, but for sin. God never hated a sinless being - and He never can. If we could get rid of sin, we would have nothing to fear; therefore we bless God that deliverance from sin is promised.

But sin is not only dangerous - it is bitter, and is the prodigious source of all bitterness! Hence the language of the prophet, "It is bitter, because it reaches unto your heart!" (Jeremiah 4:18). It is called the root of bitterness. It may appear pleasant at present, and may taste sweet to the depraved palate of the sinner; but as Joab said of war, "It will be bitterness in the end!" Let us therefore think of:

The bitterness of Sin: Sin is bitter in its NATURE, as it is a departure from God, the giver of all true pleasure; rebellion against God, the righteous ruler, who is pledged to punish it; the degradation of man, who was made in the image of the holy and happy God.

Sin is bitter in its EFFECTS:

Look over the world - all its divisions, confusions, wars, diseases, bloodshed, and cruelties - are but the effects of sin. Look into families - all the anger, envy, jealousy, enmity, and lack of love - are but the effects of sin. Look at individuals - all the sufferings of the body, and all the tortures of the soul; all the sorrows of time, and all the agonies of eternity - are but the fruits of sin. Look at the seeking soul - all his cutting convictions, bitter reflections, stinging remorse, gloomy despondency, and slavish fears - are but the effects of sin. Look at the believer - all his terrible conflicts, deep depression, gloomy foreboding, and soul-distressing fears - are all the effects of sin.

A Reason Assigned: "It reaches unto the heart!" Sin is not a wound in the flesh - but a disease in the heart! There it was conceived, there it is nourished, and from thence it flows.

Sin reaches to the heart - and defies and pollutes it. Sin reaches to the heart - and alienates it from God. Sin reaches to the heart - and distracts it. 

The passions are turbulent. The conscience is defiled. The will is depraved. The understanding is darkened. The memory isa store-house of evil!

Indeed every power and faculty of the soul is injured, perverted, and wrongly influenced - by sin! Sin reaches to the heart - and damns it! 

Reader, see how God speaks of sin, your darling sin, that sin which you now value so highly, and enjoy so much. "It is bitter and reaches to the heart," the seat of life, the source of action.

Our one great business therefore, should be to get rid of sin, and by faith in the Lord Jesus, which purifies the heart; and by the work of the Holy Spirit, which cleanses and sanctifies the nature - we may get rid of it. Holy Spirit, convince us of the bitterness of sin! May it be bitter to our taste, lead us to forsake it in practice, and  seek to be delivered from its love and power in our experience!

~James Smith~

(The End)

The Loving-kindness Of God # 2

 The Loving-Kindness Of God # 2

This loving-kindness of the Lord is never removed from His children. To our reason it may appear to be so, yet it never is. Since the believer is in Christ, nothing can separate him from from the love of God (Romans 8:39). God has solemnly engaged Himself by covenant, and our sins cannot make it void. God has sworn that if His children keep not His commandments He will "visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes." Yet He adds, "Nevertheless My loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor allow my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break." (Psalm 89:31-34). Observe the change of number from "their" and "them" to "him." The loving-kindness of God toward His people is centered in Christ. Because His exercise of loving-kindness is a covenant engagement it is repeatedly linked to His "truth" (Psalm 40:11; 138:2), showing tht it proceeds to us by promise. Therefore we should never despair.

"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor My covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you." (Isaiah 54:10). No, that covenant has been ratified by the blood of its Mediator, by which blood the enmity (occasioned by sin) has been removed, and perfect reconciliation effected. God knows the thoughts which He entertains for those embraced in His covenant and who have been reconciled to Him; namely, "thoughts of peace and not of evil? (Jeremiah 29:11). Therefore we are assured, "The Lord will command His loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me." (Psalm 42:8). What a word that is! Not merely that the Lord will give or bestow, but command His loving-kindness. It is given by decree, bestowed by royal engagement, as He also commands "deliverances...the blessing, even life for evermore." (Psalm 44:4; 133:3), which announces that nothing can possibly hinder these bestowments. What ought OUR RESPONSE to be?

First, "Be therefore imitators of God as dear children; and walk in love" (Eph. 5:1-2). "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" (Col. 3:12). Thus it was with David: "Your loving-kindness is before my eyes; and I have walked in Your truth." (Psalm 26:3). He delighted to ponder it. It refreshed his soul to do so, and it molded his conduct. The more are occupied with God's goodness, the more careful we will be about our obedience. The constraints of God's love and grace are more powerful to the regenerate, than the terrors of His Law. "How precious is Your unfailing love, O God!" (Psalm 36:7).

Second, a sense of this divine perfection strengthens our faith, and promotes confidence in God.

Third, it should stimulate the spirit of worship. "Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You (Psalm 63:3).

Fourth, it should be our cordial when downcast. "Let Your merciful kindness be for my comfort." (Psalm 119:76). It was so with Christ in His anguish (Psalm 69:17).

Fifth, it should be our plea in prayer, "Quicken me, O Lord, according to Your loving-kindness." (Psalm 119:159). David applied to that divine attribute for new strength and increased vigor.

Sixth, we should appeal to it when we have fallen by the wayside. "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving-kindness." (Psalm 51:1). Deal with him according to the gentlest of Your attributes, make my case an exemplification of Your tenderness.

Seventh, it should be a petition in our evening devotions. "Cause me to hear Your loving-kindness in the morning." (Psalm 143:8). Arouse me with my soul in tune therewith, let my waking thoughts be of Your goodness.

~A. W. Pink~

(The End)

Losing Our Religion

 Losing Our Religion

Faith is on the decline nowadays, and it is no wonder. Most people in these postmodern times are convinced that it's impossible to know anything with settled certainty - so they can't really believe anything, either. When you aren't even sure whether objective truth exists, the suggestion that there is something to believe in simply doesn't make any sense. Begin with the assumption that nothing can be known for sure, and religious convictions are automatically out of the question.

In case you hadn't realized it, that kind of thinking now dominates our society. The concept of settled, knowable truth is widely considered intellectually inept and politically incorrect. There's my truth and your truth, meaning everything is ultimately just a matter of perspective. In other words, truth claims are really nothing more than just personal opinions, and they deserve to be treated that way. Every point of view, no matter how bizarre, demands equal respect. Because, after all, no one can say for sure what is ultimately true.

How did we get here? This is the wreckage of a post-structuralist epistemology, where all texts must be deconstructed; any spirital precept or article of faith must be met with unyielding skepticism; certainly is deemed the very height of arrogance; feelings count more than facts; and common sense, moral values - even knowledge itself - are scorned as relics of a more naive epoch of human society.

There is zero tolerance for religious faith in a climate like that.

Western society was built on beliefs that are rooted in Scripture, starting with the truth that God exists and has made Himself known. The whole weight of the United States' Declaration of Independence hangs on truths about God and His creation that our nation's founding fathers regarded as 'self-evident."

They were right about that. All creation is filled with important realities that are self-evident - axiomatic - beginning with the very foundation of all truth. The Bible says some basic knowledge of God is innate in every human heart: "That which is known about God is evident within them." (Romans 1:19).

Furthermore, God constantly displays His glory through creation in a way that is hard to miss. Whether you study the vastness of the universe or examine a single drop of pond water through a microscope, you will see ample evidence of God's infinite power, wisdom, creativity - and a host of other attributes. These truths (precisely the kind of ultimate, objective realities the postmodern mind rejects) are purposefully built into all of creation at every conceivable level.

Scripture goes on to say, "God mae it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power an divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." (Romans 1:19=20).

Humanity's problem is that because of our sin, we resist accountability to God, so we suppress that innate knowledge and ignore or try to explain away what is literally spread across the universe in all its resplendence before our eyes. Because fallen minds refuse to see what is obvious, they lose the ability to make sense of anything. "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools." (vv. 21-22).

I've been quoting, of course, from the opening chapter of the apostle Paul's epistle to the Romans. He goes on to chronicle a pattern of decline that has been repeated in cycles throughout human history. It is a descent into sin and depravity that has brought down every one of history's most powerful empires and currently threatens our civilization. It is a path that goes from unbelief to complete intellectual futility, and it drags whole societies through idolatry, uncontrolled lusts, degrading passions, and every conceivable expression of unrighteousness.

The end result is "a depraved mind" (v. 28) - a soul utterly given over to wickedness, irrationality, and contempt for everything that is truly righteous. In an act of divine judgment, God withdraws His grace and allows an individual (or an entire culture) to reach that point or moral and spiritual insanity. Here's how the apostle says it:

Just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, hates of God, insolent, arrogance, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (vv. 28:32).

Nothing is more politically incorrect than religious belief. Genuine faith in God is commonly represented as a dangerous, disqualifying disorder. 

Although public discourse today is full of cries for justice and structural change, there is simply no way to  affirm any coherent standard of justice - much less is there any hope of change for the better - apart from a sweeping return to the God of Scripture, who is the source of all truth. We desperately need a generation of men and women who will open their eyes to that reality, turn from the unbelief and cold skepticism that define our culture, and flee for mercy to the God they have spurned. The good news is that God does offer full and free forgiveness and abundant blessing for those who will heed the call of Jesus Christ and come to Him in repentant faith.

~John MacArthur~

(The End)

Jesus' Teaching And Our Culture

 Jesus' Teaching And Our Culture

Most of Jesus' teaching is completely out of sync with the mores that dominate our culture.

I'm talking, of course, about the Jesus we encounter in Scripture, not the always-gentle, never-stern, over-lenient coloring-book character who exists only in the popular popular imagination. The real Jesus was no domesticated clergyman with a starched collar and genteel manners; He was a bold, uncompromising Prophet who regularly challenged the canons of political correctness.

Consider the account of Jesus' public ministry given in the New Testament. The first word of His sermon was "Repent!" - a theme that was no more welcome and no less strident-sounding than it is today. The first act of His public ministry touched off a small riot. He made a whip of cords and chased money-changers and animal merchants off the Temple grounds. That initiated a three-year long conflict with society's most distinguished religious leaders. They ultimately handed Him over to Roman authorities for crufixion while crowds of lay people cheered them on.

Jesus was pointedly, deliberately, and dogmatically counter-cultural in almost every way. No wonder the religious and academic aristocracy of His generation were so hostile to Him.

Would Jesus receive a warmer welcome from world religious leaders, the media elite, or the political gentry today? Anyone who has seriously considered the New Testament knows very well that He would not. Our culture is devoted to pluralism and tolerance; contemptuous of all absolute or exclusive truth-claims; convinced that self-love is the greatest love of all; satisfied that most people are fundamentally good; and desperately wanting to believe that each of us is endowed with a spark of divinity.

Against such a culture Jesus' message strikes every discordant note.

Check the biblical record. Jesus' words were full of hard demands and stern warnings. He said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? (Luke 9:23-25). "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26).

At one point those back-to-back tragedies, Jesus said, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." (Luke 13:2-5).

Ignoring the normal rules of taste, tact, and diplomacy, Jesus in effect declared that all His listeners were sinners in need of redemption. He pointed out sin and condemned it. "The world...hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil." (John 7:7). Then, as now, that message was virtually guaranteed to offend many - perhaps most - of Jesus' audience, starting with the most pious religious folk.

Elsewhere Jesus made the promise of life and forgiveness explicit: "He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." (John 5:24). "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." (John 10:27-28).

That, of course, is the glorious message of the gospel - just as potent and relevant today as it was then. But the promise is for those who are weary of sin; those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt. 5:6); those who come to Christ with repentant hearts - not those who are convinced they are fundamentally good. Proud people - including lots of religious people, don't really believe Christ's message at all.

So what would Jesus say to a pluralistic, tolerant, self-indulgent society like ours? I'm convinced His approach today would be the very same strategy we see in the New Testament. To smug, self-satisfied, arrogant sinners (including multitudes on church rolls) His words would sound harsh, shocking, provocative. But to "the poor in spirit" - those who are exhausted and spent by the ravages of sin; desperate for forgiveness and without any hope of atoning for their own sin - Jesus' call to repentant faith remains the very gateway to eternal life.

This is a particularly hard message in cultures like ours that elevate self-love, self-esteem, or self-righteousness, but Jesus was absolutely clear, and these words do still speak to us: "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:14).

~John MacArthur~

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The Patience Of God # 2

 The Patience Of God # 2

Thirdly, as a pattern for us: "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" (Colossians 3:12). Ang again, "Be therefore followers (emulators) of God, as dear children" (Eph. 5:1). When tempted to be disgusted at the dullness of another, or to be revenged on one who has wronged you, call to remembrance God's infinite patience and longsuffering with yourself.

The patience of God is manifested in His dealings with sinners.

How strinkingly was it displayed toward the antediluvians. When mankind was universally degenerate, and all flesh had corrupted its way, God did not destroy them until He had forewarned them. He "waited", during which time Noah was a "preacher of righteousness" (2 Peter 2:5).

In the same way, later, when the Gentiles not only worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, but also committed the vilest abominations contrary even to the dictates of nature (Romans 1:19-26) and thereby filled up the measure of their iniquity, yet, instead of drawing His sword for the extermination of such rebels, God "allowed all nations to walk in their own ways," and gave them "rain from Heaven and fruitful seasons" (Acts 14:16-17).

Marvelously was God's patience exercised and manifested toward Israel. First, He endured their conduct for forty years in the wilderness. Later, when they had entered Canaan, but followed evil customs of the nations around them, and turned to idolatry, though God chastened them sorely, He did not utterly destroy them, but in their distress, raised up deliverers for them. When their iniquity was raised to such a height that none but a God of infinite patience could have borne with them, He spared them many years before He allowed them to be carried down into Babylon.

Finally, when their rebellion against Him reached its climax by crucifying His Son, He waited forty years before He sent the Romans against them, and that, only after they had judged themselves unworthy of everlasting life" (Acts 13:46).

How wondrous is God's patience with the world today. On every side people are sinning with a high hand. The divine law is trampled under foot, and God Himself is openly despised. It is truly amazing that He does not instantly strike dead those who brazenly defy Him. Why does He not suddenly cut off the haughty infidel and blatant blasphemer, as He did Ananias and Sapphira?

And what of apostate Christendom, where every possible form of sin is now tolerated and practiced under cover of the holy name of Christ?

And what of the writer and the reader? Let us review our own lives. It is not long since we followed a multitude to do evil, had no concern for God's glory, and lived only to gratify self. How patiently He bore with our vile conduct! And now that grace has snatched us as brands from the burning, giving us a place in God's family, and has begotten us unto an eternal inheritance in glory - how miserable we requite Him. How shallow our gratitude, how tardy our obedience, how frequent our backslidings!

One reason why God allows the flesh to remain in the believer is that He may exhibit His "patience to us." (2 Peter 3:9). Since this divine attribute is manifested only in this world, God takes advantage to display it toward "His own."

May our meditation upon this divine excellency soften our hearts, make our consciences tender, and may we learn in the school of holy experience the "patience of saints," namely, submission to the divine will and continuance in well-doing. Let us earnestly seek grace to emulate this divine excellency. "Be therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in Heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48). In the immediate context of this verse Christ exhorts us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us. God bears long with the wicked notwithstanding the multitude of their sins - and shall we desire to be revenged because of a single offense?

~A. W. Pink~

(The End)

The Patience Of God # 1

 The Patience Of God # 1

Far less has been written upon this attribute, than the other excellencies of the divine character. Not a few of those who have expatiated at length upon the divine attributes have passed over the patience of God without any comment. It is not easy to suggest a reason for this, for surely the patience of God is as much one of the divine perfections as is His wisdom, power, or holiness, and as much to be admired and revered by us.

True, the actual term will not be found in a concordance as frequently as the others, but the glory of this grace itself shine forth on almost every page of Scripture. Certain it is that we lose much if we do not frequently meditate upon the patience of God and earnestly pray that our hearts and ways may be more completely conformed thereto.

Most probably the principal reason why so many writers have failed to give us anything, separately, upon the patience of God was because of the difficulty of distinguishing this attribute from the divine goodness and mercy, particularly the latter. God's patience is mentioned in conjunction with His grace and mercy again and again, as may be seen by consulting Exodus 34:6, Numbers 14:18, Psalm 86:15, etc. That the patience of God is really a display of His mercy, that it is indeed one way in which it is frequently manifested, cannot be denied. But that patience and mercy are one and the same excellency, and are not to be separated, we cannot concede. It may not be easy to discriminate between them, nevertheless, Scripture fully warrants us in affirming some things about the one which we cannot about the other.

Stephen Charnock, the Puritan, defines God's patience, in part, thus: "It is part of the divine goodness and mercy, yet differs from both. God being the greatest goodness, has the greatest mildness; mildness is always the companion of true goodness, and the greater the goodness, the greater the mildness. Who so holy as Christ, and who so meek? God's slowness to anger is a branch... from His mercy: "The Lord is full of compassion, slow to anger" (Psalm 145:8). It differs from mercy in the formal consideration of the object - mercy respects the creature as miserable, patience respects the creature as criminal; mercy pities him in his misery, and patience bears with the sin which engendered the misery, and is giving birth to more."

Personally, we would define the divine patience as that power of control which God exercises over Himself, causing Him to bear with the wicked and forbear so long in punishing them. In Nahum 1:3 we read, "The Lord is slow to anger and great in power," upon which Mr Charnock said: "Men that are great in the world are quick to anger, and are not so ready to forgive an injury, or bear with an offender, as one of a lower rank. It is a lack of powr over that man's self that makes him do unfitting things upon a provocation. A prince that can bridle his passions, is a king over himself as well as over his subjects. God is slow to anger because He is great in power. He has no less power over Himself, than over His creatures."

It is at the above point, we think, that God's patience is most clearly distinguished from His mercy. Though the creature is benefitted thereby, the patience of God chiefly respects Himself, a restraint placed upon His acts by His will; whereas His mercy terminates wholly upon the creature. The patience of God is that excellency which causes Him to sustain great injuries without immediately avenging Himself. He has a power of patience as well as a power of justice. Thus the Hebrew word for the divine patience or longsuffering is rendered "slow to anger" in Nehemiah 9:17, Psalm 103:8, etc. Not that there are any passions in the divine nature, but that God's wisdom and will is pleased to act with that stateliness and sobriety which is befitting His exalted majesty.

In support of our definition above let us point out that it was to this excellency in the divine character that Moses appealed, when Israel sinned so grievously at Kadesh-Barnea, and there provoked Jehovah so sorely. Unto His servant the Lord said, "I will smite them with the pestilence and disinherit them." Then it was that the mediator Moses, as a type of the Christ to come, pleaded, "I beseech You, let the power of my Lord be great, according as You have spoken saying the Lord is patient" (Numbers 14:17). Thus, His patience is His power of self-restraint.

Again, in Romans 9:22 we read, "What if God, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much patience the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." Were God to immediately break these reprobate vessels into pieces, His power of self-control would not so eminently appear, by bearing with their wickedness and forbearing punishment so long, the power of His patience is gloriously demonstrated. True, the wicked interpret His patience quite differently. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:11) - but the anointed eye adores what they abuse.

"The God of patience" is one of the divine titles. Deity is thus denominated, first, because God is both the Author and Object of the grace of patience in the saint.

Secondly, because this is what He is in Himself: patience is one of His perfections.

~A. W. Pink~

(continued with # 2)