An unworthy, ordinary saint/sinner on mission to encourage his weary brothers and sisters to rest in The worthy Christ and The extraordinary Gospel.
Joined January 2014
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Believers often say 'live to please God, not man.' Problem: sinners can't please God. They should rather say 'be who you are in Christ,' keeping The Savior in the foreground. Christ pleased God FOR us. If you're in Christ, God IS pleased with you. That can't increase or decrease.
Isaac carried the wood to be used for his own sacrifice up Moriah, a mountain.
Yet he was spared.
The better Isaac carried the cross which was used for his own sacrifice up Calvary, a mountain.
He wasn't spared.
Brothers...sisters, that's good news for us.
We too are spared.
"Doubt not his grace, because of thy tribulation, but believe that he loveth thee as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness."
- Charles Spurgeon
"Come and listen, all who fear God,
and I will tell what He has done for me."
- Psalm 66:16
"Motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how The Lord had brought him out of the prison."
- Acts 12:17
God rescues His own from the prison of sin and death.
"When Peter came to himself, he said, `Now I know for certain that The Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod's grasp and from all that the Jewish people expected.`"
I believe Acts 12:11 is Psalm 91:11-12 in action.
Brothers and sisters, God cares for us via angels.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus drank the [eternal] judgment each of us deserves in a condensed three hours.
I want to believe that gives us clearer perspective on his anxiety in Gethsemane.
We're more blessed than our finite minds can fathom.
It's how we can rest and love others.
God is just.
That is terrifying knowledge.
Brothers and sisters, what Jesus did two millennia ago makes it so that is no longer terrifying for us.
That is because God is also gracious.
And since He loves us, Jesus came to drink the justice we each deserve.
It is exhausted!
Hell is separation from the favor of God, not God Himself. (Revelation 14:9-11)
Brothers and sisters, take heart and be encouraged.
We can't be separated from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We always have God's favor. And God is always with us for good.
"It is finished."
Brothers and sisters...
The resurrection, ascension, and present advocacy and intercession confirm that.
Grace.
It's visible.
It gladdens and encourages.
It causes devotion.
"When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged all of them to remain true to The Lord with devoted hearts, for he was a good man, full of The Holy Spirit and of faith."
- Acts 11:23
The Lord's hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to The Lord.
- Acts 11:21
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
- 1 Corinthians 3:6
"If, then, God gave them the same gift that He also gave to us when we believed in The Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?"
"...God has given repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles."
- Acts 11:17, 18b (see also 3:25, cf. Genesis 12:13, Galatians 3:8)
The message...
"He will speak a message to you by which you and all your household will be saved."
- Acts 11:14 (see also 10:36)
"So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ."
- Romans 10:17 (see also v.8, cf. Deuteronomy 30:14)
"All the prophets testify about [Jesus] that through his name everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins."
Brothers and sisters, your sins are forgiven.
I'm just passing along what Acts 10:43 says.
May we live embracing that truth.
Trust that it pays dividends.
"He sent the message...proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all."
"...God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with The Holy Spirit and with power..."
"...God was with [Jesus]."
Peter told Cornelius those things.
Believers, we're blessed to know them.
"Peter said to them, `You know it's forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner, but God has shown me that I must not call any person impure or unclean.`"
- Acts 10:28
God purifies and cleanses sinners by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.