The Light That Saves And Comforts

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. 

                                                                    (John 3:16-21 KJV)

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12)

The light who is Jesus the Christ has come into the world. He came so that we do not have to live in the darkness; but, to live in his light. He is the light of hope and comfort in the darkness of the world surrounds us. He did come into this world; after all, to save us. 

It is truly good to find rest in him; in his light.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

God Saves The Rich And The Poor

And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?

And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

                                                                       (Mark 10:23-27 KJV)

Is it impossible for the rich to enter the kingdom of God? Jesus says no.

It is not impossible because the rich and the poor are in the hands of God. It is impossible for us whether rich or poor to enter eternal life on our own merit. We are saved only by faith alone in Christ alone. The rich may have a difficult time with this faith part though because they are so busy amassing wealth that they do not have the time to hear the word which is essential to a growing and thriving faith. As St. Paul wrote: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom 10:17)

Our ultimate concern must always be our heavenly Father who sent His only begotten Son to die for us that we might be reconciled to our Father in heaven and to one another. The worldly goods and pleasures that we seek can be a major distraction from having a relationship with the One who loves us and gave Himself for us.

No, it is not impossible for a rich man to receive eternal life. It is not impossible for anyone. Yet, we are not saved by the work of our hands. We are not saved because of how much we have or don't have. We are saved by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Vengeance Is God's

"God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet." 

                                                                          (Nahum 1:2-3 KJV)

Nahum prophesies against Nineveh. He warns that His enemies (in this case the people of Nineveh) will not go unpunished. 

In reading some of these prophesies it sounds awfully vengeful and hurtful. Understand that vengeance is the LORD's to take and while it may appear to be really bad news to those who worship false idols and persecute those who worship the LORD, it is good news to the people of God. Those who find themselves attacked and persecuted by God's enemies have no other place to turn for hope and salvation except to the LORD and to His promise that He will deliver them from the hands of their enemies.

He will deliver us! It is the LORD who saves! Thanks be to God!

God's Peace - Pr. J

My Soul Glorifies The Lord

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

   and my spirit rejoices in God my 

  Savior,"

                         (Luke 1:46-47 NIV)

How glorious it would be if every preacher, every Christian, could just say with Mary, "My soul glorifies the Lord! He is my Savior!"

No matter how many times we are reminded that we cannot save anyone; that only Jesus saves, we still want to claim that good work for ourselves. We think that if we talk long enough and word the command to do God's will just right, that we can convince others to believe. 

Yes, share the Good News. But, the Good News is not what we have to do to be in God's grace. The Good News is about what God has done for us through Jesus the Christ. He has reconciled us to Himself through the sacrifice of His beloved Son that we might abide with Him for all of eternity.

Whatever good that we might think we do, we must remember that if in fact good has been accomplished, it is not us, but, the Spirit of Christ who works in and through us that has done these things. 

All glory belongs to God! Let us rejoice and give Him the glory!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Christ Died For You

You see at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:6-8 NIV)

"While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" He died for us so that we might live in him. He died for us that we might be reconciled to God and live in his Kingdom for all eternity with him.

It is not about what we can or have to do for God because in reality we can do nothing for Him. It is about what God has done for us. It is not about us climbing any ladder or staircase to heaven. It is about God coming down to us. Telling people how they should or must live is the law. The law does not save us. Only Jesus saves! The love of God in Christ Jesus for us is so great that he was willing to come down to earth to suffer and sacrifice his own life so that all who believe in him might live. What greater gift can there be than for someone to love us so much that he would die in our place?

How many ways can I say it so that ears might actually hear that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us? It is all about what he has done for us and that is why we love him. "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19) That is why we follow him. We do not follow him in order to get him to love us. We do not have to earn his love. We cannot earn his love. He simply loves us and so he died for us. 

May God open the ears of those who do not hear that all might hear the good news that he loves us so much that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Through his great act of love, you are forgiven your sins.

God's Peace - Pr. J