When the grace of God touched me, redeeming my soul, something beautiful tranformed my life.
Psalms 40:2,3 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: . . .
If It Had Not Been is a song that reminds me of how frail I really am without God.
If it had not been for The Lord on my side
Tell me where would I be? Where would I be?
He kept my enemies away
He let the sun shine through a cloudy day
He wrapped me in the cradle of His arms
When He knew I'd been battered and torn
If it had not been for The Lord on my side
Tell me where would I be? Where would I be?
He never left me all alone
He gave me peace and joy I've never known
He answered when I knelt to Him in prayer
And in victory The Lord brought me this way
If it had not been for The Lord on my side,
Tell me where would I be? Where would I be?
Helen Baylor
In 1977 Jimmy Carter ran for President as a "born again" Christian. It probably got him elected, but some journalists were puzzled by the meaning of "born again".
Salvation is not a decision in the head; it's a spiritual birth into the Family of God.
John 1:11-13 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to these that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
If Salvation is based on our good works, we would constantly boast.
Ephesians 2:8,9 For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast.
If you have never trusted Christ as your personal Saviour, surrender your heart to Him. Ask Him to save you. You can be "born again". Talk to God. Your eternity is at stake. He's waiting.
God helps those who help themselves. We've heard this quote many times, but these words are not found in the Bible.
Often lives become broken and need help. God offers healing and hope to the hopeless, but He never forces Himself on anyone. We cannot change without God and God cannot change us without our permission.
Romans 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of The Lord, and he shall lift you up.
We humble ourselves by admitting that we can do nothing without the help of God. We give Him the broken pieces.
BROKEN DREAMS
As children bring their broken toys with tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams to God because He was my friend.
But then instead of leaving Him in peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help with ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried, "How can you be so slow?"
"My child," He said, "What could I do? You never did let go."
In the Book of Kings, Hezekiah, King of Judah, was in a pickle. Sennacherib, King of Assyria, threatened to wipe them out as he had other surrounding nations. Allow me to paraphrase this.
"We destroyed the other people and their gods, and we'll destroy the God of Israel, and there's nothing you can do about it," the messenger said.
King Hezekiah, mourning and praying, sent for Isaiah the prophet. I love God's response.
2 Kings 19:28 Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore, I will put my hook in thy nose and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou comest.
That night God sent an angel to the Assyrian camp, and he smote 145,000 soldiers.
We have a saying where I live: "Don't mess with Texas." God says, "Don't mess with me or my people."
Do you think your problem is too big for God? Think again.
Romans 8:5,6 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
The unsaved person may be moral and even religious; but he lacks spiritual life. He needs the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus dwelling in him.
Romans 8:8,9 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
To be in the flesh means to be lost without Christ. By faith in Christ, a person can be saved. The Spirit gives life to the unsaved so they may serve God. The Spirit also gives peace.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
When life "shakes, rattles, and rolls" you with unexpected trials, you need reasurrance that things will get better. Though I don't have all the answers to life's problems, I know one thing I should do no matter what happens.
Read the Bible and pray every day. Pretty simple, huh? It will lift you out of despair. The following three verses are good examples.
Psalm 13:17 The righteous cry, and The Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but The Lord delivereth him out of them all.
Therein is your strength, comfort, and hope.
If you died today, are you 100% sure that you will go to heaven. You can know for sure.
You must understand that everyone is a sinner.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
God punishes sin. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus paid the price for your sins when He died on the cross.Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
God offers salvation as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8,9) We deserve hell, but God, by mercy, offers us eternal life. Don't ever confuse the gift with something you work for.
Here's what you must do to go to heaven: Romans 10:9,10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth The Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Just as I am without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee
Oh, Lamb of God I come, I come.
If you have been redeemed from your sins, you now have a reason to serve. Serving God is the greatest privilege in the universe, but it will not always be easy.
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of The Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in The Lord.
Many Christians today say, "Let someone else serve. It's not my responsibility."
There's a clever young guy named Somebody Else
There's nothing this guy can't do
He is busy from morning till way late at night
Just substituting for you
You're asked to do this or you're asked to do that
And what is your reply?
Get Somebody Else to do that job,
He'll do it much better than I.
So much to do in this weary old world
So much and workers so few
And Somebody Else, all weary and worn,
Is still substituting for you.
The problem with this is that there aren't that many Somebody Elses out there. It's time we got off our blessed assurance and went to work.
