Hymn of the Day
(tune: "Amazing Grace" p.236)
Compared with Christ, in all beside,
No beauty can I see;
The one thing needful, dearest Lord,
Is to be one with thee.
The sense of thy redeeming love,
Into my soul convey;
Thyself bestow, for Thee alone,
My All-in-all, I pray.
Less than Thyself will not suffice,
My comfort to restore;
More than Thyself I cannot crave,
And thou cans't give no more.
Loved of my God, for Him again,
With love intense I'd burn;
Chosen of Thee ere time began,
I'd choose Thee in return.
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Today’s Hymns
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross - #118
Angels We Have Heard on High - #89
Tell Me the Story of Jesus - #106
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Special Dates: John Vlastuin – 7
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And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifest in the flesh,... (1 Tim 3:16).
What a wonder it is, that two natures, infinitely distant, should be more intimately united than anything in the world; and yet without any confusion! That the same person should have both a glory and a grief, an infinite joy in the Deity, and an inexpressible sorrow in the humanity! That a God upon a throne should be an infant in a cradle, the thundering Creator be a weeping babe and a suffering man. Such are expressions of mighty power, as well as condescending love, that they astonish men upon earth, and angels in heaven. -Thomas Goodwin
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Someone made this observation, “The root and foundation of all error in theology usually comes from making God less than he is, or from making man more than he is.” It would be wise for us to keep that in mind in all of our teaching, preaching, and singing. Man, at his very best, is only weak, sinful, God-hating, perishing flesh. God is infinitely sovereign, glorious, majestic, and gracious. Paul said, “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” In all things, therefore, let man be abased, and let God be magnified! -Don Fortner
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…the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation -Romans 1:16.
Your faith...in the...power of God. -1 Corinthians 2:5.
When Satan comes to your thoughts and tells you there is no way someone like you can be saved, tell him this: I know I can't be saved if it is left up to human power or human wisdom or human merit or anything else on the human level. But, if my salvation is determined by the power of God, not only can I be saved; I shall be saved. Then live in the faith of that power.
When Satan tells you your sins are too great or too many to be forgiven, tell him this: My sins are more than either you or I can number; they are black and red and abominable, so, if it’s left to human power or merit, I will die unforgiven. But tell him this: Jesus Christ had power on earth - and how much more now in heaven - to forgive sins - all manner of sins and blasphemies - and with that being so, I will live and die a forgiven man (Mark 2:10). Then live in the faith of that.
When Satan comes to your thoughts and tells you that you will never endure to the end: the way is too rough and long, and the affliction too difficult, and you are as weak and unstable as water, tell him this: All you have said is true except this one thing: I will not endure to the end, for I shall endure to the end because I am kept by the power of God, and there is no greater power than that. Then live in the faith of that.
When Satan tells you that all you profess is a hoax, that they are things that are impossible and will never be realized - things cooked up in the imagination of men, tell him this: The things I profess are indeed wonderful, and they cause those who believe them to rejoice in the low bottom of their hearts, and, since all the things I profess have nothing of human power, ability, or wisdom in them but are totally dependent upon the power of God to accomplish them, I will, by the grace of God, hold my profession fast. Then live in the faith of that.
Oh, brothers and sisters, all that you and I believe has noting of human power or wisdom or merit in it but is all Divine. Our faith is in the gospel of Christ - the power of God. -Bruce Crabtree
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I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist, although I claim to be rather a Calvinist according to Calvin, than after the modern debased fashion. I do not hesitate to take the name of Baptist. You have there (pointing to the baptistry) substantial evidence that I am not ashamed of that ordinance of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if I am asked to say what is my creed, I think I must reply, "It is Jesus Christ." My venerable predecessor, Dr. Gill, has left a body of divinity, admirable and excellent in its way, but the body of divinity to which I would pin and bind myself for ever, God helping me, is not his system of divinity or any other human treatise, but Christ Jesus, who is the sum and substance of the Gospel, who is, in Himself, all theology, the incarnation of every precious truth, the all-glorious personal embodiment of the way, the truth, and the life. -C.H Spurgeon
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Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 15:3
The gospel is not merely that Christ died for our sins, but that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. What can this mean but that Christ died for our sins in complete fulfillment of all that was said in the prophecies and types of the Old Testament? He died to make a covering for our sinful characters like the animals from which God made clothing for Adam and Eve. Like the Passover Lamb, He died as the innocent substitute for condemned sinners. He died particularly for His people as did the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement, which was offered only for the house of Israel. He died by crucifixion as Psalm 22 states. He died effectually, actually saving those for whom He died, according to Isaiah 53 where it is written, “He shall see the travail of His soul and be satisfied.” The “New Testament” gospel is clearly written in the Old Testament. Whenever we claim to preach the gospel, let us be certain it is the gospel “according to the Scriptures!” -Joe