Hymn of the Day
(tune: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, p.90)
My tongue shall spread the Savior's fame, Whose grace I daily prove;
For since my soul has known His name, His banner has been - Love.
When walking in the paths of sin, I far from Him would rove;
By sweet constraint He drew me in, And waved His banner - Love.
He spread the banquet, made me eat, Bade all my fears remove;
Yea, o'er my guilty rebel head, He placed His banner - Love.
When weary of His rich repast, I've sought, alas! to rove,
He has recalled His faithless guest, And showed His banner - Love.
In every conflict I sustain, My enemies shall prove;
Through Him the victory I obtain, Beneath His banner - Love.
And when He calls me home e'er long, To feast with Him above;
Through all eternity my song, Shall be - His changeless love!
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Today's Hymns
See the Table Spread Before You - #cb8
He Surrendered All - #cb12,
All That Thrills My Soul Is Jesus - #463
Special Dates: Bill Koedam – 18
Kenzie Koedam – 18 ~ Albert Bakker – 25
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In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength. ~Isaiah 45.24
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus,
who became to us wisdom from God,
righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
so that, as it is written,
"Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
~1 Corinthians 1.30, 31
It is only when our Lord, in grace and mercy, takes away our imaginary strength that we truly look to Him and trust Him. This we do not learn in creeds and confessions of faith. This we are taught by Him in our personal relationship in the experience of grace. I only find hope in Him when there is no hope anywhere else. It is easy to learn correct doctrine, but faith, hope, comfort, and rest in Christ are living experiences. Justification, redemption, atonement, sanctification, and glorification are not only doctrinal truths believed in the heart, they are truths experienced in the heart in regeneration. Our Lord is our life, and all that is in Him is ours. There is no hope in what I know; my only hope is in Him and what He has done. May God, in mercy, shut us up to Christ alone! -Tommy Robbins
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But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled:
"They hated me without a cause." John 15.25 ESV
I have loved you with an everlasting love° Jeremiah 31.3
When we were in unbelief and hating God and His Son, was there any reason why we should have hated Him? Was there some flaw in His character? Had He laid some unreasonable expectation on us that we might charge Him with cruel tyranny and justly reject him? Had He promised something that He did not perform? Had he betrayed us? Most certainly not! We hated him without a cause.
In the same way He has loved us and favored us without a cause. He had abundant reason to hate us. There were uncountable flaws in our character. We had unreasonable expectations of Him, thinking that He should make our way easy, and every disappointment in our lives was an act of injustice on His part. We promised Him much when we thought there was something to gain but never fulfilled our promise. We gladly owned His name when it was to our advantage to do so but fell silent when an association with Him might cost something.
And yet, He loved us. It is a wonder to think upon.
So, child of God, if He loved you when there was no cause to love you, why do you now fear that you might have given Him cause to remove His love? Do not let Satan make you belittle God so much that you would think His causeless love could come to an end - to think that the love that came without cause might someday find a cause to leave. Never! (Romans 8:38-39) -Joe
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"If I were God, I would..." But that is just the point; you are not God. Whenever men suggest that they would have done differently than God, they are simply setting themselves up as judges over God. But faith says that, whatever God does, it is best, for it is He that did it. -Joe
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Today you listen to me, and in a minute I will be through. But you will not be as you were. This Word will have its perfect work. Some of you will be moved by it. "Somebody" will be rejoicing in Christ. Somebody will say, "I have touched the hem of his garment, and I have been made whole." That is what makes it worth all. That is why we meet. That is why I preach. That is why we have the radio broadcasts. That is why we have the web site. That is why we mail out the bulletins. That is why we mail out tapes. In this pile of rocks, God has His precious jewels. -Milton Howard
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I heard someone say that they hoped that 2021 would be a better year. I ask this question. Was God's will done in 2020? Yes. Was the purpose of God accomplished in 2020? Yes. Are we (believers) one year closer to going home to be with our Lord? Yes. Then I say, it was a great year. "Do not say, 'Why was it that the former days were better than these? For you do not ask from wisdom concerning this'" (Ecclesiastes 7:10). Remember, former days, present days, and future days are all the Lord's days. -John Chapman
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Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness:
from such withdraw thyself. 1 Timothy 6:5
Withdraw yourselves from anyone who is contentious and quarrelsome, who are always disputing and debating over words, laws, and personalities. This attitude produces envy and jealously, quarrels and dissension, slander, and evil suspicions. The true grace of God promotes peace in the church and in the home. -Henry Mahan