Hymn of the Day
Dark the stain that soiled man's nature,
Long the distance that he fell.
Far removed from hope and heaven,
Into deep despair and hell.
But there was a fountain opened,
And the blood of God's own Son,
Purifies the soul and reaches,
Deeper than the stain has gone.
Chorus
Praise the Lord for full salvation,
God still reigns up-on His throne.
And I know the blood still reaches
Deeper than the stain has gone.
Conscious of the deep pollution,
Sinners wander in the night,
Tho' they hear the Shepherd calling,
They still fear to face the light.
This the blessed consolation,
That can melt the heart of stone,
That sweet Balm of Gilead reaches,
Deeper than the stain has gone!
All unworthy, we who've wandered,
And our eyes are wet with tears;
As we think of love that sought us,
Through the weary wasted years.
Yet we walk the holy highway,
Walking by God’s grace alone
Knowing Calv'ry's fountain reaches,
Deeper than the stain has gone!
When with holy choirs we're standing,
In the presence of the King,
And our souls are lost in wonder,
While the white robed choirs sing;
Then we'll praise the name of Jesus,
With the millions round the throne;
Praise Him for the pow'r that reaches,
Deeper than the stain has gone.
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Today’s Hymns
Be Still, My Soul - #290
Christ Receiveth Sinful Men - #199,
Rock of Ages? #126
Special Dates:
Ollia Hoogendoorn – 5
Gail Jensen – 6
Gerald Grimsley – 8
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Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? -Romans 6:1
It is true that where sin abounded grace has much more abounded, well then, "shall we continue in sin that grace may abound yet further?" The true preaching of the gospel of salvation by grace alone always leads to the possibility of this charge being brought against it. There is no better test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament gospel than this, that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret it that it really amounts to this, that because you are saved by grace alone, it does not really matter at all WHAT you do; you can go on sinning all you like because it will redound all the more to the glory of grace. That is a very good test of gospel preaching. If my preaching of the gospel does not expose it to that misunderstanding, then it is not the gospel. -D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
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God’s children in this world must suffer many trials and temptations. But our Father will never send a trial, except he also sends grace enabling us to bear the trial; and he will never allow us to face any temptation, except he also makes for us a way to escape. “There is no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13). In every trial and in every temptation, let us simply trust our God, casting all our care upon him. God does care for his own. -Don Fortner
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For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
-2 Corinthians 5.21
A most amazing statement! The sinless one was made to be sin. God made the perfectly innocent One to be sin for us. I bless His holy name and adore Him that He is not unjust in order to be merciful; that He does not spare the guilty in order to indulge His gentleness. Every transgression and disobedience has its just recompense of reward. I bless His holy name that to vindicate His justice, He determined that, while a free pardon should be provided for all believers, it should be grounded upon an atonement, which satisfied all the requirements of His holy law. – Scott Richardson
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Christ on the cross guarantees peace of conscience, while Christ on the Throne gives peace of heart, His death cancels our condemnation, and His life guarantees our access to the very presence of God. - W. G. Thomas
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He who fears God need fear no man. The Psalmist said, "I will not fear the ten-thousands drawn up against me on every side"(Psalm 3:6). -copied
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Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,
so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
-John 3.14,15
When an Israelite was bitten by one of the fiery serpents, there was, no doubt, some pain. But it was likely a pain that could be tolerated and the pain, itself, did not signify that the problem was great enough to warrant Divine intervention. A bitten person might have heard of others’ suffering and death over the snakebite but still think that his was not so bad as theirs or that his own constitution was such that he could overcome the bite. As his condition worsened, he might have said to himself, “This is to be expected as my body fights this venom. I am not dying; my body is counteracting the venom, and this is causing my suffering.” And he may have had such thoughts until the moment he passed from life.
But God had put a testimony of his need in the center of the camp: a brass snake on a pole. God had instructed Moses to make the snake and lift it up on a pole so that all the camp of Israel could look to it and live. God would not have done such a thing were it not necessary. The very presence of the brass snake lifted on a pole was all the evidence necessary that the people needed it and must look to it for deliverance.
And so it is with our sin. When conscience awakes in a person, the feeling of guilt may not be so bad. And even as a sense of guilt increases with time, a person may think that it is evidence of his superior virtue that he should be so troubled about his sin.
But God has given a testimony to all men of their need of His intervening grace by “lifting up the Son of Man” on a cross. The very fact that Christ was made an offering for sin is proof of our need of it. God would not have done that to His Son were it not necessary for the salvation of sinners. It is the cross, more than anything else, that proves our need of it! -Joe