October 11, 2020
Hymn of the Day
Tune: "For the Beauty of the Earth" p. 54
God the Father, in His plan,
Did for us e'er time began;
Purpose to redeem our souls,
Put our names on heaven's roll.
For Thy grace, O God, we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
Took upon our flesh and blood,
Died upon the cursed tree,
So that sinners might be free.
For Thy Son, O God, we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.
God the Spirit came to earth,
Came to give our second birth,
Opened up our blinded eyes,
That we might see Jesus Christ.
For Thy Spirit, God, we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.
Under Christ, their living head,
All souls called out from the dead,
Gather to proclaim His worth,
And to tell His gospel forth.
For Thy church, O God, we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.
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Today's Hymns:
This is My Father's World, #39
Ye Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim #9,
The Hiding Place, #cb10
Special Dates: Bob & Nancy – 12
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Pharaoh, David, and Judas all confessed, "I have sinned." Yet the confessions of Pharaoh and Judas brought them no saving benefit while David's confession met with the response, "The Lord has forgiven your sin." Why is that? What was lacking in the repentance of Pharaoh and Judas that made it ineffective?
Some say that Pharaoh was not sincere, and that Judas was concerned only with being caught and his life ruined. But the real contrast between the repentance of Pharaoh and Judas and that of David is that neither Pharaoh's nor Judas' repentance never moved them to seek God's mercy in Christ for their sin. But David did seek God's mercy, as it is written, "Have mercy on mem O God!" (Psalm 51.1)
All repentance that brings a sinner to plead God's mercy in Christ is saving repentance no matter what other deficiencies it may have. Any repentance that does not bring a sinner to trust in God's mercy in Christ is a repentance that needs to be repented of no matter how sincere or strong it is (2 Corinthians 7.10). In repentance – just as in all other matters pertaining to salvation – Christ is the issue. -Joe
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Malice, bitterness, and resentment are poison to the soul. Malice only injures the "malicer" not the "malicee." I read an interesting quote some time ago concerning resentment. "Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person (the one resented) to die." The Word of God instructs us to "lay aside all malice." Scripture teaches us that the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends, who were "forgers of lies and physicians of no value." Pray for grace to fix your mind and heart on Christ. Remember how that He died for your sins. Recollect that He has forgiven you all things. Remember that which He has done for you, He has also done for your brother or sister. Don't be guilty of calling to remembrance what God has purposed to "remember no more." Don't exert vain energy to dig up what God Himself has buried. Don't go looking for what God has hidden. "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." -Tim James
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Death, dear Christian, is a messenger to you. "Come," says God, "you have toiled long enough; you have feared long enough; you have groaned long enough; your warfare is accomplished; enter into the rest which the Lord your God giveth you. Come, for all things are now ready."
Yes, you will soon hear the voice saying, 'O Israel, you must this day go over Jordan. And why should you be unwilling to exchange the desert for the land flowing with milk and honey? Is not this the purpose of your travels; the end of your desires; the completion of your hopes?'
"But the swelling river rolls between." Fear not; the ark of the covenant will go before you and divide the waves, and you shall pass over dry-shod. And then let the streams reunite, and continue to flow on; you will not wish them to reopen for your return. What is misery to others is joy to you. "I shall go the way whence I shall not return." -William Jay
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Once, as I was selecting hymns for worship, I noticed that, in our hymnal, the hymns "Higher Ground" and "Beneath the Cross of Jesus" are across the page from one another. What a stark contrast! What an illustration of the difference between fleshly religion and the gospel! One song counts the cross to be the beginning point from which we set out for something better. The other teaches us that the cross of our Lord Jesus is the best place there is and the only worthy place to stand and stay. One sets us on "scaling the utmost heights," the other finds glory "beneath the cross." One is about what the writer hopes to do, the other is about what Christ has done.
It may be easy to get caught up in the religious fervor of great hopes for personal achievement and advancement, but we are to be content with Christ and Him crucified, ever mindful that our safety and joy arise from Christ's achievements, not ours. We seek no higher ground than that which is beneath the cross of Jesus. -Joe
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I know that however many may preach the gospel better than I do, there is no one who can preach a better gospel than the one I preach; for I preach the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ Jesus -C.H. Spurgeon
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'That Old Serpent' – Revelation 12:9
Satan is as old as the world and is grown very cunning by experience. When he was but a young serpent, he easily deceived and outwitted our first parents, but now he is that old serpent, as John speaks. Yet, notwithstanding all his plots, devices, and strategies, God's chosen ones shall overcome him by the blood of the Lamb. -Thomas Brooks