"Just What is Amazing Grace" Part 2

Now that you have heard that Jesus died for you, let me tell you how to attain eternal life. You can't. All the power and riches in all the universe can not even come close to price you would have to pay because it is not bought with money. It has already been bought by Jesus with the blood that
He shed. Even though it came at such a high price, He is offering it to you now. All you have to do it is take it. In God's word it says "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."(Ac 16:31) I don't think I have to tell you what that means. If you believe in your heart that God came to earth in the form of a man, suffered rejection and finally died for your sins and then was raised from the dead in His own power, all that is left is to ask God to forgive you of your sins and come live inside of you as the Holy Spirit. It doesn't matter what you have done what crimes you have committed because God's word says Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. (Ro 5:20)
Jesus' blood covers all your sin so that when God looks at you He doesn't see your sin, He sees Christ's blood. If you want you sins forgiven, ask Jesus to forgive you of all your sins and to cover you with his blood. That is God's Amazing Grace.


Salvation

Not what these hands have done
  Can save this guilty soul;
Not what this toiling flesh has borne
  Can make my spirit whole.

Not what I feel or do
  Can give me peace with God;
Nor all my prayers, my sighs, my tears
  Can bear my awful load.

Thy work alone, O Christ,
  Can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God,
  Can give me peace within.

        Horatius Bonar

(All verses quoted from the 1611 King James Bible)

Just What is Amazing Grace

When Adam sinned in the garden six thousand years ago man was separated spiritually from God. There was now a wall there that no human effort can break or climb or go around. The only hope man had was a promise made by God that he would make a great nation from Abraham's descendants and from that nation a Saviour, a Christ. Four thousand years later man is still waiting for the fulfillment to that promise even though they never did anything to deserve it. Then, at God's perfect time, a Saviour came down to man and subjected himself to the worst possible living conditions, His name was Jesus. Now let me tell you what he went through here on earth. When his mother was about ready to give birth they were away from home and could not find a hotel room, if you will, and a citizen of that city was kind enough to let them stay in his barn. That night the baby was born, wrapped in swaddling clothes, which were rags used to wipe down newborn calves I believe, and placed in a manger which was basically a feeding trough. growing up as a carpenters son, he didn't exactly have the best things in life. He had nice sized family with a few brothers and an unknown number of sisters. When twelve years of age he went with his parents to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover feast. After the feast was complete his parents went home guessing he was in the group of people they were traveling with. Once they had gone a days journey they started to look for Him. When they could not find him, they returned to Jerusalem and found him in the temple talking with the priests. He then went home with them and even though he was God in the flesh he submitted himself to their authority and became obedient to them. Once grown he was baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist, and then went into the wilderness for a forty day fast. While fasting he tempted greatly by the devil himself but came out with the victory. During his three and a half year earthly ministry he faced physical hunger and fatigue, was rejected and scorned of all men including friends and family. He was criticized and questioned many times by the hypocritical upper class of religious rulers. Then He was rejected a final time, taken to court illegally and sent around to different royal governors and officials. Finally Pontius Pilate, trying to make himself look good decided to give them their wish and condemned Him to be crucified on a cross. He was then whipped, mocked, slapped, spit on, and had his beard torn off. Then they placed a crown of thistles with thorns 3 inches long on his head and beat them down into his skull. When they finished that they put a cross (three rather large wood beams nailed together) on his shoulder and told him to walk up a hill. when they saw he was just to weak to do it, they called a guy of the street named Simon and told him to carry it up the hill. Once at Golgotha they layed the cross on the ground, put Him on it, and began to secure Him to it. They drove one big spike through one hand and into the wood, another big spike through the other hand and into the wood there, and one big spike through both His feet and He was nailed to the cross. While, then they picked that cross up with him in it and dropped the bottom of it into a 4 foot hole; dislocating every bone in His body. Then they watched, for six, long hours they watched him suffer. Blood pouring out of his wounds. Then He died. After thirty-three years of suffering, He died. After a while the Roman soldiers came by to see if the prisoners were dead. Usually the manner was, to make sure they were dead you broke their legs. They did that to the other two crucified men, but when they got to Jesus they saw he was dead so they they didn't do the normal thing. No, they stabbed him in the side with a spear. Then they took him off the cross and layed him in a borrowed tomb. There He lay. The promised Messiah, the Christ, the Saviour of the world in a tomb sealed with tape and guarded by soldiers. But that's not the end. No, not by a long-shot. Three days later he appeared outside the tomb with the keys of death and Hell in his hands. No longer was he a dead man laying in a grave. He was alive! Then He took the blood that He shed on Calvary and placed it on the mercy seat in heaven and I can picture him saying these words of life; "This is the sacrifice for mankind. From this day forward a wicked hell-bound sinner can come to me and receive life eternal in heaven to reign with me forever." That is love untold, ladies and gentlemen. That God did all that for you and me is just unfathomable for the mortal mind. We will never be able to understand just how much He loved his dear creation even though we could never pay him back for it. That is Amazing Grace.

Was it for me He bowed His head,
Upon the cross, and freely shed
His precious blood—that crimson tide
Was it for me the Saviour died?

It was for me...yes all for me...
O love of God.. so great, so free...
O wondrous love...I’ll shout and sing...
He died for me...my Lord and King!
—J. Danson Smith

Are you listening?

1Ki 19:9 ¶ And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
1Ki 19:10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
1Ki 19:11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:
1Ki 19:12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
1Ki 19:13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? 

In this passage we see Elijah again on the move. I won't go into all the details previous to these verses but what was happening was Elijah was discouraged. The Lord had just shone himself the One, True God on Mt. Carmel (1Ki 18:21-39). Elijah than slew all 400 of the prophets of baal. After the fact, Ahab king of Israel at that time, went and told queen Jezebel all that Elijah had done. When she heard she wrote a message to Elijah that said,basically, I am going to kill you just like you killed my prophets.
When Elijah heard that, he ran. This is where we pick up the story. In our passage Elijah is talking with God. First thing, God did not ask Elijah why he was there because he didn't know. He asked to let Elijah know where he was. God knew, Elijah needed to know that he was not exactly serving any purpose sitting in a cave. God had done great thing for and through him. Why was he hiding from mere humans when he had God Almighty on his side. That was just a side thought, now down to what I wanted to talk about. In the passage we see God showing Elijah just a smidgen of his awesome power. Then we see something strange, we see God using a still small voice to talk to Elijah. Just a small voice so quiet you'd miss it if you weren't listening. All of God's amazing power to create and destroy and change but yet he uses a quiet voice to speak to his servant. God wasn't in the great wind, He wasn't in the earthquake, He wasn't in the fire. He was in the still small voice. God was showing Elijah his method to reach man. God could just make man believe, snap his finger and have the President preaching like D.L. Moody in five minutes, but he doesn't. God made man with a will of his own, he didn't want a couple of robots that would serve him without question. He wanted to make a creature that could make a choice good or bad. We might not always understand God's plan, we just have to have faith and trust his decisions. As humans it is our natural tendency to want to see mighty works of God but that is just not the way it works. The next time man will see God use his power will be when man is being judged. Until then God sees fit to use his still small voice to reach us and convey to us his great love for them. One question, Are you listening?

Thanksgiving

I've always been a early decorator for Christmas but I guess I should get by Thanksgiving first. On that note I leave you with this poem and song. Happy Thanksgiving :)

Thanksgiving
I’ve been countin’ up my blessin’s,
I’ve been summin’ up my woes,
But I ain’t got the conclusion some would naturally suppose:
Why, I quit a-countin’ troubles,
For I had half a score,
While the more I count my blessin’s,
I keep a-finding more and more.
There’s been things that wan’t exactly as I thought they’d ought to be,
An’ I’ve often growled at Providence for not a-peppin’ me!
But I hadn’t stopped to reckon what the other side had been—
How much o’ good an’ blessin’ had been thickly crowded in.
Fer there’s been a rift o’ sunshine after every shower o’ tears,
An’ I’ve found a load o’ laughter scattered all along the years.
If the thorns have pricked me sometimes,
I’ve good reason to suppose
Love has hid’em often from me,
‘Neath the rapture of the rose!
So I’m goin’ to still be thankful fer the sunshine an’ the rain,
Fer the joy that’s made me happy, fer me purgin’ done by pain.
Fer the love o’ little children; fer the friends that have been true,
Fer the guidin’ hand that’s led me every threatenin’ danger through!

Count your Blessings

1. When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
   When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
   Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
   And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
   • Refrain:
     Count your blessings, name them one by one,
     Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
     Count your blessings, name them one by one,
     *Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
     [*And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.]
2. Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
   Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
   Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
   And you will keep singing as the days go by.
3. When you look at others with their lands and gold,
   Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
   Count your many blessings—*money cannot buy [*wealth can never buy]
   Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
4. So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
   Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
   Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
   Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.
5. * Alternate text.

Ask Away.

I would like to open up my blog to any spiritual questions that my viewers might have. All answers will have bible verses to back them up. If I cannot answer your question I will consult my pastor for the biblical answer. Just put your question in a comment.

No One Ever Cared for me Like Jesus.

No One ever cared for me Like Jesus.

I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus,
Since I found in Him a friend so strong and true;
I would tell you how He changed my life completely,
He did something that no other friend could do.

All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me,
All my heart was full of misery and woe;
Jesus placed His strong and loving arms about me,
And He led me in the way I ought to go.

Ev’ry day He comes to me with new assurance,
More and more I understand His words of love;
But I’ll never know just why He came to save me,
Till some day I see His blessed face above.

Chorus

No one ever cared for me like Jesus,
There’s no other friend so kind as He;
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me,
O how much He cared for me.

Charles Weigle

In a life here on earth filled with sorrows and woes, we often feel as if we are all alone. Without any hope in sight people consider many sad alternative paths such as suicide, abortion, drinking, and many other ways that will provide fleshly satisfaction that will only last for a season. Many don't know about Jesus as the only true way to happiness.  "Oh how much He cared for me."

Giveaway!

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