The Sunday Post December 28, 2014

Articles/Illustrations of Faith, Quotes, poetry and devotions…Sunday post world light slider

Smokey Barn News
Sunday December 28, 2014
Robertson County, Tenn.

“The Sunday Post”  is a non denominational column comprised of articles of Faith, poetry and devotions…

No Hope or Blessed Hope?

fancy letter according to the world, hope is nothing more than a merely wishful thinking or a fleeting desire. On the other hand the Bible always uses the word to describe a well founded and a well grounded expectation for the future. It speaks of complete confidence in one’s future in this life and in the one to come, that God will keep His promises. It speaks of an unshakable faith in one’s future and eternal home in Heaven.

Today we often use the word “hope” in a very careless sort of way. We say we hope it doesn’t rain or we hope we have a snowy winter. But the Bible never uses the word hope in such a way.

This hope we havePsalm 31:24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

Psalm 71:5 For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth.

1 Cor. 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

The doctor lays his finger upon the sick man’s pulse and looks at the family and says, “No hope.” Now these are very dark words in the context which I have used them, but there is even a darker sense in which God uses the phrase, No Hope, to describe the condition or the lost.

Eph 2:11-12 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

The men here in Ephesians 2 are Gentiles coming neither under God’s program for Israel, the circumcision, or the church being without Christ, (the uncircumcision)

Old gospel text picNow we know that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The greatest gift of God to man, second only to His only begotten Son, is the Bible. Without it we can never be saved for it alone reveals the plan of salvation. Without the Bible our faith and hope can never grow nor prosper. Today we are living in a very dark time spoken of by the prophet Amos.

Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

No greater curse can come upon men than for God to take away His true words. We are living in a time in which the truth of God has been made over into a lie.

Romans 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

I urge you to carefully read the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans today and read it thoughtfully and carefully and make your own judgment about the condition the world you see around you. It is the men and women spoken of in Romans 1 that are without hope in the world, but it does not have to be.

In the face of the hopelessness that grips our world, there is one group of people that possess genuine hope. The believer has hope!

Jesus returnSalvation, full and free, is available to all. The greater the sin the greater the grace and mercy extended by the Lord Jesus. This brings me to the last and the greatest hope of all, the return of Jesus to this very earth as He said He would return in clouds of great glory.

Acts 1:10-11 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

He is coming soon and that is the greatest expectation for the future a man or woman can have. The return of Jesus is called by Titus the blessed hope.

Titus 2:11-13 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

titanicWhat is your condition this morning? Is it one of no hope or blessed hope? When the Titanic went down in 1912 there were only two lists posted in the Cunard shipping line office: lost and saved. That list is irreversible. The souls of those who lost their lives on the Titanic are eternally locked onto one list or the other. But what about you, you are different in that even though you may be on the lost list, as long as you live, you can get moved to the saved list. Today if you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit calling you, harden not your heart, but come to him seeking forgiveness and repentance before it is everlastingly too late.

Hebrews 3:15 While it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

– Pastor Brown Sims

Saved!, How?

  1. All have sinned—“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” – Romans 3:23
  1. Sin must be paid for—“For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life” – Romans 6:23
  1. Jesus Christ paid for our sins—“But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” – Romans 5:8
  1. What we must do—“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”  – Romans 10:13
  1. How we can know we are on our way to Heaven—“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life…” – John 3:36
  1. How To be Sure We are Saved—“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name”  – John 1:12

Prayer is our most powerful resource and our direct line with Heaven! You can call on the Lord any hour of the day or night no matter where you are. Pray honestly and openly with the Lord in your own words from the heart. Richard Sibbes Once said, “God can pick sense out of a confused prayer!” And The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel according to Thomas Watson. So pray!!!, God is listening, he knows you, He knew you before you were born according to Jeremiah 1:5.

*Check out the various links and resources provided below to help you grow in your Christian walk.

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You say God says

More Than Words…

Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Many years ago in a Moscow theater, matinee idol Alexander Rostovzev was converted while playing the role of Jesus in a sacrilegious play entitled Christ in a Tuxedo. He was supposed to read two verses from the Sermon on the Mount, remove his gown, and cry out, “Give me my tuxedo and top hat!” But as he read the words, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted,” he began to tremble. Instead of following the script, he kept reading from Matthew 5, ignoring the coughs, calls, and foot-stamping of his fellow actors. Finally, recalling a verse he had learned in his childhood in a Russian Orthodox church, he cried, “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom!” (Luke 23:42). Before the curtain could be lowered, Rostovzev had trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.

– J.K. Johnston, Why Christians Sin, Discovery House, 1992, p. 121

Isaiah 55:11 – So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

In Christ

‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ (Philippians 4:13) There is nothing that God wants you to do that you cannot accomplish. It is through the strength of Jesus that you can meet any challenge. How do you need to be strengthened today by the Lord? Confess your weakness to him. Ask him to strengthen you today. He will do it! Then we can claim like Paul did, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’

powerless

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be still

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One Response

  1. Carla Suddarth December 28, 2014
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