Sunday 7 September 2014

Behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom

Behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom.
Matthew_27:51




No mean miracle was wrought in the rending of so strong and thick a veil; but it was not intended merely as a display of power-many lessons were herein taught us. The old law of ordinances was put away, and like a worn-out vesture, rent and laid aside. 
When Jesus died, the sacrifices were all finished, because all is fulfilled in Him, and therefore the place of their presentation was marked with an evident token of decay. 
That rent also revealed all the hidden things of the old dispensation: the mercy-seat could now be seen, and the glory of God gleamed forth above it.    By the death of our Lord Jesus we have a clear revelation of God, for he was 
not as Moses, who put a veil over his face.” 

Life and immortality are now brought to light, and things which have been hidden since the foundation of the world are manifest in him. The annual ceremony of atonement was thus abolished. The atoning blood which was once every year sprinkled within the veil, was now offered once for all by the great High Priest, and therefore the place of the symbolical rite was broken up. No blood of bullocks or of lambs is needed now, for Jesus has entered within the veil with His own blood. Hence access to God is now permitted, and is the privilege of every believer in Christ Jesus. 
There is no small space laid open through which we may peer at the mercy-seat, but the rent reaches from the top to the bottom. 
We may come with boldness to the throne of the heavenly grace. Shall we err if we say that the opening of the Holy of Ho'lies in this marvelous manner by our Lord’s expiring cry was the type of the opening of the gates of paradise to all the saints by virtue of the Passion? 
Our bleeding Lord hath the key of heaven; He opens and no man shuts; let us enter in with him into the heavenly places, and sit with Him there till our common enemies shall be made His footstool.



“The Amen.”
Rev_3:14
The word AMEN solemnly confirms that which went before; and Jesus is the great ; immutable, confirmer, for ever is 

the Amen” in all His promises. Sinner, I would comfort thee with this reflection. Jesus Christ said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” 

If you come to Him, He will say “Amen” in your soul; 
His promise shall be true to you. 
He said in the days of His flesh, “The bruised reed I will not break.” O thou poor, broken, bruised heart, if thou come to Him, He will say “Amen” to thee, and that shall be true in thy soul as in hundreds of cases in bygone years. Christian, is not this very comforting to thee also, that there is not a word which has gone out of the Savior’s lips which He has ever retracted? 
The words of Jesus shall stand when heaven and earth shall pass away. If thou get a hold of but half a promise, thou shalt find it true. Beware of him who is called “Clip-promise,” who will destroy much of the comfort of God’s word.
Jesus is Yea and Amen in all His offices. 

He was a Priest to pardon and cleanse once, 
He is Amen as Priest still. 
He was a King to rule and reign for His people, and to defend them with His mighty arm, He is an Amen King, the same still. He was a Prophet of old, to foretell good things to come, His lips are most sweet, and drop with honey still-He is an Amen Prophet. 
He is Amen as to the merit of His blood; He is Amen as to His righteousness. 
That sacred robe shall remain most fair and glorious when nature shall decay. 
He is Amen in every single title which He bears; your Husband, never seeking a divorce; your Friend, sticking closer than a brother; your Shepherd, with you in death’s dark vale; your Help and your Deliverer; your Castle and your High Tower; the Horn of your strength, your confidence, your joy, your all in all, and your Yea and Amen in all.

Tuesday 26 August 2014

If thou believe with all thine heart, thou may

Rogelio Gómez

Shared publicly  -  1:31 PM
 
http://bible.com/59/PSA27.7 Hear, O Lord , when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!
Bible.com/app

"If thou believe with all thine heart, thou may"
Acts 8:37
These words may answer your scruples, devout reader, concerning the ordinances. Perhaps you say, "I should be afraid to be baptized; it is such a solemn thing to avow myself to be dead with Christ, and buried with him. I should not feel at liberty to come to the Master's table; I should be afraid of eating and drinking damnation unto myself, not discerning the Lord's body." Ah! poor trembler, Jesus has given you liberty, be not afraid. If a stranger came to your house, he would stand at the door, or wait in the hall; he would not dream of intruding unbidden into your parlour--he is not at home: but your child makes himself very free about the house; and so is it with the child of God. A stranger may not intrude where a child may venture. When the Holy Ghost has given you to feel the spirit of adoption, you may come to Christian ordinances without fear. The same rule holds good of the Christian's inward privileges. You think, poor seeker, that you are not allowed to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; if you are permitted to get inside Christ's door, or sit at the bottom of his table, you will be well content. Ah! but you shall not have less privileges than the very greatest. God makes no difference in his love to his children. A child is a child to him; he will not make him a hired servant; but he shall feast upon the fatted calf, and shall have the music and the dancing as much as if he had never gone astray. When Jesus comes into the heart, he issues a general licence to be glad in the Lord. No chains are worn in the court of King Jesus. Our admission into full privileges may be gradual, but it is sure. Perhaps our reader is saying, "I wish I could enjoy the promises, and walk at liberty in my Lord's commands." "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest." Loose the chains of thy neck, O captive daughter, for Jesus makes thee free.
Acts 8:37
And Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest,.... Intimating, that if he did not believe, he had no right to that ordinance; though he was a proselyte to the Jewish religion, a serious and devout man, and was employed in a religious way, when Philip came up to him, and was very desirous of being instructed in the knowledge of divine things; and yet notwithstanding all this, he had no right to the ordinance of baptism, unless he had faith in Christ, and made a profession of it; nor would Philip administer it to him without it; from whence it appears, that faith in Christ, and a profession of it, are necessary prerequisites to baptism: and this faith should not be a mere historical and temporary faith, nor a feigned one, but a believing in Christ with the heart unto righteousness; or such a faith by which a soul relinquishes its own righteousness, and looks and goes unto Christ for righteousness, life, and salvation, and rests and relies upon him for them; and it should be a believing in him with the whole heart, which does not design a strong faith, or a full assurance of faith, but an hearty, sincere, and unfeigned one, though it may be but weak, and very imperfect. And that this is necessary to baptism is manifest, because without this it is impossible to please God; nor can submission and obedience to it be acceptable to him: nor indeed can the ordinance be grateful and pleasing to unbelievers; for though it is a command that is not grievous, and a yoke that is easy, yet it is only so to them that believe; nor can any other see to the end of this ordinance, or behold the burial, and resurrection of Christ represented by it, or be baptized into his death, and partake of the benefits of it; and besides, whatsoever is not of faith is sin. 


And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God: which though a short, is a very comprehensive summary of the articles of faith respecting the person, offices, and grace of Christ; as that he is a divine person, truly and properly God, the only begotten of the Father, of the same nature with him, and equal to him; that he existed from all eternity, as a divine person with him, and distinct from him; and that he is the Christ, the anointed of God, to be prophet, priest, and King; and is Jesus, the only Saviour of lost sinners, in whom he trusted and depended alone for righteousness, life, and salvation. This whole verse is wanting in the Alexandrian copy, and in five of Beza's copies, and in the Syriac and Ethiopic versions; but stands in the Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions, and in the Complutensian edition; and, as Beza observes, ought by no means to be expunged, since it contains so clear a confession of faith required of persons to be baptized, which was used in the truly apostolic times.

His fruit was sweet to my taste.

"His fruit was sweet to my taste."
Song of Solomon 2:3

Faith, in the Scripture, is spoken of under the emblem of all the senses. It is sight: "Look unto me and be ye saved." It is hearing: "Hear, and your soul shall live." Faith is smelling: "All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia"; "thy name is as ointment poured forth.
Faith is spiritual touch. By this faith the woman came behind and touched the hem of Christ's garment, and by this we handle the things of the good word of life. Faith is equally the spirit's taste. "How sweet are thy words to my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my lips." "Except a man eat my flesh," saith Christ, "and drink my blood, there is no life in him."
This "taste" is faith in one of its highest operations. One of the first performances of faith is hearing. We hear the voice of God, not with the outward ear alone, but with the inward ear; we hear it as God's Word, and we believe it to be so; that is the "hearing" of faith. Then our mind looketh upon the truth as it is presented to us; that is to say, we understand it, we perceive its meaning; that is the "seeing" of faith. Next we discover its preciousness; we begin to admire it, and find how fragrant it is; that is faith in its "smell." 
Then we appropriate the mercies which are prepared for us in Christ; that is faith in its "touch." Hence follow the enjoyments, peace, delight, communion; which are faith in its "taste." Any one of these acts of faith is saving. To hear Christ's voice as the sure voice of God in the soul will save us; but that which gives true enjoyment is the aspect of faith wherein Christ, by holy taste, is received into us, and made, by inward and spiritual apprehension of his sweetness and preciousness, to be the food of our souls. It is then we sit "under his shadow with great delight," and find his fruit sweet to our taste.

For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness,



Today’s Reading: Psalms 119:89-1761 Corinthians 8
Today’s ThoughtsUnconditional Promises
For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord--to whom the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, "a land flowing with milk and honey." Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.  So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed. Then the Lord said to Joshua, "This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.   Joshua 5:6-9
God's promises are not conditional. He will fulfill every promise, but in His way and in His time and to whom He wills. God heard the cries of the Israelites when they were slaves to Pharaoh. God had promised Abraham that after 400 yearsof bondage, He would rescue his descendents. That time came and God fulfilled His promise by sending Moses. Despite the Egyptians hard hearts and selfishness, God had His way and the Israelites left Egypt. Through God's outstretched arm and mighty powers, God brought plagues and parted the Red Sea. Nothing is impossible for the Lord. However, the Israelites' hearts were hardened too. After different trials and tests in the desert, it was obvious that their prayer for freedom had not been about the freedom to worship God, but for freedom from difficult circumstances. Once the circumstances became difficult in the desert, these same people chose to forsake their God who had rescued them.
Because of Moses' intercession, the next generation would be the ones who would receive the promises of God and enter into the land flowing with milk and honey. Their willingness to obey and attitude mattered to God. They needed to be obedient to His commands; however, God did not remind them about obedience to the covenant of circumcision until after they crossed the Jordan River. So you see that God's promises were not predicated upon their flesh but on His promises. However, in time—God's time, God would make sure that they kept up their end of the deal. We find ourselves in the same kind of relationship with the Lord today. We can accept Christ and receive His Holy Spirit regardless of our behaviors. He will empower us and use us to fulfill all that He has for us. But as time goes by, He continually reminds us and asks us to keep in line with our part of the relationship. Our willingness and attitude matter first and then our obedience proves if we take His promises seriously.
Our mission is to evangelize the lost and awaken the saved to live empowered lives by the Work of God and His Holy Spirit. Daily Disciples Ministries makes a difference for the kingdom of God by teaching and training believers how to be in God's Word, how to pray and how to walk with Jesus every day, as His daily disciple.
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He hath commanded his covenant for ever




He hath commanded his covenant for ever.”
- Psa_111:9
The Lord’s people delight in the covenant itself. It is an unfailing source of consolation to them so often as the Holy Spirit leads them into its banqueting house and waves its banner of love. They delight to contemplate the antiquity of that covenant, remembering that before the day-star knew its place, or planets ran their round, the interests of the saints were made secure in Christ Jesus. It is peculiarly pleasing to them to remember the sureness of the covenant, while meditating upon “the sure mercies of David.” They delight to celebrate it as “signed, and sealed, and ratified, in all things ordered well.” It often makes their hearts dilate with joy to think of its immutability, as a covenant which neither time nor eternity, life nor death, shall ever be able to violate-a covenant as old as eternity and as everlasting as the Rock of ages. They rejoice also to feast upon the fullness of this covenant, for they see in it all things provided for them. God is their portion, Christ their companion, the Spirit their Comforter, earth their lodge, and heaven their home. They see in it an inheritance reserved and entailed to every soul possessing an interest in its ancient and eternal deed of gift. Their eyes sparkled when they saw it as a treasure-trove in the Bible; but oh! how their souls were gladdened when they saw in the last will and testament of their divine kinsman, that it was bequeathed to them! More especially it is the pleasure of God’s people to contemplate the graciousness of this covenant. They see that the law was made void because it was a covenant of works and depended upon merit, but this they perceive to be enduring because grace is the basis, grace the condition, grace the strain, grace the bulwark, grace the foundation, grace the top-stone. The covenant is a treasury of wealth, a granary of food, a fountain of life, a store-house of salvation, a charter of peace, and a haven of joy.



The people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.


The people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.
- Mar_9:15
How great the difference between Moses and Jesus! When the prophet of Horeb had been forty days upon the mountain, he underwent a kind of transfiguration, so that his countenance shone with exceeding brightness, and he put a veil over his face, for the people could not endure to look upon his glory. Not so our Saviour. He had been transfigured with a greater glory than that of Moses, and yet, it is not written that the people were blinded by the blaze of his countenance, but rather they were amazed, and running to him they saluted him. 
The glory of the law repels, but the greater glory of Jesus attracts. Though Jesus is holy and just, yet blended with his purity there is so much of truth and grace, that sinners run to him amazed at his goodness, fascinated by his love; they salute him, become his disciples, and take him to be their Lord and Master. Reader, it may be that just now you are blinded by the dazzling brightness of the law of God. You feel its claims on your conscience, but you cannot keep it in your life. 
Not that you find fault with the law, on the contrary, it commands your profoundest esteem, still you are in nowise drawn by it to God; you are rather hardened in heart, and are verging towards desperation. Ah, poor heart! turn thine eye from Moses, with all his repelling splendour, and look to Jesus, resplendent with milder glories. Behold his flowing wounds and thorn-crowned head! He is the Son of God, and therein he is greater than Moses, but he is the Lord of love, and therein more tender than the lawgiver. He bore the wrath of God, and in his death revealed more of God’s justice than Sinai on a blaze, but that justice is now vindicated, and henceforth it is the guardian of believers in Jesus. Look, sinner, to the bleeding Saviour, and as thou feels the attraction of His love, fly to His arms, and thou shalt be saved.

The Yeast King




The Yeast King

And again He said, “Where unto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. (Luke_13:20-22)

Here we have an interesting thing, seen clearly when we put these two verses together. First, Jesus says….and then Jesus does.

Jesus says the Kingdom of heaven is like leaven which spreads throughout the whole of the meal. Then, He Himself goes throughout all the cities and villages teaching about the kingdom ennroute to His ultimate destination – Jerusalem.

The Yeast King is speading the influence of His kingdom.

Once in Jerusalem the unthinkable happened. The King was rejected and executed. And at the moment when a dismal gloom all but deadened the souls of the disciples – the unimaginable happened. The King rose from the dead!

He gathered with His followers and said to them, “The works that I do, you shall do.” And then, before His ascension, He said to them, “You will receive power from on high, and shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Act_1:8).

He started in Bethlehem and carried the work and word to Jerusalem; His disciples started at Jerusalem and have now carried the work and word unto the whole world – such that virtually every living person in the world today is in some way being touched and transformed by this Man’s influence.

How ‘bout you? What message do you carry forward in your life’s mission?