At 2:13pm on September 21, 2014, thewatchman said…
2 Peter 3:1-9
1This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
3Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
At 1:39pm on September 17, 2014, thewatchman said…
The Lord lives! Blessed by my Rock! Let God be exalted, the Rock of my salvation! --2 Samuel 22:47
O God, be Thou exalted over my possessions. Nothing of earth's treasures shall seem dear unto me if only Thou art glorified in my life. Be Thou exalted over my friendships. I am determined that Thou shalt be above all, though I must stand deserted and alone in the midst of the earth. Be Thou exalted above my comforts. Though it mean the loss of bodily comforts and the carrying of heavy crosses, I shall keep my vow made this day before Thee. Be Thou exalted over my reputation. Make me ambitious to please Thee even if as a result I must sink into obscurity and my name be forgotten as a dream. Rise, O Lord, into Thy proper place of honor, above my ambitions, above my likes and dislikes, above my family, my health and even my life itself. Let me decrease that Thou mayest increase; let me sink that Thou mayest rise above. Ride forth upon me as Thou didst ride into Jerusalem mounted upon the humble little beast, a colt, the foal of an ass, and let me hear the children cry to Thee, "Hosanna in the highest." The Pursuit of God, 101-102.
"In my increasing knowledge of You, Lord, and as I spend more time in solitude and silence before You, this prayer becomes so logical. Be Thou exalted in my life. Amen."
sermonindex.com
At 3:16pm on September 14, 2014, thewatchman said…
He Acts Like Himself
Mercy is an attribute of God, an infinite and inexhaustible energy within the divine nature that disposes God to be actively compassionate. Both the Old and the New Testaments proclaim the mercy of God, but the Old has more than four times as much to say about it as the New.
We should banish from our minds forever the common but erroneous notion that justice and judgment characterize the God of Israel, while mercy and grace belong to the Lord of the Church. Actually there is in principle no difference between the Old Testament and the New. In the New Testament Scriptures there is a fuller development of redemptive truth, but one God speaks in both dispensations, and what He speaks agrees with what He is. Wherever and whenever God appears to men, He acts like Himself. Whether in the Garden of Eden or the Garden of Gethsemane, God is merciful as well as just. He has always dealt in mercy with mankind and will always deal in justice when His mercy is despised. Thus He did in antediluvian times; thus when Christ walked among men; thus He is doing today and will continue always to do for no other reason than that He is God.
Verse
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.Ephesians 2:4–5
Thought
Wherever and whenever God appears to men, He acts like Himself.
Prayer
You are God, and Your ways are perfect. You deal with us in mercy
At 10:22pm on September 12, 2014, thewatchman said…
9/12/2014
Infinite Equity
This message of justice discharged and mercy operative is more than a pleasant theological theory; it announces a fact made necessary by our deep human need. Because of our sin we are all under sentence of death, a judgment that resulted when justice confronted our moral situation. When infinite equity encountered our chronic and willful in-equity, there was violent war between the two, a war that God won and must always win. But when the penitent sinner casts himself upon Christ for salvation, the moral situation is reversed. Justice confronts the changed situation and pronounces the believing man just. Thus justice actually goes over to the side of God's trusting children. This is the meaning of those daring words of the apostle John: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
But God's justice stands forever against the sinner in utter severity. The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions. It hushes their fears and allows them to practice all pleasant forms of iniquity while death draws every day nearer and the command to repent goes unregarded. As responsible moral beings we dare not so trifle with our eternal future.
Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
'Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.
Bold shall I stand in Thy great day;
For who aught to my charge shall lay?
Fully absolved through these I am
From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.
Count N. L. von Zinzendorf
Verse
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.1 John 1:9
Thought
The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions.
Prayer
Father, keep us from sin and draw us into a right relationship with You.
“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).
Someone asked me, "Do you pray for the dead?" I said, "No, I preach to them!" I think every pew in every church is death row. Think about that! They're dead! They sing about God; they talk about God, but they're dead! They have no living relationship (with God). ~Leonard Ravenhill~
The little plant may grow out of a pile of refuse and be surrounded by filth and covered with the dust that floats on the breeze, but its white roots are separated from the unclean soil, and it leaves and flowers have no affinity with the dust that settles upon them. After a show of summer rain they throw off every particle of defilement and look up as fresh and spotless as before. Their intrinsic nature cannot have any part with these defiling things.
This is the separation which Christ requires and which He gives. There is no merit in my staying from the theater is I want to go. There is no value in my abstaining from the foolish novel or the intoxicating bottle if I am continually wishing I could have them. My heart is there, and my soul is defiled by the desire for evil things. It is not the world that stains us, but the love of the world. The true Levite is separated from the desire for earthly things, and even if he could, he would not have the forbidden pleasures which others prize.
The oak comes out of the acorn, the eagle out of that little egg in the nest, the harvest out of the seed. Thus the glory of the coming age is coming out of the Christ-life now, even as the majesty of His kingdom was all wrapped up that night in the baby in Bethlehem.
Let us take Jesus for our total lives. Let us be united to His person and His risen body. Let us know what it is to say, The body is . . . for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body (1 Corinthians 6:13). We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones (Ephesians 5:30).
He who gave that little infant, His only begotten Son, on that dark winter night to the arms of a cruel and ungrateful world will not refuse to give Him to us in all His fullness if we will but open our hearts and give Him right of way and full ownership and possession. Then we shall know in measure His quickening life, even as our hope shall reach its full fruition when we sit with Him on His throne with every fiber of our immortal beings even as He.
Scripture
Who hath despised the day of small things—Zechariah 4:10
“Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if we are not obeying in the thing that lies before us today? How many momentous events in Scripture depended on one person's seemingly small act of obedience! Rest assured: Do what God tells you to do now, and, depend upon it, you will be shown what to do next.” ― Elisabeth Elliot, Quest for Love: True Stories of Passion and Purity
A BIRTH FROM ABOVE A.W. Tozer: This may sound like heresy in some quarters, but I have come to this conclusion-that there are far too many among us who have thought that they accepted Christ, but nothing has come of it within their own lives and desires and habits! This kind of philosophy in soul-winning-the idea that it is "the easiest thing in the world to accept Jesus"-permits the man or woman to accept Christ by an impulse of the mind or of the emotions. It allows us to gulp twice and sense an emotional feeling that has come over us, and then say, "I have accepted Christ." These are spiritual matters about which we must be legitimately honest and in which we must seek the discernment of the Holy Spirit. These are things about which we cannot afford to be wrong; to be wrong is still to be lost and far from God. Let us never forget that the Word of God stresses the importance of conviction and concern and repentance when it comes to conversion, spiritual regeneration, being born from above by the Spirit of God!
“Octavius Winslow summed it up in a neat statement: ‘Who delivered up Jesus to die? Not Judas, for money; not Pilate, for fear; not the Jews, for envy; – but the Father, for love!’29” ― John R.W. Stott, The Cross of Christ
"My contention is that the concepts I have shown from the Bible in the article called Admit, Commit & Submitare being systematically removed from the Gospel message in favor of a message that appeals to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. These concepts, that are an integral part of the Gospel, are being left behind in favor of a "gospel" that has the power to draw large crowds but has been stripped of the power to save. In the rush to get larger numbers of people chalked up, many times for financial reasons, the hard truths of the Gospel are being stripped away. What is left is a message about the love of God without the wrath of God--a message of the mercy of God without the requirements of God." - Sandy Simpson, Admit, Commit & Submit, 7/03
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2 Peter 3:1-9
1This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
3Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Enjoy -
The Lord lives! Blessed by my Rock! Let God be exalted, the Rock of my salvation! --2 Samuel 22:47
O God, be Thou exalted over my possessions. Nothing of earth's treasures shall seem dear unto me if only Thou art glorified in my life. Be Thou exalted over my friendships. I am determined that Thou shalt be above all, though I must stand deserted and alone in the midst of the earth. Be Thou exalted above my comforts. Though it mean the loss of bodily comforts and the carrying of heavy crosses, I shall keep my vow made this day before Thee. Be Thou exalted over my reputation. Make me ambitious to please Thee even if as a result I must sink into obscurity and my name be forgotten as a dream. Rise, O Lord, into Thy proper place of honor, above my ambitions, above my likes and dislikes, above my family, my health and even my life itself. Let me decrease that Thou mayest increase; let me sink that Thou mayest rise above. Ride forth upon me as Thou didst ride into Jerusalem mounted upon the humble little beast, a colt, the foal of an ass, and let me hear the children cry to Thee, "Hosanna in the highest." The Pursuit of God, 101-102.
"In my increasing knowledge of You, Lord, and as I spend more time in solitude and silence before You, this prayer becomes so logical. Be Thou exalted in my life. Amen."
sermonindex.com
He Acts Like Himself
Mercy is an attribute of God, an infinite and inexhaustible energy within the divine nature that disposes God to be actively compassionate. Both the Old and the New Testaments proclaim the mercy of God, but the Old has more than four times as much to say about it as the New.
We should banish from our minds forever the common but erroneous notion that justice and judgment characterize the God of Israel, while mercy and grace belong to the Lord of the Church. Actually there is in principle no difference between the Old Testament and the New. In the New Testament Scriptures there is a fuller development of redemptive truth, but one God speaks in both dispensations, and what He speaks agrees with what He is. Wherever and whenever God appears to men, He acts like Himself. Whether in the Garden of Eden or the Garden of Gethsemane, God is merciful as well as just. He has always dealt in mercy with mankind and will always deal in justice when His mercy is despised. Thus He did in antediluvian times; thus when Christ walked among men; thus He is doing today and will continue always to do for no other reason than that He is God.
Verse
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.Ephesians 2:4–5
Thought
Wherever and whenever God appears to men, He acts like Himself.
Prayer
You are God, and Your ways are perfect. You deal with us in mercy
https://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/tozer
9/12/2014
Infinite Equity
This message of justice discharged and mercy operative is more than a pleasant theological theory; it announces a fact made necessary by our deep human need. Because of our sin we are all under sentence of death, a judgment that resulted when justice confronted our moral situation. When infinite equity encountered our chronic and willful in-equity, there was violent war between the two, a war that God won and must always win. But when the penitent sinner casts himself upon Christ for salvation, the moral situation is reversed. Justice confronts the changed situation and pronounces the believing man just. Thus justice actually goes over to the side of God's trusting children. This is the meaning of those daring words of the apostle John: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
But God's justice stands forever against the sinner in utter severity. The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions. It hushes their fears and allows them to practice all pleasant forms of iniquity while death draws every day nearer and the command to repent goes unregarded. As responsible moral beings we dare not so trifle with our eternal future.
Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
'Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.
Bold shall I stand in Thy great day;
For who aught to my charge shall lay?
Fully absolved through these I am
From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.
Count N. L. von Zinzendorf
Verse
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.1 John 1:9
Thought
The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions.
Prayer
Father, keep us from sin and draw us into a right relationship with You.
https://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/tozer
Watchman - Thank you for the service you render our family in Christ here, for the love you have for our Lord. I see that and respect that.
blessings
“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).
Can you remember the last time you didn't go to bed because people were
dying without Christ?
Someone asked me, "Do you pray for the dead?" I said, "No, I preach to them!" I think every pew in every church is death row. Think about that! They're dead! They sing about God; they talk about God, but they're dead! They have no living relationship (with God). ~Leonard Ravenhill~
Wednesday, September 03, 2014
The little plant may grow out of a pile of refuse and be surrounded by filth and covered with the dust that floats on the breeze, but its white roots are separated from the unclean soil, and it leaves and flowers have no affinity with the dust that settles upon them. After a show of summer rain they throw off every particle of defilement and look up as fresh and spotless as before. Their intrinsic nature cannot have any part with these defiling things.
This is the separation which Christ requires and which He gives. There is no merit in my staying from the theater is I want to go. There is no value in my abstaining from the foolish novel or the intoxicating bottle if I am continually wishing I could have them. My heart is there, and my soul is defiled by the desire for evil things. It is not the world that stains us, but the love of the world. The true Levite is separated from the desire for earthly things, and even if he could, he would not have the forbidden pleasures which others prize.
Scripture
The God of Israel hath separated you—Numbers 16:9
https://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/simpson
Tuesday, September 02, 2014
The oak comes out of the acorn, the eagle out of that little egg in the nest, the harvest out of the seed. Thus the glory of the coming age is coming out of the Christ-life now, even as the majesty of His kingdom was all wrapped up that night in the baby in Bethlehem.
Let us take Jesus for our total lives. Let us be united to His person and His risen body. Let us know what it is to say, The body is . . . for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body (1 Corinthians 6:13). We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones (Ephesians 5:30).
He who gave that little infant, His only begotten Son, on that dark winter night to the arms of a cruel and ungrateful world will not refuse to give Him to us in all His fullness if we will but open our hearts and give Him right of way and full ownership and possession. Then we shall know in measure His quickening life, even as our hope shall reach its full fruition when we sit with Him on His throne with every fiber of our immortal beings even as He.
Scripture
Who hath despised the day of small things—Zechariah 4:10
https://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/simpson?mmdd=0902
One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quotes
“Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if we are not obeying in the thing that lies before us today? How many momentous events in Scripture depended on one person's seemingly small act of obedience! Rest assured: Do what God tells you to do now, and, depend upon it, you will be shown what to do next.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, Quest for Love: True Stories of Passion and Purity
A BIRTH FROM ABOVE
A.W. Tozer:
This may sound like heresy in some quarters, but I have come to this conclusion-that there are far too many among us who have thought that they accepted Christ, but nothing has come of it within their own lives and desires and habits! This kind of philosophy in soul-winning-the idea that it is "the easiest thing in the world to
accept Jesus"-permits the man or woman to accept Christ by an impulse of the mind or of the emotions. It allows us to gulp twice and sense an emotional feeling that has come over us, and then say, "I have accepted Christ." These are spiritual matters about which we must be legitimately honest and in which we must seek the
discernment of the Holy Spirit. These are things about which we cannot afford to be wrong; to be wrong is still to be lost and far from God. Let us never forget that the Word of God stresses the importance of conviction and concern and repentance when it comes to conversion, spiritual regeneration, being born from above by the
Spirit of God!
“Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little notice.”
― A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
“Only the redeemed have the ability to like what God likes and to be pleased with what pleases God.”
― A.W. Tozer, And He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Gospel of John
“Octavius Winslow summed it up in a neat statement: ‘Who delivered up Jesus to die? Not Judas, for money; not Pilate, for fear; not the Jews, for envy; – but the Father, for love!’29”
― John R.W. Stott, The Cross of Christ
“IS NOT MY WORD LIKE FIRE?” DECLARES THE LORD, “AND LIKE A HAMMER WHICH SHATTERS A ROCK?” (JEREMIAH 23:29)
"My contention is that the concepts I have shown from the Bible in the article called Admit, Commit & Submit are being systematically removed from the Gospel message in favor of a message that appeals to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. These concepts, that are an integral part of the Gospel, are being left behind in favor of a "gospel" that has the power to draw large crowds but has been stripped of the power to save. In the rush to get larger numbers of people chalked up, many times for financial reasons, the hard truths of the Gospel are being stripped away. What is left is a message about the love of God without the wrath of God--a message of the mercy of God without the requirements of God." - Sandy Simpson, Admit, Commit & Submit, 7/03
Wisdom from Oswald Chambers
Beware of bartering the Word of God for a more suitable conception of your own. Disciples Indeed, 386 R
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