Beautiful Freedom

This is one of my favorites I have read recently! For he has made with me an everlasting covenant. 2 Samuel 23:5 This covenant is divine in its origin. "He has made with me an everlasting covenant." Oh, that great word "he"! My soul, consider-God, the everlasting Father, has positively made a covenant with you; yes, the God who spoke the world into existence by a word; He, stooping from His majesty, takes hold of your hand and makes a covenant with you. Isn't this act so stupendous and such an example of condescension that it would overwhelm us forever if we could really understand it? "He has made with me an everlasting covenant." A king has not made a covenant with me-that would be something; but the Prince of the kings of the earth, Shaddai, the Lord All-sufficient, the Jehovah of ages, the everlasting Elohim-"He has made with me an everlasting covenant." But notice, it is particular in its application. "For he has...

I have loved you with an everlasting love. ~ Jeremiah 31:3 Sometimes the Lord Jesus tells His Church His love thoughts. "He does not consider it sufficient to declare them behind her back, but in her very presence He says, 'Behold, you are beautiful, my love.'1 It is true, this is not His ordinary method. He is a wise lover and knows when to hold back the intimation of love and when to declare it; but there are times when He will make no secret of it, times when He will put it beyond all dispute in the souls of His people" (R. Erskine's Sermons). The Holy Spirit is often pleased, in a most gracious manner, to witness with our spirits to the love of Jesus. He takes the things of Christ and reveals them to us. No voice is heard from the clouds, and no vision is seen in the night, but we have a testimony more certain than either of these If an angel should fly from heaven and inform the believer personally of the Savior's love for him, the evidence wo...

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. Proverbs 16:33 If the decision about the lot is the Lord's, whose is the arrangement of our whole life? If the simple casting of a lot is guided by Him, how much more the events of our entire life-especially when we are told by our blessed Savior, "Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."1 It would bring a holy calm over your mind, dear friend, if you were to constantly remember this. It would relieve your mind from anxiety and enable you to walk in patience, quietness, and cheerfulness as a Christian should. When a man is anxious he cannot pray with faith; when he is troubled about the world, he cannot serve his Master, for his thoughts are serving himself. f you would "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,"2 all things would then be added to you. You are meddling with Christ's business and neg...

Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. Ruth 1:14 Both of them had an affection for Naomi and therefore set out with her upon her return to the land of Judah. But the test came: Naomi unselfishly set before both of them the trials that awaited them and encouraged them if they cared for ease and comfort to return to their friends in Moab. At first both of them declared that they would take their stand with the Lord's people; but upon further consideration Orpah with much grief and a respectful kiss left her mother-in-law, and her people and her God, and went back to her idolatrous friends, while Ruth with all her heart gave herself up to the God of her mother-in-law. It is one thing to love the ways of the Lord when all is fair, and quite another to hold to them in the face of discouragements and difficulties. The kiss of outward profession is very cheap and easy, but the practical clinging to the Lord, which must show itself in holy devotion to trut...

'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul. Lamentations 3:24 It does not say, "The Lord is partly my portion," nor "The Lord is in my portion"; but He Himself makes up the sum total of my soul's inheritance. Within the circumference of that circle lies all that we possess or desire. The Lord is my portion. Not His grace merely, nor His love, nor His covenant, but Jehovah Himself. He has chosen us for His portion, and we have chosen Him for ours. It is true that the Lord must first choose our inheritance for us, or else we will never choose it for ourselves; but if we are really called according to the purpose of electing love, we can sing- Lov'd of my God for Him again With love intense I burn; Chosen of Him ere time began, I choose Him in return. The Lord is our all-sufficient portion. God fills Himself; and if God is all-sufficient in Himself, He must be all-sufficient for us. It is not easy to satisfy man's desires. When he ...

Underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27 God-the eternal God-is Himself our support at all times, and especially when we are sinking in deep trouble. There are seasons when the Christian sinks very low in humiliation. Under a deep sense of his great sinfulness, he is humbled before God until he hardly knows how to pray, because he appears, in his own sight, so worthless. Well, child of God, remember that when you are at your worst and lowest, even then "underneath" you "are the everlasting arms." Sin may drag you ever so low, but Christ's great atonement is still under all. You may have descended into the depths, but you cannot have fallen so low as the uttermost; and He saves "to the uttermost."1 Again, the Christian sometimes sinks very deeply in sore trial from without. Every earthly prop is cut away. What then? Still underneath him are "the everlasting arms." He cannot fall so deep in distress and affliction but wha...

'For my power is made perfect in weakness.' 2 Corinthians 12:9 A primary qualification for serving God with any amount of success, and for doing God's work well and triumphantly, is a sense of our own weakness. When God's warrior marches out to battle, strong in his own might, when he boasts, "I know that I will overcome-my own ability and my self-confidence will be enough for victory," defeat is staring him in the face. God will not enable the man who marches in his own strength. He who reckons on victory by such means has reckoned wrongly, for "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts."1 Those who go out to fight, boasting of their ability, will return with their banners trailing in the dust and their armor stained with disgrace. Those who serve God must serve Him in His own way and in His strength, or He will never accept their service. Whatever a man does, unaided by divine strength, God can never own. The mer...

Infants in Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:1 Are you mourning, believer, because your spiritual life is so weak, because your faith is so small, your love so feeble? Cheer up because you have reason to be grateful. Remember that in some things you are equal to the greatest and most mature Christian. • You are as much purchased with blood as he is. • You are just as much an adopted child of God as any other believer. An infant is as truly a child of its parents as is the full-grown man. \You are as completely justified, for your justification is not a matter of degree: Your little faith has made you clean every bit. • You have as much right to the precious things of the covenant as the most advanced believers, for your right to covenant mercies does not lie in your growth but in the covenant itself; and your faith in Jesus is not the measure but the token of your inheritance in Him. • You are as rich as the richest-if not in enjoyment, yet in real possession. The smallest star that ...

I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Philippians 3:8 Spiritual knowledge of Christ will be a personal knowledge. I cannot know Jesus through another person's acquaintance with Him. I must know Him myself; I must know Him on my own account. It will be an intelligent knowledge-I must know Him not as in the visionary dreams of Him, but as the Word reveals Him. I must know His natures, divine and human. I must know His offices (Prophet, Priest and King)-His attributes-His works-His shame-His glory. I must meditate upon Him until I "comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge."1 It will be an affectionate knowledge of Him; indeed, if I know Him at all, I must love Him. An ounce of heart knowledge is worth a ton of head learning. Our knowledge of Him will be a satisfying knowledge. When I know my Savior, my mind will be ...

"We Have An Anchor" Verse 1 Will your anchor hold in the storms of life, When the clouds unfold their wings of strife? When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain, Will your anchor drift or firm remain? Chorus We have an anchor that keeps the soul Steadfast and sure while the billows roll, Fastened to the Rock which cannot move, Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love. Verse 2 It is safely moored, ’twill the storm withstand, For ’tis well secured by the Savior’s hand; And the cables, passed from His heart to mine, Can defy that blast, thro’ strength divine. Verse 3 It will firmly hold in the straits of fear, When the breakers have told the reef is near; Tho’ the tempest rave and the wild winds blow, Not an angry wave shall our bark o’erflow. Verse 4 When our eyes behold thro’ the gath’ring night The city of gold, our harbor bright, We shall anchor fast by the heav’nly shore, With the storms all past forevermore. 

I highly recommend this Book... Simply speaking, love changes people. Christians, then, by definition, should exhibit the greatest transformation of all because, rightly understood and cherished, God’s love makes them increasingly more like the One who has lavished his love on them.This truth is meant to tell believers who they are, their purpose and destiny, and how to faithfully persevere in their struggles. But sometimes people lose sight of this. Because He Loves Me restores that vision, reminding Christians of their true identity as beloved children of God—adopted by the Father, espoused to the Son, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.Christianity is not a self-improvement program but a transferring of identity and growth, accomplished in history through Christ and in our daily lives through his Spirit. This book explores and celebrates these truths in an unforgettable way.

At the cross… …We see God’s sovereignty —reigning with absolute control over humanity’s greatest sin. …We see God’s purpose —making known the mystery of His will prepared before time. …We see God’s plan —to unite all things, on heaven and on earth, in Him. …We see God’s judgment —requiring recompense for guilt. …We see God’s holiness —demanding the perfect sacrifice. …We see God’s power —crushing the Son of God according to the purpose of His will. …We see God’s wrath —punishing the wretchedness of sin. …We see God’s sorrow —wailing as only a forsaken son can. …We see God’s mystery —the Son, as God, separated from the Father, committing His Spirit to God. …We see God’s compassion —pleading to the Father to forgive the ignorant. …We see God’s gift —His one and only Son, bruised and broken on our behalf. …We see God’s mercy —making unrighteous sinners righteous. …We see God’s love —Christ dying for sinners. …We see God’s rescue operation —delive...

Acts 16:14 …and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. “All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, He is pleased, in His appointed time, effectually to call, by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death, in which they are by nature to grace and salvation, by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God, taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them an heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and, by His almighty power, determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ: yet so, as they come most freely, being made willing by His grace.” 1 As we know from our understanding of depravity (see “What is Total Depravity), man is hopelessly and undeniably lost. Not only do we dwell in a domain of darkness (Colossians 1:13), but we even hate the light and refuse to come to it (John 3:19-20). Even if we could, the fact is that we do not...

An Open Letter to My Daughter by Byron Yawn (And a Veiled Exhortation to Christian Fathers and Young Adult Christian Men Everywhere) Dear L.Y., In a box somewhere in the garage there is footage of the two of us. Although it’s lost in storage, it streams in my memory. I am holding you. You fit neatly in my two hands. My heart fits perfectly around your little finger – small as it was. It is a long time ago. It is the embodiment of that worn out metaphor we reach for to describe fathers and daughters. “Tied around fingers” or something like that. Clearly, I am entwined. I’ve always been. Quietly, I bend down and whisper something to you. It’s hard to make out what I’m saying on this fuzzy old tape. But, I know exactly what I said. I’ve been saying it for fourteen years. You have heard me say it in word and deed every day since. “You will always be this child here in my hands. I will never leave you nor forsake you. I love you.” It is fourteen years ago, but it is easily today. On...

http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/professor-horners-bible-reading-system/1 I would love for you to take this challenge with me and read through the Bible. It is an intense read through, but I know well worth it and will greatly enrich your knowledge of the Scriptures! I was challenged to do this out at school...to really know the Word and not just read it like another book, but really read it and know it. Let's journey in this together!

Receiving Singleness as a Gift from God - Nancy Leigh DeMoss I am not single by accident. I am not single because the "right man" has never asked me to marry him. I am not single because I have made up my mind not to marry. Rather, I am single because God has chosen for me the gift of singleness. I believe that I am single according to the perfect will and purpose of God. I have no way of knowing how long He will give me this gift or whether He will ever choose to give me the gift of marriage. I do not know whether it will be His will for me to be single in five years. But I do know that it has been His will to this point in my life. I must set my heart to respond to this and every area of my life with the words of the virgin Mary when her world was turned upside down by an angelic messenger: "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38). Certainly there are times when I whimper and long for something God has not...

So let's say tonight has not been the greatest of mine. I'm currently writing a paper on anger and stress management God's way and it's well been an interesting night. I found myself overwhelmed and panicking at one point...needless today I had a breakdown. Those don't last very long for me and are normally done in private, then as always I call of my faithful friend who always guides me to the cross and His promises (I cannot tell you how thankful I am for that). As I continued on in my paper I stumbled across the verse which states, count it all joy brothers when you encounter various kinds of trials. My heart is in the hand of the potter right now, although I am feeling all the twists and pulls, I know He is at work and hears when I call. But how often is it that I actually call? He brings me to these places in life to remind me of His greater purpose in my life, for my life. It is necessary for the beautifying of His Son in my life, because on my own I am ugly a...

"As soon as I saw you I knew an adventure was going to happen." I pray for the person who God would choose to be a part of my life and the adventure that we'll have. I get pumped ;) I hope to be able to write my Once Upon A Time...to ya'll!

Today is one of those days where I truly am resting on the promises of God and not my own feelings. It has been a journey of a year (well life), but this year especially has flown by and busy as ever. However through it all I cannot tell you how close I feel to the Lord. I have begun to realize that this life isn't about what you "do" per say. I mean it is in the sense, but i'm talking what I personally accomplish via my lists, jobs, etc. It is about how I LIVE. Doing things I have found are different than living things. It is easy to get caught up in the mundane things of life and the day to day chores and checklists (we like our lists). I have realized I exist for more, for a greater purpose. Each day shouldn't be about just wanting to get through today...big ugh or sigh...but, rather how we lived that day. There is freedom in pursuing to Glorify God on a daily basis. It gives us purpose and joy. When I sit and ponder Christ and who He is and how He desires a re...

2 Thessalonians chapter 3. Paul has encouraged the believers to believe the truth (2:13-14); and guard the truth (2:15); practice the truth (2:16-17); and now Paul asks them to share the truth (3:1-5). We are not to simply love the truth or learn the truth but live the truth. Alexander Maclaren wrote; “The gospel is not speculation but fact. It is truth, because it is the record of a person who is Truth.” Paul brings his letter to a close. Paul has some closing words; a request for prayer and a reminder of God’s faithfulness and love. Paul’s Personal Request (vv.1-2) Pray For God’s Message (v.1) 2 Thessalonians 3:1 (NKJV) Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, Paul knows the believer’s in Thessaly are under intense persecution and experiencing all kinds of troubles. Remember one of the reasons Paul wrote this letter was to correct misunderstandings about the coming of Christ; but also to provide comfort, c...

My heart is exploding at the moment and full. I was thinking over the past couple of weeks and dreaming of what I wanted to do with my life. Well here it is...I want to start an organization (or something) I want to call it... I <3 Nations…be informed. (still playing with it) – heart going with the verse John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease” hence the < (wink wink). Anyway to sum it up I want to gather information on some what I think are key organizations within these categories: Sex Trafficking Orphans Sponsorship Those in Need Hope Then through a website first inform people, educate them on statistics, culture, stories, the need, opportunities, etc on these topics and link them with organizations. It is about informing people, educating them on what is going on in the world and offering them an opportunity to get involved, support, or go! “Changing the world one heart at a time” In a sense we’re working to inform and help equip others by touching...

Faith... If a man would lead a happy life, let him but seek a sure object for his trust [or faith], and he shall be safe: "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord." He hath laid up his confidence in God, therefore his heart is kept in an equal poise. —Thomas Manton This is a life of faith, for God will try the truth of our faith, so that the world may see that God has such servants as will depend upon His bare word. —Richard Sibbes Faith, whereby especially Christ rules, sets the soul so high that it looks down on all other things as far below, as having represented to it, by the Spirit of Christ, riches, honor, beauty and pleasures of a higher nature. —Richard Sibbes As the strongest faith may be shaken, so the weakest, where truth is, is so far rooted that it will prevail. Weakness with watchfulness will stand, when strength with too much confidence fails. Weakness, with acknowledgement of it, is the fittest seat and s...

Maximum Impact by Wayne Mack Love does not rejoice in personally doing what the Bible would call evil or sin. (Romans 1:32) Love does not enjoy doing evil to others. It does not enjoy treating others in an unjust fashion - the practice of oppressing others or putting undue pressure on people. It does not make unreasonable demands or engage in the practice of cheating others out of what is rightly theirs. It doesn't make promises that are not kept or fulfilled. Love does not rejoice in gossip or slander. Love does not rejoice in encouraging others to do what is wrong in the sight of God. Love does not enjoy watching others do evil. (Romans 1:32) Love does not get pleasure out of seeing others have evil done to them. Love does not enjoy exposing the sins and faults of others. Love does not feel good about making fun of others - about doing what the enemies of Christ did to Him in Luke 22 and Matthew 27. Love avoids doing what would make others feel uncomfortable or foolish o...

"His servants ye are to whom ye obey." — Romans 6:16 The first thing to do in examining the power that dominates me is to take hold of the unwelcome fact that I am responsible for being thus dominated. If I am a slave to myself, I am to blame because at a point away back I yielded to myself. Likewise, if I obey God I do so because I have yielded myself to Him. Yield in childhood to selfishness, and you will find it the most enchaining tyranny on earth. There is no power in the human soul of itself to break the bondage of a disposition formed by yielding. Yield for one second to anything in the nature of lust (remember what lust is: "I must have it at once," whether it be the lust of the flesh or the lust of the mind) - once yield and though you may hate yourself for having yielded, you are a bondslave to that thing. There is no release in human power at all but only in the Redemption. You must yield yourself in utter humiliation to the only One Who can break the ...

"Will ye also go away?" — John 6:67 A penetrating question. Our Lord's words come home most when He talks in the most simple way. We know Who Jesus is, but in spite of that He says - "Will ye also go away?" We have to maintain a venturing attitude toward Him all the time. "From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him." They went back from walking with Jesus, not into sin, but they relapsed. Many to-day are spending and being spent in work for Jesus Christ, but they do not walk with Him. The one thing God keeps us to steadily is that we may be one with Jesus Christ. After sanctification the discipline of our spiritual life is along this line. If God gives a clear and emphatic realization to your soul of what He wants, do not try to keep yourself in that relationship by any particular method, but live a natural life of absolute dependence on Jesus Christ. Never try to live the life with God on any other line than God...

C. H. Spurgeon "lt is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man."—Psalm 118:8. OUBTLESS the reader has been tried with the temptation to rely upon the things which are seen, instead of resting alone upon the invisible God. Christians often look to man for help and counsel, and mar the noble simplicity of their reliance upon their God. Does this evening's portion meet the eye of a child of God anxious about temporals, then would we reason with him awhile. You trust in Jesus, and only in Jesus, for your salvation, then why are you troubled? "Because of my great care." Is it not written, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord"? "Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication make known your wants unto God." Cannot you trust God for temporals? "Ah! I wish I could." If you cannot trust God for temporals, how dare you trust Him for spirituals? Can you trust Him for your soul's redemption, and not re...

Spiritual Helps Eternal Father, it is amazing love, that Thou hast sent Thy Son to suffer in my stead, that Thou hast added the Spirit to teach, comfort, guide, that Thou hast allowed the ministry of angels to wall me round; all heaven subserves the welfare of a poor worm. Permit Thy unseen servants to be ever active on my behalf, and to rejoice when grace expands in me. Suffer them never to rest until my conflict is over, and I stand victorious on salvation's shore. Grant that my proneness to evil, deadness to good, resistance to Thy Spirit's emotions, may never provoke Thee to abandon me. May my hard heart awake Thy pity, not Thy wrath, And if the enemy gets an advantage through my corruption, let it be seen that heaven is mightier than hell, that those for me are greater than those against me. Arise to my help in richness of covenant blessings, keep me feeding in the pastures of Thy strengthening Word, searching Scripture to find Thee there. If my waywardness is visite...