The Gospel, The Good News 21-23 of 41

My Salvation

In the God’s perfect time, I put my faith in Jesus Christ, and God instantly granted me salvation. He instantly forgave me of all my sins- those  past, present, and future sins. He made me His child, adopting me into His family. I became a part of His family. A son of the most High God. He is my Father.

Colossians 2:13-14 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us.

Psalms 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Ephesians 1:3-6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

John 1:12-13  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

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My sin against God (cont)

I should be giving thanks to God and submitting my life to His rule as King and Lord over my life, but instead I have rebelled against Him and have been exalting myself above Him wanting to become lord of my own life making myself my own god.

Isaiah 47:10 

““For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, ‘No one sees me’; Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; And you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’”

Exodus 34:14 

“(for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),”

Exodus 20:3

You shall have no other gods before me.

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My sin against God

Psalms 96:7-13 

Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously.” Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.

In Deuteronomy you can almost feel the anguish in the words:

Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever! (Deuteronomy 5:29)

But I have horribly and utterly failed the the Creator, the Alfa and Omega, the I Am. Just like I have, every persons has utterly failed miserably. Paul says in 

Romans 1: 20-25

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

And Romans 3:23 Paul explains:

Romans 3:23

....for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,....

Just like me, every single person since man Adam and Eve have been born with a sinful nature and fall far short of God's glory separating us from a perfect and holy God. 

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The Gospel, The Good News 8 of 41

The Glory of God (cont)

This Glorious, most wonderful, most Supreme God is the only One worthy of all admiration, honor, delight, and worship in all of the universe He created.

Revelations 4:11

You are worthy, O Lord,

To receive glory and honor and power;

For You created all things,

And by Your will they exist[b] and were created.”

Psalm 96

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!

Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Sing to the Lord, bless His name;

Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

Declare His glory among the nations,

His wonders among all peoples.

For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;

He is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

But the Lord made the heavens.

Honor and majesty are before Him;

Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

Give to the Lord glory and strength.

Give to the Lord the glory due His name;

Bring an offering, and come into His courts.

Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!

Tremble before Him, all the earth.

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;

The world also is firmly established,

It shall not be moved;

He shall judge the peoples righteously.”

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;

Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;

Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.

Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord.

For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.

He shall judge the world with righteousness,

And the peoples with His truth.

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 16:11

You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

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The Gospel, The Good News 5 of 41

The Glory of God (cont)

1 Tim. 6:17

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the  

        living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.

Acts 14:17

Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and 

        fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. 

Ecclesiastes 3:9-13

What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?

I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can  

        find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,

and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

The book of Ecclesiastes shows that this life on earth is full of pain, tragedy and sufereing, but yet at the same time are to take pleasure in everyday life. There is a theme within this book that tells us to enjoy everyday life. In verse 13 the author shares with us….that every man should eat and drink adn enjoy the good of all his labor-it is the gift of God. The author explains how we are to live our lives in this present age. Amidst the pain and suffering of this age, every good and right pleasure I experience in this life is a gift from God to me to enjoy. 

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Hope in Sorrow

1 Thessalonians 1:13-1

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

Death is a very real part of life that happens to all of us. It is a subject we don’t like to talk about very much as it brings memories of loss and sorrow to the surface. Because it is a fact of life, we are all affected by it.

Just the other day as I opened up to Facebook, I was hit once again with the unexpected tragedy of a family we knew. As missionaries living over seas, and many times out of touch with the lives of people back in the country of origin, it still brings pain knowing that many of our friends are going through this tragedy. We are suffering with them even though it is across an ocean. Pain has no borders. We only wish we could be there to personally share in the grief and be a comforting presence. We know our extended Family is sharing in the grief, and we know it is hard, but we do have  hope. Praising God through the grief that we will one day see our loved ones again.

As a follower of Jesus, Paul tells us that we should not sorrow as others who have no hope. Paul says that if we (and they) believe that Jesus died and rose again, we will see our loved ones again. We have this hope. Yes, we do sorrow, but with hope. We miss seeing those we love that have passed into eternity, and we can look forward to seeing them again.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

A friend wrote this on a blog: How do we still our shattered hearts?

With the Word. Psalm 46 is a great place to camp out during any time of trouble to focus on Who God is:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (vs.1 ESV).

Because God is our refuge and strength...

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. (vs. 2-3)

The weight of grief can feel like the earth is giving way under our feet, that our sorrow is more than we can bear, like we are drowning in the roaring foam of the sea. But, our God is here holding us up and giving us strength, courage and grace in the midst of it all.

As we still our broken hearts, may these words of our heavenly Father bring comfort, peace, and strength:

"You are My servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off"; 

fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;

 I will strengthen you. I will help you, 

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 

"Fear not, I am the one who helps you"

(Isaiah 40:10, 13 ESV, emphasis mine).

With a broken heart, I cling to Christ.      Read the full article at: When Life Hits Us Hard, God Hugs Us Tighter

New Every Morning

David wrote this towards the end of his life.

A Song of God’s Majesty and Love
145 A praise of David.
I will exalt you, my God, O king,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is Yahweh, and very worthy of praise,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation will laud your works to another,
and will declare your mighty deeds.
On the splendor of the glory of your majesty,
and on your wonderful deeds, I will meditate.
And they will speak of the power of your awesome deeds,
and I will tell of your greatness.
They will utter  the renown of your abundant goodness,
and they will proclaim with joy your righteousness.
Yahweh is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and great in loyal love.
Yahweh is good to all,
and his mercies are over all his works.
All your works will praise you, O Yahweh,
and your faithful ones will bless you.
They will speak of the glory of your kingdom,
and talk of your power,
to make known to the children of humankind his mighty deeds,
and the glory of the majesty of his kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
Yahweh upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
and you give them their food in due time,
opening your hand,
and satisfying the desire of every living creature.
Yahweh is righteous in all his ways,
and loyal in all his works.
Yahweh is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry for help, and saves them.
Yahweh protects all those who love him,
but all the wicked he will exterminate.
My mouth will speak the praise of Yahweh,
and all flesh will bless his holy name
forever and ever.

A witness to the Light

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

We enjoyed our time in the village this afternoon. After Bible study and teaching some of the kids a few songs, the kids enjoyed spending some time playing games. All too soon it was time to leave as we have a couple more weeks of school and the kids have to get up on time. Here a few pictures from our afternoon in Pintic.

Two days before Easter one of the houses burned to the ground. Everyone was able to get out safe, but they lost everything. Please pray for Victor and his family as they have nothing. They are currently staying with his wife's relative in one of the two rooms that make up her house. They have five children. Pray that others in his village would come together and help this family. Pray that God would use this to change the hearts of the people in this village. Pray that God uses the Bible study to change their hearts to follow Jesus.