A Sort of A Blog
May 2006
by Mary Van Nattan
May 30, 2006
Faith Is RestThis quote blessed me and it seemed useful to share it here.
"Faith is rest, not toil. It is the giving up all the former weary efforts to do or feel something good, in order to induce God to love and pardon; and the calm reception of the truth so long rejected, that God is not waiting for any such inducements, but loves and pardons of His own goodwill, and is showing that goodwill to any sinner who will come to Him on such a footing, casting away his own poor performances or goodnesses, and relying implicitly upon the free love of Him who so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son." Horatius Bonar
Galatians 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. 13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
It seems to me that repentance can also fall into the "inducement" category. I mean that sometimes people think it is necessary to convince God to save them through the means of repentance. For more on this subject please see: Is Repentance Necessary for Salvation?
CA
May 24, 2006
He Will Not RememberIsaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
Here is a beautiful verse! The Lord is speaking to Israel here, but we can get in on the blessing of it as it is in keeping with New Testament teaching.
First of all, God says that He blotteth out our transgressions for His own sake. That means that there is nothing we can do to deserve having our transgressions blotted out, but it is for His own pleasure that He saves us. Therefore, it is of no account that we are unworthy sinners in and of ourselves, because He is worthy. It pleases God to do this for His own sake that He might enjoy the friendship of His creation. That is a tremendous thought and I suggest you stop and ponder it!
Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. [Emphasis added]
Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Secondly, God says He will not remember our sins! He Will Not! Read that again - He WILL NOT remember our sins. By an act of His sovereign will God chooses not to remember my sins. He chooses not to remember your sins if you have also believed on Christ in faith. For us this act of willful forgetfulness is applied through the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, which cleanseth us from all sin. (1John 1:7-9).
The doubters who wish to question their own salvation or the salvation of others will ask, "But what if He decides to remember?" In the modern expression, "What don't you understand about 'will not'?" It is a promise not up for debate. If God does not keep His word, He's a liar and you shouldn't believe in Him anyway! Romans 3:4 ...yea, let God be true, but every man a liar... Every time man contradicts a plain promise of God, it's man that is lying, not God! That includes your own deceitful heart (Jer. 17:9).
We have no cause to fear man's threats nor ourselves, for nothing rests upon our worthiness or upon us, with out discouraging tendency to sin. The Lord says He will not remember our sins, and that He has blotted out our transgressions for His own sake. Believe it! Praise the Lord!
Psalm 130 � A Song of degrees.
1 Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.
2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
5 � I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
7 Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
CA
May 24, 2006
Anesthetized To Their Own Suffering?Isaiah 42:22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. 23 Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come? 24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law. 25 Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.
This passage is speaking of Israel and is very specific to them. However, there is something about it that reminds me of some believers we see today.
It is a curious thing that some Christians will let themselves be spiritually (and financially) robbed and spoiled and imprisoned; they will be burned over and over and "fellowship" in the midst of fire, as it were, yet they do not realize it. They cannot see or feel the evil that is done them. It is a very strange thing which I don't quite understand, and yet here we find that it is not some new occurrence.
From this passage it may be taken that it relates directly to their lack of obedience to the word of God and refusal to follow the order the Lord set forth for the church age, yet we see so often that they think they are obeying God and "doing things right." The very thing they believe is for their profit is often what is robbing them and burning them. How very sad!
We find this passage also regarding Israel and her future deliverance. Though it sounds still quite sad, yet there is a word of hope in it as well.
Jeremiah 30:15 Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee. 16 Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. 17 For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
Now God loves His children today as much as He does Israel, so we can safely say that His true children - those who have made a covenant with Him through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Ps. 50:5) - will also eventually be delivered, and that those who torment them - especially those who are not true believers - will suffer according to their deeds. It may be hard for us to watch people we love or care for caught up in the abuse, but God is faithful and consistent. If they choose to follow man's traditions over the word of God, they will suffer the results even though they don't see it. But, He will ultimately deliver His children, whether it be in this life or in the one to come. Thank God!
May 10, 2006
Where Is Our Hope?A friend of mine sent this in email. It is thought provoking and I thought I'd include it here.
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I've been pondering this verse as of late. "1Peter 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;"
The Strong's concordance says "hope to the end" also includes setting our hope COMPLETELY ..on the grace that is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Wow. How often my hope is other places! Like, "I hope the weather cools down, or I hope I don't get caught in the snow or I hope bird flu doesn't get to ____." But my hope is to be fully, unto the end, focused on Christ's coming....wow.
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It doesn't seem like it is wrong to express ourselves that way, but we should always keep in mind where our hope is. In other words, when we say, "I hope we don't get a bad storm tonight," we should not be thinking in terms of chance or luck. Our hope should be in the Lord, and our thoughts should be that we hope He will spare us that, or whatever the situation implies.
Perhaps a better word would be "pray" - "I pray the weather cools down." "I pray I don't get stuck in the snow." And so forth. But, if we are going to say that, then we need to make sure we do pray for those things and not just talk about it! :-) 1Thess. 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
My hope is in the Lord
Who gave Himself for me
And paid the price
Of all my sin on Calvary.- Norman J. Clayton
Psalm 39:7 And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
(If time permits I would like to work this into a more complete article sometime, but we shall see.)
CA
