Come and Worship with us at 8256 Promise Land Road Mountain Home, Arkansas 72653 Our
Worship Schedule is
Sunday Bible Study - 9:45am
Sunday Worship - 11:00am
Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting
- 6:00pm Wednesday Night Bible Study - 7:00pm
Today's Memory Verse "Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
ACTS 4:12
D.
JAMES KENNEDY
"I tried Christianity once."
The Bible says that once you are saved,
you are never the same again; you are a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). If you have gone back to your old ways, then most
probably you were never saved. If, however, you were saved, then God won't let you stay in rebellion for long. He will deal
with you in whatever way is necessary to bring you back into fellowship with Him.
Did you "try" Christianity
by going to church or by asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins? The latter makes you a Christian; the former doesn't.
Cameron, K., & Comfort, R. (2004). The school of biblical evangelism: 101 lessons: how to share your
faith simply, effectively, biblically-the way Jesus did (p. 571). Gainesville, FL: Bridge-Logos Publishers.
Day by Day by Grace The Ongoing Grace of
God "I will put My law in their minds, and write
it on their hearts"...it is good that the heart be established by grace. (Jeremiah 31:33 and Hebrews 13:9) Our initial encounter with the grace of God involved forgiveness and
justification. "In Him we have our redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according
to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7). Rich measures of God's grace washed away our sins and gave us new life in Christ. Of course, that initial justifying work
of God could not exhaust His grace. Rather, it was "according to the riches of
His grace." There are unlimited riches yet available for our daily sanctification, our ongoing
growth in Christ. Hebrews 13:9 is one of the many places in Scripture that indicate progressive sanctification (that is, growth in godliness)
is by grace. "It is good that the heart be established by grace." This
truth clearly pertains to sanctification and growth, not justification and new birth. At regeneration, we are given a new
heart. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone
out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26). Then, after receiving a new, soft, responsive heart, the spiritual stabilization of that new heart must
follow. It is from within the heart
that the development of applied righteousness must proceed. What is eventually seen and
heard in our daily Christian lives sources from within the core of our inner being. "Keep your heart
with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life"
(Proverbs 4:23). The Lord wants to work from deep within us. "I will put My law in their minds, and write it on
their hearts." If an unstable,
inconsistent life is being expressed outwardly, an unestablished heart
within is the cause. Jesus taught that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaks" (Matthew 12:34). Whatever is developing and filling up our inner man will eventually come out to be seen and heard.
In order to develop in us an increasingly mature, Christlike walk,
our heart must be established. The law of God is not designed
to change men's hearts. God's grace is the essential and sufficient cause to bring about
this desired work of godliness. "It is good that the heart be established by grace."
Once more we have powerful biblical insight showing us that grace is not only
God's provision to forgive and birth us into His family, but grace is also His resource
for the ongoing work of maturing us as His children. O Lord, my strength, would You do a powerful work of Your grace deep within my heart? I do not want to displease
You or dishonor You by an immature and unstable life. Lord, forgive any futile attempts to change my heart by striving before
the law. Your gracious work in me is my only hope!
Here at Promise Land Bible Church We don't change the message, the message changes us.
 |
|
Here at Promise Land Bible Church, we are
honored that you are visiting our web site at www.plbcmh.com It is our hope at Promise Land
Bible Church that you will be encouraged by the preaching and teaching of God's Word presented here. For it is our desire
to teach the whole council of God, so that the body can be edified and above all that God may be glorified. For it is our passion and desire to share the Gospel message with everyone who will hear, in obedience
to God's word.
Welcome to our site here at www.plbcmh.com The fellowship of believers who call Promise Land Bible Church home would like to welcome you to
our website. We believe that salvation is by grace alone, thru faith alone, in Christ alone, and that the Holy Scripture is
our sole source of authority for what we do and how we live, and that everything we do, should be done for the glory of God.
This is commonly called the 5 Solas of the Reformed Faith. So here is our invitation
to you; If you are looking for a church that affirms the sole authority of the Holy
Scriptures for all of faith and practice, the pre-eminence of the preaching of the Word of God, the glorious truths of salvation
called the Doctrines of Grace, the necessity and responsibility of evangelism and a serious approach to the joyful worship
of God, then we warmly invite you to come and visit us. Join us as we look to the truth of scripture
and Worship the Lord. At www.plbcmh.com we do our best to present the truth of the gospel.
Who can tell
the misery that unbelief has brought on the world!
(J.C. Ryle)
Who can tell the misery that unbelief has brought
on the world!
Unbelief made Eve eat the forbidden fruit. She doubted
the truth of God's word: "You will surely die!"
Unbelief made the old world
reject Noah's warning, and so perish in their sin.
Unbelief kept Israel in the
wilderness--it was the barricade that kept them from entering the Promised Land.
Unbelief
made the Jews crucify the Lord of glory--they did not believe the voice of Moses and the prophets, even though they were read
to them every day.
Unbelief is the reigning sin of man's heart down to this very hour
. . .
unbelief in God's promises,
unbelief in God's wrath,
unbelief in our own sinfulness,
unbelief in our own danger,
unbelief in God's method of salvation,
unbelief in everything
that runs counter to the pride and worldliness of our evil hearts.
Word of the Day January 27 Inheritance eklērōthēmen Another direct
result of redemption (see January 22 and 23) is inheritance, as in Eph_1:11. The
words we find there-"we have obtained an inheritance"-translate a single word in the Greek, eklērōthēmen
(aorist passive indicative of klēroō, G2820) This unique word appears only here in the NT. In Classical Greek, from the time of Homer, the noun root klēros (G2819)
referred to "the fragment of stone or piece of wood which was used as a lot." Lots were drawn to discover the will
of the gods. Since land was divided by lot, probably in the framework of common use of the fields, klēros came
to mean a share, land received by lot, plot of land, and finally inheritance. Similarly, in the OT, the same basic concept
of casting lots (the Urim and Thummin) was used to discover God's will (Num_27:21, 1Ch_24:5ff., etc.) and to
divide land (1Ch_6:54-81). So the idea Paul conveys here is that
the lot of inheritance has fallen upon us, not by chance, but by the sovereign will of God.
Also, because eklērōthēmen is in the passive voice (the subject being
acted upon), it can also be translated "we were made a heritage" (as it is in the Revised Version and the
American Standard Version). So, instead of saying that we obtained an inheritance, this says that we were made Christ's
heritage. Now, while that does fit grammatically, and even theologically, it does not fit contextually.
And may we interject, the NIV misses the point by a mile with the mistranslation, "in Him we were also chosen,"
for that is not what the text says. Our AV is correct here. Eph_1:14
explicitly speaks of our inheritance, which the Holy Spirit guarantees. Paul's point in the entire passage (Eph_1:3-14)
is to outline our riches in Christ. Specifically, the idea of inheritance really carries us back to being predestined
to adoption in Eph_1:5; the believer cannot be predestined to sonship without being predestined
to inheritance. Inheritance was, in fact, a primary reason for sonship. Paul also says in Rom_8:17, we are "joint-heirs
with Christ." As theologian and commentator Charles Hodge put it: "We have not only been made sharers of
the knowledge of redemption, but are actually heirs of its blessings." We'll continue these thoughts tomorrow as we meditate on the word riches.
Scriptures for Study: Read Eph_5:5. Who has no inheritance "in
the kingdom of Christ?" In Heb_9:15 and 1Pe_1:4, what are some characteristics of our inheritance (klēronomia)?
Famous Last Words: François
Rabelais, writer, died 1553:
"I
owe much; I have nothing; the rest I leave to the poor."
Thanks for visiting our site
here at www.plbcmh.com
|
