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 "Depart
from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto
their cry."
PSALM 34:14, 15
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
"God is unfair in that Hitler and a dear old lady (who never accepted Jesus) will both go to hell."
Sinners often accuse God of being unjust, because they assume that everyone will receive
the same punishment in hell regardless of whether their sins are menial or heinous. God's judgment, however, will be according
to righteousness (Acts 17:31). In Matthew 11:24, Jesus said, "It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the
day of judgment, than for you." And in Luke 10:14, we see that the more sinful cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida will
receive a more harsh judgment than Tyre and Sidon. These verses show that there will be degrees of punishment. (See also Luke
12:47, 48; Hebrews 10:29.)
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. 65). Gainesville, FL:
Bridge-Logos Publishers.
Point to Ponder Back in the Old West, a number of men were
upstairs in a boarding house amusing themselves with a game of cards when they heard a cry from the street below: "Fire!
Fire!" The men looked at one another in disbelief. One of the windows grew orange with the flames. "Wait!"
said the dealer. "Let's just finish this hand; we've got plenty of time-I have a key to the back door." The men
nodded in approval, then quickly picked up the dealt cards. Precious minutes passed. One of the men became nervous as the
flames licked through the now broken window. With darting eyes and a sweat-filled brow, he asked for the key. "Coward!"
muttered the dealer as he tossed across the key. Each of them then rushed to the door and waited with bated breath as the
key was placed into the lock. "It won't turn!" the man cried. "Let me have it!" said the dealer. As he
tried in vain to turn the key, he whispered in horror, "It's the wrong key!"
Day by Day by Grace The Holy Spirit and Starting
Out with God "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which
is born of the Spirit is spirit...You must be born again."
(John 3:5-7) The new life that allows us to start out with God comes
through a spiritual birth provided by the Holy Spirit. "Unless
one is born of...the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." Just as man
must be physically born into the human family, so man must be spiritually born into God's family. There is no other option.
That is why Jesus said, "You must be born again."
The reason spiritual new birth is a necessity is because "that which is born of
the flesh is flesh." Natural human birth can only produce a natural life. Becoming a child
of God involves a supernatural life that God alone can provide.
When Jesus came to secure our redemption, He was generally rejected. "He came to His own,
and His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11). Nevertheless, some realized that He was Messiah, the Anointed King and Savior sent from the Father. "But as many
as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who
believe in His name" (John 1:12). Believing in Jesus' name involves trusting in His person and His work.
It encompasses relying upon who He is, what He says, and what He has done and can do. Such faith brings a unique
new birth: "Who were born, not of blood, nor
of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God"
(John 1:13). This birth is from God. It cannot come by inheritance or genetics through our human bloodline. It is not available through
an exercise of our human will. Neither can we have it pronounced upon us by some religious leader.
The Lord desires us to walk in a heavenly, spiritual life, not a mere earthly,
human existence. Only a birth from the Spirit of God could bring us this type of life. "That which
is born of the Spirit is spirit." All genuine spirituality must come from a work
of the Holy Spirit on our behalf. This is true concerning our starting out with God in new birth and justification. "You...were
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11). We will see in subsequent meditations that this is true concerning our going on with God in growth and sanctification.
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for making me Your child through faith
in Your Son, Jesus. I praise You for the new life Your Holy Spirit has brought to me. Help me to understand from Your word
that the entire Christian experience is to be as supernatural as being born again was. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Here at Promise Land Bible Church We don't change the message, the message changes us.
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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.
Hathach
(J. R. Miller, "Miller's Year Book--a Year's Daily Readings")
"Mordecai gave
Hathach a copy of the decree issued in Susa that called for the death of all Jews, and he asked Hathach to
show it to Esther. He also asked Hathach to explain it to her and to urge her to go to the king to beg for
mercy and plead for her people. So Hathach returned to Esther with Mordecai's message.
Then Esther told Hathach to
go back and relay this message to Mordecai . . ." Esther 4:8-10
We are apt to overlook
the minor actors in Scripture stories--in our absorbed interest in the prominent ones. Yet ofttimes
these lesser people are just as important in their own place, and their service is just as essential to the final
success of the whole--as the greater ones.
The little girl in the story of Naaman
the leper, is scarcely seen among the splendors of the Syrian court; but without her part, we would never have had the story
at all.
The young lad with the basket, is hardly thought of when we read the account
of the miracle; but they were his loaves with which the Master fed all those hungry thousands that day on the green grass.
The smallest links in a chain--are ofttimes quite as important as the greatest links.
Hathach was one of these obscure characters. But his part was by no means unimportant.
Without his being a trustworthy messenger, Mordecai's communication with Esther would have been impossible--and the whole
Jewish nation would have perished!
If we cannot do brave things like Esther, nor
give wise counsels like Mordecai--we may at least be useful, as Hathach was, in faithful service. And perhaps our
lowly part may some day prove to have been as essential--as the great deeds which all men praise. We may at least help
some others in doing the great things that they are set to do in this world.
Word of the Day February 23 Height hupsos Concluding our study
of four dimensions of God's love in Eph_3:18, we come finally to its height. The Greek hupsos
(G5311) figuratively means elevation and dignity. This word appears, for example, in Jas_1:9-10: "Let the
brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low," which means that
"the poor, in contrast to the rich, are lifted up on high by God." The
height of Christ's love, then, shows the position to which believers have been elevated; that is, it shows God's
ultimate and final purpose for us. How blessed that is! Not only has Christ's love come down to us, but it also elevates
us to a new and exalted position. Notice Eph_2:6: "[God]
hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Think of it! Christ loves us
so much that He has actually joined us to Himself. May we put it this way: We have been raised from the depth of
our sin to the height of His glory. Consider
one other related passage: "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the
sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth
not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he
is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (1Jn_3:1-3). To what greater
height could we possibly be elevated! Expositor John R. W. Stott summarizes
these four dimensions with this observation: "The love of Christ is ‘broad' enough to encompass all mankind (especially
Jew and Gentile, the theme of these chapters), ‘long' enough to last for eternity, ‘deep' enough to reach the
most degraded sinner, and ‘high' enough to exalt him to heaven." Let these dimensions become real in your life. Scriptures for Study: In Jas_1:9, what is a cause for
our rejoicing? In Rev_20:1-6, what will the saints of God one day do?
Famous Last Words: St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226),
founder of the Franciscan order of monks:
"Farewell,
my children; remain always in the fear of the Lord. That temptation and tribulation which is to come is now at hand and happy
shall they be who persevere in the good they have begun. I hasten to go to our Lord, to whose grace I recommend you."
Thanks for visiting our site
here at www.plbcmh.com
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