Jesus Calms the Storm in the Sinners Heart

 Mark 4:35-39 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. NKJV

Her name is not important but her story is one of millions throughout human history. She is 35 years old and has been selling her body to any man that would pay her. The reason she does it is because she is addicted to heroin and she must feed her body this drug every day now or else it will become sick and bring her into severe pain. The cycle of addiction is the same each day. She has to have sex with enough men to buy her daily dose or fix of heroin to satisfy her bodies need.

Isaiah 48:22 “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” NKJV

Her soul is snared and restless yearning and longing for something or someone to break the chain that has it bound and to calm the raging storm that spreads within her heart day after day after day. She looks within and sees no good thing wondering if this is all there is and if she will ever be free. She reaches her breaking point and cries with the voice of her soul, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” and she hears a whisper in her soul, “Peace, be still, it is I Jesus your Deliverer.”

Proverbs 12:25 Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad. KJV

Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. KJV

The account of the Apostles getting into a boat to cross over the lake was given to us by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is not a parable but a recording of an actual event that took place during our Lord Jesus’ earthly ministry. I have always seen in this actual event a great, gracious, and glorious picture of what our Lord Jesus does in the heart of a sinner when He freely gives His grace through faith as He resurrects the soul from spiritual death. First, just as the disciples stood on one side of the lake needing to venture to the other side, so does the soul of every person born into the world stand on the side of spiritual death needing to get to the other side where spiritual life in Jesus Christ only is found by the new birth.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” NKJV

John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” NKJV

John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” NKJV

Secondly, as our Lord was with the disciples crossing the lake, so is He in the Person of God the Holy Spirit present everywhere sinners are in the world sowing the seed of His Word through His already redeemed sons and daughters through radio, television, the internet, gospel tracts, in local churches, magazines, journals, newsletters, and other methods shining the light of His truth into this world of darkness.

John 1:9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. NKJV

Romans 1:18-21 For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 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. NKJV

Thirdly, a sinful heart is the inheritance of every one of us but the way the sin is expressed through the soul out of the body is different for each person. The Apostle Paul shows us in Romans Chapter 1 the deep extent that sin can be expressed out of the body for some hearts still darkened by sin. The life lived continually to indulge sins pleasure for a season or the life enslaved by sin of whatever manner it is expressed is a life of toil, tempest, and terror just like the raging storm faced by the disciples that night crossing the lake.

Romans 2:5-11 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness --- indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. NKJV

Fourthly, just as our Lord was asleep in the boat as the disciples were frightened at the violent nature of the storm, so does He appear to the world at large to be dis-engaged or not in control, or non-loving (as many atheist would assert), or powerless to intervene in individual lives lived in affliction and oppression and powerless to defeat and overthrow the evil being manifested throughout the world. I recall a scene in the movie “The Encounter” when this young woman was speaking to Jesus and He said to her, “All you have to do is ask Me” and she got so angry as she said she had asked for God to intervene many times as she was molested by her step-father but that Jesus did not hear. You see just like that scene in that movie many horrific scenes like that are being played out every day and God does see and hears them all. When sin entered into our world, it guaranteed for us pain, suffering, violence, sickness, hate, murder, rape, addiction, stealing, and all the other evil we see in our world.

Job 5:7 Yet man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward. NKJV

Job 14:1 “Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble.” NKJV

Finally, humanity has been given the greatest gift and we did not even ask for it because we human beings are so spiritually dead we could not foresee the violent storm that’s in our hearts from birth. When the Prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it” these words surely did not come from his own reasoning or understanding but it was a direct revelation from God. That diagnosis proves the worst storms are not hurricanes, tornadoes, or any other like those, but it is the storm of sin that rages inside the human heart. God’s love for us even after our disobedience caused Him to send our Lord Jesus Christ to not just forgive our sin, but to actually become sin in our place that we might be made righteous. There is no greater love He could have shown for humanity. Now, because of what Jesus did by dying and shedding His blood, being buried, and resurrecting three days later, He stands at the door of every heart raging with the storm of sin waiting to hear, “Come in Lord I receive You as my own Lord, Master, and Savior and wash me from my sin in Your Blood and speak to this stormy sinful heart”, “Peace, be still.”

Here is an excerpt from the Book my Lord Jesus Christ wrote through me, entitled “Silent Assassins of the Soul”, Chapter 16: The Promise of Rest: Matthew 11:28 (AMP): “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]” “In this verse from the Gospel of Matthew, the word “rest” that Christ uses means “repose or a freedom from work, strain, or responsibility; the absence of mental or emotional stress or anxiety.” He is talking here about peace of mind. Not a false or made up peace, but the peace that only He can give. His peace enables a person to deal with the most tragic events of life with a calm confidence and assurance that such things are not happening in vain but for an eternal purpose.”

Psalm 34:6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. NKJV

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” NKJV

John 8:31-32 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” NKJV

“You were placed here to train for eternity. Your body was only intended to be a house for your immortal spirit. It is flying in the face of God’s purposes to do as many do - to make the soul a servant to the body, and not the body a servant to the soul.” J. C. Ryle 1816-1900

“Original sin may be defined as the hereditary corruption and depravity of our nature. This reaches every part of the soul, makes us abhorrent to God’s wrath and produces in us what Scripture calls works of the flesh.” John Calvin 1509-1564

“You will never find Jesus so precious as when the world is one vast howling wilderness. Then He is like a rose blooming in the midst of the desolation, a rock rising above the storm.” Robert Murray McCheyne 1813-1843

“Let the current of your being set towards God, then your life will be filled and calmed by one master-passion which unites and stills the soul.” Alexander MacLaren 1826-1910

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

Jesus shows the Futility of Salvation by Human Effort

Matthew 19:6 (I wrote this on 3/20/13)

The story of the rich young ruler coming to our Lord Jesus Christ is so well known even non-believers have heard about it. Here was a young man considered rich by all who knew him or knew of him. How he got his wealth was not disclosed for us or what he did with his wealth on a regular basis is also information we were not given. Most of us have placed our focus on his earthly wealth and rightly so, but that is not initially where our Lord focused His attention. Although the man’s wealth was near and dear to him, he also had a misguided view of himself morally and spiritually.

This young man no doubt grew up in a family with a Father and Mother who were devout Jews who went to the synagogue regularly and took him along. The young man probably knew much of the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) or at least the main stories of the origin, pilgrimage, struggles, and overall history of the Jewish people. The young man probably no doubt was circumcised on the eighth day and knew the tribe that made up his family heritage. The young man probably heard the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees and came down on the side of the Pharisees because he believed in life after death as did the Pharisees.

The question he asked our Lord reveals what he had been taught all of his life and he now wanted this new Rabbi that was growing more and more popular among the common people to confirm his belief and give him a list of “good things” he could do to assure eternal life for him in heaven. When our Lord ran through the commandments with him, he confidently asserted the certainty that he had kept all of them from his youth. This man was not trying to be pious. In reality, he truly believed he had kept them all because he no doubt pattern his religious life after that of his Father and Mother as well as the other men and women of the Synagogue he regularly attended. The young man truly believed he was a “good person” and he meant no disrespect to our Lord or any of the people standing around listening.


The sin of human “goodness” is probably the worse sin on the planet next to unbelief/atheism. It is the sin practiced every single day for years and centuries in Synagogues, Muslim Temples, Churches, and other places of religious worship. It has always been easy for the “good person” to look inwardly and not see the sin hidden down deep in the heart that is so desperately wicked. Jeremiah said our human hearts are so sin sick that we don’t even know them. Such was the case of this young man and many of the people of his family, friends, and fellowship that really did not understand how depraved we all are from the womb. This is why our Lord said according to Marks account of this discord, “He looked at him and loved him.” Our Lord sees the humanly sweetest, dearest, and kindest person on this earth apart from the Holy Spirit’s regeneration and the new birth as depraved. Listen to the words our Lord gave the Prophet Isaiah many centuries before He ever was born of a virgin, died on the cross, and rose the third day about the works or deeds of the “good person”:

Isaiah 64:6 For we have all become like one who is unclean [ceremonially, like a leper], and all our righteousness (our best deeds of rightness and justice) is like filthy rags {or} a polluted garment; we all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away [far from God's favor, hurrying us toward destruction]. QAB

Please listen to the words of the Prophet if you are counting on your Church/Denomination membership, your giving to a charity, your good deeds outweighing your bad deeds, water baptism or infant baptism, your outward keeping of the Ten Commandments, any religious rituals observed daily, weekly, monthly or yearly please stop and turn around and look up at the cross of Calvary. The Lord Jesus Christ shattered this young man’s perceived “goodness” by reaching into his heart and exposing his covetousness. The first sin we commit condemns us all before God the Father for the wages of sin is death, but the sin we hold onto, we grip tightly, we justify vainly, we practice regularly, or we obstinately won’t turn from is the sin that will keep any person from the regenerating work of God the Holy Spirit through the gospel of Jesus Christ because He (God the Holy Spirit) is here now to convict of sin and God the Father right now requires all men to repent of sin (turn from it) or all will go away from the Lord Jesus Christ just as this rich young man did because he would not let go of his sin of covetousness.

Job 35:6-7 If you have sinned, how does that affect God? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what have you done to Him? If you are righteous, what do you [by that] give God? Or what does He receive from your hand? QAB

Our Lord made this very clear to the disciples when they realized that this perceived “good man” was not going to be saved. They were perplexed and wondered, if he can’t be saved and we thought of him as a “good man”, then who can be saved. Our Lord said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Salvation from sin is not the work of any man’s human effort, but it is the Divine work of a loving God that intervenes in the life of a man or woman and recreates them internally and then adopts them as His son or daughter giving them Resurrection Life that enables them to live differently for the rest of their earthly life and then makes them completely perfect after death. If anyone is reading this and the Spirit of God has pricked your heart and made you agitated because you consider yourself to be a “good person”, then rejoice because He is beginning the work of conviction that I pray will spring forth into eternal life today bringing you to Jesus Christ The Only “GOOD PERSON”.

“Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works.” Martin Luther

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 55

 Submit to God, Resist the Devil Part 3

1 Peter 5:8-9 Be sober, vigilant; because your adversary the devil 👿, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world 🌎. KJV Note: NKJV=New King 👑 James Version 

Having all of our spiritual and physical care cast upon our Abba/God in Heaven, even so, the Apostle Peter now warns and exhorts us as good sons and daughters and as good soldiers and pilgrims to be always on our guard both spiritually and physically because we all who belong to Christ Jesus our Lord have a vile, vicious, and violent enemy the devil 👿. Peter first tells us "Be sober, be vigilant;" and this first little English word 'sober' is translated by the Greek word nepho which simply means to watch or be watchful and discreet. The second little English word 'vigilant' is translated by the Greek word gregoreuo which means to be awake spiritually and to keep awake. In other words, the Apostle Peter wants us to stay in the Word of God and to yield our whole self to the power of the Holy Spirit by staying constantly in prayer 🙏 as the Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians with these words, "Pray 🙏 without ceasing," (1 Thessalonians 5:17) (NKJV) and likewise as he Paul told the Ephesians with these words, "Praying always with all prayer 🙏 and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18) (NKJV). The Apostle Peter had just told these early brothers and sisters in the very last Chapter this very same mindset they must have and so must we, as it is written, "But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers." (1 Peter 4:7) (NKJV). We can see what urgency are in these warnings and exhortations from our brother Peter as certainly he was recounting, recalling, and remembering the words spoken to him and the other Apostles when they were with Christ Jesus our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane when He said to them, "What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray 🙏, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.'" (Matthew 26:40-41) (NKJV). This is exactly 💯 where the devil 👿 wants to find any of us being slack, or slothful, or slow in our alertness in prayer 🙏 and supplication and in bathing 🧼 ourselves in the Word of God daily, for then we are vulnerable to his attacks. The Apostle Peter in this passage of Scripture 1 Peter 5:8 calls the devil 👿 our 'adversary' and this little English word is translated by the Greek word antidikos which means an opponent; specifically Satan (as the arch enemy): adversary. The Apostle Peter warns us to watch and be vigilant because our enemy/adversary "as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" and this description of the devil 👿 is on point 👉, for just as a lion 🦁 in the wild is always looking for an opportunity to find unsuspecting prey to make a meal out of them, so is our enemy always seeking to find us sleeping 😴 spiritually so that he can cause us harm physically or spiritually. The devil 👿 wants to push 🫸 us into walking/living in the flesh and not in the spirit but our Lord Jesus wants us always awake and sober walking/living in the spirit and by the power of the Holy Spirit that we not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Romans 13:14) & (Galatians 5:16). Being watchful in prayer 🙏 and continuing in the Word of God by yielding to the Spirit of God we can and will defeat our enemy/adversary. Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of 1 Peter 5:8, "He shows them their danger from an enemy more cruel and restless than even the worst of men, whom he describes, 1. By his characters and names. (1) He is an adversary: 'That adversary of yours; not a common adversary, but an enemy that impleads you, and litigates against you in your grand depending cause, and aims at your very souls.' (2) The devil, the grand accuser of all the brethren; this title is derived from a word which signifies to strike through, or to stab. He would strike malignity into our natures and poison into our souls. If he could have struck these people with passion and murmuring in their sufferings, perhaps he might have drawn them to apostasy and ruin. (3) He is a roaring lion 🦁, hungry, fierce, strong, and cruel, the fierce and greedy pursuer of souls. By his business: He walks about, seeking whom he may devour; his whole design is to devour and destroy souls. To this end he is unwearied and restless in his malicious endeavours; for he always, night and day, goes about studying and contriving whom he may ensnare 🪝 to their eternal ruin. Hence he infers that it is their duty, (1) To be sober, and to govern both the outward and the inward man 👞 by the rules of temperance/self-control, modesty, and mortification. (2) To be vigilant; not secure or careless, but rather suspicious of constant danger from this spiritual enemy, and under that apprehension, to be watchful and diligent to prevent his designs and save our souls."

Now it must be our duty, our diligence, and our desire to 'resist' the devil 👿 and this little English word in 1 Peter 5:9 is translated by the Greek word anthistemi which means to stand against, that is, oppose: resist and withstand. Not only are we to oppose our enemy but we are to be 'stedfast' in so doing and this little English word is translated by the Greek word stereos which means stiff, that is, solid, stable (literally or figuratively): stedfast, strong, and sure. In other words, our withstanding and opposing and fighting against our enemy the devil 👿 must be strong and solid and sure resistance, but that can only be accomplished by what we have declared earlier and that being what Peter has already exhorted and encouraged us into and that is submitting to God/Abba/Jesus always and at all times, for our strength is in Him alone because He has already told us this, as it is written, "'I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in Him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.'" (John 15:5) (NKJV). We must remember that our Lord Jesus Christ has come and by His death, burial, and resurrection from the dead He has destroyed him/the devil 👿 who had the power of death (Hebrews 2:14) and He has destroyed all the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), therefore, as we are 'in Christ' we have His power within us to defeat our adversary (1 John 4:4) always when we abide in Him. We know that all of our brothers and sisters who are 'in Christ' are fighting the same warfare and we all can be confident in this reality and wage a good warfare knowing as the Apostle Paul declared to the Corinthian believers (who were themselves under attack from the enemy trying to get them to believe lies and live in lies and not the truth) but Paul reminded them and us of what our weapons are against the enemy, as it is written, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down 👇 strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought 💭🤔 into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Corinthians 10:4-6) (NKJV). Let us who belong to Christ Jesus our Lord do this, Amen !!! Here also is what Matthew Henry had to say of 1 Peter 5:9, "It was the faith of these people that Satan aimed at; if he could overturn their faith, and draw them into apostasy, then he knew he should gain his point, and ruin their souls; therefore, to destroy their faith, he raises bitter persecutions, and sets the grand potentates of the world 🌍 against them. This strong trial and temptation they must resist, by being well-grounded, resolute, and stedfast in the faith: to encourage them to this, he tells them that their care was not singular, for they knew that the like afflictions befell their brethren in all parts of the world 🌎, and that all the people of God were their fellow-soldiers in this warfare. Learn, (1) All the great persecutions that ever were in the world 🌍 were raised, spirited up, and conducted, by the devil 👿; he is the grand persecutor, as well as the deceiver and accuser, of the brethren; men are his willing spiteful instruments, but he is the chief adversary that wars against Christ and His people, Genesis 3:15; Revelation 12:12. (2) The design of Satan in raising persecutions against the faithful servants of God is to bring them to apostasy, by reason of their sufferings, and so to destroy their souls. (3) Sobriety and watchfulness are necessary virtues at all times, but especially in times of suffering and persecution. 'You must moderate your affection to worldly things, or else Satan will soon overcome you.' (4) If you would overcome Satan, as a tempter, an accuser, or a persecutor, you must resist him stedfast in the faith; if your faith give way, you are gone; therefore, above all, take the shield 🛡️ of faith,' Ephesians 6:16. (5) The consideration of what others suffer is proper to encourage us to bear our own share in any affliction: The same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray 🙏 this from your heart ❤️ to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking 🗣️ directly to Him) Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I want to turn 🛞 from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart ❤️ and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen!!!

Jesus & Salvation (I wrote this about 13 years ago)

 John 6:35-40

The most important question that confronts every person who has ever lived and who will ever live is “Are you saved or lost?” The career the person pursued, the philanthropy they engaged in, the wealth they amassed, and what people thought of them will matter nothing on that last day as they stand before Jesus Christ. How a person is saved has been and continues to be a hotly debated and contested subject at times in many circles around the world. The Apostle Paul was the primary teacher in the New Testament books about how a person’s soul is saved by God from sin and @#!*% . The Apostle Paul taught that God had an elect group of people that He would save eternally. The Apostle Paul taught about the foreknowledge of God which means He knows everything that will transpire in human history before it ever happens, therefore He already sees every soul that will be eternally saved and eternally lost.

To us human beings this can sometimes seem unfair, unkind, or even unloving but because God knows who will truly believe and who will not truly believe does not mean that He rigged or fixed the outcome. The responsibility for truly believing still rest upon every individual soul and therefore God never shows partiality or favoritism to any person, no not one. Must we human beings forget that it pleased God the Father to bruise His only Son? He poured out His wrath against sin upon the Lord Jesus Christ. If God the Father did not spare His only Son from His wrath when sin was upon Jesus, how does any human being think God the Father will spare them when their sin remains on them, I tell you He will not.

Isaiah 53:10-11 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. NKJV

The Apostle Paul also taught individual human responsibility in salvation for every soul. A person cannot go to heaven because they grew up in Church, their Father was a Pastor or Deacon, or because they were born here in America, or because they feel they are a good person. The Apostle Paul taught that every person was responsible for their sin and must repent/turn from their sin and trust Jesus Christ for their own personal salvation. The Apostle wrote these words, Romans 10:11-13 “For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’” NKJV Where did this man the Apostle Paul get this understanding and wisdom concerning the salvation of the souls of men and women? The Apostle Paul tells us that he received these truths straight from our Lord Jesus Christ and that he was privileged to be taken into Arabia for 3 years and taught by Christ Jesus as he documents in Galatians 1:11-18.

Before our Lord ever took this man Paul into His personal school of Apostleship, He taught us from His own lips that salvation is according to the Sovereign will of God but that every individual person must come to Him to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Our Lord Jesus use the word comes which is a present tense verb and all verbs are action words. Our Lord is saying that the soul that comes to Him will receive salvation His life in them which produces new affections, desires, hungers, and thirst that will be in opposition to the affections, desires, hungers, and thirst longed for in their souls when He was not present. The word comes He uses also denotes a continuous coming to Him through His Word to feed, nurture, and sustain this new life birthed in the soul. Our Lord is teaching in this very text the responsibility of the hungering soul to act upon this spiritual malnutrition individually (John 6:35).

Our Lord Jesus cements for us by the very next text the absolute reality of human responsibility. These Jews saw the Divine Son of God in the flesh, were eyewitnesses many of them to His numerous miracles, they like Pilot knew deep in their hearts/inner man there was no fault in Him, none of them could convict Him of any sin ever, they were also witness to His going about always doing good and His great heart of compassion as He healed many people of diseases as well as those who were oppressed by the devil, and yet despite Him being right before them in grace and truth they did not believe. Today, especially in this country of America, people are exposed to the gospel of Christ death, burial, and resurrection from the dead and yet they still refuse, reject, or resist believing in Him as the only way for salvation (see the article entitled “Will you Reject, Resist, or Receive Jesus Christ”, http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=130955) (John 6:36).

Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. NKJV

It is God the Father who draws (John 6:44) the lost soul to our Lord Jesus Christ. For example it was the Father who impressed upon heart of the woman in John Chapter 4 to come to that well at that very time and hour of the day knowing that our Lord Jesus would arrive at that well also at that time. God the Father had been preparing her heart and drawing her to the truth maybe for years even before our Lord Jesus began His earthly ministry for this one moment that would change her eternal destiny. The Father did the drawing but He did not make her believe and receive Christ Jesus the Lord, she had to respond to the truth that confronted her at that very hour (John 6:37).

It was God the Father’s will which directed our Lord Jesus to go through Samaria and not take the normal route His disciples would have been accustomed to traveling all because our Lord knew from the Father that He had an eternal appointment with this one Samaritan woman that could not be missed (John 6:38). This is one of the clearest pictures of Sovereign Election plus human responsibility equaling eternal salvation. Many of the hard hearted stiff-necked Jews during the days our Lord Jesus walked the earth as the God-Man saw Him but did not believe, but many common people saw Him and did believe and the same holds true today. The gospel is preached on radio, the internet, in stadiums, on television, in churches, on the streets, in jungles, in schools, and everywhere but still all do not believe. However, the ones the Father draws that do come to our Lord Jesus and believe will never lose this new life which we have been given because it did not come as the result of our human effort but simply in our freely receiving Him forever (John 6:39-40).

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. NKJV

“All that feel themselves lost, and follow the drawings of the Father, He in a peculiar manner giveth to the Son: will come to Me - By faith. And him that thus cometh to Me, I will in nowise cast out - I will give him pardon, holiness, and heaven, if he endure to the end - to rejoice in His light.” John Wesley

“Everyone that comes - that is, everyone that comes in a proper manner, feeling that he is a lost and ruined sinner. This invitation is wide, and full, and free. It shows the unbounded mercy of God; and it shows, also, that the reason, and the only reason, why men are not saved, is that they will not come to Christ. Of any sinner it may be said that if he had been willing to come to Christ he might have come and been saved. As he chooses not to come, he cannot blame God because he saves others who are willing, no matter from what cause, and who thus are made partakers of everlasting life.” Albert Barnes

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 54

 Submit to God, Resist the Devil Part 2 

1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty Hand ✋ of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. KJV Note: NKJV=New King 👑 James Version 

The Apostle having just commanded us to submit ourselves to one another now commands each one of us something that we should already know and be aware of but need be reminded of as Peter is doing well with these words, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty Hand ✋ of God." God who is now our Father yet He is still our God, that is, although He loves us just as He loves our Lord Jesus still He must be yielded to by us as our God. He is the One that determines if our lungs 🫁 are able to breathe in our next breath 🫁 and He alone should reign and rule over our earthly lives. The little English phrase 'Humble yourselves' that begins 1 Peter 5:6 is translated by the Greek word tapeinoo which means to bring oneself low in the inner man 👞 and inner woman 👠 before God and under God. In other words, we are still mere creatures (even though we are born into His Heavenly family as sons and daughters) and He/God is our Creator, that is, He/God is the One who formed us in our Mother's womb from absolute nothing into a living breathing soul with a human body that functions even beyond our comprehension (Genesis 1:27) & (Genesis 2:7). We should make a conscious effort to see ourselves as far beneath God who is all powerful and we are powerless, for this will give us the proper perspective always and destroy all pride within us when we keep this reality close to our bosom. This Greek word tapeinoo is an old verb in the imperative mode meaning Peter is communicating action on our parts to influence our behavior that we would see the great attention and urgency required by us. The reason behind the Apostle's urgent command is that, "He may exalt you in due time." The little English phrase 'He may exalt' is translated by the Greek word hupsoo which simply means to elevate you to some service for Him and not any man ♂️ or woman ♀️ elevating themselves, for is it not written, "But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the Body just as He pleased." (1 Corinthians 12:18) (NKJV). Here is what Adam Clarke had to say of 1 Peter 5:6, "Those who submit patiently to the dispensations of God's providence He lifts up; those who lift themselves up, God thrust down. If we humble not ourselves under God's grace, He will humble us under His judgements. Those who patiently submit to Him, He exalts in due time; if His Hand ✋ be mighty to depress, it is also mighty to exalt." Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of 1 Peter 5:6, "'Since God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble, therefore humble yourselves, not only one to another, but to the Great God, whose judgments are coming upon the world 🌍, and must begin at the House 🏡of God (1 Peter 4:17); His Hand ✋is Almighty, and can easily pull you down if you be proud, or exalt you if you be humble; and it will certainly do it, either in this life, if He sees it best for you, or at the day of general retribution.' Learn, (1) The consideration of the Omnipotent Hand ✋of God should make us humble and submissive to Him in all that He brings upon us. (2) Humbling ourselves to God under His Hand ✋is the next way to deliverence and exaltation; patience under His chastisements, and submission to His pleasure, repentance, prayer 🙏, and hope in His mercy, will engage His help and release in due time." 

Peter wanted to remind those early suffering saints of the thing that should have been to well known to them and also should be well known to us saints today and those saints of every era and generation and that is, "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." He/God is not only our Creator now, but He has bought us spirit, soul, and body with or at a very high price that being the precious shed Blood of His Son Christ Jesus our Lord, for it is written, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) (NKJV). Remember the Apostle Paul's words to the Church @Thessaloniki when he wrote this, "Now may the God of Peace 🕊️ Himself sanctify/set you apart completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved BLAMELESS at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24) (NKJV). Remember it is He/God/Abba who has begun this good work in us by resurrecting us from our spiritual death and making us alive to Himself (Romans 6:11 & Philippians 1:6). Therefore, when we remember this and let this resonate in our spirit we will know and be assured that we are cared for deeply despite any of our trials, tribulations, or testings we endure in our sojourn on our way home 🏠 to Heaven. So we in all of our wants and needs down here and all of our pressures and troubles we must once and for all throw our whole life unto Him for we know and can be sure and certain that He cares deeply for us. This is why we must make sure to humble ourselves under His Hand ✋ because pride within us not only produces a false superiority complex, but it is the reason for our anxiety and worry making us forget that we are in the care of the Greatest Father and the One and only Great God. Here is what Adam Clarke had to say of 1 Peter 5:7, "Your anxiety, your distracting care, on Him, for He careth for you, He meddles or concerns Himself, with the things that interest you. Whatever things concern a follower of God, whether they be spiritual or temporal, or whether in themselves great or small, God concerns Himself with them; what affects them affects Him; in all their afflictions He is afflicted. He who knows that God cares for him, need have no anxious cares about himself. This is a plain reference to Psalm 55:22: 'Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain thee. He will bear both thee and thy burden.'" 

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray 🙏 this from your heart ❤️ to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking 🗣️ directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn 🛞 from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart ❤️ and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

 

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 53

 Submit to God, Resist the Devil Part 1

1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. KJV Note: New King James Version 

The Apostle Peter now turns his focus upon each one of us individually, the younger and older (in chronological age and also in number of years we have been born again sons and daughters of our Abba in Heaven) to declare to us how we should relate to one another as we worship and serve our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ. In 1 Peter 5:5, the Apostle says we are to be subject one to another and this English word 'subject' is translated by the Greek word hupotasso which means that we are to be obedient to one another in the Lord, that is, in all accordance, acknowledgement, and accenting to His Holy Word. We are not to be subordinate or obedient to someone who is in the visible Church who has gone off on some tangent and have rejected the truth and made shipwreck of their faith like Hymenaeus and Alexander (1 Timothy 1:19-20). The desire of Peter is the desire of our Lord Jesus and that is that we are to love 💕 one another 'in truth', to serve one another 'in truth' and to submit to one another 'in truth' and never to use one another to gain filthy earthly treasure 🪙 that fades away into nothing, nor to use one another to gratify vile fleshly appetites that defile the flesh and sear the conscience and destroy love and the unity of the Spirit, for we should remember and heed these words of the Apostle Paul written to the Church @Rome, "Love 💕 does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love 💕 is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep 😴; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand ✋. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light 🕯️. Let us walk properly/decently, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust ❤️‍🔥, not in strife and envy. But put on Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lust ❤️‍🔥." (Romans 13:10-14) (NKJV). This is our mandate. These are our marching orders from the King 👑 of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Apostle Peter next commands each of us in 1 Peter 5:5 to be clothed with humility. The little English phrase 'be clothed with' is translated by the Greek word egkomboomai (used this one time only in the entire New Testament) which means (to gird); to engirdle oneself (for labor), that is, figuratively (the apron being a badge of servitude) to wear (in token of mutual deference). The English word 'humility' is translated by the Greek word tapeinophrosune which means humiliation of mind, that is, modesty: - humbleness of mind, humility of mind, lowliness of mind. In other words, we should never think 💬 about ourselves as being some great man 👞 or great woman 👠 of God over and above our brothers and sisters in the faith, but instead we should be willing often times to yield to the will of our brothers and sisters (so long as their will or desire is in accordance to willing of Abba/God). They are as Beloved 😍 by our Father in Heaven as we are and living in true humility is to give way to their desires even when we think 🤔 our desire is good 👍. When we respect and appreciate one another and have a regard for one another's feelings we are honoring our Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Peter has already declared this attitude and disposition that we must have one to another earlier in this same first letter 💌 with these words (remember), "Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love 💕 as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous/humble; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing." (1 Peter 3:8-9) (NKJV). The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines 'humility' as the personal quality of being free from arrogance and pride and having an accurate estimate of one's worth. "What God desires most is not outward sacrifices but a humble spirit (Psalm 51:17; Micah 6:8). Such a humble spirit shows itself in several ways: a recognition of one's sinfulness before a Holy God (Isaiah 6:5), obedience to God (Deuteronomy 8:2), and submission to God (2 Kings 22:19; 2 Chronicles 34:27)." (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary). 

Why has the Apostle Peter instructed or commanded us in the manner above? He tells us why with these last words in 1 Peter 5:5, "For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." The English word 'resisteth' is translated by the Greek word antitassoma which means to range oneself against, that is, oppose. The English word 'proud' is translated by the Greek word huperephanos which means appearing above others (conspicuous, that is, without any attempt at concealment; completely obvious), that is, (figuratively) haughty, that is, having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one's views as unworthy. In other words, God opposes or is against the proud man 👞 or proud woman 👠, that is, He fights against them, for to Him their cloak of superiority and obvious high mindedness irritates Him. God tells us in Proverbs 6:17 that pride is an abomination to Him, that is, He disgust it, He deplores it, and He detest it. Do you think 💬 Abba/God wants to see things manifested/made visible that He disgust, deplores, and detest in the lives of His sons and daughters on a regular basis? Well, do you? God forbid, never never, of course not, for when He sees it manifested in any of us He will do exactly 💯 as these words of the writer ✍️ of Hebrews declares, " If you endure chasentning, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit 🍑 of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:7-11) (NKJV). God/Abba gives His grace to those of us who have and are humbling ourselves before Him. Peter declares finally in 1 Peter 5:5 that God giveth grace to the humble. The English word 'grace' used here by the Apostle Peter is translated by the Greek word charis which means graciousness (as gratifying); especially the divine influence upon the heart ❤️, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude): - benefit, favor, joy liberality, pleasure, thanks. That is, or in other words, You Dear Abba fill our inner man ♂️ and inner woman ♀️ with Your influence which causes us to want to live for You in faithful obedience and Your words become to us as written by the Psalmist with these words, "Your is a lamp 🪔 to my feet and a light 🕯️ to my path." (Psalms 119:105) (NKJV) and also these words, "Your word I have hidden in my heart ❤️, that I might not sin against You." (Psalms 119:11) and also these words, "I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word." (Psalms 119:101) (NKJV) and also these words, "How sweet 🧁 are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey 🍯 to my mouth!" (Psalms 119:103) (NKJV) and also these words, "Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity/sin have dominion over me." (Psalms 119:133) (NKJV). 

Here is what Alexander MacLaren had to say of 1 Peter 5:5, "Humility does not consist in being, or pretending to be, blind 🦯🦮 to one's strong points. There is no humility in a man 👞 denying that he can do certain things if he can do them, or even refusing to believe he can do them well, if God has given him special faculties in any given ⬇️ ⬆️. That is not humility at all. But to know whence all my strength comes, and to know what a little thing it is, after all; not to estimate myself highly, and, still further, not to be always insisting upon other people estimating me highly, and to think 🤔 a great deal more about their claims on me than fretfully to insist upon my due modicum of respect and attention from others, that is the sort of temper that Peter means here. Now, that temper which may recognise fully any gift 🧧 🎁 that God has given me, its sweep and degree, but that nevertheless takes a true, because a lowly, measure of myself, and does not always demand from other people their regard and assistance, that temper is a thing we can cultivate. We can increase it, and we are all bound to try specifically and directly to do so. Now, I believe that a great part of the feeble and unprogressive character of so many Christian people amongst us is due to this, that they do not definitely steady their thoughts 💭 and focus them on the purpose of finding out the weak points to which special attention and discipline should be directed. It is a very easy thing to say, 'Oh, I am a poor, weak, sinful creature!' It would do you a great deal more good to say, 'I am a very passionate one, and my business is to control that quick temper of mine,' or, 'I am a great deal too much disposed to run after worldly advantage, and my business is to subdue that,' or, 'I am afraid I am too closed-fisted, and I ought to crucify myself into liberality.' It would be a great deal better, I say, to apply the general confession to specific cases, and to set ourselves to cultivate individual types of goodness, as well as to seek to be filled with the all-comprehensive root of it all, which lies in union with Jesus Christ. We have often to preach, Dear brethren, that the way of self improvement is not by hammering at ourselves, but by letting God mould us, and to keep the balance right 👍. We have also to insist on the other side of the truth, and to press complementary thought 💭 that specific efforts after the cultivation of specific virtues and all the more if they are virtues that are not natural to us, for the Gospel is given to us to mend our natural tempers. This is the duty of all Christian people that would seek to live as Christ would have them." 

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray 🙏 this from your heart ❤️ to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking 🗣️ directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn 🛞 from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart ❤️ and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen!!!

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 52

 Shepherd the Flock of God Part 2

1 Peter 5:4 And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown 👑 of glory that fadeth not away. KJV Note: NKJV=New King James Version 

After having exhorted and encouraged the men who were selected by God to lead His flock of true believers here on the earth 🌎, Peter now reminds them that their faithfulness of handling the Word of God in or with sincerity and truth will be judged not by other believers only, but by the very One who has placed them in the position of feeding His flock our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ. The Apostle Peter calls Him alone the 'Chief Shepherd' and never himself or anyone of the other Apostles. Here is one place where many have taken off on a tangent and twisted the Word of God to their own destruction and to the defiling of many sincere souls seeking the truth, but being led into error. Peter never meant that he was the chief shepherd of God's flock of true believers, for there in the text this reality, this truth should be clearly seen, as it is written by Peter with these words, "And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown 👑 of glory that fadeth not away." (1 Peter 5:4) (KJV). It should be so easily discerned, disclosed, and discovered by any of God's true sheep 🐑 that in using the little adverb 'when' and the little English phrase 'shall appear' which is translated by the Greek word phaneroo which means to render apparent (literally or figuratively): - appear, manifestly declare, make manifest, shew self that Peter is not referring to himself for he is already physically before all the other believers and therefore could not be speaking 🗣️ of himself. Also he has clearly declared himself at the beginning of his discourse on this subject matter (1 Peter 5:1) only an elder along with all the other elders. First, let me say that none of us will ever be 100% accurate in our pursuit of understanding the Word of God, for we can and should recall these words of the Apostle Paul to the believers @Rome when he wrote, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and His ways past finding out! 'For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?' 'Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to Him?' For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:33-36) (NKJV). However, there is much in God's Holy Word that He wants and requires of us that we be diligent, dutiful, and determined to dig out every beautiful and glorious nugget of truth through study, prayer 🙏, and yielding to God the Holy Spirit that He may illuminate as much deep truth that we desire to behold, therefore, we should likewise heed these words given also to the Apostle Paul when he wrote to Brother Timothy, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth." (2 Timothy 2:15) (NKJV). This little English phrase Paul uses in (2 Timothy 2:15) 'rightly dividing' is translated by the Greek word orthotomeo (it is used this one time only in the entire New Testament) it means to make a straight cut, that is, (figuratively) to dissect (expound/elaborate) correctly (the Divine Message). Although, we will never understand the mind of God, we are tasked by God Himself to declare His Divine Truth accurately because it will be the difference between life (Revelation 22:14) and death (Revelation 22:15) for sinners seeking to know the truth. Jesus Christ is the 'Chief Shepherd' of His flock and not Peter or Paul or anyone else. Christ alone will judge correctly how His elders have fed His sheep 🐑 the truth of His Word and He will reward accordingly each with the unfading 'crown of glory' that will be taken off by each true under shepherd and cast at Christ feet in honor and love 💕 for their 'Great Shepherd' who counted them worthy to serve Him. 

Here is what the Expositor's Bible Commentary had to say of 1 Peter 5:4, "For their consolation the Apostle sets before the elders their Judge in His self-chosen character. He is the Chief Shepherd. Judge He must also be-when He is manifested; but while He must pass sentence on their work, He will understand and weigh the many hinderances, both within and without, against which they have had to fight. Of human weakness, error, sin, such as beset us, He had no share; but He knows whereof we are made, and will not ask from any of us a service beyond our powers. Nay, His Spirit chooses for us, would we but mark it, the work in which we can serve Him most fitly. And He has borne the contradiction of sinners against Himself. In judging His servants, then, He will take account of the willfulness of ears that would not hear and of eyes 👀 that would not see, of the waywardness that chose darkness rather than light 🕯️, ignorance rather than Divine knowledge, death rather than life. Therefore His feeble but faithful servants may with humble minds welcome His appearing. He comes as Judge. 'Ye shall receive.' It is a word descriptive of the Divine award at the last. Here it marks the bestowal of a reward, but elsewhere (2 Peter 2:13) the Apostle uses it for the payment to sinners of the hire of wrongdoing. But the Judge is full of mercy. Of one sinner's feeble efforts He said, 'She hath done what she could. Her sins are forgiven.' And another who had labored to be faithful He welcomed to His presence: 'Enter into the joy of thy Lord.' To share that joy, to partake of His glory, to be made like Him by beholding His presence-this will be the faithful servant's prize 🏆, a crown 👑 of amaranth, unwithering, eternal."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray 🙏 this from your heart ❤️ to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking 🗣️ directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn 🛞 from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart ❤️ and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen!!!