Ephesians 2:1-10

I challenge everyone reading this blog to memorize Ephesians 2:1-10. My, what a wonderful passage of scripture this is! Say it often after you memorize it. Teach it to your children and grandchildren. This scripture tells us what God has done for us by his grace--and only by his grace.

Without grace we would have no life. It is God who gives us life and liberty. We have eternal life by grace (John 3:16, 36; 5:24; Matt. 25:46; John 17:3; Gal. 6:8).

We are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-10). We are the workmanship of God; he has made us his children; he has given us eternal life; he has promised us an inheritance incorruptible (1 Peter 1:3-5).

Christ is the object of our faith. We have faith in no other. Since he is God, we have our faith in God (Mark 11:22). Since the Holy Spirit is God, we have our faith in the Holy Spirit, and the three (the Trinity) work together in a perfect way to bring about everything that each believer needs to be saved, be secure, and be faithful.

Good Conference

I just returned on Wednesday from a Bible Conference at Bible Baptist Church in Harrisburg, Illinois, where Bro. Art Donley is pastor. We had a great attendance, and many preachers were there. We heard some great preaching. I wish I could have stayed for the Wednesday night service, but I came back for our good services here at First Baptist Church in Harrison, Ohio. Bro. Bob Jones and Bro. Bobby Green were preaching in the Wednesday services in Harrisburg.

We had a good service at First Baptist Church. Our attendance was not too good, but God blessed. I am preaching through the book of Jeremiah, and I was in Chapter 4. I did not finish the outline, so I will need to continue in this chapter next week.

On Sunday mornings I have just finished a series on "Why We Do Not Need To Be Baptized To Be Saved." There were six messages altogether. Sunday I will begin on a new series, or I will preach a sermon or two before starting on another series or a book of the Bible.

On Sunday evenings I am preaching on 2 Samuel.

Bed Bugs

We have bedbugs! That is not funny, so quit laughing. There is an epidemic of these little rascals in Cincinnati this year. They were brought into our house by a "friend" who came to do his laundry. To rid our house of these pesky little things, we must go through a regiment of vacuuming, removing drawers from dressers, washing all clothes (clean and dirty) and putting them into garbage bags, removing all items from drawers and putting these items into garbage bags, putting everything in one room in the center of the room away from the wall--what a mess!

But, then, sin is just that hard to get rid of. Many people clean out their dirty words, their bad attitudes, and their bad habits and try to get rid of their sin; but they find that the sin is still there. Many try to stop taking drugs, stop smoking, stop cursing, etc., and they find that they go right back to it. How can we get rid of our sin? What steps do we take for that?

I have a sheet sitting right here in front of me telling me what I must do before the pest control people come to the house and do their work. But I am here to tell you that you do not have to do any preparatory work before Jesus Christ forgives you of all of your sins. He died on the cross to pay for sins; and if you can repent of your sins and place your complete trust in Jesus, his death, burial and resurrection, then your sins will be gone forever.

I am so afraid that, after the pest control people come to do their exterminating, we may still have some bed bugs; but when Jesus takes your sins away, there is not one sin left. He cleanses us from all of our sins. Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, [so] far hath he removed our transgressions from us. They can never be remembered any more.

We will have to wait a few weeks to know whether all of the bedbugs are gone, but we do not have to wait to know that our sins are forgiven. They are forgiven instantly and without work and without charge. Thank the Lord for his unspeakable gift!

Science & Global Warming

To see what scientists say about Global Warming, just click on the following link:
http://www.dailytech.com/A+Melting+Arctic+Happy+News+for+Mankind/article12882.htm. Copy and paste this link into your web browser.

In Mansions Bright

In Mansions Bright
By Ronnie Wolfe – Sept. 19, 2008

In mansions bright my soul will go
In joy of soul be swept away.
My heart rejoiced, my mind at peace,
All sorrows gone, no debt to pay.

In mansions bright there’ll be no sun
For Jesus is the only Light.
Fellowship and praise divine
Make these mansions brilliant bright.

Home of soul and home of Christ
There I’ll be with Him for e’er
There His love I’ll understand,
For on the cross my sins did bear.

Come, dear friend, and go with me
To this my home of eternal rest,
And bid this world a last good-bye
Knowing Christ has done his best.

For funeral of Ruth Moore

Gustav Is Coming

The storm is coming to our southern shores, and Gustav may be as bad as Katrina. We who live north of the predicted harm must keep our minds on the need that will exist once this storm has done its damage.

If there is a need for help, Elliott Baptist Church in Mississippi is gearing up to be as much help as possible. They are already getting ready to house many people in their church building, and several of their members are inviting strangers into their house to help them out, since they had to evacuate due to the storm.

If you would like to help with financially, you may call the church at the following numbers.

Elliott Baptist Church
662-417-6089
662-565-2507
662-226-4425

Why Doesn't God Heal Amputees?

This is a question that has been asked by a disgruntled atheist. Atheists always question our faith, but they never question their own faith in logic, reason, and science, though these all come short and are limited in what they can do.

Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

We do not worry about the things that God does not do; we know nothing about that. We are concerned about what God does, and we know that God heals. No one disproved that the man in John chapter five was healed of his impotency. I am sure that every Pharisee and scribe would have done so if they could. No one disproved that the blind did actually receive sight. No one disproved that Lazarus was raised from the dead. I am sure many would have done so if they could.

We also know that God saves sinners (1 Tim. 1:15), that God created the earth, that Noah built an ark and weathered a universal flood, that Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, and that Lazarus was raised from the dead. We know this by faith the same way that you know certain things by your own faith: evolution, uniformitarianism, transcendental knowledge, aliens, and ghosts, which are all purported by scientists.

If God decides to heal a liver rather than an amputated leg, that is his business, not ours. The secret things belong to him.

Why is it so that you do not distrust science, since there are many things that science cannot do and has not done. Why cannot science heal an amputation? Since your faith is in science, that would be your question, and it is mine, also. Can you give a reasonable answer to that? Why cannot science raise the dead?

God can do anything he purposes, but he does not do them at our whim but according to his own will and purpose: Daniel 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

Let God be true and every man a liar (Romans 3:4).