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By Derrick Bowman on March 11th, 2010Psalm 121:2. The Bible says, “My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.”
The verse points our attention to the only source for help in the Christian life.
What do you trust in for help? So many today do not trust the Lord. Even some who profess to be Christians don’t trust the Lord as they should. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul tells us about the Jews of his day. He said that they were going about trying to establish their own righteousness because there were ignorant of God’s righteousness. That is, they were not trusting in the righteousness that Christ had earned for them in the Gospel, but instead, they were trusting in their own righteousness.
I have had the opportunity to counsel people who were struggling with the assurance of their salvation. Many of them come with questions similar to this: I remember walking down the isle at church and saying a prayer, but I just can’t remember if I really meant it, or if I was really sincere. Or they might say that they just heard of a friend who had been recently saved and when their friend came to Christ the friend cried tears of joy and was overcome with emotion. They fear that because they did not cry similar tears or experience similar emotions that they must not really be saved. I submit to you that people in that condition are placing more trust in their experience of salvation than they are actually placing trust in Christ. If you need help with the assurance of your salvation, you won’t find help by looking back to your experience. The only place you will find help is from the Lord. The question you need to ask yourself is not, “did I believe in Christ,” but the right question is, “am I believing in Christ right now.” The only way you will find help for the assurance of your salvation is by looking to the Lord.
For that matter, this verse gives us a categorical statement. There are many other difficulties a believer faces other that assurance of his or her salvation. Maybe you need help in your marriage, or help raising your children, or help witnessing to a family member or a person at work, or help with a multitude of other things. Where are you looking for help in those circumstances? Are you looking to the advice of the latest book at the Christina bookstore, or are you looking to the Lord? If the Lord is able to create the heavens and the earth with just a word, do you not believe that He is able to help you with your problem? O Christian, believe what the Bible says, “My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.”
If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your savior, you don’t know anything about the kind of help I have been talking about, but you can. If you sense your need for a Savior, the only place you will find help is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe on Him today and receive help from heaven. Nothing else will help you in eternity. Jesus Christ is who you need, and it is to Jesus Christ that you must flee.
By Derrick Bowman on March 6th, 2010For several years now, Dr. Kevin Bauder, President of Central Baptist Theological Seminary, has been a leading voice for the more "sane" segment of Fundamentalism. He has recently published an article that expresses the differences and similarities between today’s Gospel-focused Fundamentalist and the modern conservative Evangelicals.
I was very impressed by this article, so I am posting a link to it here for you to read. I am interested in hearing your comments about what Dr. Bauder has to say. Do you agree or disagree, and why?
Here is the link to the article:
www.centralseminary.edu/publications/Nick/Nick257.html
By Derrick Bowman on March 2nd, 2010Psalm 130:4, "But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.”
This verse points our attention to the wonderful truth of the forgiveness of sins. What mercy and grace there is in the Gospel message that we who were once lost in the darkness of sin can now experience a full forgiveness. The Bible tells us that the only way we can have this forgiveness is through the precious shed blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In God’s act of justification, He takes all of our sins away from us and imputes them to Christ, and He takes all of the righteousness that Christ earned and imputes that righteousness to us. As a believer, you stand before a Holy God clothed in the perfect and complete righteousness of Jesus Christ. O believer, what a glorious forgiveness we have in Christ.
But the verse we are considering says that “there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.” I am afraid that the fear of the Lord is a biblical truth that is largely ignored in our day. The best definition of the fear of the Lord that I have ever heard is this: To fear the Lord is to live in the awareness of God. At your job, you always try to do your best when the boss is around. I remember one summer I worked as a bricklayer’s helper. Some of the other helpers were so lazy that they only worked when the boss was looking. Well, as Christians, we are supposed to be working in the Kingdom of God, and we must remember that the Lord sees everything that we do. If you are really living in the fear of the Lord, it will stop you from sinning because you realize that the Lord is always watching.
But why are we supposed to fear the Lord? Is it because we are afraid that the Lord is going to punish us if we don’t? Do you view God as a heavenly policeman who is just waiting for you to mess up so that He can get you? I have to tell you that God does not act like that. Remember the words of the verse we are considering. There is forgiveness with God. If you are saved and washed in the blood of Christ, all of your sins – past, present, and future have been forgiven. You stand clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ. That means that you and I are to fear the Lord, not out of a fear of punishment, but instead out of a heart full of thanksgiving for the forgiveness of sins that we have in Christ.
My friend, let me ask you: Do you know the forgiveness of sins in your own heart today? Do you know for sure that if you stood before the Lord today, you would stand before Him completely forgiven? You know there is a way you can know that for sure. The Bible says that “him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” If you are not saved, come to Christ today. You don’t have to wait to be in a church building, and you don’t even need to talk to a preacher. Just come to Christ in simple faith. You can be confident that if you come to Christ in repentance and faith that He will take you in and forgive you of all your sins. If you are not saved, won’t you come to Him today? “There is forgiveness with God that He may be feared.”
By Derrick Bowman on February 24th, 2010"He shall not fail nor be discouraged."
Isaiah 42:4a
Our devotional today is found in the first part of Isaiah 42:4. The Bible says, “He shall not fail or be discouraged.” This passage of Scripture is speaking about Christ Himself. What a tremendous truth we learn here about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He cannot fail or be discouraged.
I want you to see today that this is an Amazing Statement. It is especially amazing when we compare it to our experience. As sinful humans, we constantly fail and are often plagued with discouragement, but our Saviour never fails. It is also amazing when you consider the opposition Christ faces. Satan and all of his followers do everything they can to cause Christ’s kingdom to fail. But the glorious truth that we learn here is that Christ cannot fail. Satan cannot frustrate the plan of God. I find this statement about Christ to be amazing also because of what Christ has to work with. What I mean here is that Christ has chosen to use you and me as His instruments to do His work here on this earth. If you have ever been in charge of a group of people, you will know that people often let you down. Being an employer can be a very discouraging task, but Christ is never discouraged. He is always in control. He knows the beginning from the end, and He will make sure that everything goes according to His perfect plan.
As we continue to look at this verse, I want you to see the Cause of this statement. How can Isaiah say that Christ cannot fail or be discouraged? Well, the first reason is found in verse 1 of Isaiah 42. The Bible describes Jesus Christ as God’s Servant. He is especially upheld and chosen by God for the work He came to earth to do. Christ cannot fail or be discouraged because He is the eternal God-Man. He is the only begotten Son of God. We see another reason for this statement in verse 1. The Bible says that God delights in Christ. There are only 3 times that God spoke audibly in the New Testament. Two of those times God said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. We also learn in Isaiah 42:1 that Jesus Christ was empowered by the Holy Spirit for the work He came to do. We can sum all this up by saying that Christ cannot fail or be discouraged because He has all of the omnipotence or power of Heaven behind Him.
Finally, I want you to see what this statement guarantees. Christ cannot fail or be discouraged, so that guarantees that Christ will prevail in your salvation. There are some people who teach that a believer can loose His salvation. Well let me ask you one simple question. Did you save yourself? Of course you didn’t. You were saved by the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. Do you think for a moment that Christ can fail to finish what He started? This verse also guarantees that Christ will fulfill all of His promises. You and I could promise to do something, but because of our personal limitations, we might fail to make good on those promises. But Christ cannot fail. He will always keep the promises he has made to you. Do you trust Him today? O, that you and I will turn our eyes upon Jesus Christ. He is the one who cannot fail or be discouraged.
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