in Christ

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The Lord’s Prayer

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Photo by : VERNELLE IMAGING PHOTOGRAPHY

 

“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.” (John 17:1-26)

In these 26 verses of Holy Scripture we have the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, as he was about to enter into the Holy of Holies in Heaven, with his own blood, to obtain eternal redemption for his people.

Our blessed Savior left us the full text of this prayer. He prayed frequently while he was here on the earth in our flesh; but this is the only prayer of our Lord Jesus that is recorded in its entirety. This is Christ our God-man Mediator, our great High Priest, praying to the heavenly Father on our behalf, interceding for us. He left us the full text of this prayer as an example of his intercession, which even now he carries on for his people at the Father’s right hand.

The Scripture says that when the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross and was buried and raised again that he ascended to Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us. There he prays or makes intercession for his people. This prayer is the prayer of our High Priest, our Mediator, which he is praying for us at this moment, as he makes intercession for us in heaven (Romans 8:34).

In Hebrews 7:25, we read that, “He is able to save them to the uttermost that come to God by him; seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” So, this is the prayer of the great High Priest, the one Mediator between God and men. The Scripture says, “There is one God and one Mediator,” one who prays for us and only one. That is our Lord Jesus Christ. This is his effectual prayer of intercession.

It is the Lord Jesus himself who is praying here. The fact that he prayed, prayed often, and prayed earnestly ought to encourage us to pray (Hebrews 4:14-16). Prayer doesn’t change God or change the will of God. It finds the will of God. Prayer not only finds the will of God, it bows us to the will of God. Prayer rejoices in the will of God and changes us, causing us to know and to follow the will of God. If our Master prayed, his servants certainly ought to pray.

Three Statements Continue reading →

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Faith….

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FAITH

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”                                                                                             — Hebrews 11:1-3

WHAT IS FAITH? Very simply stated, faith is taking God at his Word and acting upon God’s revelation. On one occasion, when the disciples had fished all night and caught nothing, the Lord told them to cast their nets on the right side of the ship. Taking him at his word, they cast the nets one more time and took in more fish than their boat could hold (Luke 5:1-7; John 21:3-7). When they needed money to pay taxes, the Lord sent Peter out to catch a fish with the promise that he would find the money needed in the mouth of the first fish he caught (Matt. 17:24-27). Believing Christ, Peter went fishing! When the Lord told Peter to come to him upon the water, Peter believed that he could; and he did (Matt. 14:28-29).

Faith simply believes what God reveals both about himself and about all things in his creation and acts accordingly. Faith submits to God’s revelation regarding himself, his Son, and his salvation, the creation of the world, the fall of man, and the providence of God, grace, the resurrection, and judgment. That is the nature of faith. It takes God at his Word.

THIS FAITH IS AN INDEX OF THE HEART. Continue reading →

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From Baptismal Font to Damnation

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Grant Swart

From Baptismal Font to Damnation 

– there is a road which seems right, but which ends in perdition

It is imperative that we choose the right road. Only the right road leads to the right destination. Taking the wrong road will lead one to the wrong destination, which could obviously cause great trouble.

This is true regarding most matters, but in particular it holds true regarding our eternal destination, which makes it of even greater importance. There are only two places where we can spend eternity – either in eternal glory or in eternal hell. We will either be with God for ever or we will be forever separated from His presence. Eternal joy, or eternal sorrow. Both are final destinations and there will be no turning back. For this very reason it is imperative that we make the right choice, in order for us to be sure.

It is not always simple to make the right choice, and Proverbs 14:12 warns us about a road which seems to be the right one, but which end leads to DEATH.

”There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (ESV)

”There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (KJV)

There are many roads which seem to be right or feel right, but which do not lead to life. Let us take a look down a few of the roads which people perceive to be the right ones, but which end in eternal sorrow: Continue reading →

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Slave, or child?

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Translated and adapted by Grant Swart from the original work of Johannes de Koning 

RELIGIOUS SLAVE, OR CHILD OF GOD?

– the all important truth in understanding Christian freedom

Is your relationship with God that of a slave, or a child? It is an important question and one about which Galatians 4:1-10 makes one ponder.

“1. Additionally, I need to state the following: While an heir is still a minor, his position does not differ markedly from that of a slave, even though the inheritance belongs to him.

2. Until such time as determined by his father, he will remain under the supervision of guardians and his possessions will be controlled by his managers.

3. That is how it is with us as well. While we were yet spiritually immature, we were slaves of legalistic religious rules.

4. Once the time which had been determined by God had arrived, He sent His Son to us. He was born of an earthly mother and from the time of His birth, He was subject to the Law,

5. in order to pay the penalty for our freedom from the Law and so that we could become adopted children of God.

6. Because we have become His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son to our hearts, and He calls out from us, “Abba!” which means, Father!

7. You are therefore, no longer a slave, but a child of God, and because you are His child, God has also made you His heir.

8. There was time when you did not know God during which you were slaves of useless idols.

9. However, since you have come to know Him, or rather, since He now knows you, why would you revert back to those inferior and pitiful legalistic religious rules? Do you want to become slaves Continue reading →