Tag: cross

Who Do You Serve?

Who Do You Serve?

“…choose you this day whom ye will serve; …but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15 KJV).

Everybody serves somebody, whether they are atheist or agnostic. The atheist serves at the altar of his own intellect and reason. To the atheist there is no God. He believes that through his intellect alone he can understand and explain everything. In essence the atheist is a god unto himself.

The agnostic neither knows nor cares if God exists. He is content to live a life that is completely indifferent and void of God. He and the atheist make good companions. For in their pride and arrogance they often attack and ridicule those who do know the Lord. They consider themselves to be intellectually superior.

The religious fall into two categories; those who simply engage in dead religious activity and those who truly know and follow the One True and living God!
In whatever camp a person aligns themselves with, they do so by choice.

Joshua had seen and followed the Living God from the time he was in Egypt to the time that he and the nation entered into the land that God had promised them some 40 years before. He had experienced hardship and difficulty but through it all he had also witnessed the Mighty Hand of God! To him, there was no other choice. He knew the reality of God. He knew the power and the promises of God. He knew the faithfulness of God. So as he came to the close of his life, he challenged the people of Israel to choose who they would serve. Would they serve the God who had revealed Himself to them in a multitude of ways, or would they choose the dead and powerless gods of the nations whose land they had entered. The God of Israel offered life. The gods of the nations offered death. For Joshua, the choice was clear. He would choose the One True and living God!

The others, like Joshua also had a choice. They could serve the One True and living God, or they could serve a god of their own making. Both life and death rested upon their choice. We too are offered the same choice today. We can choose to follow and serve the only True and living God (the only God who gives eternal life) or we can choose to follow the gods of this world (selfishness, pride, greed, lust, power and entertainment). Both then and now the decision has eternal consequences. Who do you choose to serve?

James W. Black

Gods Way is Perfect

Gods Way is Perfect

“As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried; he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.” (Psalm 18:30 KJV).

The word perfect is a rich word. It means “being entirely without fault or defect; flawless, absolutely pure, and complete.” (Webster). That is how the Word of God describes God’s way. His way is flawless, absolutely pure and complete. There is nothing than can be added to what He says or what He does to make it better.

God’s way is perfect because God Himself is perfect. There is nothing that can be added to Him! He is not outdated. He does not need revising. He is the complete embodiment of the ultimate perfection. He has always been and will always be. He has always been the same and will forever be the same. (Heb. 13:8). Therefore because God is perfect, His Word is perfect, His Salvation is perfect and His Way is perfect! Whatever He says or does is not only flawless, but it is also complete!

That should bring us great comfort because The Holy One is doing a great work in each of our lives as His redeemed! Paul the Apostle reaffirmed this when he said: “he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it (or complete it)” [parenthesis mine] until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:6). So, while none of us are perfect, we are all in the process of being perfected.

The Lord will use a multitude of tools and circumstances to accomplish this task. He knows the “best way” to do it. But make no mistake about it. The Lord always completes whatever He starts. And when He is finished it will be perfect!

That work that He has begun in us will be completed when we see Him in glory; not before. So relax and let God do His work. He is doing a good job in you. And when He is finished, it will be perfect because His way is alway perfect.

James W. Black

The Lord Does Not Fret Over The Wicked

The Lord Does Not Fret Over The Wicked

“The wicked plots against the just and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming. (Psalm 37: 12-13 NKJV).

When we hear and observe the things that are happening in our culture and the world, if we are not careful, we can allow ourselves to get caught up in them. We can allow ourselves to become so disturbed and angered by them that we are robbed of our joy! This is a tool of the adversary. That is why it is vitally important that we keep the right perspective.

It is important to remember that although it may appear, at least for the present, that those who engage in evil and wicked acts often seem to get away with what they do, the truth is that no one who does such things will escape the judgment and the wrath of a Holy God (John 3:36). Nothing is hidden from Him! He sees everything (Psalm 139: 11-12). The wicked in their arrogance and pride wrongly interpret God’s perceived delay as God’s indifference. Even worse, they interpret God’s delay as impotence! They believe that He either doesn’t care or is unable to intervene in what they do. But God does see! God does care! And God does know all the evil plans of the wicked and He laughs!

The Sovereign God knows the end of the wicked. He knows how many days they have left. (Psalm 139:16). They do not know that their very next heartbeat is in the Lord’s hands! In their arrogance and pride, they think that they are in control of their ultimate destiny. But the day will come when all of the wicked will stand before a Holy God and on that day they will tremble in His Presence (Rev. 20: 12-15). The Judge of all the earth will one day hold court and the judgment He renders will be final! For the unredeemed, it will be a fearful and dreadful day! The Word of God declares that it is a “fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. 10:31).

So while it is important to be aware of what is going on in our world, there is no need to fret. God doesn’t. He knows the ultimate outcome! He is coming! And the kingdoms of this world will surrender to the Kingdom of Our God! (Rev. 11:15). Until then, let us rest in Him, trust in Him, and continue to be His light in this world. (Matthew 5:14-16).

James W. Black

Following Jesus

Following Jesus

“…Jesus said unto his disciples, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24 KJV).

Following Jesus is costly. Jesus made that abundantly clear from the very beginning. He told those who wanted to follow Him, to make sure that they first counted the cost (Luke 14:28-33). He wanted them to know that following Him not only required the “denying of ourselves” but it also required the “death of ourselves” (Romans 6:6). Our lives must be “nailed to the cross (Gal. 2:20). Only then can we be resurrected to a “new life” (Rom. 6:5). Jesus exemplified this with His own life (John 12: 24-26). It was only after His death on the cross that Jesus would be a resurrected! Many who express a desire to follow Jesus want the resurrection, (the new life), but they do not want the cross. But we cannot have one without the other.

But once that happens everything changes (2 Cor. 5:17). Our lives are transformed from being self centered to being Christ centered. We care more about what please Him than what pleases us. Our greatest pleasure in life is found in seeking Him, knowing Him and experiencing Him. Following Jesus is not centered upon us. It is centered upon Him. And yet though that we find the greatest joy and satisfaction in life!
It is there that we discover the joy of His Presence. It is there that we discover the wonder of His Grace and His love. It is there that we experience the Peace of His forgiveness! It is there that we finally discover the life that we always wanted. A life filled will meaning, purpose and hope! It is there that we discover our reason for living!
The English writer G. K. Chesterton said it well: “The Christian life has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.” I would encourage you to follow Jesus! It is worth everything it costs!

James W. Black

The Power Of The Blood

The Power Of The Blood

“…ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by the tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ…(1 Peter 1: 18-19 KJV).

The value of the Blood of Christ cannot be fully comprehended by the human mind. To the unbelieving world it means nothing. To the unbelieving world it is foolishness. But its value is not determined by the world. Its value is determined by God the Father! And the Father places a very high value upon the Blood of His Son!

The Blood of Jesus Christ is the most powerful element in the universe. It is the Blood of Christ shed for us on Calvary that purchased our redemption (Rev. 5:9). The Blood of Christ is so powerful that it paid in full EVERY CLAIM that sin and the kingdom of darkness had (or ever will have) upon us (Col. 2: 13-15). It is the Blood of Christ that gives us access to the peace of God (Col. 1:20). It is the Blood of Christ that enables us to be declared righteous (Rom. 5: 8-9). It is the Blood of Christ that enables us to have fellowship with God the Father and enables us to become a part of His family (Eph. 2:13).

It is the Blood of Christ that causes the demons to flee (James 2:19). It is the Blood of Christ that brings healing (Isaiah 53:5). It is the Blood of Christ that destroys EVERY stronghold (2 Cor. 10:4). The Blood of Christ contains the very Life of God Himself (Lev. 17:11). And that Life is eternal! It is the Blood of Christ that give US eternal life (John 10: 28). May we be ever thankful to God for the Blood of His Son, Jesus Christ!

Rev. James W. Black

The Crucified Life

The Crucified Life

“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20 KJV).

The one thing that marks the true followers of Christ is the cross! It was on the Cross that Jesus paid for our sin in full! He became the sacrificial Lamb of God, chosen before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). It was on the cross that sin was judged and judgment was carried out. And it was there on the cross that the greatest message of love and forgiveness in the universe was displayed. Both events were open and visible for all to see.

The cross is the dividing line of human history. And the cross is the dividing line of our personal history. For the followers of Christ, it is there on the cross that our old life and our old person died. And it is there on the cross, that our new life in Christ begins. It is there on the cross that we were delivered from the power of sin. It is there on the cross where we are empowered to live a new life in Christ. It is there on the cross that all of Satan’s claims against us are cancelled. And it is there on the cross that we are empowered to overcome all the powers of darkness.

The crucified life is the paradox of the Christian life. Both death and life, judgment and freedom, hell and heaven all meet together at the cross. Mercy and grace are wrapped in unbelievable love. Death is swallowed up in victory and eternal life is the ultimate outcome (1 Cor. 15:54). It is the mighty resurrection of Jesus that gives the cross its power. And the revelation of that reality causes us to bow before Him! Until the cross and the resurrection becomes a reality to us, all we have is religion. But when it becomes a reality, we will be forever changed and transformed. We will never be the same again. And we will willingly spend our lives for Him! For there is no genuine life in Christ apart from the cross (Mark 8:34).

Rev. James W. Black