IT IS FINISHED – 148

(Joh 19:30) Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. [NASB]

Tis finished! The Messiah dies, cut off for sins, but not His own.

Accomplished is the sacrifice, the great redeeming work is done.

The veil is rent; in Christ alone the living way to heaven is seen;

The middle wall is broken down, And all the world may enter in.

Tis finished! All my guilt and pain, I want no sacrifice be-side;

For me, for me the Lamb is slain, Tis finished! I am justified.

The reign of sin and death is o'er, And all may live from sin set free;

Satan has lost his mortal power, Tis swallowed up in victory.

Charles Wesley, 1707-1788

William B. Bradbury, 1816-1868

Have you read (sang from) your Hymnal today?

IT IS FINISHED – 148

(Joh 19:30) Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. [NASB]

Tis finished! The Messiah dies, cut off for sins, but not His own.

Accomplished is the sacrifice, the great redeeming work is done.

The veil is rent; in Christ alone the living way to heaven is seen;

The middle wall is broken down, And all the world may enter in.

Tis finished! All my guilt and pain, I want no sacrifice be-side;

For me, for me the Lamb is slain, Tis finished! I am justified.

The reign of sin and death is o'er, And all may live from sin set free;

Satan has lost his mortal power, Tis swallowed up in victory.

Charles Wesley, 1707-1788

William B. Bradbury, 1816-1868

Have you read (sang from) your Hymnal today?

The Wisdom of your wife

Today I was so blessed to receive a text message from my beautiful wife. It was a message full of wisdom and of love. I do so love her. She is my great equalizer, my sounding board, and my biggest fan, or my most pointed critic. In my life there are priorities; God, Linda, Family, Church, Friends and all else. She is the in to my out, the up to my down, the right to my left and the quiet strength to my loudness. I pray that she will not mind if I share her wisdom with you. Her counsel can well apply to other souls who need that strong encouragement and feminine touch.

This is her Wisdom:

Focus on the task at hand. Do not allow yourself to drift away from what you are working on right now.

Write notes if you are afraid you might forget something. Then return to the task at hand, free of other things, people (including the wife) that might detract you from the task at hand.

People will always call you to ask you to help them in some way. Your heart always wants to say yes. That is a beautiful way to think. But you are only one person. The Lord doesn't expect you to stretch yourself so thin that you are useless to him.

Save days where you are not expected to do something or be somewhere. Your bride, who , in a normal situation, acting from a standpoint of being healed, can be a great resource for you.

So you are doing more things now, that normally She would do, and She wants to be a full participant on the team. God sees your heart and your Bride sees your heart too. Your heart is 90 % of the reason she fell in love with you in the first place.

So, when someone calls or texts or otherwise asks you for help with something, it IS OKAY to say, let me think about that, or let me pray on that, or let me check with my wife on that, or a number of other answers. Unless it is an emergency, you do not have to answer right away. And sometimes you CAN say, I am sorry but I don't think I am the person who could be best for that, but thank you for thinking of me.

I write this to you, because I have been in situations like that during my lifetime, and have learned from the past, that you can't be everything to everybody. Nor should you be.

You can only be you , a wonderful creation of God. Only God can be everywhere and everything all at the same time.

These are my thoughts and I see you much differently than others do.

You are the love of my life and I thank God for you every day.

Have you read your Bible today?

The Wisdom of your wife

Today I was so blessed to receive a text message from my beautiful wife. It was a message full of wisdom and of love. I do so love her. She is my great equalizer, my sounding board, and my biggest fan, or my most pointed critic. In my life there are priorities; God, Linda, Family, Church, Friends and all else. She is the in to my out, the up to my down, the right to my left and the quiet strength to my loudness. I pray that she will not mind if I share her wisdom with you. Her counsel can well apply to other souls who need that strong encouragement and feminine touch.

This is her Wisdom:

Focus on the task at hand. Do not allow yourself to drift away from what you are working on right now.

Write notes if you are afraid you might forget something. Then return to the task at hand, free of other things, people (including the wife) that might detract you from the task at hand.

People will always call you to ask you to help them in some way. Your heart always wants to say yes. That is a beautiful way to think. But you are only one person. The Lord doesn't expect you to stretch yourself so thin that you are useless to him.

Save days where you are not expected to do something or be somewhere. Your bride, who , in a normal situation, acting from a standpoint of being healed, can be a great resource for you.

So you are doing more things now, that normally She would do, and She wants to be a full participant on the team. God sees your heart and your Bride sees your heart too. Your heart is 90 % of the reason she fell in love with you in the first place.

So, when someone calls or texts or otherwise asks you for help with something, it IS OKAY to say, let me think about that, or let me pray on that, or let me check with my wife on that, or a number of other answers. Unless it is an emergency, you do not have to answer right away. And sometimes you CAN say, I am sorry but I don't think I am the person who could be best for that, but thank you for thinking of me.

I write this to you, because I have been in situations like that during my lifetime, and have learned from the past, that you can't be everything to everybody. Nor should you be.

You can only be you , a wonderful creation of God. Only God can be everywhere and everything all at the same time.

These are my thoughts and I see you much differently than others do.

You are the love of my life and I thank God for you every day.

Have you read your Bible today?

Prayer and Faith hold hands

E.M. Bounds, aka; Edward McKendree Bounds has been long known as a great proponent of effective prayer, and of even greater faith as a result. His teachings entitled The Essentials of Prayer have long guided young and old to the beauty and power behind the direct line to our creator.

Bounds wrote that “Augustus Caesar found Rome a city of wood and left it a city of marble”. Today, we place a great deal of pressure on our Under Shepherds to do the same in our churches, but in the spiritual vein. Sadly, we often fail to properly support this leader as he reminds us of the value in strong faith and the power of prayer.

(Psa 5:3) In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.

According to Bounds, “He is sent to get them to pray, to trust God, and to keep their eyes on God”. We all, each believer, are a part of this ministry. As we follow the preacher's lead, and the Word of God, our collective role is to change, through Christ, unbelieving sinners into solid praying and believing saints. You gotta have faith if you expect any success.

(Rom 5:1) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

(Rom 5:2) through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

God places great importance on the value of faith and this is the reason we need faith in order to be saved. When you have faith, you will find prayer standing right beside. Faith is your belief, prayer is your voice. It is by faith we are saved, and it is by faith that we remain saved.

Paul wrote in Ephesians that the life he lived was lived in faith, not by sight. Faith in the Son of God who loved him and gave Himself for him (and for us).

(Eph 2:8) For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God....

Let each of us capitalize on our faith by pitching in to help our Pastor, sharing the Good News, through the tremendous power of prayer. Be in prayer at all times. Its in the Book! Have you read your Bible today?

Prayer and Faith hold hands

E.M. Bounds, aka; Edward McKendree Bounds has been long known as a great proponent of effective prayer, and of even greater faith as a result. His teachings entitled The Essentials of Prayer have long guided young and old to the beauty and power behind the direct line to our creator.

Bounds wrote that “Augustus Caesar found Rome a city of wood and left it a city of marble”. Today, we place a great deal of pressure on our Under Shepherds to do the same in our churches, but in the spiritual vein. Sadly, we often fail to properly support this leader as he reminds us of the value in strong faith and the power of prayer.

(Psa 5:3) In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.

According to Bounds, “He is sent to get them to pray, to trust God, and to keep their eyes on God”. We all, each believer, are a part of this ministry. As we follow the preacher's lead, and the Word of God, our collective role is to change, through Christ, unbelieving sinners into solid praying and believing saints. You gotta have faith if you expect any success.

(Rom 5:1) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

(Rom 5:2) through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

God places great importance on the value of faith and this is the reason we need faith in order to be saved. When you have faith, you will find prayer standing right beside. Faith is your belief, prayer is your voice. It is by faith we are saved, and it is by faith that we remain saved.

Paul wrote in Ephesians that the life he lived was lived in faith, not by sight. Faith in the Son of God who loved him and gave Himself for him (and for us).

(Eph 2:8) For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God....

Let each of us capitalize on our faith by pitching in to help our Pastor, sharing the Good News, through the tremendous power of prayer. Be in prayer at all times. Its in the Book! Have you read your Bible today?

MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST - February 5^th & 6th.

ARE YOU READY TO BE OFFERED? Part One

"Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and serviceof your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all." Philippians 2:17

Are you willing to be offered for the workof the faithful - to pour out your lifeblood as a libation on the sacrifice of the faith of others? Or do you say - "I am not going to be offered up just yet, I do not want Godto choose my work. I want to choose the sceneryof my own sacrifice; I want to have the right kind of people watching and saying, 'Well done.'

It is one thing to go on the lonely way with dignified heroism, but quite another thing if the linemapped out for you by Godmeans being a door-mat under other people's feet. Suppose Godwants to teach you to say, "I know how to be abased" - are you ready to be offered up like that? Are you ready to be not so much as a dropin a bucket - to be so hopelessly insignificant that you are never thought of again in connection with the lifeyou served? Are you willing to spend and be spent; not seeking to be ministeredunto, but to minister? Some saints cannot do menial workand remain saints because it is beneath their dignity.

ARE YOU READY TO BE OFFERED? Part Two

"I am already being poured out as a drink offering." 2 Timothy 4:6

"I am ready to be offered." It is a transaction of will, not of sentiment. TellGodyou are ready to be offered; then let the consequences be what they may, there is no strandof complaint now, no matter what Godchooses. Godputs you through the crisis in private, no one person can help an other. Externally the lifemay be the same; the difference is in will. Go through the crisis in will, then when it comes externally there will he no thought of the cost. If you do not transact in will with Godalong this line, you will end in awakening sympathy for yourself.

"Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the hornsof the altar." The altar means fire- burning and purification and insulationfor one purpose only, the destruction of every affinity that Godhas not started and of every attachment that is not an attachment in God.You do not destroy it, Goddoes; you bind the sacrifice to the hornsof the altar; and see that you do not give way to self- pity when the firebegins. After this way of fire, there is nothing that oppresses or depresses. When the crisis arises, you realize that things cannot touchyou as they used to do. What is your way of fire?

Tell Godyou are ready to be offered, and Godwill prove Himself to be all you ever dreamedHe would be.

Oswald Chambers