Tag: Church

Worthy is the Lamb

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July 10th

Revelation 5, 21

There is a reason that all the best stories end with a bride and groom living happily ever after: it is the one true story in the universe. At the end, Jesus Christ will fulfill his vows to his church, “All that I am, I give to you, and all that I have I share with you.” The glorious fullness of God will be ours forever, and we will find unending delight in our husband. This was his great purpose from the beginning of all things. Edwards writes, 

The creation of the world seems to have been especially for this end, that the eternal Son of God might obtain a spouse, towards whom he might fully exercise the infinite benevolence of his nature, and to whom he might, as it were, open and pour forth all that immense fountain of condescension, love and grace that was in his heart, and that in this way God might be glorified. 1

The final mention of the Lamb in the book of Revelation comes in chapter 21 when John is invited by an angel, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb” (v. 9). He is carried away by the Spirit to “a great, high mountain,” where he sees “the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel” (vv. 10–11). The Lamb on the throne has been married to the bride he purchased with his blood. Their new and heavenly marital city-home is indelibly inscribed with the names of his people (v. 14), the reward of his suffering. His work is finished, the union is complete, and his glorified bride is his forever. This had been his heart’s desire from the beginning (Song 2:10; Hos. 2:20). This was surely “the joy that was set before him,” which enabled him to endure the cross (Heb. 12:2). 

Yes, the culmination of history is the glory of God. Not glory taken but glory given.The whole creation suffused with his light, his creatures filled and made happy in his goodness, his bride drenched eternally in his love. We, the redeemed, can only sing,

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, 
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might 
and honor and glory and blessing! (Rev. 5:12) 

To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb 
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever! (Rev. 5:13)

1. Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 25,

Do Not Judge

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““Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you. “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭1‬-‭29‬ ‭NLT‬‬

My Help Comes From The LORD.

On By Dan Danno RomannIn God2 Comments

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot stumble. He who watches over you will not slumber.

Yes, he who watches over Israel will not slumber. He will not sleep. The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will watch to keep you from all harm. He will watch over your life. The Lord will watch over your going and your coming from now to eternity.”


‭‭Psalm‬ ‭121‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭EHV‬‬

God is rich in mercy

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Ephesians 2:1-18 NLT


Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. [2] You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil-the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. [3] All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. [4] But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, [5] that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) [6] For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.

[7] So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. [8] God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. [9] Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. [10] For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. [11] Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. [12] In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. [13] But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. [14] For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.

[15] He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. [16] Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. [17] He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. [18] Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

The Law of the Spirit

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8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. 8:3 For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 8:4 so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.  (Romans 8:1–4, NET)

You must be born again!

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There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these miraculous signs you are doing unless God is with him.” Jesus replied, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God! Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh. Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be surprised when I tell you that you must be born from above.

Jesus Christ

The wind blows where it pleases. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” “How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus. “You are the teacher of Israel,” Jesus answered, “and you do not know these things? Amen, Amen, I tell you: We speak what we know, and we testify about what we have seen. But you people do not accept our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven. “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. The one who believes in him is not condemned, but the one who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. This is the basis for the judgment: The light has come into the world, yet people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. In fact, everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, or else his deeds would be exposed. But the one who does what is true comes toward the light, in order that his deeds may be seen as having been done in connection with God.”

St. John


https://www.biblegateway.com/passage

EHV

Psalm 23

On By Dan Danno RomannIn God2 Comments

1. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2. He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3. He refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Psalm 23

Salvation Is Not A Process!

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Romans 3:9-31

No One Is Righteous

[9] What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, [10] as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; [11] no one understands; no one seeks for God. [12] All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” [13] “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” [14] “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” [15] “Their feet are swift to shed blood; [16] in their paths are ruin and misery, [17] and the way of peace they have not known.” [18] “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” [19] Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. [20] For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

[21] But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—[22] the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, [25] whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. [26] It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

[27] Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. [28] For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. [29] Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, [30] since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. [31] Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

The Law Was Only A Shadow of Good Things To Come.

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“In fact, the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the actual realization of those things. It will never be able to make perfect those who continually offer the same sacrifices year after year. If it could do this, wouldn’t they have stopped bringing sacrifices, because the worshippers, once they were cleansed, would no longer have a bad conscience about sins? Instead, these sacrifices reminded them of their sins year after year. The fact is that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. Therefore when he entered the world, Christ said: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but you prepared a body for me. You were not pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings.

Then I said, “Here I am. I have come to do your will, God. In the scroll of the book it is written about me.” First he said: Sacrifices and offerings that were offered according to the law, both burnt offerings and sin offerings, you did not desire, and you were not pleased with them. Then he said: Here I am. I have come to do your will. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. By this will, we have been sanctified once and for all, through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ. In the one case, every priest stood ministering day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which are never able to remove sin. In the other case, this priest, after he offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God. Since then he has been waiting until his enemies are made a footstool under his feet. By only one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being sanctified. The Holy Spirit also testifies in Scripture to us, for first he said: This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws on their hearts and I will write them on their mind. Then he adds: And I will not remember their sins and their lawlessness any longer. Now where these sins are forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.”


‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭1‬-‭18‬ ‭EHV‬‬

There is none righteous, not even one

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Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. What then? If some did not believe, does their unbelief abolish the faithfulness of God? May it never be! Rather, let God be true and every man a liar, as it is written,
“That You may be justified in Your words,
And overcome when You are judged.”
But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is the God who inflicts wrath unrighteous? (I am speaking in human terms.) May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let us do evil that good may come”? Their condemnation is just. What then? Are we better? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written,
“There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become worthless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
“Their throat is an open tomb,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
“Their feet are swift to shed blood,
Destruction and misery are in their paths,
And the path of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are in the Law, so that every mouth may be shut and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that faith, is one. Do we then abolish the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.
— Romans 3:1-31

The Virgin Mary pointed us to Christ.

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We Love, and admire the Virgin Mary the Mother of our LORD Jesus Christ, her wonderful example of humility and godliness is amazing, and admirable-

But we know Mary Not the way to God, Mary is Not the way of salvation, Mary always pointed others to Christ Jesus, Mary never pointed anyone to herself, Mary never claimed to be the way, the truth and the life…

She pointed others to Christ our LORD, and she famously said about Christ, “Do whatever He tells you” (St John 2:15)

Jesus Said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, No one comes to the Father, but by Me”

Jesus is the only Mediator between God and Mankind.
Trust in Christ today. The Mother of our LORD Jesus trusted Christ and believed in Him for Salvation and Grace and Everlasting Life..

Dan Danno Romann

Holy Faith Bible Church