What and Authority!

Luke 4:31-37 (New King James Version)
Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Spirit

31 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. 32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. 33 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, 34 saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. 36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” 37 And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

When I read today's scripture from my Bible reading guide, I concluded with a grin on my face. It was a very encouraging message to read. Here is some background information. Jesus has just been tempted by Satan and rejected by his hometown of Nazereth. He is a man and has the same feelings as us that is why I think it is safe to say that He is emotional and physically drained. But this doesn't affect his ministry. He still teaches the word and He doesn't just teach it, He teaches it with authority! The hypocrites around him were even forced to admit that this man even commanded unclean spirits with authority.

I don't know about you but this passage comforts me. This assures me of my salvation. My Savior has authority. My savior didn't die in vain for a people who hate him. He died to secure salvation, for he came a ransom for many. He came for the sake of the elect, his blood was shed to save them, it was not shed in vain! What a comfort it is to know that our Lord has authority. Let us be submissive to his authority and may He work in our hearts to free us from the bondage of sin.

3 Key Points of the Reformed Faith

1- All of mankind, that is every man past, present, or future, is completely and totally sinful (totally depraved) and since the fall of Adam all men have fallen and will fall, for they are at enmity with God. (Romans 8:7-8; 1st Corinthians 2:14; John 8:34; Jeremiah 3:23; John 6:44; John 6:65)

2- Those who God draws out of this state of enmity and gives His gift of salvation are His elect. They were chosen before the world was ever created,not for their foreseen actions, works, or deeds-- but out of God's sovereign mercy.They were chosen because it was the Father's will to do so and so they could bring honor and glory to Him. ( Matthew 22:14; Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4; Romans 9:16)
- God in His great sovereignty has power over the will of man, it is submissive and under His complete control. (Psalms 135:6; 115:3; Proverbs 16:4&9; 19:21; 21:1)

3- All of God's elect, once called, will persevere till the end of days through Christ. They will all be viewed as Holy through God's eyes because of the imputed righteousness of Christ. They will never "fall from grace" or lose their salvation. However, they will sin and will not be perfect on this earth. (1st John 1:8-10; John 10-27-30; John 3:16; John 6:47)

----- These three points are not meant to be exhaustive, I should never attemp to limit the sovereignty to a certain number of points. This is just a basic simple 3 points that are what I believe are key to understanding the reformed faith----

Grace and Peace to you all,
Alex

Where is God in times of trouble?

Mark 4:35-41

35And that same day, when the evening had come, He said unto them,"Let us pass over unto the other side."
36And when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him even as He was in the boat; and there were also with Him other little boats.
37And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was now full.
38But He was in the hind part of the boat, asleep on a pillow; and they awoke Him and said unto Him, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?"
39And He arose, and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, "Peace, be still." And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40And He said unto them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?"
41And they feared exceedingly and said one to another, "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
So often there are times when it feels as if God has all but abandoned this earth. As if He could care less about the acts of violence and hate that are going on down here. When an event such as Hurricane Katrina and 9-11 happen we do one of three things:

We either turn to God humbly and beg for his mercies to us, and ask for forgiveness for the evil deeds of men.
Or we pick up our dust covered Bibles as if it were just a wand used to wish things back "the way they should be." We go to the church which we are members at, but attend only a handful of services a year, and mostly only when we want something. Church isn't a magical ceremony any more than the Bible is a magic wand. But yet we seem to think we can go when we are in need of somthing and the "great genie god" will grant us our wish. And fix our problem.
And finally we turn from God totally and blame him for the event that has happened. We claim "There just can't be a God!" or "God must be asleep up there." When all the while we are the ones asleep.
Just as the disciples we moan "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" When the storm is brewing and our boat is rocking we should be assured that God is there and will help us to persevere. The storm has be purposed by an all mighty God since before time began, and right when we think God has vanished, He calms the storm..... showing his might and power and magnifying his glory. "Why are you so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?" --- see brother there is nothing to fear, no one shall bring charge against God's elect, all things work for their good! Oh what a comfort it is to be loved by a Glorious God.

To Him be the Glory in All Things!

Anywhere But On His Throne!

When we call oursleves Christians, we are saying that we have come to an end of ourselves and look to glorify God in all that we do. All Christians MUST be agreed with this point, for you do not try to glorify God in all that you do (notice I use the word try, for God knows we will fail at this) then you are not a born again believer! One point however, is not agreed on by all Christians. And that point is the way we come to an end of ourselves, or rather, How are we saved? I myself am a Calvinist in my beliefs and believe strongly that God has chosen whoever it pleased him to choose for salvation...... my question is, Why do people fear this fact? What is their to fear in this great truth.... our own depraved human nature peverts the truth. Oh fine, we will "allow" God to be the creator, ah we can let God be the great physician and healer, we might even "allow" God to be sovereign in where we work and live...... but why are we so scared to let him be soveriegn over our salvation. That is to let Him have total control over men and their salvation. There is nothing to fear in this wonderful truth revealed to us scriptures, but we fear it anyways..we just wont let go of ourselves and give God the power! Oh he can be anywhere but on His throne Sovereignly controling the universe and every aspect therein. Oh may God be gracious to us all and bring us to the end of ourselves, let him soften our depraved hearts and open our blind eyes to his glorious sovereignty! May we be humble by God, and live to bring Him glory.
Grace and Peace!

A man's heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps. -Proverbs 16:9

"His Great Sovereignty"

As I sat in the pews, as the sermons came and went,
I had no remorse, no will to repent.

But, by your sovereign grace you have called me to yourself,
and shared with me a great spiritual wealth.

For you have chosen me before this world began,
And have brought me to you with your mighty sovereign hand

Why have you called me and changed the way I feel?
Your answer is because it is your sovereign will.

For who shall bring charge against God's Elect?
It is on this thought i would like to reflect.

If God is on your side, and in him you abide,
You have no one to fear off that road so wide.

For without him I am nothing, nothing at all,
with him I'm something he wont let me fall!

............"just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him." -Ephesians 1:4

We Are All Slaves!

By definition a bondservant is one who serves in bondage; serves as a slave but to a Christian being a bondservant is so much more than that. Who would want this job you ask?...... who would want to be a bondservant? Well everyone of us is a bondservant whether we our proud of it our not. Even we Christians cant escape it, we are all to be bondservants of Christ serving him in all that we say, think, and do. The title "Bondservant of Christ" should not be had with shame but with gratitude and humble submission. The fact that the Lord and God of this universe would pick someone such as yourself should make you thankful. The fact that even though this Lord saved you from the bondage of sin you still spit in his face daily with your deed and word. How disgraceful we are to our master, but Oh how good he is to us still. But woe to him who is not a bondservant of Christ, for he has no other choice..... he is a bondservant of sin! If a man does not serve God he serves sin, his will and mind our bound by the power of sin and man cannot free himself for he is flesh and full of weakness. This man must freed by Christ, and once he is freeded he must gratefully fall before the feet of his Lord and Saviour thanking him for his mercies!..... we are all bondservants

Choose you this day whom you will serve!