Acts 3:15 "And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses." Here Peter, having healed the lame man at the temple gate, stands before the Sanhedrin and preaches Christ. And not just any Christ, but Christ crucified and risen , the Prince of Life . This title demands our attention. It is no vague compliment, no ornamental title. It reveals the LORD Jesus Christ as the Author, Giver, and Sustainer of all life—both physical and eternal. This lame man sat begging at the gate called Beautiful. Religious men passed by, giving alms, but they could not help him. Peter fastened his eyes upon him and said, “Look on us.” The man expected silver and gold—but Peter had none. Instead, he gave what he did  have: “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” Not just a healing, but a manifestation of life granted through the risen Christ. This man, who once begged, now leapt and praised God. Why?  Because life had been imparted to him— life in the name of Jesus . It wasn’t Peter’s power. He makes that clear: “Why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?” The glory belongs to Jesus of Nazareth, the One they had denied , delivered up , and crucified . They chose a murderer and killed the Prince of Life . Yet— God raised Him from the dead . This is the heart of Peter’s sermon. He does not preach himself. He does not even focus on the healed man. His whole message centers on Christ— the Prince of Life . That word Prince  in the Greek means originator, author, initiator. It is the same word used in Hebrews 12:2: “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” He is not merely the giver of life—He is Life itself . "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4). Dead sinners cannot come to life by their own power. The spiritually dead need more than light—they need eyes to see . And that only Christ can give. Just as He created all things in Genesis 1:3 — "" And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. " — so also He must speak life and light into dead souls. Paul confirms this in Colossians 1:16: “All things were created by Him and for Him.” And again, in John 10:10, Jesus declares, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” He came because  there was no life apart from Him. If He had not come, we would have remained dead in trespasses and sins. But how does this life come? Through His death . Here is the irony— the Prince of Life was killed , rejected, despised, and crucified. And yet, even that was according to God’s determinate counsel and foreknowledge (Acts 2:23). Not one act against Him was outside of God’s sovereign purpose. The crucifixion was no tragedy—it was the planned redemption of God’s elect. Peter lays the blame clearly on them: “Ye denied the Holy One and the Just.” And yet, in that rejection, we see substitution. A murderer set free, and Christ slain . This is not just a historical exchange—it is the very heart of the Gospel. Christ took the place of guilty sinners. If He paid my debt, then I  killed the Prince of Life. It was my sin  that nailed Him to the cross. And yet, it was also God’s love  that put Him there, for the salvation of those He gave to His Son from all eternity. And then, God raised Him from the dead . Why? Because satisfaction had been made. Justification was accomplished. Romans 4:25 says He “was delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification.” The resurrection was the proof  that the debt was paid in full. Without the resurrection, we’d follow a martyr—not a Savior. But He is risen, and we have life in His name . Peter says, “His name, through faith in His name, hath made this man strong.” Where did that faith originate? Peter is clear: it is “the faith which is by Him.” Christ not only gives life—He gives the faith to believe in Christ Who is Life. He is the Author and Sustainer of our faith from beginning to end. This Gospel is not an invitation. It is a command . Peter says in Acts 3:19, “Repent ye therefore and be converted.” True repentance and conversion come only when sins have already been blotted out. And those whose sins Christ has borne—He will call, He will grant repentance, and they shall  turn to Him. The Prince of Life died, but now He lives again. And those who are crucified with Him (Galatians 2:20) now live by the faith of  the Son of God. We are His witnesses—not of a mere story, but of a risen LORD. And as He has given us eyes to see, we proclaim Him, the Prince of Life —crucified, risen, reigning. Let every soul whom He has made alive cry out in praise: All my hope, all my life, all my faith—lies in Christ, the Prince of Life.

Amos 8:11 "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD God , that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD :" When we open the Word of God to Amos chapter eight, it is as though we enter a winter season, an eclipse of the sun, when the LORD withholds His hand. We know the sun continues to shine even if we cannot see it, yet there are days of cloudiness, days when it seems that the sun is removed. And yet God is Who He is. He does not change, though He may, for a time, eclipse His glory and withhold the revelation of Himself from a generation. Amos was one of those early prophets, some seven hundred years before Christ, who declared this most solemn Word of the LORD: “The end is come upon my people of Israel. I will not again pass by them anymore” (Amos 8:2). The vision of a basket of summer fruit was a symbol of the end. No more harvest. No more passing by. The LORD had set the time. And in the midst of such judgment comes the declaration of verse eleven: “I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” How solemn is this famine! It is one thing for the body to hunger for bread or thirst for water. It is another thing altogether for the soul to be starved of the Word of the LORD. Without His Word, there is no light, no direction, no comfort. Without His Word, there is no revelation of Christ, no message of His finished work at Calvary. And this famine is not imaginary. It is real. There have been many a candlestick the LORD has put out in His time (Revelation 2:5). The songs of the temple were turned into howlings. Dead bodies were cast forth in silence. Nebuchadnezzar came down and destroyed Jerusalem, just as the prophets foretold, though false prophets walked about saying, “It will never happen.” So it is with false shepherds. They swallow up the needy, they make the poor of the land to fail. They care not for the sheep, but prey upon them. They falsify the balances of deceit. They are hirelings. And the LORD has sworn, “ Surely I will never forget any of their works.” (Amos 8:7) Yet amid this famine, the LORD keeps His own. Every one of His sheep shall be brought to the great Shepherd (John 6:37). Christ cares for His people, the needy sinners whom He has purchased with His own precious blood. False religion is no refuge. “They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth” (Amos 8:14), shall fall and never rise up again. False religion always ends in destruction. But for God’s people, the famine drives them to Christ, the Bread of Life, the true Water for thirsty souls. If we have Christ, we have the Word made flesh. If we have Christ, we are fed in every season. How seriously then should we take our meeting together, as the LORD chosen and redeemed saints? What a privilege to gather and hear the Word of the LORD! We just assume there will always be another opportunity, another preacher, another message. But the LORD does not have to raise up another Gospel preacher. Often His blessing on a people lasts only a generation. Therefore, let us value every message of Christ the Living Bread and Water, every occasion to hear His Word, every reminder of His finished work. At Calvary, Christ met our greatest need—the need of our sin. He paid the great price with His own precious blood, precious unto God, and now precious unto us. If He has so bought us, then He will also keep us. Though the famine may come to a land, yet the Spirit of Grace breathes upon sinful hearts of God’s elect children and gives them life to look to Christ and Christ alone. In Him, and in His finished work, there is rest. So let us not chase the wind of this world, which is nothing but a vapor, but rejoice that the LORD has been pleased to teach us of Christ His Son. And may our hearts be drawn evermore to Him, who faithfully cares for us, even in days of famine. “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine… not of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” May God keep us through such a famine, and keep us ever thankful for His Word, and for Christ, the Living Word, Who has accomplished all for His people.

Romans 8:5-8 "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." To be in the flesh is to be in a state of spiritual deadness, alienation from God, without the Spirit of God, blinded in mind and heart. The carnal mind is enmity against God. It is death. Men devise means through religion to try to please God, but such is only the pursuit of the works of the flesh. From Adam’s fall in the garden, when fig leaves could not cover nakedness, God made it plain that the wages of sin is death. Innocent blood had to be shed. The skins of slain animals clothed Adam and Eve, pointing forward to the Lamb of God, the Substitute Who must die that sinners might live. All are born into this world sinners. “ By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin.” We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. The psalmist declared that we come forth from the womb lying. Jeremiah wrote, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Left to ourselves, there is no desire and no ability to turn to God. It is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can it be. Even the Apostle Paul confessed in Romans chapter 7, “ We know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin” (Romans 7:14). Not “I was,” but “I am.” He spoke of doing what he hated and not doing the good he would. Why? Because of the law of sin in his members. This is the common lot of all men, whether outside of Christ or regenerated by the Spirit. But for the grace of God, there go I. What then is the remedy? It is not a greater resolve, nor a change of moral compass, nor taking the wheel of this sin nature and turning it in another direction. Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? “Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil” (Jeremiah 13:23). The answer is no. The remedy is Christ and Him crucified. The Gospel declares in Titus chapter 3: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5–7). Here is the good news for sinners. He saved us—not attempted, not made possible, but accomplished salvation by His obedience unto death for those that the Father elected before the foundation of the world. He saved us by His mercy, putting our sin to the account of His Son, the LORD Jesus Christ. Grace gives what we do not deserve: righteousness in Him. He is Jesus, the Savior of His people from their sins. He is Christ, the Anointed One, Prophet, Priest, and King. He is our Savior. By His obedience and death, He satisfied God’s law and justice. By His resurrection and ascension, He reigns until the last redeemed sinner is gathered in, and throughout eternity. The Spirit communicates this salvation to the hearts of those for whom Christ died, washing and renewing, turning hearts from works of the flesh to Christ alone. Even in our groanings, the Spirit makes intercession according to the will of God (Romans 8:26–27). To be spiritually minded is not perfection, but life and peace —peace because Christ has satisfied the law, life because He has given His Spirit. This is the blessed state of those for whom He died. Is He your Hope?

Malachi 1:2,3 “I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau.” Here is the beginning point of all true knowledge of God. Before the prophet brings reproof or correction, before he speaks of the corruption of the priesthood, or of Israel’s vain offerings, he first declares the sure foundation: “I have loved you, saith the LORD.” The entire prophecy rests upon this truth. The people have failed, but God's covenant has not failed, for it is built upon the everlasting love of God in Christ. It is striking that the LORD anchors His love in the history of Jacob and Esau. “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Both were sons of Isaac, both descended from Abraham, both alike by nature. Yet God says, “I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau.” Here is God's sovereign election. Grace is not because of any worthiness in man, nor in the will of man, but in the free, distinguishing love of God. As Paul writes in Romans 9:13-“Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated…that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth.” This love is no abstract decree; it is the eternal covenant of grace purposed from eternity, but accomplished in time when the LORD Jesus laid down His life at the cross. “He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). When God says, “I have loved you,” He is pointing us to the Lamb slain since the foundation of the world, Whose blood obtained the redemption of His people. In Christ, the electing love of God took on sinless human flesh, walked among men, and at last mounted the cross to accomplish the salvation promised. Israel’s history testifies that chastening alone cannot bring men to repentance. After the captivity, after the temple was rebuilt, corruption yet remained. Their only hope lay not in their works but in God’s covenant love. So too with any of us that God has elected. Our sin condemns us, our works cannot stand; but God set His love upon His people in Christ. His electing grace secures both their redemption and their preservation. Consider the cross as the highest declaration of Malachi 1:2: “I have loved you.” There, the electing love of God shines brightest. There Christ bears the wrath due to His people, fulfilling the word, “Yet Jacob have I loved.” The Son of God loved the church and gave Himself for it. He bore their sin, their corruption, their covenant-breaking, and put it away forever by His death. And what of Esau? “Esau have I hated.” There is a solemn warning here. Those outside of Christ remain under God’s just judgment. The cross, which is salvation to the elect, is also the revelation of God’s righteous wrath against sin. Therefore, let us rest wholly upon the electing love of God revealed in Christ crucified. He is the Messenger of the covenant, the Sun of righteousness risen with healing in His wings. His cross is the seal of God’s eternal word: “I have loved you.” Let us approach Him with awe and gratitude, recognizing that nothing in ourselves could ever merit such love. Let us look to Christ alone, Who alone has put away our sin and made us accepted before God. Let us walk in obedience not to earn His favor, but in response to His grace. And may our hearts be ever fixed upon Him, rejoicing that the same Love which elected us from before the foundation of the world has also redeemed us by His blood, preserved us in His mercy, and obtained for us eternal life in His presence ( Romans 9:12).

Revelation 3:11-13 "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Here is a call to steadfastness, a call to hold fast to Christ and His Gospel. It is not a call to look within ourselves for strength, nor to imagine that we can preserve our own faith by sheer willpower. It is the LORD Himself Who comes, the LORD Who sustains, the LORD Who preserves His people. The Gospel is the Word of His patience, the testimony of Christ enduring suffering for His people. He did not shrink back but bore the cross, despising the shame, and now He promises His church that He will not leave them comfortless. He will come. We are reminded that salvation is never conditioned on man but on Christ alone. False religion abounds; it speaks of grace, redemption, even forgiveness, yet subtly shifts its "hope" to something in man. But the Gospel is Christ crucified, His blood, His righteousness accomplished fully at the cross for the redemption, justification, sanctification, and glorification of His elect sheep. It is His patience, His endurance, His finished work at the cross. That is the Word we are called to keep in heart and mind by the Spirit of Grace in us. “Behold, I come quickly.” To the first-century church in Philadelphia, this meant His intervention, His presence in their distress. He is not far removed. Though in glory, His hand is not shortened that it cannot save. He came in judgment upon Jerusalem in A.D. 70, as He said He would. He comes in the Spirit to comfort His people. He comes in providence to deliver them. He comes finally in glory to receive every redeemed sinner into His eternal presence (Revelation 22:3-5) . But in every way, His coming is certain, and it is for the good of His people and the glory of Christ to have everyone for whom He paid their debt, around the throne, saying, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing ," (Revelation 5:12) . The Scriptures remind us that His hand directs all things. Nothing comes but by Christ’s sovereign will. He acts in judgment or He acts in mercy, and His people are never left to themselves. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful… who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will… make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Our strength is not in ourselves. If David fell, or Peter, shall we think we are stronger? Yet God is faithful. He provides the Way of escape—Christ crucified, His blood and righteousness. That is how we bear our guilt, how we stand under trial. Therefore, “hold that fast which thou hast.” What is it that we have? We have Christ Himself. We have His crown of righteousness, His Spirit dwelling within, His promises. We are to fear God above men. “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28). We are a soul, breathed into by God, redeemed by Christ’s blood, sealed by His Spirit. Men can take life, but not Christ’s salvation. That crown of glory cannot be removed, for it was never earned by us and cannot be taken by another. Here lies the assurance of the believer: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… which hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible… reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation” (1 Peter 1:3–5). Not our power, but His. Not our keeping, but His. Eternal security rests not in man’s decision, but in God’s election, Christ’s redemption, and the Spirit’s effectual calling. “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God.” A pillar speaks of permanence, stability, and immovability. Christ places His own upon Himself, the sure Foundation, and they shall go no more out. David prayed, “One thing have I desired of the Lord… that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” (Psalm 27:4). That is the desire of every redeemed soul: to abide in Christ forever, unmoved by winds of doctrine, unshaken by trial, fixed in Him. And here is the sweetest promise: “I will write upon him the name of my God… and my new name.” To be owned by Christ Himself, to be marked as His, to be claimed by Him as His redeemed—that is the highest glory. “ Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine” (Isaiah 43:1). Before we knew Him, He had already redeemed us and God the Father justified us upon completion of His death on the cross. Therefore, He has written His name upon us, declaring to angels and men: these are mine (Hebrews 2:13) . He owns His people as His given family, presenting them before the Father in perfect unity and redemption. Finally, verse 13 concludes: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” This is the Spirit’s call to listen, to receive, to bow to the Word of Christ. The promises are not empty words. The warnings are not idle threats. The Spirit presses these truths upon every hearer. Let us not be deaf to His voice. Let us hear the witness of the Spirit Who always points us to the shed blood unto death of the LORD Jesus, His cross, and His finished work. This is the fourfold reward set before the believer: the promise of Christ’s coming, the promise of safekeeping, the promise of everlasting salvation, and the promise of being owned by Christ Himself. And then the Spirit says—hear Christ, believe Him, hold fast to Him, and rest in Him. So then, let us not fear. Let us not be moved. Let us not take our eyes off the crowning glory of Christ for the perishable things of this world. Trials will come, but they will only reveal what is true. And true faith, given of God, will endure, because Christ endured. “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown… He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Christ has redeemed us. Christ has called us. Christ preserves us. Christ will come for us. All glory be to Him Who was slain, and Who lives forevermore!

Jude 1:10-13 "But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever." Here, the Spirit shows us the end of those who creep in unawares, denying the only LORD God, and our LORD Jesus Christ. Their speech, their ways, and their destiny are set before us. And in every description of them, we see by contrast the glory of Christ crucified, risen, and reigning for His people. “But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.” They are natural men, without the Spirit. As 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” They speak evil of the Gospel. They despise the Truth. They know only what is natural, and in that, they corrupt themselves. But Christ is not a natural man—He is the LORD from heaven, the quickening Spirit, Who makes His people alive unto God. “Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.” Three paths of destruction are here set before us: The way of Cain : In Genesis 4 Cain came before God with the fruit of the ground, the work of his hands. He was sincere, no doubt, but there was no blood. Turnips don’t bleed. “… Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). Abel was accepted because of his offering, and his offering pointed to Christ, the Lamb slain from (since) the foundation of the world. Cain’s way is the way of works-righteousness. To approach God without Christ, without His blood, is to be rejected. But Christ crucified has put away sin by the Sacrifice of Himself. His offering justifies forever those who are sanctified. The error of Balaam: Balaam loved the wages of unrighteousness. He ran greedily after a reward. Balak’s money bought his heart, and he perverted the truth for gain. As 2 Corinthians 11:13–15 declares, “Such are false apostles, deceitful workers… and no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed.” Many run in this way today, preaching for place, applause, and money. But the Gospel of Christ crucified cannot be sold. Salvation is free, purchased with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:19). In Him is the true reward, eternal life with God. The gainsaying of Korah: In Numbers 16:3, Korah and his company rose against Moses and Aaron, saying, “Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy.” But in truth they rebelled against the LORD Himself. Moses represented the law, Aaron the priesthood, both fulfilled in Christ. As Romans 10:4 says, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” And as Hebrews 7:27 teaches, He is the High Priest Who offered Himself once for all. To oppose Christ is certain ruin. The earth opened her mouth and swallowed Korah. So will all perish who rise against Christ’s dominion. “These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots.” They sit among the people of God, but they are blemishes, feeding themselves, not the flock. They promise refreshment, but they are clouds without water . Yet Christ says in John 4:14, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” He is the Fountain of Living Waters. These clouds give nothing, but Christ gives life. They are trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. But Christ says in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.” In Him is Life. In Him His people bear fruit unto God. Apart from Him there is no fruit, only death. These false ones are twice dead, but in Christ His people are alive forevermore. " Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” They are restless like the sea, raging and loud, but what comes forth is only shame. But Christ is no raging wave—He is the Prince of Peace, Who in Mark 4:39 rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, “Peace, be still.” And there was a great calm. He stills the troubled heart of His people. He gives His peace, not as the world gives. They are wandering stars, not fixed, not steady, shining for a moment, then vanishing into darkness. But Christ declares in Revelation 22:16, “I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” He is no wandering star. He is the true Light that never fades, the Sun of Righteousness, of Whom Malachi 4:2 says, “Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.” Those without Him fall into blackness forever, but those in Him walk in Everlasting Light. So here is the contrast: clouds without water, or Christ the Living Water. Fruitless trees, or Christ the True Vine. Raging waves, or Christ the Prince of Peace. Wandering stars, or Christ the Bright and Morning Star. Death, shame, and darkness—or Life, Righteousness, and Eternal Light in Christ. Therefore let us rest not in Cain’s works, nor Balaam’s greed, or Korah’s rebellion. Let us rest in Christ and His finished work of salvation at the cross alone. He is the Just One Who died for the unjust, that He might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). He has silenced the accuser, fulfilled the law, and finished the work. In Him is Righteousness, in Him is Peace, in Him is Life Everlasting. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable Gift (2 Corinthians 9:15).

John 11:25 "Jesus said unto her, I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:" These words were spoken to Martha in the sorrow of her brother’s death. Her heart was heavy, and yet Christ delayed His coming on purpose, knowing He would raise Lazarus. This passage is not simply about a man who had died, but about Christ crucified and risen, the very One Who Himself is the Resurrection and the Life. He is not offering only comfort, but declaring His sovereign authority over death. When Christ came into this world, it was to conquer sin, Satan, the world, and death. He conquered death through His own death, for He laid down His life of Himself, and He rose again (John 10:18). Death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24) . That is true only of Christ. For us, death holds our bodies in the grave, but He is the Resurrection and the Life. Martha said, “I know that He shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24). But Christ points her not to an event, but to Himself. Resurrection is not just future—it is Christ Himself. It is the Person and the finished work of Christ crucified and risen. Salvation is not found in an act of man, nor in religion, but only in Him Who is the Resurrection and the Life. Lazarus could not raise himself. He was four days in the grave. His body stank, and the people knew he was beyond hope. Yet at Christ’s command, he came forth. So it is with sinners—dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) . No sinner can bring himself to life. It is the Sovereign Voice of Christ alone that gives life. As He said in John 5:21, “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.”  Salvation rests entirely in Christ’s will and power. This is why Paul says in Ephesians 2:4–6, “But God, who is rich in mercy… even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ… and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”   When Christ was raised from the grave, all His people were raised with Him. His death was their death. His resurrection was their resurrection. All hope rests in His completed work at the cross and His triumph over the grave. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15:20–22, “Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept… for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”  Christ’s resurrection guarantees the resurrection of His people. If He had not risen, there would be no hope. But the fact that He rose proves that God is satisfied—that every jot and tittle of His holy law has been fulfilled, that sin has been put away, and that death has been conquered (Romans 4:25). And so, when Christ says, “I am the resurrection, and the life,” He is our Assurance. He gives eternal life, and His sheep shall never perish (John 10:28) . Those who believe in Him will never die eternally, because it is the LORD Jesus Who gives life to each one for whom He paid the debt. Their believing in Him is the effect of His gracious Spirit's work in their hearts, and not the cause. At the end of this earthly life for God's redeemed children, physical death is but a passage for them—from this mortal life into the Presence of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:8) . And one day, at the last trumpet, “the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52). This is the victory. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? … Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55–57). May our hearts rest fully on Christ crucified, risen, and reigning—the Resurrection and the Life. In Him alone is Salvation, Assurance, and Eternal Hope.

Ezra 9:6 “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.” Here we see Ezra, the scribe, standing as an intercessor. The people had not separated themselves from the abominations of the nations. They were joined with idolaters, and the elect promised seed was mingled. Ezra heard of this great sin and was astonished. He rent his garment and his mantle, plucked off the hair of his head and his beard, and sat down astonished. At the evening sacrifice, he arose from his heaviness, fell upon his knees, and spread out his hands unto the LORD his God. He said, “O my God, I am ashamed.” He took the sin of the people upon himself. He blushed to lift his face to God, for the iniquities of Israel were over their head, their trespass grown up unto the heavens. Ezra was one man, standing in the place of the guilty, identifying himself with their transgressions. He was a picture of another Intercessor, the true and greater One, our LORD Jesus Christ. Christ did more than rend His garment. His flesh was rent. “They plucked off the hair” (Isaiah 50:6). He was ashamed for His people, bearing their reproach. He carried our iniquities, which were increased over our head. He confessed them as His own, for “the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Ezra stood with torn clothes, but Christ stood with His body broken. Ezra fell upon his knees, but Christ fell beneath the wrath of God. Ezra said, “I am ashamed,” but Christ was “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). Ezra spread out his hands in prayer, but Christ stretched forth His hands on the cross, the evening sacrifice, crying, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The intercession of Ezra was heard, but only in shadow. The intercession of Christ is effectual, for “He ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). Ezra bore the sorrow of sin in type, but Christ bore the sin itself in truth. " For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). When Ezra says, “Our trespass is grown up unto the heavens,” he points us to Calvary, where Christ bore the sins of His people in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24). When Ezra blushes to lift his face, he shows us the shame our Savior endured, when He hid not His face from shame and spitting (Isaiah 50:6). Beloved, we see in Ezra a glimpse of Christ, but only a glimpse. Christ is the true Intercessor, the faithful High Priest, the Sacrifice, and the Altar. His flesh rent, His blood shed, His prayer uttered, His work accomplished. And now, risen and exalted, He is seated, His work completed before the Father, and His very presence there is the intercession (Hebrews 9:24). Let us look not to Ezra, but to Him of whom Ezra testified. “O my God, I am ashamed,” becomes for us the cry of Christ, who bore our shame, that we might never be ashamed before God. Our iniquities increased over our head were laid upon Him, and He put them away forever. Our trespasses grown up unto the heavens were consumed in His finished work. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift!

2 Thessalonians 3:16-18 "Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." Peace comes not from what we do, either from our works, our resolutions, or our worthiness. It comes from the LORD of Peace Himself. Christ is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). As His elect children, He bore our sins, put away our guilt, and established peace with God by His blood. He is the only reason why God is not angry with His people. The warfare is accomplished, and iniquity is pardoned (Isaiah 40:2). This Peace is not something we work up, not something dependent on the will of the flesh, but the sovereign work of God through His Son. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:25). He is the Lamb foreordained before the foundation of the world, and slain at God's appointed time, that His elect might have Peace with God. The Spirit’s work is taking Christ’s blood and cleansing the conscience of believers (Hebrews 10:22) . At the cross:  Christ shed His blood once for all for the justification of His people. In heaven:  That blood was presented (sprinkled) before God as the evidence of Christ’s shed blood unto death as the satisfaction of those sinners that the Father chose and gave to His Son to save by His shed blood. In the believer's experience:  The Holy Spirit sprinkles that blood on the heart, cleansing the conscience and sealing peace with God. Romans 5:1 declares: “Therefore being justified, by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “Therefore being justified” Paul is concluding in chapters 3–4, how that justification is not by works of the law  but by faith in Christ Jesus . To be justified means to be declared righteous before God, not based on anything in us, but solely on the imputed righteousness of Christ, which occurred at the cross. This is not a future hope but a present possession — “being justified”  (a completed act with abiding results). “by faith” Faith is not the cause of justification but the fruit of Christ's finished work at the cross. Faith rests in what Another has accomplished — His obedience and blood are the justification; faith is the revelation of His finished work on the cross. “we have peace with God” Once enemies, under wrath (Romans 1:18; 5:10) , now reconciled. This is not merely a subjective feeling of peace, but an objective reality: the war between God’s justice and the sin of His elect is ended. The Gospel is called the Gospel of Peace because it proclaims what Christ has done. He Himself is our Peace (Ephesians 2:14). At the cross, He broke down the middle wall of partition, making both Jew and Gentile one, reconciling His people unto God in one body. That reconciliation is not temporary or conditional, but eternal. The Peace He gives is Perfect Peace forever! Yet in this world, there will be tribulation. There is trouble in the church. There are conflicts, disagreements, weakness of faith, and even false professors who trouble God’s people. But the LORD uses even this. Trouble in the church is not strange—it is to be expected as long as sinners are gathered together. In this, we are reminded of our own depravity. Like Isaiah, we cry, “ Woe is me, for I am undone” (Isaiah 6:5). Like the publican, we pray, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). And into this world of strife, the LORD of Peace speaks comfort. The Peace that Christ gives is not like the peace of the world, fleeting and fragile, but a Peace through His shed blood unto death. It is a Peace that does not depend on our circumstances but on His finished work. Even when the believer feels his sin, even when he feels unworthy, the Spirit testifies of the blood that has already satisfied divine justice. “The LORD be with you all.” What a comfort! The LORD Himself is with His people. By His Spirit He is our Comforter, our Preserver, our Counselor. He strengthens us in weakness, He guides us into Truth, that points us always to Christ and His cross. He does not leave His people alone. The Old Testament saints had Peace in the Promise of His coming, looking forward to the Christ Who was to come. Since the cross, we have peace in the fulfillment of the Promise, resting in Christ Who has come, Who has suffered once for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). It is the same Peace, the same Salvation, the same Savior. This peace is sovereignly given. Paul does not say, “May you earn peace,” but “The Lord of peace himself give you peace.” It is His gift, His doing, His grace. He gives it freely, and He gives it always. So we who are the objects of God's saving grace in Christ rest in Him. Our Peace is Christ Himself, crucified, risen, and reigning. Our Peace is His blood shed, His righteousness imputed, His intercession unceasing. Our Peace is knowing that He Who began the work will finish it. Our Peace is that the LORD Himself is with us all. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:18). Amen.

Psalm 1 "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish." At the very outset of the Psalms, God sets before us not humanity in general, not believers in particular, but One specific Man—Christ Jesus the LORD. He is the Perfect One, the Just One, the Blessed One in the sight of God. “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17) . The Psalms are not first about us, but about Him. “All things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning Me” (Luke 24:44). Psalm 1 is not moral advice, but a portrait of the Man Who came in flesh, the Man Who is the Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). Blessed is this Man, for He alone walked not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of the scornful. From eternity, He delighted to do His Father’s will (Psalm 40:7-8). “His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth He meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:2). This is Christ. He magnified the law and made it honorable (Isaiah 42:21). He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). The law was never grievous to Him, for He is the One Whose meat and drink was to do the will of Him that sent Him (John 4:34). In every thought, word, and deed, He fulfilled righteousness on behalf of His people. “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water” (Psalm 1:3) . Christ is the Tree of Life. He is the true Vine, and His people are the branches (John 15:1-5). He brings forth fruit in His season—the fruit of His perfect obedience, the fruit of His finished sacrifice, the fruit of a people given Him from eternity. “ All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me” (John 6:37). His leaf does not wither, for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8) . All that He does prospers, for He has accomplished redemption (John 19:30). The ungodly are not so. They are like chaff which the wind drives away (Psalm 1:4) , sinners by nature, unable to stand in the judgment, without righteousness, without hope (Romans 3:10-12) . But Christ stood in the place of His elected ones. He bore their sin, and in Him they are made the Righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). “The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous” (Psalm 1:6). That way is Christ Himself— “ I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6 ). God knows His way because it is His own way, the way of His Son’s obedience unto death. And all who are found in Him are righteous, accepted, and blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). The ungodly shall perish in their way, but the way of the righteous shall stand forever in Christ, the Blessed Man. So we look to Him, rest in Him, and rejoice in Him. He is the Blessed Man, our Mediator, our Surety, our Savior. Blessed is He—and blessed are all who are in Him (Psalm 2:12).

2 Peter 2:10-22 "But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the LORD. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." This solemn chapter reminds us of the danger of false prophets and false preachers. They are religious but lost, men marked by self-glory, self-will, and self-gain. The Word of God describes them as those who " walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, despise government, and are presumptuous and self-willed"  (2 Peter 2:10) . They build empires for themselves, love titles, and speak great swelling words of vanity   (2 Peter 2:18). Yet their promise of liberty is empty, for "they themselves are the servants of corruption" (2 Peter 2:19). Scripture declares they are " wells without water, clouds carried with a tempest, to whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever"   (2 Peter 2:17) . But why are these warnings given to us? So that we might look not to men but to Christ. Were it not for sovereign Grace, we too would be deceived. We would remain entangled in the pollutions of the world. But God, Who foreknew His people and by His Spirit brought them to Christ  (1 Peter 1:2), has multiplied to us grace and peace through the knowledge of the LORD Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:2). Consider the contrast. These men are described as "brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed" (2 Peter 2:12). But Christ—though made a little lower than the angels (Psalm 8:5; Hebrews 2:9) —humbled Himself even to the death of the cross. He, the One Who could have called ten thousand angels to deliver Him (Matthew 26:53) , submitted Himself rather to the Father’s will, laying down His life for His sheep (John 10:15) . He bore the wrath of God in their place, and by His obedience unto death accomplished that perfect Righteousness necessary to satisfy God's Law and Justice. As Paul writes, " He was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). The false preacher feeds on self.  But the true servant of Christ feeds the flock of God, " not for filthy lucre, neither as lords over His heritage, but as examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:2–3). Their testimony is not of self, but of Christ crucified, risen, and reigning. "We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, to the Greeks foolishness, but to them which are called, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:23–24). Notice again the imagery: "wells without water, clouds without rain." They stir up expectation but bring no peace. Why? Because Christ alone is the Well of Living Water. To the Samaritan woman, He declared, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14). Empty preachers cannot give this water. Christ alone satisfies. The warning is pointed and sharp. "It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment" (2 Peter 2:21) . Why? Because to harden oneself against the truth of Christ crucified leads only to deeper darkness. Hearts become Gospel-hardened. " Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts" (Hebrews 3:15). But for those who belong to Christ, there is no perishing. " My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand"   (John 10:27–28). Their sins are put away forever. " As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us"   (Psalm 103:12) . The debt is paid, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to them, and God is forever satisfied. This is the difference: false preachers bring hearers into bondage, but Christ brings liberty for His elect. "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). False teachers lead in darkness, "the blind leading the blind" (Matthew 5:14), but Christ is " the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). So we bless His name. If He has granted us grace to flee from every false refuge and to behold Christ alone, then it this is His Sovereign Mercy and Grace. He is the Shepherd Who feeds His flock, the Well Who never runs dry, the Righteousness in which we are justified forever. " Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood… to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" (Revelation 1:5–6).

Proverbs 14:34 "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." When we speak of a righteous nation, we are not speaking of earthly kingdoms built on morals or outward order. No nation in this world has ever been made up of citizens who are perfectly righteous before God. Even Israel of old, though called holy, was only a shadow of something greater. The true nation that is exalted is a spiritual nation — a people chosen of God, redeemed by Christ, and born of His Spirit (1 Peter 2:9). Who are these righteous ones? They are not those who work out their own righteousness or rely on the law. They are those whom God the Father has declared righteous through the righteousness that His Son earned and established in His spotless, sinless life, and laid down that life as the spotless Lamb of God to redeem each one that the Father sent Him to save. Christ, Who knew no sin, was made sin for His people, that they might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). On the cross, He bore the guilt of those given to Him by the Father. He accomplished their redemption, satisfied Divine justice, and clothed them in His own perfect obedience (Romans 5:9-11). This is why righteousness truly exalts that spiritual nation for whom Christ died and God the Father justified. Not morality, not human effort, but the Righteousness of God worked out perfectly for each of the elect sinners for whom He died. In Him, the wrath of God has been turned away. In Him, the guilty are declared justified. In Him, the condemned are set free. And this righteous nation is not limited by borders or bloodlines. God promised Abraham a great nation, and that promise was fulfilled not in physical Israel, but in Christ and His seed (Galatians 3:16). Out of every tribe, tongue, and people, God calls a holy nation, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) . Christ is their King, and His honor is magnified by the multitude of His willing subjects who serve Him in the day of His power (Psalm 110:3) What marks the citizens of this kingdom? They honor their King with willing hearts. They have been given an understanding that is not natural, but the gift of Christ through His Spirit (1 John 5:20). Their hearts, once dead and deceitful, have been made sound by grace. They are merciful, for they know the mercy of God in Christ. They are delivered from the evil one, for at the cross the prince of this world was cast out, and Christ prayed that His redeemed are kept from the wicked one (John 17). They walk in wisdom, guided by His Spirit. And in death they have hope, for Christ in them is the Hope of glory. This is the glory of Christ’s people — not their works, not their efforts, but His righteousness. If we try to work out our own righteousness, it will end in failure and reproach. But in Christ, justification and sanctification are complete, and the believer stands perfect before God. "For by one offering, He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). And so the citizens of this holy nation serve their King faithfully, as wise servants under His favor. They serve not in fear, but in grace, knowing that His wrath is satisfied and His mercy is sure. What a blessed kingdom in which to dwell —to be born of the Spirit, to be joined to Christ, to have Him as Head and King. Here is the great call of the Gospel: Look to Christ. Trust Him alone. In Him is righteousness, in Him is Life, in Him is Peace. He is the exalted King, the sovereign Redeemer, and the Righteousness of His people.