Isaiah 6:1-5 "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." Here, Isaiah, the LORD's prophet, is brought face to face with His majesty, holiness, and sovereignty. The earthly throne of Judah had been emptied by the sudden death of Uzziah, but the heavenly throne remained unmoved and forever occupied by the Eternal King. This vision is not merely historical; it is Christ Himself Whom Isaiah beheld, as John testifies, “These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him”   (John 12:41). Isaiah is laid low by this clear revelation of Christ in all His majesty as the Eternal God, before His appointed time to come to the earth to pay the sin debt of His people. So glorious is the LORD Jesus that the holy angels veil their faces before Him, declaring, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”   In the light of such holiness, Isaiah is undone, confessing, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips.” This passage brings us to the heart of the Gospel: before the glory of Christ, every sinner is exposed, ruined, and silenced; but it is this same LORD, high and exalted, Who in sovereign mercy and grace reveals His cleansing work through the altar, pointing us to the finished work of Christ on Calvary's cross. Therefore, Isaiah’s vision is both a humbling revelation of the sinner's ruin in the fall of Adam, but also the gracious foreshadowing of redemption in Christ Jesus, the Last Adam, Who came and earned and established that Righteousness necessary for God to be just and justify those whom He ordained to salvation from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-7) as the King of glory. Earthly leaders rise and fall, seasons of life change, and even what once seemed strong and secure collapses—there is one reality that never changes: Christ is on the throne. He is not merely a figurehead king, with a throne of pomp and circumstance and empty ceremony or fragile power. It is the Throne of the Eternal Son of God, ruling in holiness, majesty, and grace. To see Him as He truly is shatters the sinner's pride, humbles the heart, and yet also gives Hope, because this Holy King is also the Merciful Savior. The death of King Uzziah marked the end of an era for Israel. He was a capable and prosperous ruler under God's providential Hand, but his story ended in pride and judgment. He presumed to take upon himself what only the priests were consecrated to do, and God struck him with leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:16–21) . What a sobering picture: a man who began well, prospered greatly, and yet fell under the weight of his own pride. It is against that backdrop that Isaiah says, “I saw also the Lord.” When the earthly king fell, Isaiah saw the heavenly King—Christ Himself, high and exalted on His throne of glory. The glory that filled the temple was none other than the glory of Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God. The scene around the throne is awe-inspiring. There stand the seraphim, crying out, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory”  (Isaiah 6:3). God’s holiness is not merely one attribute among many—it is His glorious attribute from which all of His other attributes flow, like the hub of a wheel from which all the other attributes are aligned: His Grace, Mercy, Justice, and Wrath. He is holy in His love, holy in His justice, holy in His sovereignty, holy in all that He is. He is so Holy that even the sinless angels hide their faces before Him. Job 15:15 tells us : " Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints [holy angels] ; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight" What happens when Isaiah sees this? He is not lifted in pride for having received this vision of Christ. Nor in response does He offer up any supposed "good works". No, he cries out, “Woe is me! for I am undone”  (Isaiah 6:5). This is always the result when God opens a sinner’s eyes to His glory. They are brought low, stripped of any pride, and all self-reliance crumbles. Like Paul, we will count all our works as loss and dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ (Philippians 3:8). This is the work of sovereign grace—God showing us Who He is, and in that Light, showing us who we are. But the vision does not end with despair. A seraph flies to Isaiah with a live coal from the altar and touches it to his lips, saying, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged”  (Isaiah 6:7). What mercy! What grace! The very holiness that should have condemned Isaiah now brings cleansing. That altar, with its burning sacrifice, points to the cross of Christ. It is there—at Calvary—that sin was purged, and every elect sinner justified before God (Hebrews 1:3). It is there that Christ, our Great High Priest, did not bring incense, nor the blood of animals, but His own blood. “Once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself”  (Hebrews 9:26). Only Christ can make unclean lips clean. Only Christ can remove the guilt that overwhelms us before a holy God. Notice that Isaiah did not purify himself. He didn’t reach for the coal. He didn’t cleanse his own lips, nor appropriate it to himself. God sent the coal. God declared him clean. Salvation is of the LORD, from beginning to end. As Paul reminds us, “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy”  (Romans 9:16). This is the Gospel: the King upon His throne is also the Lamb upon the altar. The One before Whom angels veil their faces is the same One Who humbled Himself to die for sinners elected by God and given to Him. The vision that undoes us is also the vision that delivers us from fear of condemnation, because Christ bore the wrath we deserved as His people and gave us His righteousness in return. What then do we do when we see Him? We bow. We confess. And we cling to Christ alone. Apart from Him, all our works are like King Uzziah’s incense—presumptuous, unclean, unacceptable. But in Him, we are accepted, forgiven, and clothed in a righteousness not our own but that which the Father imputed to our spiritual account upon completion of His work on the cross. Isaiah saw the LORD in majesty, and he saw himself undone. But then he saw redemption and reconciliation through the blood of the sacrifice. That is sovereign grace. That is the gospel of Christ. And that is our Hope today, tomorrow, and forever. “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood… to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen”  (Revelation 1:5–6).

John 8:31-36 "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." The LORD ordains our times and our seasons. Every moment, every turn of our path, every change of circumstance is governed by His wise and sovereign Hand. That truth alone brings rest to the souls of His elect, redeemed, justified, and called-out children. If we are His, then it is because He has set His love upon us, and even the winding roads, the ups and downs, and the unexpected detours are led by Him according to His eternal purpose. And the hub or center of that purpose is Christ—the One Who makes His people free indeed. When Jesus spoke to the Jews in John 8 , He met a people who thought themselves already free. They were Abraham’s natural seed, religious, privileged, outwardly prosperous. Yet our LORD exposed their bondage: “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin… If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:34, 36). What men call freedom is often merely slavery in disguise. Wealth, health, pleasure, morality, even religion—all can bind the soul in chains. True freedom is not found in ourselves, nor in our works, nor in any earthly security. It is found only in the Christ, the Eternal Son of God Who came in the flesh to redeem His chosen spiritual Israel (Galatians 3:14). Christ Himself is the Truth that makes us free. To know Him is not merely to assent with the mind but to be taught of the Spirit in the heart. The Gospel is not an invitation to try harder or to add our effort to His. The Gospel is the Revelation of what God has accomplished in His Son—at Calvary, once for all, in "wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). The righteousness He earned and established is not ours by attainment, but God’s righteousness, worked out and obtained by Christ alone and His finished work on the cross, whereby He cried, "It is finished” (John 19:30). How freeing it is to rest in this! Religion tells us to keep striving, praying more, doing more, to clean ourselves up. But Christ declares, “It is finished.” The Truth sets us free from the endless treadmill of self-righteousness. It frees us from condemnation, from the burden of trying to make ourselves acceptable to God. In Him, the sinner finds peace—peace that cannot be shaken by shifting circumstances or stolen by the accusations of conscience. And this freedom is not abstract or uncertain. It is as real and solid as the death and resurrection of Christ. When He died, His people died with Him. When He rose, His people rose with Him. God has accepted His Son, and because He has accepted the Son, He has accepted all who are in Him. That is freedom. That is rest. Paul writes in Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” The liberty of the believer is not fragile, nor dependent on our feelings or our "faithfulness." It rests entirely on Christ’s faithfulness. He is the Son Who abides forever, and in Him we abide forever. This is why the Gospel is not a system of rules, ceremonies, or obligations. It is Christ Himself. It is His Person, His work, His finished redemption. Apart from Him, we would have remained slaves—slaves to sin, slaves to self, slaves to unbelief, slaves to dead works and the condemnation of the law. But in Him, we are adopted as sons, heirs of God, freemen in the household of Grace. This is the sovereign work of Almighty God. From all of fallen humanity, He appointed the salvation of a chosen people. He accomplished it through His Son, Who came in the flesh to fulfill every one of His just demands. In time, He reveals what was already obtained once and for all on the cross. The Son has made His people free— not half-free, not temporarily free, but free indeed. Let us then rest in Him. Let us not be drawn away by the noise of religion or the allure of this world’s false freedoms. Let us not build houses built on sand of our own works or morality. Instead, let us bow in thankfulness before the Son Who did it all. For in Him we are free—truly, eternally, and gloriously free. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Psalm 2 "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." Psalm 2 is a Gospel Psalm. In just twelve verses, the Spirit of God sets before us the glory of Christ the King, the certainty of His reign, and the vanity of all who oppose Him. If ever we needed a clear picture of our natural condition and of God’s gracious provision in His Son, we find it here. The Psalm begins with a question that echoes through every age: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” This is not an isolated rebellion, confined to one place or one time. It is the universal condition of fallen man. The kings of the earth, the rulers of nations, and the people themselves rise up together in defiance against the LORD. This is not merely history, nor is it only the story of “others.” It is our story. Apart from Grace, we are found in this very company — imagining vain things, resisting His rule, and refusing His yoke. But notice the futility of such rebellion. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision." Men conspire, Satan rages, nations plot, but God is not unsettled. He is seated. He reigns in calm sovereignty. The defiance of the world does not move Him, nor does it frustrate His purpose. " And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" (Daniel 4:35) . Here in this Psalm He declares, “Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion.” No matter the opposition, Christ shall reign. This Psalm lifts our eyes to see the decree of God concerning His Son: “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” These words cannot be confined to David or any earthly king. The apostles in Acts 13:33 understood them to speak of Christ Jesus, raised from the dead and declared to be the Son with Power. At Calvary, men thought to silence Him, but the Truth is that they were accomplishing the very will of God. All the while they were doing their will, they could do nothing more or less than what God had ordained should be done, Acts 4:28. In the resurrection, the Father vindicated the Son and gave Him elect sinners from all nations for His inheritance and the ends of the earth for His possession. The One Who was despised and rejected is now exalted and enthroned. The Psalm then gives us a sobering picture: “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” This is the certainty of Christ’s rule. He will not be ignored, and He will not be set aside. Every enemy will be subdued, either in judgment or in grace. We see revealed here the unshakable authority and final triumph of Christ over all who oppose His reign. The imagery of the rod of iron  speaks of unyielding, irresistible power—Christ’s rule is not fragile nor uncertain, but firm, righteous, and invincible. The nations and kings that rage against Him are compared to a potter’s vessel , easily shattered and unable to resist His judgment. The contrast is striking: man’s proudest strength is but brittle clay before the dominion of the Lord’s Anointed. Spiritually, this verse warns every soul of the futility of resisting Christ’s authority. He is set as King upon the holy hill of Zion, and all rebellion will be crushed. Yet, for His people, this same iron rod is their security, for it defends them against every adversary and guarantees the final victory of His kingdom. Christ said, "I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," (Matthew 16:18). Thus, the verse both terrifies the proud and comforts the humble: to those who are brought to submit by His Grace and Power, His reign is peace; to those who rebel, it is sure destruction. This brings us to the Psalm’s closing appeal: “Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” Here the Gospel is pressed upon us with urgency. To “kiss the Son” is not to give Him a token acknowledgment, nor to offer Him a mere profession, but to bow in heartfelt surrender. It is to lay down our arms of rebellion, to take sides with God against ourselves, and to trust wholly in Christ — in His shed blood for the sins of His elect, in His perfect righteousness worked out on their behalf, and in His finished work that fully satisfied divine justice for them. How gracious of God to end this Psalm, not with wrath, but with blessing. Though the nations rage, though our hearts by nature are filled with enmity, yet the Spirit of God calls us to Christ. “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” Blessed, because in Him there is safety from judgment. Blessed, because in Him there is peace with God. Blessed, because in Him every promise of God is “Yea and Amen.” Here, then, is the heart of the Gospel: our rebellion exposed, God’s sovereign decree declared, Christ crucified and risen, and the call to Christ in faith and submission. The raging of man is real, but it is vain. The decree of God is sure, and His King reigns. And for poor, needy sinners like us, there is a Refuge: " Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." So let us bow today before this exalted Son. Not with the kiss of Judas, not with the kiss of empty profession, but with the kiss of Faith and Love, given from hearts that God Himself has turned from rebellion to worship. May Christ be precious to us again and again, and may we rejoice that He reigns as our Savior and our King.

Job 2:10 "But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips." Job’s world had collapsed in a matter of moments. His wealth was gone, his children taken, his body covered with sores, and even his wife urged him to curse God and die. Yet in the midst of all this darkness, Job’s response was not bitterness or rebellion but a steady confession of trust in God and His sovereignty in every detail. His words cut against the natural thoughts of the flesh. Only by the God-given Faith in Christ can one see the sovereign Hand of God directing all things and do so with joy, no matter how difficult the hardship. Job’s suffering was beyond what most of us can imagine. He acknowledged that all things—both comfort and trial—come from the sovereign Hand of God. This echoes what we hear later in Scripture: “Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?” (Amos 3:6). Even in affliction, Job teaches us that God’s purposes are never shaken. In  this, Job becomes a faint shadow of Christ Himself. Though a man, Job in his suffering points us to the One Who was more than a man. Jesus Christ, Who came in the flesh, and though He is God, He endured every kind of suffering. In His humanity, He hungered. He thirsted and grew weary. He was tempted by Satan, and He was afflicted not only in body but also in soul, as He bore the sins of His people. “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4). Like Job, Christ did not sin with His lips. In His greatest trial—the cross—He did not curse His Father but entrusted Himself to Him. Isaiah 53 tells us, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7) . Even when mocked, betrayed, and crucified, He held fast His integrity and remained the faithful Substitute for His people. Job’s words remind us that affliction is not outside of God’s hand . Satan can only go as far as God ordains. The boils on Job’s skin, the insults of his wife, the schemes of his adversary—none of these were outside the sovereign purpose and will of God. And so it was with Christ. The cross was no accident, no victory of Satan. It was the will of the Father: “It pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10). So where do we draw strength when trials come? The same place Job did, and the same place Christ did— in the fellowship of the Father, by the Spirit, and in the assurance that God’s purpose cannot fail. Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30). That cry is all our Hope of salvation. Because He held fast till the end, we who are in Him will never be forsaken. As Paul reminds us, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). When we feel the weight of affliction, when our body is weak or our heart is weary, we remember this: Christ has already endured the greater suffering for us. Job could say, “Shall we not receive evil from the hand of God?” but Christ went further—He received the wrath of God that we deserved, so that we might receive grace upon grace. “ For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Let us then look to Him. In trials, He is the One Who holds us and keeps us, even when we are too weak to hold to Him. In suffering, we do not despair but by His grace draw near to Him. And in all things, let us confess with Job—and even more with Christ—that our God is faithful. “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15). That was the confidence that the LORD had in His Father in the crucible of God's wrath. And when He was completely tried to the satisfaction of the Father, He came forth as gold (Job 23:10) , and that for the salvation of His people. He Who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, will surely work all things—whether in affliction or in abundance—for the everlasting good of His redeemed (Romans 8:32-35). May we then, like Job, rest our souls in the sovereign Hand of our Redeemer, knowing that His purpose is perfect, His mercy unfailing, and His glory certain.

Revelation 1:5 “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”   What a beautiful Scripture that declares the majesty and mercy of the LORD Jesus Christ: Here, the Spirit sets forth the Person of Christ in ALL His glory. He is set before us not only as the Eternal Son in His Glorious splendor, but also as the Mediator Who has stooped in redeeming love to save those sinners that the Father elected and gave Him to save, even before the foundation of the world. We see Him here crowned as Prophet, Priest, and King. As Prophet, He is the faithful Witness Who perfectly declared the will of God; as Priest, He is the Firstborn from the dead who triumphed over the grave; and as King, He is revealed as the sovereign Ruler over every throne and dominion. Yet, beyond all His titles and honors, this verse presses into our hearts this sweetest truth: that the One enthroned in glory is the same Who loved us and delivered us from our sins by the costly price of His precious blood. Notice, the inspired Word does not say “and CAN wash away our sins,” but, “WASHED AWAY”  [past tense, once for all]. What comfort then can those for whom Christ died draw from this truth?   1.)    This is the grace of God through the death of the LORD Jesus. Those whose sins Christ washed away by His shed blood were loved from eternity and given to Christ for whom He came to earn and establish that righteousness satisfactory to God the Father on their behalf,   "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine" (John 17:9).   2.)    The washing away of sins is wholly attributed to the LORD Jesus alone. It is not a cooperation between Christ and the sinner, but “unto HIM that hath loved us, and washed away our sins…”   3.)    How and by what means He washed away sins was with His blood shed unto death. Christ’s blood and the sins of God’s elect went away together. They were not put away from eternity, because there was not yet any sin in eternity, and no body to shed the blood in eternity, contrary to those who preach ‘justification from eternity' as if the elect were always justified in God's decree. The Truth of Scripture is that their justification was purposed in eternity, but only accomplished in time, at the cross when our LORD Jesus cried victoriously, “It is finished.”   ( John 19:30 )   The whole of salvation (redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, and justification) is attributed to Christ’s blood shed unto death, because, “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.”  ( Hebrews 9:22 ) The sum of this is that Jesus Christ, by His one Offering on the cross, TOOK AWAY (put an end to, blotted out and destroyed) all the sins of His people forever, " By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" ( Hebrews 10:10). " For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). Those God the Father loved from eternity, HE JUSTIFIED COMPLETELY when the LORD Jesus paid their sin debt and presented them just and holy without spot before God when He arose from the grave and ascended on High, "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" (Ephesians 2:5).  This Truth reveals the perfections of the LORD Jesus through one radiant, glorious Light. As the Truth, He is the Faithful Witness. His triumph as the Firstborn from the dead, His sovereignty as Prince of the kings of the earth, and His tender, saving love in shedding His own blood for sinners shine forth in ALL His Glory. To behold Him as He is by the Spirit of God is to be drawn in worship, to rest in His redeeming grace, and to live under His royal dominion with joy. When the Spirit of God reveals Christ in the heart of each elect, saved sinner, it is not when they believe that their sins are forgiven, but rather when they believe on Him Who paid their sin debt, having put away their sin, and justified them already at the cross. Glorious Truth! Glorious Salvation! Glorious Redeemer!  Let every redeemed heart echo the song of heaven: “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, be glory and dominion for ever and ever.”

Daniel 9:25-27 "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." Here Daniel is told of the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed One. Five hundred years before Christ walked this earth, God revealed that His Son, the Savior, would come—and not only come, but be “cut off, but not for Himself.” The Messiah would lay down His life, not for His own sin, but for His people. This is the meaning of Christ’s title—Messiah. In Hebrew, Mashiach means “the Anointed One.” In Greek, Christos. Jesus the Christ is Jesus the Anointed One—anointed as Prophet to reveal God’s Word, as Priest to offer Himself as the Sacrifice to God, and as King to rule forever. Notice in verse 25, Daniel is told: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince…” The Messiah is revealed as a Prince. Not just any prince, but the Prince of Life, the Prince of Glory. And Daniel is told that in the midst of His coming, the Messiah would be “cut off.” That is the cross. Christ crucified. But verse 27 says: “He shall confirm the covenant with many.” Through His death, He sealed the everlasting covenant in His own blood. He brought reconciliation for iniquity, and He made an end of sins. What no priest in the temple could do by endless sacrifices, Christ accomplished once for all by His own offering. This is why the woman at the well in John 4 could say: “I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.” And Jesus answered her, “I that speak unto thee am He.” The Messiah foretold in Daniel was standing right before her. And He still comes near to us today, not waiting for us to climb up to Him, but meeting us where we are, revealing Himself as the great I AM. So when we read Daniel 9, we see God’s providence working from eternity. The cross was no accident, no tragic twist in history. It was the very heart of God’s purpose. Christ was cut off—but not for Himself. He was cut off for that people that God the Father had chosen before time and who, in the fulness of the time, God the Father sent forth to be His Sacrifice for the sins of elect sinners from every tribe, nation and tongue. Let us take comfort in this: our sins are finished, reconciliation has been made, everlasting righteousness has been brought in. This is the Messiah’s work. And so we bow before Him—Prophet, Priest, and King—and say with joy, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Let us honor Christ the Messiah: the One promised, the One revealed, the One crucified and risen, the One wWo will return to bring all things to their consummation. All Scripture points to Him. All of God’s promises are Yea and Amen in Him (2 Corinthians 1:20).

James 5:7 "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain." The apostle calls the LORD'S people to a steadfast patience, not in their own strength, but resting upon the sovereign purpose of God. Just as the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, knowing it comes in due season by the LORD’s rain and sunshine, so the believer waits for Christ’s appearing, trusting that every trial and delay is governed by His sovereign hand. In sovereign grace, we are reminded that the same God Who planted His Word in our hearts will surely bring forth the harvest in His appointed time. Patience, then, is not passive, but a confident endurance rooted in the certainty that the LORD is faithful, and His promises cannot fail. Patience is hard for us because by nature our hearts are restless and proud. Yet James directs our eyes away from ourselves and on to Christ. He does not say, “Endure in your own strength,” but “unto the coming of the Lord.” The call to patience is really a call to fix our gaze on Christ—Who has come, Who is with us now, and Who is coming again. Consider the picture James gives: “Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain” (James 5:7). The farmer waits for what he cannot yet see. In the same way, we wait for Christ, Who is the true harvest. He is the “precious fruit” for whom our souls long. Just as the farmer depends on rain from heaven, so we depend entirely on Christ’s grace poured out upon us. When affliction comes, our comfort is this: Christ has already endured all things for His people. “Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God » (Hebrews 12:2) . He bore the judgment we deserve, and now He reigns. To be patient is not to grit our teeth and wait—it is to rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. James tells us, “Establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (James 5:8). Christ is not far off. His coming is certain. He comes in judgment against the wicked, but for His people, His coming is salvation, mercy, and joy. Even now, He is near, upholding us in every trial, directing every circumstance for our good. Nothing touches us except through His hand. Think of Job. His suffering was bitter, yet through it he confessed: “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” (Job 19:25 ). That Redeemer is Christ. Job’s Hope was not in relief from pain, but in the living Christ Who would stand for him. Think of David in Psalm 73. Troubled by the prosperity of the wicked, his heart was stirred to envy—until he entered the sanctuary and saw Christ, the true Priest, the true Offering for sin. Then he could say, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee… God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever » (Psalm 73:25–26). So when James says, “Be patient,” he means: look to Christ. Look to the One Who has loved you, Who has suffered for you, Who has redeemed you. Look to the One Who intercedes for you now, Who upholds you by His Spirit, and Who will soon come again for you. Whether at the end of time or in the lifetime of the believer, the LORD Jesus is coming for His own. "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8) . For those of us who are children of God by His electing grace, Christ Himself is our Patience, our Strength, and our Hope. So let us wait like the farmer, looking for the coming harvest. Let us endure with joy, knowing that “yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Hebrews 10:37). “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord" (James 5:7) . And in that patience, let us rest in Christ—our Redeemer, our Portion, our coming King.

Song of Solomon 5:1  "I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved." In this Scripture, the Spirit of God paints a beautiful, sacred picture where Christ, the heavenly Bridegroom, gathers with delight in the garden that is His church. He declares, “I am come into my garden,” for the redeemed people are His own planting, watered by His Spirit and enclosed by His grace. All the sweet fragrances—myrrh with its soothing bitterness, wine with its gladdening strength, milk with its nourishing fullness, and honey with its satisfying sweetness—find their substance in Him. He is Himself the Treasure and the Feast of His people, and His Presence is both the Life of the garden and the Joy of the banquet. This verse beckons us to behold how Christ delights in His church, and how His people, in turn, are called to partake of Him in all His rich sufficiency. Christ Himself is typified as entering into His garden—His church, His people, His possession. The garden is not the world in general, nor a common gathering, but those whom the Father has given to the Son in His eternal purpose of salvation (John 17:2) . Christ comes with delight to fellowship with His own. Notice how He speaks: “I am come into my garden.”  The church belongs to Him. We are His, not by our choosing, but because He purchased us with His blood. And He does not come reluctantly—He comes gladly, as the Bridegroom Who loves His bride. He says, “I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.”  In the days of feasts, ointments and perfumes were prepared for guests. So it is with Christ: He anoints His people with the fragrance of His Person and work, making them accepted before Him. We have no sweetness of our own, no perfume to offer, except what He gives. All our graces are His gift, and yet He delights in as His own. His blood shed unto death is the sweet savor (2 Corinthians 2:15,16). Then he adds, “I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey.”   Christ is Himself the Bread of Life. His work and His Person are sweet beyond compare. As the psalmist says, “O taste and see that the LORD is good”  (Psalm 34:8) . In Him we find food for our souls, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Again, “I have drunk my wine with my milk.”   Wine and milk in Scripture represent joy and nourishment, the richness of the Gospel. Wine reminds us of His blood shed unto death. Milk points to His purity and the sustaining power of His righteousness. Together, they show us Christ as our Life—our Meat and Drink, our Sustenance and Satisfaction (John 6:55-56) . He is the true Feast. And then the Gospel call to His friends, “Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.”   Here Christ speaks to His bride, those He calls friends. He bids us come and partake, not sparingly, but abundantly. The fellowship He offers is not a dry ritual, but a love feast, overflowing with joy in His presence. This is the heart of Christian fellowship—not merely a common meal, not just conversation, but communion with Christ Himself. He calls us to eat and drink of Him, to believe on Him, to rest in Him alone. As Isaiah 55 says: “Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”  It is all freely given, for it is all of Him. The Gospel is Christ Himself. To eat of Him and to drink of Him is to believe on Him and none other. He is the Feast. He is the Table. He is the Wine and the Milk, the Honeycomb and the Bread. And His Gospel call stands even now: “Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.” So let us come with joy. Let us not seek another garden, nor another table, but delight in the fellowship of the One Who loved us, Who calls us friends, and Who laid down His life for us.

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 "For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God; Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith? Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 3 lift our eyes straight to Christ, the only Substance of true Faith and the Object of every true prayer. He reminds us that all joy, thanksgiving, and perseverance flow not from what we do, but from what Christ has done. When Paul says, “For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God” (vv. 9–10 ), he is rejoicing in the fruit of Christ’s satisfactory death on the cross, and His resurrection life for His people (Romans 5:10). Christ is the reason Paul prays, Christ is the Object of their faith, and Christ is the Holiness by which they stand unblameable before God (Colossians 1:22). Everything begins, continues, and ends with Him—the Alpha and the Omega, the Lamb slain from or since the foundation of the world, Who even now intercedes for His elect at the right hand of God, seated in glory having finished the work at the cross (Revelation 13:8; Romans 8:34). Paul desires that their Faith be strengthened as its Object—Christ Himself—is more clearly seen. True faith is never content in itself. It looks outward, to the Son of God Who loved us and gave Himself for us (Galatians 2:20) . This is the essence of sovereign grace: that God purposed our salvation before the world began, accomplished it in Christ at the cross, and brings it to light through the preaching of the Gospel, and the revelation of Christ by the Spirit. As Paul told Timothy, “God… hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:9–10). Paul prays that God Himself—our Father and our LORD Jesus Christ—would direct their way and establish them in His Love and Holiness. This is not a holiness that springs from us, for “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6) . Rather, it is that holiness that is Christ Himself—imputed, finished, and perfect. When Paul longs that they be “unblameable in holiness before God” (v. 13) , he points them to the only One on which any sinner can stand—the righteousness of God revealed in Christ, revealed in the Gospel (Romans 1:16–17). This prayer is also born of joy. Paul rejoices not in what men have done, but in what God has done by His grace. It is God Who gives Faith, Love, and Hope in the Person and work of the LORD Jesus, His Son (1 Thessalonians 1:2–3). Paul’s thanksgiving is directed heavenward: “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15). True joy flows from seeing Christ formed in His people. Paul knows that the LORD Who began that good work in His elect will perform it until the day of Christ (Philippians 1:6). And so he pleads that their hearts be kept steady, established upon that Rock which cannot move. Christ is that Rock. He is our Righteousness, our Sanctification, our Redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). This is how we are to pray for one another: not merely for earthly ease, but that we may grow in love, be knit together in Christ, and stand firm in His righteousness until He comes for us, either in taking us in death, or resurrected in the clouds of glory at His second coming. May we then echo Paul’s words, asking that the LORD would cause us to “increase and abound in love one toward another” (v. 12) , and above all, that He would keep our hearts fixed on Christ, unblameable in His holiness, at the coming of our LORD Jesus with all His saints. All other ground is sinking sand, but in Christ—the Surety of His people—we are complete. (Colossians 2:10)

2 Kings 12:17-21 "Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem. And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla. For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead." Here we read of King Jehoash—preserved in his youth by God’s providence, instructed under Jehoiada the priest, and used by the LORD to restore the temple. At first glance, his reign looked promising, almost as if he truly belonged to the LORD. Yet when Hazael, king of Syria, threatened Jerusalem, Jehoash did not turn to the LORD. Instead, he took the holy treasures of God’s house and offered them as a bribe for his own safety (2 Kings 12:18). This was a deadly compromise. How solemn this is. Outward reform does not equate to an inward work of the Spirit. Jehoash could rebuild what Athaliah destroyed, but his heart remained unchanged, because only the Spirit of Grace can turn the heart to the LORD (Titus 3:5). When the test came, he chose self-preservation over trust in the living God. It is a reminder of Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal (Hebrews 12:16–17) . Outward privilege and nearness to the things of God mean nothing if the heart is not bound to Christ by grace. Our Hope is not in our perseverance, but in the preserving power of Christ. “He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Those who are His cannot finally be lost, for He has borne their sin, every sin, upon the cross. As the psalmist declares, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). This is why the unpardonable sin cannot be committed by the redeemed: Christ has paid it all. It is not our resolve that saves us, but His blood shed unto death, resurrection and ascension on High where He ever lives to intercede for each sinner for whom He died and paid their complete sin debt. Remember how Jesus said, “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). Yet, the story of Jehoash warns us. When Jehoiada the priest died, Jehoash quickly turned to idolatry (2 Chronicles 24:17–18). Without the faithful priest, his heart wandered. How we need our Great High Priest , the LORD Jesus Christ. Without Him, we too would turn aside. “Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered” (Zechariah 13:7). Yet Christ was smitten for those that the Father gave Him from eternity to come in the flesh and lay down His life for them. When He rose again, it was to ascend back to His Father and now to gather each of His redeemed ones to Himself by His Spirit. This narrative of Joash’s reign is a solemn reminder that no earthly king, no matter how outwardly zealous, can secure the true peace of God’s people. Though spared from the Syrians by the providence of God, Joash fell under judgment, betrayed and slain by his own servants. His story underscores the frailty of man, the deceitfulness of the heart, and the inevitability of God's justice. Yet beyond the shadows of Judah’s history shines the glorious Light of Christ, the true King, who, unlike Joash, was not slain for His own sins, but willingly laid down His life as the Substitute for His people. He was “wounded for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5), and by His death He obtained the Eternal Redemption that no power of devils or men can undo (Hebrews 9:12). In Him alone is salvation from God's wrath, and in Him alone is the Hope of glory. While Joash’s reign ended in death and dishonor, nevertheless, the reign of Christ is established forever in righteousness, grace, and truth—an unshakable kingdom of sovereign mercy to all His redeemed ones (Hebrews 12:28). May we never lean on the arm of the flesh—whether that of others or our own—but continually look to Christ, who alone is the Righteousness and Justification of His people. When enemies surrounded Stephen, he lifted his eyes to heaven and saw “Jesus standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55). By grace, he did not compromise, for the Spirit of Christ directed his gaze to rest on the LORD Jesus alone. May the LORD keep our hearts steadfastly fixed on Him, knowing that unchecked compromise leads to destruction, but that those who belong to Christ are preserved by His keeping grace. All of God’s delight is in His Son—and in Him, sinners redeemed by His blood and righteousness can never fall away into perdition (Hebrews 10:39).

Esther 4:15-17 "Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him." In this God inspired portion of His Holy Word, we are confronted with one of the most sobering declarations in all of Scripture: “If I perish, I perish.” Esther, though queen, was brought to the end of herself. She could no longer remain silent in the face of Haman’s decree for the destruction of her people. And yet, this is more than a story about Esther—it is about the God Who rules and overrules all things in His world, and Whose will is always done. Our Savior taught us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). That is not a plea for God’s will to begin, but a confession that His sovereign will is already ruling and will always be accomplished. In this scene, we see Mordecai as a type of Christ, interceding, directing, and protecting, while Esther pictures the church, often fearful and hesitant. Mordecai urged her not to think she could escape by hiding, reminding her that her life was bound up with her people. So it is with us: we cannot hide from the cost of being identified with Christ. Our LORD said, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24) . Esther’s words— “If I perish, I perish” —echo that cross-bearing spirit of submission to the will of God. What courage was required! Yet it was not courage found in herself, but the grace of God working in her. Left to ourselves, we shrink back. But Christ sustains His church. Hebrews 11 speaks of those who “were stoned… sawn asunder… slain with the sword” and yet endured by faith (Hebrews 11:37). Why? Because the will of God cannot fail, and His promises cannot be broken. Esther’s stand was not just about her own survival, but about the preservation of God’s covenant people—from whom the Messiah would come. Christ the Savior and Promised Seed was in view even then (Genesis 3:15). Unlike Esther, who asked others to fast for her, Christ fasted and suffered for His people that the Father had chosen in electing grace and placed in His Almighty Hand as the Mediator and Surety. He faced all the powers of evil in the world, sin, Satan, and even God's just and inflexible law, which could only condemn. Yet, He bore it all away, that upon completing His work, He redeemed His people and entered into the presence of His Father. He did not perish in defeat but triumphed in resurrection. “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). What then does Esther’s story teach us? First, that God’s will directs His people to seek Him. She called for prayer and fasting—a picture of the church casting itself wholly on Christ. Second, that God’s will is always accomplished, whether in life or death. “ For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord” (Romans 14:8). And third, that God’s will is to be embraced above the fear of man. Our LORD said, “Fear not them which kill the body… but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). This passage is not calling us to heroism in our own strength, but to faith in Christ Who has already borne the cross for us as His chosen people. Like Esther, we may be called to stand in hard places. But unlike Esther, who was uncertain about the outcome, the success in interceding was already assured by God's sovereign purpose for her and her people in Christ. The LORD Jesus has promised, “ I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish” (John 10:28). Therefore, in every trial, we may bow with confidence and confess, “Thy will be done.”

Titus 3:10,11 "A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." At first, these words may sound severe, but they are given in love, to guard the purity of the Gospel and to keep Christ as the Foundation of all true fellowship. The Gospel is not a matter of human opinion or debate—it is the Revelation of God’s grace in His Son. Those that God has chosen in Christ, and were redeemed by His shed blood, are kept from falling away into condemnation. All others, who may seem religious outwardly, are condemned already and can only seek to lead the LORD's true sheep astray. A heretic, in Paul’s sense, is not merely someone who is confused or struggling to understand. We have all been there, and God has shown mercy in not casting us off because of Christ's work on the cross, having saved and justified us. No, the heretic is someone who rejects the truth of Christ and divides his people to promote his own way. He refuses to bow to God’s revelation in Christ. Paul describes him with three words: subverted, sinning, and self-condemned. To be subverted means to be overturned, like a house collapsing on itself. This is what unbelief does—it erodes and topples the soul, because it will not rest on the Solid Rock. Jesus said, “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock… and it fell not… But everyone that heareth… and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand… and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24–27). The heretic builds on the sand of perversion and not the clear Foundation of Christ crucified. To be sinning here is not just outward immorality, but persisting in rejecting God’s Son as revealed in Scripture. John tells us plainly, “He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son” (1 John 5:10). That is the essence of sin—refusing the Testimony of God concerning Christ. And to be self-condemned means that the guilt cannot be shifted. Romans 1 says that all men are “without excuse” because God has made Himself known. And Jesus said, “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light” (John 3:19). When a man rejects Christ, he is condemned already in his unbelief, (John 3:18). So how do we deal with the unconverted? Paul tells Titus that after patient admonition, if a man still refuses, we are to let him go. Not in hatred, but in recognition that it is not debates or arguments that convince anyone—it is the Spirit of God revealing Christ. As Paul said elsewhere, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). If they are not given ears to hear the Gospel by the Spirit of God, no amount of wrangling over words will help. But notice—before rejection comes admonition . We are not harsh, nor quick to cut people off. We remember that “the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:24–25). Our calling is to speak of Christ faithfully, with gentleness, and if they are ones that God has already purposed to save, and has saved by the death of His Son on the cross, He will draw each one in His time. On the one hand we show mercy . Jude says, “Of some have compassion, making a difference” (Jude 1: 22). Perhaps the LORD will open their eyes in His time. On the other hand, we remain firm: “Others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude 23). We never compromise the Gospel to attempt to win someone over. If they are Christ’s, He will call them through His Truth. If they are not, arguments and concessions will only embolden their unbelief. As saved sinners, the One Who sought us when we were lost. He is the One Who keeps us from falling. Jude closes with this doxology: “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen” (Jude 24–25). When we confront the unconverted—whether they are loved ones, neighbors, co-workers, or anyone who resists the truth either openly or silently—we remember: Christ alone is our Message, our Hope, and the One Who judges righteously. Our part is to affirm the Gospel of grace constantly, to show mercy and kindness where we can, and to stand firm in the Truth of Salvation in the Person and work of Christ alone from beginning to end. May the LORD continue to keep each of His own by His grace, and cause us to proclaim Him in uncompromising Truth, and rest in Him and His completed work of salvation for His own. He alone saves to the uttermost those that come unto God by Him (Hebrews 7:25).