1 Peter 5:9 "Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." The Apostle Peter calls believers to resist the devil—not by strength of will or moral resolve, but “ steadfast in the Faith (Christ) .”  This is not faith in ourselves, nor in our spiritual performance, but faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ , Who has conquered sin, Satan, and death for His people. To resist the enemy is to rest in the victory Christ has already won , trusting that the same LORD Who preserves all His elect will preserve us also. Our afflictions, trials, and spiritual warfare are not unique, but are part of the common experience of the elect of God—yet through it all, the grace of God reigns , and Christ is our Shield and Sure Defense . Why do the Scriptures call upon the children of God to resist the devil when we are told in the Word of God that the LORD Jesus defeated Satan by His life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension into glory?  [ Genesis 3:15,   John 12:31, Hebrews 2:14-15] Yes, Satan has been defeated by Christ’s death for God’s elect, yet, according to God’s purpose, he goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom He may destroy, " Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" (1 Peter 5:8).  Knowing this to be so, we are then exhorted in 1 Peter 5:9  to resist him. How? In two ways.      1).   Being steadfast in the FAITH.   Wherever you see those two words, THE FAITH, you can substitute the name of the LORD Jesus Who is the Object of True Faith and is revealed in the hearts of those for whom Christ died by the Spirit of God. This is not a call for us to pump up some personal belief with which to defend ourselves against the wiles of the devil but rather to remain steadfast in THE FAITH (Christ) and His complete work accomplished for God’s children, for whom He has been made Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption, " But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:" (1 Corinthians 1:30).  The devil can certainly trouble and afflict God’s children in any way that the LORD may ordain but He cannot possess or draw away into condemnation anyone for whom Christ paid the debt.        2).   Taking consolation   in  “ knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren, that are in the world.”  Our Consolation is Christ and His finished work  (2 Corinthians 1:5) but there is also comfort in knowing that: “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 with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) Whatever the trial or affliction, we can rest assured in knowing that such has been the same that others have endured by the Grace of God and that THE WAY of escape is always CHRIST THE WAY. He ever lives to intercede on behalf of those for whom He paid their sin debt, " Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).  By the Spirit of Grace, our eyes are fixed on HIM, " Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; 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).      Satan desired to sift Peter as wheat (toss him to and fro as wheat is in a sieve). However, he was wheat and not a tare and therefore safe by the intercession of the LORD Jesus for him, Luke 22:31 . His betrayal of the LORD was just as evil as that of Judas but Christ was his Redeemer and Judas was a son of perdition,   "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled." (John 17:12).  Satan might accuse, "" And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night"  (Revelation 12:10), and yes, we rightly deserve nothing but hell and damnation. Yet, in THE FAITH (faithfulness) of Jesus, not our own, we are saved, justified and sanctified sinners by Christ’s shed blood unto death. There is therefore now no condemnation against an adopted son of God, " Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us"  (Romans 8:34).  In HIM we stand fast, or rather HE Who is our FAITH holds us fast!

John 19:18 "Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst." This scripture stands as one of the most sobering and yet glorious declarations in all of Scripture: "Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst."   In this brief verse, the apostle John encapsulates the essence of the Gospel message succinctly yet profoundly. Here is the eternal Son of God, the spotless Lamb, crucified between two malefactors, numbered with the transgressors as foretold by the prophets. He is not merely the victim of injustice but the willing Substitute, bearing the sins of His people under the wrath of God. This is where divine justice and mercy meet—in the shame and agony of the cross, where Jesus Christ accomplished redemption once for those elected sinners given to Him by the Father (John 17:9-19). Every word of this verse directs our hearts to the heart of God's redemptive purpose: “they crucified him.”   It is here that the glory of God's sovereign grace in saving sinners by Christ alone shines brightest.   1. The manner of Christ's death is significant :  It was the death of the cross. This form of execution was chosen to vividly illustrate the weight of sin that Jesus our LORD willingly bore for His people. In Galatians 3:10-13 we read, " For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:" These verses emphasize the curse of sin, which Jesus took upon Himself. He was bound to the cross as a Sacrificial Offering, fulfilling His role as the Savior appointed for this purpose by God. His crucifixion, suspended between Heaven and earth, served to reconcile and justify elect sinners to God through His shed blood, " Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement" ( Romans 5:9-11) . This brutal death underscores the severity of our sin before a Holy God, highlighting the depth of God's love as expressed in Romans 8:32  where He spared not His own Son for our redemption, " He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" 2.   Christ's companions in death were not incidental : They were intentionally chosen by God. Two others were crucified alongside Him, fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 53:12, " Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."  Among them was a malefactor who, though initially reviling our LORD Jesus, yet was chosen by God for salvation. This illustrates the sovereign grace of God, Who chooses whom He will save while ensuring that all whom He chooses will indeed turn to Christ. Despite both being guilty sinners only one was elected by the LORD, to whom Jesus declared, "Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise."   (Luke 23:43)   3. Jesus bore the reproach of sinners, taking upon Himself the sins of many,   Hebrews 9:28 :  “ So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second timewithout sin unto salvation .” He endured the shame and disgrace of being crucified among criminals so that those chosen by God would not bear it themselves. His death was not among sacrificial animals in the temple but among condemned individuals, signifying His role as the Just for the unjust, " For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" ( 1 Peter 3:18) . It was by His sacrificial death that He once and forever, fully, freely and finally redeemed, reconciled and justified those that the Father gave Him before the foundation of the world, " By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:10-14) .       In summary, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ exemplifies the depth of God's love, the extent of His Grace and the magnitude of His Sacrifice for sinners that He purposed to save from before time and did save in time in the death of His Son, " But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:4-6).

Titus 2:12 “Teaching us, that, denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” We often hear some speaking of others as being such Godly people. The question is, ‘Who is truly Godly or what is Godly living according to God’s Word’?       1. What Godly living isn’t.  We know that it does not mean sinless living or even ‘sinning-less’ living. The apostle Paul declared in Romans 7:18, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” Our depraved flesh cannot ever be sinless, nor can it be anything less than sinful. The apostle John stated in 1 John 1:8, “ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”       2. What Godly living is.  There are four elements to consider. The first put negatively is described as ‘denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts.’  This is the work of the Spirit in God’s chosen, redeemed children that causes them to stand against anything that opposes God’s glory and honor (Godliness), Anything or anyone that contradicts God’s revelation of Himself in His Word and the glory that He has purposed to honor and exalt His Son exclusively, is to be renounced. Positively, the other three elements of godly living are to live soberly, righteously, and Godly, in this present evil world . In these three terms we have all that describes the Grace of God in His children and how they are distinguished from the rest of the condemned (ungodly) world, "to execute judgement upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him" (Jude 1:15).        The first, “soberly ,” means living by the wisdom of God in Christ, “...wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)  It means that, by the Grace of God, we exercise restraint in our passions and propensities toward anything other than the glory of Christ alone , "that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;" (Titus 2:2-4).       The second, “righteously”  means to live to the honor and glory of God’s justice satisfied in the death of the LORD Jesus alone. We have no other righteousness than that, nor do we acknowledge any other but Him, as children of Grace who have no justice of their own but glorify the righteousness of God imputed to them at the cross.       The third, “Godly”,  being ever mindful that our only ‘Godlikeness’ is in Christ alone as our Hope of eternal life through the redemption by His blood, "looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:13-14).   Godly living is to live wholly under God’s Grace, by His free and unmerited favor in Christ. Nothing we do entitles us to God’s favor but everything we do is by His free grace in Christ alone, having been perfectly reconciled to God the Father by His death and thereby declared Godly (God-like) by imputed righteousness, "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life" (Romans 5:10).  This Grace of God not only affects how we deal with others in this world, but how we live before God, acknowledging Him in thought. word, and deed, to the glory of His Son alone!  This Scripture reveals that the Grace of God that brings salvation not only redeems but also teaches and enables the believer to live a life that manifests the transforming power of His sovereign grace. It is not by human will, effort, or decision that one attains to godliness, but by God’s effectual and irresistible grace, which instructs His elect to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts—everything contrary to the glory of God revealed in Christ Jesus. This Grace works true repentance and a godly walk, not as a means to earn salvation, or even maintain it, but as the fruit and evidence of it, flowing entirely from the One Righteousness that the Lord Jesus Christ established on behalf of His people. That righteousness, earned by His obedience unto death, is imputed by God to every chosen sinner for whom Christ laid down His life and paid the full ransom. The ungodly are they for whom no redemption was made, who remain under the bondage of self-righteousness, trusting in their works—works which can never satisfy the demands of God’s holy law or divine justice. But the godly are those whom God hath justified by the death of His Son (Romans 5:8-11). They rest wholly in Christ’s righteousness as their sole standing before God and as the sum of all true Godliness. Therefore, being taught by the Grace of God (Christ), they live soberly (concerning themselves), righteously (concerning others), and Godly (toward God) in this present evil world—all through Christ who died for them and now lives in them (Romans 10:1–4).

Ecclesiastes 7:1,2 "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart." He would be the kind of person for whom you might ask, “What do you give to someone who has everything?”  Yet, God caused Solomon to reflect upon his life and the vanity of having all things, while lacking the one thing needful. What is that one vital thing that truly matters? Better even than "precious ointment!" Where was the precious ointment found?  It was found in the kings’ palaces. It speaks of the incense and perfumes often burned in such places. Remember, they didn’t have air conditioning in those days. In the heat and humidity, homes could easily become musty. How precious, then, was an ointment that gave off a sweet savor—especially when this world offers little more than the stench of death. But what name is better than precious ointment?  It is the name of Christ. To bear His name, to be given that name, is greater than all that the world has to offer. Even our LORD Jesus, when the seventy disciples returned with joy, rejoiced that they had the power to heal and cast out devils. He redirected their focus. That power, though real, was temporary. Not all who were healed or delivered were the LORD’s. It was a manifestation of His messianic power. “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven”  (Luke 10:17–20). That was a house of feasting, a moment of joy and excitement. But the Lord gently turned their joy from temporal power to eternal grace. When He said, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven,”   He was declaring His eternal origin and authority. He was there when Satan was cast down, and now on earth, He had come to crush that old serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). This is the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9) —better than ointment, better than all that the world esteems: to be in Christ. By His power and authority, He has conquered .  He has overcome. And therefore, in Him, no enemy, no power, can touch us, but that which has already touched Him. In Psalm 119:71, we hear the voice of the Savior: “ It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” We rejoice not because we bear our condemnation for sin, but because He bore it. That is what brings true joy. What was the house of mourning to which our LORD went? The Scripture says He didn’t come to enjoy ease or festivity. Look at how He walked this earth. He was given the Spirit without measure (John 3:34) , and everything about His taking on flesh was for suffering and sorrow—that which was due to His people. He bore it Himself. His ultimate house of mourning was the cross. Yet He “set His face like a flint”   toward Jerusalem (Isaiah 50:7), and would not be deterred. Why? Because it would be in that house of mourning—His death—that God the Father would once for all justify the sinners He gave to Christ. The cross was His house of mourning where He came to lay down His life and save those the Father had given Him from before the foundation of the world. When He told His disciples, "I go to prepare a place for you," it was His death on the cross that was that place (John 14:3). Why then does the Lord afflict His children in this world?  It begins in the heart, where He shows us the sinfulness of sin. And then, through life’s trials, He continues to chasten: “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth”  (Hebrews 12:6). You don’t want to be left to yourself, to a life of nothing but outward feasting and carnal ease. Thank God that, moment by moment, He brings His children again and again to the house of mourning, the foot of His cross. He afflicts, chastens, and corrects, lest they ever put confidence in the flesh. So much for the saying, “Believe in Jesus, and all will be well.”  To be drawn to Christ puts you at odds with the world. The world wants a popular Jesus—a Jesus of health, wealth, and prosperity. And many pulpits accommodate this false christ. They say, “Come to Jesus, and all your needs will be met." But that’s not what our Lord said. What did He say in John 16:33? “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” How do we have hope in this world? Because He has overcome. What does the house of mourning teach us?  That we are nothing. That, apart from the finished work of Jesus Christ, there is only condemnation. That’s why our Lord taught: “ Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:3–4). We bring nothing. Better to be of that poor number Christ came to save. The Spirit of God teaches our hearts to mourn—not only for sin, but for having ever looked to ourselves for hope. How are we comforted?  By the grace of God, we know that Christ came into the world for such as we are. The house of mourning, where sinners of God's choosing dwell, and He has entered in to deliver them and bring them out into His banqueting House of Wine, the wine representing His shed blood unto death for His own (Song of Solomon 2:4).

Luke 1:46,47 "And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." In these inspired words, the young virgin Mary pours out a song of worship flowing from the depths of her soul to that Seed, conceived by the Spirit of God in her womb, Who would lay down His life as her Redeemer. This passage, often called The Magnificat , is more than poetic praise—it is the Gospel confession, produced in her by the Spirit of God. Mary, a chosen vessel of grace, magnifies the LORD not for what she had done, but for what God had done for her and would do for her through the righteous obedience unto death of God's Son, Whom she would bear into this fallen world. Note her language: “My soul... my spirit... my Saviour.” This is not a cold, borrowed confession of faith. It is the heart of one who has been taught the grace of God, personally and experientially. Mary is not venerating herself or attributing merit to her womb; she exalts the God of her Salvation. This is a striking confession. Though she was chosen to bear the Christ, she declares her need of God as her Saviour. She knew herself to be a sinner, and she rejoiced that salvation is of the LORD Mary’s praise is not rooted in a so-called "free-will" decision, but in God's sovereign will. She did not say, “My soul hath chosen the Lord,” but “My soul doth magnify the LORD.” It was the LORD Who looked upon her in grace. As verse 48 says, “He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.” God did not choose Mary because of her worthiness or any supposed sinlessness. He chose her in her lowliness, to show forth the riches of His grace (Ephesians 2:7). This is the God of sovereign grace, as He reveals Himself throughout Scripture. God has chosen the weak, the base, the undeserving, that His glory might shine (1 Corinthians 1: 26–29). When the Lord comes to a sinner in saving grace—when He makes Christ known to their soul—they respond as Mary did: “My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” This is not a mere doctrinal confession, as might be found in a catechism, but a confession in God Himself—and particularly in God as Saviour. This is the great Gospel of the God of the Bible: that the LORD of glory has become the Saviour of elected sinners, that God has provided His Lamb (Genesis 22:8), and that salvation is entirely His work, received by Spirit-given faith, and never earned by the sinner. Mary’s joy was not momentary—it was rooted in God’s eternal purpose. The Child in her womb was the Fulfillment of every promise God had made, from Genesis to Malachi. Her soul rejoiced because the Christ had come. And so must ours. Our joy is not in what we feel, or what we do, or what we hope to become, but in Who Christ is and what He has accomplished through His obedience unto death (Philippians 2:8). We do not magnify ourselves. We do not even magnify our faith or our obedience. We magnify the LORD, for He alone is the Author and Finisher of our salvation. Like Mary, we lift our voices in humble adoration, knowing that we were nothing, and He has done great things for us. Let us then ask ourselves: Does our soul magnify the LORD? Do I rejoice in God as my Saviour? Not merely as a distant God, or a theoretical Saviour, but as my God, my Saviour —the One Who loved me and gave Himself for me? This is the joy of every true believer: not in self, but in Christ; not in merit, but in mercy. “For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name” (Luke 1:49). May our prayer ever be that of praise and glory to the LORD for His great Salvation. Like Mary, may we rejoice in the LORD, our Saviour, and thank Him for His sovereign grace that chose us, sought us, saved us, and keeps us. May our souls ever magnify and exalt Him, and may our spirits continually rejoice in Him, for He hath done great things for us, for Jesus Christ's sake.

Jeremiah 1:6 "Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child." The prophet Jeremiah, newly confronted with the divine call upon his life, immediately responds not with eagerness and excitement, but with a confession of weakness and inability. How different was Jeremiah's response from that of many wannabe preachers that feel compelled to volunteer their services to God, and in their zeal feel as if they are fit to serve God, resting in their commitment, dedication, talent, and education. When the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, however, it took the LORD to reassure him that in being called to the task by the LORD, the LORD was the One Who was not only calling him but would sustain him. The LORD told him, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations"  (Jeremiah 1:5) , Jeremiah’s first instinct was not to assert his qualifications but to acknowledge his utter insufficiency: " I cannot speak: for I am a child." This moment of solemn exchange between God and Jeremiah illustrates how God's calling is not according to our natural ability, but according to His sovereign purpose and grace. Jeremiah was chosen, not because of any inherent strength, wisdom, or skill, but completely because of the LORD's eternal love and decree (Jeremiah 31:3). Before Jeremiah had spoken a word or taken a breath, he was already set apart by sovereign grace for his divine mission. Jeremiah’s sense of personal inadequacy is not weakness in the eyes of God; it is the very qualification for service. It is in the deep realization of our inability that God’s omnipotent ability is magnified, and the need for Christ's intercession is made manifest the most. As Paul later wrote, " Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God" (2 Corinthians 3:5). The context of Jeremiah 1 reveals that Judah was entering into dark days of judgment. Apostasy was rampant, idolatry was flourishing, and the hearts of the people were hardened. Jeremiah’s task would be humanly impossible — to tear down and to build up by the Word of the LORD (Jeremiah 1:10). No mere human eloquence or strength of will could accomplish such a mission. Only the Power of the LORD working through an emptied vessel would prevail. The apostle Paul declared: " But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). Spiritually, Jeremiah’s confession — "I cannot speak"  — echoes the confession of every soul who has been made alive by the Spirit of God. The regenerated heart recognizes that it has nothing to offer, nothing for which to boast, and certainly nothing with which to negotiate or barter with God. Every aspect of salvation and service is all by God's sovereign grace alone. Our mouths are stopped, and we confess, like Isaiah, "Woe is me! for I am undone" (Isaiah 6:5). Yet the LORD’s answer to Jeremiah is full of tender mercy: "Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak" (Jeremiah 1:7). God does not deny Jeremiah’s weakness; rather, He promises His Presence and Power. " Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD"  (Jeremiah 1:8). So it is with every believer. In ourselves, we can neither believe, nor repent, nor serve, nor endure. But Christ is made unto us "wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). We are “complete in him” (Colossians 2:10). Our sufficiency is entirely outside ourselves, resting solely in the finished work and abiding intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ for His own. When we see ourselves rightly, as weak and helpless children, the Promise of God in, through, and by Christ alone, becomes exceedingly precious: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). The grace that called us is the same grace that upholds and preserves us unto the end. Thus, Jeremiah’s trembling confession is the true beginning of the ministry to which God had called him. Weakness acknowledged is strength supplied. The apostle Paul wrote of this in 2 Corinthians 12:10: "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." The same sovereign grace that foreknew and ordained Jeremiah, and any servant of God like the apostle Paul, is the grace that would sustain them through opposition, fire, rejection, sorrow, and suffering. Whenever any may question whether they are able, let us look to what the LORD Jesus Christ endured in the flesh to fulfill the will of His Father for the salvation of His people. The servant is not above the Master, and therefore He can save to the uttermost those that come to God by Him (Hebrews 7:25). Let us, like Jeremiah, humbly confess: " Ah, Lord God! I cannot speak." And then let us hear the gracious reply: "I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD" (Jeremiah 1:8). " So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Hebrews 13:6).

Revelation 21:4 "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Consider how this is a word of comfort and consolation to those sinners that the LORD Jesus has redeemed, and God the Father justified. Here, in the closing visions of the Revelation, John beholds the beauty of the New Jerusalem — the church of Jesus Christ, fully adorned and glorified by His grace. This is no mere fantasy of some distant future; it is the triumphant announcement that in Christ, through His finished work, the former things — the law, sin, curse, and condemnation-have truly and forever passed away (Romans 8:1) . The sovereign grace of God shines bright in this promise. It is God   Who shall wipe away all tears. Man cannot wipe away his grief. Religion cannot cleanse away guilt. Moral reformation cannot undo death’s sting. It is God Himself, in Christ, by sovereign mercy, Who personally wipes the tears from the eyes of His chosen. What tender, personal care this reveals! Our God is not afar off. The cross of Calvary was not some cold transaction; it was the outpouring of divine love upon a people foreknown, predestinated, redeemed, justified, and called. At this time, the apostle John was writing this book, to a people on the brink of terrible upheaval: the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, the final collapse of the old covenant order. Death, sorrow, and crying abounded in the judgments that fell. Yet amid the shaking of heaven and earth, there was a kingdom which could not be moved (Hebrews 12:28) . Christ, by His death and resurrection, had already obtained eternal life for His elect. The “former things” — the age of law, shadow, temple, and sacrifice — had given way to the everlasting Gospel, the true reign of Christ as King and Priest over His house forever. Even now, in this Gospel era, the believer walks in this glorious reality. For the child of God, death is no more — for Christ is the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25) . Sorrow is swallowed up in His joy (John 16:22). Pain yields to the healing balm of His presence. Though the outward man perish, the inward man is renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). And even the tears we shed in this pilgrim journey are not tears of despair, but are wiped away with Hope, for we know our full redemption draws near (Romans 8:15-25). This precious promise points not merely to some future heaven, but to the present victory of Christ’s kingdom. The old things — sin’s condemnation, Satan’s tyranny, the fear of death — are forever gone for those who are in Christ. The Lamb reigns. The New Jerusalem — His blood-bought bride — shines with His glory now. And the final consummation, when we shall be glorified fully in His presence, is but the unfolding of what He has already accomplished. Here then is our comfort and joy as we live out our God-ordained days in our earthly pilgrimage, here and now. God Himself has wiped away our tears. The work is done. The war is won. The former things have passed away. Rejoice and be glad in Him Who sits upon the throne, Who says, " Behold, I make all things new"  (Revelation 21:5).

Romans 8:30 "Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He also glorified." In a world filled with confusion about salvation, we need to turn to the sure Word of God and rejoice in the Gospel of God's free and sovereign grace. Salvation is not the result of man’s will, works, or worth, but solely according to God’s eternal purpose in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Scriptures declare that every aspect of the sinner’s salvation — election, redemption, justification, calling, and glorification — is ordered by God’s sovereign decree and accomplished by Christ's finished work. Let us prayerfully consider these truths to the praise of the glory of His grace, what may be called “The Golden Chain of Salvation.” We learn from the Word of God that the salvation of sinners is by God’s sovereign order and decree. If any sinner is saved, it is because God the Father decreed it and named that one in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain, as it is written: "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world"   (Revelation 13:8) . God purposed that, in time, His elect ones should be declared justified by the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, imputed to their account at the cross: "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life"  ( Romans 5:9–10). When Christ died, rose again, and ascended on high, all chosen sinners whose names were written on His breastplate as the Great High Priest were then and there glorified with Him: "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus"   (Ephesians 2:5–6) . This is exactly the order of salvation set forth by the apostle Paul in Romans 8:30 . Some attempt to use this verse to teach the sinner’s justification merely upon God's decree as though it were accomplished before Christ died, or after the Spirit’s work of regeneration, saying that justification is listed after “whom he called.” Yet, a careful study of the context clearly shows that justification was accomplished at the cross for three reasons: 1.)  The word used for “called” ( kaléō ) does not refer here to the spiritual calling of the Spirit of God unto Christ, but rather to the naming of sinners in election according to God’s predestinating grace. We see this usage in Matthew 1:21 : "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." Therefore, the proper order of the sinner’s justification — legal acquittal from all guilt and a declaration of righteousness — follows his predestination and election (or naming) in the Lamb’s Book of Life. 2.)  The context of Romans 8:30 shows that the sinner’s full, complete, and final justification before God was accomplished when Christ died at Calvary, not before or after. Verses 31–34 make this abundantly clear: "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us"   (Romans 8:32–34). 3.)  In the same context, we see that those whom God the Father predestined and called (or named) in their election, He not only justified when Christ died, but glorified them as well. The redeemed indeed await their final glorification — their deliverance from the very presence of sin — yet, it may just as truly be stated that they are now glorified in their standing before God, being seated with Christ their Representative, Who was glorified by the Father when He rose and ascended on high: "Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him"   (John 13:31 ); "And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them"   (John 17:10). Oh, what a glorious and sovereign order of salvation this is, giving God and His Christ all the glory! From election before the foundation of the world, to justification at the cross, to glorification with Christ our Surety — it is all grace, all of Christ, all to the praise of the glory of His sovereign, saving name. May the LORD cause our hearts to bow in worship and adoration before the Lamb Who was slain, for He alone is worthy! "Salvation is of the LORD"   (Jonah 2:9) .

1 Timothy 6:6 "But godliness with contentment is great gain." This verse teaches that true spiritual profit is not found in earthly riches but in the gracious work of God in Christ for the sinner, and in the sinner. “Godliness” here refers to the life of Christ formed in the believer by sovereign grace, producing true reverence for God and trust in His Son the LORD Jesus, when the Spirit of God produces life in the sinner. “Contentment” flows from resting in Christ and His finished work, knowing that all things are ordered by God’s sovereign will on behalf of those chosen by God the Father and given to His Son from eternity. The sinner who has been justified by the LORD Jesus in His death on the cross is kept in Him and therefore lacks nothing in Him. This union of godliness and contentment, wrought by the grace of God, is the believer’s true treasure, far surpassing worldly gain (Matthew 6:19). This being so, why is it that we, as professing believers, are still so discontented with who we are and what we have? Have you ever asked yourself what it would take for you to be truly contented? Contentment, much like happiness, fluctuates like temperature—you sit there one minute, and you're hot, then after a while, you think, now I’m too cold. That’s just the way we live our lives. And really, it all boils down to being finite creatures. The only One Who is truly immutable is God Himself. Everything that is created is finite, and that’s why there’s a fall. Man in his best state is altogether vanity, as the Scriptures teach (Psalm 39:5,6) . Not only are we finite creatures, but also depraved in our fallen flesh. Therefore, even being regenerated by the Spirit of God, this still does not remove our depravity (Galatians 5:17). God has purposed that we still live in this flesh, day in and day out, and therefore we experience these changes, the ebbs and flows between hot and cold, contentment and discontentment, depending on our circumstances. Because we are finite and fallible, God's Word calls us not to build our lives around the tides and seasons of the whims of our flesh, but rather to rest. And where is that resting place? It is in the Lord Jesus Christ—the Rock—resting by God’s Grace in what He has accomplished on our behalf at Calvary. Each day, we need to have our eyes turned, and our hearts tuned to sing God's praise, rather than murmuring and complaining about His providential dealings in our lives. Our hearts are depraved, and therefore naturally discontented. How much we need the reminder of God's Word: "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"  (Romans 8:31–32) . That is where our minds must be turned again and again, especially as we get caught up in daily living and find our thoughts torn by the turmoil of circumstances, which God has ordained for our good and His glory. We must be brought to look again to the God Who does not change, and Who, by His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, has given all things to those that He has redeemed. What, then, is godliness with contentment? By definition, godliness  means reverence toward God—therefore, being God-fearing. The word contentment is the word sufficient, and it indicates the state of one having all they need, not necessarily all they want. First , it begins with the very revelation of God's character by the Spirit through His Word and attributes: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding”  (Proverbs 9:10). Until we have been taught the knowledge of Who God is as a holy God, we have never truly learned to fear Him. We must deal with a holy God—that is where the Spirit begins to teach sinners, when the Lord is pleased to begin a work in their hearts concerning His holiness. We are brought to understand that there is nothing we can do that could ever satisfy Him. Second , this godliness continues with the revelation that God's mercy and justice are met together. It is not about us trying to satisfy Him. Much of the discontentment people experience stems from their refusal to bow to the One Righteousness that God has already established in His Son and imputed to the account of His people. They reject that Righteousness, and in their discontentment, they continue trying to work out their own righteousness (Romans 10:1–2). But there is nothing other than the satisfaction that Christ has made that will ever satisfy a holy God. When the Scripture speaks of godliness with contentment , we are not to understand it as contentment being something added to godliness, as though they were two separate virtues joined together. Rather, the sense is that contentment is the fruit —the effect—of godliness. It flows from being God-fearing, from being taught of God, Who He is and how He has already been satisfied on our behalf by the blood and righteousness of Christ. Therefore, we are content and at rest in His finished work. There is a resting in Him, full satisfaction in Who He is and in all that we possess in Him. We desire nothing more and will receive nothing beyond Him, for He is ALL. Where contentment is lacking, it is a sure sign that we need again to cry out for mercy—to look afresh to Christ alone, to His blood and Righteousness. He alone is our Peace and Satisfaction before a holy God (Colossians 1:20).

Acts 14:22 “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" The Apostle Paul made it a practice to return repeatedly to those whom the LORD drew to Christ through his preaching, encouraging and exhorting them to continue in THE FAITH (Jude 1:3). These follow-up visits were not mere religious pep rallies, but a continuation of the same message of preaching that the LORD used to convert them in the first place. Their turning to Christ was not the result of an orchestrated production of singers and testimonies followed by a public invitation, as many do today. No! It was the clear, simple, and exclusive declaration of the LORD Jesus Christ—His Person and work, accomplished and imputed to the account of elected sinners, completed at Calvary and now made known through the preaching of men like Paul, whom the LORD raised up: "But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;"   (Titus 1:3). Paul needed to return, encourage, and ‘confirm’ (literally to strengthen) the disciples' souls because their identification with THE TRUTH  engendered opposition. Paul himself had just been stoned for declaring the LORD Jesus as the Son of God, equal with God, and for proclaiming salvation purposed, accomplished, and revealed exclusively in, by, and through Him: " And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe"   (Acts 14:19–20). He did not hesitate to tell his hearers that they were to repent of the vanities of their false worship and turn to the Living God—the Giver, Procurer, Sustainer, and Source of all life, both physical and spiritual: " And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein"   (Acts 14:15). The apostle's charge to these disciples to continue in THE FAITH  was not merely a call to perseverance, but rather to a wholehearted adherence to THE FAITH —that body of truth revealed in the Gospel in connection with Christ and His death, which declares God's only salvation for sinners. It was purposed before the foundation of the world, procured at Calvary, revealed by the Spirit of God, and proclaimed through the Gospel. You can’t continue in what you have never known or heard. On the other hand, if the LORD has been pleased to reveal in you Christ and His righteousness—established, accomplished, and imputed at Calvary ( THE FAITH )—you will not be persuaded otherwise, and hearing it again and again will certainly be a strengthening and comfort to your soul. In addition, Paul declares that “ we must through much tribulation” — or more accurately, “through many tribulations” — enter into the kingdom of God. Paul certainly could attest to this because of the preaching of the cross of Christ, and he adds in writing to Timothy: “ All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). This is the offense of the cross—that it gives no credence to man’s works nor will, but only to the work of Christ, accomplished at the cross for elected sinners and their full, free, final, and forever justification upon the completion of His work on their behalf.

Hebrews 10:14 "For by one offering, He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" The Scriptures declare that by the one offering God HAS PERFECTED forever those that HE sanctified (set apart in Christ in election, redemption, and regeneration). This is the particular grace of God to cause any sinner to own their sin and to know that in this flesh " dwelleth NO GOOD THING” (Romans 7:18). It is God's Grace to give His children eyes to look to Christ by faith, who fulfilled all that the Father's law and justice required both in His perfect obedience to the precepts of the law, but also in paying its penalty. So complete was His work of righteousness that He earned and established, that upon completion of His death, God the Father justified once and for all, every sinner for whom He paid the debt. " Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him" (Romans 5:9). What a comfort to us who are God’s elected children that when the Spirit of God makes us know the weight of our sin, we are also made to see the preciousness of the blood that His Son shed unto death for us, whereby we are accepted in the Beloved. "To the praise of the glory of His Grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). As one dear saint of old declared, “The believer's perfection is in Christ. Oh that He may condescend to teach me, and lead me to look straight out of self—to a glorious Christ!” What others have as their goal, we as the LORD’s redeemed ones have as a reality already. While others seek to be justified by their works or will, we for whom the LORD Jesus already paid the debt are already justified by His death. When the Spirit of God opens the eyes of God's elected sinners, it is not to justify them, but rather to cause them to see and embrace the justification Christ already accomplished for them at the cross. "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the Hope of his calling, and what the riches of the Glory of His Inheritance in the saints " (Ephesians 1:18). We dare not look to any profession for our justification, to any supposed goodness in ourselves, or even to the graces of the Spirit as our perfection. We look to the LORD Jesus Christ alone and believe the report of His Word- "And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power:" (Colossians 2:10). Those that the Father justified upon completion of the LORD Jesus’ satisfactory death on the cross, are declared complete or fulfilled in Christ's work so that nothing more can be added to it to make it complete. It's not as if Christ did most of the work, and now the sinner completes the rest. No! "Ye are complete in Him." Here are two matters of note: "Ye are..." Present tense. Once God declared redeemed sinners complete in Him by His death, they continue in that state forever. They are not progressing in holiness, but are declared holy in Him and continue in that state. No sin, nor wandering can ever remove them from who they are in Christ...complete! Complete wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, 1 Corinthians 1:30. "In Him" Not outside of Him, nor beside Him, or near Him, but "in Him." Because this is so, we need no other experience or work to draw us closer to God. As one writer states: " So near, so very near to God, I cannot nearer be. For in the Person of His Son, I am as near as He. So dear, so very dear to God, I cannot dearer be. The love with which He loves His Son – such is His love for me.”

Ephesians 4:23,24 "and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." The apostle Paul wrote these words not as a call to self-improvement, but a declaration of the transforming grace of God in Christ Jesus! This is not a command to reform ourselves by the strength of our will, but a gospel command to behold and rest in who the LORD Jesus is and what His coming in the flesh fully accomplished for that people, that the Father sent Him to save. First, the apostle tells us to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” This renewal is not a work we initiate as saved sinners. It is the sovereign operation of God the Holy Ghost, Who takes the truth of Christ crucified and risen and writes and reveals Him in the heart. This renewal begins not with our efforts, but with the life-giving work of the Spirit of God in the heart, whereby our eyes are opened to Christ. Dead men cannot renew themselves. Grace must come first, and grace must do all. "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are Life" (John 6:63). Second, Paul adds: “ And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”   Many read this verse as describing an inward moral change—a new nature implanted in the believer at regeneration. But that interpretation shifts the focus from Christ’s finished work for  the sinner to a supposed work within  the sinner. And yet, Christ alone is our righteousness, holiness, and life (1 Corinthians 1:30). This "new man" is not the sinner himself renewed, but the Man Christ Jesus , the new representative man , created in time through the incarnation , in righteousness and true holiness, to accomplish all that the first man, Adam, failed to do. 1. The New Man Is After God – In Perfect Likeness Paul says this "new man" is " after God" , that is, in God's image. That phrase echoes Genesis 1:26 : “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”  Adam was made in the image of God, yet he fell and marred that image. But Christ , the Second Adam, came as the express image  of God (Hebrews 1:3). He is the perfect man after God . He is God manifest in the flesh  (1 Timothy 3:16), in whom there is no sin (1 Peter 2:22), and who alone fulfilled God’s righteousness in true holiness. Thus, the “new man” is not the believer’s new moral condition, but Christ in His humanity , the perfect Man according to God’s eternal purpose. 2. The New Man Is “Created” – A Reference to the Incarnation Paul uses the word “created” ( ktisthenta  in Greek), emphasizing a divine act of origin. This is not a spiritual renovation within man, but an entirely new creation  itself in the Person of Christ. As Isaiah prophesied: “The LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man”  (Jeremiah 31:22). That is the virgin birth—the creation of a man, not by natural generation, but by the Holy Ghost. This Man—Christ—is the new creation made righteous from conception as the God/Man, without sin, so that He might fulfill the law as the representative of His people. 3. “Put On” the New Man – Union with Christ, Not Personal Renewal To “put on” the new man is not to put on a new behavior or nature, but to put on Christ Himself . Compare this with Romans 13:14: “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ…”  This is the gospel call to lay hold of Christ and rest in Him and His finished work by God-given faith, and "to be found in Him , not having our own righteousness " (Philippians 3:9). The believer is exhorted to look away from self and to rest in Christ alone, Who is the New Man, the Righteous One, and the only Standing of the elect before God. Psalm 24:3-5 describes that One who alone can stand for His people before God's holy law and justice. He must be perfect and without sin. "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation." 4. Christ, the Second Adam, Is the New Man of Ephesians 2 Paul already laid the foundation for this in Ephesians 2:15 : “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity... for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.” Here the “new man” is clearly Christ Himself, making peace between Jew and Gentile in His own body through the cross, and more importantly reconciling both to God. He is the new Man, the true Israel, the true Adam, the One in Whom all God's people are made complete (Colossians 2:10). Christ Alone Is the New Man To interpret “the new man” in Ephesians 4:24 as an internal moral nature confuses the gospel. Righteousness and true holiness are not conditions within us—they are in Christ alone   (2 Corinthians 5:21). The "new man" is not created in the sinner, but created for the sinner —in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, Who fulfilled all righteousness and bore the curse for His elect. Let us, therefore, put Him on trusting not in anything wrought within us, but in Him Who was made flesh to redeem, justify, and perfect all whom the Father gave Him from eternity. “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”  (Hebrews 10:14)