1 Corinthians 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." The Greek word translated as "preaching" here is ho logos , which means " the word of the cross." That is, the doctrine of the cross, that proclaims salvation only through the sacrificial death of the LORD Jesus Christ, accomplished on the cross. Preaching the cross is to declare the Christ of the cross—the One Who died, why He died, and what He accomplished by His death. It is to exalt the Lamb of the cross, the LORD Jesus Christ, and the satisfaction that His righteous obedience and effectual bloodshed unto death accomplished in saving those sinners the Father gave Him to save before the foundation of the world (John 10:14–18) . By His one sacrifice, He fully, freely, and forever redeemed, justified, and reconciled to God each one for whom He died: "For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). The preaching of the cross is to declare that the sinners that God ordained to salvation have been reconciled to God, pardoned, and saved uniquely by the merits of the LORD Jesus Christ and His effectual sacrifice alone. While one might think that declaring salvation accomplished by the death of Christ would be a subject of rejoicing for all sinners, Scripture declares that it is foolishness to those who are perishing—yet unenlightened or made alive by the Spirit of God. Preaching the cross will always bring division. To those who perish (in a lost state and fit for destruction), it is foolishness, and will always be foolishness (contemptible, stupid, and unworthy of belief). However, to those who are saved, it is the power of God, in contrast to the foolishness of those who are perishing. They are saved by the blood of the LORD Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of Grace revealing Christ in them, drawing them effectually to the crucified One alone, in heart and soul. Sinners are judged as either saved or condemned exclusively by the work of Christ on the cross, manifest through the Spirit’s revelation of Him in the heart. "But unto us which are saved" —This stands in contrast to "them that perish." It refers, doubtless, to the elect of God, as being saved from the power and condemnation of sin; and as having in Christ's death for them an Eternal Salvation, both in this life and the world to come. The Gospel is called "the power of God" because it is the medium through which God exerts His power in the salvation of sinners, revealing Christ to those for whom the LORD Jesus paid the debt. The apostle Paul declared, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16). It is how God has purposed to reveal Christ in every redeemed and justified sinner’s heart: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). It answers the sinner’s greatest need before a Holy God, and is efficacious in renewing and sanctifying (setting apart) each elect sinner unto Christ. All in whom the Spirit works rest in the Truth of the Gospel and all that it reveals of Christ and His death, accomplished for sinners. The Gospel of the cross effectively produces the effectual fruits of Christ's work on the cross in each one for whom Christ died. All the fruits of Christ's work on the cross are in time revealed to the soul by the Spirit—in their justification, sanctification, regeneration, repentance, faith, and final glorification. These are only what the Gospel of the cross is suited to produce in the saved sinner. It is the Truth concerning the LORD Jesus and God’s promise to save sinners for whom Christ came into the world. Only the Holy Spirit can take the effects of Christ's work on the cross and reveal them in the hearts, not just the minds, of those whom God the Father chose to save and saved through Christ's sacrifice. Each one that Christ redeemed and the Father justified at the cross, the Holy Spirit does effectually draw to Christ. Of all that the Father gave to His Son and for whom He paid the debt, He can lose nothing (John 6:37).

Ephesians 1:11 "In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who worketh all things after the Counsel of His own Will." A more accurate translation of the expression " we have obtained an inheritance" would be "in whom we were also made an inheritance." Whose inheritance are we if God has predestined us to salvation according to the Counsel of His will? We are God's! The whole number of God's elect in Christ are His possession. What then is the possession of the elect? Since they are God's possession in Christ, God is also their Inheritance in Christ. As the LORD Jesus prayed in His High Priestly Prayer, "That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us" (John 17:21). How beautiful the view of God's purpose in Christ when seen through the prism of the Sonlight. Just like a diamond flashes many colors as its facets catch the light, so here we see the different angles of being the inheritance as God's elect, redeemed ones, but also inheriting the LORD Jesus Christ Himself according to the Father's purpose. If we inherit Eternal Life, that life is in God's Son. "And this is Life Eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:3). To know Christ and be found in Him is as much a part of being heirs of God as it is for us to inherit Eternal Life. God-given Faith is God's Gift to His elect because of His faithfulness to honor His Son with those elect sinners that He gave Him before the foundation of the world. The elect are nothing and have nothing to commend them to God, but their nothingness is replenished with the Fullness of God in Christ. That's why the apostle Paul declared elsewhere, "For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power" (Colossians 2:9-10). Blessed Comfort! To know Him is to have Eternal Life, and to be found in Him is to have my emptiness fully replenished in His fullness. We possess God in Christ, and God possesses us in Him. "We were made His inheritance" ... "And He is the earnest of our inheritance." As the children of God in Christ, we are His heirs, chosen in eternity but purchased in time in the coming, doing, dying, rising again, and ascension into the glory of the LORD Jesus. The Scriptures are the legal document, God's testament of redemption for those that He gave to His Son before the foundation of the world, and for whom He came into the world to pay their complete sin debt. It says that when Christ died, His heirs inherited all that He is, as promised. "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29). It is not by our works but by His. Christ is the Promise given to every one of God's chosen children. Everything about this physical world and our earthly lives is, at best, temporal. Our flesh and blood, our possessions, our works—they are all temporal, which means temporary, and therefore all worthless and passing away. "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever" (1 John 2:17). Only the heirs of Jesus Christ will live forever. Anything that we forsake in this life, for Christ's sake, is not to be compared to the Life Eternal that is in Christ, and to live in His presence forever. " But he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come Eternal Life " (Mark 10:30). Christ is that Hundredfold Who bequeathed Himself to His chosen children. He is the Reward, the Righteous One given by His death to unworthy sinners. "Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the Reward of the Inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ" (Colossians 3:24).

Micah 7:8 "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a Light unto me." There are often seasons of affliction and oppression that the LORD ordains for His people to endure. Many of these times are filled with darkness, where it appears that God has completely withdrawn His Presence. The child of God may find no comfort until the LORD is pleased to give the Light of His Presence and cause it to shine in their heart once again. As His children, God will grant His Spirit of repentance to look to the LORD Jesus Christ alone, Who is the Light of those who sit in darkness. He gives them the patience of Job to endure the trial and not charge God with sin or evil (Job 1:22). When we are tempted to complain to the LORD about our affliction, it is the pride of the flesh making us think that we deserve better. But then, the LORD mercifully reminds us of what our LORD Jesus endured to save us and present us righteous and faultless before God the Father. Consider what He endured to satisfy the Father so that He might be just in justifying each one for whom He paid the debt. " For consider Him that endured such contradiction from sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds" (Hebrews 12:2). In the heat of the trial, we would do well to complain against ourselves rather than find fault with God or wonder why He is exercising us as He is. The comfort is, as the Word declares: "For whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth" (Hebrews 12:6). Knowing that it is in love that God is chastening us, we ought not to complain about the evil of the affliction. Rather, we should complain about the evil of our hearts. Through the exercise of our souls, the LORD weans us from any confidence in the flesh and causes us to depend completely on Him to work deliverance in His due time. What is clear is that if the LORD Jesus paid our horrific sin debt, He cannot leave us to ourselves. Just as a father disciplines his children, the LORD will do the same in us—not only to look to Him for light and comfort but to look for Him to be that Light and Comfort through the trial. In our greatest distresses, we will see no reason to despair of salvation, because, being the LORD's by His electing, redeeming, and effectual grace, He gives each one the Faith to look to and rest in Christ alone as ALL their salvation. The LORD grants the Faith to look to the LORD Jesus Christ Himself as the God of their salvation. Although enemies may appear to triumph for a while through their insults and attacks, we know that in the LORD's time, they will be silenced and put to shame. When Micah prophesied these words, it was 150 years before Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Babylonians. Yet, foreseeing the devastation of the destruction of Jerusalem, he prophesied of Hope in the coming Messiah for an elect remnant (Micah 5:2) . The lesson for us is that even though Zion's walls (the Church) might remain in ruins for a time, there would come a day when they would be repaired. Historically, Israel was brought back after 70 years of captivity, and it was the LORD who drew them back from their dispersion. Therefore, they were to find comfort in His Grace and Mercy toward them. Though our enemies may seem to prevail against us and rejoice over us, we should not despair. Though cast down, we are not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-11). We may join hope in God's mercy, with submission to His correction. No hindrances can prevent the favors that the LORD has purposed for His elect children. It is against the backdrop of the darkest times that the Light shines the greatest. "The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up" (Matthew 4:16). Like the moon that shines brightest against the darkest sky, God's children are made to see Christ. The darker and deeper the sin, the greater and more glorious the Savior shines!

Isaiah 65:8,9 "As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, ‘Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all. And I will bring forth a Seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an Inheritor of my mountains: and mine Elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.” What a beautiful message of hope and restoration we find declared in this text. In these verses, the Sovereign LORD God declares that despite the devastation and destruction that He would bring on the nation of Israel, caused by Israel's sin, there would be a future of hope in God's Grace and Mercy for a promised elect seed, for whom the LORD Jesus would come and pay their sin debt. The metaphor here is of new wine being found in the cluster, which symbolizes the preservation of a remnant—a particular number of elected sinners that God would preserve and keep from destruction, for His Name's sake, and not because of anything inherently good in them. God promises to bless this remnant, bringing them into a prosperous future, contrasting the judgment that had fallen on the reprobate nation of Israel because of its idolatry. These verses reflect God’s Grace and the Hope of restoration for His people, for whom the LORD Jesus would come into the world to earn and establish a righteousness satisfactory to God's law and justice, and thereby would be saved from eternal condemnation. 1. It is a blessed remnant. No matter how rotten the cluster is, because there is a blessing in it, God does not condemn the whole. How important is the word “blessing” or “blessed” to those that the LORD has purposed to save? Our LORD said in Matthew 25:34, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” There is no good inherently in any sinner. All the goodness is in God, Who has purposed to bless a select remnant by His eternal grace and spare them for Christ’s sake, not because of anything good in them. 2. It is a redeemed and justified remnant. The LORD promised a Seed out of Jacob and an inheritor out of Judah. "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ" (Galatians 3:16). Clearly, Christ is that Seed, and the reason that God did not destroy at that time the entire nation of Israel for its sins. The LORD Jesus Christ is called the Seed of the woman, the Seed of Abraham, the Seed of David, and sprang from Jacob or Israel, and came out of the tribe of Judah. HE is the blessing in the cluster. In HIM are all the divine perfections, and ALL blessings and promises of grace. In HIS blood and righteousness are the pardon, peace, and justification of His people. He is that Seed in whom all the nations of the earth are blessed, and with whom God the Father made that eternal covenant of grace, to save a people from every tribe, nation, and tongue, "of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named" (Ephesians 3:15).

Luke 18:13 "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." Here was one instance where it says, "standing afar off."  Some interpret this as an indication that he wasn't even in the inner court but in the outer one. He dared not even approach; he dared not even look heavenward. This was not just a religious ritual—this was a true cry unto the LORD. Not just for a specific sin, but for Mercy, You won't even have a clue what this means unless the LORD has been pleased to be your Teacher. It's not an emotion, it's an understanding of this sinful flesh and who I am before a Holy God. We are sinners, but, it's for such that Christ came to save, and that's the glorious part of this. It's like Paul said, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (1 Timothy 1:15). Any in whom the Spirit of God has done His work of Grace, that is all they can see of themselves, "I am that sinner." If everybody else in the world had been righteous and me the only sinner, it would still have taken Christ coming to pay my debt. That's just how grave and grievous that sin is before God. But that's what this sinner was saying, preeminently sinful. Here's another interpretation of it: devoted to sin. I often hear people say things like, "Well, I used to live that way. I used to think that way. That's what I used to be but now, thank God, I'm..." Well, you're lying then. You're just like that Pharisee: “ I thank God I'm not like other men." What you're really saying is, "I thank God I'm not like those others." Listen to people’s testimonies; often, they focus on what they were and what they are now. But if we belong to the LORD and He has taught us, we will never get over being the sinner. Ever! The closer we get to the Light, the more we see this corruption within us. Grace that is greater than all my sin! It must be that the LORD continues to show us just how sinful we are. If we ever have that little self-righteous thought of, "Hey, I'm improving," all the LORD has to do is open our eyes a little wider, and realize, "Whoa, wait a minute here!" Think about the stench of this old heart. No matter how much you treat it, it still sins. Devoted to sin, That means exceedingly wicked. That's what he was saying. "I am the exceedingly wicked one." Given the test, none of us would naturally answer that way. But have you ever—or do you now—see yourself as the exceedingly wicked one, bent on nothing but sin? There are some moralists, legalists and even so-called “grace” people who will take issue with you for saying, "That's my testimony." Yet, it was Paul's testimony too. As he said, "Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 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. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do" (Romans 7:17-19). The HOPE for the publican, or any lost sinner that God has purposed to save is in the finished work of the LORD Jesus Christ alone. He is the saved sinner’s Mercy. “I tell you, this man went down to his house JUSTIFIED, rather than the other” (Luke 18:14).

John 17:15 "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil." Christ is not praying here that we should be taken out of this world. Can you imagine what that would be like? As soon as you're converted, you're immediately out of trouble. At times, we might think that such an escape would be profitable —just a way to avoid the difficulties of life. Yet, we are called to be satisfied as long as the LORD has us here. We can find satisfaction in knowing that it is the LORD Who intercedes for us and has completed His work to preserve us. If you want an excellent example of preservation by Grace, consider how He has kept you in this world—with all of its sin, the corrupting influences of society, the attacks of the evil one, and so much more. As Christ Himself said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Not only was He kept from evil when He was in this world—remaining sinless—but now His intercession ensures that those given to Him by the Father, for whom He paid the ultimate debt, are also preserved. Notice the prayer: "Keep them from the evil." Reflect on all that is evil, which, like a flood, would overwhelm us were it not for Christ’s preserving power through His Word. Consider the apostasy of Judas Iscariot as an example. Christ has kept each one except for the son of perdition, as Scripture foretold. It’s not as though Christ wanted to keep Judas but was unable. No! Judas was not a failure of Christ’s preservation but rather a fulfillment of prophecy. “None of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12). Look around you and see how many have made professions of faith, but because of trouble, trial, temptation, or sin, have completely fallen away. If we continue in the Faith that is in Christ, it is the LORD Who is keeping us from going astray, as we otherwise surely would. Remember, every time you go to bed at night, you are still battling the enemy within. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other..." (Galatians 5:17). This is why you might even wake up sometimes, bewildered by dreams or thoughts that seem entirely contrary to your conscious mind. Yet, through all of this, the LORD continues to keep His own. "My Grace is sufficient for thee: for My Strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

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

Psalm 109:1-3 "Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise; For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They compassed me about also with words of hatred; And fought against me without a cause." Looking at this from the perspective of our LORD and His suffering—being hated without cause—we read in verse 1: “ Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise." Some might ask, "If these are Christ's words, why does He refer to God as His God?" The answer lies in Scripture, which shows that Christ, as a man, came to satisfy the law and justice of God the Father. He came to fulfill them so that God might be both Just and Justifier. a Just God and Savior. Thus, these words reflect Christ speaking in His humanity. In Hebrews, 5:8, our LORD is described as having learned obedience: "Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered." Righteousness, to be imputed, had to be worked out, which is why Christ had to earn it as a man. The law required that righteousness be established through perfect obedience. God could not just look the other way. As our Substitute, Christ had to satisfy His Father as God, though He Himself is God. While He never ceased being Divine, He had to fulfill the requirements of the law as a man, "A body hast thou prepared me" (Hebrews 10:5). In verse 2, it says: "The mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me." This has accurately been interpreted as referring to Christ. The Pharisees spoke many things against Him: they called Him Beelzebub; evil, the son of the devil, a blasphemer, and a Samaritan. These accusations are well documented throughout the God-inspired Scriptures. However, Paul writes in Romans 3:9 : "What then? are we better than they?" This calls for reflection whenever we read about the Pharisees. Jesus Himself declared, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). He was not speaking about outward actions—like tithing down to the last detail of parsley and herbs—but rather having a Righteousness that equals that of God Himself, which could only be through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Substitute for His people. Mere outward acts of religion hold no value before a Holy God. As Isaiah wrote long before their time: “ All of our righteousnesses, are as filthy rags” [Isaiah 64:6]. The psalm continues: "They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause." Many might say, “That’s not me—I don’t hate God.” Yet, Scripture reveals that our very nature is one of enmity toward God. Unless the LORD, by His Spirit, shows us the truth of our lost condition—that I am that sinner—we remain in darkness and blindness. And yet, there is hope. The Scriptures also tell us that when Christ died, He died for sinners. When He reconciled, He reconciled enemies—not friends.

Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" In Philippians 1:6, Paul assures the saints that God, Who began a good work in them, will bring it to completion. This verse reveals the Anchor of our salvation and the joy we have in Christ. The confidence and thanksgiving Paul expresses are not rooted in human effort or merit, but in the Sovereign Grace of God and His unchanging purpose to redeem His chosen people. From the very beginning, God has been at work, effectually calling His elect, redeeming them by the blood of Christ, and preserving them for the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6; John 1:13). Paul’s gratitude flows from the recognition that the fellowship of the Gospel, the faith, and the love of the Philippians are the work of God in them (Philippians 1:3-5). Their preservation is not by human accomplishment, but the sustaining work of God from beginning to end. He blesses them with grace and peace from God our Father and from the LORD Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:2), reminding us that grace always precedes peace. God’s favor toward us is because of what Christ obtained when He finished the work by His death, giving us peace with Him (Romans 5:1,2) . The love of Christ expressed in the hearts of the saints is the work of God's Sovereign Grace, growing through knowledge and discernment, leading them to learn what is excellent and to live without offense until the day of Christ (Philippians 1:9-10). This growth is by Christ Himself, not by human striving. Paul affirms that the fruits of righteousness are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:11). Our confidence is anchored entirely in the finished work of Christ at the cross, by which He has saved, justified, sanctified, and preserved His people. Even in our trials and suffering, Christ’s work prevails. Paul recounts how his imprisonment furthered the Gospel (Philippians 1:12-14), demonstrating that God rules and overrules all things according to His purpose. Both the motives and means of men are subject to God’s sovereign will and purpose (Philippians 1:15-18). What matters is that Christ and His finished work are preached and magnified, whether by life or by death (Philippians 1:20). Paul expresses the deep conflict between living and dying, yet both are according to God’s purpose. To live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). Remaining in the flesh is necessary for the benefit of the saints, furthering their faith and joy (Philippians 1:24-26). The confidence of the believer is rooted not in personal strength but in Christ’s preservation and God’s faithfulness to complete His work in us as we live out our lives in these bodies of fallen flesh. Therefore, let the church live in steadfast devotion, unity, and fearless witness, knowing that all things, including opposition, are under Christ’s sovereign Hand (Philippians 1:27-28, 30). Faith is the gift from God, and so is the ability to endure for His sake (Philippians 1:29). The work begun in the hearts of the saints will be preserved and brought to perfection in Christ, and all glory is due to God alone.

Hosea 6:3 "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." There are many things that God does not reveal to His children. It’s like a father with his children. Many times, they may be full of questions about what’s ahead. One of the favorite questions that children like to ask is, “Why?” There may be some things that the father may tell the child to calm their fears or curiosity. However, there are other things that the father may choose not to say, and when the child asks, "Why?" the father may respond, “Because I say so, and I’ll let you know when I think you need to know.” Imagine what Hosea would have felt when the LORD told him to take a prostitute as his wife. There were many things that the LORD did not explain to Hosea, but in obedience to God’s direction, he went and did as the LORD commanded. The LORD knows what He has purposed and who He will raise up to accomplish His will, but most times, it is a matter of trusting God’s sovereign direction, even though we may not see the result. “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law”  (Deuteronomy 29:29). The LORD knows the end from the beginning because He has ordained the end as well as the means. Take the example of Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah. There were doubtless many days when Lot wondered why it was that the LORD had directed him to Sodom. The scriptures tell us that he vexed his righteous soul day and night at the wickedness that he observed and experienced (2 Peter 2:8). And yet, he was brought to see that the LORD had His hand on him the entire time and was brought to understand, as Paul wrote to Timothy, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Timothy 2:19). Our LORD told His disciples that there were many things that He could not tell them at the point when He was preparing to go to the cross for them and lay down His life (John 16:12). The reason given was that they could not bear them at that point. In time, they would be brought to see what things they would suffer for His Name’s sake (Luke 21:12). While the LORD Jesus was going to the cross to pay their complete sin debt and would finish the work, yet they would be called upon to lay down their lives. Too much foreknowledge of what was ahead would have been humanly impossible to bear, but they would know it in the LORD’s time and would be given grace at the appointed time to take up their cross and follow Him. Without giving them the details, the LORD nonetheless told them enough to prepare them: “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”  (John 16:33). This was the Word of the LORD to Hosea and what lay ahead for him and the rebellious nation of Israel. Historically, Hosea was raised up to prophesy in the days of Jeroboam II. Under his reign, Israel seemed to prosper, but inside the nation was a rot that was rife with idolatry, injustice, and false worship. The LORD raised the prophet Hosea to voice God’s displeasure with the nation and warned of impending destruction. Even though the nation ignored God’s impending judgment, the day would come when the LORD’S work would be made clear, in His time. “Then shall we know if we follow on to know the LORD.”   This is to say that when the LORD brought chastening upon the nation, although there would be those that the LORD would preserve—those that He had chosen and given to His Son—others would most certainly go away. It should not surprise us when the LORD sifts the chaff from the wheat. What should cause us wonderment is that the Lord delivers and keeps what He has given to His Son in electing and redeeming grace (John 6:37-40). No matter the conflict or the persecution, the Promise of the LORD stands sure: “His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.”   Here is God’s promise not to destroy all the tribes of Israel, but to preserve a remnant because of His Promised Seed (Christ), who would come through the seed of David and save them in His redeeming work on the earth when He would come in the fullness of the time, by God the Father Himself (Galatians 4:4). For “His going forth”   to visit, deliver, and comfort His people, to manifest Himself to them, to refresh and save them in the coming of Christ in the flesh. His going forth before His people, in His gracious, faithful, holy, just, and wise providence, for their benefit and comfort, “is prepared as the morning” —  As the dawning of a new day, so Christ, the Day Star, would arise and bring salvation and revival through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension (Luke 1:78). " And He shall come unto us as the rain unto the earth” —  The rain (a type of God’s grace in Christ) comes from heaven to earth. It refreshes it, renders it fruitful, beautifies it, and gives it new life. As the latter and former rain —the words may also be rendered, the harvest rain and the rain of seed-time—here is the fulfillment of what God promised from the beginning, but could not be fully revealed until in time, when He was brought into the world as the harvest rain of the seed-time. By His death, burial, and resurrection, He would harvest a great number of sinners to bring them to God by His precious blood shed unto death for those that the Father purposed to save (Matthew 13:1-58).

Hosea 11:9-12 "I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city. They shall walk after the Lord: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west. They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the Lord. Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints." This scripture reveals the gracious heart of God revealed in Christ. The chapter unfolds the astonishing contrast between Israel’s waywardness and the steadfast mercy of the LORD. Though His people have provoked Him to anger, He declares, “I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger… for I am God, and not man.”   Here shines forth the sovereign grace of the covenant God, Who, instead of consuming His guilty children, turns His wrath aside through the redeeming work of His Son. In Christ, Divine justice is satisfied, and mercy triumphs over judgment. This passage points us to that wondrous mystery—that God’s holiness is not compromised, but magnified, in His saving Love. Here we behold the faithfulness of the LORD Who calls His people to Himself, and the sure Hope that in Christ, His compassion never fails. When we consider God and His dealings with sinners, there’s something here that ought to stop us in our tracks. God is Holy. Perfectly Holy. And yet He puts Himself right in the middle of a sinful people. He does not stand far off. He does not leave the entire world to run its course and burn itself out. No, the LORD is in the midst of His people. That is both the most comforting truth and the most sobering truth we who are the LORD'S chosen, redeemed ones could ever hear. Think about this: when a man gets angry, he lets it fly. Our wrath is quick, it’s fierce, it’s often without measure. We explode, and then we try to clean up the mess afterward. That’s man’s way. But God is not man. His wrath is not like ours. His anger is never unhinged, never unjust, never wasted. His wrath is Holy. And that’s what makes it so fearful. Because when God unleashes His anger, it is perfect judgment. Look at the flood in Noah’s day—when the fountains of the deep broke open and the heavens poured rain, every living thing outside the ark perished (Genesis 7:21–23). Yet, even that is a small manifestation of the wrath of God. He destroyed an entire world, yet spared eight souls alive as a token of His grace for an elected remnant. Noah found grace, having been chosen and set apart by God in an otherwise wicked generation. He did not earn it nor deserve it. God set His favor on him as a remnant according to the election of grace (Romans 11:5). Here is the wonder of it: this Holy God, whose wrath is so fierce, so consuming, chooses to withhold it from some, all the while pouring it out on others. Why? Because He is God, and not man. Because He acts according to His sovereign purpose, not according to shifting passions. He holds back judgment, and in holding back, it's because He has purposed mercy for them in His forbearance (Romans 9:15). And that mercy is found in one Person alone—in Christ Jesus, the Son of God. Ephraim was full of lies and deceit. They turned to idols, they rebelled against the LORD, and yet He said He would not destroy them. He spared them, not because they were worthy, but because His purpose in Christ had not yet been fulfilled. He preserved that nation so that centuries later, Christ would pass through Samaria and meet a woman at a well (John 4:4) . That is Holy Mercy. That is God's Sovereign purpose. Make no mistake— “we are by nature children of wrath, even as others” (Ephesians 2:3). We deserve His anger. But here’s the Good News of the Gospel: God has already executed His wrath upon His Son. “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:9–10). Christ bore it, every bit of it, at the cross. He endured the judgment so His people never will. “ There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). That’s why His mercy is Holy Mercy. His love is Holy Love. His grace is Holy Grace. God never lays aside His justice. In Christ Jesus, righteousness and peace kiss each other (Psalm 85:10). His holiness sets apart His people in election, in redemption, in calling. When He roars like a lion, His sheep hear His voice (Hosea 11:10; John 10:27) , and they come trembling to Him. That’s the work of a Holy God in the hearts of sinners. Here’s our confidence: “I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6). "The Holy One is in the midst of us still. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah" (Revelation 5:5). He is ruling, He is reigning, and He will bring all His people home. Christ crucified. His body broken, His blood shed, His wrath endured, His Righteousness imputed. He is our Redemption, our Justification, our Sanctification, and our Glorification. He is All in all. Thanks be to God for His Holy Love, Grace, and Mercy in Christ Jesus.

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).