Friday Morning Prayer:)… December 27, 2018

January 17, 2019 - 6 minutes read
Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child and forever I am.
 
 
Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.
 
 
Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence
With me doth continually dwell.
 
 
I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long:
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song.[1]
 
 
“For the grace God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.”[2]
________________________
 
Many things in this life are unpredictable.  The breath I easily breathe today may not be so easily enjoyed tomorrow.  On Christmas Eve I attended Mt. View Bible candlelight service.  My brother Jon was not preaching due to his devoted wife Barb having to go to the hospital because of chest pains earlier that day.  Our brother Eric informed the body of Barb’s condition and explained why Jon was not preaching as planned.   God had mercy on Jon and Barb, even as many prayers were being brought before the throne of grace, Jon called the day after Christmas praising God for a successful surgery that opened a clogged artery allowing Barb to breathe easily and go home with Jon only after a couple of days.  The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared and our heavenly calling is to make the truth (teaching, doctrine, gospel) about God our Savior attractive through an empowered, devoted, sincere, unwavering, and trustworthy life daily lived-out in our Lord Jesus.
 
 
You may not know Barb or Jon.  Nonetheless, they are devoted believers in Jesus, and your brother and sister in Christ who have made God our Savior attractive through years of humble service and much love demonstrated to the body of Christ.  Rejoice in this great salvation!  Pray for Barb, her healing, quick recovery, and overflowing joy in the midst of this unpredictable life.  Both Jon and Barb make God our Savior attractive through their devoted, gospel-centered lives.  On Christmas Eve, pastor Eric delivered a Spirit-led message from Titus 2:11-14.  Indeed! We rightly celebrate the grace of God that brings salvation−He is our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ!
 
In Christ, I cannot ignore such a great salvation!  I do not want to just make a profession of faith in Jesus, I am compelled to live in the Light and run from the darkness!  A truly regenerate heart certainly struggles and stumbles through the process of growth and maturity in Christ.  However, the overwhelming drive, especially as I, and you too, humbly cry out for help and continually recognize our desperate need for our Redeemer, is to “live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope−the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ…”[3]     
 
 
Beloved, my prayer for you is that you’d be encouraged and irresistibly attracted to God: his supernatural love for you, the empowering of the indwelling Spirit, the gospel truth that emphasizes the cross and the shed blood that redeems us from all wickedness.  God in Christ purifies for himself a people that are his very own; we are eager to do what is good to God’s glory!  
 
 
I know I shall see in His beauty
The King in whose law I delight;
Who lovingly guardeth my footsteps,
And giveth me songs in the night.
 
 
I know there’s a crown that is waiting
In yonder bright mansion for me,
And soon, with the spirits made perfect,
At home with the Lord I shall be.
__________________
 
Sisters are meeting to pray!  First Baptist.  1912 Arnold Way, Alpine, 0900.
 
You are invited to join faithful gals for a sweet hour of prayer.  If not this group, be ye encouraged to join a group of faithful believers who love you and pray with you.  These gals represent a few different churches in Alpine, yet are united in friendship and devotion to our Lord Jesus.  Go check it out and be blessed.
 
Brothers are meeting too!  Bethel Assembly.   1929 Arnold Way,  Alpine, 0730.
 
Men in Christ meet to encourage and love one another.  We pray as the Holy Spirit leads our time together.  You are invited to join and enjoy our God in the fellowship of the saints.  No expectations or human requirements.  God gives us the desire to pray before the throne of grace with a humble regenerate heart.  Brothers devoted to love one another.