The Old, Old Story
I heard an old, old story,
How a Savior came from glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary
To save a wretch like me;
I heard about His groaning,
Of His precious blood's atoning,
Then I repented of my sins
And won the victory.
(Words and Music by E.M. Bartlett ©1939)
The old, old story is the favorite of millions, It is good for the old and it is good for the young.
The Apostle Paul wrote,
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power (dunamis, the miraculous, power of God) unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
The gospel of Christ was sufficient to save the lost in the first century and it is sufficient to save the lost in the twenty first century. It will save the boy and the girl, the man and the woman, and those who are not sure what they are. It will save the heterosexual and it will save the homosexual. It will save the gentile, it will save the Muslim and it will save the Jew. The rich and poor, the down and out, the good and the bad. Everyone needs salvation and Jesus can save everyone. There is enough of his shed blood to cover all of your sins today.
And all you have to do is believe.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Acts 16:31.
There is no other name given among men under heaven whereby we must be saved. Acts 4:12.
Jesus is the only way because no one else has done what Jesus has done.
1 Corinthians 15 declares:
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory
what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed
in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
He died for our sins and he rose from the dead. No one else has done that for lost humanity.
Jesus himself said no man can come to the true God without him
See the old, old story is this. John 3:16.delares:
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God loves you and he wants to deliver you from sin. He sent his only begotten son Jesus to die for you. If you believe the old old story you will become a new new person.
If any man is in Christ he is a new creature.
2 Corinthians 5:17.
If you believe, you will not perish. You will not be separated from God forever in hell.
Will God send people to hell? No, God will love you all the way to hell but without Jesus he can’t let you into heaven. See, he has provided a way of escape. If you chose the wrong way you lead yourself to hell. God wants you to have eternal, everlasting life with him. Forever life. Now new life, hereafter forever life.
This is the offer on the table today. Choose the new life now and eternal life later. Choose the forgiveness of your sins. Choose life. Choose to be saved now. Come to Jesus and be born again. Start over. Make that decision today. Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart.
Rev. 3:20 says: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Open the door, welcome him in. Now. The old old story will become your favorite too. -PJF-
And now a word from our Pastor…
Revenge Travel
So what is revenge travel? Although there isn't a formal definition, industry experts are saying revenge travel is an increase in people wanting to travel to make up for experiences and time they lost during the pandemic. It's a way to show that travelers are over COVID and are finding joy through travel again.
Even though costs have gone way up: gas, food, hotel stays, theme parks, attractions, etc. people are still traveling. They are staying longer than they normally would have and doing things they have always wanted to do because “life is too short” and who knows when they’ll get the chance to do it again.
Working in a highly visited attractions area I have personally dealt with these “revenge travelers.” They willingly share that they booked additional days to make up for the past two years.
In everything that I experience, I always relate it to the Kingdom of God. My mind automatically goes that way. I wondered what the Church was doing to make up for “lost time” during the pandemic.
How many outreaches were cancelled because of the “no more than 10” rule? How many hospital visits were missed? How many souls were lost because of these cancellations? What is the church doing to make up for lost time?
My prayer is that the church and it’s leaders will hit the hospitals harder than ever to see every sick soul, regardless if their church member is there or not. I pray that an outreach will take place every week, if not twice a week to make up for lost time.
Instead of thinking about where and how, be active and pray. Ask God how can we do more productive and effective outreach? Pray in the finances and support to accomplish the goal. Pray that doors will open for more visitations. Pray that hearts will be receptive to the hearing the word of God. Pray that conversions, true conversions will take place. Pray, pray, pray!
Trust and believe that God will answer. He will provide. Souls will be saved and the church will be victorious again.
Then we can rejoice and be able to truly sing “I went to the enemy’s camp and I took back what he stole from me.” It gives new meaning to the saying “sweet revenge” doesn’t it? -SAF-
Reason I Sing
By Phil Wickham, Hymn of Heaven ©2022
Chorus:
For the cross that You bore
and the debt that You paid
For the victory You won over death
and the grave
This is the reason I sing
For the hope that You give
and the joy that You bring
For the promise that Heaven is waiting
for me
This is the reason I sing
Psalm 3 – Rest
1 Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.
2 Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. 3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. 4 I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. 5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. 7 Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. 8 Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.
I would like to share three things about Psalm Three.
Number one: It is legitimate to assess your troubles and your enemies.
It is not weakness of faith to be realistic about what you are facing. Some folks like to say, Don’t tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is. The Psalmist did not consider it faulty to tell God about his difficulties. I like to say, Tell God everything as if he doesn’t know anything about it.
Secondly: It is imperative that you acknowledge the greatness of your God.
So, yes after you look at the problem and tell God about it, look to the Lord and begin to praise him and magnify him. Remember, God doesn’t get any bigger when you magnify him, except to you. And right now you are the one that needs a big God.
Express your faith in your God. Review his significance in your life. David said in verse three: 3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
He compared God to the soldier’s shield which protects his vitals. He saw into the Glory of the Lord. And though he had been downcast God was about to lift his head up. That meant David’s attitude and mood, were about to change. Faith was coming back, confidence was returning. The big problem paled in comparison to his big God. Hallelujah!
Número tres, or number three.
I like this one a lot.
David says, first, I thought about my troubles, second, I thought about my God, and then:
I rolled over and went to sleep.
Verse 5 declares: I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.
No use worrying, no use stressing, no need to stay up all night. I laid me down and slept. Hallelujah!
And guess what. When he awoke he was a different man.
In verse 6 he confesses: I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.
All fear is gone.
And in verse 8 he concludes declaring the salvation of our God. Hallelujah.
It is interesting to note that each of these three sections end with a Selah, which means, Think about it.
We are to not just read the scripture, but think about it, consider it, meditate upon it, and apply it to our life. So as we think on these words penned by David, we learn the way to peace and rest in Christ. Amen. -PJF-
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