THE GIFT OF FELLOWSHIP!

 

Thursday, April 16, 2026

 

THE GIFT OF FELLOWSHIP!

 

Mal 3:13-16

13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord . Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?

14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord  of hosts?

15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

16 Then they that feared the Lord  spake often one to another: and the Lord  hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord , and that thought upon his name.

 

          Malachi chapter three is about more than money! There have been so many references to verse 10 that it is easy to think that this chapter is all about tithing but it is actually a mirror of our current times. Worship had deteriorated into a series of forms and rituals while the hearts of many were asking if it was vain to serve God. Most saw no benefit in it but a few remained faithful.

 

          Merriam-Webster says that “fellowship” is “the condition of friendly relationship existing among persons; a group with similar interests.’ There are three characteristics given to those who were faithful.

 

          They feared the Lord! The word “fear” suggests a reverence that adjusts one’s morality. It is respect that causes one to change or to be different. It is respect with honor. It caused them to depart from evil and to keep God’s ordinances.

 

          They spoke often to one another! They mutually encouraged one another. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said: “Communion is strength; solitude is weakness. Alone, the fine old beech yields to the blast and lies prone on the meadow. In the forest, supporting each other, the trees laugh at the hurricane. The sheep of Jesus flock together. The social element is the genius of Christianity.”

 

          They thought on His name!  They meditated on the person of God. Much of our thinking is about ourselves; our needs and our comfort but these thought on the various aspects of God. God was in their heart. God listened in! When we are casually having fellowship with other believers God hears and records it.

 

Ps 119:63

63 I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.

 

Dear Lord, thank you for the sweet fellowship of other believers. AMEN

 

 

HE GIVETH MORE GRACE!

 

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

 

HE GIVETH MORE GRACE!

 

James 4:5-7

5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

 

2 Cor 12:9

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

 

          Only once, in James chapter 4 do we see this phrase. It is very interesting to me because James can sometimes come across as a bit harsh in his application of truth. Grace might have been reserved for John, or even Paul, but James also admits both the need and the supply. I don’t like being – or even feeling – weak. Neither did Paul! But in his weakness Paul experienced and learned to appreciate the grace of God.

 

          Your automobile is equipped with a gas pedal, or what we old timers used to call the foot-feed. When going uphill or in times of stress or strain the foot- feed fed more and more fuel to the engine which enabled the car to proceed. So, it is with the grace of God. It seems there is always sufficient grace for every need.

 

          Grace can be defined as God’s favor, kindness, and friendship. Dr. Charles Stanley said it is God's kindness toward humanity, without regard to the worth or merit of those who receive it, and without their deserving it. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 the word “sufficient” has the idea of “raising a barrier.” So, we see that God raises a protective barrier against those things that distress us.

 

There is an old hymn written by Ann J. Flint.

 

1.    He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

2.    When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

3.    Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

(chorus)

4.    His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

 

Dear Lord, all I can say this morning is thank you for your sufficient grace. AMEN

 

BUT NOW!

 

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

 

BUT NOW!

 

Rom 3:19-21

19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

 

          The product of the law was not redemption but universal guilt. This guilt proved the universal inefficacy of self-improvement and self-redemption. “By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.” It was never the purpose of the Law. The law only points out sin and by doing so produces guilt. Guilt is the first step to redemption.

 

          The righteousness of God without the law presumes the subject has acknowledged that he can’t save himself or even improve himself. The righteousness is God’s and not ours. The Law’s mission and ministry was so that every mouth may be stopped; that every excuse might be rejected.

 

          Guilt gives way to accountability once excuses are removed. I become conscious that there is a Judge of my character and behavior and that there are consequences. I stand before Him with the knowledge of my sin and with no remedy. I am accountable but have nothing with which to pay my debt. I will surely be punished.

 

          Righteousness required becomes righteousness provided. It comes from the stores and reserves of another who is righteous and has righteousness to spare and share. The Prophets and the Law testify to the righteousness of Messiah. This righteousness is offered to the guilty by grace and it is received by faith. None is preferred or excluded. It is available to all. Justice was poured upon the innocent Jesus so that mercy might be extended to the guilty.

 

Rom 3:27-28

27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

 

Rock Of Ages

 

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law's demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

 

Dear Lord, thank you for the Law that made me guilty and for your own righteousness that made me free. AMEN