Our Attitude - Published on June 28, 2022 ... As long as we are in this flesh, we will have misunderstandings among us, unpleasantness’s, and even injustices; we will feel that our rights have been violated and others have been wrong in what they have said and done. What is to be our attitude? It is to be twofold: "FORBEARING one another and FORGIVING one another." To FORBEAR is to control our emotions, surrendering our rights for the time being in patient hope that God will reveal his purpose... Donnie Bell Article Length: Very Short |
Going Home - Published on June 28, 2022 ...Note: This article is the final chapter in Don Fortner's Book, "Going Home."
Recently, I read a sermon by a Scottish preacher named Andrew Gray. He lived from 1633-1656, leaving this world when he was only 23 years old. He was only a very young man when he preached the sermon. The title of his message was 'Returning to Zion'. I cannot tell you when I have read a message that was more delightful, or of a greater blessing to my soul. It was so ... Don Fortner Article Length: Long |
These Things Will Reveal Our Hearts to Us - Published on June 28, 2022 ... Since it is written in our hearts that, “It is appointed unto man once to die and after that, the judgment,” we have a natural aversion to death and a great fear of what comes afterward. If we have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and professed to believe it, we have a natural tendency to look for some evidences or proof that we are, indeed, believers in Christ and heirs of God’s promise. Religion and our natural conscience are all too ready to provide... Joe Terrell Article Length: Short |
It is Our Father Who Breaks Our Teeth - Published on June 27, 2022 ... Faith in Christ and obedience to Christ does not exempt God’s saints from all the storms everybody else in this world faces; rather it intensifies them…All the heartaches, all the pains, all the sicknesses all the troubles that everybody else faces you will too, but now there’s an added difficulty. You know that your heavenly Father is the one who sends the trouble, not by accident…on purpose. Not because of anger, but because of love. It is our Father who... Don Fortner Article Length: Very Short |
Vilified, Slandered, Reproached, and Reviled - Published on June 27, 2022 ... Therefore, I bind these lies and slanderous accusations to my person as an ornament; it belongs to my Christian profession to be vilified, slandered, reproached and reviled, and since all this is nothing but that, as god and my conscience testify, I rejoice in being reproached for Christ's sake.... John Bunyan Article Length: Very Short |
Don't Cover the Altar with Your Tears - Published on June 27, 2022 ...And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. - Malachi 2:13
When we come to the Lord in repentance and faith, our only confidence that we have is that God alone is faithful to His covenant promises. We don't deserve any mercy or grace because we have confessed our sins. Indeed, our confession ... Brandan Kraft Article Length: Short |
The Title Reverend - Published on June 26, 2022 ...He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name. - Psalm 111:9
There is only ONE who should ever be called reverend, and that is the ONE who inhabits eternity. His name is Jesus and holy and reverend is his name. And so I don't understand why men and women today allow themselves to be referenced with this title, let alone encourage their followers to do so. Have they not read the sc... Brandan Kraft Article Length: Short |
He Hath Made Him to be Sin for Us! - Published on June 26, 2022 ...For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. - 2 Cor 5:21
What was done with the Lord Jesus Christ when he was made to be sin for us? Let no one consider these things as mere matters of cold, theological speculation. They are to be studied and meditated upon only with deep reverence for him who was made to be sin for us.
Our Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily took upon himself an intimate, infinite a... Don Fortner Article Length: Medium |
Preach the Gospel - Published on June 26, 2022 ...And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. - Mark 16:15
When I was a young man, I listened with astonishment to a conversation between two older preachers, pastors who believed and preached the doctrines of grace. They were talking about the deadness of their churches, the apathy of the people, and the fact that they were seeing no results from their ministries - their churches were not growing . One of the men said, &q... Don Fortner Article Length: Short |
Distinction Between Eternity and Time Illustrated - Published on June 26, 2022 ... Time is transitory presence in contrast to eternity which is abiding presence. Since time presently coexists with eternity, man who is a creature of time has difficulty differentiating between them. The puritans spoke of eternity as an “eternal duration.” Duration, however, can be measured; but eternity is immeasurable. The dictionary defines “duration” as continuance in time or the length of time during which something continues or exists. Eternity cannot b... W.E. Best Article Length: Medium |
Double Predestination - Published on June 26, 2022 ... Indeed, just as He [God] predestined all of the elect to life through the gratuity of the free grace of His kindness, as the pages of the Old and New Testaments very clearly, skillfully, and soberly show those seeking wisdom on this matter, so also He altogether predestined the reprobate to the punishment of eternal death, of course, through the most righteous judgment of His immutable justice. (Reply to Rabanus Maurus)... Gottschalk of Orbais Article Length: Very Short |
The Danger of Words Outrunning Experience - Published on June 25, 2022 ... Many who claim to believe in free grace talk about the faith of God’s elect (Titus 1:1), but they do not manifest obedience of that faith (Rom. 16:26). What value is there in a mere academic understanding of Biblical principles if those principles are not evidenced in life? Saving faith, which is the fruit of Divine election, is a refining grace. It purifies the heart (Acts 15:9). Refining faith does not take away all sin from the life of the believer, but it removes the love... W.E. Best Article Length: Short |
Time is Life's Book - Published on June 25, 2022 ... Time is life’s book. Out of this book the elect extract, by redeeming the time, wondrous wisdom. The nonelect let the book lie unopened and die as fools. While the elect are receiving precious fruit that will abide eternally, the nonelect are perishing with hunger. Furthermore, while the elect are gaining new spiritual heights every day, the nonelect are sinking deeper into shame and degradation. The elect treat serious things seriously, but the nonelect treat trivial things ... W.E. Best Article Length: Very Short |
Time is not the Same to All Men - Published on June 25, 2022 ... The significance of time is not the same to all men. To the elect, time is a precious possession. It is a time of redemption and deliverance (Gal. 1:4; I Pet. 1:18-20), regeneration (John 3:8; Eze 16:8), salvation (II Cor. 6:2; I Pet. 1:21-25), sanctification (I Thess. 4:4-12), and growing in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (II Pet. 3:18). On the other hand, the nonelect know not the value of time. They do not know how to spend time anticipating eternity. They inquire what they... W.E. Best Article Length: Short |
The Rich Man and Lazarus Contrasted - Published on June 25, 2022 ... The inward conditions of the rich man and Lazarus are contrasted. One exulted in his wealth; the other was content with grace in his poor afflicted condition. One was a seeker of earthly treasures; the other was a seeker of heavenly treasures. One was selfish and ungodly; the other was a self-sacrificing believer. We learn from the providence of God that worldly prosperity does not prove one’s acceptance with God, and poverty does not prove his abandonment. Furthermore, socia... W.E. Best Article Length: Medium |
Affliction - Published on June 25, 2022 ... Affliction is part of the discipline of the life of grace. It is momentarily producing for us a weight of glory. In II Corinthians 4:17, the word for “moment” is parautika. It is an adverb meaning instantly, immediately, momentary, or transient. It is used only in this verse. Paul was speaking of the momentary lightness of affliction in view of the weight of eternal glory. Affliction, therefore, results in enriching the Christian’s spiritual life: “But ... W.E. Best Article Length: Short |
The Partition Wall Between Christians - Published on June 25, 2022 ...One of William Cowper’s earliest letters from Olney shows how the various denominations in the town could live peacefully together sharing a great oneness in Christ. Cowper, writing to Mrs Madan, says:
We have had a Holiday Week at Olney. The Association of Baptist Ministers met here on Wednesday. We had three Sermons from them that day, and One on Thursday, besides Mr. Newton’s (Anglican minister) in the Evening. One of the Preachers was Mr. Booth, (Abraham Booth ... William Cowper Article Length: Short |
We Must be Taught of God - Published on June 25, 2022 ...March 16, 1830
My dear Brother,
I am happy to say that the sermon has been blessed by God in this neighborhood, and consequently has made a very great stir. I received a letter from a poor man at some distance, thanking me for printing the sermon, as it has been a comfort to his soul and to others. Of course I shall have neither the praise of the unbelievers, nor their good wishes. The gospel is a fan that will separate the chaff from the wheat. The Pharisees and philosophers get but littl... William Tiptaft Article Length: Short |
Has Jesus Been Lost in Your TULIP? - Published on June 24, 2022 ..."Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." - Rev 2:4
I think a lot about the so-called Gospel Defenders that I departed from in my life. I think I do so often because I was close with many of them, but now I find much of their behavior quite abhorrent. I also have taken a step back and observed myself, and I am quite horrified as well. I have had a glimpe of the ugliness of my si... Brandan Kraft Article Length: Medium |
God Did Not Wait to Save His People - Published on June 24, 2022 ... God has intellectually displayed His eternal purpose in His word to remind the elect that their salvation is no afterthought with Him. Our salvation was God’s forethought. Hence, God has displayed before us not only what He eternally purposed but what He actually does in time. God’s purpose is not the same as His execution of the thing purposed. For example, God’s purpose to create is not the same as creation itself. Moreover, His purpose to save certain ones is n... W.E. Best Article Length: Short |