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Thursday, February 7, 2013
Stone wall in Mount Joy, PA farmhouse
(Photo by Nick Nichols)
Listen to this message on your
audio player.
"A Haven Of Grace"
"Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:12,13).
We
enjoy the name of our town, Mount Joy, which might seem to have a
spiritual background but this is not the case.
Mount Joy is often included in lists of "delightfully-named towns"
in Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Also included are Intercourse, Blue Ball,
Lititz, Bareville, Bird-in-Hand and Paradise. The name is often
shortened to Mt. Joy but this is incorrect, since the "Mount" in Mount
Joy does not refer to a mountain. The town's name Mountjoy, named after an Irish ship, was brought to the colonies
by settlers from Ireland.
Let's consider another interesting name for a town. Havre de Grace is a city in Maryland
about 55 miles south of us situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna
River and the head of Chesapeake Bay. It is named after the port city
of Le Havre, France, which in full was once Le Havre de Grāce. This is
French for "Haven of Grace".
In our daily Scripture text the Apostle Paul is reminding the Ephesian believers where they came from before they entered their spiritual haven of grace. "Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world."
One commentator makes this observation: The Gentiles are characterized spiritually by five "less" attributes:
A major theme in Paul's
epistle to the Ephesians is grace. A helpful acrostic explaining
grace is "God's Riches At Christ's Expense". Thank God that we can
point people without hope in the direction of a haven of grace! "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ."
Consider our inheritance as a believer in Christ in the spiritual realm which is a result of God's grace. Our past is forgiven, our present is abundant life in Christ, and our future is heaven, forever with Him. What could be greater than those blessings in addition to the fact. And grace upon grace is the fact that it's available to everyone including those whose lives are wrecked!
Now
let's all spread the good news of our caring, loving God to a broken,
hurting world and tell them of this haven of grace! There is no vessel
too broken that God's healing touch can't restore. That which is
impossible with man is possible with God!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, we limit our faith when we pray and then
expect You
to provide for our needs in the natural human way. But when we read the
Scriptures we're reminded me that You are Omnipotent and You work
in supernatural ways to restore broken lives and mend broken
hearts. You do extraordinary things in ordinary lives who've
plunged into desperate messes of their own making. We place our
loved ones in Your hands and ask You to reveal Your immeasurable,
not for sale grace to their lives, even as You have shown to us. Thank
You for grace, God's riches at Christ's expense. Amen.
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
In Monday's message we considered the blessing of brothers and I listed times in the Bible when brothers are mentioned. I had forgotten to include the two brothers in the story of the Prodigal son.
"A Place Called Grace" Video A powerful retelling of the Prodigal Son
"When God Ran" Video
"The Prodigal Son" Video Keith Green
Yesterday
I was looking for some photos of Mount Joy and I noticed a name came up
that I recognized; a Lancaster County friend named Bernard "Nick" Nichols. He has
a lot of photos posted on the web including the Mount
Joy farmhouse photo we used in our lead picture and he gave me
permission to
use them. This photo above was taken at the Bird In Hand Farmer's Market a
couple of years ago when Nick was showing me the features of his Iphone. He would be
a good salesman for Apple! Here's an interesting collection of his photos.
These are articles we come across in the course of
studying for these messages or just poking around the vast Internet. In
most cases they
are not necessarily related to
the daily message but may be of interest to our readers. These articles
will only be posted once and there will be new ones each post, assuming
we come across material that we feel may be of interest. (To see
previous links use the archive version.)
"Ex-Christians: Ways to Bring Back the Leavers" An interesting article by Steve Cable on the Probe Ministries website.
Despite Iran’s Lies, American Pastor Saeed Not Forgotten See Hebrews 13:3
"Counseling and the Church" David Penley asserts that "Counseling takes place in the church all the time. In Sunday School classes, in worship services, in hallways. The church is where it should take place." We really believe this such as in our worship service Sunday when a man who will soon turn 90 stood up during the testimony time and began by stating, "I'm on the home stretch" prior to dispensing some wisdom for all ages.
<Previous Message Next Message>
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Stone wall in Mount Joy, PA farmhouse
(Photo by Nick Nichols)
Listen to this message on your
audio player."A Haven Of Grace"
"Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:12,13).
We
enjoy the name of our town, Mount Joy, which might seem to have a
spiritual background but this is not the case.
Mount Joy is often included in lists of "delightfully-named towns"
in Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Also included are Intercourse, Blue Ball,
Lititz, Bareville, Bird-in-Hand and Paradise. The name is often
shortened to Mt. Joy but this is incorrect, since the "Mount" in Mount
Joy does not refer to a mountain. The town's name Mountjoy, named after an Irish ship, was brought to the colonies
by settlers from Ireland.Let's consider another interesting name for a town. Havre de Grace is a city in Maryland
about 55 miles south of us situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna
River and the head of Chesapeake Bay. It is named after the port city
of Le Havre, France, which in full was once Le Havre de Grāce. This is
French for "Haven of Grace".In our daily Scripture text the Apostle Paul is reminding the Ephesian believers where they came from before they entered their spiritual haven of grace. "Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world."
One commentator makes this observation: The Gentiles are characterized spiritually by five "less" attributes:
- Christ-less,
- Country-less,
- Covenant-less,
- Hope-less and
- God-less!
A major theme in Paul's
epistle to the Ephesians is grace. A helpful acrostic explaining
grace is "God's Riches At Christ's Expense". Thank God that we can
point people without hope in the direction of a haven of grace! "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ."Consider our inheritance as a believer in Christ in the spiritual realm which is a result of God's grace. Our past is forgiven, our present is abundant life in Christ, and our future is heaven, forever with Him. What could be greater than those blessings in addition to the fact. And grace upon grace is the fact that it's available to everyone including those whose lives are wrecked!
Now
let's all spread the good news of our caring, loving God to a broken,
hurting world and tell them of this haven of grace! There is no vessel
too broken that God's healing touch can't restore. That which is
impossible with man is possible with God!Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, we limit our faith when we pray and then
expect You
to provide for our needs in the natural human way. But when we read the
Scriptures we're reminded me that You are Omnipotent and You work
in supernatural ways to restore broken lives and mend broken
hearts. You do extraordinary things in ordinary lives who've
plunged into desperate messes of their own making. We place our
loved ones in Your hands and ask You to reveal Your immeasurable,
not for sale grace to their lives, even as You have shown to us. Thank
You for grace, God's riches at Christ's expense. Amen.Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
In Monday's message we considered the blessing of brothers and I listed times in the Bible when brothers are mentioned. I had forgotten to include the two brothers in the story of the Prodigal son.
"A Place Called Grace" Video A powerful retelling of the Prodigal Son
"When God Ran" Video
"The Prodigal Son" Video Keith Green
These are articles we come across in the course of
studying for these messages or just poking around the vast Internet. In
most cases they
are not necessarily related to
the daily message but may be of interest to our readers. These articles
will only be posted once and there will be new ones each post, assuming
we come across material that we feel may be of interest. (To see
previous links use the archive version.)"Ex-Christians: Ways to Bring Back the Leavers" An interesting article by Steve Cable on the Probe Ministries website.
Despite Iran’s Lies, American Pastor Saeed Not Forgotten See Hebrews 13:3
"Counseling and the Church" David Penley asserts that "Counseling takes place in the church all the time. In Sunday School classes, in worship services, in hallways. The church is where it should take place." We really believe this such as in our worship service Sunday when a man who will soon turn 90 stood up during the testimony time and began by stating, "I'm on the home stretch" prior to dispensing some wisdom for all ages.
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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