We took a youth group up hiking in the mountains yesterday. We had a good hike, and a hard climb, but unfortunately one of our young men fell on a rock and got hurt. Not terribly, but enough to stop our climb and force us to turn and work our way back down to the base of the mountain. It was a long, slow walk with one of us hobbling along taking small, painfull steps. We took our time and made it back fine, and the young man is stiff and sore, but appears fine other than that. Thank God for that. I know he had a purpose in stopping us from going further. I wonder if we had went on to the top if someone might have gotten hurt far worse, since there is one place up there where there is about an eighty foot cliff. I trust in Him and know he knows best. We had a picnic lunch and the a short lesson from the Word of God, then sang a few songs and departed. We have determined to perhaps have a bonfire a bit later in the fall, but will be praying about that. In the meanwhile this whole incident reminds me of the verse, Romans 8:28,

"And we know that all thing work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."

God Bless and be with us all, amen.

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God"

Romans 5:1-2

The reason we are not condemned in our sin is because we are justified. That means we have been declared just. Not that we are not guilty, we are. We deserve many times over to be rejected and condemned. We come to God empty handed. "What could a beggar give to a king?" as the old song says. With no merit and deserving nothing, we come to God to seek salvation. We see and know that He is able to save us. We believe and come asking relying solely on the mercy of God and upon His grace. We cannot come with a list of good traits, or submit a resume’ hoping for final approval. It is by His grace alone: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9. God begins, in His mercy to deal with our hearts, and begins to show us our lost condition. He also points to the One who has paid the price so that He could offer us salvation full and free. The condition? We must believe what he is telling us, and call on Him alone for salvation trusting in His promises to save. When we do that, we are justified and Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us.

Salvation brings peace. Peace in our heart, and more importantly, peace with God. A relationship with Jesus that saves, will bring us into a blessed peace with God. What a wonderful blessing to be at peace with the creator of the universe, and the One whom made each one of us the individual that we are.

But God does not just save us to let us drift in uncertainty. He makes Himself available to us night and day, day in, day out, week after week, month after month, and all the way down the road right out into eternity. We have access to the throne. We have access to an unlimited supply of grace. Grace for every trial and trouble and heartache. Grace for every day, every witness, every mission, every direction that God would lead us to follow. If you think the mountain is too high to climb….we have access to grace and strength that never runs short.

Lastly, we have something to celebrate. We have a blessed hope of the glory of God, and the hope of eternal salvation in Him. We can rejoice in Him and in knowing and glorifying Him forever. We do not have to walk around with long, somber faces in this world, we can look to a bright tomorrow and have joy in the knowledge that we have a home in heaven, and nothing can take that away.

Praise Him and Bless His holy Name.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 1:1-14

Jesus said:
I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
John 9:4-5

Light: It's something we all take for granted everyday. We generally think nothing of the morning as the sky fades from darkness to light, and the world awakens afresh. We walk into rooms and nonchalantly flip a switch to flood the room with light so that we clearly see what we are doing. We only dwell in darkness during sleeping hours, but how often those are hours are filled with fear and trembling, until the light returns and eases our mind. Light, comfort, warmth, love, joy, security, and happiness: all of these things associate together in our mind, but darkness brings thoughts of danger and depression and fear of the unknown. When darkness surrounds us, uncertainty and fear rule the day. Imagine living in a world of total darkness where no light can intrude. Imagine blindness with no hope of ever seeing light again. That was our world without Jesus.

The lost are blind and cannot see light. There is no hope for him to find his way out or to climb out of the black pit that sin holds him in. Not without help. The blind can not see where they are going and that the path they walk is fraught with danger and the end is utter destruction. They must be shown.

To someone who is physically blind, there may be some hope of a future cure, some miracle of science to restore him to the light of sight. To the spiritually blind, there is only one hope, and that hope lies in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible speaks of Him in glowing terms. The book of John opens with a description of Jesus that leaves not doubt about who He is or why He came. The first sentence speaks of His creative work. In the third verse of chapter one of Genesis, God said "let there be light." He is the originator of it. But more than that, Jesus is the light. The scripture says He was the light of men. Men walking in darkness saw in Him, all down through the ages, light and hope. From the deepest dungeon to the blackest sin, Jesus has sought out and healed the darkness of spiritual blindness. He has given light and hope to the hopeless. The world at large is under the curse of sin and when the light of Jesus Christ shines forth and manifests itself, the world does not understand it. The verses quoted say the "light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." The world needs help to see the beauty and brightness of the light of Jesus. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4: "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." The lost need to be shown the Light, our savior Jesus Christ.

Notice the verses said that the Light lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Every man has some degree of light to point him to the True Light. If you were lost in a deep cave, and had no light to light your way and you began to crawl ever so carefully along in the darkness for what seemed like forever, then far off in the distance you saw the slightest glow of light, so faint you were not even sure you were seeing it, would you not at least crawl that way to try to find a way to safety? Sure you would, and as you responded to that light, and drew a bit closer, the light would become more distinct. Maybe it is only a shade brighter, but enough to draw you on. So on you go drawing nearer and at some point you realize that the light is real and offers a way of escape and presently is distinct enough to allow you to stand and walk to the exit and safety. This is the way of men in the world. God gives them a bit of light and reveals His son as the way out of the darkness. Some men see the light and begin to move toward it, while others will argue that they know which way to go to get out on their own. They reject the light and turn toward darkness heading deeper in to the dungeons of sin.
Which man are you today? Are you in the light, having already escaped the coming darkness? Are you drawn toward the light and want to investigate the Source of the light, but have not yet reached the point you are helped to stand? Or, are you stubbornly holding to your path, thinking you can find your way in the dark?

There is a Light to come to. It is real and it is warm it is full of mercy and grace, and it will lead you to eternal security in a place where no darkness ever comes. Jesus said "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Won’t you turn toward the light today and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour?

"The Heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech or language, where their voice is not heard." Psalm 19: 1-3

It is an awesome thought to think on the God of all the universe and all he has created. He gave plain evidence of Himself in His glorious creation. All around us each and every day there is a world screaming at us to look past it, to the one who created it. His mighty works are seen in the mountains and the streams, in the brook and the vale, in the field and in the coolly shaded forests. The sun that warms you speaks of His power, the breeze that cools you speaks of His mercy. The moon speaks of His perfect balance, and the stars and the galaxies speak of His vastness and His majesty. These things speak to every heart no matter the language and they point every soul toward Christ, for He is not willing that any should perish but that all should have eternal life.