FOR TO ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST--CHARLES WOODRUFF (short version)

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).

Are these words of the Apostle Paul, stating his personal relationship with Jesus Christ, my words also? Are they yours? Paul was not stating these words to brag, nor was he confining their effect to only himself. These words should be heartfelt and part of every believer's life. It should be our "life verse". I have always said that my life verse is "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). Even that one is hard to live day by day. Being creatures of flesh, all of us are more prone to live this in reality "To me to live is to be successful, and to die is having to reluctantly leave it all behind".

Of course, to the lost world, living in Christ, walking in Christ, witnessing for Christ are all things that a madman does. Christ is dead, don't you know? He has been for nearly 2000 years, or so these blinded rebels say. What they are not seeing is that, yes, He died, but He is risen!

What made Paul different is that he met the resurrected Christ on the Damascus road, and thereafter he was never the same as before. He was a persecutor of the church, but now is a proclaimer of the gospel of the Christ that he once persecuted.

We are not even looking at this time at the second part of this verse. That talks about dying. No one wants to do that. Understandably so, for God so designed us with survival instincts, yet Paul says for him, to die is gain. We will examine that later. For now, focus on the living part. Is Christ so in us and our lives that we can say with Paul "To me to live is Christ"? That is a tall order. We cannot do it. In ourselves, at least, we cannot do it. The Holy Spirit (who is the Spirit of Christ), must be so in control of us that we do not live our own lives, as such, but "Christ liveth in me".

Our verse is perhaps the key verse of Philippians, and one of the most important in the Bible. Am I, are you, living it in application? I confess that I am not fully, but I sincerely want to do so. I am striving against sin daily. I am looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. Yet, I still fall short of the glory of God. I am not giving up, and with God as my helper, I am going to reach that place where I can say with Paul "For to me to live is Christ". How about you?

By Charles Woodruff 1/12/2010

KISS THE SON- SHAWN DAVIS

“Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” Psalm 2:11-12

'No gold, nor purple swaddling bands,
Nor royal shining things;
A manger for his cradle stands,
And holds the King of kings.
Go, shepherds, where the Infant lies,
And see his humble throne;
With tears of joy in all your eyes,
Go, shepherds, kiss the Son.' Isaac Watts 1674-1748

Jesus Christ came to this earth to save sinners, to deliver sinners. The King of kings and Lord of lords was not born in a palace. He was not placed in a beautiful baby crib. The world didn’t want Him then and it doesn’t want Him now. There is no room for Him… there never has been. People are too full of the world and themselves to have room for Jesus Christ. I recognize this is the time of the year when many turn their thoughts towards peace and goodwill toward men. That’s a good thing. But it is not THE thing.

Jesus was not just a good man. He was not just a wise teacher. He did not come to this earth just to be a babe in a manger. He came to die. He came to give Himself a ransom for all. {I Timothy 2:6} He came to save His people from their sins. He “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” He had a definite purpose in coming to this world. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…”

As Charles Wesley wrote many years ago;

“And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”

“Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.”

JELLYFISH CHRISTIANITY- J. C. RYLE

The following has been for many years been one of my favorite quotes from godly Bishop J. C. Ryle. He continues to be one of my favorites. He showed us how to reflect Christ's light even in what was for the most part a cold, dead denomination. I thank http://jcrylequotes.com for reminding us of this good quote, though I am including the entire paragraph from the book.

“One plague of our age is the widespread dislike to what men are pleased to call dogmatic theology. In the place of it, the idol of the day is a kind of jellyfish Christianity – a Christianity without bone, or muscle, or sinew, – without any distinct teaching about the atonement or the work of the Spirit, or justification, or the way of peace with God – a vague, foggy, misty Christianity, of which the only watchwords seem to be, ‘You must be…liberal and kind. You must condemn no man’s doctrinal views. You must consider everybody is right and nobody is wrong’. And this creedless kind of religion, we are told, is to give us peace of conscience! And not to be satisfied with it in a sorrowful, dying world, is a proof that you are very narrow-minded! Satisfied, indeed! Sucha religion might possibly do for unfallen angels! But to tell sinful, dying men and women, with the blood of our father Adam in our veins, to be satisfied with it, is an insult to common sense and a mockery of our distress. We need something far better than this. We need the blood of Christ."

The Upper Room; chapter six, “One Blood”, page 99; Banner of Truth, London, 1977 reprint

CHRISTIANS NEED MELLOWING--W.F. BELL

BY W.F. BELL

This will not be long, so give me just a moment (most of us don't like "long sermons" anyway). "Mellow" means "ripe, soft, and with good flavor; sweet and juicy." And in the figurative sense, it means, "softened and made wise by age or experience." Remember this definition.

When I was younger, some godly, older men would often say to me, "You are preaching the truth, but the way you say it is too harsh." Thus I learned (hopefully) that you can do a right thing in the wrong way, or putting it in scriptural language, I learned that we should always be careful to "speak the truth in love." I just read a recently printed message on the new birth, and the wise, elderly preacher said this: "And I mean this without intending any offense toward those precious children of God, who believe the contrary system. I have learned, or, at least I am trying to learn, to be more considerate, to be more courteous, than I have in the past toward those precious children of God, who have never come to understand and to appreciate some of the doctrines that are so precious to you and me." He has "mellowed," in other words. Note the kind words, "those precious children of God," and "I am trying to learn to be more considerate, to be more courteous, than I have in the past." Let us all learn here that we must view others as true children of God, even though they differ with us in doctrine or denomination.

What of you, dear friend? I still know some elderly men who need mellowing. We must remember what Elihu said, "Great men are not always wise" (Job 32:9), nor are young men always arrogant and foolish. Grace must temper us, no matter what our age. Especially our tongues and attitudes. There was strife among brethren all through Scripture, but it is not for us to emulate (Genesis 13:8; Luke 22:24). Our only Model is the Humble Servant of Jehovah, our Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 22:27; John 13:15). Men can often make us brash and harsh, but not so our lovely Lord.

Listen to these quotes:

"The tongue is in a wet place, and easily slips." "The tongue is not steel, but it cuts."

"The tongue bites sharper than the teeth." "I consider looseness with words no less a defect than looseness of the bowels" (John Calvin).

"But the tongue can no man tame" (James 3:8) -- nor our harsh, unloving attitudes. Only the softening, mellowing grace of God can do that.

ARE YOU ON TIME?- CHARLES WOODRUFF

Time has been given to each of us. It can be our enemy or our friend. No matter what "time zone" we are in, we each have 24 hours in every day, seven days in every week, 52 weeks in a year---But wait! We know not how many years we have. We know not how many months we have, or weeks we have, or days we have, or hours we have, or minutes, or even seconds! God does not promise us tomorrow! He does say in Hebrews 9:27 "It is appointed unto men (all mankind), once to die, but after this the judgment." Whatever you may say, you cannot deny this truth. All of us, old and young, rich or poor, white or black, male or female have to die. We all know this. We do not know when.

You have been given this gift of a certain amount of time called a "lifetime", whether long or short. Use it wisely, for the day is coming for you, and for me, and for the entire planet when "That there should be time no longer:" (See Revelation 10:6).

Christ came on time. "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law" (Galatians 4:4). Christ died when His time had come (see John 7:6; cp. with John 16:32). He rose again, ascended into heaven, and is returning at the end of time. He will receive unto Himself those who know Him, and have trusted Him as Lord and saviour. (John 14:2,3; cp. with 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). You still have time--use it wisely! Turn to Christ!

A WORD TO THE READER- THOMAS BROOKS

(The following is the introduction to the reader of Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, one of the classic Puritan writings by Thomas Brooks (1608-1680). Brooks is one of the most readable Puritans, and one of the most delightful. He is my favorite, except for Thomas Watson. An example of his sweetness and depth at the same time is evident right here in this introduction. An introduction! Yet it has such great thoughts that it certainly compliments the main piece. Oh, I would love to be able to write introductions like his! If this whets your appetite for Brooks, Precious Remedies (which I highly recommend), is available in paperback from Banner of Truth. More from Puritans currently featured on my site cyberwordoftruth.

Dear Friend,

SOLOMON bids us buy the truth, Prov. xxiii. 23. but doth not tell us what it must cost, because we must get it though it be never so dear; we must love it both shining and scorching; every parcel of truth is precious as the filings of gold; we must either live with it, or die for it. As Ruth said to Naomi, ' Whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge, and nothing but death shall part thee and me:' Ruth i. 16, 17. 'If truth be the cause of contention, nothing but death can separate me from it, and even that cannot do it.'—Jerome. So must gracious spirits say, Where truth goes, I will go, and where truth lodges, I will lodge, and nothing but death shall part me and truth. A man may lawfully sell his house, land, and jewels, but truth is a jewel that exceeds all price, and must not be sold, it is our heritage. ' Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever,' Ps. cxix. 111. It is a legacy that our fore-fathers have bought with their blood, which should make us willing to lay down any thing, and lay out every thing, that we may with the wise merchant in the gospel, Mat. xiii. 45, 46. purchase this precious pearl, which is of more worth than heaven and earth, and which will make a man live happily, die comfortably, and reign eternally.

And now if thou pleasest, read the following work, and receive this counsel from me.

First, Thou must know that every man cannot be excellent, yet may be useful. An iron key may unlock the door of a golden treasure, yea, iron can do some things that gold cannot do.

Secondly, Remember, it is not hasty reading, but seriously meditating upon holy and heavenly truths, that makes them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not the bee's touching of the flowers that gathers honey, but her abiding for a time upon them, and drawing out the sweet. It is not he that reads most, but he that meditates most, that will prove the choicest, sweetest, wisest, and strongest Christian.

Thirdly, Know that it is not the knowing, the talking, nor the reading man, but the doing man," that at last will be found the happiest man: If you know these things, blessed and happy are you if you do them. 'Not every one that saith, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doth the will of my Father that is in heaven.' It was a good saying of Justin Martyr, ' Our religion consists not in speaking of the things, but in doing them.' Judas called Christ, Lord, Lord, and yet betrayed him, and is gone to his place; Ah! how many Judas's have we in these days that kiss Christ, and yet betray Christ; that in their words profess him, but in their works deny him; that bow their knee to him, and yet in their hearts despise him; that call him Jesus, and yet will not obey him for their Lord.

Reader, If it be not impressed upon thy heart to practise what thou readest, to what end dost thou read, to increase thy own condemnation? If thy light and knowledge be not turned into practice, the more knowing thou art, the more miserable thou wilt be in the day of recompence; thy light and knowledge will torment thee more than all the devils in hell. Thy knowledge will be that rod that will eternally lash thee, and that scorpion that will for ever bite thee, and that worm that will everlastingly gnaw thee; therefore read, and labour to know, that thou mayest do, or else thou art undone for ever. When Demosthenes was asked, What was the first part of an orator, what the second, what the third ? he answered, Action; The same may I say, if any should ask me, what is the first, the second, the third part of a Christian? I must answer, Action. That man who reads that he may know, and labours to know that he may do, will have two heavens, a heaven of joy, peace and comfort on earth, and a heaven of glory and happiness after death.

Fourthly and lastly, if in thy reading thou wilt cast a serious eye upon the margin, thou wilt find many sweet and precious notes, that will oftentimes give light to the things thou readest, and pay thee for the pains with much comfort and profit. So desiring that thou mayest find as much sweetness and advantage in reading this Treatise, as I have found, (by the over-shadowing of heaven) in the studying and writing of it, I recommend thee to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build thee up, and to give thee an inheritance among them which are sanctified. And rest, Reader,

Thy Soul's Servant in every office of the Gospel,

THOMAS BROOKS,

Some editing and emphasis mine (CW)

DIRECTIONS TO HEAVEN-W.F. BELL

SCRIPTURAL DIRECTIONS TO HEAVEN (If You Are Enquiring) John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:8-9; I Timothy 1:15 The Lord Jesus Christ ONLY is "The Way." There is "salvation" from sin and wrath in "no other name." "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." His mission was "accomplished" by death and resurrection. Salvation is the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father chose His people "in Christ." The Son died for His sheep among Jews and Gentiles. The Holy Spirit effectually calls all of the elect to embrace Christ. We know we are Christ's sheep by hearing His voice and following Him. God's people are identified by their repentance and faith. God's children experience many dangers, toils, and snares. Christ must return to raise the dead and change the living! VICTORY is ours by Christ's grace alone, and is never earned! John 10:14-16; Romans 3:24-26; Ephesians 1:3-14 I Corinthians 15:51-57; Colossians 3:4; Revelation 5:11-12