Happy Monday

MADE NIGH IN CHRIST

By RUSSELL S. MILLER,

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 2:13

God gave up the Gentiles in Genesis eleven when He saved Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3). The vile affections wherein they sinned wickedly against themselves were, and still are today, an abomination to the Lord. These impure and unnatural sins brought God's wrath upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19), and the Lord is no less displeased with such sinners today.

But He chose Abraham through whom to bless the world.
"Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness" (Rom. 4:3). Remarkable difference!

When our Lord Jesus Christ came upon this earthly scene He found His own people as far from God as the Gentiles. In the temple He quoted Isaiah 56:7 regarding the deplorable conditions there: "My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves" (Mark 11:17).

And because this attitude toward the Messiah continued, God set the nation aside to raise up that other Apostle, who said to the saved Gentiles at Ephesians:
 "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:13).

It is because these Gentiles were saved, they had trusted in the finished work of Calvary's cross and were "made nigh by the blood of Christ", that they were "in Christ Jesus". It is this same "believing", upon which believers today are "baptized into Jesus Christ".

"In Whom, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7).

Perhaps now you'll believe.


At Calvary
Years I spent in vanity and pride,
Caring not my Lord was crucified,
Knowing not it was for me He died on Calvary.
Refrain
    Mercy there was great, and grace was free;
    Pardon there was multiplied to me;
    There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary.

By God’s Word at last my sin I learned;
Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned,
Till my guilty soul imploring turned to Calvary.
Refrain

Now I’ve given to Jesus everything,
Now I gladly own Him as my King,
Now my raptured soul can only sing of Calvary!
Refrain

Oh, the love that drew salvation’s plan!
Oh, the grace that brought it down to man!
Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary!
Refrain

Daily Smile:

From Corygreenwood, 10 years old

Why did the boy put sugar on his pillow?

So he can have a sweet dream!

In The News:

U.N. General Assembly Votes in Favor of Palestinian Statehood
The 193-member U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly voted to approve a resolution to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations from "entity" to "non-member state," implicitly recognizing a Palestinian state, Reuters reports. There were 138 votes in favor, 41 abstentions and nine votes against the resolution. Granting Palestinians the title of "non-member observer state" falls short of full U.N. membership, but allows them access to the International Criminal Court, the World Bank and other international bodies. "The ICC issue is what the Israelis are really worried about," a U.N. official said on condition of anonymity. "They know this whole process isn’t really symbolic except for that." Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas led the campaign to win support for the resolution, which took place on the 65th anniversary of the U.N. General Assembly’s passage of the plan to partition the British Mandate of Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state.

Gay Marriage Comes to the Supreme Court Friday
The nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will meet behind closed doors Friday to decide whether to take up several cases that could lead to the legalization of gay marriage in all 50 states, Baptist Press reports. The public won't find out what the court decided for several days -- as early as Monday -- but Friday's meeting is significant enough that both sides in the cultural debate are guessing what will happen. According to Baptist Press, if the court takes up the cases, "it could end up being the Roe v. Wade of gay marriage." At issue are two laws: the federal law known as the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage in federal law as being between one man and one woman, and the California constitutional amendment known as Proposition 8, which was approved by voters in 2008 and defines marriage as between a man and a woman. It is not known when during the current term the court would hear oral arguments in the cases, although if they take the cases, a decision likely would be handed down in the spring or early summer.

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