In II Thes. 2:10 St. Paul declares that the apostates of the coming age will "perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they may be saved." This is something worth considering very seriously.
God calls this present dispensation "the dispensation of the grace of God" (Eph. 3:2). During this dispensation faithful Christians are proclaiming "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). This is the message of God’s grace and love in giving Christ to die for our sins so that we might be saved from its penalty and power.
All, however, do not believe this glorious message or accept God’s grace in Christ. These, the Apostle declares, will be left behind when our Lord comes, at the close of this dispensation, to receive His own to Himself. Because they rejected the truth, and the love it proclaimed, God will give them up "that they might believe a lie," and put their faith in Antichrist, "that they all might be damned who believed not the truth" (II Thes. 2:8-12).
It was infinite love that brought Christ to Calvary to suffer shame and disgrace for our sins, and this love is being proclaimed in this dispensation of grace. But this dispensation may be brought to a close at any time and bring in the day of God’s wrath. How important then to accept God’s love, and trust His Son without delay!
"Behold, now is the accepted time... Behold now is the day of salvation" (II Cor. 6:2).
If you do not trust Christ as your Lord and Savior now and you are caught unawares and lost for all eternity, you will never be able to say, "It was because God did not choose to save me." Whatever all the reasons involved in His electing grace, He does not accept the responsibility for your rejection of Christ. He says that the unsaved will perish "because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." Don’t gamble with the future. Receive God’s gift of salvation now through faith in Christ.
He Touched Me
Shackled by a heavy burden
Neath a load of guilt and shame
Then the hand of Jesus touched me
And now I am no longer the same
He touched me, oh he touched me
And oh the joy that floods my soul
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole
Since I met this blessed savior
Since he cleansed and made me whole
I will never cease to praise him
Ill shout it while eternity rolls
He touched me oh he touched me
And oh the joy that floods my soul
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole
Daily Smile:
On a flight to Florida, I was preparing my notes for one of the parent-education seminars I conduct as an educational psychologist. The elderly woman sitting next to me explained that she was returning to Miami after having spent two weeks visiting her six children, 18 grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren in Boston. Then she inquired what I did for a living. I told her, fully expecting her to question me for free professional advice. Instead she sat back, picked up a magazine and said, "If there's anything you want to know, just ask me."
In The News:
70 Percent of Americans Believe Roe v. Wade Should Stand
Seven in 10 Americans believe Roe v. Wade should stand, according to new data from a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, as the landmark Supreme Court abortion-rights ruling turned 40 on Tuesday. It is the highest level of support for the decision since polls began tracking it in 1989, mostly the result of more Democrats backing the decision -- particularly Hispanics and African-Americans -- and a slight increase in support from Republicans. But the poll showed a consistent tension in Americans' attitude toward the ruling. Almost seven in 10 say there are at least some circumstances in which they don't support abortion. Thirty-one percent of respondents said abortion should always be legal, and 9 percent believed it should be illegal with no exceptions. Between those two opinions are the 23 percent who said it should be legal most of the time but with some exceptions, and the 35 percent who said it should be illegal except in circumstances of rape, incest and a threat to the mother's life.
Iranian Media's Claim American Pastor to be Freed on Bail Denounced as 'Lie,' Attorney Says
The wife of an American pastor imprisoned in Iran on charges of evangelizing denounced as "a lie" a report that her husband had been granted bail, Fox News reports. Iran's state news agency reported Monday that Saeed Abedini, who was born in Iran but now lives in Idaho, would soon be free. But the report, which came on the first day of Abedini's trial, was seen by his wife, Naghmeh, as just another cruel manipulation. "This is all a lie by the Iranian media," Naghmeh said. "This has been a repeated promise by the Iranian regime since Saeed was first thrown in prison on Sept. 26, 2012. We have presented bail. After the judge told Saeed's lawyer that bail was back on the table, the family in Tehran ran around in circles today to make sure Saeed was let out on bail. But again the bail officer rejected bail." She said her husband's attorney, Nasser Sarbazi, cautioned her that the report, first carried by the state-controlled ISNA news agency and picked up by the Associated Press, did not mean he was closer to freedom. "This is a game to silence the international media," she said. "The lawyer in Iran was asked to make a statement, but that was before the family's attempts today and before the regime again rejected bail. Dr. Sarbazi told me today that the regime is not dropping the charges against Saeed -- this is the only act that would allow Saeed to leave Iran and return to the U.S."
Canada's First Christian Law School Opposed Over Gay Lifestyle Ban
For more than a year, Trinity Western University (TWU) has been attempting to start Canada's first Christian law school, a proposal that the Canadian Council of Law Deans finds "very troubling," Christianity Today reports. The deans recently issued a letter stating that TWU's "community covenant" -- a lifestyle code signed by all students, staff and faculty -- is discriminatory because it asks that those who sign it abstain from homosexual relationships. The deans argued that the lifestyle code was unfair to gay, lesbian and bisexual students and "fundamentally incompatible" with the core values of Canadian law schools and an equal society. TWU president Jonathan Raymond responded to the law deans in a letter of his own, arguing that the covenant was "consistent with federal and provincial law." The code also asks its signers to refrain from gossip, lying, smoking and consuming alcohol.
Thousands in Ireland Hold Vigil for 'Pro-Life Promise'
As many as 30,000 people attended a pro-life vigil in Dublin's Merrion Square on Saturday evening to oppose any changes to abortion legislation in Ireland, CBN News reports. According to Dr. Eoghan de Faoite of Youth Defence, rally attendees demanded in unison that Prime Minister Enda Kenny and the government keep their "pro-life promise." Abortion is currently illegal in Ireland except to save the life of the mother, but the government said last month it would legislate abortion in "certain cases" after a 31-year-old Indian dentist, Savita Halappanavar, was widely reported to have died in October because she was denied an abortion by Galway University Hospital. But the journalist who first reported the story has since admitted that the facts of Halappanavar's death were "muddled," and Irish pro-life leaders say the autopsy shows Halappanavar died from an infection caused by an antibiotic-resistant form of E. coli following a miscarriage. They insist hospital records show there was no request for an abortion, quoting doctors who say her death had nothing to do with Ireland's ban on abortion.
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