2 Tim. 3:17

“That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

    Our God is the Great Provider for our souls, and bodies.  He has “furnished” us with the right equipment He desires us to have, the “right stuff” to do His good work.  Of What do I refer you ask?   In 2 Timothy 3:17, our God tells us that we are “thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”  He has already given us all we need to do right.  What has He given?  Himself, the Holy Spirit!  Fully, and wholeheartedly, to us.  The previous verse tells us what we are to carry in our hearts, so that we will be “perfect” and prepared unto every good work, and that is the Word of God.   It is oh, so precious to us, and so very useful too.

    My friends, we have no excuse for NOT doing the work of God.  We are prepared for it already, and quite able to do it, according to Gods Word.   Don’t tell me that you cannot do what you’re supposed to do, I know otherwise, and so does God!   You see, ALL scripture is given by...God.  He is the Giver, and the Provider, and the empowerer!    He never commands us to do what He does not already prepare us to do!   Did you hear that?   He demands of us to do good, but He makes it easy for us to do it by giving us the “tools” and resources we need to do it.   All we have to do is get going!

    Scripture is given by His Inspiration, that there be no confusion, no misunderstanding when it comes to doing what is right.   So, we are without excuse, faced with a decision, “What are we to do about it?”   We are to do good, at all times, everywhere.   We have what we need to do so.  God has already furnished us with that, He saw to it that the need was met.
    His desire, then, for us?  That we be “perfect.”    How could we ever hope to do so?   By the Word already given; the inspired Word of God, our hope, our Stay, our portion in this world.  It is indeed profitable unto us.
   
    What effect does our sin have on our prayers?  Sin acts like a filter in which our prayers pass through.  You see, we have the Holy Spirit in us, if we are saved, but not all of Him is affecting our prayer and influence on others when soul winning.  Why?  If we have sin in our lives, that sin which we have long-since accepted as “all right with God”, then the sin filters out much of our influence and we become less effective in the work of the Lord.  The fullness of the Spirit is hindered and we only function on half-power.  We will be much more effective, and see much more fruit in our lives if we will get the sin out.  With this thought in mind, let us continue to go (forth) into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature…

No Balm in Gilead?

    Is there no balm in Gilead?   The Lord asks this question in Jeremiah 8:22: “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?”   The problem was the indifference of God’s people to His will and to the law (His Word).  Just two verses before this, God, speaking through Jeremiah, makes another observation: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”   We all  have grown lax when it comes to serving our God.  At times, we do well, but then we seem to “peter out” and slack off on the things of God.  We are a busy people, it seems, but perhaps busy in the wrong things!

    Remember the old strong smelling salve that was good for wounds and scrapes and burns?  You don’t see it any more, modern medicine has consumed it.  I remember a balm (we called it “salve”) that my mother used to rub on our sunburned skin to soothe us.  It was a smelly, brown salve that was thick and pasty, but it did relieve the pain.  The question is asked “Is there no balm in Gilead?”  I re-phrase it for us today “Is there no balm in churches?”  Is there no balm in our homes, and in our places of work?  Where is the soothing ointment that we used to see so frequently?  Is there not an aromatic, sweet smelling salve of the Holy Spirit to comfort us, and heal our wounds?  
    There are spiritual wounds that beset us; some are slight abrasions, and others more severe, even fatal, but there is also a Physician here.  There is a soothing Balm in Christ.  Jesus is called “The Great Physician” by some, and indeed He is the healer of the body as well as the soul.  Jesus is the balm of the church, the “balm of Gilead, if you will.  He is able, and willing to comfort us against the spiritual wounds of lust, envy,  jealousy, and contentions; He is the balm that will heal us.  That is not to say that this old body will not suffer ever again, it wears out through years of use and abuse, but there is an ointment for the soul, and that is everlasting.  The comforting hand of Jesus will never wear thin. 
    There are doctors today who treat illnesses, but they cannot make the body heal.  Only God can fuse the skin back together again; only He can make the scrapes disappear, the doctor merely applies the right medication, and then the Lord does the work!  Doctors do the right thing to prepare the body for healing, but God does the actual healing.  No doctor is truly a healer, give praise where praise is due.  There is a balm in the churches today, in the form of the Holy Spirit of God.  Balm was a medication to heal pain, but Christ is our medication to heal the anxieties and troubled hearts of His people.   All the counseling that doctors do, they cannot give the peace that the Lord gives us; when they experiment with troubled minds, they are, at best, guessing, and “practicing” medicine on us, but Christ is thorough, and He heals the perplexing vanities of our minds and hearts.  The old balm that I remember had been perfumed so that it did not give off an unpleasant odor; Christ is a sweet smelling aroma, a perfume for the stench of sin, and the stink of a worldly life.  

    Take the “Balm of Gilead” and apply it to your life; take Jesus as your Savior and see what wonders he will perform through you.  Take Him even while you’re healthy, and not just when aches and pains prevail; He is the Balm of Gilead, the Great Physician for the soul, and the Medicine for our troubled minds.  He cures the heartaches and the headaches of life, and comforts us when we are troubled.  There is a cure for your “blues”; there is a cure for your worries and your depression; there is a friend for the lonely, a companion for the forlorn, and a hope for the hopeless, all in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus will carry you through the storms, and set your feet upon solid ground.  Won’t you ask Him to save you today?  Remember Jeremiah 8:20: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”  Will this verse describe you, my friend?   Now is the  time of salvation,   “(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”

    Call upon the Lord while He is near, Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: (Isa. 55:6)

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Roans 10:13)

 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. (Psa. 116:13)


                                                                            Jackson Scott

Calvary

From man’s perspective:

Judgment over death hell, and sin.
Calvary was a judgment in which the entire world is judged. 
The Devil Himself fought with Christ for dominion:
    The powers of darkness were shaken;
    The earth spewed forth her wrath;
    The world mocked and turned from Him.

It appeared to be a victory for the forces of evil.  
Christ submitted Himself to a seeming defeat!
It had a solid impact on the apostles,
He appeared as just another “savior”.  
A time of sorrow for mankind.

Christ died while women cried;
He was buried while the apostles tarried;
He rose from the grave, the sinner to save;
He’s alive evermore on that golden shore.


From God’s perspective:

The Judgment of the law which condemned man.
Judgment for death, hell, and the grave.
The Devil did fight with Jesus--Jesus won!
    A humiliated Savior;
    A victorious conqueror;
    A faithful servant;

He arose a victor over all!
He submitted to the will of God;
He restored the apostles;
He introduced salvation to the world.

Christ died in shame, but rose in glory;
He walked with sinners, but lived with angels;
He was buried in darkness, but raised in the Light.