Morality, in and of itself, is a damning thing. Self-righteousness is a damning thing. You’d be better off to be immoral and face the reality of your needs so that you would come to a Savior, than to live under the illusion that because you have a moral code on the outside, all is well on the inside between you and God.
John MacArthur

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Issue No. 036 January 26, 2007 Wrong Turn Takes Away the Crown

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#1 · January 31, 2007, 11:36 am

Posted by: gracepeaceu <gracepeaceu@...>

 
 

 

In this issue

  • Perspective:  Wrong Turn Takes Away the Crown
  • Study Note:    THE GOLDEN ALTAR
  • Outline:         Groaning
  • Anecdote:      Nobel Peace Prize
  • Worth Quote:  The Bible

 
Perspective
Wrong Turn Takes Away the Crown
NTK
 
Just a wrong turn, Abebe Jilicha lost the crown in the half - marathon recently held in Bombay. The 22 year old Ethiopian athlete came to Bombay with his coach after a lot of hard work and preparation, with the full confidence that he would win the race. But he took a wrong turn in the beginning of the race, so he had to take 20 extra minutes to come back to the track.
 
Not only in athletes, in any field, taking a wrong turn may not be just a slip, but an irreparable and disastrous error. It leads to waste of time, energy and much regret.
 
In our spiritual life too, taking a wrong turn could lead to lasting lose and sorrow. How we ought to be careful in taking each step according to the inerrant and infallible word of God. The Bible is a lamp unto our feet and light unto our path. Ps.119:105.  We should never simply hope that any way could be a right way to God. God has designed a specific way for us. The Lord said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” John.14:6. For forgiveness of sins and salvation taking a wrong path is an irreversible blunder for such a move takes one to the eternal condemnation.
 
For a Christian’s daily life too, God has a definite plan. Knowing God’s perfect will for our day to day life and going accordingly will lead us to success and divine blessings. There is no other blessed thing for a Christian than fulfilling God’s plan and purposes in and through his life. God will be pleased in such a life and we too will find fulfillment and satisfaction in our life.  
 
Let us be attentive to the voice of God in all our movements so that we may not make a mistake. Let this be our prayer, “Teach me O Lord, the way of Your statutes. And I shall keep it to the end.” Ps.119:33.  If we have erred in our way, the merciful God is still calling us to come back to the track before too late! Jer.3:12—14. Remember, our decisions today determine our destiny. So let our decisions be clear, correct and sure.

 
Study Note
THE GOLDEN ALTAR 
Charles E. Wigg TASMANIA.
 
This stood in the very centre of the Holy Place, immediately before the veil, it was on this altar that incense was burned as a sweet savour to God, each morning when Aaron dressed the lamps, and each evening, at 3 PM, "the hour of incense".
 
It’s Size:
The first thing that we notice about the golden altar is, that compared with the brazen altar, it is quite small, it is only one cubit square, (i.e. a half meter), and two cubits tall. The emphasis then is different with the golden altar; it is not the scope, or magnitude of Christ's sacrifice that is emphasized, but the intrinsic worth of His person. Like the Ark, it was made of acacia wood, reminding us once more of the incorruptible manhood of Him who is our intercessor.
 
Hebrews makes much comment on this, the preparation for His intercessory service, through the things that He suffered here. He learned obedience, He suffered being tempted, He was tempted in all things like as we are, but yet was without sin. He was, and still is, man as God intended man to be. But it was overlaid with pure gold, reminding us once more that though He was truly man, yet He was just as truly God.
 
It was pure gold; there was no mixture, no alloy of other metals. Pure gold is not available today, each biscuit or ingot is stamped "99% pure", but not so with our Altar, for Paul tells us that "All the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily in Him, and that it pleased the Father that all the "fullness" should dwell in Him, Col. 2; 9 & 1;19. Not only is He our intercessor, but it is through Him that we can draw near to God, and it is by Him, that we can offer the sacrifice of praise continually to God, Heb.7;25, & 13;15.
 
                                                                                                                                                                  

 
Outline
                                             Groaning
 
 
                          1. The Sinner’s groan—for deliverance. Exod.2:24
                          2. The Savior’s groan—in sympathy. John.11:33
                         3. The Spirit’s groan—of witnessing. Rom.8:26
                         4. The Saint’s groan—for emancipation. 2Cor.5:2—4
                         5. Creation’s groan—for glory. Romans. 8:22
 

 
Anecdote
Nobel Peace Prize
 
One morning in 1888 Alfred Noble, inventor of dynamite, awoke to read his own obituary!  The obituary was printed as a result of a simple journalistic error. It was actually Alfred’s brother who had died and the reporter carelessly reported the death of the wrong brother. 

 Alfred was shocked to see himself as the world saw him. They wrote, ‘he is the “Dynamite King,” the great industrialist who had made an immense fortune form explosives.’ He found that before the public he was simply a merchant of death, and for that alone he would be remembered.
As he read the obituary with horror, he resolved to make clear to the world the true meaning and purpose of his life. This could be done through the final disposition of his fortune. His last will and testament would be the expression of his life’s ideals and ultimately would be why we would remember him. The result was the most valuable of prizes given to those who had done the most for the cause of world peace. It is called today, the “Nobel Peace Prize.”

.
 

 
Worth Quote
The Bible
 
“The scriptures teach us the best way of living, the noblest way of suffering, and the most comfortable way of dying.”
                                                                                                                                                                                           ---John Flavel
 

 
To ponder over
2Thess.3:3

 
"“But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.”  









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