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The Country Baptist Church Newsletter “The
Voice Of The Country Church” |
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You Were Asked To
Pray For: |
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A
Thought From C. H. Surgeon: A NAME GUARANTEE It is not every believer who has yet
learned to pray in Christ's name. To ask not only for His sake, but in His
name, as authorized by Him, is a high order of prayer. We would not dare to
ask for some things in that blessed name, for it would be a wretched profanation
of it; but when the petition is so clearly right that we dare set the name of
Jesus to it, then it must be granted. Prayer is all the more sure to succeed
because it is for the Father's glory through the Son. It glorifies His truth,
His faithfulness, His power, His grace. The granting of prayer, when offered
in the name of Jesus, reveals the Father's love to Him, and the honor which
He has put upon Him. The glory of Jesus and of the Father are so wrapped up
together, that the grace which magnifies the one magnifies the other. The
channel is made famous through the fullness of the fountain, and the fountain
is honored through the channel by which it flows. If the answering of our
prayers would dishonor our Lord, we would not pray; but since in this thing
He is glorified, we will pray without ceasing in that dear name in which God
and His people have a fellowship of delight. |
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A Thought For The
Week: It Is
Time!
The term “fallow ground” refers to that ground which has been left
uncultivated, untrained, or inactive.
In our text it is referring to the deteriorated spiritual condition of
Israel, “because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the
land.”(Hosea 4:1) Israel had every
opportunity and every spiritual necessity at its disposal to have a very
productive heaven-filled spiritual relationship with the living God; but they
neglected and refused all that was afforded to them. Sounds like the “believers” of this
generation, doesn’t it? Why in a time
of such bountiful blessings do the saints ignore God the most? Have the blessings of God created spoiled
brats of us?
Once again the cry is going forth from Mt. Zion, echoing the age-old
words of the prophet, “it is time to seek the LORD.” In this era of such great abundance, there
is a rampant deterioration of spiritual living. The ground that should be bringing forth
fruit unto Spirit-filled lives has been left uncultivated; it is grossly
inactive. Naturally, therefore, only
weeds and thorns of heartbreaks are the fruits of those who have been
afforded all the graces and blessings of God.
Sadly, only a few seem to hear the cry of the heavens. It is now well into the season of breaking
up uncultivated and inactive ground, and it is time to labor for a harvest
through His grace and mercy. Yea, it
is indeed past time to give ourselves to an earnest seeking of the LORD.
However, one needs to understand that no mere sloppy attempt will
please the Father. There must be a
consistent and persistent plowing, sowing, and cultivating. There must be absolute faithfulness in
seeking the harvest through God’s bountiful mercies. One must “keep on keeping on.” How long?
As it is written, “till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” If we desire the fruits of His mercies,
then we must be persistent and faithful in plowing the ground, planting, and
cultivating that we may “reap in mercy.”
We must grow in His grace and in His knowledge. It is time to seek the LORD until He rains
righteousness upon us! How long? We must be steadfast until His
righteousness comes pouring upon us! By Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr. |
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Happy Birthday: Kimberlee McCool –
August 19th |
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False Religion: "I will lay your corpses in front
of your idols and scatter your bones around your altars." Ezek. 6:5 There is such a thing as false religion.
It may be earnest and zealous, yet false. No amount of sincerity or zeal will
make that true, which is in itself false. False religion is the worship of a
false god, or the false worship of the true God. We worship the true God
untruly when we give him only half a heart, half a soul. Do not think that the utterance of
some true words, or the expression of a little sentimental devotion, is the
true worship of the true God. False religion is useless. It profits nothing and nobody, either
here or hereafter. It is not acceptable to God. It will not be counted a substitute
for the true. It does not satisfy the conscience. It does not make the man happy. It does not fill the heart. It does not remove burdens. It will not stand the fire. It is but wood, and hay, and stubble. The judgment will sweep it all away. It is useless both for time nor
eternity, both for earth nor heaven. It is irksome and unprofitable, only
cheating the poor worshiper into the belief that he has felt or performed
something good and worthy. God abhors false religion. It has not one feature that is
pleasing to Him. It is merely external. It is untrue. It is against His revelation. It is dishonoring to Him. It is self exalting. It is pure mockery. It is rottenness and death. It is a mouthful of words, a handful
of dust and ashes. Therefore God abhors it. By: Horatius Bonar, "False
Religion and Its Doom" |