​As Jesus bore in Himself the weight of the sin of the world he cried 
"My God My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" Matt 27:46 
...a little while later He said "It is finished.” John 19:30
​It was indeed finished!
 
This transaction, which begun in the darkness of Gethsemane, was culminated as the eternal Father looked down upon the precious frame of His Son, suspended upon the cross. A transaction, devised in eternity, which made it possible for the penalty for the sins of the human race to be paid in full! ...

The central figure of the New Testament is Jesus of Nazareth.
"In Him was life; and the life was the light of men and the light shined in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."  John 1:4-5 
C.I. Scofield describes this Holy One as
​"the divine wisdom, the collective thought of God,"
quoting from Colossians 2:3
"In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
So left to ourselves, we do not have the equipment to discern spiritual truth. ​

In our present chaotic world there is nothing that brings us more peace, contentment and purpose than knowing why we are here, where we are going, and most importantly, the One in Whom our future rests!

From the beginning of time, there has been a spiritual battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness.
"God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5. 
Christians have been called "out of darkness into His marvelous light." The Epistles of I & II Thessalonians are written from the heart of a pastor to a church struggling with conflict and affliction.
​These letters address questions that the believers had about ​Jesus' return to earth.

 But the Lord came to challenge the hold that Satan had on the souls of men. In the temple Jesus read the prophetic words from Isaiah 61: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."  Luke 4:18  "And he began to say unto them, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." Luke 4:21

​

There is a timelessness about the Christmas story... God stepped out of eternity and entered time, for the sole purpose of delivering man and womankind from our lost state. 
All three members of the Trinity were present in the manger in Bethlehem, that first Christmas. As Mary held baby Jesus' little frame in her arms, all the fullness of the Godhead bodily indwelt Him (Colossians 2:9-10) and God was launching in Christ, a reconciliation of  human individuals to Himself (II Corinthians 5:19). 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:16-17

The verse above separates all of humanity into two categories: those who believe and reach out to receive the proffered gift and those who do not and who hope to secure their eternity another way! ​

The salvation of the immortal soul is intensely practical. Outside of Christ, the soul’s peril is very real. There is an actual destination which already exists and left to itself, every soul is heading there.
Our souls, whether we are Christians or not, are eternal and the essence of the word “eternal” is that there is no end... An eternal thing will always be! The comfortable idea that “death is the end of things” has no support in Scripture. Your soul will “always be” somewhere -either with God in glory or consciously separated from Him.
When we speak of “salvation” we are not referring to a nebulous religious experience but to a real and practical deliverance from a life-threatening situation. Salvation is an act of deliverance beyond anything we can possibly imagine! ​

These messages were taken from the audio series of I & II Peter. 
​Living as we are, in a world of so much uncertainty, these epistles address the practical and liberating way we are equipped to face life's  uncertainties, practical challenges, inevitable trials and suffering. 
Click on the button  below for the full series of messages.

Many people struggle with guilt from things in the past. Liberating self-forgiveness seems to elude them and a haunting memory casts a shadow over their daily lives.
​When our Hebrews series was recently broadcast on the radio, we received several inquiries requesting this particular message(#19). So we are going to make it our Fall Highlight, along with a link (below) to the whole series of Hebrews, for the next couple months.

​Newell goes on, "There comes for everyone who has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ a moment when he HEARS -when God the Father speaks through His Spirit to his heart. Christ therefore, is no mere 'teacher' but the personal Voice and eternal Gift of God to him! Such a one personally understands the opening words of Hebrews 'God hath spoken to us in His Son'."

We are living in the "Day of Grace" -a period of time in which God deals with His creation in a certain way. 
Paul refers to it in as the "Dispensation of Grace" in Ephesians 3:2. 
God is giving blessing where blessing is undeserved.
He is exercising patience when patience is not warranted.
And He is offering pardon and peace to men and women who deserve judgement.
God is offering heaven to a race which deserves hell...

​The second coming is explained in Scripture as a literal, physical return of Jesus Christ to this earth and it happens in two parts.
​There is a blessing mentioned in Revelation for looking into this and other mysteries of that book. But such an inquiry involves preparing one's heart for what is inevitably coming.

The Epistle of James was one of the earliest New Testament books written. It has a distinctly Jewish flavor and the setting is of heavy persecution and suffering taking place for the Church in Jerusalem under Saul of Tarsus. The content of James' words sync with those of the Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, only few years earlier.
This is a book of endurance in the face of tribulation and suffering. Authentic faith is contrasted by false and its impartiality evidenced by action, love, wisdom, humility and self-control.
​Best of all, in this study of 11 messages we focus upon the available Source of these attributes for facing the suffering, turmoil, chaos, wars and conflict that life often throws at us.  

We get joy mixed up with happiness..."How can anyone be joyful with the world situation as it is today?" In the Bible we find that joy and happiness are in fact far removed from one another. 
The following single message, In Search of Joy, addresses the struggle with circumstances, often out of our control, and our responses to them. 
The second, Strength in Difficulties, looks at an interchange between the prophet Habakkuk and the Lord during a time when his nation was in turmoil.

The resurrection was the crowning display of the Lord Jesus' victory over the powers of evil and over the death. By His taking the role of our perfect substitute and dying in our place, He, in resurrection that first Easter morning, claimed a victory of unimaginable significance. It openly displayed 3 crucial things:

1. Sin had been successfully paid for on the cross.
2. Death (which sin caused), had been overcome.
3. Satan’s power had forever been neutralized.

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new. ...God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." II Cor 5:17-19

From day to day, we really have no control over what might present itself  in our lives, our homes, our nation or our world!
​Fear and dismay can grip us without warning. Life has so many twists and turns that catch us off guard. ​
The following two messages address coping with these unknowns with quietness and confidence and how to discern God's guidance in the middle of life's uncertainties.

Through the years as Pastor, Ashley Day was asked from time to time "what are your plans for the church? What is your vision? Where are you going?" His response was "Where has the church been going for the past 2,000 years? Am I supposed to invent a new direction for it? a new goal? an improvement on the New Testament pattern (perhaps), that would make the congregation grow in size?"
Frankly, he said, "I have never been interested in those things; because I find no basis for them in the scriptures. The future of the church should be the same as its past. Its vision should be to continue the work", its direction "to remain faithful to God's Word, to the Apostles' doctrine, to fellowship, to prayer and to the breaking of bread. If God in His grace adds to our number, so be it! But that is His business. Our responsibility is to remain true to His Word in a society which is departing from it and where churches are watering down its teaching in an attempt to accommodate those who have no intention of changing their ways."

The three wise men who followed the star and came looking for “the one who is born King of the Jews,” caused some concern in King Herod. If their inquiry was over a mere dogma he may have been able to overlook it. But interpreting the scriptures correctly, Herod knew he was dealing with a PERSON, the prophesied Christ, Messiah and King. He became so agitated over this elusive individual and the prophesies, that he eventually had every child, less than two years of age in the Bethlehem area, slaughtered.
​
Jesus Christ was born to reign! “Where is He who is born to be king?”

• Today He sits at the right hand of the majesty on high; having grown to manhood, suffered on the cross, died, rose and ascended into heaven.
• He also occupies the inner thrones of the hearts of men and women who are willing to yield that domain of their lives to Him.
• His reign and kingdom will become more visible in the future and we read “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

​​These two single messages consider the rewards for the one who allows the Spirit of God full access, body soul and spirit; contrasted with the spiritual anemia and paralysis that set in when we deny Him access to our innermost beings.

​Faith always has an element of risk in it. The safety of such a placement of trust, is always determined by the thing, circumstance or person in whom the faith is placed.

Overwhelmed? We often assess our unresolved circumstances, or personal deficiencies and shortcomings as things we need to fix, remove or conquer. In 2 Corinthians 12:9  Jesus' answer was, "My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness;" and then Paul's response was: "Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Spiritual freedom and liberty, a challenge to religious legalism, is the theme of Galatians 5. Embedded in this chapter is the description of the fruit of the Spirit:
"...love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control..." (verses 22, 23)
Do these character qualities each stand alone? or are they segments of the single fruit of divine love? And on a practical level, are we finding them low hanging attainable fruit or elusive expressions, as the storms of life pummel our lives.
​Fortunately, scripture reveals that while these are impossible for us to produce in and of ourselves, they are  inseparable character qualities of the Spirit of God. Spiritual fruit is a product of His life in us; "for it is God which works in you both to will and to do his good pleasure". Phil 2:13

The most dangerous error is that which is nearest the truth because it appears harmless and it often goes undetected. The two errors in the Colossian Church were religious legalism and human philosophy. They threatened to undermine the faith of the Christian believers by substituting human effort or wisdom for the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

​This letter to the ancient Colossians is as fresh today as it was then because it stresses the preeminence of Christ in all things and sets Him forth as the fountainhead of all knowledge, wisdom and truth.

Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And you are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power.

"Why do you think that you are right and everyone else is wrong?" is a question often asked of evangelical Christians; who as a group, have a tendency to be (or appear to be) monastic, isolated and detached from the issues of our day.
Throughout the past two thousand years, countless millions of Christians have lived in hope and have died in peace, because they placed their faith in the promises of the Bible and discovered for themselves that what it says is true!

​Given the eternal implications of its claim, any thinking person gives the Bible a hearing... It's claim is simply stated in
​I John 5:11-12, "This is the record that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life and he who has not the Son, has not life."

Risen and immortal though He was, Jesus revealed Himself to Mary as a man who knew her name! The One who stood before her was not a detached or distant power, but Jesus her friend.
The miracle of  His being raised from the grave by the power of the His Father had not diminished the intimacy of their relationship. 
It was when the mist of false conceptions was swept away, that their relationship became personal and it grew so precious.
The same intimacy we see recorded that first Easter morning, when He called out "Mary", He desires with us. You and I did not know Jesus prior to his death but He still knows each of us by our names. Learning to relate to Him as our friend, as well as our Savior and Lord, is a satisfying pursuit of Christian living. Jesus prayed to His Father just before he died "...this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God and (Myself) Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent." John 17:3

​Isaiah 43:1 says “…thus saith the Lord that created thee…for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.”

A fruitful life...of what does that consist?
The sowing of the God’s Word, in the world of men, is the setting of a parable in Mark 4; where the “world” is narrowed down to the soul of the individual.
In fact, each of us falls into one of the four sections the Lord Jesus mentions and no one is exempt. In each instance, the good seed of God’s Word is sown and we read in Mark 4:15, 16, 18, 20 that the Word was heard. The “soils” are the four human responses to the truth sown.

Faith is the secret to good fertile soul-soil. The life giving seed will have no effect unless it finds lodgment and growth within the hearts, souls and minds of those hearing it.
​We can ask God for this belief as did an earnest man in Mark 9:25 "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."

​“Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
​8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be anxious in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

Our Father God is revealed to us as a compassionate but active, initiator; One who does the deciding, who does the purposing and who does the fulfilling. ​In the context of salvation, parallel lines run through scripture of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. A paring, which in eternity will become clear, is for our finite minds  impossible to reconcile.
The Apostle Paul describes a time when “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth; and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" Philippians 2:10-11. 
This single message delves into the mysterious subject of God's sovereignty.

​Click on the button below to access this message.

For further study, click on: The Attributes of God 
The 4th message, The Sovereignty of God, will explore this subject more fully. 
"Imagine a man driving under a great archway. Under the front it reads 'whosoever will may come' Revelation 22:17.
​Yet as he looks back from the other side, he reads 'chosen in Him before the foundation of the world' Ephesians 1:4-5." Pastor Ashley Day

The characters of the Bible were fraught with the same weaknesses, fears and frailties that characterize us today. These great personalities didn't overcome their circumstances because they were 'super saints'; they overcame because they believed God. Sometimes their paths to faith were wobbly ones and many of them failed before learning the basic lesson that: without God we can do nothing. That which Paul put into words in the New Testament, the Old Testament saints had to learn the hard way! They discovered through real experience that the grace (strength) of God is released only when we see our own incapacity and weakness and learn to trust Him completely.

The light we envision on that first Christmas night lit up the Judaean Hills for the Shepherds and 32 years later, enveloped the Lord Jesus before the amazed disciples. From scripture, we know that physical light surrounds and radiates from the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
However, the Bible also refers to a different form of light, spiritual light. To appreciate this light, consider the world into which the Christ-child was born. It was a world of darkness, spiritual darkness and one without hope. 

​700 years before, Isaiah prophesied the condition of hearts “we wait for light but behold obscurity, for brightness but we walk in darkness. We grope as if we had no eyes. We stumble at noonday as in the night: we are in desolate places as dead men.”

​Samuel entered Israel’s history at a chaotic period during which there was no king and “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” The time of judges was drawing to an end and there was great need within the nation of Israel. God’s purposes were evident early on in the unique circumstances of Samuel’s birth. Later revelations of God’s design for this man, led this prophet to anoint kings and direct a nation. This series of messages follows his life through the first 16 chapters of I Samuel. We can learn through this account as we study God’s dealings with him and those over whom he is given influence.