GOSPEL NUGGET #347

Lu 19:10 For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost."

A man stepped deep into a cave carrying a torchlight in his hand. His curiosity made him wind his way hundreds of meters into the heart of the hollow of the earth.

The cave was not only a maze, a confusing and a complex network of interconnected paths and passages, it was also as dark as a black night. It was so dark that opening one's eyes made no difference from that of closing one's eyes. There was a total absence of light. Everyone is blind if not for the light that they would carry.

Horror and fear gripped his soul when his light suddenly flickered out. Alone, desperate, and lost, he sat down helplessly pondering about his plight.

Look at him. Consider his condition. That's how we are in the eyes of God spiritually speaking. We are lost and we could never bring ourselves out into the light.

We need Someone who will come to us to be our Light and become our Way to God. That Someone is the Lord Jesus Christ. We are helplessly lost in the cave of sin, destined to die alone in spiritual darkness.

And the Lord Jesus, through this message, comes to you, as it were, in your lost condition and offers His hand and says: "Trust Me. I came to seek and save the lost. I died for your sins and rose again. Rely on Me and I will save you out of this to God."

Will you take His hand? Will you trust in Him and what He did on the cross alone for salvation?

GOSPEL NUGGET #346

He Took All The Difficult So That You Can Have All The Easy

After explaining the way of salvation that it is by grace through faith in Christ and not by works (Eph. 2:8-9), a lot of people find it surprisingly simple.

They would say: "Why, that's too simple. I thought it should be complicated! It's too easy. It can't be the way of salvation!"

In reply, I would point them to the cross and explain to them: "It is simple like that because Somebody died to make it simple for us. It was the Lord Jesus who died for our sins. It should have been us there, but He took all the difficult so that we can have all the easy."

My friend, it's now easy and simple for you because it was difficult and hard for Him. He took all the difficult so that you can have all the easy.

He swallowed all the bitter so that you can have all the sweet. He took all the rough so that you can have all the smooth. He took all the low so that you can have all the high. He took all the storm so that you can have all the calm. He took all the pain so that you can have all the gain.

Will you now receive freely the salvation that He alone worked so hard for you? Will you put your trust in Him and what He did on the cross for your salvation?

GOSPEL NUGGET #345

"The Glory of God is man fully alive." --- Irenaeus

Man was created in God's image. And therefore for man to be fully displaying God is to glorify God. And he can only fully display and reflect God if he is fully alive spiritually.

A clear mirror perfectly reflects the person looking at the mirror. And all his glory is displayed fully therein. We are all cracked and shattered mirrors. We can only reflect a bad and shameful image. We can only be intact to fully display God in Christ. 

We are spiritually dead because of sin, but we can be "fully alive" if we come to Christ, trusting in Him and what He did on the cross for salvation. 

GOSPEL NUGGET #344

The World's Most Successful Lawyer

Sir Lionel Luckhoo is considered as one of the greatest lawyers in the history of Britain. With a string of 245 consecutive successful cases, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II twice, it is enough for the the Guinness Book of World Records to dub him as the "World's Most Successful Advocate."

Mr. Luckhoo was a skpetic to the claims of Christ at the beginning. Somebody challenged him to bring to bear his abilities, his legal genius, on the claims of Christ as recorded in the Gospel records of the New Testament.

Accepting the challenge, he sat down and began the work of examining the Gospel records. At the end, he came out a believer in Christ, a sinner who pinned his soul's salvation to Christ and what He did on the cross. The force of the evidence was too compelling. He had to say:

"I say unequivocally the evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt."

My friend, have you read the "affidavits" of the eyewitnesses of Jesus' resurrection? Have you read and studied the Gospel records for yourself? Have you taken the time to do so?

I have. I was once a skeptic too. But the evidence was too rock-solid. I had to place my trust for my soul's salvation in the Man who rose from the dead.

GOSPEL NUGGET #343

Mother's Day

God's saving grace is much like the love and compassion and care of a mother. We did not set out to labor and work to earn our own mother's love in the womb. It was already there first. The child did not do anything to deserve this. It is not earned, it is freely and lovingly offered and given.

How many mothers die a little inside each time their sons and daughters disobey, mistreat and even talk back to them. We made her look fat, caused her so much discomfort that she had to vomit often, kicked at her, cause her so much agony and pain when we came out. And yet, she still steadfastly opened her tired and weary arms to us at birth. Many a mother's love is an undeserved favor.

This is a wonderful illustration of God's saving grace. You don't have to earn God's salvation. You are not called to work hard for it. It is simply offered and given freely as an undeserved favor.

Sadly, just as there are many sons and daughters who spurn their mother's love and care, so there are many in the world who reject God's offer of salvation through faith in Christ.

This Mother's Day, will you accept and receive God's salvation as a free gift just as, I think, you freely received your own mother's love? Will you trust in Christ and what He did on the cross for salvation?

GOSPEL NUGGET #342

Confucius, Buddha, Mohammad And Christ 

A man once dreamed of having fallen into a deep pit and was down there helpless, in despair and was knocked unconscious. 

* Confucius came and offered him an advice: "If you get out of trouble, be sure never to get in again. Learn from your mistakes." 

* Buddha came and said: "I will help you if you can climb high enough to a state of Nirvana."

* Mohammad came and asked: "Have you been good? Did you do all those things I prescribed? The five spiritual exercises I told you to do?"

* Christ came and saw his helpless condition, He slipped himself down to him, revived him and offered His strong hand and said: " I placed my life on the line for you. Look at the scars on my hands just to get to you. Come and Trust me. I can get you out of this." The man took His hand and was pulled out saved.

A sinner is helpless and hopeless in himself to save himself. He is not saved by philosophy, self-effort and good works. What he needs is a strong and capable Savior who can deliver him out from the pit of sin's condemnation, control and company.

GOSPEL NUGGET #341

The ScapeGoat 

Le  16:10 "But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.

Le 16:21 "Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning alltheir sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness...

The escape goat here is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did with our sins. It is symbolic portrayal of Him as man's Sin-Bearer. There have been many ways by which people have been dealing with their sins.

* They deny it: "That was no sin. I am fine with God."
* They defend it: "I did what I did because I had no choice!"
* They decorate it: "Yes, that was a sin but I covered it with my good works ever since."
* They distort it: "It was simply an excusable mistake, an error or lapse of judgment."
* They deflect it: "The devil made me do it."

They never realize the option of deporting it! Don't deny it. Don't defend it. Don't decorate it. Don't distort it. Don't deflect it. DEPORT IT! That is, admit it and have it transported and transferred...to an Escape Goat. And this is exactly what God already did.

Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD HAS LAID ON HIM THE INIQUITY OF US ALL.

About two thousand years ago, the Lord Jesus bore our sins and died for it. Will you take this option? Will you trust in the Sin-Bearer for your salvation?