GOSPEL LIGHT #668

Mr 14:33 And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. 34 Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch."

LK 22:44 And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.

The Lord Jesus Christ here was just hours away from being crucified on the cross. At the cross, He will bear the sins of all and be punished for it. If you are still unsaved, realize from the experience of the Lord Jesus Christ here the awful reality of being separated from God forever and ever.  

Martin Luther said: “No one ever feared death so much as this Man!”
If the Lord Jesus was so inwardly shaken to the point that He sweated out great drops of blood at the prospect of bearing the punishment of sin, just imagine what the lake of fire must be like. If you can only see how awful God's punishment against your sin would be you will react just like He did. You would be shaken to the core of your being. And yet, you just take it oh so casually, like it's nothing. Blind people do not know the deep and precipitous plunge that they are facing...until they actually fall into it.

Realize that being separated from God is an awful, awful, awful reality. Listen, be saved from being separated from God forever and ever. Trust in what the Lord Jesus Christ did for you at the cross.

GOSPEL LIGHT #667

 "... Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God" 1 Peter 3:18

Salvation is Christ's special delivery service of a sinner to God. We cannot bring ourselves to God. We must be BROUGHT to Him. And Christ is the "mobility service provider", God's Uber, if you will, for it.

Ex 19:4 "... I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself." Come on! Ride God's "Uber" by faith in Christ. All rides are free!

GOSPEL LIGHT #666

An employer posted a notice that he would cancel the debts of his workers if step inside his office, at a certain hour, on a certain day and present their document stating their indebtedness to him. 

When the day arrived, many were gathered outside the office. Outside was a huge signboard containing the message: "All who would step inside the office from 11 am to 12 am would have their debts signed and cancelled at once."   

Many read it with great scepticism. "That's too good to be true!" Many ridiculed the offer saying that it doesn't make sense. And so, many of the debtors remained outside. But one man came and dared to believe in the offer. He stepped inside and presented his papers. 

"Why are you here?" the employer asked. 

"Because you said to come at this hour and all my debts would be cancelled," the man replied.

"Do you believe it?" the employer probed him.

"Yes, I do!" said the man

"Why do you believe it?" the employer queried. 

"Because I know your character. I know that you are somebody who would not deceive anybody," the man responded. 

With that, the employer signed his papers and terminated his debts! The man was overcome with joy. He wanted to rush outside to tell others about it but the employer prevented him saying: "It's not 12 o'clock yet. Stay here and wait for the time." Twelve o'clock came but no one else stepped into the office. Then the man ran outside and showed his signed papers. Upon seeing it, the others darted for the office door, but, it was too late. it was bolted and locked. 

God is making a similar offer on a spiritual plane:  "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

GOSPEL LIGHT #665

 Insulting God In Salvation 

The Bible says that Christ and His death on the cross is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16 and 1 Cor. 1:18). Therefore, Christ's death on the cross is sufficient for our salvation. You don't have to add anything to it in order to be saved. God's power does not need our help, assistance, or aid. Christ's death on the cross alone is enough --- God's power alone is enough. 

Here's how we insult God in this matter ---  When we add our good works, our sacrifices, and what have you to Christ's death on the cross for our salvation, we are essentially saying to God: "God, Your power is not enough to save a sinner like me. It needs assistance on my part." 

Here's how to glorify God in the same --- Acknowledge Christ's death on the cross as God's power unto salvation by putting your entire trust in it. It's essentially saying: "God, I am confident that Your power is enough for my salvation. I trust in it alone." 

GOSPEL LIGHT #664

 You don't need religion or the Bible to tell you that you ought to be good. That you ought to be good is something you already know even without all the religions in the world. Yes, even without the Bible.

The Bible is not another You-Ought-To-Be-Good book. The reason why many people do not read the Bible is because of this. They think that they already know its message that, viz. we ought to be good.

No, it is more. It diagnoses the sad fact that we have a spiritual defect; that we ought to be good but we have not and so we need to be saved.

Look, you know that you ought to be good, but you have not. Your very own conscience affirms this. You know that you have failed your very own standards, one, too many times. How much more God's!

The Bible says that you need to run to the Savior for salvation. Trust in Him and His death on the cross for your salvation.

GOSPEL LIGHT #663

"I Don't Know If I Can Help Myself"

That's the confession of a serial killer when the long arm of the law finally caught up with him. He has this urge and desire to kill that he just can't help! This perverted desire just takes over him!

What is this? This is Romans 1 in action. When God judges a man, he gives him over to his sin. And he can be God's punishment against others.

Ro 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;

29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, MURDER, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,

Sometimes, the punishment of sin is more sin!

Ps 81:11 "But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me.

12 So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels.

Don't harden yourself. If you have this desire to repent and come to Christ, don't put it off. Come to Christ now!

GOSPEL NUGGET #662

 Five Words To Hang My Eternal Destiny On

Someday, I would have to face God. He is holy and perfectly righteous, and I am a sinner. Scary thought!

But I know I can boldly face Him. I have five words with me. On these five words, I hang my eternal destiny. Five words that I am banking on, relying on, and counting on to make it. Five words that I have tucked in my heart all these years. I may forget everything else in the Bible, but I will never ever forget these. Five words that convey an eternal and divine truth for a sinner like me. Five words that represent a fact that God Himself ordained and brought to pass in reality.

I could never rely on my righteous deeds. Aside from being imperfect; they are filthy rags in the sight of God (Isaiah 64:6).

If ever, yes, if ever God should call me into account, here's what I am going to say: "Lord, I know that I am a sinner. I know that all my righteous deeds are filthy rags in Your sight. I know that my works could never save me. But (1) CHRIST (2) DIED (3) FOR (4) MY (5) SINS and I am counting on it for my salvation. On the truth of these five words, I can face You boldly, a sinner as I am."

GOSPEL LIGHT #661

 God And Covid

What is God doing during this Covid crisis?

First of all, God is in control. The raging Covid crisis is not making God raise both His hands and shake His head in utter disappointment and frustration. He wants to make it all go away but He just can't.

No, on the contrary, Covid is God's dog on a leash. He can make it sit still anytime He wants but He can choose to allow it to go on and bark like mad. It can be God's instrument for a number of reasons for different people.

* Punitive --- He might be using it to punish certain people. Covid is God's punisher.

* Instructive --- He might be using it to make certain people learn something. Covid is God's instructor.

* Corrective --- He might be using it to rectify and correct certain people. Covid is God's rebuker.

* Preventive --- He might be using it to prevent some things from happening. Covid is God's hedge and wall.

* Redemptive --- He might be using it to bring people to spiritual salvation. To be sure, covid made many people think about the brevity of life and eternal realities. Covid is God using a megaphone on these people to bring them repentance and faith in Christ for salvation.

One crisis, different purposes to many different people at one and the same time. If you are still not right with God now, my friend, don't waste this virus. Allow it to draw you to Christ for salvation.

GOSPEL LIGHT #660

 Why is there pain, suffering, and death in the world?

It's a fallen world. A world that fell into sin. It's a world ruined by sin. This is not the world as it was originally created. That's why we have pain, suffering, and death.

What is God doing about it? In the future, there will be a new heaven and new earth with a new humanity. In that new universe, there will be no more pain, suffering, and death. The best of all is that there will be no more sin.

Right now, God is recruiting people to be part of that new universe. Every single time you hear the message that you must repent and trust in Christ and His death on the cross for salvation, God is recruiting you, calling you to be part of that new universe to come.

GOSPEL LIGHT #659

Christ Our Seventh Year 

De 15:1 "At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts.
De 15: 2 "And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the LORD'S release.

There was to be a seven-year cycle for the Jews. At the end part of the seven-year cycle, meaning, the seventh year, a release of debts was to be made. This is called the Lord's release. They were to be released from their obligation in paying off their debts.

Blessed seventh year! The seventh-year is the Sabbatical year. It was a year of rest and release, even release from the obligation of paying one's debts. 

Christ is the real Sabbath. 

Mt 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins...

The word "forgiveness" here can also mean remission or release. In Christ, a sinner can have remission or release from his sins!

Enough of your years of being a slave to sin's guilt and power! Come to Christ, enter the seventh year as it were through faith in Him, and enjoy the Lord's release! 

GOSPEL LIGHT #658

1Co 2:2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

The Corinthians were enamored with philosophy (which they deemed as brilliant ideas) and great oratorical skills. The apostle Paul did not seek to please men. He did not strive to be popular. He did not try to impress people.

When the apostle Paul came to Corinth and sought to save souls, he only preached Christ and Him crucified. He intentionally did not talk about anything else. He was a man of one message. When you are with him in his evangelistic ministry, it would seem as if he only knew of one thing --- Christ and Him crucified. 

Paul did not believe that the education of brilliant ideas was the hope of mankind. Salvation, not education, was man's greatest need. 

He did not preach good works. Why? He knows that it could not save a sinner.
He did not preach good character. Why? For the very same reason.
He did not preach the Law, the Ten Commandments. Why? For the very same reason still. 

Now, good works, good character, and the Law have their proper place, but, they are not for the salvation of the sinner. To the apostle, if a sinner must be saved, it is only through "Christ and Him crucified." 

My friend, do you want to be saved? I have only one message for you: "Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary for your sins." Trust Him and what He did there in Calvary for your salvation.  

GOSPEL LIGHT #657

The Tragic Case Of The God Ignorers

MT 24:38 “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 

MT 24:39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Many people in Noah's day were caught unaware when the Flood came. They were totally unprepared. Imagine their surprise. It was all because of their willful neglect of God's warning through Noah. They were a bunch of God ignorers. 

You look at their lives, on the whole, they seemed to have lived normal lives. Nothing dark about them is said. No out and out sin is mentioned. But what is glaring in their lives is the thing that is not mentioned at all, which is conspicuous by its absence --- God. The whole of their lives can be described as "eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage." That's all and nothing more. And we have many who are exactly like this in our time! 

Ps 50:22 “Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue:

My friend, are you someone who has been ignoring God all this time? Repent. Take God seriously! Be warned; a sweeping judgment will come over this world. Come to Christ in faith, enter the ark, as it were, and find salvation. 

GOSPEL LIGHT #656

Open Notes Exam

Ps 118:14: "The LORD ... He has become my salvation."

According to the verse what or who has become his salvation? 

a) His good works 
b) His good character
c) His sacrifices 
d) His prayers
e) His confessions 
f) His church membership
g) The Lord

Correct Answer: Letter g, the Lord has become his salvation. What's the answer of your heart? To whom or to what are you trusting for your salvation? Are you trusting in the Savior who died for your sins at Calvary's cross?

GOSPEL LIGHT # 655

Some People's Hectic Schedule 

* 6 a.m. --- woke up after having a late business meeting which extended into the wee hours after midnight 
* 7 a.m. --- head to a business branch after shower, breakfast, and reading the newspapers
* 8 to 10 a.m. --- meeting with the office staff
* 10 to 12 a.m. --- drew up plans with corporate colleagues to expand the business 
* 12 to 1 p.m. --- made some follow-up calls after a quick lunch
* 1 to 3 p.m. --- head to the airport to meet a business partner 
* 3 to 5 p.m. --- proceed to another business enterprise to meet with another set of business partners
* 5 to 7 p.m. --- online meeting with international connections 
* 7 to 8 p.m. --- had a business dinner in a conference 
* 8 to 11 p.m. --- flight to Hongkong 
* 11 p.m. --- took a limousine ride toward a posh five-star hotel 
 
SUDDENLY... a collision...a shattered glass...an upturned car...lights out... darkness...an appointment with death... the other side. Too late realizations... eternally too late. You have been a great success in the things that will never really matter forever ....... and ever. You were too busy for your own good. You forgot that you have an eternal soul.   

You are not the star of this universe. You are just like everybody else; you could go anytime. Are you ready? Have you repented? Have you trusted in Christ and what He did on the cross for your salvation?  

 

GOSPEL LIGHT # 654

The Basis Of Having Peace With God 

We are naturally at enmity with God. Our greatest need, therefore, is to have peace with Him. It is not God's work in us (what's going on in our hearts and minds; its quality, state, and condition) that peace with God is settled and established. No, rather, the sinner's peace with God is based upon what God has done for us in Christ at Calvary. 

Not within but without, there, yonder at Calvary! Never confuse what's going on within us, in all its upward and downward movements, in all its unfinished work, to what He has done there for us at Calvary. Your peace with God could never be had by looking within. It can only be secured by His work for us at the cross. And He has already done it.


 

GOSPEL LIGHT #653

The G-O-S-P-E-L in John 3:16

Joh 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His Only begotten Son, that whoever believes (trusts) in Him should not Perish but have Everlasting Life.

GOSPEL NUGGET #652

You may experience a moral conversion, going from being immoral to being a moral person, but, if you have not availed of the payment for your sins provided at the cross of Calvary, through faith in it, you are still a guilty soul.
The Bible says: " ... without shedding of blood is no remission of sins." Heb. 9:22 It's not our moral conversion that takes away our guilt. It's the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ

GOSPEL NUGGET #651

What's wrong with a salvation that's by faith in Christ plus doing good works? Eventually and ultimately, you will trust in the latter more than the former, making you, essentially, trust in your good works alone for salvation. Just as you can't serve two masters at the same time so you can't trust in two Saviors equally at the same time. The focus of one's trust in this scheme will gravitate toward the good works part. Since Christ's work and part are already done so the heart will now focus on doing the good works part which will have to be an endeavor that will go on for life. At the bottom of things, it all boils down to trusting in good works for salvation. It necessarily results in the denial of Christ alone as Savior.

GOSPEL NUGGET #650

Archaeologists: Noah Scolded A Man During The Flood For Praying The Ark's Prayer

Archaeologists have uncovered and unearthed evidence that Noah scolded a man for praying the Ark's Prayer when the torrential waters started to flood in.

"Noah's Ark, I invite you to come into my heart. Come and live in my heart. I believe that you can save me out of these rampaging waters. Amen!" he prayed.

"Don't pray it in! Get yourself in! Rely on the ark!" Noah shouted. But the man continued to sincerely pray the Ark's prayer without stepping into it. He capped it off by signing a card. Noah last saw him being devoured and gobbled up by the waters of judgment.

It is feared that many today are doing the same. Many are trusting in the prayer they made to the Savior instead of trusting in the Savior through that prayer.

--- Real Fake News With A Punch --- Your Most Trusted Source Of Fake News Everywhere.

GOSPEL NUGGET #649

It was the Lord Jesus Christ who worked FOR our salvation, and He offers it to us. To say: "I will work FOR my salvation" is to reject what He did for us. It's saying in His face: "Thanks, but no thanks! I will work FOR it instead."

Don't be proud to reject His offer. Be humble enough to receive it by allowing Him to do it for you, trusting in His work for your salvation.