--A SURE SALVATION
-Romans 10:8-15
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If you confess with
your mouth the Lord
Jesus and believe in
... your heart that God
has raised Him from
the dead, you will be
saved.--Romans 10:9-
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A STORY is told that Queen Victoria of the UK was deeply moved during a church service. Afterward, she asked her Chaplain, "Can one be absolutely sure in this life of eternal safety?" He did not have an answer. But an Evangelist named John Townsend heard about the Queen's question, and after much prayer he sent her a note: "With trembling hands, but heartfelt love, and because I know that we can be absolutely sure now of our eternal life in the Home that Jesus went to prepare, may I ask your Most Gracious Majesty to read the following passages of Scripture: John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10?"

Two weeks later, the Evangelist received this letter: "...I have carefully and prayerfully read the portions of Scripture referred to. I believe in the finished work of Christ for me, and trust by God's grace to meet you in that Home of which He said, 'I go to prepare a place for you.' --Victoria Guelph"

Townsend was confident that we can have assurance of eternal safety (v.9), and he had a concern for others as well. Consider what John 3:16 and Romans 10:9-10 mean for your eternal destiny. God desires to give you the confidence that your sin is forgiven and that after death you'll be with Him forever.

'Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.' ----
-Lives rooted in God's unchanging grace can never be uprooted!
--ODB/BH /Blessed Assurance <http://youtu.be/7IUMTJoH-PQ>

--Discovering Our True Identity
--1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Many Christians are experiencing an identity crisis. They know they’re saved, but they don’t really know what to think about themselves. Let’s take a little test. Do you consider yourself a sinner saved by grace or a saint who occasionally sins? Both statements are true, but the first one dwells on your past identity, whereas the second focuses on the Lord’s perception of you.

If you are a believer, God’s Word says that you are a saint (v. 2). But too many of us still see ourselves as the same old sinner, who’s been forgiven and patched up and yet is basically unchanged inside. But the Lord says anyone in Christ “is a new creature; the old things passed away” (2 Cor. 5:17). That’s what being born again is all about. We can never go back to the way we were.

The solution to this identity crisis is to change the way we think about ourselves. If we don’t, we’ll rely on how we feel, and Satan will bombard us with reminders of our failures and sins. He wants to keep us focused on being a sinner, because he knows that the recognition of our sainthood will lead us to live like saints. We’ll be motivated and empowered to obey God, and the Devil will lose his foothold in our lives.

Jesus didn’t come just to save you from hell; He wants to live His life through you. In Christ, you have a new identity which has replaced your old one. If you will focus on who you are now, your actions will follow, and you’ll experience the enjoyment of a victorious Christian life.
--IN TOUCH

---From Alienation to Reconciliation
--2 Corinthians 5:14-21 -(please read)

Separation, rejection, and alienation are unpleasant experiences that we usually try to avoid at all costs. But we live in a fallen world, so we cannot totally escape them.
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Isolation from other people is bad enough, but what's worse is that many individuals live apart from the heavenly Father. How tragic and futile life must be when it is spent completely detached from its Creator. God planted within each of us a desire to be in relationship with Him, so until we find our connection to Him, we will always feel that something is missing.

And yet as crucial as that relationship is to our well-being, something stands in its way: Whether by our thoughts or actions, we have all violated the Lord's commands (Rom. 3:23), and our pure, holy God cannot be in the presence of sin. Romans 6:23 states that the penalty for sin is death, which is an eternal separation from the Lord. Therefore, we will always have a void.

What a bleak outlook for mankind! But our loving Father solved the dilemma by sending His Son to pay our penalty. Fully God and fully man, Jesus lived the perfect life, took all our iniquity upon Himself, and died a gruesome death on the cross. No longer are we condemned for our wrongs, because Christ took our place. And three days later, He victoriously rose to life.

Salvation is available to anyone who believes and receives this remarkable gift.
John 3:16 describes how reconciliation puts an end to our alienation: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

--IN TOUCH

----The Message the World Needs to Hear
---Mark 16:15-20 (Rec'd Reading)

Suppose I asked what the mission of the church is—how would you answer? Although the church accomplishes many tasks, its only message to the world is the gospel of Christ. Everything else we do is merely an extension of that primary goal. The gospel we offer the lost is superior to every worldly philosophy. Never outdated or in need of correction, it is always sufficient to meet humanity's greatest need: reconciliation with the Creator.

Although the message is always the same, methods of making it known are many—including the spoken word, music, printed material, and electronic media. But all these avenues of communication require the individual involvement of God's people. It is every Christian's responsibility to use his or her spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities to help fulfill the Great Commission.

Some Christians think that this role is given only to pastors, missionaries, or other people with an "up-front ministry." But all of us have the responsibility to be involved in whatever way we are able and in whatever opportunity God gives us. Not everybody is called to go abroad as a missionary, but we all can give, pray, and tell friends and family what the Lord has done for us.

When you're truly committed to getting the gospel out, God will reveal what work He is calling you to do. He has a place for every one of us—nobody is insignificant or unusable. The limiting factor is not the Lord's ability to use us but our availability to His call. If this has been a blessing to you, why not pass it on for others to read. The Lord wants to use 'ALL' of us, that includes you and me.

--IN TOUCH

--Follow Where He Leads~~

--God asks for no credentials--
--He accepts us with our flaws.

He is kind and understanding
and He welcomes us because...

We are His erring children and He loves us, every one,
And He freely and completely
forgives all that we have done,

Asking only if we're ready
to follow where He leads,

Content that in His wisdom
He will answer all our needs.~~
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-We must keep our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. He said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you. I will come for you."

~~ Helen Steiner Rice~~/ I Look To You- Selah~~/ I Look To You~~ Selah<https://youtu.be/e7cwTzrYaZA>