The Sword of the LORD

"And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."   (Genesis 1:26). From the very beginning God desired to create man in His own image, and after His own likeness.   He did not leave this task up to man to accomplish on his own, but He undertook it Himself.   "Let us make man in our image..."   This image, or likeness, did not refer so much to Adam's physical features as much as it did his purity of spirit and moral character.   Adam was sinless and innocent before his Maker.   His soul was a clear glass into which the Creator could gaze and see His own nature reflected.   In every respect, Adam was a son of his Father, and it could be said of him, "Like Father, like son."   Sadly, Adam chose to break the Father's commandment; and, as a result, ...

"If God be for us, who can be against us?   He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"   (Romans 8:31b, 32). During our fellowship meeting recently, a young lady requested that we sing the old hymn "Victory In Jesus" by E. M. Bartlett.   I was blessed and moved by this classic Christian hymn as I considered just how complete is this salvation that God has secured for us in Christ Jesus.   His love is so great for us that He did not withhold even His beloved Son to guarantee our victory. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesian church, urges the believers to "stand against the wiles of the devil."   He expands this concept of "standing" in the sixth chapter when he says, "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand .   Stand therefore , having your loins girt ...

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."   (2 Corinthians 4:6) Jesus Christ is the A to Z, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the Author and Finisher of our faith, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.   He said that no man can come to the heavenly Father, but by Him.   He is the light of the world, and God has commanded that His light should shine into the darkness of this world, and into the darkness of our hearts.   With this light comes the knowledge of the glory of God.   That is, we can see and know the glory of God simply by believing and receiving His Son Jesus Christ.    There are many who think that God likes to hide Himself from man, and that it is difficult to know what it is that He requires of us humans.   This could not be further from the truth.   The fact is, God delights in His f...