1) “His Eye Is On The Sparrow” (Wayne S. Walker)
2) What I Learned from Reading Psalms (Bryan Gibson)
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“His Eye Is On The Sparrow”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Wayne S. Walker -2-<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bryan Gibson<\/p>\n\n\n\n Constantly\u2014morning, noon, and evening (55:16-17), as long as I live (116:1-2), that\u2019s how often I should pray\u2014when I desire to give thanks (68:19; 107:8), when I need forgiveness (32:1-5; 51:1-7), when I\u2019m persecuted (142:5-6; 109:1-5), when I\u2019m burdened with grief and anxiety (61:1-4; 147:3), when I\u2019m in need of boldness and courage (138:3), etc. From the powerful poetry used in this wonderful book, I learned that no heavier burden exists than the burden of sin, that the greatest anguish I can experience is knowing I\u2019ve sinned against God, and that His wrath is against me, even as one of His children (25:11; 31:9-10; 32:3-4; 38:3-8, 17-18; 40:12; 41:4; 51:4). <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) Hear\u00a0<\/strong>the gospel — for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30-31). Tebeau Street “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).——————– Contents: 1) “His Eye Is On The Sparrow” (Wayne S. Walker)2) What I Learned from Reading Psalms (Bryan Gibson)——————–\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0-1- “His […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2878"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2881,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2878\/revisions\/2881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The Bible teaches us that God is omniscient. His eyes behold everything that occurs in this world. Jesus once said, \u201cAre not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows\u201d (Luke 12:6-7). The point that Jesus was making was that if His eye is on the sparrow, then His eye is surely on us as well. What should this mean to us?
First, it means that God knows our needs and provides for them. \u201c…For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him\u201d (Matthew 6:8). He provides for our physical needs. \u201cNevertheless, He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness\u201d (Acts 14:17). Indeed, all good and perfect gifts come down from God above (James 1:17). He has promised in a special way to meet the needs of His people, for if we seek first His kingdom, what we shall eat, drink, and put on will be added to us (Matthew 6:33). However, the truth is that these blessings are indiscriminately given to all mankind (see Matthew 5:45).
But He also provides for our spiritual needs in Christ. \u201cBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). He sent Christ to die for us that if we believe on Him we might not perish (John 3:16). He offers salvation through the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16). He revealed the Scriptures to guide us (2 Timothy 3:16-17), And He ordained heaven to be our eternal reward (1 Peter 1:3-5). Whose are these spiritual blessings? Even they are available to all mankind because God does not want any to perish but wants everyone to come to repentance (Titus 2:11, 2 Peter 3:9). But the benefit of these blessings can be received only by those who obey Christ (Hebrews 5:8-9).
Secondly, God sees our troubles and wants to help us. In Genesis 16:1-13, Sarah was impatient for God\u2019s promise of a son for Abraham and so gave her husband her handmaid, Hagar, to be his concubine and bear him a child. But as soon as Hagar conceived, Sarah became jealous and drove Hagar out into the wilderness. But God found Hagar and promised to bless her. She called the name of that place \u201cYou-Are-the-God-Who Sees.\u201d From our temptations, He offers escape. \u201cNo temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13). It is a great source of comfort that my God wants to assist me in overcoming temptation.
From our anxieties, He offers peace through prayer. \u201cBe anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus\u201d (Philippians 4:6-7). I do not have to spend my time worrying about my troubles; I can \u201ctake it to the Lord in prayer.\u201d And from our cares He offers relief. \u201cCasting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you\u201d (1 Peter 5:7). \u201cDoes Jesus care when my heart is pained Too deeply for mirth or song, As the burdens press, And the cares distress, And the way grows weary and long? O yes, He cares, I know He cares, His heart is touched with my grief; When the days are weary, The long night dreary, I know my Savior cares.\u201d
Thirdly, God is aware of our sins and shows His mercy. We could never hide any of our sins from God. David said to the Lord, \u201cO Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off\u201d (Psalm 139:1-2), We shall be judged by the deeds of our lives, the words of our lips, and even the thoughts of our hearts. \u201cFor we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad\u201d (2 Corinthians 5:10). If at that time we have any sins in our lives that are unforgiven, we shall suffer eternal punishment, for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Should such be the case, we shall \u201cbe punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power\u201d (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
But the good news of the gospel of Christ is that forgiveness of our sins is available. Jesus promised that \u201cevery sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men\u2026\u201d (Matthew 12:31a). When such occurs, God has said, \u201cTheir sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more\u201d (Hebrews 10:17). To be thus, the alien sinner is told, \u201c…Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit\u201d (Acts 2:38). To receive forgiveness, the erring Christian is commanded, \u201cRepent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you\u201d (Acts 8:22). Those who have been redeemed should say every day, \u201cThanks be to God for His unspeakable gift\u201d (2 Corinthians 9:15).
Yes, God sees and knows. When dedicating the temple Solomon said to God, \u201c…For You, only You, know the hearts of all the sons of man\u2026\u201d (1 Kings 8:39). God\u2019s eye watches over us every minute, every day. He is cognizant of each action, each word, even each thought. Of course, this truth should be somewhat scary to the lost sinner. But it should provide great comfort and encouragement to the faithful Christian. \u201cI sing because I\u2019m happy, I sing because I\u2019m free, For His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me\u201d (Civilla D. Martin).
— Via Search for Truth,<\/em> Volume XVII, Number 14, November 3, 2024
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat I Learned from Reading Psalms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
On the Subject of Prayer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Psalms confirmed for me that God has great power (33:6-9); that He has infinite knowledge, even of every single individual (147:5; 33:13-15); that He is longsuffering, compassionate, merciful, righteous, and faithful (86:15; 121:1-8; 143:1); and that He shows great lovingkindness (36:7). What I learned from studying these attributes of God is that He is both willing<\/strong> and able<\/strong> to answer prayers.
One sobering revelation, confirmed in the New Testament, is that God does NOT answer the prayers of everyone, but of the righteous (18:20-24; 34:15-18)\u2014the prayers of those who fear Him (145:19), who call upon him in truth (145:18), and who come to Him with a broken and contrite heart (34:18).<\/p>\n\n\n\nAbout the Burden of Sin and the Blessing of Forgiveness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
But, I also learned there is \u201chope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption\u201d (130:7). The anguish over my sins can be replaced with \u201cjoy and gladness\u201d (51:8)\u2014if my heart is broken and contrite (34:18; 51:17), if I acknowledge my sins to Him (32:1-5; 51:3-4), and if I repent (51:10-15).
God is \u201cready to forgive\u201d (86:5), and so if I meet these conditions, \u201cas far as the east is from the west\u201d (103:12), He will remove my transgressions from me. Thank you, God, for this precious blessing.
\u2014 Via Plain Words from God\u2019s Word<\/em>, October 15 & 17 (2 articles on prayer combined)
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2) Believe<\/strong>\u00a0in the deity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent\u00a0<\/strong>of sins.\u00a0 For every accountable person has sinned (Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10), which causes one to be spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1) and separated from God (Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 6:23). Therefore, repentance of sin is necessary (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).\u00a0 For whether the sin seems great or small, there will still be the same penalty for either (Matt. 12:36-37; 2 Cor. 5:10) — and even for a lie (Rev. 21:8).
4) Confess faith<\/strong>\u00a0in Christ (Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized\u00a0<\/strong>in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21).\u00a0 This is the final step that puts one into Christ (Gal. 3:26-27).\u00a0 For from that baptism, one is then raised as a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17), having all sins forgiven and beginning a new life as a Christian (Rom. 6:3-4). For the one being baptized does so \u201cthrough faith in the working of God\u201d (Col. 2:12). In other words, believing that God will keep His word and forgive after one submits to these necessary steps. And now as a Christian, we then need to\u2026
6) Continue in the faith <\/strong>by <\/strong>living for the Lord; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Matt. 24:13; Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA\u00a0 31501
Sunday:<\/strong> 9 a.m<\/strong>. Bible Classes and 10 a.m. <\/strong>Worship Service
Wednesday (all but the first):<\/strong> 7 p.m.<\/strong> Bible Classes\u00a0
\u00a0First Wednesday of the month: 7 p.m. <\/strong>Congregational Song Service (about 45 minutes of singing, followed by a short talk)
evangelist\/editor: <\/strong>Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/go\/all.htm<\/a> (This is a link to the older version of the Gospel Observer website, but with bulletins going back to March 4, 1990.)
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