December 15, 2012

• twenty children

   

  John 3:1  Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2  This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3  Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4  Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5  Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

  
  twenty children

  

  twenty children ~ a vapor ~ breathe no more
  impending judgment at heaven's door

  how many escaped sin's fatal blight?
  how many tasted Love's Pure Light?

  how many entered the path of Life,
  blood-bought transport to Peace from strife,

  delivered from the pow'r of darkness,
  once blinded, graced with spiritual sight?

  how many felt the Spirit's quickening wind,
  received full atonement, forgiveness of sins?

  who can stand before God clothed in fleshly works alone?
  even babes need the covering of the Lamb's righteous robe

  Romans 3:19  Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20  For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

  21  But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22  the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24  and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25  whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26  It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

  27  Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28  For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29  Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30  since God is one. He will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31  Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
  

  apart from His offering, a hostile relation –
  but Christ was made sin for our reconciliation
  

  II Corinthians 5:17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

  Christ Jesus set forth to be a propitiation
  to all who believe, God's pow'r of salvation

  for every tongue, tribe, language and nation
  glad tidings:  the Gospel proclamation!
  
  Isaiah 61:
  8  For I the LORD love justice;
  I hate robbery and wrong;
  I will faithfully give them their recompense,
  and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
  9  Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
  and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
  all who see them shall acknowledge them,
  that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed.

  hear their songs of praise and everlasting joy:
  the old men and old women, the girls and boys...

  10  I will greatly rejoice in the LORD;
  my soul shall exult in my God,
  for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
  he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
  as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
  and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
  11  For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
  and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
  so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise
  to sprout up before all the nations.

  
  Zechariah 8:4  Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5  And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.

  Romans 5:1  Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

  Psalm 118:
  14  The LORD is my strength and my song;
  he has become my salvation.
  15  Glad songs of salvation
  are in the tents of the righteous:
  “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,
  16  the right hand of the LORD exalts,
  the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!”
  17  I shall not die, but I shall live,
  and recount the deeds of the LORD.
  18  The LORD has disciplined me severely,
  but he has not given me over to death.
  19  Open to me the gates of righteousness,
  that I may enter through them
  and give thanks to the LORD.
  20  This is the gate of the LORD;
  the righteous shall enter through it.
  21  I thank you that you have answered me
  and have become my salvation.
  22  The stone that the builders rejected
  has become the cornerstone.
  23  This is the LORD's doing;
  it is marvelous in our eyes.

  on judgment day, before Christ's throne
  no soul can stand but through Christ alone

  the first Advent, He came to provide salvation
  the second He comes as the Judge of all nations

  Hebrews 9:24  For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25  Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26  for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27  And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28  so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

  today He calls all to repent everywhere
  will you mock the risen King, would you dare? 

  be saved, you sinners, from the wrath to come
  hear Him, believe on Him, God's only begotten Son

  Acts 17:29  Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30  The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31  because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

  32  Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”

  all flesh is as grass, your glory as the fading flower
  confide in Christ, be raised from death to life this very hour!

  I Peter 2:6
  For it stands in Scripture:

  “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
  a cornerstone chosen and precious,
  and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
  

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  Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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