Almost Persuaded

By Phillip Bliss

 

Verse One

"Almost persuaded" now to believe;

"Almost persuaded" Christ to receive;

Seems now some soul to say,

"Go, Spirit, go Thy way,

Some more convenient day

On Thee I’ll call."

 

Verse Two

"Almost persuaded," come, come today;

"Almost persuaded," turn not away;

Jesus invites you here,

Angels are lingering near

Prayers rise from hearts so dear;

O wanderer, come!

 

Verse Three

"Almost persuaded," harvest is past!

"Almost persuaded," doom comes at last!

"Almost" cannot avail;

"Almost" is but to fail!

Sad, sad, that bitter wail —

"Almost," but lost!

 

The idea for this song is from Acts 26:28 where the King of Israel, king Agrippa’s response to Paul’s preaching is “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.”

He was not almost persuaded to leave Judaism for another religion,

He was not almost persuaded to be turn over a new leaf,

He was not almost persuaded to be baptized,

He was not almost persuaded to keep the commandments, or live good enough.

No! He was almost persuaded to be a Christian, a “Christ one.” Someone who realizes they are a sinner and that Jesus died on the cross to pay for their sin, and that nothing they do can take their sin away, but to believe on Jesus Christ the Perfect, Holy, Son of God.

 

It would be nice to think that Agrippa later was persuaded and believed on Jesus, but that cannot be known for certain.

Let us be sure that we give people every opportunity to be not only almost, but completely persuaded of their need of Salvation.

 

 

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

….Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

And that he was buried,

and that he rose again the third day

according to the scriptures:

 

Blessed Be The Name

Blessed Be the Name 

By. Charles Wesley 

All praise to Him Who reigns above

In majesty supreme,

Who gave His Son for man to die,

That He might man redeem!

 

Refrain

Bless’d be the Name! Bless’d be the Name!

Bless’d be the Name of the Lord!

Bless’d be the Name! Bless’d be the Name!

Bless’d be the Name of the Lord!

 

His Name above all names shall stand,

Exalted more and more,

At God the Father’s own right hand,

Where angel hosts adore.

Refrain

 

Redeemer, Savior, Friend of man

Once ruined by the fall,

Thou hast devised salvation’s plan,

For Thou hast died for all.

Refrain

 

His Name shall be the Counselor,

The mighty Prince of Peace,

Of all earth’s kingdoms Conqueror,

Whose reign shall never cease.

 

 

 

The Bible contains so many names that apply to Jesus!

 

This hymn contains but a few of the title/names that apply to our….

Redeemer – Isaiah 59:20

Saviour – 1 John 4:14

Friend – Matthew 11:19

Counselor – Isaiah 9:6

Prince of Peace – Isaiah 9:6

Conqueror – While the Bible does not use this word to describe Jesus the definition fits. He is and will be the Victor over Satan; He will be the “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”  (Revelation 19:16)

    But the name that is above every name, the name at which every knee shall bow is the name of Jesus. Philippians 2:9-11 says “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

It brings glory to God when the name of His Son is praised, which is a reminder to praise Jesus daily!!!

 

James 4:14 
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.
For what is your life?
It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time,
and then vanisheth away.

The Bible says that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2) and the fact that life is but a vapour is proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that He does indeed tell the truth.

 In the vapour of time given to each person alive on the earth, people are bombarded with choices. In March, the Bible Baptist Church had a Youth Rally and in the afternoon about 170 adults and youth joined in a 2-mile march down a busy stretch of road with smiles and signs, many of which proclaimed that the best choice is Jesus Christ. The many people who drove their vehicles by the marchers were reminded for a few brief moments that Jesus is the Best Choice that they can make. No one may ever know the affect the march had on people, but if one person was convicted to come to the right choice and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ it was well worth it.
   
There is no doubt in my mind that choosing Jesus Christ is the very best choice anyone could ever make. It was seven years ago when I finally came to this conclusion. When I was young I made a profession of being saved, was baptized and did not think anything more about it for some time.
   
Until one night at a church service the preacher was teaching on something regarding the church, (I have no idea what it was about) when he stopped near the end and mentioned that even in a meeting such as this, where the main focus was on strengthening the church, there could be someone there that was not saved. I remember those words clearly to this day. I knew at that moment, though he did not, that he was addressing me. The question was what would I do about it? I reasoned in my mind and did not want to have to admit that I had not been truly saved and so that night I made a decision and that was to wait and think about it more later.
  
For almost a year, I waited, until one night I read John 8:23-24. I cannot really explain what brought about the change of heart, but that night I made the best decision and trusted Jesus as my Saviour.

In 1 Samuel 26:21 King Saul says, “behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.” I played the fool for almost a year, more concerned with what people would think than receiving Jesus Christ as my Saviour and letting Him cover, remove, blot out, pardon, and remember no more my sins.
  
I believe God has a purpose for my life and it all started with showing me that I was a fool not to receive Him sooner. I believe this because I was born again, on April 1st, 2005, April Fools day.
     
The best choice I ever made was to Believe on Jesus Christ and I have never regretted it, not for a moment.

March For Jesus 2012

The whole group

 My brother Todd and me

 us again, Bob in front of us

 me

 Even signs in Chinese that tell 

JESUS SAVES

 how it looks from the road

 my brother Todd

 us with Laura and Ed

 look from the road

 we space ourselves out and walk

 another view

February 2012

 

Malachi 3:6a
For I am the Lord, I change not.

What a wonderful truth in these times and in this world that is constantly changing.

The changing times can be seen all around us. One example, which is seen is the running of the Daytona 500. For many years, thousands of people have flocked to this event in Daytona Beach, Florida.

While the racetrack has been the same for many years, the cars have changed; always increasing in speed and the faces and names of the competitors have greatly varied. The goal, one thing that has not changed, is to win the famed Daytona 500. That is only the beginning, the one race is not enough, and from there the challenge begins to be the Champion. At the end of the season, only one driver will be named the Champion. However, the moment he is heralded as Champion, he becomes the defending Champion. The man who was the Champion in 2011 must rise to meet the challenge of defending his title. Because time goes on, there is a new season, and he is but another in the list of past Champions.

This does not just apply to car racing though. Just a few weeks ago a football team won the Super Bowl. They became the Champions. But the hype and excitement has died down, and plans are being made for next season and the defense of their title.

This can be seen in so many areas, people trying to be better than others, trying to reach the top of their sport or profession. If they were to make it to the top, they will not remain their long, for another will came to claim their spot.

The sad reality for these people is that there is only one winner, one victor; there is only one person who is truly a Champion and has forever defeated all who would like to claim His title. That is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ holds the title of the only one who could conqueror death, hell and the grave, the only one who could offer redemption and eternal life. He is the only one who could bruise the serpents head.
Jesus was the only one who could do all of this, because He is God manifest in the flesh. He came to earth, of lowly birth, born into this world of sin. He rose above all other men, though He was in the world surrounded by its many lures and snares, He was never entangled therein. Hebrews 4:15 says “but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” He did what no man has even done. He lived a perfect, sinless life and then died on the cross to make a way for man’s sin to be forgiven. What a wonderful Saviour!

Jesus is the only Champion who does not have to defend His title; He is the only Champion who never changes. (Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”) There is no one with the power to take Jesus title from Him. (Matthew 28:18b “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”)

What a blessing it is to know that we have an all-powerful, unchanging, eternal, redeemer in Jesus Christ!

Desiring to serve Him,

Aimée

Finished

2 Timothy 2:15

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.


This is a verse that I have heard often in the last three years, but it is one that is well worth remembering. God has given us His Word to be able to know Him through it. We need to take the time not only to read it, but also to heed this verse and study His Word.

For three years, I have been studying the Bible at the Deland School of the Bible and while officially I graduated on December 18^th, the aspect of studying the Bible is still necessary and important in my life. The command to study is one that has no end because there is always more to learn so that we can rightly divide God’s word.

 One of the things I learned in my first semester, and was impressed on me again this last semester, is that there is so much in the Bible. If we just read the pages of God’s Word, we can learn so many things, but when you see how verses in the Old and New Testaments work together to explain a truth it is amazing. It is remarkable to see all the prophecies that God promised concerning Jesus, his birth, life and death, in the Old Testament and then to see the verses regarding their fulfillment in the New Testament. How throughout the Old and New Testaments there are truths regarding the second coming and the tribulation. The Bible is an amazing book inspired by an amazing God! I am grateful to Bro. James and the other men who willingly give of their time to teach the Bible, they are all a blessing.

 Outside of class time, I greatly enjoyed being able to participate in the outreach activities of the Church. Whether it was passing out tracts at races, football games, or parades, distributing booklets door to door, a mission trip to Trinidad, going to the nursing homes they have all been a great learning experience and wonderful times of fellowship with others who participated.

The past three years have been a wonderful time of learning for me. The tests were not always easy, studying was hard at times, but I have learned many things that will help me as I strive to serve the LORD.

Bro James about to hand me the dipolma

Wade, Bro James, Todd, and me.

I am all done for now....

New opportunites to serve the LORD await....

Back to School

Time certainly does fly by!!!
This week I will start my last semester of Bible School. It seems like I just started!
The class' will be Proverbs, The Law, Acts and a class on the Church.

Todd, Bear and I went to Seaworld on Saturday. We wanted to go before we get busy with School and tests.

I took this picture at Seaworld. This was a very friendly bird.

He posed perfectly for this picture.

New Shoes

I needed new shoes.....

...my parents bought me 2 new pairs.......

Song of Solomon 7:1a

"How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter!..."