God Archives - KNS Financial

The Blessing Of Salvation!

Each Sunday, I try to post a devotional thought for you to meditate on. Sometimes it will be something out of my own studies and prayers. Other times – like today – it will be from another source.

Today, I am posting about the need and blessing of salvation, by James Smith, courtesy of Grace Gems:

(James Smith, “The Voice of Mercy in the House of Affliction!” 1855)

The Blessing Of Salvation!

Salvation is . . .
the greatest blessing that God can bestow;
deliverance from the greatest misery;
exaltation to the greatest happiness;
the greatest change in man’s state and character which can possibly be effected;
the greatest display of the love, wisdom, grace, and power of God!

Salvation is the very blessing that you need. The blessing which you must receive–or be eternally undone!

Salvation is a blessing for the PRESENT, for it is deliverance . . .
from the guilt of sin–which makes you miserable;
from the power of sin–which makes you unholy; and
from the love of sin–which proves you to be God’s enemy.

Salvation is a blessing for the FUTURE: it secures to you safety and happiness in time–and glory, honor, immortality, and eternal life when time shall be no more!

Salvation is a blessing which comprehends every other blessing.
If the man is saved–then all good things are his.
If the man is lost–then nothing good is his.
To be saved, is . . .
for the soul to be restored to a right relationship to God;
to be put in possession of unsearchable wealth;
to be raised to the highest honor; and
to be entitled to eternal glory!

No word is as sweet as salvation–as no word is as dreadful as its opposite, damnation! Reader, there is no intermediate state between these two extremes.

The Most Healthy State Of A Christian

By Khaleef Crumbley

“I am poor and needy–come quickly to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer. O Lord, do not delay!” Psalm 70:5…

Today, I am posting a reminder about the importance of prayer and humility in the life of a Christian, by Charles Spurgeon, courtesy of Grace Gems:

(Charles Spurgeon)

“I am poor and needy–come quickly to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer. O Lord, do not delay!” Psalm 70:5

The act of prayer teaches us our unworthiness–which is a very beneficial lesson for such proud beings as we are. If God gave us blessings without constraining us to pray for them–we would never know how poor we are. But a true prayer is . . .
an inventory of our needs,
a catalog of our necessities,
a revelation of our hidden poverty.

While prayer is an application to divine wealth–it is also a confession of human emptiness. The most healthy state of a Christian, is to be . . .
always empty in SELF and constantly depending upon the Lord for supplies;
always poor in SELF–and rich in Jesus;
as weak as water personally–but mighty through God to do great exploits.

And hence prayer, while it adores God, it lays the creature where it should be–in the very dust!

Prayer is in itself, apart from the answer which it brings, a great benefit to the Christian. As the runner gains strength for the race by daily exercise; so for the great race of life, we acquire energy by the hallowed labor of prayer. Prayer plumes the wings of God’s young eaglets–that they may learn to soar above the clouds!

Prayer sends God’s warriors forth to combat–with their sinews braced and their muscles firm. An earnest pleader comes out of his closet, even as the sun arises from the chambers of the east–rejoicing like a strong man to run his race.

Prayer is that uplifted hand of Moses–which routs the Amalekites more than the sword of Joshua. Prayer . . .
girds human weakness with divine strength,
turns human folly into heavenly wisdom, and
gives the peace of God to troubled mortals.

We have no idea what prayer can do!

We thank you, great God, for the mercy-seat–a choice proof of Your marvelous loving-kindness. Help us to use it aright throughout this day!

The Love God Has For Us!

By Khaleef Crumbley

Today, I am posting about the love of God by James Smith, courtesy of Grace Gems:

(James Smith, “Comfort for Christians!”)

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us! God is love.” (1 John 4:16)

The sweeter the truth–the more backward we often are to receive and believe it. Therefore it must be presented to us again and again. What is more pleasant, than the fact that “God is love”?

Yet so quickly we doubt it, or forget it, or fail to realize it. Therefore the Gospel presents it to us again and again, and in almost every possible form. Twice within the scope of a few verses, John tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8,16).

Belief in this portrayal of God lies at the root of our holiness, happiness, and peace. To the extent that we believe that “God is love”–we will . . .
consecrate ourselves to His service,
enjoy peace in our consciences,
and be happy in His ways.

God loves us, and therefore He planned our salvation, sending His one and only Son to take away our sins by the sacrifice of Himself. He also sent His Holy Spirit to teach us our need of Christ and lead us to Him. And, finally, He has put His blessed Word in our hands so that through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures, we might have hope.

God loves us–and therefore He . . .
chastens us,
strips us, and
empties us.
He will not let us live satisfied without Himself.

God is love–therefore He has provided an atonement for all our sins. His justice is satisfied, and Heaven is prepared for us!

Yes, though we were sinners by nature, and deeply feel it–though we are not all that we wish to be, and deeply deplore it–yet God loves us!

Bless the Lord, O my soul, who in His love and in His pity has redeemed me!

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins!” (1 John 4:10)

photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net

The Importance Of Integrity In The Workplace

By Khaleef Crumbley

A while back, as I was doing my daily bible reading, I came across this passage about integrity:

You shall not have in your back differing weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house differing measures, in large and a small. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the Lord your God. – Deuteronomy 25:13-16

God expected the Israelites to operate with honesty and integrity both in trade and business. The picture here is of a merchant in the marketplace who, as he conducts business, carries false weights and scales, which will measure things in his favor and allow him to cheat his customers. This is similar to someone in modern times gambling with weighted dice.

The Bible has a lot to say about having integrity, especially as you operate your business. As you can see from the verses above, and the many more that I didn’t even enclose, how we handle our business is very important.

We need to do everything with integrity and honor and honesty. In fact, the measure of success when it comes to how we deal with others – especially in business or financial matters – is not whether we were profitable, able to get our way, or even if we were able to make someone happy, but it’s if we operate with honesty and integrity.

Even if we have a business that fails, or we try an endeavor and it doesn’t work out, we can know it was a success in God’s eyes, if we operate with integrity, honesty, and godly character.

[Question: Does hard work show a lack of faith?]

Because most people in this country don’t own their own business, but in fact, work for someone else, we may feel as though these verses don’t apply to us. However we must realize that we do own a business in a sense – we own our labor, our intellect, and our abilities, and we are to use all these things with integrity for our clients. It’s just in many cases, we call our clients our boss, manager, or supervisor.

I think we have to really look at how we approach work and other things that we do in life. We need search our hearts and make sure that we are operating with integrity in all that we do (even if it causes us to lose favor with a boss that is asking us to bend the rules or fudge numbers). If we can do that then we know that we have been pleasing to God.

There’s a lot more that can be said about this, and most likely I will write about it in the future, but I just wanted to put that quick thought out there as it definitely hit me hard as I read it and thought about the consequences.

photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net

An Epitome Of All Vanity – Devotion

By Khaleef Crumbley

Today, I am posting a great thought from Thomas Brooke reminding us that even at our best we amount to nothing, courtesy of Grace Gems:

(Thomas Brooks, “The Crown and Glory of Christianity; or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness” 1662)

“Truly, every man at his best state is altogether vanity!” Psalm 39:5

By Adam’s fall, man has become . . .
a pile of dust,
a puff of wind,
a dream,
a shadow,
a puff of smoke,
a worm,
a debased soul,
a curious nothing.

Yes, man having fallen from his primitive glory, has become altogether vanity, says the psalmist in Psalm 39:5, “Truly, every man at his best state is altogether vanity!” Truly, every man–not some man, but every man at his best state, when he is in the height and perfection of all creature comforts and contentments–is altogether, not in some measure–but altogether, vanity–all vanity!

Since the fall of Adam, every natural man in his best estate is vanity; nay, every man is every vanity. Imagine whatever vanity you will–fallen man is that! He is a comprehensive vanity–he is an epitome of all vanity.

Man before his fall, was the best of creatures; but since his fall, he has become the worst of creatures. By his fall he has fallen below the very beasts that perish. He who was once the image of God, the glory of paradise, the world’s ruler, and the Lord’s darling–has now become a burden to God, a burden to himself.

photo credit: velo_city

The Blessing Of Salvation!

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