Tag: Acts 4:10-12

Hymns 2.0 – Blessed Assurance

On October 13, 2023

Lyrics (click here to hear instrumental)

1 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

2 Perfect communion, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight.
Angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love. [Refrain]

3 Perfect submission, all is at rest.
I in my Savior am happy and bless’d,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love. [Refrain]
Fanny crosby

The History Behind the Hymn

Fanny Crosby (1820-1915), blind at the age of six weeks, was a lifelong Methodist who began composing hymns at age six. She became a student at the New York Institute of the Blind at age 15 and joined the faculty of the Institute at 22, teaching rhetoric and history. In 1885, Crosby married Alexander Van Alstyne, also a student at the Institute and later a member of the faculty. He was a fine musician and, like Fanny, a lover of literature.

An author of more than 8,000 gospel hymn texts, she drew her inspiration from her own faith. Crosby published hymns under several pen names including “Ella Dale,” “Mrs. Kate Gringley,” and “Miss Viola V. A.” Her hymn texts were staples for the music of the most prominent gospel song writers of her day.

Frances Jane Crosby’s hymns have historically been among the most popular songs sung by Methodists. “Blessed Assurance” (1873) is one of the ten most popular hymns sung by United Methodists according to Carlton Young, and it is one of eight Crosby hymns in The United Methodist Hymnal.
https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-blessed-assurance

A Lesson for Me

If there was ever a Gospel message to be penned, it was penned in this hymn! I love the hymns of old because they are centered around the Gospel: the birth, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Gal 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Fanny Crosby didn’t leave anything out in that very first verse! She speaks of our ability to have Jesus in our hearts – He is mine! His presence in our lives gives us a glimpse, if you will, into what lies in store for us when we reach glory! Oh Christian, can you just stop for a moment and think about what glory divine will be like? We will be in His presence forever more. No more sorrows, no more earthly problems; just a joyous presence and an endless time of worship and praise.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

Message for today

The second part of that first verse gives us insight as to what happens when we place our faith and our trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation. Oh how my heart leaps with joy when I think back on the moment I was born again. I went from walking the path to damnation to walking toward the eternal street of gold mentioned in Revelation 21:21!

There is no other person or “god” under heaven that will give salvation and eternal life! NONE! Jesus Christ purchased us with His own blood in order to make us heirs of God through Him and Him alone. Just as Boaz paid the kinsmen redeemer’s price for Ruth, Christ paid for your sins as He shed His blood on the cross. A transfer from your account to His account, if you will.

Act 4:10-12 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. (11) This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. (12) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Friend, if you are trusting in Allah or Buddha to save you, Jesus says He is the ONLY One who can save you. Allah died and so did the Buddha but neither can claim they rose from the dead and paid the penalty for your sins. Neither can give you the assurance of salvation! But Jesus can!

Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

1Jn 5:11-12 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. (12) He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

1Jn 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

Do you have that blessed assurance in your heart today, Reader? If you are not truly born-again, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!

Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus – Day 24

By Kate Plourde

On October 5, 2022

In Devotionals, Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled By Jesus

Prophecy of Messiah:
2 Samuel 7:16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

Good morning, reader! Despite ugly weather outside, the Son should always be shining inside. 😀 Jesus Christ is the light of the world and His light shines every time I open His Word. It illuminates and pierces through the darkness of my understanding. It pricks my heart to see my sin. It’s so awesome to me to be able to read a passage for the umpteenth time and have my eyes are opened to its meaning!! Today is no different.

We see in today’s reading that God promised that David’s kingdom and his throne would be established forever. God’s Word never lies (1Samuel 15:29) and all the prophecies about Messiah Jesus will come true. Amen? Luke 3:31 tells us that the Messiah came from the house of David and Revelation 22:16 confirms it. Every verse in the Bible has a “sister” verse which answers any question our minds can produce.

Prophecy of Messiah Fulfilled:
Luke 3:31 Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,
Revelation 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Notice the accuracy in Bible prophecy? There is no mistaking the fact that Messiah would come from the house of David and that Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophecy. You may say that there were thousands of people who descended from the house of David; but while this may be an insignificant fact, when it is combined with the rest of the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus, it adds to the vast amounts of proof. It bears repeating a quote from “Evidence That Demands a Verdict”:

“We find that the chance that any man might have lived down to the present time and fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 10 to the 17th power (1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000).” Jesus fulfilled MUCH more than 8 (Over 300)!

Just think about it! There are over 300 prophecies about the Messiah that Jesus Christ fulfilled. The number above reflects only eight of those prophecies. That ending number would be so large that the human mind cannot comprehend it. Friend, there is no one that has ever lived, or will ever live, who can fulfill even eight of these prophecies, but Jesus Christ fulfilled over 300! You must come to a realization that there is no other who could! Only God Himself can do this. The infinite God fulfilled and continues to fulfill 100% of all prophecies. The Bible teaches that if a prophet was wrong in just one prophecy, that prophet is a fraud! (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)

There are no other books that need to be added along with Scripture that will lead to salvation. No rock in Mecca, no golden plates, no soul traveling or reincarnation can lead you to be “good enough” to gain salvation. Only Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Messiah of all mankind can save:

Acts 4:10-12 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. (11) This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. (12) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Am I being dogmatic about this issue? You bet I am! There are not many roads to Heaven, Reader. We are not left to our own imaginations: God did not leave us without direction or instruction. The Bible is very clear about what we must do to be saved.

John 3:16-19 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (19) And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Do you know Him personally or do you only know of Him? I want to be sure that anyone who reads the posts on this blog can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are going to Heaven. Have you received Christ as your Saviour? If no, your sins are not covered by His sacrificial offering of Himself. You have not been redeemed by His blood. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!