This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International with the Whyte House Family Devotional Reading of Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening podcast. This is Episode #82.

Charles Spurgeon was a prominent English Particular Baptist preacher. He was very influential among the Christians of various denominations during his age and even today, and is commonly called the “Prince of Preachers”. After some time of alternately searching for God and running from God, he had a powerful encounter which led him to give his life to Christ. Spurgeon was only 16 when he preached his first sermon and he began publishing books shortly afterward. At the time of his death, he had preached nearly 3,600 sermons and published 49 volumes of commentaries, sayings, anecdotes, illustrations and devotions. Spurgeon said, “encouraging thoughts are like honey to the heart”, and wrote this devotional in hopes that its uplifting messages for each day of the year would bring comfort and refreshment to our walk with God. He was inspired by Isaiah 50:4 which reads, “He wakeneth morning by morning. He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned” and Psalm 63:5-6 which says, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; when I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches.”

Isaiah 44:22 reads: “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.”

Attentively observe the instructive similitude: our sins are like a cloud. As clouds are of many shapes and shades, so are our transgressions. As clouds obscure the light of the sun, and darken the landscape beneath, so do our sins hide from us the light of Jehovah’s face, and cause us to sit in the shadow of death. They are earth-born things, and rise from the miry places of our nature; and when so collected that their measure is full, they threaten us with storm and tempest. Alas! that, unlike clouds, our sins yield us no genial showers, but rather threaten to deluge us with a fiery flood of destruction. O ye black clouds of sin, how can it be fair weather with our souls while ye remain?

Let our joyful eye dwell upon the notable act of divine mercy—“blotting out.” God himself appears upon the scene, and in divine benignity, instead of manifesting his anger, reveals his grace: he at once and forever effectually removes the mischief, not by blowing away the cloud, but by blotting it out from existence once for all. Against the justified man no sin remains, the great transaction of the cross has eternally removed his transgressions from him. On Calvary’s summit the great deed, by which the sin of all the chosen was forever put away, was completely and effectually performed.

Practically let us obey the gracious command, “return unto me.” Why should pardoned sinners live at a distance from their God? If we have been forgiven all our sins, let no legal fear withhold us from the boldest access to our Lord. Let backslidings be bemoaned, but let us not persevere in them. To the greatest possible nearness of communion with the Lord, let us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, strive mightily to return. O Lord, this night restore us!

PRAY.

Thank you for listening to the Morning and Evening podcast. If you do not know the Lord as your Savior, here is how you can be saved from Hell and walk with the Lord morning and evening until you go to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die:

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “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.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at [email protected] and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

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This is Daniel Whyte III president of Gospel Light Society International with The Scripture & the Sense Podcast #468, where I read the Word of God and give the sense of it based on an authoritative commentary source such as the Bible Knowledge Commentary or Matthew Henry Commentary. This podcast is based upon Nehemiah 8:8 where it says Ezra and the Levites “read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” The aim of this podcast is that through the simple reading of the Word of God and the giving of the sense of it, the church would be revived and the world would be awakened.

Today we are reading Amos 6:3.

3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

________

That was Amos 6:3. Now here is the sense of it.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary reads:

Israel, arrogant and foolishly confident of its own prowess, put off the evil day. They scornfully dismissed any thought of coming calamity. But all the while, by their sinful actions, they were approaching a reign of terror. “A reign of terror” aptly describes the last years of Israel’s history before her captivity by Assyria. In the 31 years after Jeroboam II, Israel had six kings, three of whom seized power by political coup and assassination. The fear and violence in this period is reflected in the atrocities of 2 Kings 15:16.

____________

Thank you for listening to the Scripture & The Sense Podcast. Remember to read the Word of God each and every day and pray without ceasing to God for wisdom to understand it and apply it to your life. Most importantly, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Please stay tuned for a complete presentation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can get your soul saved from Hell to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die. May God bless you and keep you is my prayer.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) — Boyce College is adding two new Seminary Track programs to its academic offerings. The two new programs will be a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration combined with a Master of Divinity as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Communication combined with a Master of Divinity. The Seminary Track program at Boyce College is a five-year curriculum which allows students to earn both a Bachelor of Arts from Boyce and a Master of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS).

“One of the programs I believe in most at Boyce College is our joint baccalaureate and Master of Divinity program, because of its power, stewardship, and opportunity,” said SBTS president R. Albert Mohler Jr. “With the Business Administration and Communications tracks, this is going to provide even more opportunities for ministry, not only in the church but also in the workplace. What our world needs right now is a generation ready to go with urgency into the pulpit and into the world, and these two new programs are powerful demonstrations of what it means to maximize stewardship to the glory of God and in service to the Gospel of Christ.”

“The Business Administration and Communication tracks are the first Seminary Tracks Boyce College has offered that help prepare students for leading effectively in the marketplace and for service in the church,” said Dustin Bruce, dean of Boyce College. “It aims to equip students for ministry in a changing world, whether as a pastor, church planter, missionary or bi-vocational pastor.

“From small-town America to the megacities of Asia, our graduates are entering into a changing ministry context. By combining two of our most versatile marketplace degrees with our flagship ministry degree, Boyce College and Southern Seminary are coming together to equip students to serve the cause of Christ in an ever-changing world.”

Source: Baptist Press

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ONTARIO, Calif. (BP) — Gateway Seminary has received a $250,000 gift from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. The gift is intended to assist with student scholarships, focused on helping students continue their studies in the midst of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The value of these new scholarship funds cannot be overestimated,” Gateway president Jeff Iorg said.

A recent survey of Gateway students found they are facing a variety of new challenges due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Nearly half of the respondents expressed concerns about the financial consequences of the pandemic and their ability to continue their studies.

“Many students are enduring significant decreases in work hours or loss of employment, unexpected childcare costs and shifting ministry responsibilities,” Iorg said.

During the move from the Bay Area to southern California, the seminary committed to a number of conservative fiscal policies and technology enhancements. Those policies, along with investments in educational technology and training, have paid dividends during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Source: Baptist Press

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Hardly an hour goes by without someone sending me the latest “must-see” video or article. This is the one, I am told, that explains it all. This is the one that connects the dots. This is the one that reveals the truth. With all respect to those sending me these links, I’m going to pass for now.

It’s not that none of them could be true. Or that there is not some truth in many of them.

It’s simply that: 1) There are far too many theories to investigate in any depth; 2) in many cases, from our vantage point, it’s impossible to investigate the claims and 3) for the most part, our lives go on just the same whether or not the claims are true.

It’s not to say there is no Deep State. Or that I believe everything the World Health Organization puts forward. Or that I trust China. Or the secular media. Or that I do (or don’t) trust Dr. Fauci. Or President Trump.

It is simply to say that I do not have years of extra free time to evaluate every opposing claim.

It is also to say that some of the claims are far too wacky even to consider.

For example, in response to my video “How Should Believers Pray During a Global Pandemic?” Daniel G. wrote this: “Good news. The entire virus-game is a hoax. Yes. Really. It’s a game of make believe being played by children who’ve given their souls to satan. So go outside. Hug people. Don’t wear the mask or take the vaccine. Each are the Mark of the beast. Satan will know his followers by those wearing the mask because they are satan’s deceived.”

There you have it. If you wear the mask, you’ve taken the mark of the beast (from the Book of Revelation). You are now known to the Antichrist. You have been deceived by Satan himself. As for the virus itself, it’s a hoax. Just make believe!

To call this pathetic is to be kind. Especially as church buildings in Italy have been used to store all the coffins. Especially as the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel and New York is mourning its newly dead. Especially as we’re hearing more reports about health workers and grocery store workers dying. Especially as this is touching our families and our friends.

SOURCE: Charisma News

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A California pastor resigned from his position on city council one day before he tested statewide social distancing orders by holding an in-person communion at his church.

The city of Thousand Oaks confirmed in a statement this week that Councilman Rob McCoy, who served on its city council since 2015, has resigned. McCoy is also the pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park.

The Thousand Oaks Acorn reports that McCoy officially resigned from his position on Saturday evening, hours before he held Palm Sunday communion with members to mark the beginning of Holy Week.

With bans on gatherings of 10 people or more in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the church abided by social distancing rules and only allowed 10 people at a time to enter the church building to receive communion.

“Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday are critical,” McCoy said in a video announcement to his congregation. “[We are] paralyzed and considered non-essential though we would have liquor stores considered essential, cannabis distribution considered essential.”

“Across the country, abortions are considered essential,” he added. “Is the Church going to sit back and say, ‘Well, we will be relegated to non-essential,’ though we feed people and that is essential physical food?”

An online announcement informed congregants not to show up for the 11 a.m. service, which was online only. But after the service from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, church members were invited to partake in communion.

“To not allow us to have communion is not proper,” McCoy said in the video. “To consider it non-essential is not acceptable.”

The church placed arrows on the ground to direct people to the communion and help them remain 6 feet apart. The church also advised people to refrain from physical greetings.

Once inside the building, congregants were allowed to pick up the communion elements “for themselves” and take a seat in a chair in the sanctuary while maintaining proper social distance from others.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Samuel Smith

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