All to him!

The bible is a beautiful testimony of God reaching down to us and showing us some of His many characteristics. I thank Him for this. He has done it all for me. There is nothing I could ever do to pay Him back for the grace and mercy He has on me daily. I thank Him for his Son Jesus Christ, for dying that death that I deserved soaking up the full wrath of God that I deserved justly. God is more beautiful and more powerful then I will ever know. He is my all in all.

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 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. (Romans 3:23-25 ESV)”

Good night,
-David Wright

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Grace unimaginable

The grace of God will constantly keep me in awe. My sin upon that cross! He died for sinners like you and me. John 3:16, what a beautiful verse! “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 ESV)
Thank you God for the loving mercy You have shown myself and the world.

Jonathan’s Testimony

On August 10, 1993, I was born. On October 21, 2008, I was born again. This is my story about how God radically changed my life.
From the beginning of my life, I lived a relatively moral life: no drinking, no drugs, no sex. However, inwardly, I was wicked beyond all comprehension. I remember the thoughts I had when I was younger and how they were formulated around two things: my pride and sexual lust. It appeared that everything I did was motivated by sin. Yet, I would still go to church (mainly because there were attractive girls there), went on missions trips (because that would be the right thing to do and a guy like me would obviously do the right thing to do), and knew a couple bible verses. I claimed Christ while at the same time doubting his existence, the truth of the Word, and holding fast to sin and the approval of sin (e.g. same-sex marriage, abortion, etc.).
It was not till, my sophomore year, until my heart was softened. My brother Daniel started to go to this church in Aliso Viejo called Compass Bible Church. Also, a player on my football team, Mike Lasutschinkow, his dad was a pastor there. Therefore, when my mom started to go she would invite me. I went and heard the pastor, and for the first time thought that a pastor sounded intelligent and was clearly explaining what the Bible said. God’s work in me had begun. Ultimately, it was not till Mike invited me, more than just once, to small groups. After exhausting all my excuses, I decided to go. The small group leader was the high school pastor, Pastor Bobby Blakey. He was speaking to us about Matthew 7:13-14. He explained that this passage (alongside v. 21ff.) speaks about those who think they are saved, but are walking on the wide path that leads to destruction. Then, Pastor Bobby explained the one word that had been missing in my life: repentance. All my life, I was explained the love of God in a cheesy, “Jesus loves everyone”, way. I never understood that I was faced with hell ever since I was born, and that God had wrath towards me, but in His love sent Christ down to live the perfect life I couldn’t, die the death I deserved, and raise from the dead so that all who repent and turn to him shall have eternal life. I knew that I had not repented for I was walking down the same course of life ever since I was born. I was destined for hell, and it scared me.
After small groups, Pastor Bobby talked to me, for I had raised my hand when he asked who had not yet repented. In tears, I realized that I needed to repent and turn to the love and grace of God given to us through Jesus Christ. That night I repented, and later that week (Saturday to be exact) I was doing chores when I felt a great need to pray. Being alone, I prayed out loud in anguish saying, “God, I hate my life…I don’t want to be in control anymore. You, You be the captain of my ship.” It was clear that my whole life was given over to God for ever since then my life has never been the same.
Each day afterward, I would come home from school to open the Bible to a random page and start reading. I loved reading the Bible and would soon bring it to school with me so that I could read it more. Also, my heart was passionate to speak praises of God and the truth of His Word to all at my school. Because of this, I was persecuted, but I did not feel loss. I rejoiced knowing that I was counted worthy to suffer for the Name.
Now, I am a sophomore at The Master’s College majoring in Biblical Studies with a double major in Bible Exposition and Biblical Languages to be a pastor. God has been gracious to save me out of the darkness and into His glorious light. Every day, I grow in my love for and obedience to Him.
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11-14)

– Jonathan Wright

The Gospel

This is the difference that news makes. Christians have heard the news that Christ has come into the world and has fought the decisive battle to defeat Satan and death and sin and hell. The war will be over soon, and there is no longer any doubts as to who will win. Christ will win, and he will liberate all those who have put their hope in him! – John Piper

Sin and Grace

Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Listen to how strong these words are ” By no means!” Paul really wanted this point to strike home, he just got finished say in 5:20-21″Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Paul is saying that the Law of God, showed us what sin is, but in doing so, sin became more abundantly known in our lives, but still his mercy covers us, he is showing how great and unmeasurable his grace and mercy is.
‘By no means’.
Is Paul saying go out and sin, because grace will cover it? No he is saying we shall live for Christ. How can we who believe in Christ still live the same way we did before We knew Christ. He states in Galatians 2:20 ” I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

This is saying we no longer live for ourselves, but that we live for Christ. Again another example for living your life for Christ would be Romans 12:1″ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Why would you not want to worship a God so great, read this Jude 24-25 “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

I am in awe shock reverence of my one true King.

– David Wright

The Seal of God

John 3:33-36, “Whoever receives His testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Whoever RECEIVES His testimony sets seal to this. Either you are saved by the blood of Christ or you are not. 1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” We, as Christians, have been chosen by God! Romans 9:18, “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.” It is by the grace of God that we are no longer who we are, that we are pure by the blood of Christ, and that it is nothing that we have done. We are SEALED by our trust and repentance to God, our loving Father!

Thank you, God, for the gift of eternal life, for turning our lives around. God, I pray that You would help us as a church to put to death of our sins and to trust in You fully! I pray that You would give us wisdom, and that we would not lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). God, You are a merciful God that saves. Thank you for Your grace–that it is truly nothing that we can do to earn our salvation! As always, thank you for Your steadfast love! Thank you for sending Your Son down here for OUR sins, OUR transgressions, and for OUR debt! You are a holy, gracious, loving, just, and all around perfect–the one true God, who deserves all our praise and glory! Amen.

Not Earned

We can NOT earn our salvation, we do not deserve God’s grace and mercy. God sent His Son down to earth to die for OUR sins; for what WE did. God did this while we were His enemy, while we hated Him. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6 ) God died for the ungodly (us). We need to remember as Christians it is nothing that we do that gives us our salvation–it is all God. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” in John 19:30 He was saying that all of our salvation depends on Him alone and not on us at all, ever. If salvation had to do with anything that we have done to earn it, Jesus would have said, “It is almost finished, now just get water baptized,” or, “It is almost finished, now just live your lives 51% holy, at least, so you can get to Heaven.” But no–we need to repent, to turn lordship to Christ and take to power away from our sin. We need to trust and believe in God. The dictionary definition of believe is, “to accept a statement or opinion as true”. But, let us also remember that faith without works is not true faith, it is dead. We can see this in James 2:26 which says, “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” We need to be Christians who are living like Christ; we need to die to ourselves and live for Christ alone. As Galatians 2:20 states, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”