From: Beverly French [frenchb@vcss.k12.ca.us]
Sent: Sunday, May 01, 2005 6:44 AM
To: Heritage
Subject: May 1, 2005 Greetings

"Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a fore taste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood."

I am sure that all or at least most of you know this verse of the hymn "Blessed Assurance". Is that assurance a reality to you? You can be assured! First of all, we have God's Word which is Truth and in which we believe!  I will only mention a few verses that we know so well:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  John 1:1 "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14

"For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever BELIEVES in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16

"And there is salvattion in and through no one else, for there is no otther name  under heaven given among men by and in which we must be saved.  Actts 4:12

"For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all..."  1Timothy 2:5-6

"...He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world...He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself." Ephesians 1:4-5

Loving the brethren is a key to testing ourselves as we can see in some of the Apostle John's "we know" verses: 1 John 3:14 says, "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death."

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. John 4:7

"Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:11

"And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." 1 John 4:16

We also see that keeping the Lord's commandment is another key factor and keeping them is our heart's desire so with the Psalmist we can says, "I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart." Psalm 40:8

And,
"You are My friends, if you do what I command you." Vs. 14
We also see in the Gospel of John that His command is to love: "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." Vs. 12 "This I command you, that love one another." Vs. 17

Then we are aware of the working of the Holy Spirit within. "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." Romans 8:14 What of the fruit of the Spirit; is it evident in our lives? This is another check. "...the fruit of the Spirit us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." Galatians 5:22-23

Then there is the greatest assurance of all; we have the Spirit's own witness that we are children of God! It is the thing that only the Spirit Himself can give. "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba Father!' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.." Romans 8:15-16

Praise the Lord we do not have to wonder, but If you have any doubts as to your salvation, ask the Holy Spirit who bears witness with your spirit to make it real to you so that it may be settled. Then joyfully move on in the plan of God for your life.

Hallelujah we are not orphans, but the sons of the living God! Glory to Him forever.