"Happy and Blessed Veterans Day"

I would like to offer my thanks to our Veterans.  As a U.S. Army wartime Veteran myself, I know how much it means when someone pays respect to your service.  To those of you who served in protecting and defending our great nation, I pray that God lift your pain, ease your stress and may you know His perfect grace and the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

  Once a Soldier, always a Soldier!
   Live Holy for God is Holy!
                                                                                        Shane C. Montgomery

"What The Gospel Is Not, Clearing Up Some Common Misconceptions"

WHAT THE GOSPEL IS NOT

A helpful way of understanding what the Gospel is, is to point out some common misconceptions about salvation. The true Gospel of Jesus Christ is NONE of the following, no matter how many people may be saying these things:

This is NOT the Gospel:	1. God has a wonderful plan for your life.
This is NOT the Gospel:	2. God loves the sinner but hates the sin.
This is NOT the Gospel:	3. You can be saved anytime you want just by accepting Christ.
This is NOT the Gospel:	4. Say some "sinner's prayer" and if you really mean it, you are saved.
This is NOT the Gospel:	5. Anyone who believes in God (according to just about any religion) will get to heaven.
This is NOT the Gospel:	6. Anyone who is a "good" person will get to heaven.
This is NOT the Gospel:	7. Anyone who believes in Jesus and calls Jesus "Lord" is a Christian.
This is NOT the Gospel:	8. All it takes to become saved is to exercise saving faith in Christ.

NONE OF THE ABOVE are "the Gospel" or even a part of it, no matter how many churches, pastors, evangelists, preachers, or teachers say they ARE the Gospel.

By Ray Kane!  comingintheclouds.com

"The Cross and Self" by A.W. Pink

“Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any will come after Me
let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me”

Matthew 16:24

Ere developing the theme of this verse let us comment on its terms. “If any”: the duty enjoined is for all who would join Christ’s followers and enlist under His banner. “If any will”: the Greek is very emphatic, signifying not only the consent of the will, but full purpose of heart, a determined resolution. “Come after Me”: as a servant subject to his Master, a scholar his Teacher, a soldier his Captain. “Deny”: the Greek means “deny utterly.” Deny himself: his sinful and corrupt nature. “And take up”: not passively bear or endure, but voluntarily assume, actively adopt. “His cross”: which is scorned by the world, hated by the flesh, but is the distinguishing mark of a real Christian. “And follow Me”: live as Christ lived— to the glory of God.

The immediate context is most solemn and striking. The Lord Jesus has just announced to His apostles, for the first time, His approaching death of humiliation (v. 21). Peter was staggered, and said, “Pity Thyself, Lord” (v. 22 mar.). That expressed the policy of the carnal mind. The way of the world is self-seeking and self-shielding. “Spare thyself” is the sum of its philosophy. But the doctrine of Christ is not “save thyself” but sacrifice thyself. Christ discerned in Peter’s counsel a temptation from Satan (v. 23), and at once flung it from Him. Then turning to Peter, He said: Not only “must” Jesus go up to Jerusalem and die, but everyone who would be a follower of His must take up his cross (v. 24). The “must” is as imperative in the one case as in the other. Mediatorially the cross of Christ stands alone, but experimentally it is shared by all who enter into life.