WE RECEIVE AS WE GIVE
"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" Matt. 5:7

It is not meet that the man who will not forgive should be forgiven, nor shall he who will not give to the poor have his own wants relieved. God will measure to us with our own bushels, and those who have been hard masters and hard creditors, will find that the Lord will deal hardly with them. "He shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy.

Why does the Lord of life and glory suffer?
Why does he endure that piercing agony and
that bloody sweat in gloomy Gethsemane?
Why is he condemned to the death of Calvary?
Look at the crucified Jesus!
Why does he hang on that bloody cross?
Why are those blessed hands and feet nailed to the accursed tree?
Why is that dear side pierced with the soldier's spear?
Why does the immaculate Lamb of God thus bleed?
Ah! believing sinner, it is for you!
For you, Christ endured that indescribable agony in
Gethsemane, and those excruciating pains on Calvary.
For you, the blood trickles down those pale
cheeks, and streams from that pierced side.
For you, the Son of God endures the hidings of
his Father's face, until he is led to exclaim in
the bitterness of his soul, "My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?"
For you, his last breath is drawn, and
his last cry uttered, "It is finished."
O could you but see with faith's vision, what Christ has done for you, surely your whole heart
would burn with love to such a Savior, who, to ransom your precious soul from eternal woe,
shed his own blood! That precious blood was poured out to cleanse you from the guilt of sin.
Sin, then, was the cause of the sufferings and death of God's dear Son. Ah! sinner, you have
slain the innocent Lamb of God. You have caused those wounds on Immanuel's glorious person.

WASHINGTON, May 17 /Christian Newswire/ -- An official with the Washington, D.C. lobby office of the 8 million member United Methodist Church called this week for the removal of U.S. flags from his denomination's churches. The Rev. Clayton Childers of the Capitol Hill-based United Methodist Board of Church and Society declared: "The presence of a national flag in worship can imply endorsement of national policies which often run counter to the teachings of Jesus Christ and our Christian faith." He ominously noted: "One need only recall the way the Swastika Flag was displayed prominently in German churches during the Nazi era."

"The United Methodist Church, under its liberal leadership, is losing over 50,000 members a year, and this church lobby official is oddly worried about getting American flags out of our churches."

"Unlike the blood-soaked Swastika flags that the Nazis forced upon German churches, American churches voluntarily display their country's flag as a reminder of the country in which God has providentially placed them. Typically, American flags stand against the side walls of American churches, quietly and obtrusively. They are hardly the idolatrous object of imperialistic worship against which the United Methodist lobby official warned."

"Religious Left figures, like the United Methodist official, are hardly concerned about idolatry when their politically correct, rainbow paraphernalia and peace banners are woven into church worship services. They oppose the United States flag because they are contemptuous of our country, its history, its institutions, its culture, and its leadership role in the world."

"Most United Methodists, and most religious people in America, display the flag as a symbol of God's blessings upon our nation. Following the commandments of Christ, all Christians are called upon to love their nation, wherever they live, and to render unto Caesar his due, even as they render their worship only unto God."