Daily Inspirational

[Brother Love]

Fulfilled And Filled Full
by Charles Wages



"That you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." (Col.4:12).



Man never finishes anything!  Only God can bring something or someone to complete-ness or a "full end." That fact certainly leaves "man"out of creation and the "new" creation.  In other words, "man" had nothing to do with the creation of the heavens and earth (Gen. 1:1), or with salvation (the "new creation") (2 Cor 5:17).
Because of the "riches of His Grace," we have been forgiven. We have been completely for-given of all our sins. Colossians 2:13 reads,

"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircum-cision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses:"

Previous to being redeemed or "forgiven all sins" we were considered "dead" according to God's laws and standards. However, God has "quickened" (made alive) us together with Christ.
He has "fulfilled" the law (Rom. 8:2) Romans 10:4 tells us that "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." This means that our Lord has fulfilled every demand of the law (Old Testament). The be-lieving sinner has been declared righteous through the redemption that is in Jesus     Christ   (Rom. 3:24).
What God begins He is able to finish! In the very beginning God intended for His creation to be perfect and that is exactly what it was. The garden of Eden was a perfect place. There were no sins, no struggles, no suffer-ing.  A perfect  environment  for  perfect people. Did the entrance of sin through the Devil abrogate, destroy, and deter God's ultimate plan for His original creation? The answer is no. In His own time we will see His plan completed. In 2 Peter 3:13, we read,

"Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteous-ness."

Just like the first perfect "man," Adam, be-came imperfect through sin, the whole of God's creation has felt the detrimental effect. Yet, God's great plan was to bring the perfect "man," Christ, into the world to make "new" all who would believe in Him. This perfect man, the man Christ Jesus, by His perfect sacrifice for sin make all who believe in Him to  be  "new creations"  ( 2 Cor.  5:17-19).
From the human standpoint, it appears as if God's great plan for humankind and His physical creation has been dealt a death blow. Man surmises "God started something He can't finish!" What about the salvation He freely bestows upon all who believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ? Remember, God never begins anything He can't bring to completion, fulfillment, fruition, or "end." Please read Colossians 2:10 and then Philippians 1:6.

"And ye are complete in Him which is the head of all principality and power."

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

Our first parents, Adam and Eve, inherited a perfect or complete environment unspoiled by sin and degradation. Their failure, in yield-ing to Satan's temptation,  did  not  mean God's great plan failed. God sees the end from the beginning and the ultimate or com-pletion of His plan and purpose (Rom. 8:28).
Difficult for our finite minds to comprehend? Yes, but not difficult for God.  In fact, if we believe God's Word, it becomes understand-able. However, we may never fully understand while  on earth, but we can believe it!  A con-scientious, careful reading of Romans 8:28-29 will do wonders in opening the eyes of our understanding and allow us to praise Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. What privilege, what hope, what encouragement to know we have been saved to serve the Awe-some, Almighty God. He is able and will finish all that He begins! We can say what the apostle Paul said of his trust in God.

"For the which cause also suffer these things: neverthe-less I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

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Daily Inspirational

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[Brother Love]

The Lord Knoweth

Part One
                                                               


           

In a time when we are told that the "body of knowledge" is increasing with every giant step forward, we must be brought back to our senses and recognize that only God is omnis-cient. We must remember and acknowledge Romans 11:33-36,

  "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how un-searchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!   For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?   Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen"

One of the ways man has tried to extend his natural knowledge is to delve into the human mind. Things psychological have taken on added interest and popularity. Something for all of us to keep in mind is that,



THE LORD KNOWETH THE THOUGHTS OF MAN



Psalms 94:11 reads, "The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity." It is interesting and enlightening to see this Scripture given prominence by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:20, where it reads, "The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." It has just been stated previously that, "the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness."  We ask ourselves the penetrating question, What will we learn if we can read the mind and thoughts of mortal man? No doubt, a lot of foolish and vain information. People today speak of "brainwashing ," "programming and deprogramming the mind," "blowing the mind" and "psychological readings" through dream or ink blot interpretation. Even if this became a "science," what would we learn? That man's thoughts are vain, that they are foolish that they are deceitful, and that they are confused.
Yet, through it all, the gracious Lord knowing our thoughts, can straighten and stretch our minds with the wonderful wisdom of the Word. If we would earnestly heed Philippians 4:5-9, we would have a first class spiritual lesson on how to think. In any event, we should guard our thinking habits carefully, knowing that the Lord knoweth our thoughts.
We should also be consciously aware of the truth that,



THE LORD KNOWETH THE WAYS OF MAN



It was Job of old who said inspiringly, "But he knoweth the way that I take; when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10). In fact, in 34:21, it is stated, "For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings." If one would attempt to trace and study all the references to this tremen-dous truth found in Job and Psalms, it would take a lifetime.

We should all be familiar with the statement in Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way which seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." An example of this is called in Jude 11, "the way of Cain." God looked upon the offering of Cain and rejected it. Why? Because it was the work or effort of sinful man to try to gain God's favor.  This erroneous effort by Cain has become the basis for most of the religious dogma that has arisen through the centuries to the present. Man has tried in every age to work for his salvation, but God knowing man's thoughts and man's ways, has rejected them. We must ever keep in front of our minds and hearts, that our Lord Jesus said,



"I am the way, the truth, and the life;
No man cometh unto the Father,
but by me." (John 14:6)



Charles Wages
Part Two Friday
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Daily Inspirational

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[Brother Love]

The Lord Knoweth
Part  two



                                                         


The Lord Knoweth Our Days




In Psalms 37:18, David was led to say,



"The Lord knoweth the
days of the upright; and
their inheritance shall
be forever."



Yes, it must be true that the Lord knows how long we will live here on this present planet. But of more importance is how we live while here. In other words, the quality of our days is more important than the quantity of our days.
The days of our life are described in many vivid and interesting ways in Scripture. For instance in Psalms 90:9, it remorse-fully remarks, "For all our days are passed away in thy wrath; we spend our years as a tale that is told." And another that is even more repre-sentative of our lesson is found in Psalms 144:4, "Man is liken to vanity; his days are as a shadow that passeth away."
Yet, though all this seeming gloom and despair, God, who knoweth our days, can take the days of our lives and make them meaningful and useful for His glory!  Every day can be a day of gladness and glory if we let Him have his way in our day!
Then, to the believing saint, there is no more comforting and heartwarming truth than that.



The Lord Knoweth Them That are His



In  2 Timothy 2:19, we read,



"Nevertheless the
foundation of God
standeth sure, having
this seal, the Lord
knoweth them that are
His, and let every one
that nameth the name of
Christ depart from iniquity."



The Lord doesn't just "know" us as so many names in a book, or numbers in computers. No, he knows us in a personal, loving way. No man will ever really know how God knows! However, we can appreciate a few of these ways. For  instance, Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 12:29-30, "And seek ye not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of a doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after; and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things." O course, He went on to say, "But rather seek ye first the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you."  The gracious Lord knows that we need first spiritual things and then material things. Paul said, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus " (Phil. 4:19).
The Lord knows that our lives are full of trials and testings. Surely, we have all felt some-times, as if there was no way out of difficul-ties that beset us. But, we can take courage in the truth that,



The Lord Knoweth How to Deliver



I Corinthians 10:13, reads,  



"There hath no
temptation (trial) taken
you but such as is
common to man, but
God is faithful, who will
not suffer you to be
tempted above that ye
are able; but will with
the temptation also
make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it."



Deliverance is a continuous process with God. Paul in writing to Corinthian believers, shows the three-fold tense of God's deliver-ance. He wrote,



"Who delivered (past)
us from so great a
death, and doth deliver
(present); in whom we
trust that he will yet
deliver (future) us."



Yes, the Lord knows everything about everything. He also knows everything about everyone! But how ignorant man is in all his natural knowledge. The following dialogue will humorously illustrate.
A preacher, while driving through the country stopped and said to a farmer by the road, "Are you a Christian?" The farmer said "No, I am a Jones, Christian lives down the road about a mile and to the left about a quarter mile." "No, you don't understand," said the preacher. "Are you lost?" "Nope," replied the farmer, "I've lived here going on 43 years, and know every nook and cranny hereabouts." The preacher scratching his head, said, "Are you ready for the judgment?" Jones answer-ed, "No, when is it ?" Disgusted, the preacher finally said, "For you, it may be Tuesday or Wednesday. "Good," said the farmer Jones, "I'll tell my wife, she will want to go both days!"
Ignorance is not always bliss, as some say, but is serious business in regards to one's destiny.  Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Saviour? He knows your heart, He knows your thoughts, He knows your ways.



"Trust in the Lord with
all thine heart. Lean not
unto thine own
understanding. In all thy
ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct thy
paths." (Prov. 3:5-6)



Charles Wages
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Daily Inspirational

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[Brother Love]

THANKSGIVING TO GOD
    By:  Charles W. Wages
   
     


"Let us come before His presence with thanks-giving and make a joyful noise to Him with Psalms."   (Psalms 95:2)

Thanksgiving is not a solar day, but an attitude of heart that leads to the act of prayer and praise.  Only genuine redeemed people can really pray and praise the Lord for His goodness and blessings.  

Thanks to the Lord in Prayer can be of a private nature.  For example, read about Daniel in Dan,  6:10 which accounts of his stalwart faith and trust in God, even in a foreign and strange land:   "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed he went into his house; and his windows being opened in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before God, as he did aforetime."

Thanks in conversation with God can be of a public nature as well as private.  The Psalmist David, saw the great need to praise God "among much people."  He felt this would be of great benefit, not only to him, but to all who hear, brethren, and enemies alike.

    "I will give thee thanks in the great congre-gation; I will praise thee among much people."   Psalms 35:18

Sometimes, we are all prone to give thanks to the Lord for what He has done for us personally.  Often times, this thanks is given for material things.  However, it is even possible to become selfish in our own spiritual matters.  

We should be thankful for the salvation of others from the penalty and power of sin.  Romans 6:17 reads:  "But God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart the form of doctrine which was delivered you.  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."

Prayer can come from our hearts, but directed to God in response to the salvation of the lost, wher-ever and whenever they turn to God and are set free from the death penalty of sin.

Believers should thank God for the faith exhibit-ed by other believers. Paul put this right at the beginning of his list of thanksgivings. In showing gratitude and praise for the saints at Rome, he exclaimed: "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world." (Romans 1:18)

We should never get to the place of thinking there are no faithful and loving people anywhere but on our own doorstep.  God has His people everywhere and we should pray that they will be encouraged and endowed with great faith what-ever their position or condition in this world.  

We often remark that "grace is God's unmerited favor bestowed upon helpless sinners."  Paul was thankful for the Corinthian believers.  He was so thankful for this grace shown to these saints that he saluted them by writing, "I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 1:4)

Thanks should be given to God for earnest Christians who can care enough for fellow human beings to move with enthusiasm and dispatch in providing help to the needy.  That need might be spiritual, or material.  In 2 Cor.  8:6, Paul commended the brother Titus for his zeal and care in personally accepting and carrying out an act of mercy to others---"But
thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you.  For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward of his own accord, he went unto you."

Yes, thanksgiving can be expressed by every  child of God every day in many ways.  It is meaningful in our own behalf, but becomes more meaningful and graceful when shown for others in their salvation, faith, grace, and zeal to serve.

"We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth."  (2 Thessalonians 1:3.)

=================================
Daily Inspirational

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[Brother Love]

MY FATHER REIGNS!



"Put on the whole armor of God" (Ephesians 6:11a).

My sovereign Father gives me a subservient Satan.

"Our Father has better thoughts for us than a portion here.  He is educating us for a bless-ed and eternal rest, free from evil and all that
could cause it, and He is bent on the blessing of His children; and moreover He is bound by His holiness to purge us suitably (though most graciously) for the place He has called us to.  How often He lets Satan do this pain-ful work, and try to sift us as Job!  But the Father's hand and will are behind it all.  He gives His saints up to Satan's hand to a
certain point, but only so far as to bring the heart fully to a bearing before Himself." ---J.N.D.

"It is a wonderful thing to see the way in which through the overruling power of the Father, the efforts of Satan against His people only bring them out the more distinctly in their own place of blessing."  

"We cannot judge God's ways without  judg-ing God:  we may not love Him in His ways, but the moment we judge or question that which He has revealed, we get above God, we make ourselves gods, and we put Him in the place of the creature as subject to us.  This brings our souls under the power of everyone that is more clever than ourselves; we are  in their hands, and they can do what they please with us.

"Now the devil is more clever than we are.  Therefore we ought to keep God ever in His place of God in our souls, lest Satan should make gods of us, and set us judging God Himself.  If God be displaces, we get into the
place of those who are irresponsible, and as creatures the prey of any more cunning than ourselves."---J.N.D.

"That ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11b).

MILES J. STANFORD
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Daily Inspirational

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[Ambassador4Christ]

"That ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11b).

Good message Brother, Amen

[Brother Love]

Why Is Heaven Silent?
                                                                   
 by  John D. LaVier                



After the tragic event of September 11th just one ago, we often hear the question "Where was God?" or "Why did God allow this to happen?" The believer knows that God is still on His eternal throne, that He is sovereign, and nothing happens apart from His direct or permissive will, but for a season He has with-drawn from this earthly scene.  He does in-deed work on behalf of His own, and other-wise as well, but He acts covertly and His action seen only with the eye of faith. Bloody wars take place among the nations, thou-sands perish from famine, flood, earthquake and storm, but no voice or action is heard from above. In one of Sir Robert Anderson's books the opening words are: "A silent heaven  is  the  greatest  mystery  of  our existence."
What is the answer to this mystery? For two thousand years the heavens have been silent and this is strange when we compare it with Old Testament times. God was then dealing with the Hebrew nation and they saw marve-lous displays of His person and power. He brought them out of slavery, making a path through the sea, and for forty years He fed them and led them and brought them into the land of promise with mighty victories over all their foes. Isaiah saw the Lord; Daniel fell at His feet; angels walked to and fro in the land; God fought for His people; heaven was not silent.
When Israel is enjoying the favor of God the heavens are open, but when Israel is in dis-favor  with God  the heavens  are  silent. Be-tween the two testaments, when Israel was being judged for their sins, there was a period of time which is often referred to as "the four hundred silent years." God spoke His last word through Malachi and then 400 years of silence.  This silence was  finally broken by the  appearance  of  the  angel Gabriel to Zacharias announcing the birth of John the Baptist.   Then  Gabriel  spoke to Mary, telling her  of that  Holy One which should be born of her, even the Son of God. Later the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds announcing the birth of the Christ-child and from  the  opened  heavens  they heard the heavenly host praising God.
Heaven was not silent  during  the  earthly ministry of Christ when He was presenting Himself to Israel as their Messiah nor was heaven silent after His resurrection and on into the Acts period, when Israel was given opportunity to repent. There were miracles, wonders, signs, angelic visitation, jail deliver-ances,  sudden judgments, etc. The heavens were not silent. However, Acts 28:28 marks a great change. Israel no longer stands as a nation before God. They are set aside for a reason and a season. The reason was their rejection of Christ both in His incarnation and in His resurrection. The season is this pre-sent dispensation of the mystery. After the close of the Acts period we find a great man of God sitting in the Roman prison, but no angel comes to liberate him. An age of silence has begun. A silent God. A silent heaven. This silence has already lasted two millenniums. The nations rage and we see war, sin suffering and sorrow on every hand. The people of God oft suffer at the hands of their enemies, and we see the ever-increasing and God-defying masses sinning and sinning and sinning. And yet in the midst of it all, God remains silent.    
When God turned away from Israel, that nation through which His earthly purposes are to be realized, He then and there with- drew from this earthly scene. C.H.M. wrote "So long as there was any ground of hope in connection with Israel, the heavenly mystery was held back; but when earth had been abandoned and Israel set aside, the apostle of the Gentiles, from his prison at Rome, writes to the Church, and opens out all the glorious privileges connected with its place in the heavens." God has for a season aban-doned earth but we are here as His ambassa-dors in enemy land and we are asked to walk by faith and not by sight. God is allowing man's day to run its course and is permitting the full development of the mystery of law-lessness. The mystery of iniquity is working.  Soon the whole will be leavened. Man's day will be replaced by the Lord's Day. Then...



THE SILENCE TO
BE BROKEN



This is promised everywhere in Scripture. The psalmist declared: "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence!" Just as the silence of the 400 years was broken by His first coming, so the present silence will be broken by His second coming. But before He manifests Himself to the world, He will manifest Himself to His own.  This is the bright and blessed hope of the Church, the rapture, and it will be the opening rift in the silent heavens. After the Body of Christ has been removed from the scene God will begin to deal again with Israel and the nations. The silence will be broken and God will speak again, not then in grace, but in wrath. The heavens will be opened, not to pour out blessing, but disaster.  The judgments of the Apocalypse will be visited upon the world, when the seals will be broken, the judgment trumpets sounded, and the vials of God's wrath poured out.
Finally, the heavens will be fully opened and the blessed Lord Jesus Christ will return. The Apostle John saw Him as the rider on a white horse, followed by the heavenly armies, and He wrote: "He hath on his vesture and on his thigh  a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD  OF  LORDS."  The silence will  be broken. The King will return and have  His rightful  place upon  the throne,  with all beneath His feet. Every eye shall see Him and the earth will be filled with His glory. And never again will their be silence for the lines of communication  will  always  be open  be-tween heaven and earth, both  as to  the millennial earth and on into the new earth.

[Brother Love]

Living The Crucified Life




Phil 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, (6)  Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal with God a trea-sure to be grasped,  (7) But emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness of men; ( And being found in fashion as a man,
He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of a (the) cross. (13) For it is God who operates in you both the willing and
the working for His good pleasure.




Words of Ministry


The pattern presented in these verses is now the life within us. This life is what we call a crucified life. The seven steps of Christ's humiliation are all aspects of the crucified life. Although Christ had the expression of deity, He laid aside this expression. However, He did not lay aside the reality of His deity. He laid aside the higher form, the form of God, and took on a much lower form, the form of a slave. In this, He emptied Himself. Surely this is a mark of a crucified life. Then, after becoming a man and being found in the appear-ance of a man, Christ humbled Himself even unto the death of the cross. This was the crucified life lived out in a full and absolute way.

Christ is not only an outward pattern for us; He is also the life within us. As this inner life, He would have us expe-rience Him and thereby live a crucified life. In this crucified life there is no room  for  rivalry,  vainglory,  or self-exaltation. On  the contrary, there is self-emptying and self-humbling.

Whenever we experience Christ and live Christ, we automatically live such a crucified life. This means that when we live Christ, we live the One who is the pattern of a crucified life. Then we also shall empty ourselves and humble ourselves.

If we did not have the crucified life within us, we could never live according to the pattern presented in Philippians 2. Only the crucified life can live such a pattern. If we still do things out of rivalry and vainglory or are still ambitious to be leaders or elders, we are not living a crucified life. We are not emptying ourselves or humbling ourselves. However, we have a life within us that truly is a self-emptying and self-humbling life. This life never grasps at something as a treasure. Instead, it is always willing to lay aside position and title.



Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

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Daily Inspirational

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[Brother Love]

WONDER OF WEAKNESS



"He said to me, My strength is sufficient, for it is only by means of conscious weakness that perfect power is developed" (2 Cor. 2:9,
Wms.)

Our Father does not test our faith so much as He exercises and develops it.  In time, He makes us aware of our utter weakness; and in time, we trust and rest in His all sufficient strength.

"Until we are carried quite out of our depth, beyond all our own wisdom and resources, we are no more than beginners in the school of faith.  Only as everything fails us and we fail ourselves, do we draw upon abiding strength.  'Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee'; not partly in Thee and partly in himself.  The devil often makes men strong, strong in themselves to do evil --- great con-querors,  great acquirers  of  wealth  and power.  The Lord on the contrary makes His servant weak, puts him in circumstances that will show him his nothingness, that he may lean upon the strength that is unfailing.  It is a long lesson for most of us, but it cannot be passed over until deeply learned.  And God Himself thinks no trouble too great, no care too costly to teach us this."
 
"Faith counts on the Word of God outside and apart from everything and everyone here.  When you are in faith your life is cen-tered in the Lord Jesus.  The moment the heart is detained by anything here, faith is obstructed.  The visible is antagonistic to the invisible.  If you walk in the Spirit you will be sensible of this in a moment, the effects and influences of the visible are counter to the invisible.  Eve had lost faith when she saw that the tree was good for food, and pleasant to the eyes.  If she had kept faith --depen-dence upon God ---  she would not have look-ed; but she had parted with the faith which overcometh the world when she 'saw.'  The moment one becomes occupied with the visible one has parted company with faith" ---J.B.S.

"Since His power is so glorious, may you be strengthened with strength of every kind, and be prepared for cheerfully enduring all things with patience and longsuffering" (Colossians 1:11, Weymouth).

MILES J. STANFORD
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[Brother Love]

TURNING POINTS
By  Charles Wages


We are acutely aware of great events that "change history."  These events could include wars, inventions, catastrophes, depressions, and even the decline of an empire.
These are significant, but not to compare with "spiritual" changes. For example, the entrance of sin through our first parents changed the entire human race for all time! (Romans 5:12--14.)
Unless we note the great "turning points" that are found in the "official" account of human history "God's Word", we will never understand God's master plan for the ages. With our little minds we can only grasp a few of these great truths. Let's consider some "turning points" in one portion of God's Word.
In Ephesians 2 there are several events that are of great importance in understanding how God has dealt with mankind across the ages of time. Let's start with one that is individual and personal. This first personal "turning point" is introduced by the expression,



BUT GOD



We are told in Ephesians 2:1-3 that:
* We were dead in trespasses and sins.
* We walked according to the course of this world.
* We were controlled by "the prince of the power of the
air (Devil)."
* We had our conversation (manner of life) in the lusts of
the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh.
* We were by nature the children of wrath.
What A disgusting, degrading, and disastrous condition! Not a very pretty picture to look at or talk about.
"But God!" There is the "turning point." We are told that God, who is rich in mercy, loved us with a "great love" (Eph. 2:4). Not only did He love us, but we are told that "God commended his love toward us, in that, while were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:.  After trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour (Eph. 2:9), God not only saves us from "the penalty of sin," which is death, but does great things that only God has the power to do. These great things include:

* Hath quickened us together.
* Hath raised us up together.
* Made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ. (Now)
* That in the ages to come, He might shew the exceeding
riches of His grace.
This manifest quite a change, quite a turning point. It involves the past, the present, and the future of every believer.
In another wonderful passage of Scripture, we see God in His grace, love, and mercy bringing a great change and "turning point" in those who trust the Lord. In Titus chapter three we see ourselves before the Lord comes into our lives. We were, foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasure, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. Another picture that is despicable.



BUT AFTER!



"But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared" --what a "turning point!"  How did this "turning point"come about? Negatively, we are told, "not by works of righteousness which we have done." Positively, "it was according to His mercy He saved us." How was this accomplished? This great change in our lives took place by "the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which He shed on us abun-dantly through Jesus Christ, our Saviour." The result of this change is "that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
This "but after" turning point, just like the "but God" turning point of Ephesians, can be shown in three tenses, that is, past, present, and future. The before salvation, that is our past lost condition, can be seen in,
* Sometimes foolish--now sensible
* Disobedient--now submissive
* Deceived--now self disciplined
In our present saved condition, (by His grace) we are just-ified.
* We can show kindness and love.
* We can walk around in His good works.
* Our future hope is to be "heirs according to eternal life."
These great "turning points" are not only spiritual in nature,    that is the works of the Holy Spirit, but are practical, that is, effective in our daily lives.  In one sense, we can say with the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:13-14.
  "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
We can in one sense say, "forgetting those things which are behind (past) and reaching forth unto those things which are before (present), I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (future)."
How grateful we should be that these great 'turning points" took place when God turned us around (converted) and gave us a new life in Christ Jesus!  Amen.

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[Ambassador4Christ]

Posted For Brother Love

Freedom is ours as we trust Christ to live the Christian Life thru us.
+++++++++++++++++++++

"To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5).

There is no work involved in our receiving the Lord Jesus for life, and there should certainly be no self-effort involved in the manifestation of His life in and through us.  The principle is the same, from re-birth to
maturity.

"Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 15:57).  That is grace.  That is the test of the real or the counterfeit.  Just remember this;  any victory over the power of sin whatsoever that you have to get by working for it is counter -feit. Any victory that you have to get by trying for it is false.  If you have to work for your freedom, it is not the real thing, it is not that which the Father offers you in His Son.

"The effortless life is not the will-less life.  We use our will to believe, or receive, but not to exert effort in trying to accomplish what only the Father has done. Our hope for freedom from the power of sin is not 'Christ plus my efforts,' but 'Christ plus my receiving.'  To receive victory from Him is to believe His Word that solely by grace He is, this moment, freeing us from the dominion of sin.  And to believe on Him in this way is to recognize that He is doing for us what we can never do for ourselves." ---C.G.T.

"The Father has left us as much dependent on the Lord Jesus' work for our deliverance as for our forgiveness.  It is wholly because we died with Him on the Cross, but unto sin and unto the whole legal principle, that sin's power for those in Him is broken."

"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt" (Romans 4:4).

MILES J. STANFORD
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[Brother Love]

The Miracle Of Love  
by Pastor Robert Hanna



Jesus Christ, who is very God, thus address-ed His disciples: "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:12,13). The magnitude of the love of God is beyond the scope of human comprehen-sion. "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" (John 3:16).

Obviously, the world is anything but lovable! Ergo, the evident meaning is that God show-ed forth such great love toward the world, that, despite their unregenerate condition, men might, upon believing, obtain eternal life. "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would  even dare  to die.  But  God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us " (Romans 5:7,8). How can we possibly con-ceive of such love! It would be impossible for us to generate equal love. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins....We love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:10,19).

The central figure of the entire Word of God is Jesus Christ. And the total remedy for all of the ills of the world was effected by Him in the offering of Himself at Calvary, to suffer, bleed and die as the spotless lamb of the once-for-all sacrifice required to satisfy the demands of God's standard of justice. All
this was accomplished by the exercise of God's love. The supreme teaching of the Scriptures must surely be the doctrine of love.

How appropriately does our Apostle so emphasize: "And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE" (1 Cor. 13:13). Our motivation--our driving force --as saints of God, is His love. "For the love of Christ constraineth us..." (2 Cor. 5:14). By the power of His love we are assured of ultimate victory. We are destined to suffer for Him in sundry ways, as members of His body. "Yea, and all that will live godly  in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3:12). There will be losses and defeats and pain and trials. But "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that love us" (Rom. 8:37).

The Apostle's personal testimony should be emulated by every saint of God. He passion-ately affirms, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith(fulness) of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).

Our Apostle clearly defines the spiritual responsibility of the saint of God in testi-mony and witness. "Now the end of the commandments is love out of pure heart,
and of a good conscience, and of faith un-feigned" (1 Tim. 1:5) Having enumerated the proper behavioral characteristics of the faithful believer, Paul sums up with these  words: "And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness" (Col. 3:14).

We must continually reassess our compli-ance, with the stipulations set forth by our Apostle. Are we preoccupied with our intel-lectual knowledge of Scripture? Do we pre-sent ourselves to others as superior and complacent and above reproach? Do we arrogantly contend for our personal opinion and demean those with whom we do not agree? We are admonished to avoid such behavior. "The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach patient.....(2 Tim. 2:24)

The Apostle Paul prays for us as members of the body of Christ, "That Christ may dwell  in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted  and grounded  in love, may be able to com-prehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth know-ledge, that ye might be filled with all the ful-ness of God" (Eph. 3:17-19)

How very true it is, that the love of Christ "passeth knowledge!" Our reciprocal love toward Him can never compare with His love to us. That kind of love is far beyond our capacity to understand or express. But we can pour out the love of which we are capable of returning from a heart full of the joy and peace bestowed by God's grace.

Lest we be tempted to be caught up with the illusion of self-worth, may we be ever mindful of these humble words of Paul: "Though I have the gift of prophecy  and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mount-ains, and have not love, I am nothing" ( 1 Cor 13:2).

"Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and WALK IN LOVE, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour" (Eph. 5:1-2.)
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[Brother Love]

CHRIST OUR POSITION




"In (this) freedom Christ has made us free --- completely liberated us; stand fast then" (Galatians 5:1, Amp.).

We are never going to be able to stand before our Father in prayer and fellowship because we are fit in ourselves.  We finally come to see that we are in His presence because of our position in His Son.

"The ground upon which our Father deals with us is grace.  Every blessing we receive of Him as His children is undeserved.  In all of our spiritual existence we are debtors to the rich, free, sovereign grace of our Father.  And what is it we are privileged to enjoy on that ground, when we enter "into this grace wherein we stand"?  We then have a new position, and that position is the glorified Lord Jesus Christ.

"We are not only pardoned, but justified --- made righteous and this is not merely by  that which He has done, or by what He has procured or bestows --- but in what He is.   'As He is, so are we in this world' (1 John 4:17).  The believer must never lose sight of this fundamental truth:  that the basis of his fellowship with the Father is not his own personal holiness, or what the Lord Jesus is in him, but his judicial position before the Father, or what the Lord Jesus is for him.  He, 'the Lord our righteousness,' is the founda-tion and source of everything ---of walk as well as of position."  ---E.H.

"Most look to get victory in order to get peace, but it is peace already made by the Lord Jesus' work and risen life that is ours.  Conflict we shall find, but we know that the Father is for us, and that makes all the
difference." ---J.N.D.

"Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God   is made unto us.....righteousness" (1 Cor.  1:30).

MILES J. STANFORD
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[Brother Love]

SOLITARY SOURCE




"That I may know Him" (Philippians 3:10).

It takes us years of trial and error to finally realize that nothing outside the Lord Jesus Christ can fully satisfy and rejoice our hearts. Joy in Him includes 'the fellowship of His suffering.'  So, 'rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings' (1 Peter 4:13).

"We sometimes have the idea that if we were going  on  rightly  things  would  be much smoother here for us.  Hardly.  There is a discipline to correct us and a discipline to develop us.  If you are in a wrong path, as you seek the Lord, you will be corrected; but on the other hand, the more you are set for Him here, the more you will find that there is nothing for you here, though at the same time you are daily finding more in Him. ' We which live are alway delivered unto death.'  The more you enjoy the Lord Jesus who has been refused here, the more you are  practi-cally severed from all here." ---J.B.S.

"It is a solemn moment when one who has been going on for years with a flourishing profession wakes up to the fact that his heart is entirely unsatisfied.  I believe we have very little idea how natural feelings may be mixed up with what we think is our spiritual joy.  Many go on happily because their surround-ings are happy, and they have no opposition to speak of ---  perhaps in a Christian family, or in a happy Christian fellowship.  They are carried along by the stream of compatible things around them.

"But anything that outwardly contributes to our joy will sooner or later fail us.  Our Father loves us too well to allow us to rest in any-thing or anyone short of Himself --- not even Christian fellowship, or what people call 'the means of grace.'  He  wants to be so known by us that He becomes the deep eternal spring of satisfaction and joy for our hearts."
---C.A.C.

"Give your mind to the things above" (Colossians 3:2).

MILES J. STANFORD
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[Brother Love]

 KNOWING GOD'S WILL


We need to understand how to apply grace to the  decision-making  process  of  our lives.   When grace rules a person's life his perspec-tive changes on everything.  He begins to understand that every detail of life flows from his relationship with God.  Grace means that God does it all. We simply receive from Him, cooperating with the Holy Spirit by trusting Him moment by moment.  To walk in grace doesn't mean that we are passive in matters of daily living.  To the contrary, it means that we act in confidence, resting in the fact that it is God who will initiate, perpetuate, and con-summate is plan for our lives.

Many believers fall short of the joy God in-tends for them because they fail to under-stand how His grace acts on our behalf to bring to pass the wonderful plan He has for us.  God has an awesome plan for your life.
It isn't a cookie-cutter plan, either.  He design-ed a special agenda that was uniquely creat-ed just for you.  Before you were ever born, He saw you and customized His plan for your life-time.  (Ps. 139:16) One of the greatest joys in life is knowing that you are experiencing the very purpose for which you were created   Fulfilling the will of God is not some elusive goal that can never be reached.  It is possible for Christians to enjoy  the  experience  of knowing that we are in the very center of God's purpose.

The starting point for understanding the will of God must be grace.  The legalist asks, "What is the will of God for me?"  The will of God is not primarily a plan, but instead is a Person.  Jesus Christ is the will of God.When one rightly relates to Him, doing the will of God becomes the natural result of our union with Him.

Many Christians act like a deist* when it comes to God's will.  They look for God to show them his will so that they can then go out and do it.  

So under grace, it isn't the Christian's duty to find God's will, but rather God will reveal His will to the one who rests in Him. A Person ruled by law will pursue God's will with sincerity and yet never be confident that he has discovered it. One who enjoys intimacy with Jesus will know it without struggling to find it.
* A Deist, basically recognizes very little personal interaction between God and Has empowered the car (earth) to run, and now it is up to many where he drives it and how he runs it.
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