GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

"Grace and the Truth" is actually the name of a Christian organization that emails The Daily Inspirational devotions. We had them on the forum for a long time, and many people enjoyed them. They had some down times with computers and servers, but they are still going strong, and they still offer FREE email subscriptions to anyone who wants an uplifting dose of God's Grace, God's Truth, and Inspiration from God's Word.

I hope that it's GOOD NEWS that we will have the Daily Inspirational back on the forum. I do have quite a few, and they're all new, including one that was just sent out yesterday. I want to post some previous issues first, especially considering that they are ALL excellent and new. I hope you enjoy them.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Galatians 4:4-6 NASB  But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"

[nChrist]

Daily Inspirational~ ~PATTERN OF MERCY~ JANUARY 2, 2006

~PATTERN OF MERCY~
By M. Stanford


"That He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory" (Rom. 9:23).

Mercifully, day by day, He unfolds before our startled eyes the evil depths of the self-life. It is thus we come to know Him as the "God who is rich in mercy," and ourselves as "vessels of mercy."

"Today sinful men, not angels, are entrusted with the preaching of the Gospel, and before they can be used of God must first of all have plumbed the depths of their own sinfulness, and have, therefore, discovered the heights and glories of God's long-suffering. In this way they can become a pattern of His mercy, by means of which He can demonstrate His grace to others." - ].C.M

"The power effectively to present Christ as Lord, is by means of revelation deep within us, bringing into being an unshakable knowledge of His authority and might, and making us content to accept our weakness and nothingness in order that we may see the pleasure of the Lord prosper in His hand (Isa. 53 :10)." - J.C.M.

"The more useful anyone is, the more he requires to be brought to an end of himself, and to find that his all is in the Lord Jesus. We find some of His servants deeply chastened at first, in order to prepare them for a useful course; and some after a useful period are brought low and afflicted in order that they might learn how truly and fully our Father is sovereign." - ].B.S.

"From Me is thy fruit found" (Hosea 14:8 ).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one who maybe defending the USA. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.  It is our heart at GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for members of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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Daily Inspirational~ ~THE HAND OF GOD~ JANUARY 4, 2006


~THE HAND OF GOD~
By M. Stanford

"For this is thankworthy, if a man  for Conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God" (I Pet. 2:19, 20).

When self reacts correctly in a difficult situation, it can only result in the sin of self-righteousness. In order for Christ's righteous-ness to be manifested, the Holy Spirit must hold self inoperative by means of the Cross.

"Accustom yourself in everything that happens, to recognize the hand of the Father. Before you fix your thoughts on the person who did it, first be still, and remember, God allows me to come into this trouble to see if I shall glorify Him in it. This trial, be it the greatest or least, is allowed of God, and is His will concerning me. Let me first recognize and submit to God's will in it. Then in the rest of soul which this gives, I shall receive wisdom to know how to behave in it. With my eye turned from man to God, suffer-ing wrong is not as hard as it seems.

"The Lord Jesus knew that His Father would care for His rights and honor. But he who lives in the visible, wants his honor to be vindicated at once here below. He who lives in the eternal, and as seeing the Invisible, is satisfied to leave the vindication of his rights and honor in God's hands; he knows that they are safe with Him. Giving one's all into God's keeping brings rest and peace." - A.M.

"When He suffered, He. . . committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously" (I Pet. 2:23).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one who maybe defending the USA. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.  It is our heart at GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for members of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

Click Below For FREE Email Subscription:
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/pop_up.htm
___________________________________

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Daily Inspirational~ ~PREVIOUSLY PREPARED~ JANUARY 7, 2006

~PREVIOUSLY PREPARED~
By M. Stanford


"Let the same disposition be in you which was in Christ Jesus." "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves like-wise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh is at rest from sin" (Phil. 2:5, Wey; I Pet. 4:1m).

Too late! too late! if we seek to deal with sin by reckoning at the moment it becomes an issue. Our stand and attitude from the beginning of each day is to be a settled matter as we rest in our risen Lord Jesus: the death of the Cross separates me from the enslavement of sin and self, and I continually abide in my new life, Christ Jesus. My life is "hid with Christ in God" (Col 3:3).

"The reckoning believer is to meet every proposal of self-gratification armed with the mind to suffer in the flesh. Sin is the gratification of self, but 'he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from the domination of sin'

"If you allow yourself to entertain a suggestion of self-gratification --- if you consider it, and give it a place in your mind --- you are defeated. You have laid aside your armor, and will fall an easy prey to the foe. But there will be no response to the suggestion or temptation if you stand armed with the mind to suffer in the flesh. That which is proposed to you is exactly opposite to what you are set for. It is suggested that you should be pleased and gratified in the very thing in which you are fully minded to suffer. You are now in conflict with sin --- not going along with it; you suffer in the flesh, and have ceased from the practice of sin." - C.A.C.

"So that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living by [his] human appetites and desires, but [he lives] for what God wills" (1 Pet. 4:2, Amp.).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one who maybe defending the USA. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.  It is our heart at GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for members of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

Click Below For FREE Email Subscription:
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/pop_up.htm
___________________________________

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Daily Inspirational~ ~NOW NO CONDEMNATION~ JANUARY 8, 2006

~NOW NO CONDEMNATION~
By M. Stanford


"Ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God" (Rom. 7:4).

Romans Six reveals our position as having died unto the principle of sin; Romans Seven teaches us our position as having died unto the principle of law. Both must be counted upon if we are to abide in Christ, and walk in the Spirit, as set forth in Romans Eight.

"We have to look at ourselves and see how far we are devotedly following the Lord Jesus, with full purpose of heart - how we can say, 'This one thing I do'; but we must take care at the same time not to get into legal bondage by this standard. If I say, 'Here is a rule of conduct: follow it,' this cannot reach the heart, the affections. The ministration of the letter brings only failure, and condemnation; for it prescribes a rule which man, being a sinner, can never follow. It does not change a man; it proves him 'ungodly and without strength.'

"We may turn even Christ into that letter of condemnation; we may take His life, for instance. and make it our law. Nay, we may turn even the love of Christ into our law; we may say, 'He has loved me, and done all this for me, and I ought to love Him, and do so much for Him, in return for this love,' etc. Thus if we turn His love into a rule of life, it becomes the ministration of condemnation."

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Gal. 5:1).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one who maybe defending the USA. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.  It is our heart at GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for members of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

Click Below For FREE Email Subscription:
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/pop_up.htm
___________________________________

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Daily Inspirational~ ~HIS HUNGER~ JANUARY 10, 2006

~HIS HUNGER~
By M. Stanford

"Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (Ps. 107:8 ).

Our Father gave us the hunger to be justified (John 6 :44), and He gave us the
hunger to be sanctified (Phil. 3:10). This same principle applies to our service, our sharing. He never pushed us, but drew us in loving kindness - and He would treat others likewise, through us.

"If we are not living near the Lord Jesus and are not where we should be, we neither have an appetite for spiritual things, nor can we feed upon Him who is the living Bread. When God pours into you a hunger for your Beloved and begins to reveal your privileges in Him, rejoice with great joy and gratitude toward God. If He did not put into our hearts the longing to know Him better and to have His very best, we would be satisfied with the least we could have and be saved." - C.H.MacI.

"How wondrous are the working and drawings of God upon a human heart! How little do we behold Him or know that which He is doing, as day by day He works down in the depths of our beings. The most favored place a child of God can be in, is to continually feel the drawing of God urging and constraining him to a greater hunger for Him."

"God never gives anything till the soul is ready to receive it. When you are ready you will long and hunger for it."

"For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness" (Ps. 107:9).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one who maybe defending the USA. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.  It is our heart at GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for members of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

Click Below For FREE Email Subscription:
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/pop_up.htm
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Daily Inspirational~ ~CONSTANT CARE~ JANUARY 11, 2006

~CONSTANT CARE~
By M. Stanford

"The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust" (Ruth 2:12).

The Lord Jesus not only died for every sin in our life, but He lives for every second of our life. We cannot rest in Him until we realize that there is never an instant that He is not caring for us. It is as though each of His own were His only one.

"So many saints are disturbed, so many are restless, because they are not living in the knowledge that they are under the care of the Lord; and then there is no power to walk. Why have you so little power in walk or service? It is because you are not yet clear that the Lord is caring for you, that He is in all watchfulness over you, that He has let down the strong pinions of His protecting care till they sweep the ground around you, and, if you are wise, you will creep up close under His wings, into the very down."- J.B.S.

"It belongs to the nature of our pilgrimage and life of faith, that we cannot see the land for which we are bound. If only thou hast bid farewell to thy past, have confidence in thy God; trust Him to bring thee into a better land than the one thou art leaving. Should we find that Divine things do not at present correspond with our hopes, we may be quite sure they will eventually exceed our expectations; we shall realize above all we ask or comprehend." - ---O.S.

"And a man shall be like an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; like rivers of water in a dry place, like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land" (Isa. 32:2).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one who maybe defending the USA. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.  It is our heart at GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for members of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

Click Below For FREE Email Subscription:
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/pop_up.htm
___________________________________

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Daily Inspirational~ ~THE VALUE OF HARD PLACES~ Part One JANUARY 12, 2006

~THE VALUE OF HARD PLACES~
Part One

Trials are valuable in revealing to us ourselves and showing us our insufficiencies and failures. They are God's great blasting processes in the work of spiritual excavation, which is necessary for the work of building up the life and character. We never know what graces and qualities we possess until the test comes, and then the faith and courage that glowed with such a flame in the moment of enthusiasm and inspiration finds its true level, and the soul is thrown back in its nothingness and helplessness upon Christ alone, to find in Him its all in all.

This was the meaning of Jacob's trials, to bring him to the end of self. This was the purpose of Job's afflictions, to slay his self-righteous confidence. This was the blessing that came from Peter's fall, that it broke his pride and self-sufficiency and sent him forth to lean upon his Lord and find his strength outside himself in Christ alone. This is why the Lord still tries you, to convince you thoroughly that your estimate of your own strength is utterly false and. exaggerated and to bring you to that place where it will be truly "Not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Gal. 2:20) .

Trials Make Christ Real

Trials make Christ real, just as real as the trouble is. They are God's heavenly messengers to communicate His grace and blessing to our souls and make them stand out in relief in our lives, so everybody can see it and feel it.

God cuts and burns His messages into human lives until Christ becomes to us as real as the tears we have shed, the fears under which we have trembled, the sorrows that were ready to over-whelm us, and the difficulties which rose like mountains before us, so that the sweetest memories of our lives are the hard places which have become stepping stones and monuments of divine and heavenly things.

Trials are Occasions for Victory

Trials win for us eternal crowns. They become occasions for victory and rewards which will never pass away. When history is forgotten and the records of time are obliterated, when the solar system has vanished away, and new heavens and new earth are sweeping in the orbits of immensity, the eternal results of these trials will shine in our lives as we share with God Himself the new heavens and the new earth, and the glories of the coming age for which all things are now preparing.

Beloved, shall we seek to profit from our sorrows? Shall we win a crown? Shall we get out of the things that are happening to us today all that Christ has for us? Shall we be "more than conquerors through him that loved us"? (Rom. 8:37). And shall we endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ? If so, we shall some day hear Him say to us: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one who maybe defending the USA. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.  It is our heart at GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for members of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

Click Below For FREE Email Subscription:
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/pop_up.htm
___________________________________

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Daily Inspirational~ ~THE VALUE OF HARD PLACES~ Part Two JANUARY 13, 2006

~THE VALUE OF HARD PLACES~
Part Two

Trials Teach us to Know the Resources of God

Trials help us, to know the resources of God. It is only in difficult circumstances that we learn to know His all-sufficiency. Israel at the Red Sea must first stand still and behold the salvation of God (Ex. 14:10-14). So He tells them that the reason He led them through the wilderness, and exposed them to a situation where there were no natural supplies of any kind, was to teach them that He was adequate for every need, and that "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). God becomes real to us up to the measure of our sense of need He meets. So every difficult situation is just a vessel for Him to fill and an occasion for Him to show Himself in His infinite wisdom, power, and grace. The Apostle tells us that he was exposed to every sort of difficulty in order that the power of Christ might rest upon him according to his needs, and therefore he welcomed each new situation as another occasion for Him to say. "My grace is sufficient for Thee" (2 Cor. 12: 7-10).

Beloved, are we thus proving and finding Him equal to all the conditions of our lives and glorying in being able to tell the world that our God shall supply all our need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus?

Trials Teach us Faith

Trials teach us faith. Trial is the fruitful soil of trust. Difficulties are the divine incentives which demand and develop our confidence in the divine faithfulness and love. The eagle can only teach her young to fly by tearing up her nest and hurling them out in mid-air, where, thrown upon their own resources, they must either fly or fall. Then it is that they must learn the undeveloped power in their little pinions, and as they strike out upon the air in desperate struggles, they find the secret of a new life and gradually learn to beat their way through the pathless firmament and fly upon the wings of the wind and in the face of the sun.

So God teaches His children to use the wings of faith by stirring up their nests, taking away their props, and flinging them out often times into an abyss of helplessness, where they must either sink or learn to trust and throw themselves upon the seeming void, to find that God is there beneath them like the supporting wing which the eagle stretches forth beneath her faint and struggling brood.

It is so easy for us to lean upon the things that we can see, and feel that it is an entirely new experience for us to stand alone and walk with the unseen God as Peter walked upon the sea. But it is the lesson we must learn if our souls are ever to dwell in God's eternal calm where faith must be our only sense, and God be our all in all.

Very gently does He suit the test to our feeble strength and lead us on as we are able for more and more. Are we thus trusting Him in life's hard places and growing strong as we endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ?

Trials Teach us to Pray

Trials teach us to pray and constrain us to be much alone with God. They drove Jacob to his knees at the fords of Jabbok (Gen. 32:23-30) They taught the Psalmist to find "the secret place of the most High" (Ps. 91). They made the life of Paul one ceaseless dependence upon the presence of his Lord, and they have inspired as well as sustained the divine communion which we have learned to prove as the supreme resource and solution of our lives.

It is very humbling that it should be true that God must press His children to His breast by suffering and need, but it is, alas, too often the case that ease and comfort lead us to, at least, a partial independence of Him, and our most spiritual seasons and the times that have brought God most near to us have been the times of which we could say, "Thou hast known my soul in adversities."

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one who maybe defending the USA. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.  It is our heart at GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for members of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

Click Below For FREE Email Subscription:
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/pop_up.htm
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~Daily Inspirational~ ~THE VALUE OF HARD PLACES~ Conclusion JANUARY 14, 2006

~THE VALUE OF HARD PLACES~
Conclusion

Continued from 1/13

Trials Teach us Love

Trials teach us to love, and when God wants to soften and refine our spirit and answer our prayers for patience and love, He has to let the discipline of ill treatment, injustice, and often the severest wrong compel us to go to Him for the love that "beareth all things," that "endureth all things" (1 Cor. 13:7). Of course, we find out first that we have not the love adequate for the test, and as the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins, He leads us to the source of strength; then, as we gradually learn the humbling lesson, He leads us on from day to day in deeper testing and sweeter refining until we can thank Him for the fire that brought us more of His Spirit's grace and His own overcoming love.

Trials Teach us Patience

Trials teach us patience. It is a thorough school to learn to endure, and patience is the crowning grace of the Christian life. When it has its perfect work, then we become "perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:4). Often therefore, the crowning lesson of the spiritual life is learned in the school of suffering.

Trials Teach us Courage

Trials teach us courage. They take away the fear of suffering, the dread of pain, as we experience God's sustaining grace and enable us to put on His strength and courage and rise above the power of fear until we welcome the conflict and stand with scars of the conflict and victory as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

Trials Make us Patterns

Trials make us patterns and object lessons for the help of others and for the glory of God, showing to the world what Christ can do for His children, and what Christ-filled lives can accomplish where others fail. God wants us to be living epistles of Christ (2 Cor. 3:3) unto the world, to angels and to men, showing to them in our example that Christ can keep in every situation, and that the power of His grace is practical, supernatural, and adapted to every human life.

Trials Fit us to Help Others

Trials fit us to help others by the lessons we have learned in our own experience. (2 Cor. 1:3, 4). The callous and immature heart is little qualified to comfort, counsel, and bless a suffering world. God has to burn in us first what we are to give out to our fellows. The painful ordeal of a real experience qualifies us to comfort, strengthen, and encourage the souls to whom He has to send us, and to whom we can say, "I have been there, and I can tell you from the depths of my own experience that 'my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus'" (Phil. 4:19).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one who maybe defending the USA. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.  It is our heart at GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for members of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

Click Below For FREE Email Subscription:
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/pop_up.htm
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~Daily Inspirational~ ~GROWTH FOR SERVICE~ JANUARY 15, 2006

~GROWTH  FOR SERVICE~
By M. Stanford

"My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you" (Gal. 4:19).

A ministry of life, whether it be at the kitchen sink, or from the First Church pulpit, must flow from the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. That life must be developed in and shared through the growing believer, by the Holy Spirit We are to rest in Him for spiritual growth, and He will work through us for spiritual service.

"He, whom the Lord cannot trust with the faithful care of his own vineyard, will not be trusted with the tending of God's Vineyard of living, immortal souls. How shall we face the Owner of the Vineyard, if we have neglected our own lives; if we have not entered into that which God has shown us; if we must say, when He asks us about the lack of fruit and the neglect which is so sadly evident: 'Lord, I was so busy tending Thy Vineyard, that my own vineyard I have not kept' (S.S. 1:6)." - C.H.MacI.

"Our Lord is more concerned for a testimony than for a work. We need to get clear on that. A good deal of confusion comes in when you begin to think of things in the light of a work. When you get a lot of people leaving their employment to go into 'the work,' all kinds of complications arise. It is not that we aren't to serve the Lord, but in the first place it is not the work the Lord is after, it is a testimony, it is a light, a living flame."

"That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:10).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one who maybe defending the USA. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.  It is our heart at GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for members of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

Click Below For FREE Email Subscription:
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/pop_up.htm
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~Daily Inspirational~ ~HANDICAPPED FOR CHRIST~ JANUARY 16, 2006

~HANDICAPPED FOR CHRIST~
By M. Stanford

"My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in [your] weakness" (II Cor. 12:9) .

In self we are crippled; in Christ we conquer. The secret is to face up to the former, and rest in the latter. The disadvantaged believer has all the advantage - he knows it must be "not I, but Christ."

"It is a great step when the believer fully consents to his own weakness, and the abiding consciousness of it, and so works faithfully on, fully assured that his Lord is working through him. He rejoices that the excellence of the power is of God, and not of us. Realizing his oneness with his Lord, he considers no longer his own weakness, but counts on the power of Him of whose hidden working within he is assured.

"It is this secret assurance that gives a brightness to his look, and a gentle firmness to his tone, and a perseverance to all his efforts, which of themselves are great means of influencing those he is seeking to win. He goes forth in the spirit of one to whom victory is assured; for this is the victory that overcometh, even our faith. He no longer counts it humility to say that God cannot bless his unworthy efforts. He claims and expects a blessing, because it is not he, but Christ in him, that worketh. The great secret of abiding in Christ is the deep conviction that we are nothing, and He is everything." - A.M.

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God" (II Cor. 3:5).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one who maybe defending the USA. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.  It is our heart at GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for members of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

Click Below For FREE Email Subscription:
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/pop_up.htm
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~Daily Inspirational~ ~REST AND RECEIVE~ JANUARY 17, 2006

~REST AND RECEIVE~
By M. Stanford

"I long to know Christ and the power which is in His resurrection" (Phil. 3:10, Wey.).

The difficult thing for most hungry-hearted believers is to wait in dependence upon the Lord for everything. Truth is not to be grasped, but received - received by faith, mainly through study. How true this is concerning reckoning! Many seek to reckon before they understand the scriptural facts upon which to count, and that adds up to failure. The secret is to learn the truth of our identification with the Lord Jesus so thoroughly that reckoning and its resultant growth will come as a matter of course, just as in our justification.

"The death of our Lord on the Cross has depths of meaning that can only be plumbed by way of discovered need, but then reveals 'unsearchable riches.' To the believer who still has hopes of 'attaining' in the Christian life, a verse such as Romans 6:11 is a rather meaningless jargon used by those who give messages on the 'deepening of the spiritual life.'

"To the believer who has been taught by the Holy Spirit something of his own utter, inbred sinfulness, it comes as a message from God full of hope and encouragement. He grasps the rescue rope flung to him by the right hand of Omnipotence, and with humble thankfulness sets out to learn how he can reckon himself dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God in Jesus Christ our Lord. When he looks at the Cross he sees there the fact that not only did the Lord Jesus die for him, but that he himself was taken down into His death, in order that the practical reality of His resurrection life might transform him into the divine likeness." - J.C.M.

"For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection" (Rom. 6:5).

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From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one who maybe defending the USA. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.  It is our heart at GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for members of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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[nChrist]

Daily Inspirational~ PAUL'S SPIRITUAL PILGRIMAGE JANUARY 18, 2006

PAUL'S SPIRITUAL PILGRIMAGE
An Overview of Philippians 3
by Dr. E. R. Campbell

In view of my desire that all of us believers might be identified with the message that the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to and through the apostle Paul, and how it controlled his thinking and living, I begin this by quoting from my literal and conservative translation of Philippians.

vv.12-14 "Not that I have already obtained or already have been made perfect, but I pursue, if also I may lay hold upon that for which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not count myself to have laid hold, but one thing, on the one hand forgetting the things behind, and on the other hand reaching out unto the things before, I pursue the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

The apostle Paul never claimed that he had reached the spiritual status unto which end the Lord had laid hold of him. On the one hand, Paul and all those who believe that Jesus Christ died for their sin, are counted sinless and righteous in Christ Jesus for good works, which God previously prepared, that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).

In the context surrounding the preceding verses, we need to identify with Paul in that which is all-important: the pursuing of "the surpassing knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord" (Phil. 3:8 ). We need with Paul to be found having "the righteousness that is through the faithfulness of Christ" (Phil 3:9). We need to also be reaching out "unto the end to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (Phil. 3:10).

In the third paragraph above, I have explained how God changes a sinner into one fit to serve Him. Also, in the light of what is said in this portion of Philippians, I indicated that salvation by grace should result in our living according to the good works prepared by God. The Pauline Epistles certainly make it dear, while the Apostle was focusing on the future, he was preparing for the reward which would accrue to his account (2 Cor. 5:9-10; 1 Thess.1 :9-10).

After bathing my mind in Philippians 3:5-21, I have concluded that the apostle Paul is sharing with us an overview of his spiritual pilgrimage, beginning with his deliverance from the Law, and ending with the acquisition of a body of the same form as Jesus Christ's glorious body (Phil. 3:21).

I want you to observe an important aspect of Paul's spiritual pilgrimage with which we all can identify. He says, "but one thing," then proceeds to mention the focus of his ministry, what he concentrated on. He says that, on the one hand, he was "forgetting the things behind." The Greek word translated forgetting is a present participial and means that Paul continually forgot and obliterated his past blasphemous conduct from his mind, for he had received mercy and forgiveness because he did it when he was an ignorant unbeliever (1 Tim. 1:13). We should identify with Paul in not doting on things we did in ignorant unbelief.

It is interesting that the Apostle links together the negative forgetting and the positive reaching out as one thing. Negative doting on the unalterable past has the potential to have a deleterious effect on our minds. Apparently, the apostle Paul is looking at it as that which stymies spiritual growth, maturity, and progress.

Summarizing we all need to be more closely identified with Paul in his intimate relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. He wanted to know experientially the power involved in His resurrection; he wanted, in a deeper sense, to feel His sufferings leading to the Cross; also, he wanted to be progressively molded and conformed to the death of Christ.

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one who maybe defending the USA. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.  It is our heart at GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for members of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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~Daily Inspirational~ WHAT WILT THOU HAVE ME TO DO? JANUARY 19, 2006

WHAT WILT THOU HAVE ME TO DO?
Acts 9:6

These are the words of repentant Saul on the road to Damascus. These words are fitting for any Christian as well.  In fact I think it is a good question to ask of God and then look to His Word for the answer. There are so many misconceived ideas as to what our Heavenly Father expects or desires the child of God to do. I'm not thinking so much of the Christian's calling as I am the Christian's service in that calling relative to soul winning.

I have heard preachers, evangelists, etc.. remark that unless a person has led someone to Christ they doubt the person's salvation. This sincerity is appreciated and thank the Lord for such a sincere and passionate desire to lead someone to Christ. Yet the Word of God does not teach such a doctrine. I've, often said, and I suppose 1'll go on saying it, "I've had the joy of leading so and so to Christ." Well, when you really look at the Word and think it over carefully, can we know who the instrument really was? Do you remember what Jesus said about His experience in Samaria? He said to them, 'And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth, I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor; other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors John 4:37, 38.

God does let some choice vessels enter into the labors of others. It's a joy if a person has the privilege to, bring someone to a climactic decision. However, the reward is shared and the greater portion is certainly for him who labored.

Why am I writing thus? Well, to seek to show that what God expects of us is to be faithful. He wants us to serve honestly, naively and faithfully in the errands He sends us on. He never says 'bring me so much fruit.' My father used to send me to the field for certain labors. Often I was in the field alone. And those fields to my boyish eyes were so horribly large. I thought, 'l'll just never cover this ground I can never finish the job.' I used to get so discouraged, especially if it were the job of pulling mustard out of the grain fields. I hated that task. It seemed that the weeds grew faster than I could pull them. However, I can never recall that my father gave me so much ground to cover - or else! He just wanted me to be faithful. Do what you can with what tools you have. And so, beloved thetas all our heavenly Father wants. Just faithfulness. He could have made you with much greater abilities if He had so chosen. But He didn't. So let's never be discouraged if we are sure that we are faithful.

We have seen folk come to Christ here at church and it has been brought about by a faithful naive ministry of our members. Don't be discouraged where. God has called you to labor. Just be truly faithful. We all have different gifts. Maybe yours is just to smile to encourage and strengthen another's heart. Maybe it's to labor behind the scenes. God keeps the books. He knows your heart. Don't weep if you feel you have never led a soul to Christ; as long as you are sure you've been faithful, you surely have. Maybe God let someone enter into your labors. How wonderful!

May God make us one great team at our church - this is my prayer.

Amen and love,
Pastor L. Peterson

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one who maybe defending the USA. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.  It is our heart at GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for members of the body of Christ.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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http://www.graceandthetruth.com/pop_up.htm
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