GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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LIGHT OUT OF DARKNESS
by C. R. Stam


"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us" (II Cor. 4:6,7).

Any instructed Christian reading this passage from the pen of the Apostle Paul naturally goes back in his mind to the time when God first said: "Let there be light," and dispelled the darkness of the primeval world.

He might also recall the incident related in the book of Judges, when Gideon’s army went to battle against the Midianites, each man with a sword in one hand, and a lamp hidden within a pitcher in the other. At Gideon’s command the soldiers broke the earthen vessels and the lights shone out to strike terror into the hearts of the enemy, who could not account for the crash and the blaze of light at this midnight hour.

For every believer God has caused light, wonderful light, to shine out of the darkness and fill the heart, just as once He said to the dark and chaotic earth: "Let there be light -- and there was light."

But we believers have come into "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God" by coming to know Christ. Our Lord rightly said: "No man cometh unto the Father but by Me" (John 14:6). God is unknown and unknowable apart from Christ, who is God manifested in the flesh. It was He who lived a perfect life and then died a sinner’s death in order to bring us into relationship and fellowship with God.

Dear Lord Jesus,
 we are so thankful on this fast
 approaching Resurrection Day,
 that  we the believers have been
 brought from darkness into light,
we thank you so much for
 not only dying for our sin,
 but to bring us salvation and
into the glorious knowledge
 of the grace of God,
we thank you dear Lord
that you live within us,
 you gave us your life,
 and you want to live your life out through us,
 so that we will be a witness to the unsaved.  Amen

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A Celebration Unlike Any Other
Part 1 of 2
by Preston Gillham

Greenwich Village is at once a familiar name to most Americans, but to someone not from New York City, "the Village" becomes a maze of narrow, chopped up streets, crowded sidewalk cafes, and a world set apart from anything familiar. After numerous trips to the City to visit my brother, Will, I was fairly adept at navigating from Mid-town to Soho and from the West Village to the East. But on this day, unlike any other in my experience, the Village became almost surreal, taking me back five thousand years.

It was the Jewish celebration of Passover and Will and I were to be guests in the home of a Jewish family who lived on the Upper West side of New York City high above Central Park. Our assignment was to bring macaroons for dinner. Neither of us had the foggiest notion of what a macaroon was, but we were determined to get enough for fifteen and to do so in time to be at dinner promptly at sundown, the beginning of the Passover.

As we wove our way through the bustling, Village streets, the closer we came to Balducci's grocery the more I became taken with the significance of this celebration to the Jewish people. The mood in the streets was festive, even expectant, as faithful Jews from all over the City converged on Balducci's to make last minute preparations for the Passover celebration. As the crowd of Jews thickened, I thought to myself, I wonder if all these folks are coming to buy macaroons?

Our plan was to go inside, look around, find the macaroons, make our purchase, and leave. As I walked through the door of Balducci's, never before, nor since, have my senses been so overloaded as they were that afternoon. We were swept into the aisles, shoulder-to-shoulder, hip-to-hip, and back-to-front with what must have been every Jew in New York City. All of them seemed to know exactly what they were doing while we looked for something we didn't even know how to spell in a store unlike anything we had ever experienced.

On our second or third ride on the wave of shoppers we asked a stock clerk where to get off to buy macaroons. Following the direction of his finger, Will and I stopped at the bakery counter and told the baker, "We are here to buy macaroons." Thankfully, a macaroon was simply a macaroon. The baker didn't give us a choice of flavors, styles, colors, fillings, etc. Instead, he just nodded and asked how many we wanted. "Enough to feed fifteen," we stated with confidence. With another nod, he reached into the glass display case and placed fifteen small cookies into each of two bags, sealed the tops, punched the cash register a few times and pronounced that we owed him $27.

I glanced around at the faces beside me to see if they offered a clue that might indicate Will and I were being taken by a ruthless and opportunistic baker. They were expressionless. I couldn't believe it! Twenty-seven dollars for thirty cookies. I couldn't get an exact number doing the math in my head, but thirty cookies divided by twenty-seven dollars was close enough to a dollar per cookie that I thought of them as pure gold. Once outside Balducci's, we walked with a new spring in our step, not because we were feeling lighthearted, but because we were twenty-seven dollars lighter and anxious that someone might accost us to get our macaroons, never mind our money. I looked at Will and said, "These must be really nice cookies." It never occurred to either of us to eat one before dinner. After all, these were an investment.

Passover was instituted by God to remind Israel of how He had delivered them from their bondage in Egypt, protected them from the death angel, called them to holiness, and promised them a Messiah. The Passover meal is filled with symbolic elements that have guided Jewish thought through this celebration for almost five thousand years. It is a night for family, friends, and the less fortunate to gather together and share their memories of the past and hopes for the future. There is singing, toasting, laughing, and much ado about who God is and who His people are.

As a matter of fact, it was this celebration that Jesus and His disciples were participating in when they gathered for their last supper together. It is this event that we commemorate when we—the church—meet to share in the Lord's Supper, or Communion. As you will recall, Jesus sent Peter and John to prepare the Passover meal, but the gospel writers fail to tell us which one was responsible for the macaroons.

Customarily, the head of the family presides over the evening's festivities, and in the instance of Jesus and His disciples, Jesus did the honors. You must realize that this celebration is a prescribed ritual. While there may be small variations in the way one family conducts their Passover celebration from another family, the fundamental elements of the evening are consistent. Jesus and His disciples had celebrated the same ritual, the same basic way, with the same words, the same food, and the same songs all of their lives. While it was a grand evening, everything was predictable, or at least it always had been. But on this night, Jesus would make this celebration like no other.

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A Celebration Unlike Any Other
Part 2 of 2
by Preston Gillham


Much is made of John recounting how Christ washed His disciple's feet after Passover dinner, and rightly so. But this was only the last in a series of mind-boggling, extraordinary events. By the time Jesus got to Peter's feet, Peter's mind was in data overload, as I would imagine all of the disciple's minds were. He was probably the only one who could think of anything remotely coherent to say in light of all that they had witnessed at this Passover. The others watched dumbfounded.

As is prescribed in the Passover ritual, at a particular point in the evening, the head of the house takes three pieces of unleavened bread that have been carefully wrapped and separated in a linen napkin and unwraps the middle piece of bread which is called matzah. He breaks that piece of bread in two, replacing half back in its place with the original two pieces of bread and carefully wrapping the other half in a separate piece of linen. He then takes that half of matzah and hides, or buries, it somewhere in the house. Once it is hidden, he gives instruction to the children and youngest members of the family to search for this hidden piece of bread. To the one who finds it, a gift is given, but not right away. The gift will be given fifty days later at another significant Jewish celebration.

We understand that the three pieces of bread are symbolic of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It is the middle piece of bread representing the Son that is broken in the Passover celebration. It was the middle piece of bread that Jesus took and broke on that night with His disciples. It was this piece of bread that Jesus gave to His disciples and said, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." To the men in the upper room, there was no question that Jesus was saying He was the middle matzah.

No doubt the words of Jesus would ring in the disciple's ears as the youngest of them searched for the buried bread. "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all" (Mk. 10:15). The significance of the gift for the one finding the piece of bread would probably not dawn on the disciples until they found themselves gathered in another upper room fifty days later when they were filled with the Spirit at the celebration of Pentecost. So this is the Passover gift, they must have thought.

It is customary for the head of the house to give instruction at a prescribed moment in the evening for someone to go to the door and see if Elijah is outside. The Jews understood that Elijah was to come before the Messiah would be sent from God. The hope of Israel is to look out the front door, smeared with the blood of a sacrificial lamb on that first Passover in Egypt, to see if this Passover might be the one when Elijah appears. Do you suppose the earlier words of Jesus came to mind when He instructed that one of the disciples should look outside for Elijah? "If you care to accept it, he [John the Baptist] himself is Elijah" (Mt. 11:14). Elijah had come.

By this point in the evening, I had long since forgotten the macaroons. My mind was reeling as the Passover celebration unfolded. Most of the people in our upper room, high above Central Park on the Upper West Side of New York City, were atheists. They celebrated Passover because it was the Jewish thing to do. Will and I were the only Believers. In fact, we were the only Gentiles in the room. As current events were being discussed, I was desperately trying to connect scripture to the rituals being observed.

Over the course of the Passover evening, four cups of wine are observed to commemorate sanctification, plagues, redemption, and praise. As our host for the evening began the ritual for the third cup of wine, so Christ would have begun repeating words that had been spoken for three thousand years. But then, He added something more. Something never before said, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me" (1 Cor. 11:25). He declared to me, and to His disciples two thousand years ago, that the third cup of wine was symbolic of His redemption.

How easy it was for me to celebrate the fourth cup of praise having the entire scope of the New Testament before me. How overwhelming it all must have been for His disciples. This Passover celebration was unlike any other. For me, it was the beginning of a celebration that God crafted five thousand years ago. For them, it was the fulfillment of a celebration they had commemorated for three thousand years. For both it confirmed that Jesus is the Christ, the Promised One, the Messiah, the Middle Matzah, the Cup of Redemption who is worthy of our praise.

Somehow, I can't see the disciples remembering to eat the macaroons as Christ washed their feet after dinner. I can't see them sticking a couple in their pocket as they headed out to the Garden of Gethsemane. Their minds were too full of other events in the evening. And as I turned my collar up against my neck to block a wind blowing in across the Hudson River and walked toward the subway station, macaroons never crossed my mind. In the final analysis, however, Will and I did not pay too much for the macaroons.

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What Do You Know?
by Dr. Bill Gillham

You've heard it said, "What you don't know won't hurt you." Wrong! In Christianity, what you don't know will destroy you! On the other hand, what you know and Who you know—Jesus—will grant you the peace that passes human understanding.

You know…

Who You Are: God is Spirit and He created you in His image; therefore, you are a spirit critter who lives temporarily in an earthsuit. You are not a physical critter with a spirit. The essence of your identity is spiritual, not physical.

Who God is: God is Love. He created you to need love so that you would need Him. But, not knowing God, you set out to get your love-need supplied through only people, and naively ignored the only Source that can fully satisfy our need to be loved.

Who You Were: God's job description is "He runs things;" He's in control. At birth, however, you immediately homesteaded everything you wanted to control, staked a claim, drew an imaginary circle around it, established your fences, held an election, stuffed the ballot box and declared yourself god of your "turf." You crowned yourself lord of the ring. You took control, and that put you in competition with God. Ultimately, you built your self-image upon your ability—or inability—to effectively play lord of the ring.

God Started All Over With You: When you said, "Yes," and allowed Jesus to save you from yourself, many wonderful things happened instantly. And you didn't do a thing to make them happen—Jesus accomplished them for you. All your sins were laid on Jesus when He was crucified. The old you (lord of the ring) was crucified in Christ (Rom. 6:6). He not only took your sins to the cross, He took you to the cross.

Why You Sin: As a saint (holy one), you long to obey God. But because you programmed your brain with thoroughfares (software) that God calls "flesh," this makes you vulnerable to sin. A power called "sin" dwells in your as yet unredeemed body (Rom. 7:21-23). The law of, power of, sin is an agent of Satan that seeks to control your behavior by using the thoroughfares of the flesh to trigger thoughts into your mind with first person singular pronouns (I, me, my, etc.) Victory over this power is experienced as you act out ("life" out) reality; that is, as you "act dead" to sin's thoughts and "act alive" to the truth that Jesus is overcoming your circumstances through you. This is God's command to us (Rom. 6:12-13).

The Conformation Process: You know that to "take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ," you must develop a lifestyle of "setting your mind on [these] things above," that you are resting in Christ in heaven while Jesus meets your circumstances through you on earth. You do this by faith, not by feel, because feelings will often deceive you. This technique makes it much easier to recognize sin's thoughts when they penetrate your awareness. You think, Nope, that's not my thought; I'm dead to that, and you press on. Through this process, you are "transformed by the renewing of your mind."

Who Your Life is: One life came out of the grave 2,000 years ago as Christ began a whole new spirit-race: Eternal Life, Christ, Resurrection Life. Jesus is the Vine, you are a branch. You know that God's will is that you allow Christ (Vine) to express His Life through you (branch). In this way you can gain God's approval ("Well done, good and faithful servant.")

Your True Identity: You are a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:16-17). You know the criteria you once embraced as the means for determining your identity are false, a ruse. Physical appearance, intellect, race, educational achievement, alumnus of (fill in the blank), personal worth, and things of this type are used to generate and maintain acceptance from others and to bestow or withhold self-acceptance. But you no longer have to strive for acceptance from others or yourself. Jesus has set you free to rest in God's unconditional acceptance through Christ.

By God's grace, you and I know these things and can be used by God to help lead other Christians into appropriating their true identity in Christ. In so doing, we can celebrate together knowing Christ, His life in us, and the matchless grace of our Heavenly Father. So, sic 'em, Tiger!

Lord God of resurrection, I praise You for the resurrection of Your Son, Jesus, my Savior. Lord Jesus, I am so thankful that you have placed me in the body of Christ and that I have been given a wonderful place in the heavens you truly have blessed we Gentiles, thereby missing the day of Vengeance of our Lord.  Please work in my life the richness of Your grace, secured by Your sacrificial death and resurrection victory. In Your mighty name, I pray, Amen.

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"WITHOUT FORM AND VOID"
by Russell S. Miller


"I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light" (Jeremiah 4:23).

The reason that "the earth" was "without form, and void" in this passage is not because God had created it that way. Rather the "fury" of His wrath had "come forth like fire" upon Palestine (Jer.4:1-31). But some supposed the "without form, and void" in Genesis 1:2 is the result of His judgment! But how can this be! Sin had not entered until Adam’s fall (Gen.3:1-24). Satan was still "Lucifer, son of the morning", and had not yet "fallen from heaven" (Isa.14:12-17; Ezek.28:13-19). Rather we believe that it is exactly as God’s Word records creation:

"...AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD MOVED UPON THE FACE OF THE WATERS" (Gen.1:2).

Thus, "In the beginning", upon the first day, when "God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen.1:1) "without form, and void" (1:2), it was empty and desolate because He was not finished with His creation. And upon this "ocean" of His creative genius, He but spoke the words and His almighty power brought forth this beautiful earth in six successive days, as recorded in Genesis 1:1-31.

"THUS THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH WERE FINISHED, AND ALL THE HOST OF THEM. And on the Seventh Day God ended His work which He had...created and made" (Gen.2:1-3).

Genesis One records the day by day account of the creation of heaven and earth. Otherwise "sin" would have "entered" the world before Adam which, of course, is not only unscriptural, but it is not even Pauline (Rom.5:12).

However, as God commanded Nebuchadnezzar to march against Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, in Jeremiah’s day (Jer.4:6,7), so the Great Commander of all the Hosts of Heaven shall issue a counter declaration of war upon all mankind for its rejection of Christ. Revelation 19:11-16 describes "the King of kings, and Lord of lords" riding upon "a white horse...and in righteousness He doth judge and make war". But for now God has "good news" for you. He loves you with an everlasting love. This is why He sent Christ to die for our sins on Calvary.

The Apostle Paul preached that "the forgiveness of sin" (Eph.1:7) is based upon the shed blood of our Redeemer, Saviour, Creator, and Friend; the Lord Jesus Christ.

"GOD IS FAITHFUL" and you can trust Him. He wants to save you from your sin. And, my friend, He will save you from "the wrath to come" also, if you will only believe Him (IThes.4:13-18 ).

Many seem to be without hope today,
 focused upon circumstances,
 rather than the power of God, and His promise.
 We need to cast our eyes upon His Word,
 and what He says about situations which try to beat us down.
   We don't have to carry burdens,
 but only release them to the One Who can handle them all.
AMEN

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Knowing God's Will
by Steve McVey

"Pray for me to know God's will," Brent said. "I have three job offers and I'm not sure which one I'm supposed to accept. I don't want to miss God's perfect will by taking a job I'm not supposed to have," he continued. "Please pray that the right choice will become very clear to me soon."

Brent was a close friend of mine and I knew that he had a sincere desire to glorify God in the decisions he made in his life. Yet I could see that he was experiencing real anxiety over which choice to make in this matter. He had been without a job for almost three months, but now he had three offers, all coming within days of each other. The irony of the situation was that he had seemed more relaxed during the months that he had no job offers than he did when he had three. Any of the three sounded good to me, but his concern over picking the right option made him tense.

Brent needed to understand how to apply grace to the decision-making process. When grace rules a person's life, his perspective 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 consummate His plan for our lives.

Many Believers fall short of the joy God intends for them because they fail to understand 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 designed a special agenda that was uniquely created just for you. 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.

Do you want to experience the joy of confidently knowing and doing the will of God? Then it is important to understand the difference between a legalistic approach to God's will and resting in Him through the grace walk. To a legalist the will of God is about doing. He believes that it is his responsibility to find and fulfill God's specific plan for him. He is often sincere, yet his perspective actually cheats him out of the greatest benefit associated with God's will. The greatest blessing in experiencing God's will is the joy of experiencing God Himself! Yet the legalist is so focused on making the right choice that he usually misses the intimacy God intends for him to enjoy. This Christian believes that he has a job to do for God. Because of this drive to do something, he often makes a better church member than Christian. The only problem with the things he does is that God is nowhere to be found in his activity. That is a serious problem. The starting point for understanding the will of God must be grace. Space in this article will not permit fully dealing with how grace points the way toward experiencing God's will, but consider the summaries of these key points. (A complete discussion of these truths is included in chapter seven of my book Grace Rules.)

1. The will of God is Jesus.

Before we can properly relate to the what of God's will, we must properly relate to the Who of His will. 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 behave like deists. A deist basically believes that God created the world, fueled it up like a car, and then stepped back to watch it run its course. Deism recognizes very little personal interaction between God and His world. Its perspective implies that God has empowered the car (earth) to run, and now it's up to man where he drives it. Of course, most Christians would contest such a view. We believe that God is very much involved in the detailed events of this world. Yet 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.

2. We are to seek Him, not a plan.

The propensity toward seeking the right path presents a subtle danger. It places the responsibility on us to figure out God's will. Where grace rules, man is the recipient of good things and God is the Giver. 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.

3. We can't miss God's will when we are abiding in Christ.

If Satan can't paralyze us with fear about moving forward in God's will, he will try to make us think that we have missed it. Maybe you have made choices only to later wonder what went wrong. You prayed about the choices. You evaluated them and then made your decision. Then things turned sour. Does this mean you missed God's will? No. Psalm 37:23 says, "The steps of a man are established by the LORD." God did direct your steps.

When events don't unfold in the way you want or expect, it simply means one thing: God has a different plan. You aren't out of His will, but are discovering that His will is producing results you didn't expect. Never second-guess God's will after you have acted in faith.

4. When we are abiding in Christ, we can pick a spot and run!

Imagine yourself standing in the center of a large field with an unobstructed view of the horizon in every direction. To the west you can see the ocean. To the east you see a beautiful mountain range. To the north is a lush wooded forest. Looking south, you see a beautiful lake shaded by overhanging trees. As you look, you see many small points on the horizon. Those points represent your choices in life. You can go to any one of them; many look interesting, others don't. Which point should you choose? If you are trusting Christ within you, the answer is easy. You can choose any place you desire. Of course, it's important that you are enjoying an intimate union with Jesus at the time you make your choice. In other words, don't act independently of Him. Trust Him to guide your thoughts, and then make your decision!

Have you selected the point on the horizon to which you want to go? Then run! Run there as fast as you can. Run with excitement and joyful anticipation. When you reach the spot you have selected, do you know what you will find? Jesus will be standing there. You'll see His arms outstretched toward you, and He will be laughing with joy. "Come on!" He will say. "Run! Run! I've been waiting for you to get here! This is exactly where I wanted you to be!" "Lord!" you exclaim. "I'm so glad You're here! No matter what this place holds for me, I know the Father's purpose will be done because You drew me here and will be with me at every moment. "When grace rules your life, you'll experience the joy that comes from knowing and doing God's will. You don't have to be afraid. Trust Jesus and go forward in faith. As you abide in Him, He will keep you in His will at every moment. He is God's will, and you are in Him. Don't worry or struggle. Relax and simply rest in Him because grace rules!

O Glorious Lord, what a good reminder this is
of the desperate condition I was in when You justified me.
 I was not merely needy;
 I was spiritually dead.
I thank You for burying that old life with Jesus in His tomb.
 I praise You for raising me with Christ to a new life.
 I rejoice in the radical nature of Your saving grace.
 Lord, by the power of the resurrection,
 lead me in the reality of newness of life,
and that I can rest in You,
 in Jesus name, Amen.

[nChrist]

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THE WRATH OF GOD REVEALED
by Russell S. Miller


How and why is God's wrath "revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men" (Rom.1:18 )?

 It is revealed "because that which may be known of God is manifest in them...". Even the "invisible things of...creation...are clearly seen..." (1:19,20). They did not want a Creator!

 It is revealed "because ...[they] became vain in their imaginations...and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image..." (1:21-23). If you insist upon believing "a lie...and worship and serve the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever" (ver.25), God will send you "a strong delusion"--the devil's "lie" (IIThes.2:9-12).

 We have seen why God's wrath is revealed, but how is it revealed?"...GOD ALSO GAVE THEM UP TO UNCLEANNESS through [their] lusts..." (Rom.1:24).

 And because man has "changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator" (ver.25):"...GOD GAVE THEM UP UNTO VILE AFFECTIONS..."(Rom.1:26).

 "For even their women did change the natural use [of sex] into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet [fitting]. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge..." (1:26-28 ),
"...GOD GAVE THEM OVER UNTO A REPROBATE MIND, to do those things which are not convenient" (Rom.1:28 ).

 And because they had "filled" themselves with "all ungodliness and unrighteousness" (1:29-31) the judgment of God is revealed in such things as venereal disease and AIDS.

 "Who knowing the judgment of God, THAT THEY WHICH COMMIT SUCH THINGS ARE WORTHY OF DEATH, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them" (Rom.1:32).

 "THEREFORE thou art inexcusable, O man..." (Rom.2:1).

 But no matter what your sin, big or little, as we described or otherwise, God "LOVES" YOU and wants to save you, AND HE WILL SAVE YOU FROM YOUR SINS, if you will simply believe in His Son, who died for our sin on Calvary's cross, and arose from the dead."Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom.5:1).

Be much with the solid teachings of God's word,
 and you will become solid and substantial men and women:
drink them in,
 and feed upon them,
 and they shall produce in you a Christ-likeness,
 at which the world shall stand astonished.
C. H. Spurgeon

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GOD'S JUST JUDGMENTS
by C. R. Stam

    "We are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth..."

         The first 15 verses of Romans 2 always make me think of our Lord's dealings with the rich young ruler of Luke 18:18,19. "Good Master," the ruler had said, "what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

The Lord answered in effect: "Why do you call Me good?There is none good but God, so if I am good I must be God. But do you want to know what to do to inherit eternal life? Simply obey the Law, the Ten Commandments."

Our Lord, of course, was trying to show the young man that it was impossible to earn salvation by doing good. To keep the Law was impossible for any child of fallen Adam, and breaking the Law could only bring condemnation. Now this absolute justice is the basis for the believer's confidence in God.

It is wonderful to know that God does not merely pity sinners and smuggle them into heaven if they are sorry. If He did, someone in heaven could point an accusing finger this writer and say: "What, you here!" Thank God, He has rather taken us before the bar of justice, pronouncing us guilty, but has stepped down, as it were, to pay the penalty for our sins Himself, then justly declaring us righteous! This is why salvation, in Scripture, is based upon Christ's payment of our just debt. This is why Rom. 3:24 declares that believers are "justified freely, by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

"That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord"  (Rom. 5:21).

O Glorious Lord, what a good reminder this is of the desperate
condition I was in when You justified me.
 I was not merely needy;
 I was spiritually dead.
 I thank You for burying that old life with Jesus in His tomb.
 I praise You for raising me with Christ to a new life.
 I rejoice in the radical nature of Your saving grace.
 Lord, by the power of the resurrection,
 lead me in the reality of newness of life, in Jesus name, Amen.

[nChrist]

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WAITING ON GOD
By Miles Stanford



"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him" (Ps. 37:7).

In times of crisis, we are prone to question His care; in times of calm, we tend to forget our need of His care.

"Don't look at earthly difficulties. Saul said, 'Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not ... therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me' (I Sam. 13:11,12). It is fatal to look around and at consequences, especially in times of crisis, for it will be impossible to be still, and wait God's time for deliverance. Jesus came to them in the fourth watch of the night (Matt. 14:25). It is always His way. God is never behind time! However dark the path may be, wait; do not go before Him, don't force yourself, like Saul. "The crisis demands action,' we say! Nay, 'dwell in stillness and wait for clearness' --- wait until you are sure of the will of God, and leave the 'Philistines' to Him." - T.A-S.

"Victory comes through the reckoning of faith and not through struggling and striving. 'But,' it may be asked, 'are we not exhorted to 'fight the good fight'? Yes, that is so, but you must please finish the text, 'Fight the good fight of faith,' and faith never struggles for victory. Faith stands in victory."

"The unbelieving heart looks at the circumstances, and leaves God out. Faith, on the contrary, looks only at God, and leaves circumstances out. Faith delights in man's extremity, simply because it is God's opportunity. It delights in being 'shut up' to God --- in having the platform thoroughly cleared of the creature, in order that God may display His glory."

"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him" (Ps. 62:5).

The End Product of True Evangelism is not just to get you out of hell and into heaven, but to get God out of heaven and into you, so that Christ living in your heart might bring God out again into the open where He can be seen. That is what brings glory to God. This happens when we are prepared to identify ourselves with Christ in His death and to share His resurrection.

[nChrist]

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HIGHLY PLACED
By Miles Stanford


"O our God ... we have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon Thee" (II Chron. 20:12).

Many believers have gone only as far as justification can take them --- spiritual birth, and a bit beyond. There they stagnate, in dire need of the fresh streams of living water that come from seeing their position in Christ. "God ... hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3). "Always begin with your position, where you are; and then think of your condition, what you are." - R.P.

"Christians are at their wits' end. Many have given up the fight. They still go to church; but secretly they feel that victory is out of the question. They have no weapons for such an hour. Frankly, they have capitulated to the prince of this world, for all their efforts to rout the foe have failed.

"But victory is the believer's right, as truly his as the air he breathes. However, he must understand the conditions. He must see himself enthroned with Christ. He must see himself according to God's own Holy Word, as crucified with the Lord Jesus, dead, buried, raised and made to sit in heavenly places with his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Without this he will go down in ignominious defeat in spite of all his strivings and his prayers. With this position he is more than conqueror through Him who loved him and gave Himself for him."--- F.J.H.

"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4).

O Holy Father, I humbly admit that I have
 frequently
been so foolish as to think that
 I could produce more godliness
in me through my own best efforts.
 Lord, I see that I need Your Spirit
 as much for spiritual growth as
I did previously for spiritual birth.
 As I seek You through prayer and
Your word,
 please take me on with You
in growth and sanctification
 by the work of Your Holy Spirit,
 through Christ, I pray, Amen.

[nChrist]

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LEGAL CONFLICT
By Miles Stanford



"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:1).

If we are weak in understanding the principle of complete justification by faith, we will be strong in seeking to produce our own sanctification.

"In Romans Seven Paul is describing the inevitable conflict that every believer knows when he undertakes to lead a holy life on the principle of legality. He feels instinctively that the law is spiritual, but that he himself, for some unexplained reason, is fleshly, carnal, and in bondage to sin. This discovery is one of the most heart-breaking a Christian ever made. Yet each one must and does make it for himself at some time in his pilgrimage.

"The believer finds himself doing things he knows to be wrong, and which his inmost desires are opposed to; while what he yearns to do he fails to accomplish, and does, instead, what he hates. But this is the first part of a great lesson which all must learn who would matriculate in God's school. It is the lesson of no confidence in 'the flesh'; and until it is learned there can be no true progress in growth. The incorrigibility of the flesh must be realized before one is ready to turn altogether from self to Christ for sanctification, as he has already done for justification." --- H.A.I.

"As conviction of guilt goes before known justification, so the experiential knowledge of self before sanctification. No effort clears the guilt; no effort effects the growth."

"That they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith" (Acts 26:18 ).

[nChrist]

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He Wants to Live Through You
by Dr. Bill Gillham



"If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him" (Romans 8:9b). When you turned toward Jesus to become a Christian, the "Spirit of Christ" (Holy Spirit) entered into you. Why did Jesus come into you? Why didn't Jesus come before you so He could lead you (some say that's His function); or beside you so you could lean on Him when you grow weary (some say this is His function); or behind you to give you a jump start when you need help (others claim this is His job), or perhaps under you to carry you when you can't make it on your own (as the poem "In His Steps" teaches)? It's because Jesus is the only One who ever has or who ever will live the life which is pleasing to the Father, and He is to express His life through you on a moment-by-moment basis. Christ's life alone gets God's Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. Everything else is trashed.

It's presumptuous of any person to think he can emulate the life of Christ. God doesn't want to "help" you live on earth any more than He wanted to "help" you get saved. He did it all for you then: He's made provision through Christ to do it all for you now. This way God, not you, gets the honor (glory). Salvation is all of God, nothing of man. Guys, the Christian life is to be experienced in exactly the same way it's begun. He wants to do it all for you, through you. In this way He gets just as much glory (credit) for saving you from the hell of life as He does for saving you from the hell of death, and He gets to build the intimate, bonding relationship with you which He longs for. He died to attain this relationship with you! Imagine that! Please don't continue in your independent self-sufficiency, naively believing that this is pleasing to the Father, that He is proud of your strength. He's covered this in His love letter: "They will be held guilty, they whose strength is their god" (Habakkuk 1:11). Your personal strength is His enemy. It keeps you from intimate fellowship with Him.

You will not need to know what
 He plans to do with you...
you simply need to know Him.

[nChrist]

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"YIELD THE RIGHT OF WAY"
DANIEL 3:28B, ROMANS 6:13,16,19; 12:1



     Several avenues in our city have signs located at their intersections which read: 'YIELD THE RIGHT OF WAY.' This means that we must slow down as we approach the intersection, and give the cars which are coming at right angles to us first place. Failure to observe this command may bring tragic results!

     This is God's demand upon every individual whom He has been pleased to save. It is plainly this: 'YIELD YOURSELVES UNTO GOD......PRESENT YOUR BODIES....... UNTO GOD.' What does this involve? Simply this: because God has graciously saved me through the death and resurrection of His beloved Son, and because by His Spirit He has brought me into an eternal union with Christ, and because I am no more my own, I repudiate all known sins in my life and deny the right to old self to be king any longer within me, and I yield my entire self with my body and its several members unto this loving Father as a 'living sacrifice.' This is a definite, once-for-all transaction, as the tense of the words 'yield' and 'present' indicate. Just as I definitely received Christ into my life as Savior and Lord once for all, so I am now just as definitely to yield or present myself to God for His own use and glory.

     Suppose I were to give you a check from our checkbook, and then tell you, 'Just fill in any amount you wish; I have signed my name already to it!' Knowing that I had informed you that I had unlimited financial resources, you would be free to write in any amount you felt you needed.

     Likewise intelligently and lovingly turn your entire being and life over to the God who loves you far more than you'll ever understand, and say, 'Lord, here I am; body, soul, and spirit; mind, emotions, will; eyes, ears, lips, hands, and feet; weaknesses, frailties, habits, sins, problems, circumstances, finances; take me just as I am; do what You will both in me and through me; and cause me ever to cleave with purpose of heart unto you until either death or 'the catching away'!'

And God will never turn down an offer like that! Do it meaningfully today!

Grace, Peace and Love,
Pastor P. Hume

God is the great reality.
His resources are available and endless.
His promises are real and glorious, beyond our wildest dreams.
J. B. Phillips

[nChrist]

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God's Plan for My Pain
by Anabel Gillham

I really resist (or do I resent?) the trite words that are often given as sage advice to someone who is going through difficult times.

Well, just think about poor Aunt Pearl (or your sister, or someone you knew thirteen years ago, or someone you don’t even know). What if you were in her shoes? You can always find someone who has more problems than you do. Be thankful that yours are not as bad as theirs. Just think about that . . . you know, walking in their moccasins for two weeks.

Nope. That’s not what I need to hear. I don’t want my needs or my circumstances to be minimized. They are very real to me. Pressing. Hurting. Stressful. No two problems are alike. Your needs are critically important to you. My needs are critically important to me.

God doesn’t minimize my needs or compare them with "Aunt Pearl’s," but comparing God’s grace with my needs blows the cobwebs out of my thinking wheels. How big is God’s grace? Big enough to take care of my needs? Oh, yes.

But the difficulty arises both in allowing Him to meet my needs--in His way, in His timing--and in determining what my real need is. I may think it’s money to pay a debt when He would say, "No, Anabel. You need to learn discipline in taking care of the material things I have given you." I may think my need is release from a circumstance that I am in when He would tenderly admonish me, "No, my sweet Anabel. You need to practice endurance." I may be praying for release from pain. This, Lord, is my need. Once again He would say, "No, Anabel. You need to learn true compassion."

So once again I say, "I trust You, Lord." You have made me and You are now busy conforming me to Your image. I want that. I don’t want the pain and the stress and the frustration, but I can’t have one without the other. I guess it’s kind of like having a baby. It would be nice to have him without the nine months of being nauseated and the discomfort of carrying him around all the time in my tummy, not to mention the intense pain of helping him make his way into our world. But that’s a part of motherhood. I can’t separate one from the other.

My deepest thanks to You, my precious Lord, for your willingness to go through all of these things with me . . . for me . . . through me . . . and for letting me know the expected outcome: to be like You.

We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.Romans 8:28,29

Dear Abba, Father,
I thank You for washing away my sins.
 I praise You for bringing me close to You.
 I desire to grow in intimacy with You.
 Help me to see Your love  more clearly,
 that I might respond in stronger love to You.
 Remind me to cry out to You consistently
and to pour out my heart honestly,
 all by the blood of Christ, Amen.

[nChrist]

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The Indescribable Honour of Being "Ambassadors for Christ"
By K. R. Blade
Part 1 of 6



A previous article on not being "ashamed of the gospel of Christ' prompted the desire for this closer examination of the honour and privilege that it is for us to be "ambassadors for Christ," especially in view of Paul 's exhortation in II Corinthians 6:1-2 and the fact that many of us are not very enthusiastic ambassadors.

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)
(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:2)

Of all of the opportunities that we have to labour together with God in His various operations in this present dispensation of His grace, the one that probably comes to mind first is our ambassadorship for Christ. And indeed it should. For in the process of our sonship edification it is the first such operation that God tells us about, and accordingly it is the first one for which He equips us to labour together with Him. In addition, being "ambassadors for Christ" is an operation in which each and every saint has the opportunity to participate. Besides this it is also an operation for which the ability to participate in it is actually generated by the "gospel of Christ" itself working within the Christian after he believes it, and as he becomes established in it by the effectual working of the doctrines of Romans 1-5. Wherefore it is only natural and logical that this particular operation would occur to our minds first when we think of labouring together with God in what He is doing.

Moreover when we think of our ambassadorship we are also quick to acknowledge that it certainly is an honour and a privilege for us to be entrusted with "the gospel of Christ," and thereby to be used by God to offer unto other people its effectual working as "the power of God unto salvation" that it is. Indeed, how could we think of such an opportunity as anything less than an honour and a privilege. It just naturally possesses such qualities. Therefore all the more does our ambassadorship for Christ naturally stand out in our minds.

An Embarrassing Problem

Now though we readily acknowledge these things, and even talk about this privilege with other saints; and though we also know how to clearly preach "the gospel of Christ" to others so as to faithfully provide for it to effectually work in them as we tell them about it; many of us still have a problem when it comes to actually functioning as ambassadors. And it is a problem that is embarrassing to us because it seems so incredible that we should have it in view of what we know. Yet we have it nonetheless. What we have is a lack of zeal for our ambassadorship. To be frank, we do not have much enthusiasm for actually doing the work of an ambassador; with the result that we usually do not do it very often.

Naturally this is embarrassing for us, since it is so unbecoming. But it is also a cause of consternation to us. For much to our dismay the privilege of being "ambassadors for Christ" does not really seem to captivate our hearts all that much. For some reason our minds seem to come short of being gripped to their full extent by this privilege. Oh we may occasionally witness to people, but we find that we lack a full measure, (as well as a constant measure), of any real ambition and/or zeal to be telling others about "the gospel of Christ." Consequently our ambassadorship is not only frequently subject to waxing and waning, but we find that it is always waning more than it is waxing. In fact for many of us it has been weeks, or months, or maybe even years, since we have even attempted to tell any unjustified person about "the gospel of Christ." In other words we may be "ambassadors for Christ" by virtue of the privilege, and we may call ourselves such; yet we are anything but "ambassadors for Christ" in function.

Even More Embarrassing

To make matters worse, we know that this is not how God has designed for us to be. We realize that we should have a zeal for our ambassadorship that is truly constraining and compelling. It should not need to be constantly stirred up or resuscitated. It should not be characterized by spikes of periodic activity occurring between lengthy spans of idleness. Instead we know from our epistles that the same kind of remarks that Paul makes about zeal when describing, for example, the saints in Rome and Thessalonica, ought to be able to be said about us as well.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. (Romans 1:8 )
For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak anything. (I Thessalonians 1:8 )

Not only do verses such as these reprove us, but we realize that if our zeal was on par with that of the saints at Rome or Thessalonica, or if it was like that of Paul himself, then we too would probably be criticized just as Paul was for being too zealous or too enthusiastic; even to the point that we also might be thought of by others as being 'beside ourselves' or fanatical.

So then it should be obvious that if our zeal for being "ambassadors for Christ" is 'hit or miss'; or if it is generally weak; or if it bears little or no resemblance to Paul's zeal; or worse yet if it is non-existent; then something is definitely wrong. We are surely missing something. More to the point, something is not effectually working within us as God has designed for it to work. For ambassadors by nature are not silent. It is contrary to their position and purpose, for they are designed and commissioned to speak.

Therefore if we are 'silent ambassadors,' and if we are honest both with ourselves and with God's word to us, then we ought to want to have this problem rectified.

Dear Lord Jesus, we praise and thank You for the many opportunities to be an ambassador for Christ, and to share the good news with others.  You give us such zeal for sharing "the gospel of Christ" with others, and truly it any Indescribable honor that you have given us in this age of Grace.  Amen