GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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HOME FREE!
By Miles Stanford


"Hath made us alive together with Christ" (Eph. 2:5).

The Father has placed us in His very heart, and He intends for our heart to find its place there.

"Think of the fast embrace with which I find myself held, right to the heart of my Father, when I discern my position in His Beloved Son. Grace, absolute sovereign grace, has set me there - to show its exceeding riches throughout time and eternity. What could effort of mine have done in this matter? What can failure of mine undo?" ---F.W.G.

"The first action of the Spirit in the soul for growth is to assure you of the Father's love for you, and then you are not thinking about yourself or your own state, but of Him; though no doubt you will be greatly exercised as to how you are answering to that love. Now you know you have a living bond with the Lord Jesus, you are linked with Him in spirit, and a new interest altogether is awakened in your heart; it is with Him you are occupied."---J.B.S.

"If I have lost the world and its things, what have I gained? I have a Person, and the love of that Person for my heart. And when I think of who that Person is, and how He has brought divine love to me, and how He draws my heart to Himself in an ineffable scene of divine affections, I begin to taste divine satisfaction."

"The Lord Jesus by His death has undertaken to remove all my unsuitability. And by that death I am entitled to be with the Father and the Son as one set free from all that attached to me as a child of fallen Adam. It is a love which has removed for its own satisfaction everything that I am morally as of the race of Adam, so that I might be free in the presence of that love." ---C.A.C.

"Hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6).

Dear Lord, I thank You and praise You for Your great grace toward me. Just to think that you chose me before the foundation of the world, and are so gracious even beyond that to allow me to walk in the good works that you did on the cross, your burial, your resurrection, and to know that you have seated me at the right hand of God the Father as you have placed me in Christ. May I become an instrument of Your grace in the lives of others, all for Your glory and honor, in Jesus name, Amen.

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SERVICE OF SUFFERING
By Miles Stanford


"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom. 8:18 ).

Physical, mental, and spiritual suffering are all involved to some degree in our matriculation.

"The idea is very common amongst Christians, that it is a great and wonderful thing to be 'mightily used of God.' 'Oh, to be a great evangelist! Oh, to be a great teacher!' That is an entirely false conception. The truth is that those who serve the Lord most truly go through the deepest suffering. You may have a more or less easy time. I do not want to dishearten you by saying it may not always be so, but if you really want to be greatly used of the Lord, remember it may be by a deeper discipline of the Lord." -T. A-S.

"Many have lived under blue skies from birth. To such I have a word. It is this: Fear not; no lover of our Lord will be overlooked. He knows where to find His willing hearts. Just give Him time. He will not refuse to His dearest the joy that is bathed in the dews of Gethsemane." -A.C.

"He shall not cry nor strive, nor let His voice be heard in the street.' There are very few servants of the Lord Jesus who, Samson-like, could kill a lion without letting everybody know of it. They would like a little notice of some kind. But the Lord Jesus made no parade; He would not have His good deeds blazed abroad. His doctrine dropped as the rain from heaven, and His speech as the gentle dew. He charged them that they should tell no man of His service. 'Verily, Thou art a God that hidest Thyself.' May we be willing to be hid, and to have our work known only by its effects, doing it not unto men, but unto our Father in heaven, Who sees in secret and shall reward us openly."---E.W.M.

"Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator" (1 Pet. 4:19).

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THE FRUITS OF THE RESURRECTION
by C. R. Stam


 The fruits of our Lord's resurrection from the dead are many and important.

  First, there were immediate results. It silenced those who had ridiculed His claims, and struck terror into their hearts. It explained how the prophecies would be fulfilled which predicted the death of Christ and the kingdom glory to follow. It heartened His followers, making cowards bold, turning their fear into faith, their sorrow into joy and their despair into glorious victory.

  Then there were also long range results, for our Lord's resurrection is a warning to unbelievers:

 "Because [God] hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (Acts 17:31. See also John 5:22,27; Acts 10:42).

 As to believers, first, Christ's resurrection from the dead assures us that our debt of sin has been fully paid:

 "[HE] WAS DELIVERED FOR OUR OFFENCES, AND WAS RAISED AGAIN FOR OUR JUSTIFICATION. THEREFORE BEING JUSTIFIED BY FAITH, WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST" (Rom. 4:25; 5:1).

 Second, His resurrection gives us a living Savior to help us in our daily walk.

  "WHEREFORE HE IS ABLE ALSO TO SAVE THEM TO THE UTTERMOST THAT COME UNTO GOD BY HIM, SEEING HE EVER LIVETH TO MAKE INTERCESSION FOR THEM" (Heb. 7:25).

 Third, His resurrection is the pledge of our own:

 "FOR IF WE BELIEVE THAT JESUS DIED AND ROSE AGAIN, EVEN SO THEM ALSO WHICH SLEEP IN JESUS WILL GOD BRING [FROM THE DEAD] WITH HIM" (I Thes. 4:14; cf. Heb. 13:20).

 "BLESSED BE THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST WHO, ACCORDING TO HIS ABUNDANT MERCY, HATH BEGOTTEN US AGAIN UNTO A LIVING HOPE BY THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD" (I Pet. 1:3).

There is no situation so chaotic that God cannot from that situation,
create something that is surpassingly good.
He did it at the creation.
He did it at the cross.
He is doing it today.

-- Handley C. G. Moule

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LOVE TRIALS
By Miles Stanford


"I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly unto her" (Hosea 2:14).

As we begin to grow, we are governed; as we begin to mature, we are allured.

"By trial our Father reveals whether we can suffer His will as well as do it. By trial He weans us from the world, draws us to His Son, drives us to the Word and to prayer, and shows us our hearts, and makes us humble. We are to learn to be patient in the days of darkness. Our trials are not meant to do us harm, but good. Our Father chastens us 'for our profit, that we may become partakers of His holiness' (Heb. 12:10)." ---J.C.R.

"The great teaching of the wilderness is dependence upon the Father. The really heavenly man must be in a scene like this the most dependent man; and whenever anyone learns his heavenly calling truly, and walks according to it conscientiously, he ever finds that new circumstances or trials occur, to keep him dependent; so that the truly heavenly man is the best wilderness man."

"If our affections are true to the glorified Lord Jesus, they will make this world a wilderness to us; but if our affections do not make it a wilderness, His government will. The Father loves us too well to allow our hearts to nestle here; and He makes us conscious that it is a wilderness that He may have opportunity in our loneliness and our sorrow to speak to our hearts. The Voice that could not be heard in the din and bustle, and amid the laughter of the city, can be heard in the silence and solitude of the wilderness." ---C.A.C.

"Why has the Father brought you to despair? In order to stop you looking for any ground of hope in yourself; that you should not trust in yourself, but in God Who raiseth the dead."

"For the Father Himself  loveth you" (John 16:27).

Somehow, we need to catch the wonder
of the Resurrection again.
We need to be amazed by God’s grace,
overwhelmed by His love,
made speechless by His joy
and awestruck at His gift of eternal life.

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MERCIFULLY MASTERED
By Miles Sanford


"But though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies" (Lam. 3:32).

We are going to discover that our Father's grace and mercy shine brightest against the darkness of the daily Cross.

"We make a most serious mistake, when, in any time of need or pressure, we turn to the creature for help or sympathy. We are sure to be disappointed. Our Father will allow us to prove the vanity and folly of all creature-confidences, human hopes, and earthly expectations. And on the other hand, He will prove to us, in the most touching and personal manner, the truth and blessedness of His own Word, 'They shall not be ashamed that wait for Me' (Isa. 49:23). No, never! He, blessed be His name, never fails a trusting heart. He cannot, nor would He, deny Himself. He delights to take occasion from our needs, our woes and weaknesses, to express and illustrate His tender care and loving kindness, in a thousand ways." -C.H.M.

"Our Father is 'a very present help in trouble.' We may be sure that He who permits the suffering is with us in it. He was even in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself (2 Cor. 5:19). It may be that we shall see Him only when the trial is past; but we must dare to believe that He never leaves the crucible."

"What a melancholy reflection it is upon our old man that we have to be 'shut up' to all the mercies of our Father! If we could evade them and cheat ourselves of them, notwithstanding their gracious freedom, we would. The Father is still shutting men up to faith. It should be natural for us to trust Him, but it is not. Our Father must employ severe measures to reduce us to despair and root us out of our self-confidence and self-righteousness. All of heaven's wisdom is brought to bear upon us to confess that our 'help cometh from the Lord.' "---L.E.M.

"That He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy" (Rom. 9:23).

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Disappointment
By Steve McVey



Dr. Lenore Campbell wrote, “Early in my career as a doctor I went to see a patient who was coming out of anesthesia. Far off church chimes sounded and the patient murmured, ‘I must be in heaven.' Then she saw me. ‘No, I can't be,' she said. ‘There's Dr. Campbell.'"

Disappointment – we've all had to deal with it at times, haven't we? Even people who have been known as successes in life have faced disappointment. Alexander the Great conquered Persia, but broke down and wept because his troops were too exhausted to push on to India. John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the U.S. wrote in his diary: "My life has been spent in vain and idle aspirations, and in ceaseless rejected prayers that something would be the result of my existence beneficial to my species." Robert Louis Stevenson wrote words that continue to delight and enrich our lives, and yet what did he write for his epitaph? "Here lies one who meant well, who tried a little, and failed much."

Everybody faces disappointment, but how are Christians to deal with it? The answer boils down to trust in Jesus Christ. That means not just professing our trust, but practicing it. When we know that He is Life, the sting of disappointment finds a healing salve in the truth of His Word.

I have found a particular verse in the Bible to be a good antidote to disappointment in my circumstances. It is found in Philippians 1:6, where Paul wrote: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” This verse is a reminder that the flow of our lives isn't up to us, but rests on the shoulders of God Himself. This verse promises that He started His work in you and He will be the one to sustain it. At the risk of oversimplifying the matter, “God's going to do what God's going to do.”

We get into trouble when we think that our agenda has to be fulfilled in life. It isn't up to us to fulfill our plans. That's God's business. Our role is simply to trust Him in every circumstance.

Are there disappointments you face in your own life today? Place them into the hands of a sovereign God who loves you and already has the details of life worked out for you. It's okay to feel disappointment. That's normal, but don't be dominated by it. Instead, acknowledge your feelings to the Lord and then lay your expectations at His feet. Then move forward, being assured that He has your best interest at heart and will work out all things for your ultimate good and His highest glory.

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THE END OF THE WORLD
by C. Stam



There has been a great deal of discussion lately about some Hindu astrologers who have predicted that this world will come to an end this February. The fact is that some sincere Christians fear that these prophets might be right, since our Lord did speak several times about the coming "end of the world."

These Hindu astrologers, however, are wrong. This February will not see the end of the world, for according to the Bible the world, or earth, will never come to an end. The word "world," which our Lord uses in this connection, does not refer to the earth, or even the people on it. It is the old Greek word aion, or age. Several ages in God's program have already come to an end, and others will, but no matter what destructive weapons man may devise, the earth will never be destroyed. In Isaiah 45:18 we read:

"For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens: God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it; He created it not in vain; He formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord, and there is none else."

But doesn't Rev. 21:1 predict "a new heaven and a new earth"? Yes, but the context clearly indicates that this refers to the future renewing of the present heaven and earth, not the creating of different ones. Verse 5 says:

"He that sat upon the throne: said, Behold I make all things new."

Note: He didn't say "I make all new things," but "I make all things new." There is a difference.

We should not be concerned about the end of the world, but rather about the end of this present age in which we live under "the dispensation of the grace of God," for God has never promised how long this will last. Every hour He delays the return of Christ to recall His ambassadors, is an hour of wonderful grace, in which men may be saved by grace, through faith in Christ who died for our sins. This is why Paul urges us:

"We then, as workers together with [Christ], beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.... Behold, now is the accepted time; Behold, now is the day of salvation" (II Cor. 6:1,2).

If you are faithful in reading God’s Word,
You can be sure that you’re growing thereby;
And if you’re hiding His Word in your heart,
You’ll be rejoicing to meet Him on high. —Hess

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PERSONAL CHRISTIANITY
By Miles Stanford

"That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection" (Phil. 3:10a).

Fellowship with the written Word is the foundation, and fellowship with the living Word is the superstructure, for spiritual growth.

"While Martha was cumbered about much serving, and her love, most true in its way, went forth in actively providing for the Lord's outward need, Mary, unconsciously perhaps, proved her stronger faith and deeper love by sitting at His feet and drinking in His words. The thought of Martha's heart was, What a feast I must give the Messiah, when I receive Him at my home!

"Mary, on the contrary, felt that the best feast for Him, and for herself, was to receive and treasure up all she could from Him -- to see, and hear, and be with Him. If we are learning thus from the Lord Jesus, we honor and please Him incomparably more than by anything we think to confer upon Him. In the long run, too, it is the listening at His feet which best fits for the most acceptable worship and service." ---J.N.D.

"We should ever remember that Christianity is not a set of opinions, a system of dogmas, or a number of views; it is pre-eminently a living reality --- a personal, practical, powerful thing, telling itself out in all the scenes and circumstances of daily life, shedding its hallowed influence over the entire character and course, and imparting its heavenly tone to every relationship which one may be called of God to fill.

"In a word, it is that which flows from being associated and occupied with the Lord Jesus. This is Christianity. There may be clear views, correct notions, sound principles, without any fellowship with the Lord Jesus in glory; but an orthodox creed without communion with Him will prove to be a cold and barren thing." ---C.H.M.

"And the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death" (Phil. 3:10).

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.

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POSITION AND POSSESSION
By Miles Stanford


"I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:12).

To know our position in the Lord Jesus is necessary so that we may understand His ways and rest in His means. Then, by processing through the years He slowly narrows the discrepancy between our heavenly position and our personal condition. Truth is received in the mind, assimilated in the heart, and manifested in the walk.

"First, the believer, like a bird, flies at once to the top and sees everything accomplished on his behalf; and then he, as it were, comes back and creeps up every inch of the way. It is like ascending a ladder of grace.

"The first step is, we believe that the Lord Jesus was sent of the Father; second, that in the fulness of His work we are justified; third, we make His acquaintance; fourth, we come to see Him in heaven - we know our association with Him there, and His rest here; fifth, we learn the mystery, the great things we are entitled to because of being in His Body,  sixth, that we are seated in heavenly places in Him; seventh, we rejoice in wonder and in praise in the knowledge of Himself." ---J.B.S.

"As the result of the work of His Cross and resurrection, eternal life is received complete by those who believe. But while that life is itself victorious, incorruptible, and indestructible, the believer has to come by faith to prove it, to live by it, to learn its principles, to be conformed to it. The life in itself in the believer needs no addition, so far as its quality and quantity are concerned. So far as its power, its glory, its potentialities are concerned nothing can be added to it. But the course of spiritual experience, of spiritual life, is to discover, to appropriate, and to grow in all that the life represents and means." ---T. A-S.

"Rooted and built up in Him, and established" (Col. 2:7).

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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QUIETNESS AND CONFIDENCE
By Miles Stanford

"In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength" (Isa. 30:15).

Time is a prime factor in one's assurance of the Father's leading. Rush and agitation are the prime factors in the Enemy's leading. God will give us time to watch and make sure; Satan demands action, right now!

"There is a way to distinguish between the Father's leading and Satan's 'angel of light' leadings. The Father's promptings never nag, or worry, or harass. Satan's do just that. If one has a seeming 'leading' to do something that in itself is good, yet with the impulse there is a sense of nagging disquiet, and being driven in a certain direction, that is the Enemy's trademark; and his false leading is to be immediately recognized and rejected. The Holy Spirit's leadings come with a sense of peace and quiet, even if they point in a really difficult direction which only the grace of the Father can enable one to follow." -C.G.T.

"Be careful who takes you up into the high mountain! When the devil takes you into the heights, he always shows you the kingdoms of this world, and the glory of them; when the Lord Jesus takes you up, He is always transformed before you."

"It is because our life is hid with Christ in God that it is beyond the reach of Satan. The Enemy cannot touch our life in its source, for the Father is its Source and he cannot touch Him. He cannot touch our life in its channel, for the risen Lord Jesus is its channel, and he cannot touch Him. He cannot touch our life in its power, for the Holy Spirit is its power, and he cannot touch the Spirit. He cannot touch our life in its duration, for eternity is its duration, and he cannot touch eternity. The child of God is eternally safe." -J.E.C.


"The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever" (Isa. 32:17).

Dear Lord of light,
 I praise You for bringing me out of darkness
 into Your gracious light.
 Grant me grace to proclaim Your excellencies.
 Shine Your light into the hearts
 I hope to reach.
 Grant them the miracle of new birth,
 in Jesus name, Amen.

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ME, MYSELF, AND I
By Miles Stanford

"Oh, wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Rom. 7:24).

While both are essential, it is far more difficult to get to know the old man than it is to know the Lord Jesus. Many who know something of Him, know little or nothing of themselves.

"There is not a more difficult lesson in the Christian life than to come to a true knowledge of what the flesh is. Its terrible power, its secret and universal rule, and the blinding it exerts in keeping us from the knowledge of what it is, are the cause of all our sin and evil. Hence it comes that so few really believe in their absolute inability to obey God or to believe in His love. And there is nothing that can deliver us from it but that entire willingness to die to the old man, which comes when by faith we understand that we have died in Christ Jesus." ---A.M.

"It seems that God's Spirit has to take every growing believer through a drastic process of self-exposure. That fleshly principle lurking within has to be looked in the face. Its presumptuous claim to be a sufficient source of wisdom and ability has to be exposed in its big lie. Its save-yourself attitude has to be recognized and rejected. And such knowledge can only come through failure, humiliation and despair." ---N.G.

"If you come to feel, through ever-recurring misery and defeat, that unless Another shall lead you into the land of fruitful obedience your whole Christian career will be a spiritual and moral chaos, then perhaps you are ready to venture your all upon your union with the Lord Jesus in His death and resurrection."

"There is no joy like that of realizing our nothingness, while at the same time reposing upon the Father's all-sufficiency."

"I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord" (Rom. 7:25).

Dear Father
You know that I have sincerely tried to live as a victorious Christian. I have done my personal best, but now I realize that has been my problem-it has been "my best" that I've trusted, instead of Your life. I repent of self-sufficiency and affirm that from this moment forward I will trust You to live through me. I choose to rest in You, depending upon You to cause the power of indwelling sin in me to stay in remission. You are my Victory, oh Lord. For that fact, I thank You, Amen

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God Is For Me
By Steve McVey


“God is for me.” Can you make that statement with a deep sense of certainty? He is, you know. When things are going the way you want, God is for you. When life seems to be falling apart, God is for you. When the Philistines chased David down in Gath, he wrote, “This I know, that God is for me” (Psalms 56:9). What a time to make a declaration like that!

Many of us have found ourselves in a place similar to David’s situation at times. Life is closing in . . . the enemy seems to have us cornered and there appears to be no way out. Pleasant circumstances disappear before our eyes and the world turns dark.

At times like that, we may be tempted to cry out, “Why is God against me?” Not David. He assured himself with the truth, “God is for me.” He didn’t say, “This I feel, that God is for me.” There are many times in life that we don’t feel like God is for us. No, he said, “This I know, that God is for me.

Will you affirm this truth in your own life? God really is for you. Nothing can ever change His mind or heart toward you. If you are His child, His lovingkindness toward you will last forever. (Read Psalm 136 sometime!)

Circumstances may be suffocating you at times, but God is for you! Negative feelings may seem to be strangling you, but God is for you! Life may not make sense at a given moment, but God is for you! Trust Him. When you feel like you’re drowning in an ocean of problems, cling to your Heavenly Father. He will prove Himself strong in your life by assuring you of His love.

Your circumstances may or may not turn out like you want, but He will hold you in His loving and sovereign arms and gently whisper His love to you again and again. Sit in quietness for a moment and listen to his loving voice assure you of that fact until, like the Psalmist, you may say, “This is know, God is for me!”

2 Corinthians 12:9  And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may overshadow me.

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MERCIFUL DEATH
By Miles Stanford


"Set your affection on things above ... for ye died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:2,3).

The spiritual recession that occurs after the early joys of the new birth is not necessarily back-sliding at all. The discovery of the sinful old man is the first and foremost step in the discovery of the righteous Christ-life.

"We are more disposed to be occupied in telling the Father what we are in ourselves, than to allow Him to tell us what we are in the Lord Jesus Christ. So often the believer is more taken up with his own self-consciousness than with the Father's scriptural revelation of Himself. His revelation is one thing; my self-consciousness is quite another."

"It gladdens the heart to hear the new convert speak of the blessings he has received, and of his new-found joy in those blessings; but we can often see very distinctly that he is wrapping all these benefits of grace round himself, and we feel pretty sure that he will have to learn some lessons presently that will take the shine out of him. He will have to learn what a poor wretched thing he is, as in the flesh, that his heart may be transferred to a new center altogether.

"Nothing can be more distasteful to a spiritual mind than to hear people professedly giving a Christian testimony which begins and ends with themselves. It is for the effectual displacement of all this, and to transfer the heart to an entirely new center, that the revelation of the old man is divinely necessary for our souls. The Father has to come in and detach us from that which is our natural center, that He may link our affections with another Person - even with the glorified Lord Jesus Christ - and make Him everything to our hearts, so that our association with Him may be known, and may become the deep, abiding joy of our souls." -C.A.C.

"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing" (Rev. 5:12).

IF I'D NEVER HAD A PROBLEM,
I'D NEVER KNOW THAT HE
 COULD SOLVE THEM.
I'D NEVER KNOW WHAT FAITH
IN GOD CAN DO.
--- ANDRAE CROUCH

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A TOTALLY DEPRAVED HEART
By Jon Bekemeyer, Pastor

JEREMIAH 17:9
"The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked: who can know it"?



All one has to do to go to Hell is be natural. The Lord looks on the heart. When He see the heart of the unregenerate, our text verse describes His evaluation: "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?" The problem with religion is its effort to make man feel good about himself, to lift himself up. But even when one reforms outwardly, Jeremiah 17:9 still describes his heart. The depth of wickedness of the heart cannot be fully comprehended.

Unbelievers do not realize the awful state they are in. In Psalm 7:11 we read, "God is angry with the wicked every day" Romans 1:18 says, "The wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness." At any given moment the lost are only one breath away from an eternity of agonizing torment. But God is rich in mercy and He continues to offer to His enemies peace through the blood of the cross.

The totally depraved heart makes it impossible to do anything pleasing to God. Those outside the Body are dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). The only hope is the Gospel of Christ which is the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes (Romans 1:16). Let's preach the Gospel to the world avoiding man-made phrases (such as "give your heart to Jesus," "ask Jesus into your heart," etc...) which contradict the truth of the total depravity of the heart.

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EPHESIANS 1:21

"Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come"



In the book of Ephesians, Paul has much to say about the "powers" in heavenly places. The Greek word translated "powers" in Ephesians 1:21 and 3:10, speak of DELEGATED AUTHORITY and refers to political authority like that of a magistrate. Thus, in these passages, Paul is speaking of the delegated authority of magistrates who are ruling in the heavenlies. These "powers" are the same "powers" with whom we "WRESTLE" (Ephesians 6:12). These "powers" are the fallen angels to whom Satan has delegated authority to rule over God's creation. Today, Satan, as the "God of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4) and as the "Prince of the power of the air" Ephesians 2:2), has usurped the positions predetermined by God to be filled by the Body of Christ, the Church of this dispensation (Ephesians 1:22,23).

Even though Satan has his magistrates ruling over God' s creation today, he has not won the victory, for Ephesians 1:20 and 21 states that Christ has been raised into heaven "far above all principalities, and powers." one day, very soon I believe, Christ will call an end to this dispensation of the Grace of God and will call the saints of his age up unto Himself in the heavenlies. At that time, Satan and his host of fallen angels will be removed from those  "seats" of authority and these "seats" will be given to the members of the Body of Christ, for we have been promised that if we suffer with Him we will also reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12).

Today, the ministry of the Body of Christ is to "make all men see what is the fellowship of the Mystery" (Ephesians 3:9) "to the intent that ---the powers in heavenly places" (Ephesians 3:10) might know the manifold wisdom of God. They will know this "wisdom" by the position that has been given to the Church, the Body of Christ.

By Pastor M. Duncan