GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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"REALIZING OUR RICHES"
By late Pastor Lloyd Peterson



   This is an article that I kept from years back in fact the date was  April 29, 1973, and thought it bears repeating at this time. This was written by my Pastor.   I pray that it will bless you as it has me for years. Paris

"To my thinking the richest verse in the Bible for the believer is Ephesians 1:3, 'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ' (or more accurately - 'in the heavenlies'). Why we, as members of the body of Christ, do not show forth more radiantly our eternal heritage, I do not know. Maybe it is because we have eyes too fixed on time's boundaries rather than God's eternity and His purpose. The context of this tremendous verse reveals that we were chosen of God for an eternal purpose and ministry. 'Chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world' Verse 4. (The church is always referred to as such; Israel, 'from the foundation of the world.') There is then design and purpose in God's saving us. It is an eternal purpose and ministry. Life's little day soon ends and we pass on, but in passing on it is to some ministry beyond the sunset of time. What it is we have never been told for the Bible is principally the history of redemption. This puts the believer today in a high calling. It should be a great outlook; for each of us 'is necessary.'

   Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 12:22 'Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary.' As the redeemed we should with the great apostle declare, Blessed by God.' We, however, do not always pray that way - rather we cry 'bless me' when He 'hath blessed us'.

   Again, the context reveals that we were 'chosen' and 'predestinated.' Why some saints are frightened when they hear of predestination, I'll never know. We should rejoice over it. I suppose the reason some become disturbed in this doctrine is because they read some things into it that should not be there. We start meddling in God's business. God has kept some things to Himself. I'm glad that he has. Do you remember when Jesus told Peter about his, i.e. Peter's future? (See John 21:20.) Peter started doing just what we do. He said, speaking of John, 'What shall this man do?' Do you remember what Jesus said? He said, 'What is that to thee?' In our language it would be, 'That is not your business, you follow me.' Always remember dear child of God, that God has your interest at heart. You need never fear the truth of predestination, rather rejoice in it.

   There are two key words in Ephesians 1:4 which belong to verse 5. They are: '1n love.' Thus verse 5 reads as follows, 'In love having predestinated us.' It is 'to the good pleasure of His will' and 'to the praise of His glory' and 'according to the riches of His grace' and 'in all wisdom and prudence' which He purposed in Himself.'

   Space does not permit further exposition but read and reread Ephesians, Chapter 1. May we this week radiate the Savior's countenance. May the Holy Spirit help us to manifest the reflection of such a rich heritage. No doubt this week we shall more than once ask God to remove the hindrances in the way so that the Holy Spirit will well forth in our lives 'springs of living waters'. As a result of all this we shall better realize our riches in Christ Jesus.

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GRACIOUS COMMUNICATION
By DICK WARE, Pastor

Scripture Reading:

Proverbs I5:1;
Colossians 4:6;
Ephesians 4:29

"A. soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger (Proverbs 15:1)." What is said here, is not as much the issue, as the tone in which it is said. Something said in a harsh Way: is rough, disagreeable, and irritating. It stirs up anger. It is like Ephesians 6:4, where fathers are told not to provoke their children to wrath. Something said in a soft way, is smooth, agreeable, and soothing. A certain man told me; his grandfather was the only one he knew, who could rebuke someone, and make them like it. That would definitely entail "speaking the truth in love" (Eph. 4: I 5).

"Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one (Colossians 4:6)." You are not to be saying: 'Take this with a grain of salt." You are to be "... singing with grace in your hearts ... (Col. 3:16)", and "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt...(4:6)." Col. 4:5,6, is dealing with buying up the opportunities to witness to the lost through your conduct and speech. It's not enough to walk wisely before the lost; you're also to talk to them, and share the Gospel of Grace with them.

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers (Eph. 4:29)." Speech is a powerful gift from God. It can be used to accomplish great amounts of good or evil. Everyone needs edification, and your speech is God's instrument to impart (communicate) God's grace to them! With each new day, are you earnestly desiring the opportunities to communicate God's grace to lost souls, and fellow saints? When the opportunities come, What are you doing to take advantage of them?

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I TESTIFY IN THE LORD
By Pastor Ivan Burgener

"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord that you henceforth walk not as Gentiles walk (Eph. 4:17). Spiritual growth is to be evident in our walk. In the One Body all growth is "out of" Christ as the Head. Growth depends on "supply," and the supply depends on "the effectual working in the measure of every part," that is, the unity, function, and cooperation of all members (Eph. 4:15,16). Col. 2:19 puts it well, "......the Head, out of Whom all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increases with the increase of God." This is edifying and building up the Body Christ!

The energy for this growth comes from God Who "works (energizes) all things" according to His eternal purpose (Eph. 1:11). The great expression of the working of His mighty power was when He raised Christ from the dead. That same power seated Christ "at His own right hand in the heavenlies...far above all" (1:19,20). Paul said his gift for service was by "the effectual working of His power" (3:7). And his prayer for us was that this same power would "work in us" (3:20). Finally, we read of "the effectual working...of every part" (4:16).

Thus Paul warned how Gentiles walk "in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart" (4:17,18 ). Romans tells of the whole creation made "subject to vanity" (8:20), and how Gentiles turned a deaf ear toward God. "For when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their reasoning and their foolish heart was darkened" (Rom. 1:21). Three times in that chapter it tells of God's response to their rebellion. He "gave them up to uncleanness ...gave them up to vile affections...gave them over to a reprobate mind" (1:24,26,28 ). This explains their walk, "according to the course of this age, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2), "who being past feeling have given themselves over to licentiousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." (Eph. 4:19.) Vanity expressed itself by darkened...alienated ...ignorance...blindness... a dulled conscience...licentiousness...uncleanness...greediness."  Walk not as Gentiles walk!

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THE 400 SILENT YEARS BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS
Part 1
by Dr. Timothy F. Conklin


In the broad scope of the biblical perspective of the history of humankind, we fully realize God's intended kingdom on earth through Adam and his progeny was overthrown in the Garden of Eden by Satan's wiles. The Devil usurped the scepter of rule from Adam and became the master of the world system, wresting it from Divine oversight to demonic dominance.

Nonetheless, in God's eternal plan, He provided the way and the means for the continuance of the people of God amidst the broken and shattered and anti-God governance all around them. These two diametrically opposed systems are often referred to as the Kingdom of God versus the Kingdom of Man (understanding that the Kingdom of Man is under the sway of Sin and Satan).

From Adam forward, the people, of God were represented by extraordinary and faithful patriarchs who passed along as best they could the truths of God to their families.

When the Devil's devices became nearly universal in their deception and disruption of God's truth, God called Abram to become the progenitor of not merely a family but a nation. The covenant God gave Abraham and the subsequent nation of Israel, continued and enhanced an alternative biblical counter-culture antithetical to the Kingdom of Man.

The Kingdom of God was manifested, then, through promises, traditions and special revelation sustained by individuals and families and then through prescriptive laws and principles and prophets through the covenanted privileges of Israel.

During this time God had clearly revealed and exhibited to humankind His framework for a godly society and lifestyle. The biblical framework for life given in the Old Testament is evident and abundant. Psalm 1 is an excellent summary of key features of biblical godliness.

But at the close of the Old Testament, the nation of Israel collapsed in rebellion and unbelief, first ignoring and then rejecting the foundational truths God had revealed to them, and through them to the world.

Continued tomorrow

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THE 400 SILENT YEARS BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS
Part 2
by Dr. Timothy F. Conklin


Consequently, between the Book of Malachi, the last Scripture of the Old Testament----and the Book of Matthew--- the first in the New Testament---there is a period of 400 silent years.

This period of "silence" is twofold. First, in the sense that God gave no public manifestations of His power or presence. Secondly, in the sense God withheld during this era any further Divine revelation in written form.

Considering this, the great question is, "Why?"

The answer seems to be that humanity, having rejected in disbelief the absolutes and the principles God gave in the Old Testament, were then left to grope and flounder after "the meaning of life" utilizing only their own human resources.

This period after the close of the Old Testament and before the birth of Jesus Christ reflects the profoundest search for the ultimate meaning of "truth" and "life" the unaided autonomous human intellect has ever made.

Suddenly, seven world religions appeared within fifty years of each other. In the Middle East, Zoroastrianism; in India, Jainism, Buddhism and Hindu reforms; and China, Taoism and Confucianism; within Israel, the development of Judaism.

Furthermore, this era became the "Golden Age" of Greece and the great western philosophers;
Pericles, Zeno, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, et al.

All these religions and philosophies had one thing in common---they emphasized Man as Savior. Some were pessimistic and irrational, stressing the illusory character of the human ego and the limitations of human thought; one is saved by losing individual desire altogether. Others were optimistic and rational stressing ethics and doing good; one is saved by good works.

For philosophy, reasoning after "truth" became the paramount pursuit, while pursuing holiness was ignored or forgotten altogether. It was no longer a matter of faith in divine revelation, but merely a quest for new lines of intellectual inquiry.

Continued tomorrow

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THE 400 SILENT YEARS BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS
Part 3
by Dr. Timothy F. Conklin


Greek philosophy taught humankind there was no faith, no hope no certainty because nothing is quite true---the only wise course is to doubt everything. The scholar replaced the prophet, and reason took the place of revelation. It was a time of disillusionment and pessimism.

Both religion and philosophy became models of an exalted humanism. Deny self and desire and become one with nothing, or embrace everything and live without restraint.  Suicide or annihilism on the one hand; debauchery and orgy on the other.

So, Apart from his sovereign providence, God withdrew Himself in the years between the Testaments immediately preceding the birth of Jesus Christ. He was "silent" as He allowed human-kind to wrestle mightily with his own resources to unravel the ultimate meaning of life. But such meaning, as he had already so powerfully revealed in the Old Testament, cannot be found until   humankind has first come personally face to face with their God.

When one abandons God, one abandons hope and hopelessness becomes an inescapable fact of life. The "Golden Age" of human achievement was permitted to run its course in order that God might show in the most dramatic terms the inability of humankind to discover the meaning of life without the aid of Divine revelation.

"Both Zeno and Clenanthes (his successor in the school of Stoics) committed suicide. Tacitus, Suetonius, Pliny, Seneea, and many other writers of the times underscored the frequency of suicide under the empire. In Trajan's time, suicide had become almost a national pastime; the number of Latin phrases to describe it accordingly multiplied to an extraordinary degree! The more violent solution was essentially Roman but even in Greece it had led to such a total resignation to the 'bludgeonings of chance that men in the end either sought  to escape the hurts and cruelties of fate and the boredom of life by allowing themselves no feelings whatsoever (which is Stoicism), or by abandoning all restraint and adopting a policy of eating and drinking and being merry and living only for the pleasure of the moment (which Epicureanism).

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THE 400 SILENT YEARS BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS
Part 4--Conclusion
by Dr. Timothy F. Conklin





"Meanwhile in India, by a different route, the same basic problem led to a rather similar kind pessimistic solution---the goal being individual extinction, not by suicide, but by the destruction of all personal desire, the achievement of Nirvana. This was the annihilation of individual identity" (which is Nihilism).

"Such then was the fruit of philosophy uncorrected and unenlightened in its development by revelation. The search for the meaning of life was a dismal failure and resulted in almost universal pessimism. The answer was suicide or abandonment of all self-restraint or the negation of all human responsiveness. It was really the annihilation of man as man, while God was both unknown and unknowable." (Arthur Custance).

This is what the apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 1:20-21...

"Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe."

When God had allowed the world to become completely ready-- "in the fullness of time" Galatians 4:4-- God broke His silence with the revelation of Him Who alone was "the way, the truth and the life." Then and only then was hope restored to a world which seemed to have accepted hopelessness as an inescapable fact of life. Into this morass comes Jesus, who said '"

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you
and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy
and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:30)

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SIMPLICITY IN CHRIST
IVAN L. BURGENER,

Scripture Reading: II Corinthians 11:3

"Simplicity in Christ"---whatever it is, don't loose it!

The Corinthians were in danger of loosing it. At least, Paul thought so. That is why he wrote this letter to them. It seems some were preaching "another Jesus." It sounded good - if you didn't listen too closely. And this "other Jesus" was highly esteemed. No doubt it was the same historical Person but presented in a different way from the way Paul had presented Christ. This new attraction would take away from the glory of the risen Lord who had appeared to Paul and who had given him this new message of grace. Yes, Paul had even "espoused" them to Christ! Such was the affection and love for the glorified Savior that Paul used the tenderest of human relationships - espousal (or engagement) to illustrate the case.

This is simplicity - singleness. Simple, isn't it. Only One to attract my gaze. Only One who died to save me. Only One to love. And this One was the One in glory, the Christ whom Paul preached, not as the prophesied Messiah [although He was that] but Head of the Body, and that according to "the revelation of the sacred secret."

Now that "other Jesus" was not this One. And the men who proclaimed this "other Jesus" did not hold forth the glories of the One Paul introduced at Corinth. To become attached to Christ in any way other than to know the "Lord of Glory" as Paul presented Him, would be to loose that simplicity here spoken of. Simplicity is singleness in contrast with duplicity - double.

Earlier in this same letter Paul said that had we known Christ after the flesh, we now know Him no longer. Jewish hopes and all that are not the issue. Is He the Christ Paul preached and do we have that single, simple attachment to Him alone!

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THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
PART 1 of  4
By Gregg Bing


How would you feel if you knew when you would die? And you knew for your whole life. You even knew how you would die—a slow painful death at the hands of cruel men. And you knew that you would have to face it all alone—forsaken by all those you held dear in life. How would you feel? This is what Jesus Christ experienced in His life on this earth. This was the “passion” of the Christ.

The word “passion” is used in the King James version of Acts 1:3: “To whom also He shewed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs.” It comes from the Greek word “pascho” which means “to be affected, to feel, have a sensible experience, to undergo” (Strong’s Enhanced Lexicon). In the Greek, the word can be used in a good sense, but in the New Testament it is almost always used in a bad sense, of one’s sufferings, in particular the sufferings of Christ (cf. Matt. 16:21, Acts 3:18, 1 Pet. 3:18 ). The “passion” of the Christ speaks of the sufferings that Jesus experienced in His life on earth, especially the sufferings connected with His death on Calvary. How did these sufferings affect Jesus’ life? How did He feel?

The recent movie by Mel Gibson, “The Passion of the Christ,” seeks to allow viewers a more vivid look at what Jesus’ sufferings were like. There are several problems with a movie such as this. For instance, there are several scenes in the movie that have no Scriptural basis. They are, instead, based on extra-Biblical material or are inserted under the guise of “artistic license.” Another problem is that the filmmaker’s own religious slant is often evident. In Gibson’s case, there are many things in the movie that reflect his Catholic beliefs, especially the great emphasis put upon Jesus’ mother, Mary. Finally, in the case of this movie, there is a great deal of graphic violence included. While it may have been an accurate portrayal of the physical sufferings Jesus went through, it tends to downplay the fact that not all of Jesus’ sufferings were physical in nature.

Physical Sufferings

There is no question that Jesus suffered extreme levels of pain and physical suffering. The Romans were very cruel in their treatment of others. Crucifixion, the form of capital punishment used by the Romans, was a most horrible way to die. It was a slow, excruciating death that lasted as long as nine days in some cases (The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, page 265). It was considered a curse by the Jews (Deut. 21:23).

Jesus suffered in many different ways physically. He was exhausted from lack of sleep, being awake all night prior to His crucifixion. He was scourged with a whip which left many stripes on His back (Matt. 27:25 with 1 Pet. 2:24). He had a crown of thorns pushed down upon His head (Matt. 27:29). He was beaten on the head with a reed (rod) (Matt. 27:30). He was forced to carry His own cross through the streets of Jerusalem (John 19:17) until He was unable to continue and had to be relieved by Simon of Cyrene (Matt. 27:32). His hands and feet were pierced as He was nailed to the cross (Psalm 22:16, John 20:25). He hung on the cross for over six hours (Mark 15:25 with Luke 23:44).

As terrible as all this was, the passion of the Christ involved more.

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THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
PART 2 of  4
By Gregg Bing



Social Sufferings

Crucifixion was a humiliating experience. It was a punishment reserved for the vilest of criminals, for men such as the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus. Yet, Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, was “numbered among the transgressors” (Mark 15:27-28 ).

Crucifixion was also a public spectacle. Jesus was paraded through the streets of Jerusalem to a place outside the city gates, stripped of His garments, and hung in open shame upon the cross (John 19:23).

For Jesus, the humiliation was made worse by the insults and taunts of the Jewish leaders, the Roman soldiers, the two thieves crucified with Him, even the people who just passed by the place of crucifixion (Matt. 27:39-44).

This would have been a humiliating experience for any man, but how much more for the Son of God. Yet, even this shame was not the full extent of Jesus’ sufferings.

Emotional Sufferings

Though Jesus Christ is very God Himself, He “became flesh” and lived on this earth as a Man. The sufferings He went through were emotionally draining on Him, personally. The prophet Isaiah spoke of the emotional nature of Christ’s sufferings.

“He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” (Isa. 53:3) The Lord Jesus Christ “came unto His own and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). His own nation, Israel, rejected Him, but so did the Gentiles, who were also His own, for He created them. Those whom He loved so much, despised and rejected Him, and all without a cause (John 15:25). People hid their faces from Him; they looked at Him with utter contempt, counting Him as nothing. No doubt, such hatred and rejection brought great sorrow and grief to the Lord Jesus personally, especially knowing that by rejecting Him they brought spiritual judgment upon themselves.

Think how painful it must have been for Jesus when Judas, one of the twelve, betrayed Him into the hands of the Jewish leaders. When Judas led the arresting party into Gethsemane, you can almost hear the pain in Jesus’ words to him: “Friend, why have you come?”

The twelve apostles were Jesus’ closest friends. While Judas was the only one to betray Him, after Jesus was arrested in the garden, all of them “forsook Him and fled” (Matt. 26:56).

Later, during Jesus’ interrogation by Caiaphas, Peter, who was waiting outside in the courtyard, denied Jesus three times, saying, “I do not know the Man” (Matt. 26:74). This was the same Peter who earlier had vowed, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matt. 26:35). Think of the pain Jesus must have felt when the cock crowed and He turned to look at Peter (Luke 22:61).

The emotional suffering were part of what “troubled” Jesus’ soul (John 12:27). Still, as painful as it was for Jesus to be rejected by men and forsaken by those closest to Him, it could not begin to compare with what He experienced His last three hours on the cross.

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THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
PART 3 of  4
By Gregg Bing


Spiritual Sufferings

The final three hours Jesus hung on the cross were shrouded by a darkness over all the land. What did this darkness signify? Some feel that it indicated that Satan, the “power of darkness,” was at work. More likely, the darkness pictured God’s judgment upon sins—our sins! While Jesus hung there on that cross, in particular for those last three hours, He “bore our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24). This One who “knew no sin” was “made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Peter described it this way:

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” (1 Pet. 3:18 ) Christ “suffered” for our sins. This was the ultimate passion of the Christ—the pain, the feelings He experienced while bearing the sins of the world on that cross. Just think how this holy and righteous person, the very God of glory, would be affected by even one sin, much less the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). For on that cross, for those three terrible hours, our sins became His. When He died, the Lord Jesus Christ paid in full the debt that we owed (Rom. 6:23). Not just physical death, though that was required: “for without shedding of blood there is no remission” (forgiveness of sins) (Heb. 9:22); Jesus also experienced spiritual death for us as well, being separated from His Father in heaven.

About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying,

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46) The depth of Jesus’ anguish during this time is seen in the question He asked: “Why?” Why had the Father completely and utterly forsaken His Son on that cross? The answer is found in the 22nd Psalm.

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; and in the night season, and am not silent. But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them. They cried to You, and were delivered; they trusted in You, and were not ashamed. But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.” (Psalm 22:1-6)

What a vivid picture this passage gives us of Jesus’ death on the cross and His spiritual sufferings. Earlier on the cross, Jesus had called Him “Father,” but here His anguished cry was to “My God, My God,” asking, “Why have You forsaken Me?” “Why are you so far from helping Me?” Why do I “cry out in the daytime, but You do not hear?” The answer to these piercing questions is twofold. Verse three of Psalm 22 declares of God, “But You are holy.” A holy and righteous God simply cannot look upon sin (Hab. 1:13). Then in verse six of Psalm 22, Christ says of Himself, “But I am a worm and no man.” Why would He describe Himself this way? Because bearing our sins on the cross, this is what He was to a holy God: a worm and no man, one that God must turn away from. How can we even begin to understand the depth of Christ’s spiritual sufferings? As I thought about Mel Gibson’s focus on the violent death and physical sufferings that Christ experienced, I began to wonder why Jesus had to suffer such a cruel and painful death physically. If Jesus’ spiritual sufferings—His separation from God for our sins—caused Him the greatest pain, then why did He have to endure a death of such excruciating physical pain and public humiliation?

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THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
PART 4 of  4
By Gregg Bing


As human beings we are constrained by the finite world we live in. We are limited in our knowledge and understanding of an infinite God. We could never completely understand the reasons for the cross. We can’t truly feel the agony the Lord Jesus Christ experienced being separated from His Father because of our sins. We can’t fully understand the abomination that sin is to a holy and righteous God or the terrible curse and judgment that sin brings. We can’t fathom the depth of Christ’s love that would lead Him to make such a sacrifice for us, “even while we were still sinners” (Rom. 5:8 ).

The physical pain, the social humiliation, and the emotional pain that Christ suffered puts Christ’s passion in terms we can more easily understand.

We can identify with Jesus’ humiliation and shame, for we know what it means to suffer shame. As we think of the shame Jesus experienced while hanging on that cursed cross, it helps us understand the shame of sin.

We can identify with Jesus’ rejection by men, being despised and counted as nothing, for we have experienced rejection and hatred from people at times in our own lives. This helps us, at least a little, to understand what Jesus experienced when He was rejected by His own Father.

We can identify with Jesus’ excruciating physical pain. We can imagine the pain of the whip, the crown of thorns, and the nails, for we have experienced physical pain ourselves. Maybe the intense level of Jesus’ physical pain makes it possible for us to better understand the terrible spiritual pain Jesus experienced for us on that cross. If this is the case, maybe there is some justification for the level of violence depicted in Mel Gibson’s movie.

But, do we really need such a movie to understand the passion of the Christ? To grasp the meaning of the cross? To present the gospel of Jesus Christ? No, God has chosen another way, a better way to convey this truth.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor. 1:18 ) The “message of the cross” is literally the “word of the cross.” The passion of the Christ, the meaning of the cross is found in God’s Word. It pleased God to convey the truth of the cross through the preaching of His Word (1 Cor. 1:21). It is in God’s Word that we find the gospel of Jesus Christ: “That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). It is in God’s Word that we find how we can be saved from our sins: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). The Word is the power of God unto salvation to all who will simply believe (Rom. 1:16).

What about you? Having heard the Word of the cross, will you believe and be saved? You don’t have to see the movie to understand the passion of the Christ. The message is there in God’s precious Word. You can simply respond in faith to the Word (Eph. 2:8-9) and experience the joy of salvation; the peace of knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

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TREASURED TRIALS
By Miles Stanford


"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time" (1 Pet. 5:6).

The Blesser sends trials because the trials are blessings. Most covet the "blessing" of having the trial removed.

"I find the brightest summer is when the winter has been longest and most severe. The wheat, the best grain, passes a winter in the soil. The bud, the blossom, or fruit, most fragrant of Christ, is the one which nobody knows what it cost me but Himself; and where one had hardly noticed it; like the beautiful wild flowers in the hedgerow, contending with bushes and briars, to shed their fragrance on the unthankful or unthinking traveler going by."

"I think we are sometimes ready to say to the Lord----Could you not have taught me without subjecting me to so much sorrow and humiliation? The answer I have had is, You could not be effectually taught any other way. The Lord knows the nature of the obstacle in me which He has to overcome: a less efficient hand might think that it could be dealt with in some other way.

"A weakness be it bodily or otherwise, is sometimes allowed to continue in order that there may be dependence, and when there is dependence, the weakness becomes a gain; the grit---the trying thing---is superseded by a pearl of great price." -J.B.S.

"The God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect [mature], establish, strengthen, settle you" (1 Pet. 5:10).

[nChrist]

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From Grace And The Truth Ministries
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BUYING UP THE TIME
by C. R. Stam


    Nineteen hundred years ago Paul wrote to his fellow- believers in the vicinity of Ephesus: "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming [Lit., buying up] the time, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:15,16). Those were indeed evil days, when a wicked tyrant ruled the Roman Empire, when Messiah had been rejected, not only in incarnation, but in resurrection, and Christianity was fighting a life-and-death battle to penetrate the prevailing pagan darkness with the light of God's grace. Surely Paul never dreamed that the dispensation of grace would continue for more than nineteen hundred years. He expected the Lord to come at any time to recall His ambassadors and bring the day of grace to a close. Hence the urgency of his appeal to be "buying up the time, because the days are evil."

    But if Paul had reason to suspect that the day of grace would soon be brought to a close, we today have greater reason to think so. Now that the light of the gospel has been brought to Europe, America and many other parts of the world, men are turning their backs on it. Only a small minority of even Christendom truly believe the Bible and know the Christ it presents -- and how very few know the riches of His grace!

    Meanwhile our governments, our educational institutions and our social systems are becoming ever more godless. The result? The newspapers, radio and TV -- even a trip downtown to any fair-sized city, will tell us all we need to know. Once again "the days are evil" and the Lord's coming for His own seems imminent. There is still much talk about lasting peace and prosperity, but no thoughtful person believes that we are headed in that direction. Rather the world appears to be heading straight toward the prophesied "day of wrath."

    What a comfort it is to the believer, then, to know that "God hath not appointed us unto wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us..." (I Thes. 5:9,10). "For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed" and "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom. 10:11,13).

[nChrist]

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THE SPIRIT OF PROMISE
by C. R. Stam


"[Having] believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise"  (Eph. 1:13).

Of all the wonderful Scripture passages on the eternal security of the believer in Christ, this is perhaps the most blessed of all.

"[Having] heard the Word of truth you believed," says the Apostle, and "[having] believed, you were sealed."Now a seal speaks of finality and permanency, whether it be the official seal on an important document, the seal on an electric transformer or the seal on a jar of preserves. But the most blessed fact of all is that the believer in Christ is "sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." Mark well, he is sealed not by the Spirit but with the Spirit; the Spirit Himself is the seal.

Here, let us say, is a woman sealing jars of preserves with wax. The jars are sealed by the woman, but with the wax. Thus the humblest believer is sealed with the Spirit. It is He Himself who keeps us safe in Christ through all eternity.

And this is but the "earnest," the first installment, "of our inheritance" (Ver. 14), for the Spirit keeps us secure in "this present evil age" so that "in the ages to come" God might show "the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (2:7).

Little wonder the Apostle closes this passage on our security with those appropriate words: "To the praise of His glory" (1:14).

What some theologians have called "the perseverance of saints" is not our perseverance at all, but God's faithfulness. We have not persevered; He has preserved us by His grace for His glory.