GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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STAND WHERE YOU ARE!
By Miles Stanford


"God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us ... hath made us alive together with Christ ... and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:4-6).

Believers are not occupying their position! At best, most are trying to attain a victorious position by means of prayer, Bible study, commitment, reconsecration, surrender, and so forth. But the answer is simply to abide where we have already been placed --- in our risen Lord Jesus Christ. Abide above, and keep looking down!

"Our Father has taken us over Jordan and placed us in Canaan, but the reality of it is never known until by faith we accept the fact on the basis of having died with Christ, and that therefore heaven is our place, and we know it to be our place now; and that this side is not our place, and we know that it is not.

"The more we abide in the Lord on the other side, the less disappointed we will be here, for when we are there we import new joys and new hopes into this old world, from an entirely new one, and we therefore in every way surpass the inhabitants of this lost world." --- J.B.S.

"You must abide in Christ in heaven before you can descend with heavenly ability to act for Him down here. The great secret of all blessing is to come from the Lord. Most Christians go to
Him."

"Christian experience is our measure of apprehension of that which is already true of us in the Lord Jesus Christ." - A.J.

"Stand fast in the Lord" (Phil. 4:1).

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THE JOY OF FAITH
By Miles Stanford


"Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Pet. 1:8 ).

Although both faith and joy are included in 'the fruit of the Spirit,' joy can only flourish upon the foundation of faith. When faith is present and active, favorable circumstances are not necessary for joy; trials and tribulations cannot daunt it.

"There are some Christians who seem to be afraid of enjoying all the rays of the Son of Righteousness. They are afraid of being too happy. Perhaps some of us have not really considered that 'joy' is itself a part of that fruit by which the Father is glorified. There is nothing to be gained by despondency. Doubts are not marks of humility; unbelief is really evidence of pride. And there is no cloud that so effectively shuts out the glad sunshine of our gracious Father's face as the thick cloud of unbelief."---E.H.

"Although as to His circumstances the Lord Jesus was the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, yet He had a joy always before His eyes. But we never find Him rejoicing in anything but the will of His Father. 'I delight to do Thy will' was His true testimony. So may we 'rejoice in the Lord' though all is dark around, with the joy of faith that sees the unseen and looks beyond the present and temporal to the eternal." ---G.G.

"The Old Testament believer had joy for God's gifts to him. God's power made things here contribute to him. But the Christian's joy is in heaven and springs from what the Father is to him there. He demands nothing from this world, but in the life of the Lord Jesus he contributes to it, of the grace that nourishes and comforts him outside it." -J.B.S.

"Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound; they shall walk, 0 Lord, in the light of Thy countenance. In thy Name shall they rejoice all the day" (Ps. 89:15,16).

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The Rejoicing of My Heart
BY RICHARD JORDAN

     So great were the depths of Jeremiah's despondency over the utter failure of his beloved nation that he has become known as "the weeping prophet." Indeed, he says of himself:

     "MINE EYE RUNNETH DOWN WITH RIVERS OF WATER for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

     "MINE EYE TRICKLETH DOWN, AND CEASETH NOT, WITHOUT ANY INTERMISSION.

     "MINE EYE AFFECTETH MINE HEART because of all the daughters of my city" (Lam. 3:48,49, 51).

        At one point his anguished cry rings out;

     "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" (Jer. 9:1).

     Jeremiah had made abundantly clear the reason God's anger was kindled against the nation:

     "YOUR INIQUITIES have turned away these things, and YOUR SINS HAVE WITHHOLDEN GOOD THINGS FROM YOU" (Jer. 5:25).

     "THOU HAS FORSAKEN ME, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: THEREFORE WILL I STRETCH OUT MY HAND AGAINST THEE, AND DESTROY THEE; I am weary with repenting" (Jer. 15:6).

     Yet Israel had refused to respond to God's warning and now judgment was to be executed against her. Jeremiah laments sadly:

     "My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, 0 my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war" (Jer. 4:19).

    Little wonder, then, that he wept sorely and was heavy hearted as he saw the threatened captivity closing in upon his nation.

     And not only had the nation forsaken God, but they had turned on His prophet, and he laments, "know that for Thy sake I have suffered rebuke" (Jer. 15:15).

     Thus it is out of the depths of crushing circumstances that Jeremiah cries: "Woe is me, my mother, that thou has borne me, a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!. .. everyone of them doth curse me .. .I sat alone because of Thy hand ... Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, which refused to be healed? Wilt Thou be altogether unto me as a liar and as waters that fail?"

THE REJOICING HEART

     It is touching to note that in the midst of his great despair he was driven to God and His Word for relief:

     "THY WORDS WERE FOUND, AND I DID EAT THEM; AND THY WORD WAS UNTO ME THE JOY AND REJOICING OF MINE HEART; for I am called by Thy name, 0 Lord God of hosts" (Jer. 15:16).

      The words of God to us always bring "joy and rejoicing" when they are found! On another occasion when "Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people" and "read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading" the result was that "all the people wept when they heard the words of the law ... because they had understood the words that were declared unto-them~-(Neh. 8:5-13). And it is in this context that we are told: "The joy of the Lord is your strength"!

     You will notice that Jeremiah found the words of God--not by accident, however, for truth, like treasure, must be sought. He sought and found them. There is no easy route to truth. Rather we must be willing to "seek her as silver and search for he as for hid treasure" (Prov. 2:4). Only as we apply ourselves diligently to the study of God's Word can we know God's words to us. Thus Paul exhorts Timothy, and us:

     "STUDY to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Tim. 2:15).

     If we are unwilling to pay the price here, the joy which follows can never be ours!

     Not only did Jeremiah find God's words but he also ate them. He was not content simply to have God's words; rather he devoured them--as one who had long fasted! Grand truth this: It is not enough that these words are heard, understood, believed, remembered or even admired--they must be assimilated, as it were, in order-to provide the needed spiritual nourishment and strength.

     This is the plain meaning of Psalm 119:11:

     "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee."

     As we give ourselves to the regular and careful intake of sound doctrine from the Word of God we are building into our lives resources that will enable us to successfully handle the details of life for the glory of God.

    Little wonder, then, that the "word," discovered and consumed, brought such spiritual  revival to Jeremiah's heart! And we must not overlook the ground of Jeremiah's "joy and rejoicing" -- "for I am called by Thy name, 0 Lord God of hosts. "

     It was in being reminded that he and his nation were so identified with God as to be called by His name (see Isa. 43:1-7 for the full import of this) that turned his depression and despair into rejoicing and hope! Though they were enduring "troublous times" at the moment, God was not finished with them yet! Thus he was to be faithful to his commission, knowing that the hope for the future was secure in the promises of God.

A LESSON FOR US

     How this should speak to the heart of believers today--to us who have been made "one with Him" in a far higher way than Jeremiah ever dreamed possible; to us who have the completed Word of God as a present possession --especially to us who have a rightly divided Word and the unsearchable riches of His grace to proclaim!

     Paul seems to echo Jeremiah's words as he writes:

     "REJOICE IN THE LORD alway: and again I say, Rejoice" (Phil. 4:4).

     For the believer today, everything centers "in the Lord. " We have been "crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20), ''buried with Him" (Col. 2:12), "raised with Him" (Col. 3:1), enthroned with Him (Eph. 2:6), and one day we will be "caught up together" to be eternally "glorified together" with Him (I Thess. 4:17, Rom. 8:17)! Truly we have been made "one with Christ"~-so much so that we are said to be "members of His Body, of His flesh and of His bones" (Eph. 5:30).

     Just as Jeremiah's difficulties and despair were turned into "joy and rejoicing" as he contemplated God's purpose for his nation, so it is that we today can rejoice together as members of Christ's body, knowing that we are "complete in Christ, "having been made one with Him.

     "Finally, my brethren, BE STRONG IN THE LORD AND IN THE POWER OF HIS MIGHT" (Eph. 6:10).

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TRUE THANKSGIVING
by C. R. Stam


Many people entertain only vague notions about thanksgiving, just as they do about faith.

They confuse faith with optimism, will power, presumption, imagination, and all sorts of other things. A doctor tells his patient that but for his faith, he never would have come through his illness. Somehow the patient was "just sure" he would recover. A smiling mother encourages her married daughter to "have faith, that everything will turn out all right." But faith in God is believing God; believing what He has said. True faith is based on the written Word of God (See Rom. 10:17).

But unregenerate men have vague ideas about thanksgiving. A man escapes some great harm and thanks his "lucky stars." Another says: "I'm grateful for a healthy body," but to whom is he grateful? He doesn't say. In many cases it doesn't even occur to him to ask. He's "just thankful"!

How refreshing, then, it is to open our Bibles, especially to the Epistles of Paul, the chief of sinners, saved by grace, and to see him giving thanks for specific blessings, and to a specific Person -- God!

"Giving thanks unto the Father, who hath made us meet [fit] to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son" (Col. 1:12,13).

"Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift!" (II Cor. 9:15).

"Thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory!" (I Cor. 15:57).

"Thanks be unto God, who always causeth us to triumph!" (II Cor. 2:14).

 It is our prayer for all our readers that you may be especially thankful for "the gift of God [which] is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord" (Rom. 6:23).

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THANKSGIVING
by C. R. Stam



God's verdict upon the pagan world is that "they are without excuse, because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful..." (Rom. 1:20,21).

The Psalmist, on the other hand, declares:

         "IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD, AND TO SING PRAISES UNTO THY NAME, O MOST HIGH:

         "TO SHOW FORTH THY LOVING KINDNESS IN THE MORNING.AND THY FAITHFULNESS EVERY NIGHT" (Psa. 92:1,2).

         Believers today have even more to be thankful for than did the Psalmist, for we can rejoice in what God has done for us through Christ and His redeeming work. Thus Paul, by divine inspiration, speaks of...

         "GIVING THANKS UNTO THE FATHER, WHO HATH MADE US MEET [FIT] TO BE PARTAKERS OF THE INHERITANCE OF THE SAINTS IN LIGHT:

         "WHO HATH DELIVERED US FROM THE POWER OF DARKNESS,AND HATH TRANSLATED US INTO THE KINGDOM OF HIS DEAR SON" (Col. 1:12,13).

It is because of this "deliverance" that the humblest believer can cry with Paul: "Thanks be unto God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ!" (II Cor. 2:14) and "Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (I Cor. 15:57). How appropriate, then, are the following exhortations:

         "In everything give thanks" (I Thes. 5:18 ) and "By [Christ], therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise... giving thanks to His name" (Heb. 13:15).

         "For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God" (II Cor.4:15).

Most of all, "THANKS BE UNTO GOD FOR HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFT," our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! (II Cor. 9:15).

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"THE WORD OF HIS POWER"
by Russel S. Miller


God is so powerful that by simply speaking, He created "Heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is" (Ex. 20:11). Yes, the Universe was brought immediately into being: "by the Word of His power" (Heb.1 :3; II Pet. 3:5)! And neither was His power confined to the animal creation, for He "breathed into the nostrils" of Adam, "the breath of life, and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7). He is so powerful that He can "inspire" mere men to write exactly what He wants them to write, in a Book that we call the Bible (II Tim. 3:16). So powerful that to enter the stream of humanity and become a man, He was "born of a virgin" (Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35), which, with men is a total impossibility. And again, to show His mighty power, after "He [had] by the grace of God, tasted death for every man" (Heb. 2:9) HE AROSE FROM THE DEAD (Rom. 4:25).

God is so powerful that when we believe on Christ, He makes us one with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection; saves us for time and eternity, and nothing can separate us from His love. This is why the Apostle Paul defends the doctrine of eternal security in his Epistle to the Romans:

"FOR I AM PERSUADED, THAT NEITHER DEATH, NOR LIFE, NOR ANGELS, NOR PRINCIPALITIES, NOR POWERS, NOR THINGS PRESENT, NOR THINGS TO COME, NOR HEIGHT, NOR DEPTH, NOR ANY OTHER CREATURE, SHALL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD, WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD" (Rom. 8:38,39).

Some people don’t believe in the Bible and all it says about Creation, the Inspiration of the Scriptures, the Virgin Birth of Christ, His resurrection from the dead, and the Lord’s Return to catch us away to be with Him for all eternity, but those who do, can say with the Apostle Paul:

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Rom. 1:16).

By the "word" of His power He shall catch us away to be with Him eternally.

"LOOKING FOR THAT BLESSED HOPE, AND THE GLORIOUS APPEARING OF THE GREAT GOD AND OUR SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST" (Titus 2:13; I Thes. 4:13-18 ).

"In whom WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7).

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The Adoption of Sons
Part 1 of 2
A Primer on this Wonderful Truth
By Keith R. Blades

In Romans 6-8 the apostle Paul teaches us about our sanctified position in Christ and how God is dealing with us today under grace and not under the law. As he does so he declares that in accordance with this God has adopted us.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; BUT YE HAVE RECEIVED THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION, WHEREBY WE CRY, ABBA, FATHER. (Romans 8:14-15)

In this dispensation of grace we are the adopted sons of God. And this is a wonderful privilege of God's grace. However, unfortunately it is often not understood and appreciated as it ought to be due primarily to the restricted meaning given to the present usage of the word adoption. Today, when we speak of adoption we refer to the issue of someone, who is not the natural born child of a couple, being taken in by them and constituted a member of their family. By natural birth the child is not theirs, but by adoption the child legally becomes their own. This is the common meaning of the term today, and it certainly is an adoption. However, it is not what we should think of when we read about God adopting us. In Romans 8:14-15 Paul is not simply referring to the fact that we now belong to God being saved. He is not simply referring to the fact that we are part of God s family. Yet this is what is commonly thought. To adopt a child not naturally your own is only one kind of adoption. To adopt simply means to take something unto yourself and make it your own. Hence, there are other kinds of adoptions, especially in other cultures, one of which is the kind of adoption Paul refers to in Romans 8. In Hebrew culture, and even among the Greeks of Paul s day, parents adopted their own children. When they did this they recognized a level of maturity that their child had reached and they no longer treated him as a little child, but began treating him as an adult. By this kind of adoption the child was declared to be no longer in a state of childhood. He had now passed from childhood into adulthood. He was now declared to be a son and no longer a child, and he was now going to be treated as an adult by his parents. This is the kind of adoption Paul is referring to in Romans 8. This is made perfectly clear in Galatians 4 where he deals with it in quite some detail.

Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;

But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. (Galatians 4:1-2)

Here Paul cites this unique cultural issue of adoption so common in his day. As he says, a father's own offspring is his heir. But for as long as he is a child, or is in the state of childhood, his father doesn't treat him any different from a servant. He may be lord of all being his father's heir, but he is not treated as such by his father for as long as he is in the state of childhood. Rather, in accordance with childhood and being a minor, the father deals with his offspring through the use of tutors and governors. The relationship between the two, therefore, is restricted and is on a puerile level. However, the father does not intend to always be treating his child as a child. There is an appointed time coming at which the father will no longer treat his child as a child, but will in accordance with his growth begin to treat him as an adult. This appointed time of the father is the time at which the father adopts his own child. He declares his offspring to no longer be a child in the state of childhood, but now he is an adult, a son. He has attained unto sonship. Being so his father is going to begin to treat him as such and deal with him accordingly. Again, this is the kind of adoption Paul is talking about when he declares that we in this dispensation of grace are now the adopted sons of God. Having adopted us God has put us into the position of adult sons. We possess sonship. He is not treating us like children. Instead, He is dealing with us as adults, as sons. The Privilege of Sonship in time past God's heirs did not possess the adoption of sons. Rather, as Paul points out in Galatians 4:3, they were children and God dealt with them as such.

Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: (Galatians 4:3)

The Law contract with its elements of the world functioned like tutors and governors and through it God dealt with Israel as the children that they were. However, the appointed time was coming when God would make provision so that He could adopt His heirs and begin dealing with them as adult sons and no longer have to deal with them as children. When Christ came, He came in accordance with the appointed time of the father.

But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)

The provision to enable God to deal with His heirs as sons and no longer have to deal with them as children was made by Christ on the cross. In view of it, God could adopt His heirs and the glories of sonship could begin to be enjoyed by them. God, however, suspended His program with Israel and they have yet to receive the adoption of sons. We, the members of the church the body of Christ, are the heirs of God in this present dispensation of grace. In accordance with the provision God has made through Christ for sonship to be a reality, and in view of the riches of His grace unto us, God has wonderfully adopted us, putting us in the position of adult sons and treating us as such. We are not being treated by Him as children under the tutor and governor system of the Law, but we are being treated as sons. (Israel will receive the adoption when God resumes and fulfills His program with them upon the conclusion of this present dispensation of Gentile grace. See Romans 9-11, especially 9:1-5; 11:1-36.)

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The Adoption of Sons
Part 2 of 2
A Primer on this Wonderful Truth
By Keith R. Blades


The Glory of Sonship

There are many wonderful issues associated with sonship. There are also a number of differences between the way God dealt with Israel in treating them as children and the way He now deals with us as sons. One outstanding issue is that of the intimacy and direct personal union that now exists between God and us. Instead of tutors and governors, we possess the Spirit of adoption. Instead of intermediaries, God deals with us directly through the Holy Spirit.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear;

but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (Romans 8:14-15)

And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. (Galatians 4:6)

As Paul says, the major mark of sonship, (and one of its most glorious features), is the issue of being led by the Spirit of God. When a father adopts his child the relationship becomes much more personal between the two, and hence much more intimate. No longer does the father want tutors and governors to come between him and his child. And no longer does the child need them. No longer does the father want his child's education limited to elementary and rudimentary things. Instead, having placed his child in the position of an adult son, now the father himself personally becomes his son's teacher and guide. The father now personally assumes the remaining education of his son. This is something not only looked forward to by the father, but it is also a wonderful liberty for the son. Going from tutors and governors to being personally dealt with by his father is an issue of great joy and relief to a son. The adoption commences a glorious intimate relationship never experienced under the tutors and governors. In full accordance with establishing this new intimate relationship that sonship brings, Paul says God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into (our) hearts. Possessing the Spirit of God to be led by Him is in direct contrast tooth tutor and governor system of the Law. The restrictions of relationship associated with that system are not being employed with us. The weak and beggarly elements of the world associated with that childhood system are not the basis of God's dealings with us today. Instead, nothing less than the personal operation of the Spirit of God within is what we possess as sons. In view of this, just as with any adopted son, our hearts ought to overflow with joy and relief. Hence, Paul says that the Spirit cries Abba, Father.

And because ye are sons, God hath sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, CRYING, ABBA, FATHER. (Galatians 4:6)

The doctrine of our sonship status is full of glory. Being adopted sons is one of the jewels of the riches of God's grace unto us in Christ. Yet it remains one of the most least appreciated aspects of God's grace that we are possessors of today. And this is a shame. This has been nothing more than a very short primer on this wonderful truth. Yet may this brief introduction to sonship motivate us all to learn more about this privilege of God's grace unto us, and most of all to live as the sons God has made us to be.

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APPRECIATION, NOT DEPRECIATION
By Miles Stanford


"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly"


As believers we rejoice in the fact that the Lord Jesus died for us, but few are affected by the fact that He arose for us. Fewer still realize that we died and arose with Him. Learn the facts! There will be continual struggle and failure until we gain adequate understanding of the liberating truth.

"The Lord Jesus on the Cross removed the barriers which separated me from God - my guilt, my sin, the law; and He dealt with my enemies - the world, the flesh, the devil. These six things were dealt with, so that we need no longer be in bondage through fear and that we may come boldly to the throne of grace.

"Have we given a hearty assent to these things which the Lord Jesus did for us? Or have we, as we read the Word, drifted by them, taking it all for granted? Let us lay hold of that for which God has laid hold of us. Let us gird up the loins of our mind and consent to that which He did for us. Let us enter into all that which being united to Christ as our Life means. Let us rejoice in all that was accomplished for us on Calvary." - L.L.L.

"It is necessary that the truth conferred by grace should be known as a possession and the virtue of it apprehended, before there can be any walk in keeping with it. For if there be ignorance or misapprehension, the truer the conscience, the more defective is the practice." - J.B.S.

"Set your affection on things above" (Col. 3:2)

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THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST
By Pastor Robert  Hanna



Scripture Reading: I Thessalonians 5:18

After having accepted God's great gift of eternal salvation by belief in the finished work of His dear Son at Calvary and thereby being found IN HIM, our most intense and cherished desire should be to comply with the will of God. It is not difficult to know what is His will; the difficulty is in becoming victorious over the weakness of the "old man."  To be spiritually adjusted and acceptable in our behavior in God's sight, we would do well to adopt as our formula verses 16,17 & 18 as an independent declaration:

"REJOICE EVERMORE. PRAY WITHOUT CEASING. IN EVERY THING GIVE THANKS: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Another Pauline admonition in concert with the above is one addressed to the Colossians saints. "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him" (Colossians 3:17).

The Apostle was not himself a stranger to the struggle between the old and the new creations. "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not" (Romans 7:18 ). And regarding prayer, he is cognizant of how our petitions are presented and received. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us ... " (Romans 8:26). Knowing this, Paul offers this comfort: "In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God ... shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

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SAFELY IN
By Miles Stanford



"You are made partakers of His resurrection, through the faith wrought in you by God, who raised Him from the dead" (Col. 2:12, Cony.).

All true believers are gratefully aware that they are not going to hell, but few realize that they are already in heaven.

"There is no question about there being a beautiful new position for the believer, but people limit it to its being theirs when they die. Scripture shows that it is ours now! People say, 'You get to heaven when you die.' No such thing. You have it now. It is not your death that entitles you to it, but the Lord Jesus' death. There is not a single shade that was between us and the Father, but the Lord Jesus has removed in His death." -J.B.S.

"The great work of the Lord Jesus was wrought on the Cross to bring us to the Father; His death and His Blood, His ascension and sitting on the Throne; all mean one thing - our being brought nigh to dwell in the Father's presence. And with what object? That the Father may have us, to mature us, to work in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight. Let no one think that the entrance into the Holiest is the end; it is only the beginning. It brings us into the right position, in which the Father in His divine power can work out His will and purpose in us conforming us to the image of His Son." -A.M.

"The Lord Jesus stood where I was, and now I stand where He is, and that is the only place I have before my Father. We may fail and grieve the Holy Spirit, but that is where we are set." -J.N.D.

"If there be progress upward there must be progress in life and ways down here; you cannot see the need for a change in your ways here until you are transformed by the influence of nearness to Him there. You thus gradually find things here are not suitable for the order and nature of the things which are so attractive to the renewed heart up there." -J.B.S.

"Your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3).

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ACCESS BY FAITH
By RUSSELL S. MILLER,

Scripture Reading: Romans 5:2

Everyone is invited, but everyone does not have access to God. God does not hear the "vain repetitions" (Matt. 6:7) of the heathen. Yet the true saint may enter the presence of God at his convenience; when and where he chooses. This, the president of the United States does not allow.

Our "great God and Saviour" does, however, allow the unsaved "access" into His presence "by faith" in the shed blood of Christ today. This is a privilege that those under the Law did not enjoy. Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, once a year, with the blood of a lamb without blemish.

And Paul declares in Romans 5: 1, 2 that simply believing what God says today produces that initial "access by faith" into His presence. "Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By Whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

Consequently the Apostle explains to saints far and wide, "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, [not the old dead sacrificial way, but] BY A NEW AND LIVING WAY, which He hath consecrated for us .... And having an high priest over the house of God; [1.] Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith ... [2.] Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering ... [3.] And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Heb. 10:19-25).

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THE LIVING GOD
by C. R. Stam


"My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God" (Psa. 42:2).

The recent "God is dead" theory had little true comfort or satisfaction for men in trouble or sorrow.

For years we supposed that the term "the living God," in the above passage, had reference to God’s power to help, in contrast to the impotence of dead heathen idols. A careful examination of the context, however, leads us to believe that it has rather to do with His ability to respond. The gods of the heathen, by contrast, were like children’s dolls; they could not even change their countenance or respond in any way.

"The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
"They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;
"They have ears, but they hear not, neither is there any breath in their mouths" (Psa. 135:15-17).

But the true God is a living God. He does see, hear and respond. The Psalmist, in Psalm 42, compares himself to a stag, panting with thirst. It is sometimes supposed that the scene is one of a stag pursued in the chase, but the passage says nothing of this. Palestine is a dry land and entirely apart from being hunted down, a deer might well pant for streams of running water.

Be this as it may, the stag, in this passage, is not seeking for help; he is thirsting for refreshment, and so did the Psalmist long for the refreshment of fellowship with God, the living God.

How wonderful it is that we may know the living God through faith in Christ! This is why the Apostle Paul declares in Heb. 10:19:

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus... a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, His flesh. "

By His death at Calvary our Lord tore away the veil that kept us from entering into God’s presence, and now in response to our need He says:

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16).

Yes, God is a living God!

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GOD-CENTERED OR SELF-CENTERED
By Paul Hume



Scripture Reading: Ezek. 44:15-31; 2 Cor. 5:14-17

For centuries men believed that the sun was not the center of our solar system. They thought that the sun revolved about our planet, and the Earth was the center of our universe. Since the 16th century and the discoveries of Copernicus, men have recognized that the sun, not the Earth, is the true center of our solar system. The Earth, as everyone now knows, revolves once a year about the sun. We have a system which is "sun-centered."

By nature we are intensely self-centered. Even after becoming saved, we still tend to be self-centered. Only as we "grow in grace," and experience the working of the Lord in breaking us from our innate selfishness do we gradually move from being self-centered to being Son-centered! This is why the ministry of the sons of Zadok in Ezek. 44:15ff is so unique. Did you notice it? "They shall enter into My sanctuary, and thy shall come near to My table, to minister UNTO ME, and they shall keep My charge."

The Apostle Paul therefore declares that as the result of the "new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17), "they which live, should not henceforth live unto themselves, but UNTO HIM which died for them, and rose again." This is God-centered living: living to please HIM; living to know more of HIM; living to make HIM known to others; living to do HIS will. Is this your heart's desire? Or are you still in "prison"--the prison of self?

"O the bitter pain and sorrow,
That the time could ever be,
When I proudly said to Jesus,
All of Self and none of Thee.
But He sought me, I beheld Him,
Dying on the accursed tree,
And my feeble heart said faintly,
Some of self and some of Thee.
Higher than the highest mountain,
Deeper than the deepest sea,
Lord, Thy love at last has conquered,
None of self and ALL OF THEE."

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A Warning Against Mysticism
By Pastor Dick Ware


Colossians 2:18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

In our verse we find that Mysticism was disqualifying the Colossian's daily walk with Christ, and was robbing them of their future reward with Christ (3:24). The false teachers probably intimidated the Colossians into believing they would be disqualified if they didn't follow their prescribed course. Mysticism is professing to have direct contact with God or direct insight into truth by some special means. In our verse we find four of the special means that were used.

The first was a voluntary or self-imposed humility, which could include asceticism. We can accept ourselves in Christ, but this rigid self-denial will only work toward self-occupation (vs. 23). The second was the worship of angels. Angels are ministering spirits, but they never were to be worshipped! This would be Demonism. It denies the union of the believer with the Head, Christ in Glory. The third intruding into the unseen. This would be visionary dreaming and Spiritism. This could also include Demonism. What a wide scope this covers! The last one was being vainly puffed up by the fleshly mind. God called it "the wisdom of this world" (1 Cor. 3:19); today it is called "Humanism." It could include: Rationalism, Intellectualism; Higher Criticism; Liberalism; Neo-Evangelicalism; Situation Ethics; etc. It is the mind of the sin nature and can only produce death (Rom 8: 6).

In verse 19 Christ as the Head of the Body, is not so much an issue of authority, as it is an issue that as the Head, He is the origin and source of the Body's nourishment. Therefore, we are to hold fast to Him "in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (vs 3). As the Body holds to the Head, we may experience "the increase of God!"