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« Reply #2190 on: December 05, 2012, 09:47:34 AM »

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"PEACE ON EARTH"
By Miles Stanford


"Let the peace of God rule in your hearts" (Col. 3:15).


Peace does not, and cannot, exist in the fallen Adam life; and as long as the old man reigns within, there is going to be turmoil both within and without. The path of the Cross is alone the path of peace.

"The moment came when the Lord Jesus could say, 'Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you' (John 14:27). This could only be on the ground of His death, for the man in Adam could never give up his will: to do so would be to give up his very existence. But the death of the Lord Jesus is - judicially, and for faith - the end of that man, and the Christian walking in the Spirit owns him no more.

"The believer can thus, and only thus, have freedom from the tyranny of sin as he reckons himself to have died unto sin, and to be alive unto God as one 'alive from the dead.' He presents his body a living sacrifice unto God, and proves what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Thus walking, the peace of the Lord Jesus becomes an experiential reality in the heart of the believer. Thank God! we are no longer linked with the fallen Adam, and the Holy Spirit has placed us in union with Christ risen and glorified."-C.A.C.

"The more clearly we enter, by faith, into objective truth, or what is true of us in-the Lord Jesus, the deeper, more experiential and practical will be the Spirit's subjective work in us, and the more complete will be the manifestation of the moral effect in our life and character." -C.H.M.

"Both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one" (Heb. 2:11).
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« Reply #2191 on: December 07, 2012, 11:52:35 AM »

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THE "RIGHTNESS" OF GOD
by C. R. Stam

    St. Paul's great Epistle to the Romans has much to say about "the righteousness of God"; in fact this is the theme of the Book of Romans. Sad to say, however, the Bible is so little read and studied of late that many people do not even know what the word "righteousness" means.

    Actually, every man, woman and child should know about the righteousness of God -- or, to simplify the word -- the rightness of God. It is most important to understand that God does always and only that which is right. He can do nothing and will do nothing that is not right.

    Thus God cannot and does not merely forgive sinners and smuggle them into heaven, for this would not be right. As Job 8:20 rightly says: "Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man; neither will He help evil doers", for neither would be right.

    It was Bildad who said this to Job, and Job replied, almost exasperated: "I know it is so of a truth, but how shall a man be just with God?" In other words, how can a holy God look upon a sinner and pronounce him righteous?

    With this background let's consider Paul's great declaration in Romans 1:16,17:

    *"I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth...for therein is the righteousness [i.e., the rightness] of God revealed...."*

    True the love of God is revealed in the gospel, but what made Paul so proud to proclaim the gospel is the fact that it tells how God dealt "righteously", or rightly with sin, paying its just penalty Himself at Calvary so that He might offer salvation to all by free grace.

    Thus the Apostle declares in Romans 6:23: "The wages of sin is death [this is its just penalty]; but the [free] gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord".
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« Reply #2192 on: December 08, 2012, 03:30:06 PM »

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A MESSAGE OF JOY
by Ernest R. Campbell

As Christmas draws near, our focus is on two very important truths: First, the fact that the eternal Son of God became incarnate in a human body; Second, what He accomplished in His sinless body.

The fact that the Son of God was destined to become incarnate in human flesh was prophesied in the Old Testament. The Spirit of God says in Isaiah 7: 14: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." In Matthew 1:23, the Holy Spirit applies this statement to Mary, adding that the name Immanuel means "God with us."

The Holy Spirit also applies what He said through the prophet Micah, hundreds of years earlier, to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, that "out of you One shall come forth to be a ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2).

The incarnation of the Son of God in a human body is also affirmed in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit says in Matthew 1:18, prior to a conjugal relation between Joseph and Mary, "she was found with child out of the Holy Spirit."

This was a great shock to Joseph, a Jew imbued with the high moral standards of the Law! As he reflected on the counsel given to him, that he should secretly separate from Mary, the Lord said to him through an angel, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your woman, for the one conceived in her is out of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 1:20). This verse certainly affirms that the Holy Spirit produced in Mary's womb the body which the Son of God was to occupy!

The Holy Spirit via Luke gives us a very graphic picture of how God produced the physical body for His Son to inhabit on earth. The angel of the Lord told Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the one who is born will be called Holy, the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). How could language more explicitly declare that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Son of God?

Now let us consider the second important truth, which is based on the fact that the conception and birth of Jesus were produced by God via the Holy Spirit. As the Mediator between the holy God and sinful men, the Person of Jesus Christ had to be both True God and True Man. As the eternal Son of God, He is True God, and, as a result of the Holy Spirit producing Mary's conception, He is True Man, void of Adam's sin.

In the book of Hebrews, this same truth is confirmed regarding Jesus Christ's relation to God and to men. First, the Spirit says that He is a "Great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God ... who has been tried as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:14-15).

Second, since He came to rescue flesh and blood sinners, "He Himself also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 1:14). Furthermore, "He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:17).

Grateful to Him for the sacrifice of His perfect, sinless Body for our sin,

May we all renew our purpose to make the Gospel of His Grace known to all!
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« Reply #2193 on: December 09, 2012, 01:23:50 PM »

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GRACE AND THE BELIEVER



PHILIPPIANS 1:29
'For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake'

As we consider our position and standing in Christ (as members of the Church which is His Body), we cannot but rejoice and be thankful. But we must not become smug and self-righteous in the knowledge of our eternal security. Along with the free gift of our redemption by His shed blood, for which no price is exacted of us, we have received a holy charge of responsibility: "If (since) ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. SET YOUR AFFECTION ON THINGS ABOVE NOT ON THINGS ON THE EARTH" (Colossians 3:1,2).

" ...Walk worthy of the vocation [calling] wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness with long- suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:1-3.) "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without [non-believers], redeeming the time. LET YOUR SPEECH BE ALWAYS WITH GRACE..." (Colossians 4:5,6.)

Not all will be sugar and spice! "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12). "For unto you it is give in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also TO SUFFER FOR HIS SAKE..Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus SHALL SUFFER PERSECUTION" (Philippians 1:29) (2 Timothy 3:12).

Thus the apostle's admonition of total commitment: "WHATSOEVER YE DO in word or deed, DO ALL IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS, giving thanks.." (Col. 3:17.)
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« Reply #2194 on: December 11, 2012, 11:37:24 AM »

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THE GRACE OF GOD
Part 1 of 3

By Jack Trumm

In this edition of the Grace Messenger, we would like to look at the word "grace". Let's begin by asking ourselves a few questions concerning grace.

1. What does the word grace mean?
2. What does the word grace not mean?
3. Who receives this grace?
4. By what means is it received?

Let's begin with the nation Israel, God's covenant people. They found grace (or favor) with God for it was through them that God intended to establish His Kingdom here on the earth. God had given them favored-nation status, and they were to be instrumental and the channel of blessing in bringing all other nations back to Himself. Luke writes of these things in Acts 3:25-26, "Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, 'And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities."

So God had given Israel favored-nation status, however His favor, His grace was something they were instructed and required to seek. Our Lord Jesus Christ exhorted them not to be like the other nations, but rather to: "seek, ye first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33) He told them, "Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Matthew 7: 7)

If Israel would seek God and perform, they would find grace (or favor). "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations  of the earth: and all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God." (Deuteronomy 28:1-2)

So, in order to find grace (or favor) with God, it needed to be sought and performed. And by doing so, they demonstrated their faith concerning the things God had commanded them. The end result was finding favor (or grace) with God. But we know that they as a nation failed to measure up to the requirements of God. Time and time again they failed to seek His favor and perform what was required. Rather than seek Him they crucified Him, and rather than repent for it afterward they resisted, blasphemed and persecuted those who did. Paul wrote concerning Israel in Romans 10:2-3, " For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God."

So as a result of their mind set, and going about to establish their own righteousness and not submitting to the righteousness of God, He has concluded them in unbelief and has temporarily set that program aside. "Well, because of unbelief they were broken off', "For God hath concluded them all in unbelief', "blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." (Romans 11:20, 33, 25)

Israel has been TEMPORARILY set aside. This is evident by the word "until" in Romans 11:25. There are those who teach that God has permanently stopped dealing with the nation Israel, but there couldn't be anything further from the truth. Paul writes in Romans 11:1-2, "I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away his people which he foreknew."
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« Reply #2195 on: December 11, 2012, 11:38:28 AM »

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THE GRACE OF GOD
Part 2 of 3

By Jack Trumm


In the future God will restore favored nation status to Israel, and establish a new covenant with them. "For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins." (Romans 11:27) "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." (Hebrews 8:8-13)

This future concerning Israel has not yet come, so this leaves a question: What has God done meantime? (between setting them aside and the future covenant He will establish with them?) God has ushered in a new program. This He had in mind from eternity past but kept it secret since the world began until He revealed it through Paul the apostle. What was this program called? It has several titles:

1. It was called the MYSTERY. "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began" (Romans 16:25)

2. It was called the GOSPEL OF THE UNCIRCUMCISION. "But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter" (Gal. 2:7)

3. It was called the DISPENSATION OF THE GRACE OF GOD. "If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery" (Ephesians 3:2,3)

This is where we are today. So let us ask ourselves: "What is God's message for us today? What was kept secret until Jesus revealed it to Paul (the apostle to the Gentiles)? To answer this completely we would have to say it is that entire body of truth contained in Paul's writings and his messages as recorded by Luke in the Book of Acts. But to put it into a nutshell as they say, Paul called it "Christ and Him crucified" (I Corinthians 2:2) or in words we might use "Jesus Christ and what He accomplished for us in the death of the cross and in His resurrection". Read it for yourself as Paul writes "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how 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." (I Corinthians 15:1-4) And in another nutshell" summary he writes, "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son. Much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." (Romans 5: 6-10)
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« Reply #2196 on: December 13, 2012, 04:24:02 PM »

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DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
by Russell S. Miller



"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (II Cor. 4:4).

People sin under the cover of darkness--"they that be drunken are drunken in the night" (I Thes. 5:7). They suppose darkness hides the things they do. This is why unsaved man prefers evolution to creation. It destroys the thought, so he thinks, of having to "give [an] account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:12).

How sad! You cannot hide from God. Because there is coming 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).

In "that day" these poor souls will only wish they could hide from God, but they will not be able to do so. See Revelation 6:15-17; 20:11-15. These same, now suppose that "that day" is so far away that they need not be concerned. To this the Apostle retorts:

"Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight. But all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do" (Heb. 4:13).

The difference between the unsaved and those of us who are saved is that we not only have a Saviour, but we also have "a great high priest", who intercedes for us when we fail. The Lord Jesus loves you, my unsaved friend, and wants to be your Saviour, too.

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us" (Rom. 8:31-34).

"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. 4:14-16).

Don't hide like Adam who sinned, but "seek the Lord, if haply [you] might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us" (Acts 17:27)

.Even in the darkness of this world's sin and wickedness God is there, and He will hear you, and save you, if you will simply ask Him (Rom. 10:13).
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« Reply #2197 on: December 14, 2012, 01:21:45 PM »

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OUR FOOLISH WISDOM
By Pastor R. Hanna

Scripture Reading: I Corinthians 3:18-20

The source of all life, all knowledge and all wisdom, is God. When we reason by exercising our own intellect apart from His leading, we make a mockery of true wisdom. 'There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12). When we take it upon ourselves to set our own standards of right and wrong, we err greatly. We then often compound the error by seeking justification for our mistakes and attempting to gloss them over by further demonstrations of human logic.

Strangely enough, our search seems always to be one for freedom. In the flesh, we always seek material means to attain freedom. But God tells us, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). And how shall we know the truth? Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). Our search for freedom ends when we are in Christ-and not before! "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty ... Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free (II Corinthians 3:17) (Galatians 5:1).

In this age of grace, we as members of the body of Christ have an even greater freedom than did His disciples at the time of His earthly ministry. For we are free' from not only the bondage of sin, but also from the letter of the law and all the ceremonies and rituals and sacrifices contained therein. The basic principle, however, is unchanged. "Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God."
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« Reply #2198 on: December 15, 2012, 12:30:26 PM »

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HE GAVE THANKS
by C. R. Stam


At the institution of the Lord’s Supper, as He took the bread and the wine, we read that he “gave thanks” (Matt. 26:26,27; Luke 22:19,20).

Surely on this occasion He did not give thanks for food supplied! He was handling the symbols of His broken body and His shed blood. How we would like to know just what He said at this solemn moment; just what He gave thanks for!

This we shall never know in this life, but there are some basic facts we do know.

It was for love for sinful men that He was to die. He was to pay their debt of sin, and He looked forward to the time when, not only redeemed Israel, but the redeemed of every nation and dispensation will rejoice in sins forgiven and all that this entails for them. As He “gave thanks” in view of Calvary, He will then rejoice at the results of Calvary. The overflowing joy that will be the portion of the redeemed will be a greater joy to Him.

Thus Paul’s words in Hebrews 12:2 give us cause to rejoice in true thanksgiving of our Lord’s finished work of redemption on Calvary cross:

“Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
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« Reply #2199 on: December 16, 2012, 01:46:02 PM »

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WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?
by C. R. Stam


We have shown in a previous article that God is for sinners and desires their good. We have shown how He proved this by paying for their sins Himself as God the Son at Calvary. But if this is true, how much more must it be so with regard to His own children who have trusted Christ as their Savior?

How often -- and how significantly -- the Apostle Paul uses the words "for us" in this connection!

In Eph. 5:2 we read that "Christ... loved us, and hath given Himself for us." In Rom. 5:8 we are told that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." In II Cor. 5:21: "[God] hath made Him to be sin for us." And in Gal. 3:13 we read: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us."

And the love that brought Him down from heaven to die in shame and disgrace for our sins is not affected by our many failures as Christians now. In Heb. 9:24 we read that our Lord has ascended to heaven "now to appear in the presence of God for us." In Rom. 8:34 we learn that He is "at the right hand of God" to "make intercession for us." And in Heb. 7:25 we read that He is able to save us "to the uttermost" because "He ever lives to make intercession for us."

Our failures now, after having trusted Christ as Savior, may -- and should -- trouble our consciences and thus hinder our fellowship with God, but this does not change the fact that we are God’s dear children through faith in Christ, who died for all our sins. Unworthy though we still may be, therefore, God would have us come into His presence to be spiritually renewed.

"What shall we then say to these things? IF GOD BE FOR US WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?" (Rom. 8:31).
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« Reply #2200 on: December 17, 2012, 04:03:53 PM »

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Two Important Christmas Truths
By  Late Pastor Ernest R. Campbell


Dear Friends:

As Christmas draws near, our focus is on two very important truths. First, the fact that the eternal Son of God became incarnate in a human body. Second, what He accomplished in His sinless body.

The fact that the Son of God was destined to become incarnate in human flesh was prophesied in the Old Testament. The Spirit of God says in Isaiah 7:14: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." In Matthew 1:23, the Holy Spirit applies this statement to Mary, adding that the name Immanuel means God with us.

The Holy Spirit also applies what He said through the prophet Micah, hundreds of years earlier, to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, that "out of you One shall come forth to be a ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" Micah 5:2. The incarnation of the Son of God in a human body is also affirmed in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit says in Matthew 1:18, prior to a conjugal relation between Joseph and Mary, "she was found with child by the Holy Spirit."

This was a great shock to Joseph, a Jew imbued with the high moral standards of the Law! As he reflected on the counsel given to him, that he should secretly separate from Mary, the Lord said to him through an angel, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your woman, for the one conceived in her is out of the Holy Spirit" (cf. Matt. 1:20). This verse certainly affirms that the Holy Spirit produced in Mary's womb the body which the Son of God was to occupy!

The Holy Spirit via Luke gives us a very graphic picture of how God produced the physical body for His Son to inhabit on earth. The angel of the Lord told Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the one who is born will be called holy, the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). How could language more explicitly declare that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Son of God?

Now let us consider the second important truth, which is based on the fact that the conception and birth of Jesus was produced by God via the Holy Spirit. As the Mediator between the holy God and sinful men, the Person of Jesus Christ had to be both true God and true man. As the eternal Son of God, He is true God, and as a result of the Holy Spirit producing Mary's conception, He is true man, void of Adam's sin.

In the book of Hebrews, this same truth is confirmed regarding Jesus Christ's relation to God and to men. First, the Spirit says that He is a "Great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God . . . who has been tried as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:1 4-15).

Second, since He came to rescue flesh and blood sinners, "He Himself also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 1:14). Furthermore, "He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:17).

Grateful to Him for the sacrifice of His perfect, sinless body for our sin,
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« Reply #2201 on: December 21, 2012, 03:40:32 PM »

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Accepted in the Beloved
By Pastor John McKay


"To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:6).

Alfred the Great was made king of an ancient division of England known as Wessex. Early in his reign he suffered devastating losses at the hands of the Danes. His men scattered and he was reduced to hiding in the cottage of a simple herdsman. Dressed as a peasant, Alfred did chores for the family, and once was scolded for letting the bread burn.  Although the humble family did not know who they were scolding, Alfred displayed patience and humility. After he regathered his forces and went on to victory over the Danes, he returned—we are told—to thank and repay the herdsman for the kindnesses shown to him. Needless to say, he was fully received and treated as their King.

In a much more significant way, the Lord Jesus Christ "came unto His own, and His own received Him not." The princes of this world did not know the hidden wisdom of God, "for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." He was "despised and rejected of men," and still is by this present world-system. Although the Lord Jesus is now in glory, the world continues to reject Him. The principle that we are being rejected because He is being rejected is found in John 15:20.

Ephesians 1:6 brilliantly shines peace, patience, and comfort unto us. The Heavenly Father "hath made us accepted in the Beloved." When faith is in the Son of God and His death for our sin, grace makes us immediately acceptable to God because of the infinite merit of Christ, and His righteousness to us by that faith! O one day, we shall be manifested as sons of God.
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« Reply #2202 on: December 22, 2012, 02:59:37 PM »

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HAND CRAFTED
By M. Stanford


"Thou art my God. My times are in Thy hand" (Ps. 31:14,15).

The environment necessary for one's growth, and the ennoblement necessary for one's service, are both in the hands of one's Creator. "So He fed them according to the integrity of His heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of His hands" (Ps. 78:72).

"What we have all to do is to walk closely and quietly with the Lord Jesus, and the blessing will come when He has established His work. There is a sifting government of God as well as a perfect redemption, and He is full of patience. His purpose is glory; His ways are the wilderness."

"There are various ways in which as saints we are tried, but through all circumstances God is threading our way, occupying Himself with us, our particular characters, etc., to instruct and develop us. What we want is to realize that our Father loves us so much that He has taken such pains to make us 'partakers of His holiness' (Heb. 12:10). We are apt not to believe the activity of His love. Some trouble comes on us; our Father has been watching us individually for weeks, months, years; watching us to bring this trouble which He sees is needed." -H.H.S.

"How varied are the ways in which our Father bringeth down and lifteth up! We have to learn the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in the bright day as well as in the sorrowful day. If He is everything to me in my brightest day there is no fear but He will be my chief joy in the day of sorrow."

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time" (1 Pet. 5:6).
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« Reply #2203 on: December 23, 2012, 01:31:32 PM »

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THE  MIGHTY CREATOR!
By P. Hume

Scripture Reading: Gen. 1:1; Rev. 4:11;
Col. 1:16-17

A small girl who lived in a remote section of the country was receiving her first Bible instruction at the hands of her elderly grandmother, and the old lady was reading the child the story of the creation. After the story had been finished, the little girl seemed lost in thought. "Well, dear," said the grandmother, "what do you think of it?" "Oh, I love it. It's so exciting," exclaimed the youngster. "You never know what God is going to do next!"

How thrilling it is to know that the visible and invisible elements of this universe and world of ours is the product of the perfect and only Creator: God the Father in the Person of His Son by the agency of the Holy Spirit! How sodden and sterile is the popular so-called "scientific" hypothesis that this universe and our world is simply the product of evolving matter with energy to motivate it! Nay! It is refreshing to be anchored to the "old landmarks" of the Truth and declare, "Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created" (Rev. 4:11). View the ·Sovereign Creator:

"The great God was all alone amid the awful silence of His own vast universe. But even at that time, if time it could be called, God was sovereign. He might create or not create according to His own good pleasure. He might create this way or that way; He might create one world or one million worlds, and who was thereto resist His will? He might call into existence a million different creatures and place them on absolute equality, endowing them with the same faculties and placing them in the same environment, or, He might create a million creatures each differing from the others, and possessing nothing in common save their creaturehood, and who was there to challenge His right? If He so pleased, He might call into existence a world so immense that its dimensions were utterly beyond finite computation; and were He so disposed, He might create an organism so small that nothing but the most powerful microscope would reveal its existence to human eyes." (A.W. Pink). Are you part of His new creation?
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« Reply #2204 on: December 27, 2012, 03:59:52 PM »

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HIS PATIENCE
By M. Stanford

"Tribulation worketh patience" (Rom. 5:3).

The source of our Christian life is a Person, and the growth of that life in us is a gradual process--comparable to a grain of wheat, or a branch in the vine.

"A person whose ancestors for three or four generations have all been Christians, may inherit their virtues; but although affecting his life for good, they do not count before God as righteousness, for they are not the fruit of the directly imparted divine life. A believer may thus inherit patience, and although he may be but a babe in Christ, he is seen to be more stable than a more advanced believer, because whatever goes wrong he stands unruffled.

"To empty him, the Father puts him in circumstances where his natural 'patience' fails. After repeated failures of his natural virtue of patience, he realizes that it is not enough to meet all trials, and carry him triumphantly through them all. Then he turns to the Father to give him His own unfailing patience." --E.R.

"Spiritual growth is from stage to stage. There are great days, days of decisive battles, days of crisis in spiritual history, days of triumph in Christian service, days of the right hand of the Father upon us. But there are also idle days, days of apparent uselessness, when even prayer and service seem a burden. Are we, in any sense, renewed in these days? Yes, for any experience which makes us more aware of our need of the Father must contribute to spiritual progress, unless we deny the Lord who bought us." --W.G.S.

"It is not a man's thanksgiving that he has been set free from suffering; it is to be thanksgiving that he has been set free through suffering. 'Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress' (Psalms 4:1)."
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