GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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Three Things New in Our Present Dispensation Part 2 6/1


Three Things New
in Our Present Dispensation Today
Part 2 of 3

2. A joint-Body

The second great fact in Ephesians 3:6 is that Gentile believers are now joint-members of the same spiritual Body with all other believers in this day of grace. This means, of course, that Gentiles not only have equal access to God as Joint-partakers of the gospel, but more than this, upon believing the gospel, Gentiles become joint-members of the Church, the Body of Christ.

Thinking again about "time past, we know, that Gentiles worshipped God as strangers among the people of God. They had no hope of their own and a secondary status among the people of God was all they could expect. They became proselytes of Judaism and worshipped God as second class people in the religious life of the nation of Israel (See Numbers 15:14,26, Deut. 14:21, 23:20, 31:12, Acts 2:10). It is striking to read what a difference there used to be between the Jews and the Gentiles. An example is that the Jews were not allowed to eat the flesh of animals that died on their own whereas the Gentiles among them were allowed to eat those things. Deut. 14:21

Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God.

But today, things are not that way at all. Rather, in this present dispensation Gentiles are fully equal, being joint-members of the same Body with all other believers. This is far more than simply being included. According to Ephesians 2:15, God is now taking Gentiles who believe in Christ and Jewish people who believe in Him, and of these two, is making "one new man." In Colossians 3:10 and 11 we learn that, in this "new man," there is "neither" Gentile nor Jew but that Christ Himself is all in all. Thus, the Body of Christ is indeed a joint-Body. Fleshly distinctions no longer count within it.

What happens, as people become members of this joint-Body, is somewhat similar to an idea expressed by one preacher, who said, "There won't be any Baptists in heaven." He didn't mean, of course, that no one who has ever been a Baptist will be allowed into heaven, but rather that Baptists, after they get to heaven, won't be Baptists anymore. That's how it is with the Body of Christ. Individuals enter this Body as Gentile and Jewish sinners, but then, within this Body those fleshly distinctions disappear. We know this because, according to Colossians 3:11, there is "neither" Gentile nor Jew, but all are spiritually equal in the Church, the Body of Christ.

In our flesh we do have our differences and we have responsibilities before God with regard to these differences (children, parents, husbands, wives, etc.) But our position in the Church, the Body of Christ, is something else. Here, we are the same and this sameness should cause us to value and appreciate one another very much.

Again, what wonderful grace this is! No longer are Gentiles second class believers but fully equal in the Church, the Body of Christ.

Continued tomorrow

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
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If this devotion has been a blessing to you, please share it with others. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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Three Things New in Our Present Dispensation.. Conclusion


Three Things New
in Our Present Dispensation Today
Conclusion


3. Joint-heirs


One more great fact in Ephesians 3:6 is that there is a joint-inheritance that we share. Many teachings are presented in the Bible about the inheritance that God provides for His people. All believers, for example, inherit the righteousness of God (Gal. 3:6,7,18,29). In addition to this, the Jews have an inheritance promised to them, a land with special blessings guaranteed to them as descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But today, in the new dispensation of God, there is another inheritance, a joint-inheritance which all believers share together.

One thing our joint-inheritance guarantees to us is a glorified body for every member of the Body of Christ, a physical body suitable for future activities throughout the heavens (Eph.1:14, 23, Phil. 3:21). God's Holy Spirit has been given to us as the earnest of this inheritance (Eph. 1:14).

Our joint-inheritance also includes rank for us and opportunities in the heavenly realm where Christ, our Head, is seated at the right hand of God (Eph. 1:18-23, Col. 1:12). It is very interesting to note that our Lord Jesus Christ, as Head of the Church, is going to reconcile all thrones, dominions, principalities and powers in both the heavens and the earth to their rightful place (Col. 1:16-20). Since it is as Head of the Church that He is going to do this, we can expect that at least some members of His Body will reign with Him in these realms. In Colossians 3:24, Paul refers to "the reward of the inheritance." We should realize, therefore, that our faithfulness to God now will be of tremendous value to us in that day.

All the wonderful things our Lord is now doing, and that He will yet accomplish through the members of His joint-Body, the Church, are exceptional displays of His grace. Not only are we saved by grace, but more than this, we are seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:5-7). These heavenly riches of grace belong to us by means of our joint-inheritance. Thrilling, unprecedented riches, never before revealed, but now made known for our knowledge and joy in this present day of grace!

According to Paul in Ephesians 3:10, heavenly beings are learning about the manifold wisdom of God by means of this present dispensation. There are many people on earth, neglecting and ignoring these things. But in heaven they are not ignored. How marvelous it is that the angels of God appreciate the unprecedented truth of God concerning the Body of Christ. They already knew about the nation of Israel and the earth but now by means of God's program today they know about a new Body of people, positionally seated in heaven. They observe with great interest as this Body is readied for its actual entrance into heaven where Christ, as the Head of this Body, will reign over all things. All these matters wonderfully fit together "according to God's eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Eph. 3:10,11).

These things are worth knowing. Obviously, God has put His truth concerning the dispensation of the grace of God into the Bible because He wants us to know it. We should seek to properly understand it, and in accord with Ephesians 3:9, we should desire, just as the apostle Paul did, "to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ."

What a joy it is to be living today in the dispensation of the grace of God. How fortunate we are to be joint-members of the Church, the Body of Christ. What a thrill it is to know that glorious things surpassing our comprehension await us because of the special order administered by our heavenly Father in this present day of grace.

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

If this devotion has been a blessing to you, please share it with others. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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"HE THAT IS SPIRITUAL"  JUNE 3, 2007


"HE THAT IS SPIRITUAL"
By C. R. Stam





"He that is spiritual judgeth [discerneth] all things, yet he himself is judged [discerned] of no man" (I Cor. 2:15).

The truly spiritual man is so far above the wisest sages of this world, yes, so far above the mass of Christians with whom he comes into contact, that he can understand them, but they can never quite understand him.

We should all long to be truly spiritual, but what is true spirituality?

In the Pauline Epistles the human race is divided, by the Spirit, into four classes: the natural man, the babe in Christ, the carnal Christian, and the spiritual Christian.

All four of these are referred to in one passage of Scripture (I Cor. 2:14—3:4) and it should be noted that they are classified according to their ability to appreciate and assimilate "the things of God" as revealed in His Word.

Through diligent, prayerful study of the Word, and with a sincere desire to obey it, the spiritual man has come to know God and the Lord Jesus Christ more and more intimately. Babes in Christ and carnal believers about him cannot "discern" him, simply because they have not come to know God as he. But he, having grown to spiritual maturity, quite understands them. He is among those of whom it is written:

"But strong meat [solid food] belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Heb. 5:14).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

If this devotion has been a blessing to you, please share it with others. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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MINISTRY OF LIFE   JUNE 4, 2007


MINISTRY OF LIFE


"Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain" (Phil. 2:16).

Many Christians are bogged down between the nursery and the schoolroom; between the play-pen and the workshop. These resist the weaning period; but the hungry-hearted are eager to have their feelings replaced by faith.

"It is true that the Father does take up those who are spiritually immature and permit them to speak His words years before they fully understand their import; but He does not wish any of us to stop there. We may go on that way for awhile, but is it not true that from the time when He begins in us His work of formation through discipline and chastening, it growingly dawns on us how little in fact we know of the true meaning of what we had been saying?

"Our Lord intends that we should reach the place where we can speak, with or without manifest gifts, because we are that which we share. For in Christian experience the spiritual things of God are less and less outward, that is, of gift, and more and more inward, of life. In the long run it is the depth and inwardness of a work that counts. As the Lord Jesus Himself becomes more and more to us, other things - and this must include even gifts - matter less and less. Then, though we teach the same doctrine,speak the same words, the impact on others is very different, manifesting itself in an increasing depth of the Spirit's work within them also."

"Our Father's hand is on the helm. We are being guided, even when we feel it least. The closed door is as much His Providence as the open, and equally for our good and the accomplishment of His own great ends. And one learns at last it is not what we set ourselves to do that really tells in blessing so much as what He is doing in and through us."

By M. Stanford

"Thou wilt show me the path of life" (Ps. 16: 11).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

If this devotion has been a blessing to you, please share it with others. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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~DIRECTED PRAYER~    JUNE 5, 2007


~DIRECTED PRAYER~
By M. Stanford




"Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is" (Eph. 5:17).

Prayer to God must come from God. There can, be no prayer in the full assurance of faith apart from the known will of God in the matter. "The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know His will" (Acts 2 2:14).

"I do not think that a petition that misses the mind of God will ever be answered (1 John 5:14). Personally, I feel the need of trusting Him to lead me in prayer as well as in other matters. I find it well to preface prayer not only by meditation but by the definite request that I may be directed into the channels of prayer to which the Holy Spirit is beckoning me (Rom. 8:26, 27)." - J.O.F.

"When we once have the deep, calm assurance of His will in the matter, we put in our claim, just as a child before his father. A simple request and nothing more. No crying, no beseeching, no wrestling. No second asking, either." - J.O.F.

"The Lord may see it needful, for the trial (development) of faith, to seem for a season not to regard out supplications; yet, if we patiently and believingly continue to wait upon Him, it will be manifest in His own time, and way, that we did not call upon Him in vain." - G.M.

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

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

If this devotion has been a blessing to you, please share it with others. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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"THE GLORIOUS SUPREMACY OF GOD"     JUNE 6, 2007


"THE GLORIOUS SUPREMACY OF GOD"


As we enter into this time of year known as 'the Thanksgiving - season' we do dwell upon the glorious person of our God and Savior. He is indeed , 'God over all, blessed forever' (Romans 9:5). I can do nothing better than to quote for us the entire chapter on this theme from Arthur W. Pink's excellent book, THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD.

'In one of his letters to Erasmus, Luther said, 'Your thoughts of God are too human.' Probably that renowned scholar resented such a rebuke, the more so, since it proceeded from a miner's son: nevertheless, it was thoroughly deserved. We too, though having no standing among the religious leaders of this degenerate age, prefer the same charge against the majority of the preachers of our day, and against those who, instead of searching the Scriptures for themselves, lazily accept the teaching of others. The most dishonoring and degrading concept ions of the rule and reign of the Almighty are now held almost everywhere. To countless thousands, even among those professing to be Christians, the God of the Scriptures is quite unknown.

Of old, God complained to an apostate Israel, 'Thou thoughtest that I was altogether as thyself' (Psa. 50:21). Such must now be his indictment against an apostate Christendom. Men imagine that. the Most High is moved by sentiment, rather than actuated by principle. They suppose that His omnipotency is such an idle fiction that Satan is thwarting His designs on every side. They think that if He has formed any plan or purpose at all, then it must be like theirs, constantly subject to change. They openly declare that whatever power He possesses must be restricted, lest He invade the citadel of man's "free will" and reduce him to a "machine." 'They lower the all-efficacious Atonement, which was actually redeemed everyone for whom it was made, to a mere "remedy," which sin-sick souls may use if they feel disposed to; and they enervate the invincible work of the Holy Spirit to an "offer" of the Gospel which sinners may accept or reject as they please.

The "god" of this twentieth century no more resembles the Supreme Sovereign of Holy Writ than does the dim flickering of a candle the glory of the midday sun. The "god' 'who is now talked about in the average pulpit, spoken of in the ordinary Sunday School, mentioned in much of the religious literature of the day, and preached in most of the so called Bible Conferences is the figment of human imagination, an invention of maudlin sentimentality. The heathen outside of the pale of Christendom form "gods" out of wood and stone, while the millions of heathen inside Christendom manufacture a "god" out of their own carnal mind. In reality, they are but atheists, for there is no other possible alternative between an absolutely supreme God, and no God at all. A "god" whose will is resisted, whose purpose is checkmated, possesses no title to Deity, and so far from being a a fit object of worship, merits nought but contempt.

The supremacy of the true and living God might well be argued from the infinite distance which separates the mightiest creatures from the almighty Creator. He is the Potter, they are but the clay in His hands, to be moulded into vessels of honour, or to be dashed into pieces (Psa. 2:9) as He pleases. Were all the denizens of heaven and all the inhabitants of the earth to combine in revolt against Him, it would occasion Him no uneasiness, and would have less effect upon His eternal and unassailable Throne than has the spray of Mediterranean's waves upon the towering rocks of Gibraltar. So puerile and powerless is the creature to affect the Most. High. Scripture itself tells us that when the Gentile heads unite with apostate Israel to defy Jehovah and His Christ,' 'He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh" (Psa. 2:4)

Grace, Peace and Love, Pastor P. Hume

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

If this devotion has been a blessing to you, please share it with others. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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FITLY JOINED TOGETHER   JUNE 7, 2007


FITLY JOINED TOGETHER


   "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto Him in all things, Which is the Head, even Christ, from Whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love" (Eph. 4:15,16).

   "Speaking the truth"! What a contrast with the "cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive." The one seeks to edify and build up whereas the other seeks to destroy and tear down. But the desired progress is our "growing up unto Him in all things: We read of faith, full knowledge, a perfect man, the stature of the fulness of Christ and then the opposing "systematic deception."  But this is counteracted by being true or truthful in everything and growing up unto Christ."

   In Ephesians, spiritual growth is pictured in both Temple and Body:

TEMPLE

Built on foundation of apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20) fitly framed together (2:21) Christ the Chief Cornerstone (2:20)

Grows into holy temple in the Lord (2:21) in Whom you are builded (2:22)

BODY

[Body. mentioned six times
in Ephesians chapters 4 & 5] fitly joined together (4: 16) Christ is Head (4:15)

Grows unto Christ (4:15) out of Whom...makes increase of the body unto building up in love (4:15)

No amount of activity, or meetings or advertisement or energy will produce growth. Spiritual growth requires life, health, suitable environment, sound food and walking in the light. But growth can be stunted or retarded by an environment lacking essentials of light, water or air. Of these, walking in the light is preeminent!

   Leagues, unions, societies, associations, and even fellowships cannot substitute for growth of the body being "knit together in love" which is the "bond of perfectness." Unity of the Spirit had the "bond of peace" (4:3). Unity of the body has the "bond of love" so fitly joined.

By Ivan Burgener

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

If this devotion has been a blessing to you, please share it with others. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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~PATTERN OF MERCY~  JUNE 8, 2007


~PATTERN OF MERCY~
By M. Stanford




"That He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory" (Rom. 9:23).


Mercifully, day by day, He unfolds before our startled eyes the evil depths of the self-life. It is thus we come to know Him as the "God who is rich in mercy," and ourselves as "vessels of mercy."

"Today sinful men, not angels, are entrusted with the preaching of the Gospel, and before they can be used of God must first of all have plumbed the depths of their own sinfulness, and have, therefore, discovered the heights and glories of God's long-suffering. In this way they can become a pattern of His mercy, by means of which He can demonstrate His grace to others." - ].C.M.

"The power effectively to present Christ as Lord, is by means of revelation deep within us, bringing into being an unshakable knowledge of His authority and might, and making us content to accept our weakness and nothingness in order that we may see the pleasure of the Lord prosper in His hand (Isa. 53 :10)." - J.C.M.

"The more useful anyone is, the more he requires to be brought to an end of himself, and to find that his all is in the Lord Jesus. We find some of His servants deeply chastened at first, in order to prepare them for a useful course; and some after a useful period are brought low and afflicted in order that they might learn how truly and fully our Father is sovereign." - ].B.S.

"From Me is thy fruit found" (Hosea 14:8 ).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

If this devotion has been a blessing to you, please share it with others. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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"SPIRITUAL ATTAINMENT" JUNE 9, 2007


"SPIRITUAL ATTAINMENT"
by Charles Wages



The Bible clearly teaches that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

There is no doubt but that God is interested in children growing properly in grace and knowledge, Spiritual attainment is not something to be grasped after for personal or selfish gain, but to know God and fulfill His purpose for our lives.

Just as an athlete exercises in a gymnasium so should the Christian be actively engaged in God's world. This activity should not be just "beating the air," but actually participating in vital, worthwhile endeavors in accordance with God's will and Word. Four things that aid in spiritual attainment will be briefly discussed. The order in which they are given does not necessarily effect their relative importance.

Concentration

Concentration or intense interest in what a person is trying to accomplish is of utmost importance to attainment of goals. The apostle Paul states in Philippians "this one thing I do," in reference to "pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Then again in Colossians 3:2, he says, "set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" Concentration of the sun's rays on a combustible material will set it ablaze, in like fashion if we give our strict attention to something for God, it will bring results.

Abstaining

Abstaining or holding off from partaking or participating in certain things is important to spiritual attainment. Sometimes things we don't do are just as important as things we attempt to do, in our overindulged generation, the thought of restraint or self-denial is rejected by most people. The truth concerning abstaining as taught in the Scriptures is not confined to marriage and food,  but principally concerns "holding off from" evil, religious doctrine. For instance in 1 Thessalonians 5:22, we are admonished to "abstain from every form of evil." When we consider that one of the major characteristics of this present evil age is "having a form of godliness,  but denying the power thereof" (2 Tim. 3:5), we conclude that God would have us not partake of or participate in religious error. Even the Gentiles were instructed by the apostles at Jerusalem to "abstain from meat offered to idols."

Nourishment

Nourishment of the proper sort is important to spiritual attainment. It is common knowledge that the Bible uses items of physical food to teach some of its greatest spiritual lessons. Our Lord did this time and time again. Bread, meat, milk and honey are just few examples. But we understand the Word to tell us of a more important form of nourishment Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:6, "If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou  hast attained."

In Colossians 2:19, we are instructed that our nourishment comes from the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Someone has said that we should take this spiritual nourishment and (1) study it through, (2) pray it in (3) put it down  (4) work it out, and (5) pass it on.

Proper Attitude

A proper attitude is absolutely necessary to spiritual attainment The wonderful passage found in Philippians 4:5-9 is so appropriate when we think of our attitude and what it should be. We need to read and reread this passage.

We might say our attitude could be found in three respects (1) Our attitude toward God and His Word, (2) Our attitude toward men, and (3) Our attitude toward ourselves. It follows that if our attitude is proper and the way our Lord would have it, we will attain spiritually for the glory and honor of our Head.

EXERCISE thyself
rather unto
godliness. For
bodily exercise
profiteth little;
but godliness is
profitable unto
all things,
having promise
of the life that
now is, and of
that which is to come.

______________________________

We have so much to be thankful for every day.
God continually  provides for all our needs. So let’s make Thanksgiving a  year-long celebration. — David C. McCasland

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

If this devotion has been a blessing to you, please share it with others. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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"PRECIOUS HERITAGE"   JUNE  11, 2007


PRECIOUS HERITAGE
By C. R. Stam



The book, We Americans, published by the National Geographic Society in 1976, depicts a family of eight early settlers, four of whom are holding Bibles in their hands. The caption opens with the words: "Book of books, the Bible, was the end and means of the education of early Americans." This is confirmed by the Encyclopedia Britannica, which declares that "The New England Primer... for 150 years widely used as a textbook, was largely composed of Scriptural and doctrinal material. Catechisms were taught in the public schools and prayer was offered twice a day" (EB under School and Curriculum in the United States). This does not mean that all our Revolutionary forefathers were saved, or regenerated by personal faith in Christ, but the evidence is abundant that they were, as a whole, Godfearing men, and this was bound to have a significant effect on their thinking and their conduct. And, indeed, there were among them many born-again believers.

Revolutionary times conjure up in our minds such pictures as Washington praying earnestly at Valley Forge, the members of Congress kneeling together in prayer for divine guidance, and the precepts of Scripture being pressed home again and again by those high in government, while the citizens in general trembled at God’s Word.

It goes without saying that our nation plays a strategic role in the affairs of the world. Our influence is great. However, America will not again exert the right kind of influence in the world until the Church of Christ recovers from her spiritual illness and our national leaders and the populace once more become at least God-fearing. The fear of God does not in itself save from sin’s penalty, but it is the first step toward salvation. Moreover, God’s Word declares: "By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil" (Prov. 16:6).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

If this devotion has been a blessing to you, please share it with others. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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~THE CROSS. THEN CONSECRATION~   JUNE  12, 2007


~THE CROSS. THEN CONSECRATION~




"The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7).

The Cross is the altar upon which God sacrificed His Son. It is upon this same Cross (take up your Cross "daily"), this same altar (the place of death), that I am to be consecrated to God as "a new creation" (II Cor. 5:17). This eventuates in my intelligently yielding myself to Him as one who is "alive from the dead" (Rom. 6:13).

"God asks us to present our bodies as living sacrifices to Him (Rom. 12:1). Until we have done this, there is nothing else we can do. But notice that this exhortation comes after Romans Six. There is a reason for this order - crucifixion comes before consecration. Uncrucified self refuses to be consecrated (to say nothing of God's refusing to accept it). That is why so many people with all sincerity walk down the aisles again and again, consecrating uncrucified self to God." - H.D.

"We must learn to know Him and to love Him. Then we will not have to struggle to move into consecration. The heart will lead into it. A lover never thinks about giving himself to a loved one. He cannot do otherwise. He loves to do it. Is there not here a key to consecration? Why do we not yield? Because we do not love. Why do we have to fight the battle and vow and groan and struggle? Because we do not know Him."

By M. Stanford

"That I may know Him. . . and the fellowship of His sufferings" (Phil. 3:10).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

If this devotion has been a blessing to you, please share it with others. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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"RESTING IN HIS REST"      JUNE  13, 2007


"RESTING IN HIS REST"



"Now the just shall live by faith" (Heb. 10:38 ).


Until we grow beyond the childish realm of sight and feelings we cannot go forward; up and down, and sideways, but not forward.

"Our Father wants us in the place where we do not depend upon feelings; where, though we do not behold Him, though we do not sense Him, we shall 'endure as beholding Him who is invisible.' He wants us where we can trust Him through darkness and apparent separation, as unflinchingly as in light and fellowship; where we know that His banner, Love, is always floating over us, though it is so dark that we cannot see it.

"There is no grace in delighting in the presence and favor of the Father when they are resting consciously and continuously upon us; for this rejoicing comes from sight and feelings. But there is precious grace in that delight which is not dependent upon His favors, nor upon our enjoyment of them; but which is wholly dependent and has its source in the Father's explicit Word, and His eternal faithfulness." --C.H.Macl.

"When circumstances seem impossible, when all signs of grace in you seem at their lowest ebb, when temptation is fiercest, when love and joy and hope seem well nigh extinguished in your heart, then rest, without feeling and without emotion, in the Father's faithfulness; abide in the fact that He loves you infinitely, and even now is working in you faithfully; and honor Him, and put the enemy to flight by taking to yourself the words of Job: 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.' 'I have prayed for thee' (says the One who ever lives to make intercession for us) 'that thy faith fail not.' " --D.T.

"Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward" (Heb. 10:35).

By M. Stanford

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

If this devotion has been a blessing to you, please share it with others. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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God's PURPOSE For the Believer     JUNE  14, 2007

God's PURPOSE For the Believer - Page 1

How wonderful and encouraging it is to know that our Heavenly Father has made it crystal clear in His Word exactly what His purpose is for each one of us. Now is the time, right in these next few moments, to make sure, on the authority of His eternal Word, as to His purpose for your personal life.

GENESIS 1:26 - "And God said. Let us make man In our image..."

The first Adam, the head of the human race, was made in God's image in the realm of personality, intellect, emotions, will, etc., so that there could be communion, fellowship, and cooperation between them; with God Sovereign, and man subject - subject to His will, which is perfect freedom. But we know that Adam was. beguiled into choosing his own way in preference to God's way, relying upon himself only, loving just himself. As a result, he immediately became self-centered instead of God-centered; dead to God who is the Source of all Life, dead in trespasses and sins. In this condition Adam begat a son in his own likeness, alter his (fallen) Image" (Gen. 5:2). Thus he brought forth a sinful, ungodly, self-centered race born "...dead in trespasses and sins" (EPHESIANS 2:1)

HEBREWS 1:13 - "God..hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son... who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person..."

Here is the image of God - back on earth, this time in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, Gods Last Adam (I Cor. 15:45,47). Our natural birth made us members of the fallen, sinful first - Adam race. Our transition from the old sinful race to the new godly race is known as the "new birth." When we were "born again," through "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21), we were born into Him - He became our Life (Col. 3:3.4). "Thou wert cut out of the olive tree which was wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree" (ROMANS 11:24). "For as by one man's disobedience (Adam's) many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (Christ) shall many be made righteous" (ROMANS 5:19).

Our Heavenly Father is still carrying out His purpose of making man in His image. Although His original purpose is the same, He is not using the original man to bring it about. ALL is now centered in the Last Adam, our Lord Jesus. Being born into Him through faith we became "partakers of the divine nature" (II PETER 1:4), and as the Lord Jesus is allowed to express Himself through our personality this poor sin-sick world will see "Christ in you. the hope of glory" (COLOSSIANS 1:27). In I CORINTHIANS 15:49,  Paul gives, us the heartening promise: "As we have borne the image of the earthy (Adam). we shall also bear the image of the heavenly (Christ)."

ROMANS 8:28 and 29 - "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow. He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son...."

Here is the "good" for which God is working all things together - His original purpose of making us in His image, which is centered and expressed in His Son, Christ who is our life. Paul's determination for each of his converts was, "'My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you" (GALATIANS 4: 19).

The open secret of healthy spiritual growth is to know and settle down upon this fact as set forth in ROMANS 8:28 and 29. When we see that all things are working together to make us more and more like the Lord Jesus we will not be frustrated and upset when some of these "things" are hard, difficult to understand, and often contain an element of death. We will be able to rest in our Lord Jesus and say to our Father, "Thy will be done," And our constant attitude of faith will be. "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" (JOB 13:15.) This is our matriculation to spiritual maturity!

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God's PURPOSE For the Believer - Page 2

2 CORINTHIANS 3:18 - "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

It is one thing to know what God's purpose is for our lives. and it is another to know something of the "how" as to entering into it all right here and now. One of God's most effective means in the process IS failure. So many believers are simply frantic over the fact of failure in their lives, and they will go to all lengths in trying to hide it, ignore it, or rationalize about it. And all the time they are resisting the main instrument in the Father's hand for conforming us to the image of His Son!

Failure where self is concerned in our Christian life and service is allowed, and often engineered by God in order to turn us completely from ourselves unto His Source for our Life - Christ Jesus, who never fails. Rejoice, dear friend, in your need and hunger of heart, for God says, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled" (MATTHEW 5:6). As we. in our abject need consistently and lovingly look upon our Lord Jesus revealed to us in the Word, the Holy Spirit will quietly and effortlessly change the center and source of our lives from self to Christ - hence for each of us will be, "Not I. but Christ."

God has a natural law in force to the effect that we are conformed  to that upon which we center our interest and love. Hawthorne brought out this fact in "The Great Stone Face." Then too, think of Germany some years ago, full of little Hitlers all because of fanatical devotion to a second-rate paper hanger! Here in our country comic books, radio, T.V.. and movies have all contributed in giving us a rising generation, of young Davey Crocketts, cowboys, gangsters, etc. And what of the believer? If we are attracted to this present evil world, we become increasingly worldly; if we pamper and live for self, we become more and more self-centered; but when we look unto Jesus Christ, we become more and more like Him.

Norman Douty writes, "If I am to be like Him, then God in His grace must do it, and the sooner I come to recognize it the sooner I will be delivered from another form of bondage. Throw down every endeavor and say, I cannot do it, the more I try the farther I get from His likeness. What shall I do?

Ah, the Holy Spirit says, You cannot do it; just withdraw; come out of it. You have been in the arena, you have been endeavoring, you are a failure, come out and sit down, and as you sit there behold Him, look at Him. Don't try to be like Him, just look at Him. Just be occupied with Him. Forget about trying to be like Him. Instead of letting that fill your mind - and heart, let Him fill it. Just behold Him, look upon Him through the Word. Come to the Word for one purpose and that is to meet the Lord. Not to get your mind crammed full of things about the sacred Word, but come to it to meet the Lord. Make it to be a medium, not of Biblical scholarship, but of fellowship with Christ. Behold the Lord.

"Thou sayest, Fit me, fashion me for Thee.
Stretch forth thine empty hands. and
be thou still:

O restless soul, thou dost but hinder Me
By valiant purpose and by steadfast will.

Behold the summer flowers beneath the sun.
In stillness his great glory they behold;

And sweetly thus his mighty work is done.
And 'resting in his gladness they unfold.

So are the sweetness and the joy Divine
Thine, 0 beloved, and the work is Mine,"
--Ter Steegen

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). And what is His "good pleasure" He is "performing" in us? He is working everything together for this one purpose, "that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh" (II Cor. 4:11). This is life: "For to me to live is Christ...' (Phil. 1:21). This is service: "And there were certain Greeks... saying...Sir, we would see Jesus" (JOHN 12:21).

This is chapter four of
THE GREEN LETTERS

ED & BETTIE'S CHRISTIAN BOOKS

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

If this devotion has been a blessing to you, please share it with others. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

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http://www.graceandthetruth.com/pop_up.htm
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[nChrist]

~SUBDUED, SERVANT~   JUNE  15, 2007


~SUBDUED, SERVANT~




"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds" (2 Cor. 10:4).


The true servant is finally subdued, but not stultified; prepared but not deprived of individuality. All that is rendered inoperative is the old man - and thank God for that!

"When we are finally prepared, our Lord says: 'When I died, you died. When I went to the Cross I not only took your sins, but I took you. I not only took you as a sinner, but I took you as being all that you are by nature; your good as well as your bad; your abilities as well as your disabilities; yes, every resource of yours. I took you as a worker, a preacher, and organizer. My Cross means that not even for Me can you be or do anything out from yourself; but if there is to be anything at all it must be out from Me, and that means a life of absolute dependence and faith.' " -T. A-S.

"How little does one know of the antagonism of our nature to the will of the Father, who thinks that service can be undertaken without that self-renunciation which can only be learned by experiential knowledge of the superiority of His ways and counsels! We never surrender what we value until we find a better, and man is so full of himself and his own will that until he finds out the sovereignty of his Father's will he can be neither an obedient nor a suitable servant.

"And this is usually learned through varied and painful processes. The disciplined servant always finds a way to do his work however difficult it may appear. The greater the difficulties the greater must be the evidence that our resources are of a different order and character from those arrayed against us, and this will be found true in very small matters as well as in great ones."
By M. Stanford


"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).

___________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/

If this devotion has been a blessing to you, please share it with others. The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

Click Below For FREE Email Subscription:
http://www.graceandthetruth.com/pop_up.htm
___________________________________