GraceNTheTruth@ COX.NET~OUR ASSURANCES UNDER GRACE

*He Wants to Live Through You*
*by Dr. Bill Gillham*

"If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to 
Him" (Romans 8:9b). When you turned toward Jesus to become a Christian, 
the "Spirit of Christ" (Holy Spirit) entered into you. Why did Jesus 
come into you? Why didn't Jesus come before you so He could lead you 
(some say that's His function); or beside you so you could lean on Him 
when you grow weary (some say this is His function); or behind you to 
give you a jump start when you need help (others claim this is His job), 
or perhaps under you to carry you when you can't make it on your own (as 
the poem "In His Steps" teaches)? It's because Jesus is the only One who 
ever has or who ever will live the life which is pleasing to the Father, 
and He is to express His life through you on a moment-by-moment basis. 
Christ's life alone gets God's Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. 
Everything else is trashed.

It's presumptuous of any person to think he can emulate the life of 
Christ. God doesn't want to "help" you live on earth any more than He 
wanted to "help" you get saved. He did it all for you then: He's made 
provision through Christ to do it all for you now. This way God, not 
you, gets the honor (glory). Salvation is all of God, nothing of man. 
Guys, the Christian life is to be experienced in exactly the same way 
it's begun. He wants to do it all for you, through you. In this way He 
gets just as much glory (credit) for saving you from the hell of life as 
He does for saving you from the hell of death, and He gets to build the 
intimate, bonding relationship with you which He longs for. He died to 
attain this relationship with you! Imagine that! Please don't continue 
in your independent self-sufficiency, naively believing that this is 
pleasing to the Father, that He is proud of your strength. He's covered 
this in His love letter: "They will be held guilty, they whose strength 
is their god" (Habakkuk 1:11). Your personal strength is His enemy. It 
keeps you from intimate fellowship with Him.

*You will not need to know what*
* He plans to do with you...*
*you simply need to know Him.
*GraceNTheTruth@ COX.NET*

*UNSOUND TEACHING REBUKED *
*JON D. BEKEMEYER, Pastor
Scripture Reading: I Timothy 1:3

Our text for today makes it quite clear why Timothy was left in Ephesus: 
"That thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine." 
There was in Ephesus, as there will be in any Christ-honoring church, 
efforts to promote false doctrine; to entice believers away from the 
truth. With such there is to be no tolerance, but rather bold, outright 
confrontation. Timothy was not to reason with the false teachers, nor 
was he to seek to establish a "dialogue. " He was to charge them, that 
is, he was to give an authoritative commandment that the promotion of 
false doctrine must stop.

Many complain that such an approach to the ministry is narrow-minded, 
and to that charge, faithful ministers of the Gospel must plead guilty. 
There is only "one faith" (Ephesians 4:5). If it is narrow-minded to 
believe that God has spoken; if it is narrow-minded to believe that God 
has given a distinctive message for the Dispensation of Grace; if it is 
narrow-minded to emphasize that we are expected to know what that 
message is; then let us all be narrow-minded.

The reason many are unsettled regarding doctrine, is that they do not 
understand where, in the Bible, doctrine is to be found. Efforts to 
amalgamate the Kingdom to the Body and Law to Grace are futile. Out of 
desperation, many determine that there are no absolutes--- anything goes.

When such an attitude is prevalent, the ministers of Satan thrive. Paul 
warned the Corinthians of those who "corrupt" ; the Galatians of those 
who "bewitch" ; and the Colossians of those who "spoil. " Let us also heed 
these warnings.

*GraceNTheTruthCOX.NET*

GOD'S JUST JUDGMENTS*
* by C. R. Stam
* "We are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth..." *
*
The first 15 verses of Romans 2 always make me think of our Lord's 
dealings with the rich young ruler of Luke 18:18,19. "Good Master," the 
ruler had said, "what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

The Lord answered in effect: "Why do you call Me good? There is none 
good but God, so if I am good I must be God. But do you want to know 
what to do to inherit eternal life? Simply obey the Law, the Ten 
Commandments. "

Our Lord, of course, was trying to show the young man that it was 
impossible to earn salvation by doing good. To keep the Law was 
impossible for any child of fallen Adam, and breaking the Law could only 
bring condemnation. Now this absolute justice is the basis for the 
believer' s confidence in God.

It is wonderful to know that God does not merely pity sinners and 
smuggle them into heaven if they are sorry. If He did, someone in heaven 
could point an accusing finger this writer and say: "What, you here!" 
Thank God, He has rather taken us before the bar of justice, pronouncing 
us guilty, but has stepped down, as it were, to pay the penalty for our 
sins Himself, then justly declaring us righteous! This is why salvation, 
in Scripture, is based upon Christ's payment of our just debt. This is 
why Rom. 3:24 declares that believers are "justified freely, by His 
grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

"That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through 
righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 5:21).

*O Glorious Lord, what a good reminder this is of the desperate *
*condition I was in when You justified me.*
* I was not merely needy;*
* I was spiritually dead.*
* I thank You for burying that old life with Jesus in His tomb.*
* I praise You for raising me with Christ to a new life.*
* I rejoice in the radical nature of Your saving grace.*
* Lord, by the power of the resurrection, *
* lead me in the reality of newness of life, in Jesus name, Amen.*

*GraceNTheTruth@ COX.NET*

*WAITING ON GOD *
* By Miles Stanford*
"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him" (Ps. 37:7).

In times of crisis, we are prone to question His care; in times of calm, 
we tend to forget our need of His care.

"Don' t look at earthly difficulties. Saul said, 'Because I saw that the 
people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not ... therefore 
said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me' (I Sam. 13:11,12). 
It is fatal to look around and at consequences, especially in times of 
crisis, for it will be impossible to be still, and wait God's time for 
deliverance. Jesus came to them in the fourth watch of the night (Matt. 
14:25). It is always His way. God is never behind time! However dark the 
path may be, wait; do not go before Him, don't force yourself, like 
Saul. "The crisis demands action,' we say! Nay, 'dwell in stillness and 
wait for clearness' --- wait until you are sure of the will of God, and 
leave the 'Philistines&# 39; to Him." - T.A-S.

"Victory comes through the reckoning of faith and not through struggling 
and striving. 'But,' it may be asked, 'are we not exhorted to 'fight the 
good fight'? Yes, that is so, but you must please finish the text, 
'Fight the good fight of faith,' and faith never struggles for victory. 
Faith stands in victory."

"The unbelieving heart looks at the circumstances, and leaves God out. 
Faith, on the contrary, looks only at God, and leaves circum-stances 
out. Faith delights in man's extremity, simply because it is God's 
opportunity. It delights in being 'shut up' to God --- in having the 
platform thoroughly cleared of the creature, in order that God may 
display His glory."

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

*THOUGHT TO PONDER*
The End Product of True Evangelism is not just to get you out of hell 
and into heaven, but to get God out of heaven and into you, so that 
Christ living in your heart might bring God out again into the open 
where He can be seen. That is what brings glory to God. This happens 
when we are prepared to identify ourselves with Christ in His death and 
to share His resurrection

*GraceNTheTruth@ COX.NET*

*THE WRATH OF GOD REVEALED *
* by Russell S. Miller
How and why is God's wrath "revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness 
and unrighteousness of men" (Rom.1:18)?

It is revealed "because that which may be known of God is manifest in 
them..." . Even the "invisible things of...creation. ..are clearly 
seen..." (1:19,20). They did not want a Creator!

It is revealed "because ...[they] became vain in their 
imaginations. ..and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an 
image..." (1:21-23). If you insist upon believing "a lie...and worship 
and serve the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever" 
(ver.25), God will send you "a strong delusion" --the devil's "lie" 
(IIThes.2:9- 12).

We have seen why God's wrath is revealed, but how is it 
revealed?" ...GOD ALSO GAVE THEM UP TO UNCLEANNESS through [their] 
lusts..." (Rom.1:24).

And because man has "changed the truth of God into a lie, and 
worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator" 
(ver.25):" ...GOD GAVE THEM UP UNTO VILE AFFECTIONS.. ."(Rom. 1:26).

"For even their women did change the natural use [of sex] into that 
which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural 
use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men 
working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that 
recompence of their error which was meet [fitting]. And even as they did 
not like to retain God in their knowledge... " (1:26-28),
"...GOD GAVE THEM OVER UNTO A REPROBATE MIND, to do those things which 
are not convenient" (Rom.1:28).

And because they had "filled" themselves with "all ungodliness and 
unrighteousness&quo t; (1:29-31) the judgment of God is revealed in such 
things as venereal disease and AIDS.

"Who knowing the judgment of God, THAT THEY WHICH COMMIT SUCH THINGS 
ARE WORTHY OF DEATH, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them 
that do them" (Rom.1:32).

"THEREFORE thou art inexcusable, O man..." (Rom.2:1).

But no matter what your sin, big or little, as we described or 
otherwise, God "LOVES" YOU and wants to save you, AND HE WILL SAVE YOU 
FROM YOUR SINS, if you will simply believe in His Son, who died for our 
sin on Calvary' s cross, and arose from the dead."Therefor e being 
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus 
Christ" (Rom.5:1).

*Be much with the solid teachings of God's word,*
* and you will become solid and substantial men and women: *
*drink them in,*
* and feed upon them,*
* and they shall produce in you a Christ-likeness, *
* at which the world shall stand astonished. *
*C. H. Spurgeon*
*GraceNTheTruth@ COX.NET*

*CHOSEN FROM THE BEGINNING *
*JOHN McKAY, Pastor 
Scripture Reading: II Thessalonians 2:13-14

"But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved 
of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation 
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto 
He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord 
Jesus Christ."

The Apostle Paul is writing to the individual believers in the city of 
Thessalonica. He calls them "brethren" ; to indicate that they were 
believers. The Scriptures say that believers as individuals were chosen 
before the foundation of the world. Read Ephesians 1:3 and 4. Although 
they were chosen before creation to believe in Christ, they were called 
in time to place their faith in Christ. As it says in Philippians 1:29, 
"... unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ... to believe on Him 
... " What a wonderful thing! All of salvation is the GIFT OF GOD. Grace 
is a gift. Mercy is a gift. Faith is a gift from God, too. The sum of 
everything that we are and have is the gift of God if we are His 
children. The Apostle insists that "we" were called through the channel 
of the Gospel.

We must be bold to declare that salvation in the Age of Grace does not 
come through the channel of any Gospel. It is the revelation of Christ 
Jesus to the Apostle Paul. Any other Gospel from any other age, or any 
false Gospel is under the curse of God and could not save anyone today. 
Please read Galatians 1:6-9.

The result is "the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
Beware and be assured that possessing glory will only come to those who 
respond to the call of Paul's Gospel for today. We believe now because 
we were chosen from the beginning. Rejoice in this great truth!

*"May God,*
* Whose grace is irresistible and *
*all sufficient, be glorified!" *

*Rom 5:10 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.
*GraceNTheTruth@ COX.NET*

*THE TIME ELEMENT IN SCRIPTURE*
*by C. R. Stam *

How many Scriptural problems would be solved, how many seeming 
contradictions explained, if we were more careful to note the time 
element, emphasized so strongly in the Word of God.

In Romans 5:12 we learn that sin entered the human race by Adam. Then 
later "the law entered" (Ver. 20). But still later the Apostle Paul 
arose to say: "But now, the righteousness of God without the law is 
manifested" (Rom. 3:21).

Early in man's history blood sacrifices were required for acceptance 
with God (See Gen. 4:4; Heb. 11:4), later circumcision and the Law (Gen. 
17:14; Ex. 19:5), and still later, repentance and water baptism (Mark 
1:4; Acts 2:38). But not until Paul do we learn of salvation by grace 
through faith alone, on the basis of Christ's finished, all-sufficient 
work of redemption.

This is why the Apostle refers in Gal. 3:23 to "the faith which should 
afterward be revealed." This is why he declares that our Lord "gave 
Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time", and adds: "where 
unto I am ordained a preacher and an apostle" (I Tim. 2:6,7).

It is only as we recognize the time element in Scripture that we see the 
difference between "the kingdom of heaven" and "the Body of Christ," 
between "the gospel of the kingdom" and "the gospel of the grace of 
God," between the "dispensation of law" and "the dispensation of the 
grace of God."

A comparison of Romans 3:21 and 26 shows how this time element is 
emphasized in Scripture. After discussing the function of the Law in 
Verses 19 and 20, the Apostle Paul declares: "But now the righteousness 
of God without the law is manifested.. ." Then, in Ver. 26 he states that 
it is God's purpose: "To declare, I say, at this time His [Christ' s] 
righteousness; that He [God] might be just and the Justifier of him that 
believeth in Jesus."

*GraceNTheTruth@ COX.NET*

What Do You Know?
by Dr. Bill Gillham

You've heard it said, "What you don't know won't hurt you." Wrong! In 
Christianity, what you don't know will destroy you! On the other hand, 
what you know and Who you know---Jesus- --will grant you the peace that 
passes human understanding.

You know...

*Who You Are: *God is Spirit and He created you in His image; therefore, 
you are a spirit critter who lives temporarily in an earthsuit. You are 
not a physical critter with a spirit. The essence of your identity is 
spiritual, not physical.

*Who God is:* God is Love. He created you to need love so that you would 
need Him. But, not knowing God, you set out to get your love-need 
supplied through only people, and naively ignored the only Source that 
can fully satisfy our need to be loved.

*Who You Were: *God's job description is "He runs things;" He's in 
control. At birth, however, you immediately homesteaded everything you 
wanted to control, staked a claim, drew an imaginary circle around it, 
established your fences, held an election, stuffed the ballot box and 
declared yourself god of your "turf." You crowned yourself lord of the 
ring. You took control, and that put you in competition with God. 
Ultimately, you built your self-image upon your ability---or 
inability--- to effectively play lord of the ring.

*God Started All Over With You:* When you said, "Yes," and allowed Jesus 
to save you from yourself, many wonderful things happened instantly. And 
you didn't do a thing to make them happen---Jesus accomplished them for 
you. All your sins were laid on Jesus when He was crucified. The old you 
(lord of the ring) was crucified in Christ (Rom. 6:6). He not only took 
your sins to the cross, He took you to the cross.

*Why You Sin: *As a saint (holy one), you long to obey God. But because 
you programmed your brain with thoroughfares (software) that God calls 
"flesh, " this makes you vulnerable to sin. A power called "sin" dwells 
in your as yet unredeemed body (Rom. 7:21-23). The law of, power of, sin 
is an agent of Satan that seeks to control your behavior by using the 
thoroughfares of the flesh to trigger thoughts into your mind with first 
person singular pronouns (I, me, my, etc.) Victory over this power is 
experienced as you act out ("life" out) reality; that is, as you "act 
dead" to sin's thoughts and "act alive" to the truth that Jesus is 
overcoming your circumstances through you. This is God's command to us 
(Rom. 6:12-13).

*The Conformation Process: *You know that to "take every thought captive 
to the obedience of Christ," you must develop a lifestyle of "setting 
your mind on [these] things above," that you are resting in Christ in 
heaven while Jesus meets your circumstances through you on earth. You do 
this by faith, not by feel, because feelings will often deceive you. 
This technique makes it much easier to recognize sin's thoughts when 
they penetrate your awareness. You think, Nope, that's not my thought; 
I'm dead to that, and you press on. Through this process, you are 
"transformed by the renewing of your mind."

*Who Your Life is:* One life came out of the grave 2,000 years ago as 
Christ began a whole new spirit-race: Eternal Life, Christ, Resurrection 
Life. Jesus is the Vine, you are a branch. You know that God's will is 
that you allow Christ (Vine) to express His Life through you (branch). 
In this way you can gain God's approval ("Well done, good and faithful 
servant." )

*Your True Identity: *You are a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:16-17). 
You know the criteria you once embraced as the means for determining 
your identity are false, a ruse. Physical appearance, intellect, race, 
educational achievement, alumnus of (fill in the blank), personal worth, 
and things of this type are used to generate and maintain acceptance 
from others and to bestow or withhold self-acceptance. But you no longer 
have to strive for acceptance from others or yourself. Jesus has set you 
free to rest in God's unconditional acceptance through Christ.

By God's grace, you and I know these things and can be used by God to 
help lead other Christians into appropriating their true identity in 
Christ. In so doing, we can celebrate together knowing Christ, His life 
in us, and the matchless grace of our Heavenly Father. So, sic 'em, Tiger!

Lord God of resurrection, I praise You for the resurrection of Your Son, 
Jesus, my Savior. Lord Jesus, I am so thankful that you have placed me 
in the body of Christ and that I have been given a wonderful place in 
the heavens you truly have blessed we Gentiles, thereby missing the day 
of Vengeance of our Lord. Please work in my life the richness of Your 
grace, secured by Your sacrificial death and resurrection victory. In 
Your mighty name, I pray, Amen.

Lifetime Guarantee
Whether your struggle is with people, sinful habits, or self-esteem, 
Lifetime Guarantee promises a practical, step-by-step approach to 
appropriate the solution God has placed within the new spirit of every 
Christian.

www.graceandthetruth.com

*BLESSED LAMENESS *
By Miles Stanford

"My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in 
(your) weakness" (2 Cor. 12.:9).

Our greatest liability: self-confidence. Our greatest asset: Christ- 
confidence. It usually takes years to discover one's misplaced 
confidence. The flesh will fail us every time, and under all conditions. 
The Lord Jesus never fails us under any conditions.

"When the Lord Jesus was on the Cross there were no mighty deeds to be 
seen, yet Calvary did more for the world than all the great deeds in 
Galilee. We think too much of the greatness, and too little of the 
death-fellowship with our Lord. The 'mighty deeds' may mean the 'greater 
works,' but death-fellowship means 'much fruit.' You might toil all your 
life, and only do so much, even with the wonderful deeds; but if you are 
willing to die with Him there will be effortless multiplication. There 
is no limit to the fruit that comes out of death."

"An increasing number of the Lord's people are seeking to enjoy the 
power of the Lord Jesus' life by accepting the fact of their union in 
His death as expressed by Paul, 'That I may know Him, and the power of 
his resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming 
conformed unto His death" (Phil. 3:10). We died with Him, but most of us 
are not being conformed to His death and hence are not like Him in 
life." -L.L.L.

"There is no escape from the Cross, if believers would know the 'power 
of His resurrection. ' This crafty, defiant, defensive 'I' must be held 
in the place of death by the Spirit if there is to be true fruitfulness. 
In the measure that one dies to the old, in the same measure does one 
experience life in the New."

"Then shall the lame man leap as an hart .. .for in the wilderness shall 
waters break out, and streams in the desert" (Isa. 35:6).

*THOUGHT TO PONDER*

It's not what we do that's important

It's what God does through us that's important

John Christopher

*Our Purpose and Mission

The ministry of "Grace and The Truth" has the purpose of encouraging 
Christians to believe what God says.

Message "CHRIST" Rom. 16:25, Col. 1:28
Material "All Scripture, 2 Tim. 3:16, 17
Method "Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth, 2 Tim. 2:15
Mission "To Make All See" Eph. 3:9

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by 
the blood of Christ." Eph.2:13.

**We are dedicated to helping Christians to a fuller knowledge of Him, 
and the Grace of God. Until we all come into the Unity, Ephesians 4:13 
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the 
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the 
fullness of Christ:"

We are wiling to help you on this journey just give us a call, 1 623 
546 8866, Paris

Would you like to help this ministry? Consider trying to get one other 
person to subscribe to the GRACE DAILY INSPIRATIONAL. This worldwide 
ministry asks for no funds and is sent to glorify our precious Lord and 
Savior, Jesus Christ, AND TO HELP YOU TO GROW IN GRACE AND KNOWLEDGE.

*GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

HUMILITY
By Pastor L Peterson

The times that we are experiencing are the most trying and difficult 
that any generation has known. If it were not for the sound under 
girding of the Word of God, many of us would be swept into the abyss of 
unbelief. You know as well as I do that most of the time we resort to 
'our own understanding&# 39; rather than follow the admonition of the Lord to 
'lean NOT unto thine own understanding. ' We live in such extremes and 
with such a high or rapid race that we know nothing of that which Dr. 
Andrew Murray calls 'a blessed home in the Lord where I can go in and 
shut the door, and knee l to Father in secret and am at peace, etc.' If 
we were more at home with the Lord we would need less human supplements 
in this day.

The following by Andrew Murray has proved a real blessing to me. I am 
sure it will bless your heart. May I suggest that you practice such a 
rest in the Lord:

'Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is for me to have no 
trouble; never to be fretted or vexed or irritated or sore or 
disappointed. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done 
against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am 
blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I 
can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret and am at 
peace as in a deep sea of calmness when all around and above is trouble. 
It is the fruit of the Lord Jesus Christ's redemptive work on Calvary' s 
Cross manifest in those of His own who are definitely subjected to the 
Holy Spirit.'

Is not this a true picture of a real Christian? Let us all examine 
ourselves in light of this definition.

Amen and love,

Lord Jesus, You are my indwelling treasure.
When pressures, perplexities, persecutions,
or catastrophes come our way,
teach us to trust in You.
When others ask how we are
sustained through these difficulties,
remind us to give all glory
and honor to You.
In Your name I pray, Amen.

*Our Purpose and Mission

The ministry of "Grace and The Truth" has the purpose of encouraging 
Christians to believe what God says.

Message "CHRIST" Rom. 16:25, Col. 1:28
Material "All Scripture, 2 Tim. 3:16, 17
Method "Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth, 2 Tim. 2:15
Mission "To Make All See" Eph. 3:9

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by 
the blood of Christ." Eph.2:13.

**We are dedicated to helping Christians to a fuller knowledge of Him, 
and the Grace of God. Until we all come into the Unity, Ephesians 4:13 
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the 
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the 
fullness of Christ:"

We are wiling to help you on this journey just give us a call, 1 623 
546 8866, Paris

Would you like to help this ministry? Consider trying to get one other 
person to subscribe to the GRACE DAILY INSPIRATIONAL. This worldwide 
ministry asks for no funds and is sent to glorify our precious Lord and 
Savior, Jesus Christ, AND TO HELP YOU TO GROW IN GRACE AND KNOWLEDGE.

*GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

*COLOSSIANS CHAPTER 1:22. *
*By Charles Schiedler

"but now you were reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to 
present you holy and blameless and irreproachable in his presence,"

The Greek phrase translated "but now" (nuni de) consists of the 
conjunction "De" with the adverb "nuni " and may be rendered but in the 
now or present time. Having discussed the Colossians&# 39; former, estranged 
and hostile relation to God in the previous verse, Paul shifts gears by 
use of this phrase to show their present standing with God. Paul's use 
of "nuni de" here and in comparable passages clearly denotes a change in 
God's reconciliatory program from His exclusive, legal relation to 
Israel to that which is centered in the shed Blood of Jesus Christ for 
both Jews and Gentiles in this present Church age (Rom. 3:21; Eph. 2:13).

The word translated "you were reconciled" comes from three words, which 
literally in reverse order mean to change down from. Good English 
equivalents are first, to reconcile, and second, to restore to favor. 
This word is used three times in the New Testament, all by Paul, 
conclusively indicating the Divine action used to change a sinner from 
an enemy relation to God unto being acceptable to Him (Eph. 2:16; Col. 
1:20).

Since the manuscript evidence available to us in relation to the form of 
this word here is divided, we will discuss the significance of both 
feasible forms presented. The first form means that this reconciliation 
was completed (aorist tense) by an outside agent (passive voice) upon 
the subject, "you" (second person plural). The second form means that 
"he" (God or Jesus Christ, third person singular) actively completed 
(active voice and aorist tense) the work of reconciliation upon the 
recipients, "you" as found in verse 21. Whichever way we go, the meaning 
is the same; it took a sovereign act of Deity to reconcile dead-in-sin 
enemies to God (cf. Eph. 2:4-5).

Paul says that they were reconciled "in the body of his flesh through 
death." The phrase translated "in the body" is in the locative case 
indicating the place where this reconciliation occurred, i.e., in the 
physical body of Jesus Christ (Matt. 27:58-59; Heb. 10:10). The word for 
"flesh" is in the genitive case and as such means that Jesus' body 
belongs to flesh as He was identified with the human race by actually 
taking upon Himself a flesh and blood body (Rom. 1:3; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 
2:14). Also, the pronoun is in the genitive case indicating that the 
body of flesh belongs to Him, hence, we have translated it "the body of 
his flesh." As the Apostle Paul painstakingly uses this language, his 
intent is unmistakable; Jesus Christ, although God, became a man, taking 
on a human flesh and blood body that was capable of bearing the sin of 
the world (Phil. 2:6-7; 1 Peter 2:24).

The purpose for this body was that "through death" or through the agency 
of physical death He might lay the basis for the reconciliation of men 
with God. The fact that Jesus Christ became a man, suffered a physical 
death bearing our sins, and was raised from the dead as a life-giving 
basis upon which God reconciles men to Himself is central to the Pauline 
Epistles, God's purpose in this Church age (Rom. 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:16-21; 
Heb. 2:9, 14).

Furthermore, the phrase the body of flesh is used one other time by Paul 
in Colossians 2:11, where he speaks of the circumcision- separation of 
"the body of flesh" from believers, i.e., the putting off of the body of 
sin, the old man (Rom. 6:6). Therefore, by using the same phrase in 
relation to our Lord, Paul may be referring to His flesh and blood body 
permeated with our sin, which He assumed in His body on the cross. It is 
certainly necessary to hold to the fact that when Jesus Christ died, His 
body was laden down with the sin of the world so He could be the sin 
substitute for all who are identified with Him and the basis of their 
reconciliation with God (Rom. 6:3-6; Col. 2:11-13).

The Greek word translated "to present" comes from the two words and 
literally meaning to stand beside and could also be rendered to stand or 
place by in similar contexts (2 Cor.11 :2; 2 Tim. 2:15). The fact that 
it is an infinitive indicates the reason for the substitutionary death 
of Jesus Christ was to present holy, blameless, and irreproachable men 
before God, in the sight of God, hence, "in his presence" Eph. 1:4; Jude 
24).

The words translated "you," "holy," "blameless, " and "irreproachabl e" at 
the end of this verse are all accusative, plural nouns, and in this 
relation are descriptive of one another. The first word describing the 
character of how these Colossian believers were presented to God is 
"holy," sanctified, and ones set apart (as a noun) for God's service 
(Rom. 12:1; 1 Cor. 7:34). Second, they were presented "blameless, " 
without blame, and ones void of fault (as a noun) before God (Eph. 5: 
27; Phil. 2:15). Third, they were stood in the presence of God 
"irreproachabl e," unindictable, and ones unable to be called into 
question (as a noun; 1 Cor. 1:8; Titus 1:6-7). Believers are acceptable 
to God and worthy to stand in His presence because they have been 
considered holy, blameless, and irreproachable since they were 
identified with the one who truly bears these qualities, Jesus Christ (l 
Cor. 1:30; 1 Peter 1:19).

*GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN
By Ike T. Sidebottom

The Holy Spirit of God spoke through the patriarch Job, saying, "How 
should man be just with God?" If I wash myself with snow water, and make 
my hands never so clean: yet shalt Thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine 
own clothes shall abhor me. For He is not a man, as I am, that I should 
answer Him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there 
any daysman betwixt us, that should lay His hand on us both." (Job 9: 
1,30-33)

It is evident that Job was clearly shown the deep and unabridged chasm 
between himself, the sinner, and God, the righteous One. Consequently, 
His cry for a "daysman" to stand betwixt him and God. Laying one hand 
upon God and the other hand upon Job, thereby bridging the chasm between 
them.

The "daysman, " or mediator, has been supplied in the person of "the man 
Christ Jesus." The appointed preacher, and apostle and teacher of the 
Gentiles, was moved upon to reveal the fact that it is the desire of 
"God our Saviour" that all men be "saved, " and "come unto the knowledge 
of the truth." Coupled with this unprecedented longing in the heart of 
God our Saviour, He has also set forth the essential facts that He is 
the "one God," Who became the "one mediator" between God and men, "the 
man Christ Jesus" ( I Timothy 2:1-7).

With God's Word as our authority, we may be absolutely positive in our 
teaching that "the man Christ Jesus" is not a mere man. He is man, but 
He is also God. He is the one, and only, God-man. Therefore He is the 
one and only mediator between God and men. These things are attested in 
"all Scripture."

A mere man could never be rightly spoken of as being "the same 
yesterday, and today, and forever." Yet, we find that God has spoken 
through the Psalmist David, saying, "0 my God ... Thy years are 
throughout all generations. Of old, hast Thou laid the foundation of the 
earth: and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but 
Thou shalt endure: yea all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a 
vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed: but Thou art 
the same, and Thy years shall have no end" (Psalms 102:24-27). It is 
also written in Malachi 3:6, "I am the Lord, I change not."

The writer to the Hebrews certified these same truths, saying, "Jesus 
Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." Thus we see that 
both the Old Testament and New Testament writers have joined together in 
testimony that the man Christ Jesus is from everlasting to everlasting 
and that He is unchangeable. Therefore the "one Mediator between God and 
men, the man Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be 
testified in due time" is none other than perfect God and perfect man. 
Therefore He is the go-between, and is capable of putting one hand in 
the hand of the fallen sinner and the other hand in the hand of the 
righteous God. This makes it possible for the believing sinner to be 
linked up with God through the tie which can never be broken.

Let us rejoice and give thanks for our fellowship with God through Jesus 
Christ His Son, our Saviour.

O Lord of compassion and generosity, what bountiful grace You offer to 
us, grace that justifies and grace that sanctifies. How foolish and 
unnecessary have been my futile attempts to fulfill the lofty 
requirements of Your holy law by my own feeble efforts. Father, how 
thrilling and encouraging to see that You have provided a gracious and 
effective way for me to grow in Christ likeness. This day I place my 
hope for godly progress in the irreplaceable work of Your Holy Spirit in 
me, in Jesus name, Amen.

*Our Purpose and Mission

The ministry of "Grace and The Truth" has the purpose of encouraging 
Christians to believe what God says.

Message "CHRIST" Rom. 16:25, Col. 1:28
Material "All Scripture, 2 Tim. 3:16, 17
Method "Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth, 2 Tim. 2:15
Mission "To Make All See" Eph. 3:9

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by 
the blood of Christ." Eph.2:13.

**We are dedicated to helping Christians to a fuller knowledge of Him, 
and the Grace of God. Until we all come into the Unity, Ephesians 4:13 
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the 
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the 
fullness of Christ:"

We are wiling to help you on this journey just give us a call, 1 623 
546 8866, Paris

Would you like to help this ministry? Consider trying to get one other 
person to subscribe to the GRACE DAILY INSPIRATIONAL. This worldwide 
ministry asks for no funds and is sent to glorify our precious Lord and 
Savior, Jesus Christ, AND TO HELP YOU TO GROW IN GRACE AND KNOWLEDGE.

*GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

*POWER PERFECTED IN WEAKNESS*
* by C.R. Stam*
* To Paul was committed the greatest revelation of all time. He was 
divinely commissioned to proclaim the glorious all-sufficiency of 
Christ's redemptive work, God's offer of salvation by free grace to all 
who trust in Christ and their heavenly position, blessings and prospect.

Lest he should become puffed up by the glory of these great truths, God 
gave him what he calls "a thorn in the flesh", an aggravating physical 
infirmity of some sort. "For this thing," he says, "I besought the Lord 
thrice [three times], that it might depart from me" (II Cor.12:8). But 
the Lord knew better than Paul what was best for him:

"And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength 
is made perfect in weakness" (Ver. 9).

How right God was! Every Christian knows that with brimming health and 
"good fortune" comes the tendency to forget our need of Him, while 
infirmity causes us to lean harder and to pray more and this is where 
our spiritual power lies. Every believer should acknowledge this and say 
with Paul:

"Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the 
power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in 
infirmities. ..for when I am weak, then am I strong" (II Cor.12:9,10) .

Infirmities of the flesh are common even to God's choicest saints. What 
satisfaction there is, then, in just believing God's Word: "My grace is 
sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" .
*O Lord, my strength, *
*make my life a daily witness, *
*declaring in word, deed,*
* and attitude that Jesus is alive.*
* Lord, my own abilities will never be*
* sufficient to accomplish this.*
* So, I humbly pray,*
* empower me by Your Holy Spirit,*
* in Christ's name, Amen.*

*GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

*LAW - GRACE - KINGDOM *
*By Miles Stanford*

"Study to show thyself approved unto God. a workman that needeth not to 
be ashamed" (2 Tim. 2:I5a).

Divide rightly, or be conquered!

"There is an entirely baseless sentiment abroad which assumes that every 
teaching of the Lord Jesus must be binding upon the believer during this 
age simply because He said it. The fact is forgotten that He, while 
living under, keeping, and applying the Law of Moses, also taught the 
principles of His future earthly kingdom, and, at the end of His 
ministry and in relation to His Cross, He also anticipated the teachings 
of grace. If this three-fold division of His teachings is not recognized 
and maintained, there can be nothing but confusion of mind and 
consequent contradiction of truth." -L.S.C.

"Because the thing is in the Bible does not warrant the conclusion that 
it is God's will for the Christian. We must seek rightly to divide the 
Word of truth. What was formerly right for the Jews is for us nothing 
but the elements of the world. These forms pointed to a reality that is 
now come; the Body is of Christ. The blessed position of a Christian is, 
that he has died even to the best things of the world, religious and 
otherwise, and he is alive to the highest things in the presence of the 
Father; for the Lord Jesus Christ is his life, in whom he is hidden 
(Col. 3:3)." -W.K.

"The Gospels are complex almost beyond any other portion of Scripture, 
since they are a composite of the teachings of the law, of grace, and of 
the coming kingdom." -L.S.C.

"We realize our privileges and possessions in the Lord Jesus by faith; 
we enjoy them by the Spirit." "Rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 
Tim. 2:I5b)

"Thou. therefore. endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (2 
Tim. 2:3).

What if there were conscientious objectors in the Lord's army? Actually, 
our Lord does not have any non-combatant soldiers whatsoever in His 
service, since the battle line extends from the front all the way to the 
rear; to say nothing of the fact that we are all camped in enemy territory.

"Luther, speaking to the young preachers of his day, said: 'I did not 
learn to preach Christ all at once. The devil has been my best professor 
of exegetical and experiential theology. Before that great schoolmaster 
took me in hand, I was an unweaned child, not a grown man. It was my 
combats with sin and with Satan that made me a true minister of the New 
Testament. It is always a great grace to me, and to my people, for me to 
be able to say to them: "I know this text is true! I know it for certain 
to be true!" Without incessant combat, and pain, and sweat, and blood, 
no ignorant stripling of a student ever yet became an effective preacher.' "

"Every bit of truth we receive, if we receive it in faith, will take us 
into conflict and will be established through conflict. It will be 
worthless until there has been this process. Take any position the Lord 
calls you to take, and, if you are taking it with Him, you are going 
through things in it, and there will be an element added by reason of 
the pressure. You have taken a position, yes; but you have not really 
received as yet, the true value of it has not yet been established. You 
have not come into the real significance of the truth until there has 
been some sore conflict in relation to it." - T.A-S.

"I bear willing witness that I owe more to the fire, and the hammer, and 
the file, than to anything else in my Lord's workshop. When my 
schoolroom is darkened, I see most."- --C.H.S.

"We also exult in our sufferings, knowing as we do, that suffering 
produces fortitude; fortitude, ripeness of character" (Rom. 5:3, Wey.).

GraceNTheTruth@ COX.NET*

*WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?*
*by Russell S. Miller *

Thank you for that "good" question.

God’s plan of salvation today is not difficult to understand. "For all 
have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). There is 
no one exempt from sin. We are ALL guilty of breaking the Laws of God. 
We are sinners by nature and by choice, because we also choose to sin.

"The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23). There is a penalty for 
sin. You go to work every day and at the end of the week you receive 
your wages. "The wages of sin is death..."

"...But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" 
(Romans 6:23). Eternal life is a gift. You cannot buy it, or earn it, or 
deserve it. It can only be received as a free gift because Christ paid 
the penalty of sin with His own blood. The love of God, therefore, has 
provided a way back to God in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord.

"...CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS...was buried, and rose again the third 
day..." (I Corinthians 15:3,4).

He died for our sins because there is no other way in which man could be 
redeemed.

He was buried that our old Adamic nature "might be destroyed, that 
henceforth we should not serve sin" (Romans 6:6).

He arose from the dead to prove that our debt of sin, and its penalty, 
has been FULLY paid (Romans 4:25).

"Therefore being justified BY FAITH, we have peace with God through our 
Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

Does it get any better than this? Yes, indeed it does, for we read in 
Ephesians 2:7:

"THAT IN THE AGES TO COME HE MIGHT SHEW THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF HIS 
GRACE IN HIS KINDNESS TOWARD US THROUGH CHRIST JESUS".

God is very patient, kind, and loving, and long suffering, but He will 
not be mocked of men. Consequently there is a "Hell" and "the Lake of 
Fire" awaiting all who reject this gift of salvation in the person of 
His Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is clearly taught in 
Revelation 20:11-15.

When the Philippian jailor asked, "What must I do to be saved?" , the 
Apostle Paul answered: "BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT 
BE SAVED..." (Acts 16:30,31).

This is the one really important issue of life, and there is no time 
like the present, to make that decision to trust Jesus Christ as your 
own personal Saviour and Lord.

If you cannot say, "I know I am saved and I'm going to Heaven" , then I 
exhort you to trust Christ as your Saviour, right now, and God will 
bless you with all the bounty of Heaven, and more.

"BUT GOD COMMENDETH HIS LOVE TOWARD US, IN THAT, WHILE WE WERE YET 
SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US" (Romans 5:8).


*Heavenly Father, we are awe struck at the vast dimensions of Your grace. *
*Forgive us for under estimating that grace so often. *
*Enlighten the eyes of our hearts that we might know the richness of 
Your grace.*
* May the immeasurable ocean of Your grace be our daily supply for life 
in Christ,*
* in His name we pray, Amen.*

The Word of God is so needed in our troubled world. It is our heart at 
GRACE AND THE TRUTH and mission to reach as many people as we possibly 
can TO SHARE with them the Word of God and all that the Lord Jesus 
Christ has done for members of the body of Christ. Should this 
Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why not send to a 
friend, coworker or.

*GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

The Reign Of Grace
by Pastor C. R. Stam

It is amazing that God should still send forth the good news of His 
grace in a world where His Word and will are increasingly despised.

The growing wickedness of "this present evil age," of course, only 
emphasizes the true character of grace, for grace is the mercy and love 
of God toward those who do not deserve it (See Eph. 2:2-6).

It is interesting to observe that while the four "Gospels" and the 
Acts take up twice as much space in our Bibles as the Epistles of St. 
Paul, yet the word "grace, " in the original, appears only 27 times in 
the "Gospels" and the Acts, while it occurs 107 times in the Pauline 
epistles: a ratio of 27 to 214 in favor of the Pauline epistles! 
Furthermore, only a very few times in the "Gospels" and the Acts is the 
doctrine of grace referred to, while in the Epistles of Paul almost 
every reference has to do with the doctrine of God's love and favor to 
undeserving sinners.

True, "grace and truth came by Jesus Christ," but it was not 
manifested at His birth, or even during His earthly life, for He lived 
and died under the Law (Gal. 4:4,5). As "the law was given by Moses," 
not at his birth, nor when a prince in Pharaoh' s court,nor yet when he 
served with his father-in-law in the desert, nor even when he returned 
to deliver Israel from Egypt, but years later at Sinai, so "grace and 
truth came by Jesus Christ," not at His birth, nor during His earthly 
ministry, nor even during His resurrection appearances, but after His 
ascension to heaven, when He committed the dispensing of it to Paul 
(Eph. 3: 1-4).

I thank you Lord for allowing me to
be a part of your Body of Christ.
I Pray for you to take charge of this Nation
and that our country will again be
ONE NATION UNDER GOD
that the founding fathers of America planned and prayed
for in our Constitution.
I pray YOUR HANDS will bring Righteousness
and Honor back to our Churches and this Nation.
I pray this in YOUR PRECIOUS NAME,
LORD JESUS CHRIST.
AMEN

*Our Purpose and Mission

The ministry of "Grace and The Truth" has the purpose of encouraging 
Christians to believe what God says.

Message "CHRIST" Rom. 16:25, Col. 1:28
Material "All Scripture, 2 Tim. 3:16, 17
Method "Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth, 2 Tim. 2:15
Mission "To Make All See" Eph. 3:9

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by 
the blood of Christ." Eph.2:13.

**We are dedicated to helping Christians to a fuller knowledge of Him, 
and the Grace of God. Until we all come into the Unity, Ephesians 4:13 
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the 
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the 
fullness of Christ:"

We are wiling to help you on this journey just give us a call, 1 623 
546 8866, Paris

*GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

*DEAD WORKS*
*by C. R. Stam *

Twice in Paul's epistles he refers to "dead works". In Hebrews 6:1 he 
writes about "repentance from dead works", while in Hebrews 9:14 he 
declares that the blood of Christ avails to "purge the conscience from 
dead works to serve the living God".

Mark well, these references are not to wicked works but to dead works. 
These "dead works" are the so-called "good works" (whether moral or 
ceremonial) which men did — and still do — to make themselves acceptable 
to God. They are "dead" because they are not the product of regeneration 
or spiritual life, but the mere attempt on the part of unregenerate 
sinners to justify themselves before God.

Paul himself, once zealously religious, but wholly unsaved, had to 
repudiate his "dead works" and count them "loss" to find salvation in 
Christ, through whom alone he could produce good works which God could 
accept. (See Philippians 3:4-9).

This is why he later declared by divine inspiration: "For by grace are 
ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of 
God: Not of works, lest any man should boast, for we are His 
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works..." (Eph.2:8-10).

"Dead works" are not only unacceptable to God, but an evil substitute 
for the faith He desires, "for without faith it is impossible to please 
God" (Heb.11:6). But "he that believeth on the Son of God hath life" and 
this life is bound to bear fruit — the good works with which God is 
truly pleased.

The difference between the "good works" of the unregenerate man and the 
"good works" of a true believer, then, is that the former are "dead 
works" while the latter are the precious fruit of life possessed.

No man can please God while he denies the truth of His Word or rejects 
His Son, so graciously given to die on the cross as our Saviour. To try 
to win His favor by "good works" while rejecting Christ is like sending 
a gift to a man whose beloved son you spurn and despise.

"The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hands. He 
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth 
not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" 
(John 3:35,36).


*If Jesus is at the core of our*
* existence, that gives us an *
*identity much greater than *
*most Christians acknowledge!*

*Please FEEL FREE TO Forward E-mails*
*But please Copy & Paste---Leaving off all addresses,*
*Thank -You God Bless! Paris*

*GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

HIGHLY PLACED *
* By Miles Stanford*
**
*
"O our God ... we have no might against this great company that cometh 
against us, neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon Thee" (II 
Chron. 20:12).

Many believers have gone only as far as justification can take them --- 
spiritual birth, and a bit beyond. There they stagnate, in dire need of 
the fresh streams of living water that come from seeing their position 
in Christ. "God ... hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in 
heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3). "Always begin with your position, 
where you are; and then think of your condition, what you are." - R.P.

"Christians are at their wits' end. Many have given up the fight. They 
still go to church; but secretly they feel that victory is out of the 
question. They have no weapons for such an hour. Frankly, they have 
capitulated to the prince of this world, for all their efforts to rout 
the foe have failed.

"But victory is the believer's right, as truly his as the air he 
breathes. However, he must understand the conditions. He must see 
himself enthroned with Christ. He must see himself according to God's 
own Holy Word, as crucified with the Lord Jesus, dead, buried, raised 
and made to sit in heavenly places with his Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ. Without this he will go down in ignominious defeat in spite of 
all his strivings and his prayers. With this position he is more than 
conqueror through Him who loved him and gave Himself for him."--- F.J.H.

"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the 
victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4).

*O Holy Father, I humbly admit that I have*
* frequently *
*been so foolish as to think that*
* I could produce more godliness *
*in me through my own best efforts.*
* Lord, I see that I need Your Spirit*
* as much for spiritual growth as *
*I did previously for spiritual birth.*
* As I seek You through prayer and
Your word,*
* please take me on with You *
*in growth and sanctification*
* by the work of Your Holy Spirit,*
* through Christ, I pray, Amen.*

*GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

*Knowing God's Will*
*by Steve McVey*
*
"Pray for me to know God's will," Brent said. "I have three job offers 
and I'm not sure which one I'm supposed to accept. I don't want to miss 
God's perfect will by taking a job I'm not supposed to have," he 
continued. "Please pray that the right choice will become very clear to 
me soon."

Brent was a close friend of mine and I knew that he had a sincere desire 
to glorify God in the decisions he made in his life. Yet I could see 
that he was experiencing real anxiety over which choice to make in this 
matter. He had been without a job for almost three months, but now he 
had three offers, all coming within days of each other. The irony of the 
situation was that he had seemed more relaxed during the months that he 
had no job offers than he did when he had three. Any of the three 
sounded good to me, but his concern over picking the right option made 
him tense.

Brent needed to understand how to apply grace to the decision-making 
process. When grace rules a person's life, his perspective changes on 
everything. He begins to understand that every detail of life flows from 
his relationship with God. Grace means that God does it all. We simply 
receive from Him, cooperating with the Holy Spirit by trusting Him 
moment by moment. To walk in grace doesn't mean that we are passive in 
matters of daily living. To the contrary, it means that we act in 
confidence, resting in the fact that it is God who will initiate, 
perpetuate, and consummate His plan for our lives.

Many Believers fall short of the joy God intends for them because they 
fail to understand how His grace acts on our behalf to bring to pass the 
wonderful plan He has for us. God has an awesome plan for your life. It 
isn't a cookie-cutter plan, either. He designed a special agenda that 
was uniquely created just for you. One of the greatest joys in life is 
knowing that you are experiencing the very purpose for which you were 
created. Fulfilling the will of God is not some elusive goal that can 
never be reached. It is possible for Christians to enjoy the experience 
of knowing that we are in the very center of God's purpose.

Do you want to experience the joy of confidently knowing and doing the 
will of God? Then it is important to understand the difference between a 
legalistic approach to God's will and resting in Him through the grace 
walk. To a legalist the will of God is about doing. He believes that it 
is his responsibility to find and fulfill God's specific plan for him. 
He is often sincere, yet his perspective actually cheats him out of the 
greatest benefit associated with God's will. The greatest blessing in 
experiencing God's will is the joy of experiencing God Himself! Yet the 
legalist is so focused on making the right choice that he usually misses 
the intimacy God intends for him to enjoy. This Christian believes that 
he has a job to do for God. Because of this drive to do something, he 
often makes a better church member than Christian. The only problem with 
the things he does is that God is nowhere to be found in his activity. 
That is a serious problem. The starting point for understanding the will 
of God must be grace. Space in this article will not permit fully 
dealing with how grace points the way toward experiencing God's will, 
but consider the summaries of these key points. (A complete discussion 
of these truths is included in chapter seven of my book Grace Rules.)

1. The will of God is Jesus.

Before we can properly relate to the what of God's will, we must 
properly relate to the Who of His will. The will of God is not primarily 
a plan, but instead is a Person. Jesus Christ is the will of God. When 
one rightly relates to Him, doing the will of God becomes the natural 
result of our union with Him.

Many Christians behave like deists. A deist basically believes that God 
created the world, fueled it up like a car, and then stepped back to 
watch it run its course. Deism recognizes very little personal 
interaction between God and His world. Its perspective implies that God 
has empowered the car (earth) to run, and now it's up to man where he 
drives it. Of course, most Christians would contest such a view. We 
believe that God is very much involved in the detailed events of this 
world. Yet many Christians act like a deist when it comes to God's will. 
They look for God to show them His will so that they can then go out and 
do it.

2. We are to seek Him, not a plan.

The propensity toward seeking the right path presents a subtle danger. 
It places the responsibility on us to figure out God's will. Where grace 
rules, man is the recipient of good things and God is the Giver. So 
under grace, it isn't the Christian's duty to find God's will, but 
rather God will reveal His will to the one who rests in Him. A person 
ruled by law will pursue God's will with sincerity and yet never be 
confident that he has discovered it. One who enjoys intimacy with Jesus 
will know it without struggling to find it.

3. We can't miss God's will when we are abiding in Christ.

If Satan can't paralyze us with fear about moving forward in God's will, 
he will try to make us think that we have missed it. Maybe you have made 
choices only to later wonder what went wrong. You prayed about the 
choices. You evaluated them and then made your decision. Then things 
turned sour. Does this mean you missed God's will? No. Psalm 37:23 says, 
"The steps of a man are established by the LORD." God did direct your steps.

When events don't unfold in the way you want or expect, it simply means 
one thing: God has a different plan. You aren't out of His will, but are 
discovering that His will is producing results you didn't expect. Never 
second-guess God's will after you have acted in faith.

4. When we are abiding in Christ, we can pick a spot and run!

Imagine yourself standing in the center of a large field with an 
unobstructed view of the horizon in every direction. To the west you can 
see the ocean. To the east you see a beautiful mountain range. To the 
north is a lush wooded forest. Looking south, you see a beautiful lake 
shaded by overhanging trees. As you look, you see many small points on 
the horizon. Those points represent your choices in life. You can go to 
any one of them; many look interesting, others don't. Which point should 
you choose? If you are trusting Christ within you, the answer is easy. 
You can choose any place you desire. Of course, it's important that you 
are enjoying an intimate union with Jesus at the time you make your 
choice. In other words, don't act independently of Him. Trust Him to 
guide your thoughts, and then make your decision!

Have you selected the point on the horizon to which you want to go? Then 
run! Run there as fast as you can. Run with excitement and joyful 
anticipation. When you reach the spot you have selected, do you know 
what you will find? Jesus will be standing there. You'll see His arms 
outstretched toward you, and He will be laughing with joy. "Come on!" He 
will say. "Run! Run! I've been waiting for you to get here! This is 
exactly where I wanted you to be!" "Lord!" you exclaim. "I'm so glad 
You're here! No matter what this place holds for me, I know the Father's 
purpose will be done because You drew me here and will be with me at 
every moment. "When grace rules your life, you'll experience the joy 
that comes from knowing and doing God's will. You don't have to be 
afraid. Trust Jesus and go forward in faith. As you abide in Him, He 
will keep you in His will at every moment. He is God's will, and you are 
in Him. Don't worry or struggle. Relax and simply rest in Him because 
grace rules!

*O Glorious Lord, what a good reminder this is *
*of the desperate condition I was in when You justified me.*
*I was not merely needy;*
*I was spiritually dead. *
*I thank You for burying that old life with Jesus in His tomb.*
*I praise You for raising me with Christ to a new life.*
*I rejoice in the radical nature of Your saving grace.*
*Lord, by the power of the resurrection,*
*lead me in the reality of newness of life,*
*and that I can rest in You,*
*in Jesus name, Amen.*

*GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

The Maker Of All Made Sin For Us
    by Pastor C. R. Stam
  It is thrilling to trace through the New Testament and find the word 
"made," and to observe how our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Creator of 
all, humbled Himself, died on Calvary's cross and arose again from the 
dead to save, justify and glorify sinners.

  St. Paul says of Christ: "All things were created by Him  and for Him" 
(Col. 1:16), and St. John adds by inspiration:  "All things were made by 
Him; and without Him was not  anything made that was made... The world 
was made by Him" (John 1:3,10).

  How wonderful it is, then, that He, the Creator of all, came to be one 
with us --- yes, one of us! John tells us again that the Maker of all 
was "made flesh" (John 1:14) and Paul declares that"when the fulness of 
the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under 
the law..." (Gal. 4:4), that He"made Himself of no reputation  ...and 
was made in the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:6,7). In his letter to the 
Hebrews he adds that Christ was "made [for] a little [while] lower than 
the angels for the suffering of death" (Heb. 2:9). More than that, he 
declares that our Lord was "made a curse for us" (Gal. 3:13) to redeem 
us from the curse of the law, and that God "made Him to be sin for 
us..." (II Cor. 5:21).

  Thus in one stroke, at Calvary , our Lord, the great Creator, bore the 
penalty for sin that would have sunk a world to hell, and for this"God 
also hath highly exalted Him" (Phil. 2:9), having "raised him from the 
dead and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above 
all..." (Eph. 1:20,21). "God hath made that same Jesus... both Lord and 
Christ" (Acts 2:36)so that now He has been "made higher than the 
heavens" (Heb.7:26).

  As a result the simplest believer in this mighty Savior is "made... 
accepted in the Beloved One" (Eph. 1:6) and "made [to] sit... in 
heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6). He is "made the 
righteousness of God in Him" (II Cor. 5:21), "that being justified by 
His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal 
life" (Tit. 3:7).

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

-- Handley C. G. Moule
*Our Purpose and Mission

The ministry of "Grace and The Truth" has the purpose of encouraging 
Christians to believe what God says.
Message  "CHRIST" Rom. 16:25, Col. 1:28
Material  "All Scripture, 2 Tim. 3:16, 17
Method  "Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth, 2 Tim. 2:15
Mission  "To Make All See"  Eph. 3:9

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by 
the blood of Christ." Eph.2:13.

**We are dedicated to helping Christians to a fuller knowledge of Him, 
and the Grace of God. Until we all come into the Unity, Ephesians 4:13 
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the 
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the 
fullness of Christ:"

We are wiling to help you on this journey just give us a call,  1 623 
546 8866, Paris
*GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

SCRIPTURE THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
I Corinthians 15:3,4*
*by Russell S. Miller *

"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" (ICor.15:3,4).

Well do I remember that night, many years ago now, when I first trusted 
Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. I recall how the minister opened 
the inspired Scriptures to share God's truth with a lost sinner. How 
kind he was to tell me of the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus. 
Opening the pages of holy Writ he showed me verse by verse my sinful 
condition before a holy God, and God's remedy for it.

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom.3:23).

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life 
through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom.6:23).

Finally when he laid that Book open before me at St. Paul's letter to 
the Corinthians, I knew that I must trust Christ as my Saviour:

"For I delivered unto you first at 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" (ICor.15.3,4).

I praise God for that man, that night, when I was convinced by the 
Spirit of God concerning "the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with 
eternal glory" (IITim.2:10). How wonderful the peace that came into my 
troubled soul - "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" 
(Rom.5:1). I found peace because the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the 
Scriptures opened my blind eyes to see how fully I had been identified 
with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection -- baptized into 
Jesus Christ Himself (Rom.6:3; 4;l; ICor.12:13). And because of the 
finished work of Christ at Calvary, there is no doubt about the eternal 
security of the believer in Christ today. "For the wages of sin is 
death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our 
Lord" (Rom.6:23).

Praise the Lord indeed, for this passage of Scripture has changed my 
life, my outlook on life, and my eternal destiny, and because the 
Apostle Paul's epistles are written to "saints," believers in Jesus 
Christ become -- "saints". Won't you trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour 
and experience the change that Holy Scripture will make in your life?

*Dear Lord Jesus, You came to give us life abundant.
Please fill my life to overflowing with
  the empowering work of Your Spirit.
  Lord, I am not seeking personal benefits.
  I am asking to become a more effective witness.
  I need the Holy Spirit's power that
  I might reflect the reality of the risen Christ,
  in Your mighty name, Amen.*

*If God is your Co-pilot - swap seats!*

*GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

THE WORD FOR LIFE
First JOHN 2:12-17
By the late Pastor L. Peterson

Paul in writing to Timothy (2 Tim. 4:2) said that his ministry 
should cover three distinct areas. First, it should be a word for 
encouragement - 'Preach the word' the apostle declares. This always is 
encouraging as the believers see the promises of God come true. 
Secondly, it should be a word of warning. The apostle adds 'reprove - 
rebuke'. Thirdly, it is a word of exhortation. The text referred to 
above declares 'exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.

This portion in our study of 1st John covers these three areas. 
Verses 12 through 14 covers the area of encouragement. Verses 15 through 
16 covers the area of warning and the 17th verse covers the area of 
exhortation. In our lesson for this writing we shall consider verses 12 
through 14 or the subject of encouragement. The aged apostle encouraged 
his readers by addressing them as a one family unit. All the Christians 
are called by the family name 'Teknia&# 39; or 'little children' . This is a 
term of endearment. Regardless of their spiritual maturity they all 
belong to one family and being born in the bloodstream that flows from 
Calvary they have a common Father, our Heavenly Father. After 
resurrection morning and the giving of His shed blood the Savior called 
the disciples 'brethren&# 39; (John 20:17). This declares them as all in one 
family. How helpful it would be in our Christian circles if we all 
realized this. It would help all of us who are truly Christians to 
better appreciate the entire family. Our denominational differences 
would fade into insignificance if we fully realized this wonderful 
relationship. How grateful we should be to God our Heavenly Father for 
addressing us with such an endearing term as 'children In the 13th and 
14th verses the inspired writer gives credit and acknowledges their 
spiritual maturity.

First, he addressed the 'fathers&# 39;. Who are these so addressed? These 
no doubt were those who had been with from the beginning as we read in 
Acts 1:21 'These men who have companied with us all the time that the 
Lord Jesus went in and out among us'. The emphasis should be upon 'ye 
have known Him, from the beginning' . Some interpret the text that these 
fathers knew 'Him that was from the beginning' . The context and a proper 
translation will show that they were called fathers because they had 
known the Lord for many years. John was an aged apostle when he wrote 
this letter and some of the fathers addressed were of his acquaintance 
and fellowship for many years. They were strong and stedfast in their 
faith and were looked upon as mature in the Lord.

Next the Apostle John addresses the young men. They are addressed as 
such because they were young in years but strong and mature in the Lord. 
They are complimented because they were over-comers. John in another 
portion of this letter declares that the spirit of antichrist was 
already in the world but these young men had overcome the wicked one. 
This is certainly an encouraging word to these young men and to those 
that observed their living. It is encouraging for us even today to know 
that we may even today be 'more than conquerors through Him that loved 
us'. For, if in that early day with so little of the then known world 
being Christian, young men would step out against the course of the age 
to stand and be strong in the Lord, how much more we who find great 
numbers following Christ and the gospel of salvation so well propagated 
as it is today. The word 'over-come&# 39; is 'nikos&# 39; which means conquered 
and is from the noun 'nike' which means victor. These young men living 
in those days in the very heart of paganism were victors.

In the 13th verse John addresses some again as 'little children' . 
These are a different group or a group in a different spiritual category 
as those called 'little children' in verse 12. Here they are 'paidia&# 39; 
little children. They were children of the Lord but not mature or 
spiritually strong. Nevertheless they have known the Father and were His 
children. How great, tenderhearted and good God is to His children. He 
does not cancel our relationship with Him because of immaturity. If this 
had been His way of dealing with us today, most of us would now be lost. 
However once born into His family we are His forever. This too is a word 
of encouragement to every sinner saved by grace.

Verse fourteen seems to be a reemphasize of the preceding verses. In 
the next lesson we shall consider the word of warning and exhortation. 
This lesson which we have just considered prepares us to receive the 
following lesson. May we therefore daily rejoice in God's good word of 
encouragement and consider carefully other words or lessons to build us 
up in our faith.
Amen and love,
Pastor Peterson

If you are blessed by this devotional, please
forward it to your friends

Wise people realize how little they know
and how much they need
the great wisdom of God.
—Joe Stowell

*Our Purpose and Mission

The ministry of "Grace and The Truth" has the purpose of encouraging 
Christians to believe what God says.

Message "CHRIST" Rom. 16:25, Col. 1:28
Material "All Scripture, 2 Tim. 3:16, 17
Method "Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth, 2 Tim. 2:15
Mission "To Make All See" Eph. 3:9

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by 
the blood of Christ." Eph.2:13.

**We are dedicated to helping Christians to a fuller knowledge of Him, 
and the Grace of God. Until we all come into the Unity, Ephesians 4:13 
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the 
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the 
fullness of Christ:"

We are wiling to help you on this journey just give us a call, 1 623 
546 8866, Paris
*GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*
WEB SITE
Grace And The Truth
www.graceandthetruth.com

On Earth But Also In Heaven!
By Pastor Paul Hume

Someone asked another person who professed faith in Jesus Christ, 'What 
earthly good are you for heaven's sake?' You've heard it a hundred times 
about being 'so heavenly minded so as to be no earthly good.' Yet, it is 
terribly possible on the other hand to be 'so earthly minded and no 
heavenly good.'

The true believer in Christ Jesus today is rather an odd person! By 
that we mean that he is, in a sense, to have his head in heaven and his 
feet on earth! Look at Paul's line of reasoning about this in his 
Epistle to the Colossians. Paul writes: 'If you have died with Christ 
to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in 
the world, do you submit yourselves to decrees ....?' (Colossians 2:20). 
Then follow Paul on into the next chapter: 'If (since) then you have 
been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ 
is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, 
not on things which are upon the earth. For you have died and your life 
is hidden with Christ in God. '

The point of Paul's words seem to be that true believers in Christ have 
died (judicially) with Christ. They have experienced a spiritual 
resurrection insomuch that their life is 'hid with Christ in God.' 
Where is Christ? He is seated at the right hand of God. So every 
believer is, in a very real sense, in heaven - right now!

Another passage makes this clear: 'But God...made us alive together with 
Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus' (Ephesians 2:4,5,6). This 
seems so fantastic that it couldn't be real. But it is! We may not feel 
this truth very often, but we surely can believe it! By faith, resting 
upon the veracity of God's Word of Truth, we know we have been, as the 
hymn writer has stated:

'In the Beloved' Accepted am I,
Risen, ascended, and seated on high;
Saved from all sin thru' His infinite grace,
With the redeemed ones accorded a place.
'In the Beloved' , God's marvelous grace
Calls me to dwell in this wonderful place;
God sees my Savior and then He sees me;
'In the Beloved' , accepted and free.'

Now the truth of Philippians 3:20 becomes all the more bright: 'For our 
citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, 
the Lord Jesus Christ.

But then going back to Paul's exhortations in Colossians 3, we find him 
being very 'earthly&# 39; to his advice. He says, 'Therefore consider the 
members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, 
evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.' (3:5) He speaks 
about our 'earthly body,' or 'our members which are upon earth.' 
Physically and bodily we are very much in this world and on this earth. 
But spiritually we are in heaven!

This is why the Apostle goes on in Colossians 3 to explain what a 
heavenly life is in a hell-like world! He goes on to tell us how to live 
a heaven-controlled life personally, domestically and vocationally every 
day. Meditate upon Colossians 3:5-4:6, and even commit it to memory. And 
let's gear our lives each day to keep in tune with heaven - where our 
real Life is - so that we'll be more earthly good in this holiday season!
Grace, peace and love, Pastor Hume

God can do anything He wants to have done.
He doesn't want what you can do ...
Instead, He wants you.

*Our Purpose and Mission

The ministry of "Grace and The Truth" has the purpose of encouraging 
Christians to believe what God says.

Message "CHRIST" Rom. 16:25, Col. 1:28
Material "All Scripture, 2 Tim. 3:16, 17
Method "Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth, 2 Tim. 2:15
Mission "To Make All See" Eph. 3:9

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by 
the blood of Christ." Eph.2:13.

**We are dedicated to helping Christians to a fuller knowledge of Him, 
and the Grace of God. Until we all come into the Unity, Ephesians 4:13 
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the 
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the 
fullness of Christ:"

We are wiling to help you on this journey just give us a call, 1 623 
546 8866, Paris

Would you like to help this ministry? Consider trying to get one other 
person to subscribe to the GRACE DAILY INSPIRATIONAL. This worldwide 
ministry asks for no funds and is sent to glorify our precious Lord and 
Savior, Jesus Christ, AND TO HELP YOU TO GROW IN GRACE AND KNOWLEDGE.
GraceNTheTruth@ COX.NET*

* NOW*
*IS THE ACCEPTED TIME *
*Part 3 of 3*
*by Fred Bachand *
In II Corinthians 6:1-2, Paul writes to Gentiles; "We then, as workers 
together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God 
in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the 
day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted 
time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)" In the first part of verse 
2, Paul quotes from Isaiah 49:8, Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable 
time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee." 
And in the last part of ll Corinthians 6:2, Paul states that NOW IS THE 
ACCEPTED TIME, and that NOW is the DAY OF SALVATION. At the time Paul 
wrote this epistle it was the Acceptable Year of the Lord, and it had 
become the day of Salvation for the Gentiles. Here we find an 
overlapping of two periods of time, which does not appear according to 
prophecy. God would not delay His day of Salvation to the Gentiles, in 
spite of Israel's rejection of Jesus Christ. Yet He graciously extended 
His Acceptable Year to Israel for at least through the time covered by 
the book of Acts. But it is no longer the Acceptable Year for Israel. 
They are now reckoned among the Gentiles, and God's Day of Salvation.

The Day of Salvation, as it is proclaimed by Paul to the Gentiles, 
though it is not in exact chronological accordance with prophecy, is by 
no means contrary to prophecy. But God could not have brought His Day of 
Salvation to the Gentiles at that time under the prevailing conditions 
according to prophecy. Therefore, the Day of Salvation, as it is 
proclaimed by Paul to the Gentiles, is in accordance with a Divine 
Secret, which was revealed to Paul when God appointed him as the Apostle 
of the Gentiles. This Divine Secret is now revealed as the Dispensation 
of the Grace of God, which was given to Paul to be administered to the 
Gentiles, and is described in Ephesians 3:1-11.

Yes, Christ was made a light unto the Gentiles in order that He should 
be God's Salvation unto the ends of the earth. But when Christ was on 
earth among the people of Israel, He was "not sent but unto the lost 
sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt.15:24) . Therefore, at that time, the 
Gentiles "were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of 
Israel, and strangers form the covenants of promise, having no hope, and 
without God ... " (Eph.2:12). Now if Christ is God's Salvation, then 
God's Salvation could not be sent to the Gentiles apart from Christ. The 
Day of Salvation began for the Gentiles when Christ, God's Salvation, 
was sent to the Gentiles, in spite of the prophesied conditions, though 
the instrument of Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles.

Therefore, NOW is the Accepted Time. Now is the Day of Salvation for the 
Gentiles. As long as Christ is among the Gentiles by means of the Church 
which is His Body (see Eph. 1:22,23, and Col. 1:24-27) it will be the 
Day of Salvation. This Day of Salvation will end when Christ is no 
longer among the Gentiles; when the Church, His Body, is complete and we 
who are His are caught up to meet the Lord in the air (I Thess. 
4:16-17). Then it will be the Day of Vengeance.

Christ, God's Salvation, has been sent to you! Christ died for your 
sins! But Christ also arose from the dead, victorious over sin and 
death, in order that you might have life, through faith in Him. This 
gospel of Christ is the power of God unto Salvation to every one 
believing it. This power has been extended to you. NOW is your Accepted 
Time. NOW is your Day of Salvation. If you have never seriously 
considered this, consider it NOW. Do not put it off! Tomorrow may be too 
late!

*Lord God of my salvation, *
*thank You for the glorious message of the gospel.*
* What good news it is to have forgiveness, *
* eternal life, and daily transformation through Your grace.*
* I rejoice that You have taken *
*me out from under the law.*
* I now know that I am your inheritance, *
* I know you are my life,*
* and know that it is you Lord Jesus*
* who brings forth spiritual fruit in me,*
* and all the praise belongs to you. *
* May Your name be exalted, Amen.
GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

HE LED CAPTIVITY CAPTIVE
By Pastor Burgener

"Wherefore He saith, 'When He ascended up on high, He led captivity 
captive, and gave gifts unto men.' (Now He that ascended, what is it but 
that He also descended first unto the lower parts of the earth? He that 
descended is the same also That ascended up far above all heavens, that 
He might fill all things.) And He gave some apostles, and some prophets, 
and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers; for the perfecting 
of the saints..." (Ephesians 4:7-12).

Christ is clearly the Victor, but who are the captives? and who held 
them captive? The enemy is none other than Satan and his demonic-hosts, 
the "wicked spirits in high (or heavenly) places" (Ephesians 6:12). 
Among these are the "principalitie s and powers" whom He "spoiled. .. and 
made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in" His cross 
(Colossians 2:15). Christ became the Victor, not the Victim!

And we were the captives whose captivity has already been described 
"wherein in time past we walked...according to the prince of the power 
of the air, the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience" 
(Ephesians 2:2-3). And the power that wrought in Christ raising Him from 
the dead and seating Him at God's right hand "far above all principality 
and power" is the same power that worked to set us free!

God being rich in mercy and His great love energized us together, raised 
us up together and seated us together with Christ! From this exalted 
place Christ from His fulness gives unto the church, which is His body, 
such gifts as are needed to fill all of them with all gifts. Such is the 
giving of our glorified Lord!

To accomplish all this He left His place of glory and descended first to 
our sphere, "the lower parts of the earth." Notions of descending into 
the infernal regions for any purpose is without scriptural basis. Christ 
had no recorded ministry between His burial and resurrection. His 
humiliation was humbling Himself and being obedient unto death because 
of which God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name above every name 
which shall command the respect of every tongue and bended knee. Neither 
is there any thought of release or a message to "spirits in prison," 
whose plight was recalled here as a warning to those who did not take 
Peter's message seriously. (I Peter 3:18-20.) We must guard against any 
distraction which might take our focus from our ascended glorified Lord!
GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

*NOW*
*IS THE ACCEPTED TIME *
*Pat 2 of 3*
*by Fred Bachand Phoenix,AZ *
*

All the signs associated with the Acceptable Year of the Lord were 
fulfilled by the Lord Jesus and by those appointed by Him beginning with 
His ministry and extending through the time recorded in the book of 
Acts. Therefore, the Acceptable Year of the Lord lasted through the Acts 
period. But what is of primary importance here is that the Acceptable 
Year of the Lord, prophesied by Isaiah, was not extended to the 
Gentiles; it concerned only Israel. At the very time Jesus was 
proclaiming the Acceptable year of the Lord to Israel, He instructed His 
Apostles to "Go not into the way of the Gentiles .... But go rather to 
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The 
Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise 
the dead, cast out devils ... " (Matt. 10:5-8).

THE DAY OF VENGEANCE OF OUR LORD

"Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works 
were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto 
thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had 
been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in 
sackcloth and ashes. But i say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for 
Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, 
Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: 
for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in 
Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That 
it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, 
than for thee " (Matt. 11:20-24).

Here we find that The Day of Vengeance is now being proclaimed to the 
cities of Israel. But that day, and the things associated with it, were 
not fulfilled at that time. The reason for this is that at that time it 
was still the Acceptable Year of the Lord. Jesus was still doing the 
works associated with the Acceptable Year of the Lord, and He was still 
extending the invitation to Israel to enter into His rest, for He said, 
"Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give 
you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and 
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is 
easy, and My burden is light" (Matt. 11:20-24).

The Day of Vengeance of Our God did not commence with its proclamation. 
Indeed it could not commence as long as it was still the Acceptable Year 
of the Lord. But, after almost two thousand years, the Day of Vengeance 
and the things associated with it have not yet been fulfilled. The 
fulfillment of the Day of Vengeance of our God awaits the other coming, 
the "second coming" of the Lord Jesus Christ as the righteous judge. 
Then would this indicate that it is still the Acceptable Year of the 
Lord for Israel?

THE DAY OF SALVATION

"And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to 
raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I 
will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be My 
salvation unto the end of the earth" (Isa. 49:6).

We have seen that both the Acceptable Year of the Lord and the Day of 
Vengeance of our God, and all that are associated with them, are 
peculiarly associated with Israel. But what about the Gentiles? In 
Isaiah 49:6, we find the wonderful truth that what Christ is going to 
accomplish with Israel, one nation, is only "a light thing" with God; 
for God has appointed Him also "for a light to the Gentiles," all the 
nations, "that Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth." 
But we must know and understand that even this, as it was prophesied by 
Isaiah, awaits a future fulfillment; after the Day of Vengeance of our 
God, at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

*Lord God of resurrection, *
*I praise You for the resurrection of Your Son,*
* Jesus, my Savior.*
* Lord Jesus, I am so thankful that you have placed me*
* in the body of Christ and I have been given a wonderful place*
* in the heavens you truly have blessed we Gentiles,*
* thereby missing the day of Vengeance of our Lord.*
* Please work in my life the richness *
*of Your grace, secured by *
*Your sacrificial death and resurrection victory.*
* In Your mighty name, I pray, Amen.*

*GraceNTheTruth@ COX.NET*

* NOW*
*IS THE ACCEPTED TIME *
*Part 1 of 3*
*by Fred Bachand Phoenix,AZ *
*

In the study of God's Word we find many periods of time in which certain
conditions are outstanding. Among these there are three which are of
primary importance to us. Each one designates a particular time in which
God administers particular precepts to particular peoples. These three
periods of time are: The Acceptable Year of the Lord, the Day of
Vengeance of our God, and the Day of Salvation.

THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD

"And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there
went out a fame of Him through all the region round about. And He taught
in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And He came to Nazareth,
where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the
synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was
delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when He had
opened the book, He found the place where it was written, The Spirit of
the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to
the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to
set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of
the Lord. And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister,
and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were
fastened on Him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this
scripture fulfilled in your ears." (Luke 4:14-21).

Notice that the Lord Jesus read from the book of Isaiah (Esaias), and
after reading as far as " ... to preach the acceptable year of the Lord,
... He closed the book. .. " (v.20). We find this portion of Scripture
in Isaiah 61:1-2. But when we read verse 2, we find that Jesus closed
the book in the middle of a sentence. For we read in Isaiah 61:2: "To
proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of
our God; to comfort all that mourn." and the sentence continues through
verse 3.

The fact that the Lord Jesus closed the book in the middle of a sentence
shows how accurately He handled the Word of God. By stopping at this
point in the prophecy of Isaiah He established a distinction between two
periods of time; the Acceptable Year of the Lord, and the Day of
Vengeance of our God. By closing the book at this point, in this
prophecy, He was able to make the statement recorded in Luke 4:21; "And
He began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your
ears." It was indeed that time of the Acceptable Year of the Lord, but
it was not yet the Day of Vengeance of our God.

Isaiah's prophecy begins with the words, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon
Me." In Luke 4:14, we read that, " ... Jesus returned in the power of
the Spirit into Galilee." "And John (the Baptist) bare record, saying, I
saw the Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove, and it abode upon
Him" (John 1:32). Yes, Jesus was the one of whom Isaiah spoke; and His
presence, among the people of Israel, constituted the fulfillment of
that prophecy: but only, at that time, to the point at which Jesus
closed the book.

This is the answer to what appears to be a problem with John the Baptist
in Matthew . 11:2,3. There we read, "Now when John had heard in the
prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto
Him, Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another?" This does
seem to be inconsistent, for John bore record that he had seen the proof
that Jesus was the one of whom Isaiah spoke. He said he saw the Spirit
descend from Heaven and abide upon Him. Would he now be questioning that
which he had previously confirmed? NO! John was not questioning whether
Jesus was the one that the prophets said should come. Of this he was
convinced. The question was concerning Christ's coming. Was this it? Or
was there also to be another one; another coming of a different kind?
(The Greek here is heteros). Jesus' answer indicated that there would
indeed be another coming of a different kind. He told John's disciples;
"Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things
which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame
walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised
up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." (Matt. 11:4-5). All
this constituted only a partial fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy; that
which was connected with the Acceptable Year of the Lord. What yet
remains to be fulfilled is that portion which is connected with the Day
of Vengeance of our God; when Christ is " ... to comfort all that mourn;
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for
ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit
of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the
planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified." (lsa. 61:2-3).

*Heavenly Father, we are awe struck at the vast dimensions of Your grace. *
*Forgive us for underestimating that grace so often. *
*Enlighten the eyes of our hearts that we might *
*know the richness of Your grace. *
*May the immeasurable ocean of*
*Your grace be our daily supply *
*for life in Christ, in His name we pray, Amen.*

*GraceNTheTruth@ COX.NET*

~THE HOPE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS~ *
*By ROBERT E. HANNA,
Scripture Reading: Galatians 5:5

In rightly dividing the Word of Truth, we must be ever watchful to 
delineate between justification by obedience to the law and 
justification by faith alone. In his Student' s Commentary, George 
Williams says of the textual verse under consideration: "Paul reveals 
the hoped-for glory, and faith builds on that hope. Righteousness is the 
foundation. Righteousness is not waited for--- it is already possessed, 
--- but faith waits for the hope connected with it."

The hope of the Body of Christ is the Lord Jesus Christ (Col. 1:27; I 
Timothy 1:1; Titus 2:13}, He is our hope, and we are hoping (expecting) 
His glorious appearing. The world thinks of hope as a wish or desire. 
Our hope is a fact, a possession. We have the hope of eternal life, 
signed, sealed and soon to be consummated. We have the hope of 
righteousness --- His righteousness, imputed to us by His vicarious 
suffering. We have the hope of glory --- Christ in us. Every aspect of 
our hope is irrevocable.

In Isaiah 64:6 we read, descriptive of ourselves, "We are all as an 
unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags..." And in 
Romans 3:10, "There is none righteous, no, not one." This being true, 
Job's question recorded in Job 9:2 would certainly seem appropriate: 
"...How should man be just with God?" Righteousness cannot be earned, 
cannot be deserved by sinful man. "But to him that worketh not, but 
believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for 
righteousness" (Romans 4:5). This is the answer to Job's question! Our 
only righteousness is "The righteousness which is of God by faith" 
(Philippians 

Should this Inspirational be a blessing and encouragement to you, why 
not send to a friend, coworker or, to your loved one. The Word of God is 
so needed in our troubled USA. We are loosing a great many of our 
privileges the founding fathers of our great county have protected us by 
the Constitution of America, there is no country in the world as great 
as America. Let's stand up and take back our roots.

*Eph 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*

*Truth can't be judged on the basis of popularity.

*GraceNTheTruth@COX.NET*

*SUBTLE SELF*
*By Miles Stanford *
"Create in me a dean heart, 0 God, and renew a right spirit within me" 
(Ps. 51:1O).

A healthy spiritual birth results in the falling away of many of the 
more obvious works of the flesh, often causing the new believer to claim 
2 Corinthians 5:17 or Galatians 2:20 as his testimony. However, for the 
Lord Jesus to be fully manifested, it is going to involve a lifetime of 
the Holy Spirit's deep dealing with the more subtle and deadly 
characteristics of the self-life-- "always delivered unto death" (2 Cor. 
4:11).

"By the daily 'supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ' (Phil. 1:19), the 
believer united to his Risen Lord 'grows continually to a more perfect 
knowledge and likeness of his Creator,' and grows up 'after the image of 
Him that created him,' in the sphere where 'Christ is all, and in all.'

'The child naturally grows up in the likeness of his father, and the new 
life communicated to the redeemed grows up in the likeness of Him who is 
the Creator of the new creation, if so be that the death with Christ is 
unflinchingly recognized, and 'old things' are truly allowed to pass 
away to make room for the growth of the new man 'which is after God ... 
created in righteousness, and holiness of truth' (Eph. 4:24m)."

"How many earnest and religious people belong to 'the Old Adam 
Improvement Society.' It is the recognition of the Christ-life, it is 
union with the Risen Christ, that men need instead of the culture of the 
religious self-life." --- E.H.

"Unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13).

2Co 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in 
Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every 
place.

*THOUGHT TO PONDER *

* "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.*
*Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul *
*be strengthened, *
* ambition inspired, and success achieved." *

* Helen Keller *

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*But please Copy & Paste---Leaving off all addresses,*
*Thank -You God Bless! Paris*

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