A
welcome Note
Welcome back precious friends to our 17th Good News Magazine
Edition.
We hope and pray that your family is doing well and God is taking good care of
you. Our theme this time which most of
you are familiarized with and can never get to understand it’s deep meaning is,
GRACE.
I am not sure who came up with this meaning: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense (G.R.A.C.E.)
but I must admit that I love that literal meaning and the message it
depicts in our lives. Grace, oh how I pray that the Lord will teach us to
understand how deep this is. The person I am today is by God’s grace, yes His
divine grace. God saw me from the very beginning, He knew me even before I was
formed in my mother’s womb. From time to time man has always lived his own
life, a life of sin, a life of carnality, a life not worth pleasing to God. God
saw the need for us to KNOW Him and bring us back to Him. John 3:16 tells it
all.
Despite
our rejection of God’s redemptive power and work of the cross, He still
stretches out His hand toward us. He still wants us to call upon His Name and
get saved. God’s grace is eminent. The
moment we start believing in Him, His grace will carry us through, He will
ensure that no matter what we go through, He will give us the grace to carry
on, and when our strength is gone out, His strength will be ours. All we need
to do is to just call upon His Name and we shall be saved according to the
scripture in Romans 10:11-13, For the
scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is
no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich
unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved.
Look
at this again, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all
that call upon him. Yes, rich unto all that call upon Him. For
us to experience God’s riches in our lives, we have to tap into the reservoir
of God's grace. Everything has been laid up for our own good. God’s riches of
grace are eternal and this will never run out. The moment we are born again,
accept the Lord Jesus as our personal savior and Lord over our hearts, we start
experiencing eternity with the Lord.
When
God lavishes His grace upon all that believe Him, we receive righteousness in Him;
we get freedom from legalism and an unbreakable union with our Father. And God
in return desires that we invest time and energy in our relationship with Him.
As we open ourselves to the Father, everything He has to offer pours freely
into our lives. Our connection with Him makes it possible for us to live
joyful, contented lives overflowing with blessings.
Romans
8:17 states that, And if children, then heirs; heirs of God,
and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be
also glorified together. Well, I believe as heirs of God, we
have access to everything that God has in store for us. We have access to God's
riches, which include unspeakable joy, unconditional love, and peace beyond
understanding. God’s riches is for His true children whom He gives freely
whatsoever we ask of Him.
True
wealth isn't measured by our bank accounts or what we possess. It is high time
for us to realize that God’s grace has been given to us freely. Romans 3:24
says, Being justified freely by his grace through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Justified freely here means, without anything
done on our part to deserve. Not any good we did to deserve God’s
justification, our works and good deeds as a matter of fact could have amounted
to emptiness and separated us forever from God. By His grace it simply
means His free love. His love He offers to us all. No man could have
done this except our God through His son Jesus. He died for you and for me on
the cross that we might be redeemed from our sin. Jesus went through a hard way;
He paid the full price for our redemption and salvation. It is free grace, mere mercy; there is nothing in us to
deserve such favors. It comes freely unto us, but Christ bought it, and paid
the price. And faith has special regard to the blood of Christ, as that which
made the atonement. God, in all this, declares His righteousness. It is plain
that He hates sin, when nothing less than the blood of Christ would satisfy for
it. And it would not agree with His justice to demand the debt, when the Surety
has paid it, and He Has accepted that payment in full satisfaction, all this
because He so loves us and His mercies are new every morning!
Our faith, our conversion, and our eternal salvation, are not
of works, lest any man should boast. These things are not brought to pass by
anything done by us, therefore all boasting is shut out. All is the free gift
of God, and the effect of being quickened by His power. It was His purpose, to
which He prepared us, by blessing us with the knowledge of His will, and His
Holy Spirit producing such a change in us, that we should glorify God by our
good conversation, and perseverance in holiness. I must say that when you have
given your life to the Lord, you have declared war with the enemy. Our enemy is
the devil. The enemy’s agenda is to destroy what God has created and deemed
good, but I thank the Lord that He came to give us life in abundance. John 10:10
says, The thief cometh
not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might
have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. What
more riches can we receive than the abundance of eternal life in Christ given
to us by His grace?
May the Lord help us all to understand God’s mystery of
grace. When I reflect on God’s mercies and the grace given to us, I never cease
to thank Him. All of us deserved destruction, all of us never qualified
for His grace and His mercy, but God in His unending love, by His grace determined
to deliver us though the redemptive power of His blood... Colosians 1:14 puts
it like this, In whom we have redemption through his
blood, even the forgiveness of sins : He predestinated that we
should be conformed to the image of His Son. All that God designed for glory
and happiness as the end, He decreed to grace
and holiness as the way. God in His
boundless love for us, met all the issues of sin for a lost and ruined world,
and so perfectly Has He wrought that man need now but believe and thus receive
the bounty of His sufficient grace.
Have you
surrendered your life to the Lord? Would you like to receive God’s riches which
comes by His grace through Jesus Christ? Would you love to be a partaker in
God’s Kingdom? May the Lord give you favor. May He show you mercy and bestow
His blessings upon you! I sum up this with Philipians 4:19, But my God shall supply all your need according to his
riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Call on Him today for behold, now is
the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Amen.
THE GREATNESS OF GOD’S GRACE
So many times in our life, without even realizing
it, we take God's grace for granted. Most times, it’s because we don't
fully understand the entire meaning of
God's grace, or perhaps accept with great humility
the results of God's grace.
There were some verses that even in my adult
life in walking with the Lord that didn't
quite touch my life as much as they should or could have because of my lack of understanding of them,
which resulted in my taking of God's
grace for granted. Not intentionally, but out of ignorance.
Here are just a few of such verses:
Romans 3:25 - Whom God hath set forth to be a
propitiation through
faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness
for the remission of
sins that are past, through the forbearance of
God;
1 John 2:2 - And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours
only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
1
John 4:10 - Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved
us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for
our sins.
Is there one word that keeps jumping out at you
through these verses? There should
be. And that word is "propitiation". This is the definition that the KJV Bible Dictionary
offers as the definition for propitiation;
"PROPITIATION, n.
1. The act of appeasing wrath and conciliating
the favor of an offended person; the act
of making propitious.
2. In theology, the atonement or atoning
sacrifice offered to God to assuage his
wrath and render him propitious to sinners. Christ is the propitiation for the sins of men. Rom. 3, 1John 2.
Once we understand propitiation, we see GRACE shining through! I have 3 sons; Matthew, Jonathan
David, and Timothy. Through Home Schooling our boys, it gave us many teaching opportunities not
just through book learning, but through
life lessons as well. I'd like to share a story with you that I'm sure my boys wouldn't mind me
sharing with you.
Our youngest son, at times, would have a habit of tattle
telling in his older two brothers.
We realized this was just a part of being the youngest and would eventually grow out of it. However, one day it gave
us a great teaching opportunity as well as
learning a Biblical truth through
experience. Our youngest came in from outside and told us something the older two had done. My husband and
I had already decided that this is what
we would do next time this would occur. We told him to go get his brothers, that we wanted to talk to them.
Because our bedroom was right off of the living room,
I sat with our youngest in the living room, and my husband took the
older two boys into the bedroom to carry
out the discipline required for disobedience,
which was to be spanked after having explained to them what they had done wrong, that they were being
punished because they made the choice to
disobey rather than obey, and then punishment was carried out in love, in this case (because of the type
of disobedience) by spanking. As I
sat with my youngest on the sofa outside the bed room, he heard a "spank",
and then the response his brother made
from receiving the spank. Tears began to fall, and he knew his other brother was going to be next and asked
to go to his room. I told him no,
that he had come and told us what his brother's did, and that he would wait with me.
He started to cry and said he didn't want to hear it... (What he knew
was coming next). I told him I
understood, but if he didn't do what they had done, he had nothing to worry about as long as it was the truth and
he did not participate
as well, but it's not always nice to tell on
your brothers unless they're in danger ,
or harming someone else. And so, just before the punishment on his second brother was to begin, he
jumped up sobbing and said, "Let
me!" I asked what he meant by that...and his reply was, " don't spank him, spank me." I
asked if he had done the wrong, and he
said no... I then asked if he had lied about what his brother had done...and again, the answer was no. So I
asked him why would he
want to get spanked if he did nothing
wrong? His reply was, " because
I love him and I'll take it for him". That's when I smiled and said, "Honey, that is what you call,
propitiation! Taking someone else's punishment
when they did the wrong, and you did nothing wrong, but out of love for them, are willing to take their
punishment.
What he didn't know, was on the other side of
the door, Jerry was having a talk with
the two other brothers who had disobeyed. He told them that what they did was wrong, and asked them if
they felt they deserved to be punished,
to which they both agreed. Jerry then explained to the boys, that even though they deserve to be punished,
he was going to show them mercy. He
explained that mercy is not getting what
you deserve. (The boys were quite pleased with the way this was working out for them!)
Jerry went on to explain how Jesus Christ shows us mercy each day...and then
concluded that when mom comes into the
bedroom, we were all going to get cleaned up and go out for ice cream! Jerry asked them if they knew what that
was called, and then explained "this
is called GRACE!". Mercy is not getting what
we deserve, but grace is getting something
special on top of that!
As I came into the room with our youngest, he hugged
his brothers, and we discussed what happened...no, the two older
brothers were not really spanked, but
from behind the door, to their little brother, it sounded like it...which gave me an excellent teaching
tool...and yes, he was happy to hear they
were not spanked! We were also able to use this
as an opportunity to explain his tattle telling had to stop...but then, we were able to explain to his brothers their
younger brother's example of willingness
to take the punishment and teach them a beautiful
example of propitiation, while explaining how the older
brothers learned mercy and grace all at one
time...and then it was off for ice
cream! You may not agree with the method which we chose to teach young children life lessons along with Biblical
lessons at the same time, and I take no
offense to that as we all must train up our children as the Lord leads us. But this was an opportunity that
Jerry and I had discussed in advance and
opted to wait for such an opportunity to
put into play. And it was a lesson that was used many
times over as we continued to train up our sons
in the ways of the Lord.
Propitiation is just one major manifestation of Christ's grace towards us...the greatest grace of all.
That Jesus, not having committed the sin
Himself, with tears of love for us, took our punishment in our place so we would not have to. And then, in
mercy, offered us an opportunity for
salvation, and to those who accept that opportunity, by grace we are saved! And that grace is eternity with
the Lord and Savior who purchased and
paid for our sin debt that we may spend eternity
in splendor with Him in Glory. Praise God for the greatness of His glorious GRACE!
THE IMMEASURABLE GRACE
1Timothy 1:2 Unto Timothy, my
own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Recently our beloved country Kenya experienced
and went through a turmoil of terror attacks from the ‘Al-Shabaab, a militias
group which kill innocent people. As a country we mourned, prayed for the
affected families but deep inside me I was groaning with pain. I wondered why
God allowed this but then upon looking into His Word I got encouraged. Psalm
136:1 says, O give thanks
unto the Lord; for he is good: for his
mercy endureth for ever. And Psalm 23:6 says, Surely goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the
house of the LORD for ever. The thought of the mercy of the Lord
just overcame me. The fact that the Lord's mercy endureth forever, means
nothing can stop His mercy from flowing freely into our lives!
It is at that time that I started reflecting
how my life was before I came to know the Lord. I lived in sin. So deep in sin.
Darkness surrounded my life. Life had no meaning. Life offered a short term
pleasure. Yes, a time when I had gone away from God and fallen. But a time
came, God in His great mercies, He saved me. Oh, how I wish I could put this
right. God’s mercies go deeper than our sins. His mercies go beyond than we can
expect. No matter how deep we have fallen, His grace is sufficient. It doesn't
matter how far we have strayed, His mercies go just a little farther. Only
GRACE AND MERCY could do this!
From the opening verses above, we understand
that God’s mercies endureth forever. And all of us somewhere in our lives have
received mercy or are about to receive mercy. I myself need mercy from God. Our
country needs God’s mercy as well. All of us need the mercy of God. None of us
deserves to go to heaven. None of us deserves the blessing of God. But through
His mercies, He will sustain us to the end.
Have you ever asked yourself why we need His
mercies? We need His mercies because sometimes we sin, mess up, speak unkind
words, and have unkind thoughts toward our brothers and sisters. Remember the
things we've done we shouldn't have done. We can't forget the harsh words we've
said when we should have been quiet. We are guilty of envy and covetousness and
jealousy, and impatience. But our God is willing to forgive us. He is willing
to show us mercy and grace. We deserved the heaviest punishment for our sins.
But God took it all to His beloved and begotten son, Jesus. That is why we need
to have the audacity but in humility go boldly to God and confess to Him all
our sins and wrongs. His mercies are new every morning; He will definitely
forgive us our sins and remember them no more.
Through God’s grace the Gospel reached us, we
who were gentiles, for Jesus had come unto His own, and His own
received Him not. John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
We never deserved God’s salvation, it
belonged to the Jews, and when they rejected the Lord, all these blessings of
grace and mercy were given to us . We have received His divine grace, been
justified and sanctified. It is not that we were upright, not our own work but
upon the sovereign good will and pleasure of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was
bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all:
yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me (1
Corinthians 15:10). I surely agree with Apostle Paul, we are a result of grace.
Grace made us this way. God’s grace will always be immeasurable and His mercy
will remain inexhaustible.
May you be encouraged today that
throughout our lives the Lord will give us the grace, mercy, and peace we need
to live for Him. And finally let’s remember that God Has not required us to
fully understand His grace, only to receive it by faith.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
TESTIMONY - By Charles
My name is Charles
Eric Rice. People usually just call me Chuck. I was Born In Atlanta
Georgia on October 28th 1966 at Georgia Baptist
Hospital, I accepted Jesus as my Savior on
June 3rd, 1983 at True Gospel Baptist
church in Forest Park, Georgia at the age of 17.
My pastor’s name was Brother J.C. Chapman... I was saved in a revival meeting on a Wednesday night. At this service, Brother Tom Hayes was doing the preaching. Before I was saved, I was a wild child always getting into trouble or fighting or cussing people out for no reason at all. And if anyone happened to hurt me or belittle me, my first response was to hurt them...physically!
I wasn't raised in a Christian home; I grew up with my parents, along with my 4 brothers and 4 sisters, along with some aunts that lived with us. We Lived In The City Of Carol City, Florida... Needless to say, I had my hands full growing up as I was the 7th of the 7 children.
School was very difficult for me. For some reason, my teachers wouldn't teach me what I needed to learn all through elementary school. Those were hard years from 1970-1976. I would plead with them to give me work according to my age group and I would do it but the work was so far beneath what I was capable of. Needless to say, this just added to my frustrations. I told them if they refuse to give me work I'm capable of; I will refuse to do the work. So they tested me...however, they would only let me go so far, and then stop me, trying to convince me that I was "a slow learner". The most frustrating part of it all, was to know that if they would give me half a chance, I knew I could do it...but they didn't have the faith in me that I could do it.
Then, the taunting began. I was made fun of so very badly for "being slow" by the time I reached Jr. High School. I was taunted even more because I had no hair. All this bitterness just built up inside me until I was just a mean, nasty hateful person to most anyone...other school kids, teachers, and even other people. If you crossed me, I would tell it like it was and not hesitate to use inappropriate names to tell them so!
We Moved To Jonesboro, Georgia in 1979 to make a change for the better in our lives. You see, my dad had to retire early from his job at Eastern Airlines when I was in 8th grade which meant starting all over again at a new school, Jonesboro Jr. High/At first things seemed to be going pretty well...a lot better than it was...until a teacher wanted to do some testing with me all of a sudden and at that point started getting baby work. I didn't understand what was happening until I realized they had received records from my former school in Florida. I refused To do the work. So they put me in a Special Ed class because I refused to do more testing.
This made me more and more bitter. I didn't want to listen to anyone unless it was something I like to do, or play. I was threatened that I wouldn't be promoted to my next grade because they didn't think I could do it, but I proved them wrong, and I DID do it, and was promoted each year...and then I hit high school...I was in for a shock!
I actually had teachers that cared about me and really helped me to overcome a lot of hurt and pain I had been carrying with me from my past. They wanted me to show them exactly what I was capable of... I amazed them by what I was able to do. I told them about my past and how I was treated by other teachers and all the problems and obstacles I had overcome...so they placed me in my proper level where I belonged. A very special teacher, by the name of Mr. Pecca and his caring for me and my well being tested me on a higher level. I never would have made it through high school if it weren't for him. I did graduate in 1984, the only boy in my family to graduate from high
school!
It was during the summer of 1983, June 3rd that I was saved. There was a point in my life, when I heard the Spirit of the Lord speaking to me that I needed to be saved. I didn't hesitate one minute. I ran from the back door of the church to the altar and fell on my knees crying, "Lord save me"... I didn't know what else to say... I didn't know how to pray...I just kept saying it over and over asking the Lord to save me. Then, the preacher knelt down beside me and told me
Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." He also shared, Romans 14:11. "For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." Also Matthew 10:32. " Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven." When I got up from that altar, I was a new Born Again Child of God! Jesus saved my soul from Hell!
I did some work for the state of Georgia in transportation and was a sheriff deputy two terms, I also worked for a few air freight companies, Delta Airlines and was a substitute teacher for 5 years. I had been told my entire life that I wouldn't amount to anything. But to God be the glory, He proved them wrong through my life.
My pastor’s name was Brother J.C. Chapman... I was saved in a revival meeting on a Wednesday night. At this service, Brother Tom Hayes was doing the preaching. Before I was saved, I was a wild child always getting into trouble or fighting or cussing people out for no reason at all. And if anyone happened to hurt me or belittle me, my first response was to hurt them...physically!
I wasn't raised in a Christian home; I grew up with my parents, along with my 4 brothers and 4 sisters, along with some aunts that lived with us. We Lived In The City Of Carol City, Florida... Needless to say, I had my hands full growing up as I was the 7th of the 7 children.
School was very difficult for me. For some reason, my teachers wouldn't teach me what I needed to learn all through elementary school. Those were hard years from 1970-1976. I would plead with them to give me work according to my age group and I would do it but the work was so far beneath what I was capable of. Needless to say, this just added to my frustrations. I told them if they refuse to give me work I'm capable of; I will refuse to do the work. So they tested me...however, they would only let me go so far, and then stop me, trying to convince me that I was "a slow learner". The most frustrating part of it all, was to know that if they would give me half a chance, I knew I could do it...but they didn't have the faith in me that I could do it.
Then, the taunting began. I was made fun of so very badly for "being slow" by the time I reached Jr. High School. I was taunted even more because I had no hair. All this bitterness just built up inside me until I was just a mean, nasty hateful person to most anyone...other school kids, teachers, and even other people. If you crossed me, I would tell it like it was and not hesitate to use inappropriate names to tell them so!
We Moved To Jonesboro, Georgia in 1979 to make a change for the better in our lives. You see, my dad had to retire early from his job at Eastern Airlines when I was in 8th grade which meant starting all over again at a new school, Jonesboro Jr. High/At first things seemed to be going pretty well...a lot better than it was...until a teacher wanted to do some testing with me all of a sudden and at that point started getting baby work. I didn't understand what was happening until I realized they had received records from my former school in Florida. I refused To do the work. So they put me in a Special Ed class because I refused to do more testing.
This made me more and more bitter. I didn't want to listen to anyone unless it was something I like to do, or play. I was threatened that I wouldn't be promoted to my next grade because they didn't think I could do it, but I proved them wrong, and I DID do it, and was promoted each year...and then I hit high school...I was in for a shock!
I actually had teachers that cared about me and really helped me to overcome a lot of hurt and pain I had been carrying with me from my past. They wanted me to show them exactly what I was capable of... I amazed them by what I was able to do. I told them about my past and how I was treated by other teachers and all the problems and obstacles I had overcome...so they placed me in my proper level where I belonged. A very special teacher, by the name of Mr. Pecca and his caring for me and my well being tested me on a higher level. I never would have made it through high school if it weren't for him. I did graduate in 1984, the only boy in my family to graduate from high
school!
It was during the summer of 1983, June 3rd that I was saved. There was a point in my life, when I heard the Spirit of the Lord speaking to me that I needed to be saved. I didn't hesitate one minute. I ran from the back door of the church to the altar and fell on my knees crying, "Lord save me"... I didn't know what else to say... I didn't know how to pray...I just kept saying it over and over asking the Lord to save me. Then, the preacher knelt down beside me and told me
Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." He also shared, Romans 14:11. "For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." Also Matthew 10:32. " Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven." When I got up from that altar, I was a new Born Again Child of God! Jesus saved my soul from Hell!
I did some work for the state of Georgia in transportation and was a sheriff deputy two terms, I also worked for a few air freight companies, Delta Airlines and was a substitute teacher for 5 years. I had been told my entire life that I wouldn't amount to anything. But to God be the glory, He proved them wrong through my life.
The
Lord called me to preach and on May 5th 1987,
I've been preaching the King James Bible
ever since! So never let anyone tell you you "can't" do something...you CAN if you have Jesus Christ in
your heart as your personal savior.
CREATIVE WRITINGS
THE GOSPEL OF GRACE - By Denis Martindale
Through God's
riches at Christ's expense
Each sinner
will be saved
And once in
Christ to find new friends
With all his
sins now waived...
To think,
that every law God set
Has taught us
what was right,
Yet when
we've sinned, we've felt regret
That lingers
day and night...
Through God's
riches at Christ's expense,
A robe of
righteousness
And wise is
he whose sinning ends,
So God above
can bless...
Who knows?
Perhaps a healing touch,
Or visions
once he's prayed,
Or simply
shown God loves so much
With miracles
displayed...
Through God's
riches at Christ's expense,
God's
Revelations came,
To all His
Churches He still sends
Us hope in
Jesus' Name...
To think, the
future there revealed,
Prepares us
here and now,
A holy
harvest yet to yield
That God will
still allow...
Through God's
riches at Christ's expense,
Our future
King will reign,
The thousand
years that God intends
When Jesus
comes again...
When Israel
calls upon the Lord,
By faith when
wisdom dawns,
It's then
that Israel stands assured
And thus no
longer mourns...
Through God's
riches at Christ's expense,
Not by our
works at all,
But by God's
gift each comprehends
The fruit of
Adam's fall...
The choice is
Heaven, or it's Hell,
There stands
no in-between!
That's why
before we say farewell,
God's Son
must intervene!
Through God's
riches at Christ's expense,
Believe and
be baptised!
While
Pentecost was quite intense,
Three
thousand turned to Christ!
That's how
God moved in ancient days,
That's how
God's Gospel starts,
That's why
our spirits lift up praise
That's borne
in joyful hearts...
NEW MERCIES – By Deborah Ann
New mercies
each day,
fall from
heaven above
sprinkles of
eternal hope
raindrops of
God’s love.
Showers of
grace upon us,
from the
skies they descend
with promises
one day . . .
to heaven, we
will ascend.
New mercies
each day,
to replenish
and restore
grace today
sufficient
tomorrow,
will rain more.
In our
weaknesses,
new mercies
God sends
to heal and
to comfort
to repair and
to mend.
New mercies
each day,
from heaven
they flood
washing our
sins clean
in Jesus’
precious blood.
When to God
we confess,
the disease
of our sin
new mercies
He sends
to cleanse us
within.
New mercies
each day,
God’s love
showers on us
great is His
faithfulness
to those who
do trust!
~~~~~~~~~~
Lamentations
3:22-24
“It is of the
Lord’s mercies
that we are
not consumed,
because his compassions fail not.
They are new
every morning:
great is thy
faithfulness.
The Lord is
my portion, saith my soul;
therefore
will I hope in him.”
King James
Version
by Public
Domain
Copyright
2015
Deborah Ann
Belka
THE GOD OF ALL GRACE - BY J. C. O’HAIR
"The God
of all grace" is a wonderful name:
What a
privilege it is, His grace to proclaim;
To tell forth
the gospel at home and abroad,
To teach
guilty sinners the great love of God.
How He
planned it in heaven, to send from above
His bosom
Companion, the Son of His love,
To live among
sinners, to die on the tree,
To receive
Divine judgment for you and for me.
What love and
what mercy! What infinite grace!
Christ Jesus
was willing to die in our place.
Then God sent
the Spirit to convict us of sin,
To make us
new creatures and abide then within.
Grace
excludes boasting, religion or deeds;
Provides for
the sinner all that he needs.
In Christ
we're accepted, complete in God's Son;
Saved without
doing, by the work He has done.
Not by man's
wisdom, endeavor or plan;
How utterly
futile the best work of man!
Because
Christ was sinless God can be just
And justify
freely all who will trust.
And all who
trust Jesus of glory are sure,
Preserved by
God's power, forever secure.
For Christ,
in God's presence, appears for His own
And makes
intercession as He sits on God's throne.
And sealed by
the Spirit who abides all the way,
The believer
is waiting for that glorious day;
When the
blessed Lord Jesus shall in glory appear;
The day of
redemption! We wonder how near!
Then all that
is mortal no longer shall be,
In glorified
bodies our Lord we shall see.
And if we are
faithful, with Him we shall reign,
For our
labours in Jesus shall not be in vain.
With such
grace abounding, such power Divine!
Why do we
falter, doubt or repine?
And why do lost
sinners remain in their state
Condemned now
already and hereafter such fate?
THE TRUE GRACE OF GOD - Deborah Ann
May the true
grace of God,
change you
from within
may it set
you free . . .
from the
bondage of sin.
May the true
grace of God,
you put on
today
may from
worldly lusts
you turn and
walk away.
May the true
grace of God,
bring about
new life
may with
temptation
you no longer
have strife.
May the true
grace of God,
lead you to
holiness
may to
Calvary’s cross
you come with
lowliness.
May the true
grace of God,
be not taken
in vain
may in your
heart and soul
Jesus live
and reign!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
2 Corinthians
6:1
” We then, as
workers together with him,
beseech you
also that ye receive not
the grace of
God in vain.”
King James
Version -by Public Domain
Copyright
2015
Deborah Ann
Belka
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