December
17, 2003
PARTAKERS
OF HIS GLORY!
"May
the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by
Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish,
strengthen and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion
forever and ever" (1 Peter 5:10, 11, NKJV).
"When
the truth is received, it will work radical changes in life
and character; for religion means the abiding of Christ in
the heart, and where He is, the soul goes on in spiritual
activity, ever growing in grace.
"It
is no real evidence that you are a Christian because your
emotion is stirred, your spirit stirred by truth; the question
is, Are you growing up into Christ, your living head? Is the
grace of Christ manifested in your life? God gives His grace
to men, that they may desire more of His grace. God's grace
is ever working upon the human heart, and when it is received,
the evidence of its reception will appear in the life and
character of its recipient.
"The
grace of Christ in the heart will always promote spiritual
life, and spiritual advancement will be made. We do not see
the plants grow in the field, and yet we are assured that
they do grow, and may we not know of our own spiritual strength
and growth?
"The
sum and substance of the whole matter of Christian grace and
experience is contained in believing on Christ, in knowing
God and His Son whom He has sent. But here is where many fail,
for they lack faith in God. Instead of desiring to be brought
into fellowship with Christ in His self-denial and humiliation,
they are ever seeking for the supremacy of self.
"O,
if you loved Him as He has loved you, you would not shun an
experience in the dark chapters of the suffering of the Son
of God! When we contemplate the humiliation of Christ, beholding
His self-denial and self-sacrifice, we are filled with amazement
at the manifestation of divine love for guilty man. When for
Christ's sake we are called to pass through trials that are
of a humiliating nature, if we have the mind of Christ, we
shall suffer them with meekness, not resenting injury, or
resisting evil. We shall manifest the spirit that dwelt in
Christ.
"We
are to bear Christ's yoke, to work as He worked for the salvation
of the lost; and those who are partakers of His sufferings
will also be partakers of His glory."-- God's Amazing
Grace, p. 324.
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