THE WATERFALL OF GRACE

ROMANS 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  Most people approach prayer as an exercise in convincing God to help. They think they must twist God's arm, or promise to do something, in order to get God to give them anything. The New Testament paints a different picture. God not only is a willing giver, but has already given! He is not holding back on us! When He gave us Jesus, along with Him He gave us everything we could ever need. "Why then," you may ask, "do I not have what I need?" Friend, there is a great difference between something being given and something being received. Many people have been unaware recipients of great good, but until they became aware of it and took the necessary steps to properly receive their bounty, it did them no good. You can be entitled to some inheritance, or other windfall, without knowing it. You can even know it, but wi...

 John 10:10  "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. Ted Turner, the founder of the CNN TV network, tells how he turned against Christianity because of bitterness against God in his younger days. After the death of a family member, the preacher told him that "God took them," and he became bitter over it. Ted Turner is not alone. Millions of people are mad at God because they believe He has done something wrong -- which He has not! God is not going around killing people, or stealing from them, or destroying their lives. That is the work of the devil. God is not guilty! The greatest deception in history has been the devil convincing people that the things he does are done by God. The devil wants us to believe that God acts like the devil. But it is a lie! Of course, to pull this deception off, the devil had to get preachers to spread his lies. No one would believe it if the devil...

PSALM 147:4-5  He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. 5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. Sometimes I wonder how God can be mindful of me when there are so many other people for Him to be concerned about. How can He keep up? Then I am reminded of the scriptures that tell us that God has named all the stars. We don't even know how many stars there are -- scientists say billions and billions -- but God can call them all by name! God is definitely in a different category than anyone else I know. He is mighty. Compared to us, He has no limit to His understanding or His ability. ISAIAH 40:26  Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. PSALM 8:3-4  When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which ...

PHILIPPIANS 1:21-23  For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.  A Christian should not be afraid to die. Dying is a promotion for a Christian into a better situation -- something to look forward to, not to dread. Too many Christians are still controlled by the fear of death. It stops them from doing the will of God. Fear keeps them from walking in faith, because they are afraid to die. For example, there are places where they say the Gospel of Jesus cannot be preached. According to their laws, it is punishable by death. But why should that stop Christians from obeying God's Word to preach the Good News about Jesus to every person? The fear of death should never control our lives! What a privilege and honor it would be to die for our wonderf...

ROMANS 5:1-2 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. All we receive from God is by His grace. We do not deserve it, and we are not able to earn it. It is a gift offered by grace. But we must access it by faith. GALATIANS 3:14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. We receive through faith. Whether we are receiving the Holy Spirit or receiving healing. Whatever we receive from God must be received by faith. MARK 11:22-24  And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever y...

JOHN 13:34-35  "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."   Instead of being known for love, Christians are more likely to be known for disagreements and fighting with other Christians. Why? Those who fight are displaying their immaturity. Children can be expected to squabble over insignificant things, but adults should not. Yet even Christian leaders often fight with other Christian leaders. It is the devil's strategy to get believers in strife because it opens the door to him. Do you really want to open the door to the devil?  JAMES 3:16 KJV 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. God allows us to face the temptation of strife so we can overcome and learn to walk in love. We are continually given the opportunity to walk in love. God's primary concern ...

JOHN 16:13 NKJ  "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you....  This article is directed to believers in Jesus Christ to remind you there are many scriptures indicating that God IS guiding you. Too often we feel like we are just on our own, drifting aimlessly, with no help or guidance from God. Just because you are not aware of God's guidance does not mean He is not guiding you. This is part of God's genius: to be able to do things unnoticed. When we don't understand God's method of operation, we easily fall prey to the temptation to doubt God is guiding us, or even hearing our prayers. This often leads to begging God for help, which is not faith, and will not produce good results. We must believe what God says in His Word concerning this subject of guidance, if we desire to please God. It is always wise to talk with God before making any decision. But just because you don't hear God's audible voice answering you, does ...

COLOSSIANS 1:13 NKJ He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,.. Many people are afraid of the devil. As believers we have no need to be afraid of the devil, although we should be aware and on guard against his schemes. The only true power the devil holds over a believer now is the power of deception. If you do not know the truth the devil will take advantage of you. The only way to know the truth is to read, understand, and act on the Scriptures. To illustrate, imagine entering the hospital room of a patient paralyzed from their neck down. All they can do is talk. They pose no threat to you, unless they convince you to take the gun from beside the bed and shoot yourself with it. (How could they do that? One way would be to convince you that the gun was not real or not loaded, so it wouldn't harm you.) You may think this is ridiculous, but it happens constantly with people who do not realize that the words th...