For if by one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. (Rom 5:17)

 The Lord wants us to grow in the magnificent blessing of living victoriously through Him. Having a triumphant Christian walk can only be realized from a developing acquaintanceship with the Lord, because we are only able to ‘reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Significant spiritual issues are set against a victorious life: “By the one man’s offense death reigned through the one. “Because of Adam’s sin, spiritual deadness rules over the family of man. The enemy of men’s souls uses this deadness to dominate and destroy lives. Elsewhere, Jesus likened him to a thief. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10)

This is why lives, households, and nations experience such deadly defeats and crushing failure. A tyrant dictator, “death” dominates all lives that are only born once in Adam. They can only draw upon Adam’s fallen, sinful, inadequate life source.

A new and greater resource is needed and is found in Christ. “Much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” These heavenly provisions are ‘much more’ than is needed to replace the defeats of Adam with the victories of Christ. The resources are two-fold: “abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness.”

One of these two is possessed by every believer in Christ: ‘the gift of righteousness.”

This is the righteousness o the Lord Jesus, given to us by faith. That allows us to stand accepted before a holy God: ‘found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” Phil 3:9). Every believer has this gift, but not every believer is victorious.

Thus, the key is to be receiving “abundance of grace”. Every Christian has this grace. Yet, many of God’s people do not live day by day by grace. They walk according to the flesh, thereby drawing upon Adam’s natural bankrupt resources. Remember, living by grace involves humility and faith.

From Day by Day by Grace – by Bob Hoekstra

He who eats the bread and the wine in a right spirit will find himself drawn into closer communion with Christ, and will feel to know Him more, and understand Him better.

Right reception of the Lord’s Supper has a “humbling” effect on the soul. The  sight of the bread and the wine as emblems of Christ’s body and blood reminds us how sinful sin must be, if nothing less than the death of God’s own Son could make satisfaction for it, or redeem us from its guilt. Never should we be so “clothed with humility” as when we receive the Lord’s Supper.

Right reception of the Lord’s Supper has a “cheering” effect on the soul. The sight of the bread broken, and the wine poured out, reminds us how full, perfect and complete is our salvation! Those vivid emblems remind us what an enormous price has been paid for our redemption. They press home the mighty truth – that believing on Christ, we have nothing to fear, because a sufficient payment has been made for our debt. The “precious blood of Christ” answers every charge that can be brought against us. God can be “just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” ( Romans 3:26).

Right reception of the Lord’s supper has a “sanctifying” effect on the soul. The bread and wine remind us how great is our debt to our Lord, and how thoroughly we are bound to live for Him who died for our sins. They seem to say to us, ” Remember what Christ has done for you – and ask yourself whether there is anything too great to do for Him.”

Such is a brief account of the benefits which a right-hearted communicant may expect to receive from the Lord’s supper.  In eating that bread and drinking that cup, such a man will have his repentance deepened, his faith increased, his knowledge enlarged, his habit of holy living strengthened. He will realize more of the real presence of Christ in his heart. Eating that bread by faith, he will feel closer communion with the body of Christ. Drinking that wine by faith, he will feel closer communion with the blood of Christ. He will see more clearly what Christ is to him, and what he is to Christ. He will understand more thoroughly what it is to be “one with Christ and Christ one with him.” He will feel the roots of his soul’s spiritual life watered and the work of grace in his heart established, built up, and carried forward.

 

 

A Brazilian bible college student felt called by God to do missionary work for the Xiao people, a people in the remote province in the north of Asia which is restricted from any Christian witness.

This is her story of how she evangelised this tribe:

“I live in Japan and I am a non-resident missionary to the Xiao people. I went to visit as a tourist and discovered they had no health care, no Scripture in their own language, no hospitals or schools, no gospel radio transmission and was not aware that anyone was praying for this group.

I prayed for wisdom to get help to evangelise. I got all my churches in my denomination praying and fasting for this group. Then I approached many Christian organisations for help. I challenged the Christian businessman’s organisation to negotiate with the Chinese government to build a hospital for them. The government agreed that if the Americans would fund the three millions to build itthey could have a Christian identity and witness in it.

God led me to two Christian nurses from a neighbouring country who were willing to come and work in the hospital and train staff.

I pleaded with Wycliff Bible Translators to start translation immediately which they did. The International Bible Society said they would publish the translation when it was finished.

I approached the Far Eastern Broadcasting Company and Christian Communications Ltd to start Gospel Radio broadcasts which they agreed to do.

I contacted Korean Christians and they offered to make and deliver to the Xiao  transistor radios preset to receive the gospel broadcast. Campus Crusade has also agreed to translate the Jesus Film into the Xiao language.”

Praise God for this lady’s zeal. Do you have such zeal for this outreach?

Between 1904 t0 1905 Wales experienced a great revival. While by no means the best known of revivals, it was one of the most dramatic in terms of its effect on the population, and triggered revivals in several other countries.

The ma God chose to use to lead this revival in Wales was Evan Roberts, a twenty-six year old Welsh coal miner. After witnessing a revival in a neighbouring town, he returned to his home village in hopes of preaching the gospel.

The minister wouldn’t let him preach on Sunday or at the Monday prayer meeting, so Roberts took it upon himself to simply preach  afterwards. He ended up preaching night after night, with people staying past four o’clock in the morning.

Over 30 000 people were converted in the first few months, and more than 100 000 came to Christ in less than a year.

Five years later, 80% of the converts were still walking with God. The social change was drastic: judges had no cases to prosecute. Police went unemployed, so they started church quartets.

 Illegitimate  births dropped 44% within a year. Mining operations slowed down because coal miners stopped cursing and the horses couldn’t understand their new language.

Though this revival was short-lived, it certainly had a significant impact on Welsh religious life. The movement spread to Scotland and England, with estimates that a million people were converted in Britain.

Evan Robert’s famous prayer: “Lord bend us.”