This word is submitted by Robert Lillington (Rlillingtons@aol.com)

-----

                           Grace


The spirit of grace and truth is He that dwells among you. You have 
been given all that you need to pertain to godliness and holiness.  The 
Holy One of God lives in you as you live in Him.  He lives in you. 

I have given all your needs according to My riches in glory.  Simply use 
My rich gifts.  You have the choice -- either to struggle with the natural 
talents you have, or My eternal talents. If you struggle with your own 
talents, you are destined to fail, for your natural gifts can never achieve 
eternal purposes.

It is only eternal skills that can form eternal purposes.

My grace transcends the natural realm that you presently exist in.  It 
broadens and widens, it elevates and transcends the natural life that 
you now live.  Live under My grace, for it is a supernatural life -- a 
life filled with grace and truth.  The grace that I give you has an 
earthly purpose, and that is to equip you for warfare - a warfare that 
you will win as you abide in Me. 

There is no way forward except by the way of grace, for you can achieve 
nothing apart from Me.  If there ever was a time that you achieved 
anything that was eternal, I was in it first to achieve it. Your life 
and breath I gave you at birth, and I sustain it all the days of your 
life.  You never achieved anything of value except that I laid out the 
path before you. You now reside in a place of splendor and favor as you 
rest in My grace. 

Do not be enslaved again into bondage by denying My working grace.  For 
many days you struggled with the load of problems and decisions before 
you.  You wrestled day and night trying to wrench them from My hands. I 
would not let you go, so we struggled together. As you begin to let go I 
can pour my unmerited favor of peace and joy into your soul.

The love I have for you is as great as the sands of the ocean, of the rain 
in the clouds, of the stars in the sky.  You cannot comprehend My love 
for you; you will never understand it -- you can only accept it. There 
are millions in this world who simply cannot accept My love.  Their free 
will denies my grace and so I send troubles so that they may reach out and 
accept my grace. It makes no sense to leave them in their sin.  Although 
suffering in this world is bad, the suffering in the next life is 
infinitely more.  I long to rescue My creation from self-will and denial 
of the truth.  I can only do this if they freely accept Me.

There never was a time when I did not love each one of My creation.  I 
have planned from time's beginning to have a family of freely and 
willingly loving friends. I could not demand or force anyone to be My 
brothers.  The greatest gift I have given to creation is free will -- 
it is in this sense the mark of My godliness upon them. I admit that 
free will has led many to misery, but it is also a means for grace.

There is grace in you -- believe it, receive it, allow it to flow out 
to My other children. There are many hungry and hurt people in this 
world in desperate need of My grace. There are nations in turmoil, 
sickness and pain, and My grace is held out to them.  Often they deny 
the truth that will set them free and so I must wait until they run out 
of excuses so that the balm of grace may be freely given.

There is a sense in which grace is costly and free at the same time.  
You must give up the things that are dear to you to receive it, yet 
when given, it is free. It has no demands; it does not require rules 
or obedience to it -- it is free to strengthen and encourage you into 
My family.

The family of God operates on the line of friends, of willing servants 
to each other, to support and nurture each other in the light of grace 
and truth.  No lies may rest hidden from grace -- they must all be 
brought out into the light for examination.  No deceit, no blasphemy can 
ever coexist alongside grace. Grace will swallow them up, or depart.

There is always room for anyone who comes to Me in grace. "My grace is 
sufficient for thee."

Grace however is practical -- it requires an outworking of it in your 
daily life -- of not focusing upon the problems in your brothers eye 
but firstly on the ones in your own.  The practical exercise of faith 
is by grace -- for faith operates by grace.  No grace means no faith, 
and without faith it is impossible to please Me.

There never was, nor will there ever be a time when My unmerited favor 
will be taken away from you.  Whether you are deep in the ocean, or 
high above the clouds, My grace will follow you, encompass you, 
sustain you, nurture you, comfort you, equip you, strengthen you and 
lead you onward to that holy goal of the life of Christ Jesus in you 
which is the hope of glory.