No. 3
The Reality of the
Grace of God
                                                                                       By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                                       September 19, 2018
     "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
     Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;..." Titus 3:11-12.
Introduction
     In the first article I wrote on this subject, I asked my readers to share any incidents of God's grace at work that they are aware of, if they cared to do so.  Praise the Lord!  Some have, and in this issue I am passing a couple of  them on for the benefit and blessing of our readers.  Read, be encouraged, and look up!  For our Lord is coming for us REAL SOON!
God Gives Life, and it is God who Decides When It Shall End
     From a sister in northern California, whose name shall remain anonymous at this time, for I failed to ask her permission to publicly attach her name to the accout of God's Grace which follows.....
     Twenty-one years ago, my only son, Eddie, who had just turned twenty, was in a serious car wreck.  His neck was broken, and the wreck left him near dead.  He was in San Diego, CA & I was in Oregon.  Eddie had rolled his truck three times, and was thrown from the cab, landing on his face.  The pickup he was driving was totaled.  
     I received the dreaded call to come say "goodbye" to my son, as no one believed he would survive.  
     When I arrived, it was a BIG faith battle.  The swelling on Eddie's brain was so bad, that the doctors drilled a hole in his skull to relieve the pressure, and he was plugged into every imaginable machine to keep him alive.  Just since the wreck, he had lost 38 pounds, and was almost unreconizable!
     The doctors told me Eddie would be in ICU for months.  I said, "No!  I'm leaving in a week, and by then he will be in his own room."    I argued with the doctors, telling them that I knew they meant well, but they didn't KNOW my Abba!  
     I sat holding Eddie's hand singing praise songs (Hallelujah, Jesus is Alive, and every other song I could think of) for three days.  On the afternoon of the third day, the doctors re-xrayed his neck and it was HEALED.  They then removed the tube that was down his throat and Eddie's first words were, "I love you, Mom!"  
     I had a vision while he was in ICU of Eddie sitting in a wheel chair, needing help for the rest of his life, and I started saying, "No!  No!"  The scene changed, and Eddie was walking with his nephew, Clayton, on his shoulders.    (Months later, I actually saw this vision come true).  
     On the way to the airport to go back home to Oregon, we stopped by the hospital to say "bye for now" and Eddie had been moved to a private room!  Twenty-eight days from the day Eddie entered the hospital, he walked out.....still needing help with balance, etc....as he had suffered a major brain injury.  
     Today, Eddie is the father of my grandchildren, Blake (age 18), and Halley (age 15).  Eddie's family was baptized in the local river here in Springfield, Oregon.  
     I just had to share, because even though it has been 21 years, I can still remember believing God would heal my son, AND HE DID!  GLORY TO GOD!!!!!
     Thank you, Pastor..Brother Riley, for reminding us to keep looking up!   
An example of the reality of the Grace of God!
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God Knows and Meets Every Need of His People
     Read Matthew 6:33 and Luke 12:29-31.
     From Mary Adamin, a sister in Christ.....
     I was teaching a morning service on this subject: the Grace of God.  The crowd was small, but afterwards, nearly everyone came up for prayer.....
     The last one was a black lady. [This is then what was related to Mary.]    She said to me, "I do not need prayer for a healing, but I do have a need.  Several years ago my brother was down on his luck, needed a place to stay while he looked for a job.    My husband and I allowed him into our home, and I even loaned him $1000.  But then we had a disagreement, and he left, without repaying that loan.  I don't know where he is, or what happened to him, for it has been several years now.  And right now I am needing that money myself.  Can we pray about this?"  
     We prayed together, asking God's grace to come upon that man, wherever he was, RIGHT NOW, and remind him of this incident.  A very short prayer.  Then everyone left.  
     That very evening my husband suggested we go out to eat at a certain restaurant.  It was very crowded, but we found a table at the back and ordered our meal.  After that, we walked to the front to pay for the food.  I was aside, waiting for my husband, and I was looking outside at the people coming in.  Just then I saw that same black woman, coming in with her husband.  She saw me and came running.  She as so excited.  She said, "Sister, you remember what we prayed this morning, concerning that $1000?"  I answered her in the affirmative.  [Then she told me...]  "This afternoon around 3 p.m., there was a knock on my door.  When I opened it, there stood my brother with a check in his hands...for $1000!, returning what he owed me to my very doorstep!  And sister, I had not seen nor heard from him in two years...he had moved to another town 175 miles away and had found a good paying job.  He said that he was just standing by himself, when suddenly the thought entered his mind about what he must do...drive to his sister's home and pay back the debt he owed." That happened to him around noon, the very time we prayed together about it!
 
     Again, thank you dear brother.  And may this same Grace fall upon you and yours right now as well!  
And yet Another Example of the Grace of God!   
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     My prayer is that these testimonies of God's Grace will be a blessing and an encouragement to every reader.  And may it move yet other readers to share their own experiences of the reality of God's Grace working in their lives, or the lives of others of which they have a personal knowledge.  God bless every reader is my prayer.  
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