No. 1
The Reality of the
Grace of God
                                                                                      By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                                      September 5, 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
     We who seriously study and preach the Word of God, usually define "Grace" as being the unmerited favor of God.  In other words, "grace" cannot be earned or bought by any of our "good works," or for any amount of money.  Rather, it is God's mercy and favor bestowed upon Hell deserving sinners, who are willing to turn from their sin and ask the Lord Jesus to come into their heart and save their soul.  
     I stand by this definition, but in this brief article I want to give some practical examples of God's grace, just in case any reader is unsaved and questioning the reality and saving grace of the Lord Jesus.  I pray that every reader will be blessed by this article.  
The Believer Who Lost His Brains
     I do not recall the exact date, and I cannot find the article which I saved on the spur of the minute, but several years ago a Christian minister accidently fell backwards from a second floor balcony where him and his wife were living.  The man landed exactly on the top of his head on the concrete driveway below.  His skull was instantly broken open like smashing a piece of glass on the concrete.  All of the interior of his skull, including his brains, poured out of his head onto the driveway.  Of course he was unconscious, but still alive when his wife got to him.  What she saw was so horrible, she had to fight to keep from passing out herself, but she knew she had to get medical help immediately.   
     His wife called 911 and literally screamed for immediate help.  Shortly, the paramedics and ambulance arrived.  They gave the man some shots to keep him breathing.  Then with their latex gloves on they carefully picked up his brains and tissues and placed them back inside his skull, loaded him in the ambulance, and headed for the hospital. The man's wife jumped into the front seat of the ambulance even as they were pulling out of  the driveway.  
      Once in the ambulance the man's wife began hysterically praying at the top of her voice, "Oh Lord God, have mercy.  We need you down here RIGHT NOW!"  As she prayed, she was also beating on the dashboard of the ambulance with her fists, crying, "Now, Lord Jesus, RIGHT NOW!  We need your help."  She was being so physical that the ambulance driver asked her, "Please lady, don't wreck my dashboard."  
     The man was still alive when they reached the hospital, and was taken directly to surgery.  Amazingly, the doctors placed his tissues and brains back where they thought they should be located in his head, and then patched his skull back together, reinforcing it with a stainless steel plate covering it, and he lived through it all.  They then put him into an induced coma in order to keep him perfectly still.  
     The doctors then told his wife they didn't expect him to live but a short time, and if he lived he would be a "vegetable" or a mental idiot the rest of his life. No offense meant, but doctors don't have all the answers, even though some do try to play "God."
     Folks, the man began to recover, and got a little better every day.  Finally, the doctors thought he was well enough they let him come out of the coma, and guess what?  He immediately recognized his wife, calling her by her name.  He completely recovered from his injuries over several months, was completely normal mentally, and went back to preaching God's Word.  The last I heard about him, he was still alive.  
     This folk,s was the Grace of our God in action!
The Grace of God Includes Animals
    I was living in Centralia, Missouri when the huge earthquake in the late 1980's or early 90's rocked the Los Angeles area, causing a huge amount of destruction and a number of deaths
     .  My future wife, my beloved Helen who is now with the Lord, was at that time living and working in LA.  The phone lines were down for a day or two, so I couldn't reach her on the phone.  I was frantic, and spent two days in constant prayer, pleading with the Lord for His mercy and safety upon her.  Then my phone rang, and it was my espoused bride.  She was safe and well.  I don't mind telling our readers that I rejoiced and praised the Lord for His wonderful grace and mercy.  
      But then another event which happened during that same earthquake became a public news item.  Two homes in LA were located side by side, with a four foot chain link fence seperating their yards.  In one home lived a little three year old girl, whom her mother often took for a walk around their front yard.  In the home next door the family had no children, but did own a huge Doberman dog, a really big Doberman that looked really mean.  The little girl next door was terrified of that Doberman, for when her mother took her for a walk in their yard the Doberman would walk along the fence between them glaring at the little girl.  Then the earthquake came......
     The folks who owned the Doberman said that he was sleeping peacefully on a rug, when suddenly he shot straight up off the rug and made a run for the front door.  The folks had a screen door at the front, and they kept it locked. The Doberman never slowed down, but just plowed right through the screen, and out into the yard.  The woman ran to the front door to see what on earth had him so riled up.  She said he never slowed down, but made a leap right over the top of that four foot  chain link fence, and ran for their neighbor's front door.  
      The folks living next door also had a locked screen on their front door.  Again, the Doberman never slowed down but ran right through the screen into the house, and right through the house to the kitchen.  The little three year old girl was standing right in front of the fridge, and the Doberman leaped at her, catching her dress in his mouth and pulling her away from the fridge.  Just at that instant the powerful earthquake struck shaking the entire LA area, and that house.  
     Folks, on the top of that fridge sat a huge old cabinet model TV set, which weighed something like 300 pounds.  When the shock from the earthquake hit, that TV fell off the top of the fridge, smashing to pieces right where the little girl had been standing only an instant before.  Of course all of this frightened the little girl so badly she was screaming, but the Doberman stood by her wagging the stump of his tail, and licking the tears from the little girl's face.  That Doberman had just saved her life.  
      Now dear readers tell me how that Doberman dog living next door, knew the earthquake was coming before the first shock even hit, and knew that the little girl's life would be in danger when it hit?  And who told the dog what to do, and even where to go in a strange house, in order to save that little girl's life?  
     Folks, I haven't made any of this up.  This whole account was printed in the Los Angeles paper, and then reported on the TV news media.  
     This folks, was the Grace of our God in action!  
Not Only From the Ground, but From the Sky
     I have just received a report of a woman walking her dog on a sidewalk along a public street. I didn't catch all of the news report, but I think they said somewhere in Wisconsin.  She often took her large dog for a walk, keeping him on a leash to maintain control over him.  Along each side of the street on which they were walking there were huge old trees providing shade for both the cars using the street and the people using the sidewalk.  
    Suddenly, while they were walking, her huge dog stopped, turn completely around, and grabbed the leash he was on with his teeth and began pulling.  The woman didn't understand why her dog was doing this, because her dog had always been a well behaved dog.  But the dog pulled her so hard that she fell face down on the sidewalk.  Her hand had been in the loop on the leash, and when her dog jerked she couldn't keep from falling.  But the dog didn't stop pulling her.  He pulled her several feet forward with her hand still bound up in the leash.  Then suddenly her dog stopped pulling and let go of the leash.  Right at that exact instant a huge old limb weighing several hundred pounds fell from near the top of the tree, landing right where the woman had been standing just seconds before.  There were eye witnesses on the street that saw this whole event occur, and vouch for the truth of it.  The woman's dog had saved her life.  
     But again, how did the dog even know the limb was going to fall, and that it would land right in the exact spot where his  owner was walking?  And who told the dog what to do in order to drag his owner to safety?
     This folks, was the Grace of our God in action!  
Conclusion
     I know of several more similar incidents which have happened across the years I have been in the Lord's ministry, and if the Lord permits I will mention some of them in future issues.  
     I am sure that our readers also know of such events.  If any reader would care to share such knowledge with me, I will be glad to put it in a future issue of The Reality of the Grace of God, so it can be read by people all over the world.  Hurry!.....for our living Savior is coming, and the time is short for us to "witness" to the lost.  Romans 10:8-13.  
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     Permission is granted to any true believer, or Bible believing Christian ministry, to reproduce this study article, or any part of it, to share with others.
      My personal contact information:
POSTAL.......Pastor F. M. Riley, 14275 Co. Rd. 8120, Rolla, MO 65401
EMAIL..........francismriley34@gmail.com

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