…We face difficult days in our country. Not only do we have no future hope in our political system, but the moral and spiritual fabric of our culture is rapidly declining. No longer do we see subtle changes, but it is now everyday some new law is passed allowing a sin God condemns. We are on the proverbial “runaway train!” Yet, as believers we remain encouraged in the Lord’s sovereignty and strategy. He controls all events and uses them for His ultimate purpose. Through the permissiveness and potential ruin we are facing, God can cause people to see their need for Christ as never before. Sadly, Christians are being carried along by the world’s pressures.

It is increasingly clear from those counseled through Grace Solutions, that regular church attendees have little or no Biblical foundation. The basics of forgiveness of all sins through the blood of Jesus Christ are foreign to the majority of those we see. The truths of the indwelling life of Christ are like an unknown language to most. Yet, the days in which we live, God controls and uses the difficulties to bring men and women to the end of themselves and prepares them for the truth.

Please pray for our ministry as we continue to share the truth of salvation and sanctification by grace through faith in Christ alone. Our vision remains as follows:

Grace Solutions International, trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit, proclaims the grace of Jesus Christ as God’s only solution for sin, self, suffering and service. We desire to see individuals and families come to Christ and learn to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.

– reposted from the Counseling ministry of walesgoebelministry.org

Since Christian leaders are to equip the saints, and the Body of Christ is to develop though members edifying one another (Eph. 4:12,16), some of you may be interested in a free online workshop by CCEF. It’s on the topic of “You Are a Priest: Considering an Underused Identity” by Dr. Ed Welch. Although Nouthetic Counseling usually operates from a different model of man and of sanctification, we can still benefit from learning from others outside of our Network. As we do, it may also open outsiders to consider– or reconsider–Exchanged Life Counseling perspectives. https://www.ccef.org/events/ccef-live

One of the primary tasks in Exchanged Life Counseling is to take the client’s panoramic life history in order to clarify their unique version of the flesh. This helps them deny their natural source of life, and appropriate Christ as Life (Luke 9:23; Col. 3:4).

Reginald Wallace identified the devil as our infernal enemy (1 Per. 5:8,9), the world system as our external enemy (1 John 2:15), and the flesh as our internal enemy (Gal. 5:16,17).

When a prominent devotional writer was asked about “the flesh” he replied that Theology had still not defined it. That comment was made about 20 years ago. We seek to serve the Body of Christ by contributing to this definition process.

What is “the flesh”? The flesh remains in the believer’s mortal body after salvation (Rom. 7:18). It makes him vulnerable to a carnal (fleshly) condition in his personality (1 Cor. 3:3) if/when he walks according to the flesh instead of the Spirit (Rom. 8:3-5;13:14). Here is a recent paper on defining the flesh: Flesh – Body of Sin  (See also under Doctrinal Matters menu.) And here are a couple of relevant Grace Notes:

Well-Adjusted Flesh
http://www.gracenotebook.com/pub/165.html

Maladjusted Flesh
http://www.gracenotebook.com/pub/164.html

As in all matters, balance and clarity are needed. “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).

Am I ‘only a sinner saved by grace’? As Exchanged Life disciplers, we are alert to this sentiment that relates directly to the issue of identity. I addressed this topic in a Grace Note article … hopefully in a way that’s persuasive without being combative. – JBW

Are you “only a sinner” saved by grace?

As an evangelical Christian, this is probably a statement you’re familiar with. It sounds right, but is it?

I regularly hear that this sentiment is all to common in conservative church circles. Why is that?

1. The good old hymn declares, “I’m only a sinner saved by grace!” We sing it with glee and gratitude.

2. Salvation is by grace alone through true faith that flows from a repentant heart. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8,9).

3. Liberal Christianity needs to discover that the gospel is more than trying to follow the example and ethics of Jesus. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:5,6).

4. Even as children of God, we still fall short and sometimes sin: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8;see James 3:2).

Then why are we scrutinizing this popular sentiment? Because it is not true. In Christ, your identity is “saint,” not “sinner” (Eph. 1:15,18)! If you love truth, hang in there and consider the rest of this brief Bible study.  Continue reading…

Our friend Mike Quarles just published an expanded edition of his booklet on Kindle. It’s titled The Key to the Victorious Christian Life: A Grace Oriented Introduction.

“The Director of Grace Walk Recovery, calls attention to the pervasive need for Christians to live an overcoming, abundant life. In this concise biblical summary, he explains how to experience the victory, peace, freedom and joy God has provided for believers in Christ.”

This week the Kindle edition is on sale for 99 cents. It’s a great opportunity to “gift it” to others (if you know their email address).

One of our alumni, pastor Richard Scheer, leads a chapter of RU Recovery near Buffalo, NY. He noticed strong similarities between GFI and RU content. John attended the RU basic training in Rockford, Illinois June 2,3. We are glad to report that RU Recovery has an explicit message of victory through appropriating Christ as Savior, Lord and Life. They speak of this in terms of “the Hidden Life” (Col. 3:3). Their materials feature Chuck’s body/soul/spirit wheel diagram (1 Thess. 5:23), and emphasize grace for Christian living, rather than self-righteousness. Reformers Unanimous resources are available to equip individuals and ministries, even if they are not enrolled as an official RU chapter.  See RUrecovery.com

The Church Leaders blog just posted a 2 minute video about the believer’s new identity in Christ.

We congratulate our associate, Joe Freeman, on completing his certification in Exchanged Life Counseling.

He writes,

“I was challenged early on by my physical condition and the workload I had as a result of being a student in the Masters program at Luther Rice University. These two factors delayed my journey to becoming a certified Exchanged Life Counselor through GFI. However, it was a blessing in that I genuinely appreciate the process as well as the content, and I have been able to apply what I learned especially at the [America’s Keswick] Colony of Mercy.

The process was comprehensive and challenging. …The audio seminars were informative and provided a different perspective on how to counsel, particularly the Counseling God’s Way sessions. The required readings were a joy and I learned much from a variety of writers’ personal views of the Exchanged Life. I especially enjoyed, The New Life and Bone of His Bone.

Overall, I am grateful to be done this portion of the certification process and look forward to what Father will bring my way so I may apply and teach the various things I learned and was exposed to. Thank you, John, for your patience in answering my questions and being my guide, teacher and mentor.”

Check out XLproject.org for more about Joe’s testimony and ministry

We recently came across an audio recording from about 1986. Dr. James Hicks gave a brief analysis of the deficiency of secular psychology. He then drew comparisons to the shortcomings of Job’s three “counselors”. The wise observation of younger Elihu was used to signal the wisdom of Exchanged Life Counseling…relating the message of the Cross and the Abiding Life to the counseling process. The recording is now on the GFI audio channel here with PDF notes.
http://gfiworld.sermon.net/main/main/20682747
(Thanks, Dr. Hicks!)

We had the opportunity last month to speak in chapel and give a brief seminar at Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge in Minneapolis. Here is an outline document of the April 27th chapel message: New Covenant Recovery Ministry

An audio recording of the introductory seminar is at gfiworld.sermon.net here.

A four part Grace Notes series Freedom from Addiction is here.

Years ago we were asked to advise a church on recovery ministry. This site was created to assist them: GFIrecovery.com

Let’s pray for and endorse Exchanged Life recovery ministries, such as:

• Mike and Julia Quarles Freedfromaddiction.org
• Joe & Cherri Freeman XLproject.org  Lovethemtolife.com
• America’s Keswick  AmericasKeswick.org