All Grace and Growing in Grace
“But the God of all grace, He who has called you into His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself perfect, establish, strengthen, and ground you.” (1 Pet. 5:10)
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and unto the day of eternity. Amen.” (2 Pet. 3:18)
In [1 Peter 5:10] all grace refers to the riches of the bountiful supply of the divine life in many aspects ministered to us in many steps of the divine operation on and in us in God’s economy. The initial step is to call us, and the consummate one is to glorify us, as mentioned here, “who called you into His eternal glory.” Between these two steps are His loving care while He is disciplining us, and His perfecting, establishing, strengthening, and grounding work in us. In all these divine acts, the bountiful supply of the divine life is ministered to us as grace in varied experiences. The God of such grace will perfect, establish, strengthen, and ground the persecuted believers after they suffer a little while. (LS of 1 Peter, pp. 308-9)
Second Peter 3:18 says that we need to grow in grace. Grace is God Himself with divinity processed through incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension. All these elements of grace are within us to be one with us. Grace is God Himself as our life to be one with us, to save us, to make His home in us, and to be formed in us. We need to grow in such a grace for His glory today and unto the day of eternity. Second Peter 3:18 is the concluding word of the apostle Peter’s writings, indicating that whatever he has written is of, in, by, and through the grace of God. This finishes the gleaning of the field of God’s grace in Peter’s writings. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” p. 460)
Pray for the saints to experience God’s “all grace” in many aspects ministered to them step by step for the divine operation in God’s economy, so that they would grow in grace unto eternal glory in Christ Jesus.
All Things Cohering in Him
“Because in Him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or lordships or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and unto Him. And He is before all things, and all things cohere in Him.” (Col 1:16-17)
To cohere in Christ is to exist together by Christ as the holding center, just as the spokes of a wheel are held together by the hub at their center (Col. 1:17, note 2). Many things happening in these days might outwardly seem confused and incoherent, but we must hold to the Lord’s word and praise Him that He is the cohering center of all things.
Lord, we ask You to fully exercise Your coherence on earth among us and with all the thrones, lordships, rulers, and authorities throughout the United States and around the world.
SoCal Junior High Brothers Conference
This weekend, March 28 to 30, brothers from across Southern California will gather at Oak Glen for the Spring 2025 Junior High Brothers Conference on “The Spirit.” For this conference, please pray:
- For the Lord to prepare the hearts of all of the young brothers in Southern California.
- That the messages spoken would be relevant and timely to meet the needs of the brothers.
- That spiritual companionships would be built through spending time together during the conference.
Also pray for the high school sisters returning following their conference two weeks ago, that they would enter into what they heard and live a hidden life to satisfy God’s heart in their daily life and in the church life.
ITERO
The 2025 April International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones will be held in Anaheim from April 4 to 6. Please pray for the Lord’s speaking in this training and for the intensified spreading and building up of the churches as the Body of Christ as a result of the operating of this word in the elders and responsible brothers and in all the saints. Pray for the speaking brothers and all the brothers traveling.
Spring European University Conference
Pray that the Lord’s speaking from the last weekend’s conference for university students in Europe (March 21 to 23) will keep operating in the students and bring them to a deeper knowing of God and His economy. May the Lord strengthen this young generation into the inner man to choose: (1) to overcome the temptation of the Babylonian diet; (2) to live in the principle of a Nazarite as a holy, voluntary sacrifice to God; (3) to join themselves to God’s desire through His word; (4) to learn in the Body to bind and loose on the earth what has been bound and loosed in the heavens; and (5) to respond to God’s call to become part of the corporate smiting stone that will destroy the great human image and bring in God’s kingdom.
UK Building Project
The first phase of construction for the new FTTL training center is currently taking place. This phase includes new electrical installations, demolition of the existing classrooms, installation of foundation and retaining structures, excavation and leveling of the site, and laying of underground services. The burden is then to press on as quickly as possible to complete the remaining phases of the training centre and the development of new accommodation.
Please pray that the Lord will provide the necessary funds, construction permissions, and serving ones to carry out this major construction project in a timely manner to meet the Lord’s need. May the Lord gain this facility for the young people in Europe to be trained for His move on the earth.
For information regarding participating in this current building project by either praying, giving, or going, visit www.amanatrust.org.uk/page/reports. To give through the Church in Los Angeles for the new training center, please follow instructions at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings. Designate offerings for “UK Building Project.”
Pakistan
Pray for gaining more educated university students through gospel preaching. May the Lord soften their hearts and remove the veils so that they can recognize Jesus as God.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 5 of Living a Christian Life and Church Life Under the Government of God for the Economy of God. After next week, starting April 7, we will begin Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (2), vol. 1 (December Semiannual Training).
- Memorial Day Conference: The 2025 International Memorial Day Blending Conference will be held in Phoenix, AZ at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown from May 23 to 26. Saints in LA who are considering attending in person are asked to RSVP by April 30 at tinyurl.com/memdayla.
- Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: The series on “The Crucial Points of the Truth in Paul’s Epistles—Ephesians” continues this week starting at 7:25 pm in Anaheim and at lsmwebcast.com.
- Bibles for America‘s recent blogpost “What Does It Mean to Call on the Name of the Lord?” is available to read and share at blog.bfa.org.
- Junior High Brothers Conference: March 28 to 30 at Oak Glen.
- High School Brothers Conference: April 11 to 13 at Oak Glen.
- Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.