God's Grace

This past week, we studied Galatians 4 in bible study. The chapter is an interesting one when you consider that we are either bond or free. We either choose to accept the grace God gives us and accept Jesus as personal savior or we don’t. We either choose to be made free from sin or not – we cannot free ourselves – only faith in Jesus can do that.

The bible says clearly that the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). Sin is anything contrary to God’s word and will or anything we know is wrong to do. If the wages of sin is death, what can we do to make anything right with God? Correct – Nothing. We can do nothing to be in right standing with God. Jesus already paid for our sins more than 2000 years ago when He allowed himself to be killed. He carried all our sin to the cross, was buried and rose again. He paid the price for us because we could not pay the price for ourselves (John 8:36). Jesus paid it all!

We can do nothing but accept the gift Jesus paid for us. This is an insult to our fleshly nature. We are so used to taking credit for the things around us that when we have to give all the credit to Jesus, we rebel. We want to be praised and worshiped for the good things we do, but no matter how much work we do, He deserves all praise, glory and honor (Psa 96). 

But. we want the credit for the good things we’ve accomplished and progress we’ve made. All good things come from God (Jam 1:17) and He should get all the glory because without the gifts and talents He bestowed on us (Rom 12:6), we could not be successful. So even when we accomplish great things, God is responsible and He is supporting and directing our steps.

It is only by God’s grace that we are saved through faith in Jesus (Eph 2:8-9). This grace gives us freedom from the bondage that leads us to believe we can or have to do something for God to accept us. Our salvation is dependent on Jesus’ sacrifice alone. We are confirmed by the Holy Spirit on the inside of us (Eph 1:13). If we don’t have the Holy Spirit correcting, convicting, leading and guiding us, we should question whether we have a relationship with the triune God. 

God’s grace is sufficient for us no matter the circumstances (2 Cor 12:9). Have you received God’s saving grace? Because of the grace He provides to all of creation, there is still time if you’re reading this, but no one knows how much (Matt 5:44-45). Don’t wait. He loves you and wants to save you. Take Him up on His offer, He won’t disappoint. 

Are You Free?

Over the past couple of days, I virtually engaged with Godly women at the Desperate for Jesus Women's Conference in Dallas, Texas. It was amazing. It was eye opening. It hurt. I cried. I laughed. I cringed. The ministers and minstrels did not come to make anyone comfortable, but came with the Word and the Truth to transform the women so they would not go home the way they arrived. The whole conference was about territory and it was based on Deuteronomy 1:8 – “See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land…” 

The women who ministered did not hold back or just provide flowery feel-good words. They brought the Word with power and authority given of the Holy Spirit.  The Word cut and convicted and, I hope and pray, healed. It’s amazing how much brokenness is in the world. And it’s amazing how much of it we bring upon ourselves, by not trusting that God is the one who knows best for us. We say we do, but as one of the ministers pointed out, we hold on to things “just in case” God doesn’t do what He said. Thank you, Dr. Sarita Lyons, for making it clear. What are you holding on to “just in case?” Are you trusting money, or your education, or someone God didn’t bring, or something else more than God? When you think about it like that, how insulting is it to God who is the creator of everything? He owns everything? Without Him, nothing moves or breathes or has being. Who am we to even consider that we know better? 

As I listened to each one of these women speak about letting go of fear and whatever is holding us back, and taking the hand of Jesus trusting Him to be our Savior. Trusting God to finish the work He is doing in and through us (Phil 1:6). I realized the common denominator in our failing to complete any task God gives us, is us. Don’t get me wrong. The devil is busy. He is on the warpath to keep us from completing the purpose of God (John 10:10). He is doing everything he can to keep God from getting the Glory He so rightly deserves. But, we let him. We let him distract us, and torture us with things that were never ours to hold.  Scripture tells us to lay down every weight and sin that so easily besets us (Heb 12:1). But do we, sometimes maybe, but not if it’s something we really like. If we really like it, we might pick it back up by staying a little too close to it.

The Word of God points us in the direction we are to follow (Psa 37:23-24). When we disobey, we are basically allowing our pride to drive us to rebellion. As James states, to know what is right and not to do it is sin to us (Jam 4:17). When God tells us to do something, not doing it is sin. When we choose to do something contrary to what God chose for us, we are stepping into the place of God in our own lives and we are sinning. And there will be consequences. It’s time to repent and step into whatever God has called us to do. We need to ask for His help to tear down anything keeping us from fulfilling His purpose for our lives (2 Cor 10:4). We need to get into the Word and keep our thoughts and eyes on Jesus. 

Until we surrender to Him, we will remain bound by all the things that keep us from Him. In Him is liberty and peace (2 Cor 3:17; Psa 29:11)). So, I ask the question – are you free? Seek the truth and do it. For the truth will make you free (John 8:32). 

Lord, I pray for anyone reading this right now, that you would release them from anything that is binding them. Lord, let them seek you and the power of the Holy Spirit to heal brokenness and to give them peace. Let them step boldly into what you have called them to and empower them to stay focused on you, our first love. Let us be obedient to your Word and your Ways. Let our lives glorify you in all we do. In Jesus Name, Amen!

Do You Know the Truth?

 In a world where so many are obsessed with living their truth, it’s good to know The Truth! Because we are ever-changing, our truth would change along with us. What happens when we change our minds?  How chaotic would it be to live in a world with no rules? Where you just made it up as you go along, with no higher authority to lead and guide you. That is what living your truth looks like. Do it if it makes you feel good.  Doesn’t matter if you step on someone else’s rights or hurt someone else. It’s all about you. But, that is what we see happening in the world with cancel culture and the increase in violence along with so many other disastrous consequences. 

This is also why it’s so important to know the truth. The way, the truth, and the life doesn’t change (John 14:6). He is ever present and ever constant. You always know where you stand with Him if you’re honest with yourself and you know His word. You may not agree with Him but His Word is True and He never lies.  Not only did He provide a way for us to live that is for our benefit, it is for the benefit of others as well. At the end of the day, it’s so NOT about me or you. It’s all about Him. The sooner we realize that the sooner our lives will be prosperous (Josh 1:8) and I don’t just mean with money, although, His Word says He will bless the work of our hands (Deut 28:12). 

I mean, when we accept that He knows better than we do and we are obedient to Him, He will bless our going in and our going out. We will be blessed in the city and in the country. Blessings will overtake us. (Deut 28:1-7)  God will make our enemies flee. If we do things His way, He will take care of our way. Not that we won’t have trials and tribulations because they will still come (Jam 1:2-4). But we will have a defender such that we will not be destroyed even when things look bleak. How comforting and refreshing to know that the situations around us are only temporary and if we belong to God and are obedient to Him, He’s already working it out on our behalf (Rom 8:28). 

But we have to do it His way if we want His blessing. Our biggest problem is that we think we’re in charge and we can assign Him work. We cannot. We can only request. And if the request is not in His will, He won’t do it. Simple as that. So let’s get close to Him and study His word to know what His will is (2 Tim 2:15). Then we can walk in the freedom we gain from knowing the truth (John 8:31-36). Do you know the truth? 

How do We Deal with Fear and Failure?

We all know fear. It’s that emotion that got us when we were little and the lights went out or the one that made us jump when that first crack of thunder broke. The dictionary defines fear as an unpleasant emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger; anxious concern; reason for alarm; to be afraid or apprehensive. I’ve experienced all of these. I’ve also allowed this emotion to prevent me from taking advantage of an opportunity or trying something new because I was afraid to fail. Failure is defined as a lack of success or falling short. In instances where that fear didn’t paralyze me, it drove me to give my best and keep going. 

Earlier today, I was listening to a video with Lisa Nichols, Motivational Speaker, about failing forward. What?!? What a concept! Acknowledging that none of us are perfect and we’re going to fail at things. The question is what do you learn from it. Does it stifle you or do you learn what doesn’t work for the next time. Do you get through the struggle and find another way to do the thing? Do you take time to evaluate the lessons you picked up along the way so you don’t repeat them? The discussion really gave me some perspective and a desire to never quit (Prov 24:16). More than anything, it made me question what I’d missed out on by allowing my fear of failure to keep me from trying something things. 

What about you? What are you afraid of? What is it keeping you from? A couple of questions to help get past the fear include – What’s the worst thing that will happen? What am I missing out on? What’s on the other side of my fear? What happens if I stay still? What opportunities will I miss? What am I teaching my children or my family? 

Fear serves a purpose. It’s gives us a warning that danger may exist. We shouldn’t just ignore it, we should take action to mitigate it. But we also shouldn’t allow it to keep us from moving forward (2 Tim 2:7). We should be strong and courageous (Josh 1:9). Remember, courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s going forward despite the fear. Whatever it is that scares us should never have the power to prevent us from taking on new challenges and trying new things or moving in a direction God is sending us. 

The real question is whether our fear is more important than being obedient and following the leading of God. It is not! How will you deal with fear and the possibility of failure? Will you be still? Or will you go forward? Only one of these choices leads to success and it’s not being still (Phil 4:13). Get moving! 

Who are you? (Revisited)

Last September, I posted an entry and it resonated with me, so I’m reposting it today (see below). So many times, I've need to be reminded of who I am, because life happens and it’s sometimes hard to not be distracted by the minutia we face on this journey. But today, while listening to a message by Priscilla Shirer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klkEKMTe3OY), I was reminded that only God can define us. He is creator of all and He determines who and what we are. Period. When we rebel against that, we suffer for it. So, I hope having another read of this, you are encouraged that God sees and cares about you, no matter the circumstance. He knows you. If you accept Him, through His Son Jesus, He will never leave you. Enjoy!

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Over the past few weeks, we’ve been studying “Who Am I?” in middle school ministry. As I’ve learned more as I prepared for class and I thought I would share here. So many times, we are defined by what we do or our title – at work and at home. We search for value and meaning from those around us. Our identity and how we define ourselves drives our thoughts and actions and many times to our detriment. We get so busy trying to “do” that we stop “being”. 

That’s why it is so freeing to be defined by our Creator and to know who we are and who we were created to be. God told us who we are in His Word, but we forget or don’t really grasp what it means. It doesn’t make sense that the creation can define itself, even if it has the ability to reason and the gift of free will. No matter what we call ourselves, we were defined before we were born. According to the word, we are more than conquerors in Christ (Rom 8:37).  We are the head and not the tail.  We are above and not beneath (Deut 28:13).  We are salt and light in the earth (Matt 5:13-16). If we begin to speak the Word over our lives, I believe we will begin to line up with what the Word says and see our lives change. 

So, let’s talk more about a few of the identifying traits right now:

We were created in the image of God (Gen 1:27), whether we choose to have a relationship with Him through Jesus or not. God gave us the ability to be inventive and creative. He gave us the ability to reason and think for ourselves. He gave us the ability to learn and love and show kindness. We are created in His image but still dependent upon Him for our very lives. We only exist at His allowance. 

If we’ve been saved by His magnificent Grace, we are the righteousness of God…not because of anything we did or can do in the future but because of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. Because Jesus is righteous, when we accept Him as personal savior, His righteousness becomes ours (2 Cor 5:21). There is nothing we can do to deserve to be righteous or anything we can say that makes us righteous – it is all Jesus’s doing, but we do have to accept the gift He gives. We couldn’t earn it, it is by God’s grace that we are saved through faith (Eph 2:8-9).

Christ followers are Citizens of Heaven (Phil 3:20-21). The bible is clear that we are visitors in this world. We are not here to stay. When we accept Jesus, we get our citizenship in Heaven and that is where we will spend eternity. Because the soul doesn’t die, it will go somewhere. As followers of Jesus, we can rest in confidence that we will go to the place He is preparing for us where we will be with Him (John 14:2-3). 

How does it make you feel to know how God thinks of you? It makes me feel valuable and able to stand in the now knowing that I don’t have to be perfect or different. He wants me to be fully my authentic self…..the person He made me to be – not who I think I ought to be or who pleases me – I’m not on the throne. He is.