Category Archives: God’s Grace & Love

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November 28, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, God's Grace & Love, Holidays & Holy Days, Peace of God

IN NEED OF A REST?

11-28-14 RESTWEBThe apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. [Mark 6:30-31 (HCSB)]

The holidays have just started and yet, chances are, some of us are already feeling like we’re on a fast treadmill or a speeding merry-go-round, going nowhere fast and certainly not feeling very merry. If we’re racing around in circles, remember we have no one but ourselves to blame. Slow it down. Better yet, get off the gerbil wheel of busyness and take a break. Yes, we have responsibilities to our family, our church and our community but we also have a responsibility to take care of ourselves. We must listen to our own needs as well as the needs of others. Remember, Jesus offered us His yoke, not to make us carry His burden, but so that He could help to carry ours!

Lord, make me pause and take a break from doing for you and others and allow me to spend some quiet time with you. Open my eyes to see your truth, open my mind to understand your plan, and open my heart to feel your peace. Help me to know the difference between being busy and truly accomplishing something. I willingly take your yoke and accept your offer to share my burdens with you.

Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. [Matthew 11:28-30 (HCSB)]

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. [Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)]

 

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November 22, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, Holy Spirit, Obedience, Temptation & Sin

A FULL EXAMINATION

Examine me, God, from head to foot, order your battery of tests. Make sure I’m fit inside and out. [Psalm 26:2 (MSG)]

This last month, I’ve visited the internist, ophthalmologist, OB/GYN, dentist, and dermatologist. I’ve been tested, poked, prodded and thoroughly studied, inside and out. The most humbling experience, however, was the total body examination at the dermatologist’s office. Needless to say, I was uncomfortable having two people I don’t know peering at every inch of skin on my old body with a magnifying glass! They scrutinized every wrinkle, freckle, spot and scar, even in places where “the sun doesn’t shine.” Their inspection, however, found some things that shouldn’t be there: suspicious moles and actinic keratoses (pre-cancerous cells). These things that didn’t belong, these things that threatened my future health, were removed. I can’t say it was a pleasant experience but it was necessary. It was for my own good!

Like physicians, God also examines us closely. Unlike doctors, however, He doesn’t do it only once or twice a year; He does it continually. He knows our every thought and He scrutinizes both our strengths and weaknesses. He searches for the faults that, like pre-cancerous cells, can grow inside us and threaten our spiritual health. Like the dermatologist, He looks for the things that don’t belong in us and that need to be removed. God, however, looks way below the skin at things like prejudice, resentment, fear, anger, willfulness and pride. Unfortunately, it will take more than an hour in God’s office to remove our flaws, and often it will seem more painful. Nevertheless, it is for our own good!

Father, examine me and perform any necessary surgery on my soul. Let your Holy Spirit fill me with your guidance, strength and healing.

It’s harder to lose five negative thoughts than to lose five pounds. [From “Be the Miracle” by Regina Brett]

The people I love, I call to account—prod and correct and guide so that they’ll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God! [Revelation 3:19 (MSG)]

I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle. [Jeremiah 10:23-24a (NLT)]

 

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October 7, 2014

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God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, Prayer, Trusting God

HE KNOWS BUT DO WE?

Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. [Matthew 6:8 (NCV)]

If He already knows our requests, why bother to pray? Needing to get free of debt, a couple prays for raises or better jobs; what they need, however, is to learn how to live within a budget. A friend “needs” her children to get married so she can have grandchildren. Perhaps what she really needs is to accept that her children are moving at their own pace and to ask the Lord to bless them with someone to love who will love them in return. A wife prays for her husband to be healed of Parkinson’s when what is needed is guidance in learning how to live joyfully within the confines of the disease. A father prays that his child will be freed from his addiction; God knows that the father needs to stop enabling the child’s behavior. What we want and what we need are often not the same things.

We believe we need certain things (people, money, possessions or occurrences) so we pray for those. Much for which we pray, however, we don’t need or shouldn’t have and we’ll never get. We also believe we need to be freed from other things (consequences, disease, discomfort, and disagreeable tasks). Much of what we want God to remove, however, we need to learn to live with and accept that it’s here to stay. We tend to want our requirements met quickly and easily but God doesn’t seem to work that way. He wants us to know Him and to trust that He knows our every need (far better than we ourselves do). We may not know what we need, but God always does. He will, indeed, provide everything we truly need at the correct time and in the right way.

Father in Heaven, thank you for knowing our innermost needs. Help us to understand the difference between what we want and what it is we truly need. Give us grateful and accepting hearts for however and whenever our prayers are answered.

Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it. [Hebrews 4:16 (NCV)]

 

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October 4, 2014

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Bible Stories, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Holidays & Holy Days, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets

SEND IT INTO THE WILDERNESS (Day of Atonement)

10-4-14 wildernessWEBHappy is the person whose sins are forgiven, whose wrongs are pardoned. [Psalm 32:1 (NCV)]

Today is the Day of Atonement, a Jewish holy day. The book of Leviticus describes the rituals the Israelites were to perform on this most sacred day of the year. In one ceremony, two goats were taken from the people. One goat would be given to the Lord and the other would be the “scapegoat.” The goat given to God was sacrificed as a sin offering to make atonement for the sins of the people; its purpose was forgiveness. The second goat was then brought before the altar. The priest laid his hands on the goat and confessed the sins and transgressions of the people. He then sent it away into the wilderness; its purpose was to remove the people’s guilt.

The Christian, however, doesn’t need this kind of yearly ritual. Our sacrifice has already been made: Jesus was our sacrificial lamb. It was his blood that was shed for our sins. Because of him, once we repent and confess our sins, they are forgiven and forgotten. God forgives us and lets us start anew, free from guilt.

Sometimes, however, we don’t accept His forgiveness. We hang on to our guilt by replaying our actions, blaming ourselves and others, and regretting our failures. We carry embarrassment, humiliation, and shame around even after God has forgotten all about it. Perhaps we need to take a lesson from the ancient Israelites. Knowing that a sacrifice has been made to atone for our sins, we need to send our guilt out into the wilderness, never again to be seen!

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. [Psalm 103:12 (NLT)]

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September 22, 2014

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God's Grace & Love, Knowing Him

IS GOD REAL?

“I am a God who is near. I am also a God who is far away,” declares the Lord. “No one can hide so that I can’t see him,” declares the Lord.  “I fill heaven and earth!” declares the Lord. [Jeremiah 23:23-24 (GW)]

Just because it seems impossible to understand God doesn’t mean that He isn’t tangible or real. For many, “God” is more of a vague abstract concept than an actual being: an impersonal entity or force that simply orchestrates events with no apparent purpose. They picture God as an all-powerful transcendent “something.” God, however, isn’t a “something”; God is a “someone” with whom we have a personal relationship, with whom we can talk every day, all day long. He knows our names as well as we know His; He plans our lives more carefully than we schedule our own calendars; He loves us more than even our parents did. God keeps track of our sorrows, collects our tears and forgives our sins. Yes, He is all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, and truly beyond our limited comprehension, but He is a being. There is nothing abstract or theoretical about Him. We are connected to Him and made in His image. We may not be able to understand, see or touch Him, but He is real.

God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are so deep that it is impossible to explain his decisions or to understand his ways. “Who knows how the Lord thinks? Who can become his adviser?” Who gave the Lord something which the Lord must pay back? Everything is from him and by him and for him. Glory belongs to him forever! Amen! [Romans 11:33-36 (GW)]

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September 21, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, God's Grace & Love, Joy, Peace of God

MY DAY OF REST

On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. [Genesis 2:2-3 (NLT)]

You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. [Exodus 20:9a (NLT)]

The words “frazzled”, “rushed”, and “stressed” have been creeping into my vocabulary all too frequently. “Busy” seemed to be a recurring theme in my recent writing and “rest” seemed to be a recurrent theme in my daily Bible reading and prayers. Could God be telling me something? Today’s Bible study took me to the above verses from Genesis and Exodus. I don’t think God could have made it much clearer than that! Even He took a day of rest after a busy week and, from now on, I will too. My messages will continue to be posted, but only six days a week. Sundays will be my day of rest and restoration.

Today, be sure to enjoy your day of rest. Listen to your pastor’s message; worship with joy and thanksgiving. Read the Bible. Write your own prayer or meditation. Take a break; God did! Spend the day in prayer, love, and laughter and, above all, rest quietly in God’s loving arms.

Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength… It is wisdom to take occasional furlough. In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less. [Charles Spurgeon]

Let my soul be at rest again, for the Lord has been good to me. [Psalm 116:7 (NLT)]