Thursday, November 30, 2006
Grace Grace Grace
How I enjoy GRACE ! Most days it is there before me, I dance with my Father God in His field of grace. Some days though, my sin is ever before me, and while trying to work at the truth , I forget, GRACE. That is when I start to nose dive into the slew of despond. It happens everytime I try to stop and fix a sin.
"Why would you want to stop and fix a sin?" you might say. Or some of my more savvy friends might say, "Who told you , you could fix a sin ?"
Only my compassionate friends will understand. When I see that my sins are affecting the lives of others , the temptation to fix me is great.
As simple as it seems, it is not easy to forgive when others trespass on me. However, years of ignoring the trespass doesn't suffix either. The results of unforgiveness will always show up in your own life. There by starting a chain reaction of others now needing to forgive you for the trespass you have inflicted on them. The evidence of their unforgiveness towards you is there, because they now are exhibiting the same behavior they were unable to forgive you for.
This pile becomes a huge mess. Trespass upon trespass, upon trespass upon trespass. People thinking all you have to do is quit it !
All the while knowing that all you have to do is forgive the first offending party, and can't. Or won't . Or thought it would just be better to ignore it. Or thought you had forgiven because it seemed you had forgotten it. And there it is , big as day, right there at the bottom of this mess of sin that you and several others have now contributed to.
If this story sounds even vaguely familiar, say with me today, "Grace, grace, grace !"
Yes, this sin of unforgiveness will have to be dealt with. But first I will have to receive grace. My trying to fix this sin without it , has never ever produced fruit. Sin is blotted out by Jesus. Sin has to be exposed so He can get to it. Sin is given GRACE because there is nothing else to do with it.
It is humbling to receive , but there is no other way into the presence of Our Father.
Grace, grace, grace and again I say, grace.
"Why would you want to stop and fix a sin?" you might say. Or some of my more savvy friends might say, "Who told you , you could fix a sin ?"
Only my compassionate friends will understand. When I see that my sins are affecting the lives of others , the temptation to fix me is great.
As simple as it seems, it is not easy to forgive when others trespass on me. However, years of ignoring the trespass doesn't suffix either. The results of unforgiveness will always show up in your own life. There by starting a chain reaction of others now needing to forgive you for the trespass you have inflicted on them. The evidence of their unforgiveness towards you is there, because they now are exhibiting the same behavior they were unable to forgive you for.
This pile becomes a huge mess. Trespass upon trespass, upon trespass upon trespass. People thinking all you have to do is quit it !
All the while knowing that all you have to do is forgive the first offending party, and can't. Or won't . Or thought it would just be better to ignore it. Or thought you had forgiven because it seemed you had forgotten it. And there it is , big as day, right there at the bottom of this mess of sin that you and several others have now contributed to.
If this story sounds even vaguely familiar, say with me today, "Grace, grace, grace !"
Yes, this sin of unforgiveness will have to be dealt with. But first I will have to receive grace. My trying to fix this sin without it , has never ever produced fruit. Sin is blotted out by Jesus. Sin has to be exposed so He can get to it. Sin is given GRACE because there is nothing else to do with it.
It is humbling to receive , but there is no other way into the presence of Our Father.
Grace, grace, grace and again I say, grace.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Great Is His faithfulness
To be faithful in the little things means continuing to do things even if there seems to be no reason for it. When I look at His faithfulness I am encouraged to continue being faithful in the things He has shown me to do.
His faithfulness comes like sunshine on a cloudy day.
When I wait on Him , He comes with His warmth and beauty.
Cleaning houses joyfully as unto Him (my own and others), buying groceries, endless amounts of small tasks , I do faithfully (with His strength) because of His faithfulness to me.
His faithfulness comes like sunshine on a cloudy day.
When I wait on Him , He comes with His warmth and beauty.
Cleaning houses joyfully as unto Him (my own and others), buying groceries, endless amounts of small tasks , I do faithfully (with His strength) because of His faithfulness to me.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Why It Is
I learn things from seeing repeated behavior . A very wise person once said, "If you keep responding the same way to your circumstances, you can only expect the same results that you have always had."
That is why I go to God and read Psalms 51 aloud to Him.
I do not want to respond the same way . I need truth in my inward parts to be revealed. If I can see truth in my inward parts and respond with truth to the lies my inward parts once believed, I have a hope for change.
When I believed the lies, I responded accordingly.
When I believe the truth, I respond differently.
The Word of Testimony today: Every word Jesus spoke will not return void.
That is why I go to God and read Psalms 51 aloud to Him.
I do not want to respond the same way . I need truth in my inward parts to be revealed. If I can see truth in my inward parts and respond with truth to the lies my inward parts once believed, I have a hope for change.
When I believed the lies, I responded accordingly.
When I believe the truth, I respond differently.
The Word of Testimony today: Every word Jesus spoke will not return void.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Wearing The Armor
My word of testimony today is : I praise God for His armor.
Although David did not wear Saul's armor when he went out to fight Goliath, he did indeed have armor on . He said to Goliath, "I come in the name of the LORD."
Today I come in the name of the LORD.
What exactly does that mean, you might ask ?
To me it means that I come entirely reliant on the LORD as my Savour. I come in His name because I am His. I come in His name because unlike Saul's armor which had not been tested, the name of JESUS stands above all names.
It is because of JESUS that I can even be here.
Jesus is Who says, "I can live here." Jesus says, "I am righteous because of what He has done." Notice that it has nothing to do with how I did before ,or how I am doing now, or how I will do in the future. Jesus is the Truth. Because I stand in His name I am able to know that the giant is lieing. Jesus is the Truth. When you know something is a lie , in our fleshly thoughts and reason , we may not know exactly how to verbalize the truth. It just bears witness to our spirit man , this is a lie. This is where we stand and wait. We wait until we hear from Him to give us THE TRUTH . Then when we have the TRUTH we go and let that giant have it right between the eyes.
When I am dealing with real people, and that giant comes down, I then have an opportunity to tell that person the truth.
For however long I have, in the name of JESUS, been able to knock that giant unconscious, I can tell them what they need to hear and if it bears witness to their spirit man, they too will know that the lies they have been believing are just that, LIES.
Together we can pick up that sword and cut that giants head off. He will not be able to even speak anymore lies after that.
Standing and waiting is the hardest part of this story.
If I go in after that giant, just simply because I know he is a giant and he is lieing to my friend, I really do not do much more that aggravate the giant.
I suppose that is what he thought was going to happen when he saw David come up to him. I suppose he thought David was going to be nothing more than a dog yapping at his heels and all he would have to do is give it a big kick.
Well, those who come in the name of the LORD may not look powerful , or big. Fortunately looks have nothing to do with who will win.
It is the voice of TRUTH that I wait for today.
I stand confident it will come.
Although David did not wear Saul's armor when he went out to fight Goliath, he did indeed have armor on . He said to Goliath, "I come in the name of the LORD."
Today I come in the name of the LORD.
What exactly does that mean, you might ask ?
To me it means that I come entirely reliant on the LORD as my Savour. I come in His name because I am His. I come in His name because unlike Saul's armor which had not been tested, the name of JESUS stands above all names.
It is because of JESUS that I can even be here.
Jesus is Who says, "I can live here." Jesus says, "I am righteous because of what He has done." Notice that it has nothing to do with how I did before ,or how I am doing now, or how I will do in the future. Jesus is the Truth. Because I stand in His name I am able to know that the giant is lieing. Jesus is the Truth. When you know something is a lie , in our fleshly thoughts and reason , we may not know exactly how to verbalize the truth. It just bears witness to our spirit man , this is a lie. This is where we stand and wait. We wait until we hear from Him to give us THE TRUTH . Then when we have the TRUTH we go and let that giant have it right between the eyes.
When I am dealing with real people, and that giant comes down, I then have an opportunity to tell that person the truth.
For however long I have, in the name of JESUS, been able to knock that giant unconscious, I can tell them what they need to hear and if it bears witness to their spirit man, they too will know that the lies they have been believing are just that, LIES.
Together we can pick up that sword and cut that giants head off. He will not be able to even speak anymore lies after that.
Standing and waiting is the hardest part of this story.
If I go in after that giant, just simply because I know he is a giant and he is lieing to my friend, I really do not do much more that aggravate the giant.
I suppose that is what he thought was going to happen when he saw David come up to him. I suppose he thought David was going to be nothing more than a dog yapping at his heels and all he would have to do is give it a big kick.
Well, those who come in the name of the LORD may not look powerful , or big. Fortunately looks have nothing to do with who will win.
It is the voice of TRUTH that I wait for today.
I stand confident it will come.
