GRACE..God's riches at Christ's expense!

G R A C E...please stop making it cheap.  It is free to all who receive it and believe in what Christ did for us when he died and rose again~but it is not cheap!

It breaks my heart to see people who try to cheapen the GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Yes, it is true that our sins, past, present and future are forgiven by the finished work of Calvary.  BUT....this does not give us the right, the licensee to live unholy.  No, we can never be good enough to earn the gift of this Grace, but it does not mean we can sin and do what ever we feel like doing because we are covered by His Grace.  That is making a mockery of the awesome work of His Death, Burial and Resurrection.  May that never be what we as believers do.

We are called out to be a chosen people, separate from the world.  The word says a peculiar people.  Does that mean we will not sin?  NO, we are still in our human form, and we will slip up and sin, we are not above sin, but we are NOT to opening purposely sin because we have the gift of Grace to cover our sins.  We are called to be a holy people. 

Holy...consecrated or set aside for sacred use (as opposed to pagan or common use); standing apart from sin and evil; characteristic of God, especially the third person of the Trinity.   Sinless~NO, Perfect~NO, Better than others~NO......Forgiven~YES.

Please, I beg you...look at your life and ask yourself, am I making the wonderful Grace of Jesus Cheap?

Purpose in your heart to be set apart, to walk a Holy Life, to Thank God everyday when He forgives you of your shortcomings and sins....but don't get caught up in the lie that Grace gives you the liberty to live like this world.  We are not of this world, we are called to be the light of this world, causing the people to want what we have that makes us shine.  If we live life like we can do, say and act anyway we want to; what would make the world see us as having overcome this world?  What would make them want what we have?

My prayer today, this last day of 2011, is that the Lord would help me to be an over comer and not be filled with condemnation about past failures, sins and disappointments.  I choose to thank God for the GRACE He has given to me and to live my life in such a way that others will want what I have. 

S H I N E on for Christ in 2012!

My Joruney to Bethlehem...

Late yesterday afternoon I went on a journey to Bethlehem.  No, I did not board a plane and land on a foreign soil; but I did find myself taken back to a time that ended up being not so much different than today.

The Missionary Church in Davison did a wonderful job of taking me back to a time long ago and to a land far away.  The events of one mysterious night in Bethlehem were being reenacted.  I experienced the sights and sounds of the city of Bethlehem.  I met Micha the profit, I stood before King Herod and I even had to pay taxes before I could enter into the city.

Once I entered into the city itself, I began the walk... I passed many beautifully decorated stores...all of them trying to entice me to purchase something.    There were costly perfumes, fancy pottery, speciality foods, beautiful jewelry and so much more.  The people were dancing and singing and making merry all round me.  There were happy people, angry people, and busy people in the city.  Some seemed nice and some seemed so intimidating (like the Roman Solders).  It was such an interesting journey. 

As I got close to the end of the city road, there it was, a small barn.  Inside the barn sat a young couple.  They were looking into a manger where a newborn baby had been placed.  He was wrapped up tight and sleeping so peacefully amidst the loud commotion of the city. 

That is when it hit me....this is just like today.  Not much has changed at all.  All of the malls and stores have merchants trying to entice me to spend money on "stuff".  I am invited to many events where there is dancing, singing and making merry all around me.  Everywhere I go there are happy people, angry people, busy people and even intimidating people.  The bright lights are shinning all round and everyone is in such a hurry.  It is so easy to get caught up in the "busy" that we forget that there is a reason for this Season.  A King has been born!

There is nothing wrong with buying "stuff" or enjoying the dancing, singing and pretty lights...but Please do not get so caught up in the party that you forget why we are having the party.

H A P P Y    B I R T H D A Y    J E S U S

Read it, study it, live it....the Word of God.

It is powerful and full of tools to live by.

Have a Super Wonderful Day...

    Smile at everyone you walk past, it will make them wonder what mischief you have been up to.

To B U S Y to be Thankful?

I am back....This week I became one of those people who was SOOOO    B U S Y   that they did not make the time to do the things that are most important to them! 

That must   S T O P   and stop it will ~ today!

Late last night (when I could not sleep, because of the million, trillion, even zillion, things that were running through my head)  I got on facebook.   I saw the new profile picture my niece had placed and it really moved my spirit.  It was one of those cute poster like sayings that are becoming so popular on facebook.  But what moved my spirit was what it said...."What if you woke up today and all you had left in your life were the things you thanked God for yesterday?"

WOW... what an eyeopener. 

Do we get to busy to even say thank you to God for the things in our life?  How sad is that? 

I am a volunteer trainer at hospice and one of the exercises I do to help the volunteers understand the many loses the patient is experiencing; is quite simple ~ but very profound.  I give each volunteer 5 slips of paper and ask them to write five different things in their life that they are thankful for...things that give them joy, purpose and the zeal to go on.  It must be things not people. 

My five slips of paper would read:

• My ability to read my Bible
• My ability to talk to God
• My computer
• My HGTV
• MUSIC

Next, I ask them to turn the slips of paper over so I can not see what they wrote.  I talk about the hospice patient and the fact that the disease has won, and the patient now has a limited life expectancy and they are beginning to loose the things in their life that gave them joy, purpose, and zeal.  As I walk around the room talking about these loses and how the patient has no control over them; I take away their slips of overturned papers...one at a time until they only have one left in front of them.  Then I ask them to turn over their one remaining slip of paper and read to me what they have left.  They become pretty perturbed at me and the fact that I took away so many of their favorites.  The one thing they have left may make it really hard to stay thankful.

Life can get like that sometimes....we may loose our slips of paper, and find ourselves with slim pickens compared to what we once had.

So my question to you and to me is ....Can we stay thankful for what we do have in our life instead of looking back and pining for what we used to have?

Can we wake up every morning and really say Thank You to God for the things in our life?   

Y E S....it can be done.  Faye's very condensed interpretation of what Paul wrote: Not looking back at what was in our life...but looking at what is and being thankful for it is one of the  keys to peace and joy in the Lord.  Learning to be content in whatever state we are in (and that does not mean Michigan, Arizona, North Carolina etc) it means learning to B content and thankful for what IS.

My challenge for you and me today is to stop and thank God for what we do have in our life.  Thank Him for everything ~ even the things that seem little...Because we never know what life is going to bring our way and we may find ourselves with only one of those slips of paper left.

Read it, study it, live it...the Word of God.

It is powerful and full of tools to live by.

Have a Super Wonderful Day...
   Smile at everyone you walk past, it will make them wonder what mischief you have been up to.