His Grace and Mercy

FaithWalkDaily October 15, 2008

... he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. ~ Titus 3:5

Can you imagine what it must have been like to live as a Jew before Jesus came? Not only were they trying to live up to the laws given Moses, the priests had added law upon law upon law...to the point where a person could hardly move without sinning. There were laws governing what foods could be eaten, what colors were to be worn in certain circumstances, how to react when faced with difficulty (such as tearing ones clothes and covering oneself in sack cloth and ashes.) There were rules about when, where and how to pray, who could talk to God and where, even how to eat ones meals. Everything was managed by law.

There are religions that teach we must live up to the letter of the law IN ADDITION to believing Jesus Christ is the son of God in order to be saved. Today, we call that the impossible gospel. Jesus came that we could have life...

John 20:31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

1 John 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Eph 2:7-8-10 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

So we see there is nothing we can do to be saved of our own accord. Only by the blood of the Lamb, the precious sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus, that we are promised eternal life.

Do we still have a responsibility to live up to the law?

Rom 6:14-15 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

What Paul means is, the man (or woman) who has truly come into the family of God through faith in Jesus, desires a life pleasing to God. Though tempted, we will seek God's strength to turn from sin because we love the Lord more than sin, which ruled the old nature. Now made new in the covenant of Christ's blood, we no longer lust after the things of this world, but are drawn to the things of God. We put away the childish things of our past and grow in faith through daily Scripture reading, prayer and meeting in fellowship.

Lord, we fall before Your throne in all humility, knowing we are unworthy. Still tempted by sin of every color, shape and size, the Holy Spirit is our victor who empowers us for every encounter with evil. By the blood of Jesus our sins are erased and You give new life. Grant that we would find our strength and hope in His name alone today and every day until You return to bring us home. In Your precious name we pray, amen.

Am I a Christian

FaithWalkDaily September 17, 2008

36 "I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
41 "I do not accept praise from men, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?
45 "But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?"
~ John 5:36-47 NIV

These words of Jesus are very convicting and key to our destination. The Jews who persecuted Christ and sent Him to His death on the cross, were devout holy men. They knew the Scriptures. They had read the prophesies of the messiah and yet were blind to His very presence.

I was reading through the blog of a self-proclaimed "Christian" woman who is literally journaling her personal life online. Not that there's anything wrong with that if you don't mind the voyeurs of the world peering into the windows of your soul. And if you're going to put yourself in that position, I would only hope that while you're sharing your sinful nature, you would so do along with the solution and how you're living it (which she did not.)

After I read the first entry in the blog with my judgmental glasses on ;-)\ (though I repent and ask God to give me wisdom to help, rather than condemn) I read her profile and was shocked to find she was willing to share things about herself that are no one's business but her and her husband! Do we really care what kind of underwear she wears? And what kind of idiotic blog host gives users options for sharing such intimate information? Only one that's of the world, of course. Personally, I'd have left some of those details blank.

As I read this woman's profile, I could relate. I was a worldly Catholic for many years. I had no problem telling (or showing) anyone what kind of underwear I wore, or flaunting my great legs. I didn't realize I wasn't a Christian until I came face to face with Christ and became a born again Christian. I was immediately transformed. On the Saturday before I would probably have flirtingly told you the style, color and size of my panties but the following Monday I'd have blushed and exited quickly. The transformation with Christ in my heart was that drastic.

Am I a Christian? Without a shadow of a doubt. Are you?

How can you know?

Jesus said (John 14:6) He's the only way to God. Not some way. Not a way. Not one of many ways. The way. Do you believe that?

If you believe Jesus is the only way to heaven, do you believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God? Since Jesus is the fulfillment of Scripture (OT prophesy) and the prophesy of things to come (NT,) if you believe in Jesus, you must believe the Bible.

If you follow any other book or any other man, you are being led down a path to destruction. A true Christian follows Jesus alone, Trusting the Holy Spirit using the Bible as a guide.

Joseph Smith was a liar and a false prophet (Matt. 7:15, Deut. 18:21,22.) The Pope has abused the power of his position. Charles Taze Russell perverted the gospel among other blasphemous acts. There are far too many "Christian" leaders who, consciously or unconsciously have twisted the gospel to the joy of Satan and company.

Let's be safe. Stick with the basics. Read the Bible. Store God's word in your heart. Be prepared to give an account for the hope we have in Jesus so that others might come to the table of grace in His kingdom. Follow no man. Fellowship with other believers who have solid Biblical doctrine and understanding. Follow Jesus. Trust the Holy Spirit. Know that God is God and He will have His way. I'd rather be in His camp when the storm comes than out there floundering around wondering if I've got it right, blown away on the winds of the world.

Lord Jesus, open the eyes of our hearts, show us clearly who You are, give us wisdom and discernment in all things regarding faith. Guide us in paths of righteousness for your name's sake. Protect us from liars and false prophets, and beguiling worldy ways. Light the way Jesus, we want to follow You. Holy Spirit embolden us for the journey. Save us a place at your table Lord Jehovah - we look forward to that great feast! In the holy name of Jesus we pray, amen.

Mustard Seed Faith

FaithWalkDaily 9/11/2008

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.
~ Psalm 40:1 NLT

Yesterday started off headache free for the first time in days. After some prayer and meditation on K-Love's Encouraging Word http://www.klove.com/EncouragingWord/, I thought it was going to be a wonderful day.

Then the enemy crept in while I was all puffed up and shattered my world. In one fell blow, with my defenses down, he bowled me over in an instant. I found myself flattened, on the phone with my husband who gave me terrible news. After hanging up, I tried to pray but I felt nothing but anger, fear and complete loss of control. I sat sobbing, wondering what to do.

Beside myself and unable to move or pray, I started calling friends I know who are strong prayer warriors. No one answered their phones so I began screaming at God, "HELP! HELP ME GOD, Where are you when I need You? Why do You hear everyone else's prayers and not mine? Why do You bless everyone else and not us? What have we done that keeps You from hearing our prayers? I want to serve You, want to be obedient. So if I'm doing something wrong, show me Lord, Help me!!"

After a few unanswered calls, I got my church directory and opened it and the first name my eyes rested on is a woman of deep faith. I called and poured out my heart to her. She immediately prayed for us, for our situation and for the other person involved. Her specific prayer was for these two men to resolve the problem as good Christians, in peace. She also prayed something like, "Lord, You have said we can move mountains with just the faith of a mustard seed. As small as our faith is, we know You're in control and that You can make this situation right for everyone concerned."

Through my sobs, I told my friend that I didn't think I even had the faith of a mustard seed anymore. She responded to the effect that the very fact that I had called, that I had reached out to others for prayer in my time of need, proved my faith. A simple but profound statement - words straight from the heart of the Holy Spirit. God poured a healing salve into my wounded soul through her wisdom.

Before she was even finished praying, my husband called on my cell phone to tell me this man had apologized and they had resolved the issue to everyone's satisfaction.

I don't always wait patiently. Sometimes I'm flat out kinetic - pacing, ranting, raving, crying. Perhaps that's as patient as I can be. God created me this way. He knows my heart, my needs, my abilities. Despite my lack of serenity, and inability to sit still, He has abundant patience. He turns to me in my time of need and hears my cry.

O Holy God, thank You for Your patience when I have none, thank You for Your mercy when I am far from You, thank You for providing for my every need though my faith is so small. You are marvelous and majestic, all powerful and all knowing, yet You attend to me as a gentle Shepherd takes care of the lamb gone astray. You have far greater things to attend to, yet no prayer goes unheard. You draw me into Your presence and guide me according to Your perfect plans. Protect me from the enemy - ever lurking, ever patient - just waiting to devour me. You etch Your word upon my heart for times when I can't think clearly, and the Holy Spirit brings them to mind to thwart the devil's attacks, when he taunts me with his lies. Thank You Lord Jesus, that You have paid the price for my sins, that You have made a way for me to bring my petitions before the Father. Thank You my Savior, my Redeemer, my Rescuer. Guide us through this day, with constant reminders, that You are Soverein God. In Jesus' name, amen.

This Earthly Body

FaithWalkDaily 9/8/2008

Matt 11:28-30
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." NIV

Sometimes I just want to throw in the towel and quit everything. I'm just flat out weary. Entrapped in this human body, a temporary shelter in need of repairs, I long to be free. This skin is etched with myriad lines like a road map of my life, veins are choked, my mind grows dim, pains abound from head toe, and there seems no end in sight. Yes, I'm weary.

Violins at ready: Nobody's coming to my pity party!

As I rest with a sinus headache that has refused to take a hike for several days, I just want to feel good again. Whatever that means. I can't remember my last pain free day since - well, honestly, I can't remember. I've been in pain of one kind or another for just about as far back as I can remember. I didn't always sit around feeling sorry for myself, hoping you'd join my bandwagon with your woeful violins and mournful fugues.

Let's face it, a gaggle of naysayers singing the woes of humanity would not be a popular band. And no one accepted my invitation anyway. Misery loves company and doesn't often find it. This is a lonely place to be.

Life hurts. We have options. We can sit around alone feeling sorry for ourselves and complaining, or we can turn to the One who suffered more pain than we can even begin to imagine.

Jesus invites us to share His yoke which is "easy and light." The purpose of a yoke is to distribute the weight between beasts of similar size to create a managable load for the working animals to carry. Likewise, Jesus is saying, we're in this together - seeking after the will of God. Come, share my yoke, and I'll take the load off of you.

One thing I've learned as one who bears a permanent thorn, His grace is sufficient for me, for His power is made perfect in weakness (2Cor. 12:7.) I can pray in any situation, no matter how bleak, how weak or how tired I am. I can pray. And the burden rests with Him. Being weak forces me to lean on my Savior.

This is only a temporary station, this earthly body. Praise God, it isn't my final destination!

Heavenly Father, thank You for the reminder that You're always there for us in our time of need. Though we don't always feel it, we can know you bear the burden with us, Your grace is sufficient to see us through. Trusting in my Savior, amen.

Need Him