Tag: grace

What is Your Take?

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“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”  

2 Peter 1:2-3

All relationships have to be give and take in order to be healthy.

This includes your relationship with God.

Your “give” to God: to journey with Him and hold nothing back.

So what is your “take”?

Your “take” is to partake of God’s promises, dwell in His presence and walk in His power in every area of your life. 

This taking is not a selfish act, it is a trusting one.

How is your relationship with Jesus today?

What do you need to recieve from Him?

What is He asking you to give?

Us vs. Them

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Thursday

There is no such thing as “us” and “them”.

There is just us.

Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭5:31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

One who has been touched by grace will no longer look on those who stray as “those evil people” or “those poor people who need our help”.  Nor must we search for signs of “love-worthiness”.  Grace teaches us that God loves because of who God is, not because of who we are.

– Phillip Yancey

We are all in need of the grace and mercy of God…everyday.

Give some to yourself today and give some to someone else too…I guarantee they need it.

It’s Your Time to Shine

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Monday

Why are you here?

Not to collect more things.

Not to become an expert.

Not to be happy all the time.

Not to look good all the time.

Not to feel good all the time.

“Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:14 ‭MSG‬‬

You are here to be a light.

A witness.

A glimpse of God living through you.

A glimpse of grace-living.

A breath of fresh love-laced air in the sin-stained world.

That is why you are here.

Don’t get so caught up in yourself or in the present circumstances that you miss your God-empowered purpose for today: SHINE.

My prayer for you is that you are so filled with the Light of Christ that it spills out of you in every way possible, to every person you meet, in every moment of darkness or discouragement or overwhelming circumstance, in spite of the current crisis, through the present obstacle. May the Light of His Love be uncontainable and contagious through you today.

Room for All

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Friday

God’s love is so expansive that there is room enough for you and room enough for every person you know.

The cross does not have a “Limited Space Available” sign on it.

Jesus stretched out His arms for all.

God has embraced you and placed you within the unearned luxury of His love.

“But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am.

And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste.”
1 Corinthians 15:10 MSG

Don’t let God’s grace go to waste.

Don’t let your insecurities dictate your obedience.

Don’t let fear hold you back from living and giving God’s love.

When you find yourself embraced in the center of God’s grace, you can’t help but reach out to those who don’t know that there is enough room in God’s love for them too.

Don’t waste a second.

Someone out there desperately needs to know it.

In the Middle

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Thursday

Real-life.

You are made for it.

Real-life is filled with broken people, challenging circumstances, and difficult decisions.

It’s different than you thought it would be.

It’s harder than you expected.

It’s messy.

Real-life is where Jesus meets you.

He does not ask you to deny reality, He asks you to embrace it as He embraces you.

 “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.”

1 Peter 4:12-13 MSG

Stop striving to live a “perfect” life to please God. What pleases God the most is when you allow Him to work His grace and love into the middle of your very messy real life.

May you be empowered today to face the reality of your life and walk confidently in His unique, personal, powerful expression of grace and love for you in it.

Graceful

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Tuesday

“It was God giving me the work to do and God giving me the energy to do it.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:10-11‬ ‭MSG

It is a defining moment when you realize that the work of God doesn’t depend on you but on Him. It is HIS WORK. But you and I get to join in on it.

We get to be a part of the divine work of God on this earth when we love others.

When we honor them.

When we leave the judgment to God and extend grace where needed.

When we listen to the cry of the hurting and reach out to those who feel abandoned.

It’s our job to love them and God’s job to heal them.

And all of it is because of God’s unending grace.

We don’t have to figure out how God’s grace works, we just have to extend it lavishly on a hurting and broken world. 

Keep Us

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Friday

“Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.”    Matthew 6:12 MSG

Right with God, right with others.
Taking stock, taking responsibility.
Receiving grace, giving grace.
Living forgiven, living forgiving.
Everyday.
Jesus said to pray like this so that we could live like this.
Keep us, God, keep us.

Resilience

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Monday copy

“The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.
    But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭24:16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What trips you up?

How do you fall?

Is it overthinking, overeating, over-controlling, overworking, oversleeping, over-it-all-so-I-am-quitting everything?

It really isn’t what trips you up that is dangerous, it is what keeps you down when you fall.

You fell.

You are human.

Get up.

You are loved.

God is not done with you.

You have a purpose.

God has a vision for your life.

Get up and take a one step toward it today.

 

Quiet it All

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“If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”  Mark 4:23 NIV

When life gets loud, stressful and fear-filled, listening gets difficult.

With all there is to listen to for up to date information and then all the things we do to distract us from it all, it can be difficult to hear what God is saying to us.

Jesus is always communicating with you. He is always speaking truth to you.

Today is a day to listen.

To quiet everything.

To step back and breathe.

To quiet the stress, the worries, the distractions, the screens, social media, or anything else that is draining your ability to hear Jesus.

Jesus is speaking to you and He has something that He wants you to hear clearly.

I am asking Jesus to give you ears to hear and to prepare a quiet place for you to receive His word for you today.

What is creating the most internal noise in your life right now?

What do you need to do to quiet down the external noise to be able to hear God’s voice better?

What is Jesus saying to you today?

Love in Action

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“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ NIV

The Greek word for “love” here is agape. It is the description of God.  A love that gives generously, cares first, forgives first, extends endless second chances and never gives up.  It is the word that describes who God is: uncontainable, unrelenting, unending, unchanging LOVE.

Love is heaven’s greatest treasure and earth’s most desperate need.

It is why Jesus came to earth. He brought Himself, then took upon Himself what separates us from receiving this love. Then He rose again to make it available for all who would receive Him.

God has put people in your life that need to see His love in action.

Let God love through you.

Love them authentically, without expecting anything back.

Find a need and fill it for them.

Forgive first, not because they deserve it. 

Give them a second chance.

Don’t give up on them and ask God to show you how He sees them.

Love founded in truth and put to action is the most powerful force in the world.

Who has God given you to love?

How are you going to love them today?