"God's Grace" Not Meant To Be A Get Out of Jail Free Card

Romans 2:4-5 GNT

Or perhaps you despise his great kindness, tolerance, and patience. Surely you know that God is kind, because he is trying to lead you to repent. But you have a hard and stubborn heart, and so you are making your own punishment even greater on the Day when God's anger and righteous judgments will be revealed.

Understanding grace doesn't mean that we can sin without penalty. Understanding grace means that we never want to sin again. It is the goodness of God that motivates us to repentance and holy living. Counseling sessions, accountability, personal discipleship, the twelve-step program, etc. won't be enough to ward off the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Only when we look upon the grace of God and realizing God paid the debt for our sin with the blood of His Son, will we be motivated to consciously quit our sin.

No Second Class!

Remember this......there are no "second‐class" members of God’s family. God still wants to give us His best. And as we seek Him together, He will!

Jeremiah 31:34 NIV

No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord ,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord . “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Doing God's Work...Without excuses.

Jeremiah 1:6-7
Then said I: "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth." But the LORD said to me: "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak."
NKJV

God choses us not because of what we want to do, but because of what He can do through us.
How many times have we thought this? "Lord, I know You want me to do this but...? "How can we say "Lord" and "but" in the same sentence? You can't, my friend. It's one or the other. Either He is Lord of your life or He isn't. If you are throwing out excuses not to do what God has asked you to do, maybe you need to consider just who is Lord of your life? Just think about that... Makes sense doesn't it?

Our Heavenly Rewards

Matthew 16:27 NKJV

For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

Our Heavenly Rewards

Salvation is free and comes when we trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. Accepting Jesus Christ as Savior is the most important thing that we can do during the short time that we have here on earth "our temporary home."  Once we accept Christ as Savior, the Bible also tells us of God rewarding those who served Him during their life here on earth. We serve our King because He is worthy of our service. We show love to others because we love Him. Yet, we also serve Him in great expectation of the rewards He has prepared for us. I think everybody likes receiving rewards...I know I do. It might be an A for having worked hard at school, a trophy for our achievements, be it in a sport or other activity, or the bonus check that we receive for having met or exceeded our goals at our job. It would also be even greater to have some rewards waiting for us in Heaven "our eternal home," presented to us by God. Think about this...we have all eternity to enjoy our rewards in heaven, but only a short lifetime to enjoy our earthly ones. Time is also short for the earning of our Heavenly rewards, that will be waiting for us when we get there. I think there's nothing wrong with receiving earthly rewards, but I know that our Heavenly rewards will be greater! It's either rewards or regrets...we get to decide now.

Looking for PEACE?

Looking for PEACE?

John 16:33 NLT

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

Looking for PEACE....here it is...in this message...it is plain and clear. Be at ease....we know how it's all going to turn out and who is VICTORIOUS!

Some Good Out of the Bad

Matthew 6:34 NLT

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

The older I have gotten "I'm not going to claim...wiser" : ) I have realized the saying "just take one day at the time" is not as stupid of a philosophy, as I once thought!

I would venture to say that we have "all" found ourselves in some kinds of very humiliating situations, in times in our life. Some we never thought would ever end or could ever be any good to come out of them. Let me share this with you:
Whatever the situation...whatever the circumstances might be...... GOD CAN REDEEM IT! He will make the best come out of the worst, if you’ll trust him to do so.

The Bible tells a story about a man named Joseph, he was imprisoned for more than 13 years because of false accusations "you know the story." 13 years was a huge chunk of his life, but it must have been the chunk that prepared him to later be in charge of the entire nation.  
 
In more recent times...there was a man named Chuck Colson. While Chuck was imprisoned for crimes committed during the Watergate scandal, he came to trust in God. When Chuck was released from prison, he founded what has now grown into an international prison ministry, that has touched the lives of thousands upon thousands of prisoners...leading many to Christ. I would imagine this would had not ever happened, if it wasn't for his humiliating situation, that he found himself in. Think about it........

The Real Pain Reliever!

Thought for today....

"The Real Pain Reliever"

(James 4:8 NLT) Come close to God, and God will come close to you.

When we experience a loss, separation...divorce or any other kind of pain, we often close ourselves off from God "the total opposite of what we should do." He is our only source of true comfort, instead we withdraw within ourselves. Sometimes we look for other people to "fix" things...we seek advice from others...be it a counselor, a friend, a family member or even a work partner. We might seek escape through excessive work, play, or even turn to food, alcohol or drugs to ease the pain....we refuse to face it.

Running from God won't fix the problem. Our only answer is to come close to Him. He can meet every need...and He wants to. Come close to God by spending time in his Word.

(Psalm 119:114) You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope.

God's Will

Psalm 16:11 NIV

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

We may not realize or understand God's plan for us, but I assure you He has one. If we seek God’s will earnestly and prayerfully...He will make His plans known to us in His own time and in His own way.

Financial "Net Worth or "Life Worth"....What Really Matters?

Ecclesiastes 6:9 NLT

Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

1 Peter 1:18-19 NCV

You know that in the past you were living in a worthless way, a way passed down from the people who lived before you. But you were saved from that useless life. You were bought, not with something that ruins like gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ, who was like a pure and perfect lamb.

Most of us have been caught up in the stress and worry about our net worth...trying to increase our financial status...having that prestigious career...feeling that the more money and possessions we have is the most important thing in life and it will make us worth more.
For example: How much is my house worth? Well it's worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it...that’s what it’s worth. Same goes for our life worth....Our worth is exactly what someone is willing to pay our life. The Bible says that you and I were purchased with a tremendous price...the purchase price was paid so we could have a relationship with God...it did not include money...gold and silver,rather...it was the blood of Jesus, the Son of God...who gave His life freely for you and for me to show us how much we’re worth...if we open our heart and our mind to this truth...if we live our life with this present awareness that we are the beloved of immeasurable value...it will change everything about our life...maybe then we can stop worrying about what really doesn't matter and focus on what does.

For Nothing is Impossible with God.

Luke 1:37 NLT

Sometimes...because of our limited faith and limited understanding...we wrongly assume that God cannot or will not intervene in what's going on in our life. Such assumptions are simply wrong.

God’s Holy Word makes it clear........... absolutely nothing is impossible for the Lord. The Bible means what it says and we can be comforted to know that God can do miraculous things in our own life and in the lives of our loved ones. Our challenge...as a believer...is to take God at His word...and to expect the miraculous.