Monday, April 23, 2012

God's unmerited favor = GRACE

Grace is an amazing gift from God.
We can’t save ourselves or make us worthy of God. But God.
He arranged everything so that we can just receive his grace by faith in Jesus and be made right with him. Grace truly is God’s unmerited favor for all who are ready to receive it.
You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith. This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives. (Eph. 2:8-10, CEB)
Today I’ve been reminded that we need to receive grace daily.
Not just for our eternal salvation. But for our daily needs.
We can’t earn salvation but we can reject it.
The same way we can’t earn God’s daily help but we can reject it!
Let’s not put God’s grace in vain!
Let’s receive what God wants to give to us!
How do we do that?
Finally, let’s draw near to the throne of favor with confidence so that we can receive mercy and find grace when we need help. (Hebr. 4:16, CEB)

The same way we live in grace. By drawing near to God. By receiving grace upon grace.
By interacting with God. By asking and receiving help. By lifting up our gaze from ourselves and our problems to Jesus. By asking the Holy Spirit fill us and show us how to go about our lives.
By living out loud our faith in Jesus.

Dear Gracious God, Giver of all good gifts ~
Give us not only our daily bread but also our daily grace!
In Jesus’ name, Amen

psssssssssst ~ I know I am preaching to myself!! It's always me that seems to be slow in the go. KWIM?

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

The Resurrection changes EVERYTHING

What difference does it make that Christ rose from the dead? It makes all the difference for everyone and everything throughout eternity! It is the single most significant, paradigm-changing, earth-shattering event of all time. Because He is risen, we can live with Him forever! The center of our Christian faith is knowing not only that Jesus, Son of God and God Himself, died on the cross to pay our sin debt, but that He rose again to give us eternal life. That is the heart of the Gospel, or Good News (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4). Christianity is unique among the religions because we serve a risen Savior! The leaders of all other religions are dead and there is no claim of their resurrection.

The list of appearances of the risen Christ is to dispel all doubt that He not only rose from the dead, but that He appeared in a resurrection body for more than 500 witnesses to see at different times and places (1 Corinthians 15:5-8; Acts 1:3).

The resurrection of Christ proves His deity (Romans 1:3). The resurrection of Christ completed the work God the Father sent Him to do; namely, as God the Son, to be the perfect, holy sacrifice that paid for our sins. When that was finished, He returned to His rightful place at the right hand of God the Father (Hebrews 1:1-3).

The resurrection of Christ is essential for us to have eternal life and for our salvation (1 Corinthians 15:12-20). It is evidence that when God looks at each of us as believers, He sees not our sins, but the pure holiness of His Son who gave us His righteousness by taking on our sins (Romans 4:24-25).

The resurrection of Christ is the proof that He is the righteous Judge to whom all must give an accounting one day (Acts 17:31)

The resurrection of Christ is the reason believers have hope (1 Peter 1:3-5). All believers in the resurrection who, through faith, have accepted Christ as their Savior, are saved and are eternally secure in their salvation (John 10:28-29; Romans 8:33-39).

The resurrection of Christ is the reason believers can be confident in receiving glorified bodies at the Rapture and spending eternity with Christ (1 Thessalonians 4: 14-17).

Praise God that we serve a risen Savior! May the power of His resurrection inspire your daily life, secure your salvation, and guarantee your eternal destiny in Heaven as a child of the King! He died for you, and because He rose, you can live with Him forever! Trust Him today!

John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

I saw the dead come to life today ... and was amazed, thrilled, elated (emotional to say the least) ... ALIVE in Christ. Never thought it would happen, and now to await it's fruitfulness!! Yay God