Growing in Grace

"Without even knowing it I had judged myself guilty by someone else's standard. I had condemned myself by that standard and was left feeling like a complete failure. To my family and loved ones I was doing fine, yet I was blinded to the fact by my own self-induced guilt." -"Seasons of a Mother's Heart"; Sally Clarkson; p. 162 Sometimes what people say isn't necessarily wrong, there can be wisdom in what is shared; but the question we need to ask ourselves is, "it a biblical standard?" What may be relevant to one person's situation may not be so for our own. It's very easy to allow personal preferences to overtake us to the point where we then judge others for not living according to our standards. These personal preferences can easily cause division in the body of Christ. Some examples in and around my life have had to do with school choice, mothers working outside the home, health, fitness and nutritional preferences, media and lit

From this day forward. . . *I will make a difference. *Jesus, I thank you that you suffered and died for me on the cross to pay for my sins. *Father, I thank you that you raised Jesus from the dead to be my living Lord and Savior. *Holy Spirit, I thank you that you will lead me to do the right thing and change my world. *Today, Lord, I want to make you a promise. *I will not be ashamed of your name or your Gospel. *I will do what I can for those who are persecuted and pray for them. *I will look enemies in the eye and love them with your love. *I will pray for them and love them - no matter what the consequences. *I will follow your voice wherever you lead me, unafraid, for I know you will be with me. *If I should stumble, if I should fall, if I should deny your name, if I should feel guilty that I did not pray or forgot to do something you asked me to do, I will not quit. I will not wallow in guilt. I will turn back to you, confess my sin, and do what you called

Ten Rules for Revolutionaries 1. Live the Five Loves Love God Love His Word Love your enemies Love your neighbor Love Truth Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." -Matthew 22:37-40 NIV Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. -Matthew 5:44 NKJV By living the Five Loves of a Jesus Freak through the power of God's love, you walk in the supernatural constantly. 2. Always Go Directly to the Source Then you will call upon  Me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. -Jeremiah 29:12-13 NAS Remain in me, and I will remain in y

Religion is nothing else than doing the will of God and not our own. Heaven or hell depends on this alone. -Susannah Wesley Do you want real freedom? Real peace? Try living as though the only thing that keeps you going is the Word of God in your heart. -Jesus Freaks II; p. 288 Live today as if you were going to die a martyr this evening.  -Charles de Foucauld Killed by Senussi rebels Tamanrasset, Algeria 1916 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. -Galatians 2:20 Wow! The Father is so wise and loving and good to us. No wonder people can't understand Him or what He's up to. . . He's the source, guide, and goal of everything that exists. Praise Him! . . . OK, sisters and brothers, because of all this, and using God's loving-kindness in your lives as a tool, give your whole selves back to Him. What else is there for

Now that we live in a post-Christian culture. . .new issues come to the fore. There is no longer much emphasis on children's spiritual health. . . Religion has given ways to "values," which can be redesigned as needed to conform to popular trends. Without spiritual concern, only the physical remains. As a result, fewer people have the hope of heaven. If you don't believe in life after death, then protecting your own life and the lives of those you love becomes paramount. It is literally all you have. When you have assurance of eternal life in Christ, you know there are more important things than physical existence. -Raising Real Men pp. 50-51; Hal and Melanie Young

Love of God is pure when joy and suffering inspire an equal degree of gratitude. -Simone Weil A person who lives in faith must proceed on incomplete evidence, trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse. -Philip Yancey Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory. -William Barclay Christianity doesn't deny the reality of suffering and evil. . . Our hope. . . is not based on the idea that we are going to be free of pain and suffering. Rather, it is based on the conviction that we will triumph over suffering. -Brennan Manning Even the saddest things can become, once we have made peace with them, a source of wisdom and strength for the journey that still lies ahead. -Frederick Buechner And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. -1 Peter 5:10 NIV

John 11:17 begins with Jesus arriving in Bethany to find that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. When Martha learned that Jesus had arrived, she went out to meet Him; while Mary stayed at home. Warren Wiersbe in his New Testament commentary writes that "each experience of suffering and trial ought to increase our faith." In Jesus' exchange with Martha, we see her faith increasing. When Martha met Jesus, her first words were, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." (v. 21) And while her words contained the big "IF", Martha also shows her faith in verse 22 by stating that she knew even then, that whatever Jesus asked, God would give Him. Jesus then declares to Martha that her brother would rise again (v. 23). Martha believes that Jesus is referring to the future resurrection; but Jesus meant in the present. In verse 25, Jesus makes one of his "I am" statements. He declares, "I am the resurrection and th

"Real success in the kingdom of God is not about being strong and looking good and knowing all the right answers. It's about continually yielding oneself to Jesus and determining to take purposeful little steps of obedience, and the ragged reality that it's all about God and His grace at work in us. . . I have to get my worth from Christ and Christ alone."  -Choosing to See; Mary Beth Chapman

Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Proverbs 4:26 The Great Wall of China is one of the great wonders of the world, a true masterpiece of engineering. It's the only man-made structure that can be seen from outer space. Five to six horses could trot side by side on top of it. The wall was built, of course, to protect China from invasion. Watchtowers and various battlements dot its construction at frequent intervals. But in the first hundred years after the wall was completed, enemies managed to invade the country three times, breaching the security of this enormous, rock-solid defense. How? They didn't go over it. They didn't go through it. They didn't need to knock it down. Because while China was building this impenetrable defense system, it was apparently neglecting to build character into its children's lives. All the invaders had to do was bribe the gatekeepers. I think of this story whenever I hear parents talk of the dr

Being "eternity minded" is one thing that those who are so willing to give their lives for Jesus have that others seem to lack. Their perspective looks something like this: "So, ten thousand years from now, when I am just settling into heaven, will I remember the things I do today with satisfaction or shame?" Though they are heavenly minded, they are not so wrapped up in thinking about heaven that they are content to just wait life out on earth in their impatience to get there, nor are they so excited about the Rapture coming that all they do is study end-times prophecies to the exclusion of almost all else. They want to do things in this life that will make a difference for heaven, and they want to make that difference every day. What is life on earth really worth compared to an eternity in heaven? Isn't it worth living in a little discomfort or inconvenience here to make a difference for our eternity there?" -Jesus Freaks II, Revolutionaries For we

In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. -Judges 17:6 In other words, when there is no absolute authority to decide right and wrong, everyone has his or her own opinion about what to d o.       The truth of the Gospel works on so many levels. Though some will argue that God does not exist and that man is the highest form in the universe, they will still strive for a moral code. Is there a better moral law than the Golden Rule of "Treat others the same way you would want them to treat you"? Even though this is a great philosophy, it cannot work without its power source. Man has no motive to be "good" without gratitude to a Savior who granted they should not have to suffer for their own sins. Without love of God in their hearts to motivate them to put the needs of others before themselves, they will ultimately act selfishly despite what philosophies they hold on to. -Jesus Freaks II, Revolutionaries p. 192 Faith points to a moral

"True revolutionaries must have a love for the Truth that does not settle for what someone else says or believes. They will dig and question and read and study until they find the smallest vein of truth, and then they will mine that until they find more. They are not satisfied until they have something they can hold on to solidly, and then they will be open to the possibility that even that is probably incomplete, and keep looking. Meanwhile they do not preach their opinions and convictions as a reason to put others down, nor do they judge others because they fit a different mold. They stand, humbly, and say, 'As far as I can tell, this is the truth. I am open to discussing it and being convinced otherwise, but if you've got nothing better to offer me, then I am going to hold to what I believe - I will stand by this, I cannot do otherwise.' Then see if what is really important doesn't come to the forefront and begin to set people free from the constraints that are

Christian revolutionaries have a very different patriotic attitude. Though in all things they put God before country, that allegiance makes them better citizens for this, not worse. Because of their loyalty to God they can give themselves more wholeheartedly to following the laws of the state, knowing that the state has based its laws upon the statues of the Bible and its moral code. When the laws of the land fall into conflict with those Biblical statutes, then they are better citizens for standing against them than they would be if they complied with ungodliness. Thus Christians, because of the conviction behind their stand for right and freedom, can be the most influential type of citizen there is. This is also why they are the most feared, and why governments have been the greatest persecutors of Christians in the last two millennia. -Jesus Freaks II, Revolutionaries p. 237 Faith points to a moral law beyond man's law, and calls us to duties higher than material gain. Free

"What do you see as the proof of your salvation?" -Jesus Freaks II, Revolutionaries That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." Matthew 10:32-33 Father God, let my life be the proof of my salvation.

After a very messy experience with her toddler, a mom wrote the following: "As I held him, I marveled that neither this, nor any other yucky sacrifice I would endure as a mom, could make me stop loving him. I tried my best to offer up this sacrifice to God as a prayer. For in that moment, I understood what it meant to be a child of God: unconditional love . It was an eye-opening glimpse of the overarching love God must feel for me and all his children. 'See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!' (1 John 3:1). I now seek God the most in these really trying and sacrificial moments of motherhood. I often ask for divine intervention, offering up sacrifices as a prayer, many times while I'm enduring them. Doesn't matter if it's a real biggie, like a medical crisis, or something that seems big, like making it through the supermarket with a toddler mid-tantrum. By praying while I ex

Dennis Rainey has named these "the seven non-negotiables of life" - biblical benchmarks that are true simply because He is true. . . Depending on how we treat God's non-negotiables, they will either protect us or destroy us. . . Seek God, not sin. Seek good and not evil, that you may live. -Amos 5:14   Even when we are genuinely denying ourselves and experiencing nearness to Christ, we still know - deep down - that this never happens without a struggle. We are "prone to wander". . .This is why God steps out of eternity to tell us in His Word, "Seek good and not evil, that you may live." He is the life giver. And though our feet are indeed made of clay, our souls know that life is only found in one place - in Christ, in God, through the righteousness given to us at new birth. Seek God, not sin. And live. Fear God, not man. The fear of the Lord leads to life, so that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil. -Proverbs 19:23   Fearing G

"Christianity is described more as a river and a walk than being a lake or a destination. Christianity is not truly alive unless it is moving and changing. That is also why it is not simply memorizing a list of do's and don'ts like the Ten Commandments, but is a life 'in the Spirit' where daily actions are directed by the instructions we get from God in walking with Him every step of the way. This is also why we are instructed to 'pray without ceasing' (1 Thessalonians 5:17). When water stands still and is not renewed, it begins to stagnate; so do we when we become so set in our ways that we think we know it all already and have gone far enough on our journey with God to be able to judge others." -Jesus Freaks II, pp. 267-268   So I advise you to live according to your new life in t he Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. . . If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit's