Growing in Grace

After looking at what our inheritance in Christ is, the kids and I looked at the blessing God has for us. In Acts 3:1-4:4 we read that a lame man asked Peter and John for money. Peter told the man that he had neither silver or gold, but what he did have he would give. In the name of Jesus, he told the man to walk. The man was healed and began praising the Lord. When the people acted surprised by what had taken place, Peter told them that the man had been healed in the name of Jesus; the One they had delivered and disowned to Pilate. Although they had put Jesus to death, God raised Him from the dead. Peter told the people he wanted them to repent and return to God so their sins would be wiped away. He reminded them of the covenant that God made with Abraham, "In your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed." They were heirs of this covenant. When Jesus was raised from the dead, God sent Him first to the Jews to bless them by turning them from their wicked way

Greg Laurie posted this on his Facebook page on May 16, 2014 A lot of people claim to be Christians today. It is not uncommon for a celebrity to tweet a Scripture So, are these people Christians, and do they really love t he Lord? I am in no position to answer that. Only God knows, and only they know. All I can do is evaluate spiritual fruit. Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:20) . Jesus told us, “Judge not, lest you be judged.” This, of course, is the nonbeliever’s favorite verse to throw in the face of the Christian that dares to challenge them on choices they have made in light of Scripture. But what does it mean to “judge not”? First, let me tell you what it does not mean. It does not mean that we can’t evaluate and look for the results of true faith in our life, as well as the lives of fellow believers. In fact, the Bible tells us that we as Christians should render judgments like that. Paul wrote these words to the believers in Cor

Then I heard the Lord's voice, saying, "Whom can I send? Who will go for us?" So I said, "Here I am. Send me! " -Isaiah 6:8 We are commissioned to tell others about God and his plan for salvation. The only way we can ever speak with confidence is to speak from the Word. Jesus gives us the best example; he knew the Scriptures, drew His authority from them, and based His words upon them, and based His words upon them. Those who follow Him must do the same. . . (T)he quiet, often unnoticed actions of the "ordinary" Christians who believe and obey speak far more loudly than all the bombast of so-called religious leaders. . . (God speaks) through His holy and infallible Word - and the quiet obedience of His servants. -From Who Speaks for God? by Charles Colson; part of The  Inspirational Study Bible: New Century Version  by Max Lucado

Proud people will be made humble, and they will bow low in shame. At that time only the Lord will still be praised. . . You should stop trusting in people to save you, because people are only human; they aren't able to help you. . . The look on their faces shows they are guilty; like the people of Sodom, they are proud of their sin. They don't care who sees it. How terrible it will be for them, because they have brought much trouble on themselves. Tell those who do what is right that things will go well for them, because they will receive a reward for what they do. but how terrible it will be for the wicked! They will be punished for all the wrong they have done. . . . How terrible it will be for people who call good things bad and bad things good, who think darkness is light and light is darkness, who think sour is sweet and sweet is sour. . . They have refused to obey the teachings of the Lord All-Powerful and have hated the message from the Holy God of Israel . -Isaiah 2:11,

"Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean. Stop doing the evil things I see you do. Stop doing wrong. Learn to do good. . . The Lord says, "Come, let us talk about these things. Though your sins are like scarlet, they can be as white as snow. Though your sins are deep red, they can be white like wool. If you become willing and obey me, you will eat good crops from the land. But if you refuse to obey and if you turn against me, you will be destroyed by your enemies' swords." The Lord Himself said these things. -Isaiah 1:16-20 It seems (God's) favorite word is come . " Come, let us talk about these things. Though your sins are like scarlet, they can be as white as snow." "All you who are thirsty, come and drink." " Come to me all, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest." " Come to the wedding feast." " Come follow me, and I will make you fish for people." "Le

Marriage has several elements: love, commitment, sexual desire, admiration, and friendship. As a marriage matures, so does the commitment to resolve problems and to deepen the friendship. Every couple agrees that marriage has its ups and downs. The up times are when love is as plain as day and fully visible. The down times are when love goes undercover and incognito. So commonplace are the ups and downs that one wonders why they aren't written into the wedding vows. But they are. When a husband and wife vow to love for better or for worse, it includes the full extent of the ups and downs. Marriage will always ask you to prove love. To be married is not to be taken off the front lines of love but to be plunged into the thick and thin of the ups and downs. -From Diamonds in the Dust by Joni Eareckson Tada; part of The  Inspirational Study Bible: New Century Version  by Max Lucado Marriage - and every other relationship in our lives - has ups and downs. How do you respond to

The author of Ecclesiastes gives insights on values. He encourages the reader to use time wisely by making right choices. God has planned a time for every thing and every action. Our choices should reflect what we value . The central principle of all personal organization of time is simple: time must be budgeted! Most of us learned this about money a long time ago. When we discovered that we rarely had enough money to do all the things we wanted to do with it, we found it prudent to sit down and think through our financial priorities. When money is limited, one budgets. And when time is in limited supply, the same principle holds. The disorganized person must have a budgeting perspective. And that means determining the difference between the fixed - what one must do - and the discretionary - what one would like to do. . .  Years ago my father wisely shared with me that one of the great tests of human character is found in making critical choices of selection and rejection a

The writer of Ecclesiastes wanted to help those who would live after him lead a fulfilling life. He taught lessons learned from his own life. Without God, all of our work, pleasure, and wisdom are useless. Lasting fulfillment comes from honoring God in all we do. It is as if we are on an ocean beach called Earth. We are frantic. We build castles - or at least we think we do. But what we are really doing is just throwing up sand piles as fast as we can before the next big wave comes in. And that wave is coming. We can't run form it; there's no escaping it. We will stay on the beach building our castles higher, bigger, more elaborate. We won't enjoy them. There will be no time for that. The wave is coming. . . People have always built sand castles, and those castles have always crumbled. There have always been those who grabbed for things that break. But now it is like the beginning of the end, like the first moments of a stock market crash, and the scramble is on. . .

Jesus summarized the Christian life in the simplest summation of all: "Just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise" (Luke 6:31). This we call the Golden Rule - the law of gold, a gold more precious than diamonds and rubies. Any child can recite the Golden Rule, but to make it an active part of daily living is no mean feat. . . . Our response to petty criticism is often to retaliate in kind, instead of in kindness. This is where the Golden Rule touches life. Here is where Jesus spoke of not returning evil for evil. Doing to others what we want others to do to us is simply a matter of kindness. it involves being thoughtful and considerate. But it is more than mere politeness. It is doing what is right. It is doing what pleases God. Righteousness means right living. It means treating people right. It means living with personal integrity. A righteous person is one whom we can trust. His integrity is consistent. It is not for sale. A righteous person is mor