colossians 2.14 (ncv), GOD canceled our debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. HE took away the record with its rules and nailed it to the cross. when JESUS CHRIST died for you on the cross, HE paid for every failure you’re ever going to commit – the ones you did yesterday, the ones today and the ones tomorrow.
the CHRISTian life is not a failure-free life. it’s a life of grace. we are all trophies of grace. i am a trophy of grace. everybody is a trophy of grace. that’s the bottom line. if you are a believer, your primary witness to the world may be how you handle failure because people are watching you. the unbelievers out there are watching you. and CHRISTians have failures just like non-CHRISTians do. the issue is what we do with them. other people are watching: do you rely on the grace of GOD? how do you handle the inevitable failures that come into your life? that’s whole lot better than fake perfection. that doesn’t work.
the bible is full of examples of failures that GOD used in significant ways. abraham failed with his wife. isaac and noah failed with their kids. moses failed to control his anger and killed a guy. david had a moral failure, committed adultery, and then had her husband murdered. thank GOD that he uses failures.
if GOD only used perfect people, what would get done in this world? nothing. because there are no perfect people. none. if there are no perfect people, then GOD has to use imperfect people and GOD uses failures. that is called grace.
the fact is our greatest life messages, your greatest life message, your greatest contribution, your greatest significant input into this world will be in the area of your failure if you give it to GOD. let HIM transform it, teach you, motivate you, cultivate you through it and grow. if you’re willing to be honest about it, GOD will use it to help other people.
i don’t care what failure you’ve gone through. i don’t care which one you’re going through right now. it hasn’t changed GOD’s purpose for your life. GOD still has a plan for your life. GOD still has a purpose for your life. and GOD still has a place for you in this world.
just a thought from the front porch…
Showing posts with label performance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label performance. Show all posts
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
are you a gracious person?
once you've received grace, what do you do? the bible says that after you've humbled yourself and GOD pours HIS grace into your life HE wants you to be gracious to other people.
i peter 4 says GOD's given everybody a spiritual gift and ability by grace and HE wants you to use that to serve other people. in the phillips translation it says, GOD wants you to be a dispenser of grace.
and graciousness is in short supply in our society. most people are just flat out rude. graciousness is in short supply.
the reason why so few people are gracious is because they don't feel graced, forgiven. when you really understand how much GOD has done for you, and how much you've been forgiven and the fact you wouldn't even be alive today if it weren't for GOD, you wouldn't have your brain that gives you the ability to think, then you will be gracious.
so are you a gracious person? are you a gracious parent? do you parent by grace? do your kids get unconditional praise at home? or is everything based on performance? if they do a certain thing they get the strokes. if they don't do a certain thing then they don't the strokes. some of you have had kids and they're growing up and you just need to accept their uniqueness. some parents don't approve of their kids unless they have the same characteristics the parent does. then they'll like them. maybe GOD gave you some kids who, fortunately, aren't like you. be a gracious parent.
the other thing GOD wants you to do is to share HIS grace with other people. tell them. it's the best news in the world.
you don't have to live under a cloud of resentment and regret. you can be forgiven. if i had the cure for cancer i'd take every dime i had to let people know what it was. i have something better than a cure for cancer. the people that live right next door to you need to hear GOD's grace. share it with them this week. what a gracious GOD we have!
just a thought from the front porch…
i peter 4 says GOD's given everybody a spiritual gift and ability by grace and HE wants you to use that to serve other people. in the phillips translation it says, GOD wants you to be a dispenser of grace.
and graciousness is in short supply in our society. most people are just flat out rude. graciousness is in short supply.
the reason why so few people are gracious is because they don't feel graced, forgiven. when you really understand how much GOD has done for you, and how much you've been forgiven and the fact you wouldn't even be alive today if it weren't for GOD, you wouldn't have your brain that gives you the ability to think, then you will be gracious.
so are you a gracious person? are you a gracious parent? do you parent by grace? do your kids get unconditional praise at home? or is everything based on performance? if they do a certain thing they get the strokes. if they don't do a certain thing then they don't the strokes. some of you have had kids and they're growing up and you just need to accept their uniqueness. some parents don't approve of their kids unless they have the same characteristics the parent does. then they'll like them. maybe GOD gave you some kids who, fortunately, aren't like you. be a gracious parent.
the other thing GOD wants you to do is to share HIS grace with other people. tell them. it's the best news in the world.
you don't have to live under a cloud of resentment and regret. you can be forgiven. if i had the cure for cancer i'd take every dime i had to let people know what it was. i have something better than a cure for cancer. the people that live right next door to you need to hear GOD's grace. share it with them this week. what a gracious GOD we have!
just a thought from the front porch…
Monday, April 5, 2010
what does grace mean?
see if you can finish these sentences:
there's no such thing as a free ___________.
if it sounds too good to be true it probably _____.
we make our money the old fashioned way; we ______ it.
GOD helps those who help _______________.
americans are pros at performance and we know nothing about grace. the american work ethic says, "you get what you pay for. you get what you deserve." that makes it very hard to relate to the fact that GOD is a gracious GOD. psalm 86.15 (niv), you, o LORD, are a compassionate and gracious GOD.
what does grace mean? what it means is that GOD gives me what i need, not what i deserve.
the bible says that it is GOD's nature to bless undeserving people. HE loves to do it. isaiah 30.18 (niv), the LORD longs to be gracious to you. it's his pleasure. he loves to be gracious. his grace is unconditional, unlimited and unending, the bible says.
now it is important to see that GOD's saving grace removes my guilt and that is so basic. GOD's saving grace removes my guilt. since no body is perfect we all have guilt, everybody makes mistakes. the bible says, all have sinned. we all have guilt feelings.
ephesians 1.7-8 (tev), by the sacrificial death of CHRIST we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. how great is the grace of GOD which HE gave to us in such large measure!
this is the most basic truth of CHRISTianity. JESUS CHRIST has already paid for your sins. all you have to do is accept it. there is no reason to go around with a bunch of guilt.
notice, he says, we are free. free from what? free from condemnation, free from guilt, free from worry, free from death. even if there were no heaven, it would be worth it to become a CHRISTian just to have a clear conscious. HE wipes it out. there is no reason to live in regret. there's no reason to live in guilt. that is such good news. GOD's saving grace removes my guilt.
now lf you've personally experienced that you know what real freedom is. JESUS said, i came to set you free. the saving grace removes the guilt in our lives and he forgives it.
just a thought from the front porch…
there's no such thing as a free ___________.
if it sounds too good to be true it probably _____.
we make our money the old fashioned way; we ______ it.
GOD helps those who help _______________.
americans are pros at performance and we know nothing about grace. the american work ethic says, "you get what you pay for. you get what you deserve." that makes it very hard to relate to the fact that GOD is a gracious GOD. psalm 86.15 (niv), you, o LORD, are a compassionate and gracious GOD.
what does grace mean? what it means is that GOD gives me what i need, not what i deserve.
the bible says that it is GOD's nature to bless undeserving people. HE loves to do it. isaiah 30.18 (niv), the LORD longs to be gracious to you. it's his pleasure. he loves to be gracious. his grace is unconditional, unlimited and unending, the bible says.
now it is important to see that GOD's saving grace removes my guilt and that is so basic. GOD's saving grace removes my guilt. since no body is perfect we all have guilt, everybody makes mistakes. the bible says, all have sinned. we all have guilt feelings.
ephesians 1.7-8 (tev), by the sacrificial death of CHRIST we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. how great is the grace of GOD which HE gave to us in such large measure!
this is the most basic truth of CHRISTianity. JESUS CHRIST has already paid for your sins. all you have to do is accept it. there is no reason to go around with a bunch of guilt.
notice, he says, we are free. free from what? free from condemnation, free from guilt, free from worry, free from death. even if there were no heaven, it would be worth it to become a CHRISTian just to have a clear conscious. HE wipes it out. there is no reason to live in regret. there's no reason to live in guilt. that is such good news. GOD's saving grace removes my guilt.
now lf you've personally experienced that you know what real freedom is. JESUS said, i came to set you free. the saving grace removes the guilt in our lives and he forgives it.
just a thought from the front porch…
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