All posts tagged: grace

Taste and see that the Lord is good

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I love good food! Sometimes, I just want to show up and be served. Other times, I like to get creative and show the world that I’m a better cook than Gordon Ramsay. I have tasted a lot of good stuff, but my wife’s cooking is the best. My most favorite place to hang is in the kitchen when she is cooking. But she usually kicks me out because I don’t really know when to stop tasting. I just keep coming back for more. Well, God has extended to us an invitation to not only taste but to also discover his goodness. He is the only one able to serve goodness, and His invitation is for everyone to taste and see how wonderful it is (Psalm 34:8).  I responded to that invitation many years ago but I just can’t get enough –  so I keep coming back for more. I know you have probably tried everything this world has to offer, but God’s invitation to taste and see how good he is still stands. He wants you to: Taste the word – …

20 Questions that show the Absurdity of living by the Law

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After coming into being as a result of God’s Spirit at work in Paul’s proclamation of the gospel (3:1–5; 4:13–15), the Galatian church gradually began to descend into a place of bondage and darkness. A group of false teachers whom Paul calls those “who trouble you” (1:7) or “those who unsettle you” (5:12) had infiltrated the church and was trying to convince the Galatians of a false gospel which required them to be circumcised. Although the Galatians seem to have come under the spell of these teachers and have become convinced of their teaching (1:6), Paul does not regard the situation as completely hopeless (3:4). Through a series of pertinent questions, Paul provides numerous reasons why the Galatians should return to grace and reject the absurdity of living by the law. 1. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? 2. Am I trying to please man? 3. If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews? 4. Is Christ then a servant of sin? 5. …

It is Illegal!

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In Alabama it’s illegal to drive a vehicle while you’re blindfolded. In Alaska it’s illegal to push a live moose out of a moving airplane. In Connecticut it’s illegal to walk across a street on your hands. In Indiana it’s illegal to bathe during the winter. In Vermont you must take at least one bath a week—on Saturday night. In Kentucky it’s illegal to transport ice cream in your pocket. In Massachusetts mourners at a wake may not eat more than three sandwiches. In the State of Grace it is illegal to gather your friends and throw a pity party

7 Signs of Authentic ongoing transformation

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1. Getting Better When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that’s left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less. C. S. Lewis 2. Obedience not Sacrifice When a man makes obedience, not the lifting up of sacrifices, the thing to pursue – he is on the path to transformation. “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. John 14:23 3. Uses Grace as Empowerment When a man no longer sees grace as a big cover up, he is on the path to transformation. ”Grace  is not to cover up our weaknesses but to empower us to lead a life pleasing to God.” John Bevere 4. Feeds the Spirit and not the Flesh When a man spends all his energies not on activities to feed the flesh, but on spiritual disciplines that edify, built up, encourage and sanctify, he is on the path to transformation. ”For if you live according …

Fallin

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There you go again… you did it. You promised God that it will never happen again. But there you go again… dealing, sniffing, lusting, gossiping. You told yourself it was all over. But there you go again… angry, grumpy envious, sensual. You have fallen. Well, it is not okay, but it’s okay. “Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up.” So get up! Commit again… Try again… Quote: Chinese Proverb Video: Trip, born William Lee Barefield III

How to Excel in Pleasing God

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In this first letter to the Thessalonians Paul begins in chapter 1:4 by recounting how the gospel – preached with the Holy Spirit’s power and full conviction – had touched and transformed the lives of many. This transformation was so plain to Paul that he declared in 1 Thess. 2:1 that “our coming to you was not in vain” and how in 1 Thess. 1:9, “they had turned from idols to the living God.” He calls them imitators of God in 1 Thess. 1:6, and boasted about how their testimony had gone forth not only in their immediate surroundings, but also to far away places (1 Thess. 1:8). Paul also called them his hope and joy, the crown of exultation, and glory (1 Thess. 2:19, 20),  and broke out in ecstatic praise when he got news that they were doing great in their walk with the Lord even though he had not visited to impart what he thought they were lacking in their walk with the Lord. Even after hearing how great they were doing – Paul still continued to pray for them to increase and abound in their walk with the Lord. He admonished …

The Stick that keeps me Grounded

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Could it be, that the very thing you are pleading with the Lord to remove is the very thing that was meant to bless you… the very thing that was meant to keep you grounded? So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. ESV 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 What was the thorn in Paul’s flesh? This question has been for a long time the subject of debate and speculation. The following is a …

I don’t know why Jesus Loves me!

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One of the greatest mysteries of all time is the Love of God. It is so vast that we can’t get around it, it is so deep we can’t get under it and it is so high that we can not get over it. People from all walk of life are seeking daily to understand it. I love how the song writer puts it – “I don’t why Jesus loves – I don’t know why He cared – I don’t know why He sacrificed His life – oh but am glad – am glad He did.” We wonder why God would love a world that is so hostile and arrogant toward Him. Despite our arrogance and rebellion – the bible tells us that we are very special – in fact that is the very reason He created us. Here are a few ways God demonstrates his love toward us: 1.Through creation. He has giving us the following: the ability to think (Isa. 1:18) the ability to choose (Josh. 24:15). the ability to love (Mark 12:30 – 31). …

You do not fall into sin you slide into it!

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But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1:14 Have you ever walked upon the skin or outer covering of a banana? It is one of the scariest and most dangerous slip and fall you will ever have. You begin with a slide. It may be a short slide, but at the end of that slide there is a very had fall. I want to use this scenario to describe how one falls into sin. First of all, no one ever wakes up in the morning and tells himself, “you know, today I feel like sinning. I feel like buying myself some crack or cocaine and just getting wasted. Or, you know I’m going to get myself a hot babe tonight and commit adultery.” But I am not sure that is the way people fall into sin. It is a long, gradual, progressive slide. A journey of …

Too hot for him to handle

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A few years ago one of best friends lived in Accra, Ghana. He got his monthly pay check one beautiful Friday just before he left work. His first stop was at a local bank where he cashed his check than sped to the local market to get supplies for the weekend. After walking around for a few minutes, he reached into his pocket to retrieve his wallet. To his surprise, it was gone together with every penny he had to his name. He didn’t know that someone had picked his pocket and lifted his wallet. He sat down in disbelief wondering how he was going to get through the month. Well, being a godly, praying man of God, he bowed his head and said a prayer. After the amen was said, my friend decided to stay seated for a few more minutes, as he braced himself for a few difficult days ahead. All of a sudden, a young man showed up with my friend’s wallet in his hand . The young man shaking and sweating, …