For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ. In accordance with his pleasure and will – Ephesians 1:4-5
Grace is a huge subject and one I am very careful with. Why, you ask?
Because right now Grace is the “BIG, NEW” thing in Christian “revelation”; and I am concerned about how the message of Grace is being taught in some circles.
Quite frankly there is NOTHING new about God’s grace and God’s grace is BIG! Grace holds the same tremendous message as it did when Jesus came here as man, and so much more!
Jesus was God’s grace. Jesus is Grace. Jesus extends Grace.
We were extended God’s grace in the man of Jesus. We are to extend God’s grace to others. We are to show God’s grace in the fruit of our lives.
See … there is so much more than we can fathom in one small and beautiful word.
Grace is about Relationship.
{for this post I was lead to the relationship with God that we receive through grace}
Like I said Grace is so many things. Such a broad canvas, but it began with God and His desire for relationship … with us.
Grace was sent and Grace chose us before the creation of the world! Do you realize what that means? God created this world for us. So we would have a place to live and be with Him! By His Grace, and for His pleasure and will He created us to be Sons of God! And to secure that in it’s most pure and holy form God sent His only Son for us.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
That’s it. That’s the Grace we are all talking about. We didn’t deserve it. We don’t deserve it. It’s simply that God loves us.
ALL.OF.US.EVERYONE.
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:9-10
THAT.NONE.SHOULD.PERISH.
You see, I’m a Christian. A follower of Christ on a mission to do what Jesus did and more. I’m here to show you grace. To give you grace. And to point you to the person Grace, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am no longer lost. I have attained grace and the eternal life Jesus extended to me. It is now my job to let you know this …
By God’s grace He loves you. Right where you are. And too much to leave you there!
It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, where you’ve been. He chooses YOU. Right Now. Right Here.
Have you accepted the gift of Grace? Have you accepted the Grace that is Jesus Christ? Do you believe that He died on the cross for your sins and sickness? Do you believe that He rose again to reconcile God’s relationship with you and for you?
If your answer, today, is YES, then you’ve entered into the Grace.
The Grace that is the Love of God. Jesus.
Welcome to the journey, there is much to do and learn, and you are not alone. There are many of us here with you … come let us walk with Jesus.
If you have any questions, please, I would be happy to share this truth with you personally. You can contact me through the comments or personally at: romans826-28@comcast.net
Thanks for reading my friends. And blessings to you all.
It’s the last day of the week, and the last day of the month, on the last day of the 31day Write! And as we leave this challenge behind us I’d like to say,
CONGRATULATIONS!
To ALL of us who managed to write for 31 days in a row! It’s quite the accomplishment. I, for one, found it very difficult around the middle of the second week. Life got in the way and I was forced to seek inspiration … though my theme is an everyday thing in Hutchland. For me, I’m not sure it made me a better writer or story teller or inspiration.
It did though do what I set out to do, I got deeper into what God says about OUR healing. I found that when one digs and dusts off and consumes God’s word revelation, understanding and knowledge is absorbed. I believe the challenge did it’s job.
So on this day I will leave the subject of Journeying through Healing Scriptures with a FMF post.
If you’re new to Five Minute Friday, all the details you’ll need can be found right over here.
As we leave the 31 day write Kate gave us this prompt: LEAVE. Very apropos, I think.
So with out further ado … Go!
As I’ve said before there are certain words that simply take my thoughts and spirit right to scripture. Leave is one of these words.
The word leave has a sad feeling to me. We do much leaving in a life. We leave for our first day of school, there’s the first time we leave our parents to stay over night with a friend, we leave for college and we leave our mother and father to marry and begin a new extension or branch of our family tree.
Yes, these are all rights of passage as we leave one stage of life for another on our journey to maturity and independence as people.
But the word leave also conjures, for me, feelings of fear and anger and desolation; from a past where most everyone left me at one time or another. For various reasons only understood by the departed, from a young age leaving was something everyone did, whether it was physically, mentally or emotionally. On every level my siblings and I were left … alone … to learn to survive on our own. And we did, however that washes out today in each of us, we survived, and for that I am eternally grateful to God.
So today this word, LEAVE, doesn’t leave such a metallic taste in my mouth. My heart no longer drops at the goodbye or the realization that I am alone. Because I am never alone, anymore.
Let’s be honest ….
[STOP! {for the FMF post}! And, now, to finish out The 31day Write … please continue …]
We may leave God, much like that teenager we once were, embarking out on our own [power, understanding], to conquer the world, but He will never leave us. No matter how bleak the situation, no matter how empty the feelings, God will never leave you! His promises are true. His word is above all and the final say! God goes before us so that we can move forward, in the confidence that He has prepared the way, precisely because … He has gone before us. And if God be for us, who can be against us?
We are never truly alone. God is always with us, we were taught this in Sunday school as children, God lives in our hearts. As adults we realize, when we come to that point in our lives, that God permeates us … He is our heart, our spirit and our thinking.
At least that’s who He is in my life. And if that is the case for me, so can it be for YOU, also!
So it stands to reason that when I hear the word Leave, a particular scripture comes to mind … and this “scripture” should be called “scriptures”, because the same comforting reminder is repeated several times throughout God’s Word.
The Bible. Where God left His promise and plan and instructions for us.
God goes out of His way to repeat this particular promise over and over so that it will become ingrained,viscerally, within each and every one of us. Because for us humans to believe that we are not alone we often need something tangible. God knows this, He built us. So because He, Father God, loves us, He knew that we would need to hear and to feel Who He is to us. And He knew we would need to feel secure in it … So because …
God is LIMITLESS Love
He repeated this very important promise to us, so that it and He could become a permanent part of us.
Here I will LEAVE you with 10 instances of His promise to always be with us.
Meditate on them and know that YOU are not alone today. Because … He is right there with you, this very moment. In whatever your circumstance is today. He never leaves nor forsakes you. NEVER.
There is none like Him, and He will not allow His word to return to Him void! Col 3:16
Deuteronomy 31:6, Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; “He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:8, The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Joshua 1:5, No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
1Kings 8:57, “May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may He never leave us nor forsake us.”
1Chronicles 28:20, David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you.He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.”
Psalms 37:28, For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.“They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;”
Psalms 94:14 “For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.”
Isaiah 41:17 “The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.”
Isaiah 42:16 “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.”
Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
In EACH.AND.EVERY.ONE. of these scripture God promises, 10 times!, never to leave or forsake us! NEVER.
I pray that you let the Word of God dwell in you, in all wisdom; allowing you to teach you the things that it has taught me this last 30 days. That You come to the grace of the knowledge that YOU are forgiven, saved, blessed, healed and secure in the Love of God. I pray that you come to the understanding in your hearts, in your very spirits, that all of this and so much more was secured within your salvation!
What did Jesus say before He bid the Spirit to leave Him on that cross some 2000 years ago? He said, “It is FINISHED” In those last 3 words illness, sickness, sin and death were FINISHED. For all intents and purposes they were made to LEAVE all of humanity, never to afflict them again!
We simply need to get into the Word of God, in the presence of those who believe and understand and can instruct us in His Word, so that we can get this into our understanding, so that it becomes engrained within our Spirits and understanding until it is KNOWN, without doubt.
So with this I leave you, today.
Good job! You’ve accomplished the goal of writing for 31days! I pray you’ve learned as much as I did. I pray you’ve moved closer, each of those 31 days, to God the Father in understanding and love.
I’m going to spend 30 days in November reading some of your 31day Write Challenge posts! I cannot wait to see your offerings.
It’s Friday! That means I not only try to write this post in 5 minutes, with no corrections or edits, but I also attempt to fit Kate’s prompt to my 31 Day Writing Them of Healing Scriptures! Not an easy task sometimes … but hey, I’ll take the dare! 😉
Today’s Prompt is … Dare!
When I had my heart event 5 years ago I stepped into trusting God for my healing. I had that God experience on the gurney {you can read that here.} and dared to step out to change my lifestyle.
But that wasn’t the only DARE I encountered.
After I got “well enough” I dared to share healing with my family. My family who live with many, MANY, health issues, covering all areas of one’s life. From several forms of depression to addictions and various health issues. And their response was tantamount to …
HOW DARE YOU!
Yes, how dare I think I’m better than them, or that God would heal me and not them. They didn’t understand God the way that I did. They don’t enjoy the relationship I enjoy with Him. And if they read this, and some might, there will be issue with this.
But yet again, I DARE to share this, my understanding of what God says about my {OUR} healing!
Healing is a promise to us from God! We received it in our Salvation Package! I love calling it that. God bundled Salvation, Grace and Healing into our package contract!
And it cost us NOTHING! No monthly fee … no cancellation if we don’t hit the mark, or pay the debt. FREE … healing, like salvation and grace, came free when we came into Covenant with God!
1: a usually formal, solemn, and binding agreement :compact
2a: a written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of some action
In the Hebrew scriptures, an agreement or treaty among peoples or nations, but most memorably the promises that God extended to humankind (e.g., the promise to Noah never again to destroy the earth by flood or the promise to Abraham that his descendants would multiply and inherit the land of Israel). God’s revelation of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai created a pact between God and Israel known as the Sinai covenant. In Christianity, Jesus’ death established a new covenant between God and humanity.
Jesus is the promise, He is the seal on the contract of our Salvation!
Isaiah 53:4-5
Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains , yet we considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God . But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.
I dare to believe God at his word. I dare to share, at the expense of being criticized by others, the amazing love that God had for us that He sent His only Son so that we could have life with Him. That we could experience what it means to be created in His likeness. To enjoy a life free of illness and pain. If only we would believe.
Yesterday’s post was about God’s Instructions and the instruction book … wherein He gives us the most vital instruction of all … To BELIEVE … that whoever believes … WHOEVER … that is you and me and everyone! Shall NOT perish but have eternal life … that, right there, is the promise of healing!
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
I dare you to believe! Check it out … John 3 is an amazing Scripture.
This 31 day challenge has been just that, a challenge, on many levels.
The Challenge to Write.
The Challenge to eek out time to write.
The Challenge to see if I can get people interested and directed to my blog.
The Challenge to get healing scriptures into my heart, permanently.
That 4th challenge was the original challenge and should have been the focus. But that focus changed from getting God in to getting ME out there.
NOT.GOOD.
Social Media, whether it’s Facebook, Tumblr, Google or even WordPress and other blog venues can take over. Often times they cause us to focus on us essentially distracting us from what’s important around us!
Social Media overload! So I decided a few days ago to Slow Down … being that I do most of my work online a total disconnect is not an option … however a conscious slow down is.
So I set about, today, looking to refocus my sights on the original challenge. To get HEALING scriptures into my HEART; for my HEART and for my family. And I visited an old page of mine: A Very Courageous Prayer; Dangerous Even!
I originally saw this prayer on Ann Kroeker’s blog. She is awesome and so is her blog. Go check it out!
It contains a very significant prayer by John Wesley. Shared on the page. This prayer:
Dear God … I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt; Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low by thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
This prayer is a dedication to and a surrendering to God the Almighty. A prayer which allows the prayer to enter into total and intimate communion with the Father. I continue to see this prayer as courageous and dangerous to the prayer.
Why?
Because, have you, even you Christians, truly, honestly and transparently, REALLY, surrendered all to God? Do you, do I, even know what that complete surrender means? Have we counted the cost of this surrender, or the surrender that Jesus gave on the cross for us?
I know I must not have, because I still suffer illness and doubt in my body and mind. Only my Spirit is truly and completely surrendered because that happened instantly upon my asking for and receiving my salvation through Jesus Christ.
It’s a courageous prayer because it means giving up EVERYTHING. to God … and if you say the prayer and your heart is pure God will, instantly, make clear to you what you must give up, sacrifice, for this intimate communion with the Father.
It’s a dangerous prayer because it means giving up EVERYTHING. to God … and if you say the prayer and your heart is set and pure on this commitment He will require that you give to Him those things that you are comfortable, happy, connected, with and to. And those things that you believe you need to survive; to serve Him and become who He intended you to be in His kindom.
Let’s face it anything we do that is dangerous takes courage. Living in this fallen world committed to Christ is courageous and dangerous. And it stands that anything we do that is courageous is dangerous to who we are right now, because it will ultimately change who we are and what we believe.
We ALL were born with a purpose, for the purpose of serving the Kingdom of God; and the Kingdom of God is in US. So why is this surrender so seemingly hard and sacrificial for us?
I don’t have that answer, yet.
In that post, written just over 3 years ago, I vowed to pray this daily. I don’t know when I stopped. I used to have a paper copy of it just under my laptop for praying each day. But I did stop praying it.
Well today, in the interest of zooming my focus for this life of mine, and this challenge, on God and healing, I am going to attempt to use this prayer and more prayer, to strengthen that vow I gave to God and myself so many years ago. I honestly believe that I must offer myself more to God to receive this Manifest Healing I seek.
So tell me, Sweet Reader, what prayer are you saying today. What areas do you need to surrender to God to truly be healed today? Share with me, I would love to pray with you.
Grace:
Grace was sent and Grace chose us before the creation of the world! Do you realize what that means? God created this world for us. So we would have a place to live and be with Him! By His Grace, and for His pleasure and will He created us to be Sons of God! And to secure that in it’s most pure and holy form God sent His only Son for us.
One Page at a Time. 