Life of Grace

You think you're happy until one day you smile so much, your cheeks hurt. You think you rule your world until the day your world turns upside-down. You think you're faith is everything until Jesus reminds you He is everything. 

The presence of God sends chills through the tiny hairs on your arms and you learn it's the presence of your Spirit rejoicing from the inside out. You think you can do it, until God shows you how He's gonna do it. You think you have enough money, until the unexpected happens. You think you will live a full, long life until that tumor appears. 

We sure do a lot of thinking. 

The world is full of assumptions but one thing we do not have to make assumptions about is our Lord Jesus. According to the Scriptures, Christ Jesus is the Cornerstone, our strong Foundation. The Lord is our Redeemer, King, Father, Refuge, Friend, Shield, Answer, Protector and Sweetest Love. He is faithful, just, righteous, steadfast, enduring, long-suffering, gracious, merciful and mighty. In the simplest of human languages and definitions, these are the characteristics and promises of Our Savior which hardly do justice to defining an infinite God. He's so much more than we can think or imagine. 

All knowing, all seeing, all able, ever present is He. It is written, He is LORD over all. All our worry. All our fear. All our plans. All our blessings. All our bodies. All the principalities. All. He is All.

"However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him— these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 

For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 

This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit." 1 Corinthians 2: 9-14 NIV

Ecclesiastes reminds us there will be times for everything in this life. As countless as the stars in the sky are the numerous variables on this side of Heaven for you to be able to figure things out and have an unshakable, fortified plan outside of living by faith, for grace, by hope, with trust and in love.. In the economy of God A + B does not always = C. But rest assured Jesus + God + Holy Spirit = Life. E v e r y  s i n g l e  time.

Whatever you are facing today, seek the Lord. With Him you will have life. With Him you will have peace and joy even through tears and questions of sufferings. He is our Healer and Counselor for all the hurts. Life is not fair or predictable. But God is. We are weak, but He is strong. Don't forget, there is an enemy working against you, to keep you from experiencing a gracious and joy-filled life. 

So, how do we live by faith and feel purposeful and ready for whatever comes our way? By spending time leaning into God, learning who He is through daily Bible reading, fellowship through Bible studies, in songs of worship, and by the testimonies of others of like-minded faith. Arming yourself with His armor and not just your plans. Knowing who God is, the One you are placing all your hopes and fears in, the greatest Love of your soul, waits ready to meet with you and reveal His love to you every day. You will find Him if you seek Him. He isn't seeking your lip service and He isn't fooled by our masks.

He is am amazing God who saves sinners by grace, who extended the Peace offering, with grace. Your sins and my sins have earned us an eternity in the lake of fire and gnashing of teeth, but by the Grace Giver our Lord, He sent His Son to pay the debt we owe and we are found in Him righteous. Wow. That's everything. We have redemption forever in Him. We have life ever lasting in Him. Today and always, we have comfort, peace, joy, purpose, in Him. He is the same yesterday, today and forever, amen! Will you choose today, to accept and live in this life of Grace?

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." 

2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV

Prayer: Father God, Lord over All, we pray according to the Scriptures we may be found faithful in You..."Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. 

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also." 

2 Corinthians 6: 4-13 NIV May it be so, amen. Here is where we live, not in the black and white, rather Where Faith is. 

Worship in Song here: 

If Satan was a Hurricane

"Be prepared!" For the past several days, this has been the message for those of us living in the path of Hurricane Matthew who has grown into a big, deadly storm here in the Atlantic waters. Haiti, Jamica, Cuba, Bahamas and now the US East Coast are on alert from the authorities. 
Prepare NOW, they say. Why now instead of waiting till we know his more specific path? Because practical wisdom tells us once the storm hits, it not only is more difficult to work and prep outdoors as you fight the elements, it could even be impossible. In the event of a severe storm (such as the one we are facing this weekend), evacuations are necessary, a life and death decision that has to be made and acted upon NOW...not tomorrow...NOW! There is also the chance it's course will change direction or strength at a moment's notice. 
Many locals have shared stories of waking up in the middle of the night to storms that had changed direction. Had they not taken precautions before they went to bed, just in case, they would have endured more damage than had they not. Imagine replacing the hose nozzle on your garden hose as the water pressure continues to flow against you. Imagine folding sheets outdoors in gusty winds. There is a slight chance you can get these things done, but it will be extremely difficult and take more time and energy than if they had been done before opposition came against you. And worse case scenario is you won't be ready at all and the storm will overtake you.  
Here in Florida, we are currently bracing for Hurricane Matthew. It is being classified as a Major Storm as it directs it's path as a Cat4 heading to Central Florida. Media on every channel, in every country, on every island, on every website are pleading their case to Be Prepared and the time is NOW! Once the storm is here, it will be too late. Now is the time to gather supplies. Now is the time to secure your belongings. Now is the time to fins supplies to lock down your boat and home. Now is the time to formulate a plan to evacuate if it becomes necessary. Now is the time to prepare.
Of course, there are those who wait till the last minute only to find gas stations who are sold out of gas, stores sold out of water, food and batteries and . Left without essentials needed, they create for themselves a crisis within the crisis. If only they had heeded advice of those who know the devastation storms produce and listen to their warning...Be prepared!
As I clear my yard, secure the house and boat, gas the cars, buy hurricane friendly foods, stock up the water supplies, check in with friends and family, make safety plans and prepare for the impending threat, I can't help but think of the storms in our lives we must be prepared for so we are not overtaken. 

"For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:6-9 (NIV)

Satan is just like a hurricane. He appears out of the middle of nowhere, has his own unpredicatble path, he is destructive, causes chaos, creates great debt and loss. He tears things down and never builds things up. No one wants him in their home and yet he comes knocking on our doors, often pushing his way inside. He threatens our security and messes up our plans. If Satan was a Hurricane.
God's Word warns us to be prepared. There is a season for everything and Satan prowls like a lion, ready to destroy when the time is right...his timing, his way, regardless of who you are or what you do or where you live. Satan is fierce and like a hurricane, has many destructive levels and creates havoc along his path. 
The time to prepare yourself for a storm, is before it comes and since we don't know when the storm will show up, we must be prepared now. Spiritual muscles take time to build and it is often during the crisis they are strengthened. But if you haven't already been working them out, you're gonna hurt worse than had you already begun the process of strengthening. You may fair well through life's Tropical Depression and maybe even a Cat1, but should a Cat4 or Cat5 hit your dwelling place, will you have been ready? Will you have done all you could possibly do to manage well, heeding the advice of The One Who knows all about storms?

How can we prepare now for Satan's storms in our lives? 
~ Read His Word and know The Plan. The Bible is full of wisdom and instruction for how we can live our lives under His protection, receiving His provisions. Nothing happens without His permissions, therefore we can trust the Plans and Person of God, our Shield and Savior.
~ Pray and cast your cares on Him. Storms remind us how small we are in the universe and how big our god is. We cannot hide from Him and He truly is the best place to cast our fears and insecurities, because He loves us unconditionally. There is no greater Savior of Friend than our Lord.
~ Do your part and let God do His. We cannot control the surge, size, path or category of the storm heading our way. We are not in complete control. God is. Preparing for a Hurricane doesn't make the hurricane dissipate. It simply prepares us to endure it better than if we were fully open to it's destruction. 
~ Remember Who God is. Bad things do happen to Believers. God does allow crisis and storms to rage at varying degrees. Some will make a mess and some will devastate us but thanks to our great God, we will not be destroyed. He is faithful and good. Storms can clear away debris and refresh our waters. Crisis can bring us to our knees and teach us vulnerable hope we could learn no other way.
~ Gather together. We are not meant to weather storms alone. While our faith is our own, our journey is not. We need each other. Storms have a unique way of bringing communities together under one cause, for one hope...survival. When storms come, we have personal responsibilities as well as the care we ought to show our neighbors. 

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 

who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 

These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:3-9 (NIV)