Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound……We need Grace, lots and lots of Grace and unconditional love. All day long we get bombarded with bad news. People need good news. The best news is that there is a God, his name is Jesus and he loves us always and unconditionally. We need to look at the glass as half full again. We need to be good honest role models for our children and full of unconditional love. We need to introduce them to Jesus and let them run with it. Give them hope everyday. If we fail, get up and try again. Don’t be a spectator. But get into the game and play. Wake up each day with renewed hope that we can find peace and happiness in this world on this day thru our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Just remember, “He who has health has hope; He who has hope has everything.

Have a great week and remember that Jesus is not the enemy. God Bless!

Is God really working in our lives? Does He really have plans for us? There are many scriptures in the Bible that point to God working to give us purpose and meaning in our lives everyday. Its not just about our salvation that God cares about, but also our everyday lives and our existence on earth daily. Below are just 5 scriptures from the Holy Bible that point to God’s love and caring for us. There are many others.

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for”, declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Romans 8:28 – ” And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose”.

Psalm 32:8 – I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Psalm 57:2 – “I cry out to God most high, to God who fulfills His purpose for me.”

Ephesians 1:11 – “In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”

Do You Believe This?

Have you every wondered who Jesus really is. Author Brennan Manning writes, “Jesus’s name has given rise to vast theological systems, worldwide churches, crusades, reforms, and renewals. Church councils have rendered their opinions, as have historians, theologians, emperors, film directors, and all manner of believers and doubters.” Think of the songs written and art created in the name of Jesus. So obviously he is somebody. Each one of us must answer the question of “Who is Jesus?” for themselves. Other people cannot answer on your behalf. Jesus asks each one of us “but what about you…Who do you say I am?” Mark 8:29

God Bless you and have a great week.

Words are very powerful. Just ask Jesus. In the Bible in John 1:1 Jesus is said to be the Word. That may have more than one meaning. One way to interpret this to ponder on the power that words might have. Tell me, what person would probably have a good self esteem. One that loves or one that hates. Two words that can have a great emotional impact on a person. How about the words happy and sad. One leads to joy, another to depression. What about the words love, kindness, rejoice, trust, hope, anxiety, perseverance, truth. These words are like chicken soup to the soul while the words like envy, boastful, dishonor, anger, evil, dishonesty, hatred are like poison to the soul. If one wonders why there is so much depression in our world, one needs to look no further than words. In the Bible the apostle says, “if I do not have love, I gain nothing.”

This is just the tip of the iceberg as the saying goes. There is much, much more that can be said on the subject. In closing I would just say choose you words carefully, be uplifting, be positive, be loving and I believe your life will be on the path to joy and happiness. And, of course, choose Jesus and salvation will be yours.

God Bless and remember always that Jesus is the word.

John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

In his book, “One Way Love” Tullian Tchividjian describes God’s grace as follows.” What is Grace? The definition comes from Paul Zahl. He explains that Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return. Its love coming at you that has nothing to do with you. Its being loved when you are unlovable. Its unconditional love. Its one-way love It defies logic.”

I admit that I have issues with Grace. I grew up in a performance demanding society. I taught school for 40 years handing out grades for performance. I gave failing grades to kids. How do you think a teenager feels when someone tells him he’s a failure. I coached sports where winning is valued and losing is….unacceptable. So it was hard for me to accept God’s Grace and unconditional love. I was taught like all of us that we had to earn God’s love. Then Grace came along in my life and changed everything. I had a God in Jesus that loved me unconditionally. He loves me through the good, the bad, and the ugly. I still have problems with it. But I have come to learn as Tchividjian says, “It is true. Its the truest truth in the entire universe. God loves us independently of what we may or may not bring to the table. There are no strings attached”.

Have a great week and may you receive God’s gift of Grace everyday….Believe It!

1Corinthians 13:12….For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; Then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

We are imperfect, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. We are broken so that’s the playing field. Instead of complaining about it or denying it we need to “play ball”. Mankind and the world is broken and that’s the truth. We need to be honest about this. I’m sure that some people are more broken than others, but we are all in need. What we need is a Savior and we have one in Jesus. The one that fully understands us, loves us unconditionally and extends a grace that is beyond our understanding. This not a new concept, just often forgotten or ignored. This has been the way for 2000 years and beyond. Do you think Jesus died on the cross for nothing? He died for something all right. He died for our brokeness and he has set things right for us. All we have to do is have faith, believe and abide in him……period. He redeemed us on the cross.

You’re right, pretty unbelievable.

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.

God Bless you and have a great week!

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonable happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. AMEN

Proverbs 3; 5-6…..Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.

Do you ever feel that your not enough? Of course you do. We all do. In her song “You Say” Lauren Diagle sings, “I keep fighting voices that say I’m not enough. Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up. Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low. Remind me once again just who I am because I need to know.” Jesus reminds us that we are enough just as we are. We don’t have to earn anything. Just abide in him and he will show us the way.

It seems like we are running to a finish line that doesn’t exist and only through Jesus can we find the peace that “we are enough”.

Have a great week……You are enough. Believe it!

Isaiah 40:31….But those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Do I really have to choose to believe in Jesus? If I lead a good life, won’t I just automatically go to Heaven? What is Heaven like anyway? The answer is yes, you have to choose Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You have to believe. It’s easy for some and very hard for others. Jesus is the word and the word is found in reading the Bible. There is no doubt about it. The biggest choice one will make in his/her lifetime is what they do with Jesus. We don’t make the rules, God does. In the Bible the word says that Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life and that nobody comes to the Father (GOD) except through Jesus. I would say that’s pretty clear. And by the way, what’s so hard about trying. By this I mean learn about Jesus through books, going to church or talking to a friend who is a believer. It’s not that hard and costs you nothing. Take a chance, there is a lot riding on your choice. God Bless you.

John 14:6 – I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me