Graceful Living

Sunday we talked about Graceful Living....or....Living In Grace. I shared with you that the Bible is very clear that the "way we get into a relationship with Jesus Christ is the same thing that sustains us through our life." That of course is Grace!

It is through this ability to live daily in grace that we are able to get over our past and not feel shame and guilt in our current lives because of something we did or did not do....in our past. Since the service on Sunday, I have heard many great "take-away" truths that people told me really helped them. I thought it would be helpful to share a few of those in today's BLOG.

When we live in Grace we can walk around each day knowing that we are continually accepted by God and we do not have to worry about trying to earn his love, favor or acceptance. I compared this to great joy to going into an amusement park and having an arm band that allows you to enjoy every ride that you want as many times as you want without worrying about what the cost of each ride may be. This is way better than having to pay an amount of tickets for each ride and watching your tickets get fewer and fewer with each ride. In Christ we have freedom to enjoy this world....inside the boundaries of the "park" and in keeping with the rules of the park.

When we live in Grace we only have to live up to God's expectations. No one else! We have an audience of One....the only One who matters. God expects us to live in Grace and Truth when it comes to obedience and forgiveness.

When we live in Grace we can get over our past because God said he has wiped the record of our wrongs away. It does not matter how you feel.....your feelings are many times wrong. We have to let the truth of what God says about forgiveness transform our feelings. Many of us have to still live with the consequences of our actions. However, just because the consequences are still here and maybe painful, does not mean we have to live in continual shame or guilt. We cannot attribute our continual consequence to mean that God still holds that wrong against us and therefore we are still guilty and should feel shameful.

Grace.... it is amazing! It is the only way to live. It helps us move on from our past and helps us fore a better future as we learn from our past and resolve to live in freedom and truth.

This Sunday we will take the principle of Grace and she how it can transform our parenting! This Sunday is Graceful: Parenting. Start now thinking who you can invite to this incredible and life changing service.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream. Discover.
- Mark Twain