A Grace Filled Fresh Start
January 26
God is flat out amazing. If you are not walking and talking to him everyday, you are missing out on SO much. It is the ultimate relationship!
This morning I said, "Lord, we are 26 days into this starting fresh thing for the month of January and I need a fresh idea to write about this morning.
Look to the WORD!
We've got the OLD and the NEW testaments!
One governed by the LAW and the other governed by GRACE!
There's a fresh start!
Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith?
Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Romans 3:31 NIV
There is a quote I jotted down, which I believe the credit should go to Charles Spurgeon:
Grace is the mother and nurse of holiness,
and not the apologist of sin.
We get a redo through the New Testament relationship.
We go from being slaves to children.
While we are not bound by the Law, we are still under an authority, our heavenly Father, and have a role of obedience to follow his desire for us to be made perfect like Christ. The magic potion, which should make it work, is JOY. As in any parent-child relationship, we need to get to the point where we are grateful God/our parent loves us so much that He is going to discipline us and direct us on the path which is best for us. We start to see God's rules as healthy habits!
He desires for no harm to come to us, but happiness!
Oh, I like that one! When dark clouds come and we don't get our way if we stop and remember "He desires for no harm to come to us, but happiness, " then we can ask ourselves:
What good can come from this time of travail we are facing?
How does God want me to walk through it?
What is He fine doing in me, by allowing it?
OK, this next thought is a little out there, but paints a good picture and prompts a fun tradition. When potty training a child, one suggestion is to give them a treat after they use the bathroom. Lots of moms keep an M & M jar handy to use as the reward. I think maybe jewels in our crowns are more in keeping biblically with how God functions, but while on earth we may want to have a concrete way of reflecting and reinforcing the realization that God is at work in us.
Maybe it is a written time line or journal.
How about a marble jar on our kitchen sink where we plop one in each time God guides us through the web of life.
Ladies, we may want to have an add a bead necklace!
It's a new day! Let's face it God's way!
Pray:
Lord, there is a song lyric which goes...He will make a way, when there seems to be no way. Thank You that you call us your children and you take joy in training us. Give us eyes today to see the good You are up to. May the love You have for us, spill out upon those who are not feeling loved today and help us to relay to them how very well YOU love them. May we tell of Your amazing grace. God's Riches At Christ's Expense! In our Savior's name we pray, Amen.
