Amazing Grace

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  Romans 10:13

We celebrated our oldest son, Elliott's 18th trip around the sun this week. He's legally an adult now and a rising senior in high school...man, time continues to fly by at light speed!! I have noticed that the older he becomes, the more expensive the gifts are, right?  Elijah will turn 15 later this summer and he is already looking at used cars online as we approach his milestone birthday. 

I can still recall when my little sister got what seemed to be 'cool' gifts that I was always a bit jealous of when we were growing up.  My parents surprised her with a sweet Ford Mustang GT Convertible when she turned sixteen. One year, she was given a ATV/4 wheeler for Christmas from Santa Claus, and if I am being honest, I expected something similar or equally as 'cool' from my parents/Santa. 

To some extent, we are all childish with the gifts we expect to receive, but there is one gift that is given freely to each one of us-the perfect gift-the gift of God's grace. 

There is nothing you need to do to receive this gift other than calling the name of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and accepting that His death on the cross is that which saves you from sin.

If you haven't accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, what are you waiting for? 

People Are People

 

The sun is glorious in one way, the moon is glorious in another way, and the stars are glorious in their own distinctive way; for one star differs from and surpasses another in its beauty and brilliance.  1 Corinthians 15:41

As our two sons continue to grow up (way too fast, I might add), the differences between him and his older brother are astounding.  For instance, Elliott, while a great athlete on his terms, is into music much the way I was at his age.  Elijah, on the other hand, likes music, but is a natural athlete, just like my younger sister was.  Elliott who celebrates his 18th birthday today, still only enjoys vanilla ice cream just like his mother; Elijah, on the other hand, will eat any flavor; but prefers chocolate ice cream, just like me. Point in case, we are each uniquely made and thankfully created by God to be different from one another.

To truly live the lives God intended us to live, we are to accept who we are as individuals and fit into His great plan rather than comparing ourselves with others and trying to fit into everyone else's plans.

Each of has been uniquely made to fill a need and we are ALL part of God's master plan.  Make it a personal goal of yours to find out what you are individually supposed to be and then succeed at being yourself.  It's okay to be different, in fact, God made you that way!

The Road

 

This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.  Ephesians 4:13

Our two boys, are growing up way too fast.  It's hard for me to believe that our youngest, Elijah, will be celebrating his 15th birthday this August, and Elliott will be a senior in high school in a few months.  Elijah just wrapped up his basketball season over the weekend, while Elliot just started his lacrosse season and I am a very proud father. 

Along the lines of a tourney or a game, what if a believer’s walk of faith was determined with a grading system or final score?  How would we measure up?

A believer’s perfection is not a flawless imitation of God but rather a process of maturing into a purer and more godly person.  Growing in godliness means becoming more like God, even when we fall way short of his perfect standards, and believe me when I say that quite often I fail to measure up.  

Let us remember that the process of reflecting more and more of God’s nature will be completed when we reach heaven, and then indeed we will finally be considered ‘perfect.’

It's A Mistake

 

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?"  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means : 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew 9:11-13

With only a couple of weeks into the new year and I have already made my first big mistake at work for the new year.  I am certainly not proud or boasting here, just accepting the fact that I am a human and make mistakes; in fact, I make a lot of them; all of the time, sometimes daily...

One of the most common misconception about Christians in that all believers should be perfect.  Many of us go to extremes to pretend that we have every facet of our lives in order, but the truth is that while we are all forgiven, we all  still have many shortcomings.

Salvation through Christ doesn't change the fact that sin is still present in our lives.  When we become believers, God forgives us and sees as righteous.  We must continue to renew ourselves and fight the ongoing battle against sin while we are on this earth.

We must be careful not to put up a façade and cover up our shortcomings so that we appear to be “good Christians” to the outside world.  Instead, we must recognize and confess to God, our sinfulness, so that we can be forgiven when we do screw up and fall short of his glory.

Sowing The Seeds of Love

 

Create in me a clean heart, O God.  Renew a loyal spirit within me.  Psalm 51:10

Despite not having much of a ‘green thumb,’ I still understand the concept of sowing seeds that will eventually produce plants if nourished properly.  For instance, if you plant sunflower seeds, the seeds will eventually produce sunflowers, and so forth.

We are all familiar with the saying that "we will reap what we sow" and just like seeds, if we have sinful desires and thoughts, it will become evident later that some 'bad seeds' have been planted in our hearts.

We must continually go to the Lord and ask him to give us clean hearts so that our lives will produce clean thoughts, motives, and behaviors.

None of us will be entirely 'clean' or free from sin in this life, but one of the most worthy goals we can pursue in this new year is to glorify God in all that we say or do.

New Year's Day

 

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. Lamentations 3:23

Life is constantly full of new and fresh beginnings and how we approach them makes all of the difference in the world.  We can sometimes face new beginnings with anxiety and sometimes even complacency.  Looking back at 2024, it was a great year but I can honestly say that I am eager and hopeful to welcome a new year and one that I hope and pray is even better than the last. 

We must remember that each new day/new year presents a whole new series of opportunities, including opportunities to fall in love with God more deeply and to know him better.  When we remain positive and ‘begin again’  with the right attitude, it will impact our relationship with others and effect the people in our lives.

God’s mercy towards us is new every day, despite what we have done or not done the day before and regardless of how we have treated him or others.  This frees us from the burdens of yesterday’s failures and regrets to live the lives that God intended for us to live.

May you and your loved ones be blessed in 2025!!

I Will Follow

 

For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.  Ephesians 2:10

The past few days, our family has worked on getting rid of stuff we no longer use nor want (or have the room for in our home)-stuff the boys no longer play with and several clothing items that we no longer wear any more.  Many of our items are still in good shape and will be donated to a local ministry.  As we quickly approach the end of 2024 and approach the beginning of a new year,  it’s time to let go of the past, remove the ‘junk’ out of our lives, and walk closer with God in the year to come.

You see, the closer we grow to God, the more we fully become our  “true selves.”  Just like old clothing or dated fashion, our old selves are in the past and we are deemed a new creation by our loving Father.  We are each created as individuals-one of a kind, and the path that we are needs to remain a straight line towards God.

Let us rejoice in our journey towards God in the days to come and enjoy the intimate communion with our Father that loves us more than we can possibly comprehend.