I just wanted to once again point out that God is AMAZING!!! The other night several problems I'd been struggling with were brought "out if hiding" from where I'd shoved them in the back of my mind. I sort of figured out what I knew God wanted me to do, but to calm myself down I read a chapter in my Bible, which I hadn't really done in a couple weeks since I'd been busy. It just so happened that there was a short paragraph that almost completely summed up what I'd thought God was telling me before- all of my problems addressed in a couple of verses in a random passage I just so happened to read on the night i needed them!!! Except the amazing part is that they weren't really random, God planned it out so perfectly that it worked out that I read them on that night. Thank you God!!
This is the passage that stood out to me:
"So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries an cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by the means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen."- 1 Peter 5:6-11
So much is stored up in that little passage, probably more than I got from it:). Hope you enjoy your weekend, and God bless!!!
Heather:)
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
Eternal Grace
I think it's long past due that I explain the name of the blog- Eternal Grace. I mean, looking at it by the literal meaning of the words, it's pretty simple. Eternal= endless; always existing. Grace= mercy; pardon. An always existing pardon. Easy, right?
But if we say, oh, we're done, that's it, we are missing the whole point of what those two words tell us!!!!!!! You see, the million dollar question is not what does "eternal grace" mean, but what is the eternal grace for? Why DO we have an always existing pardon? What have we been pardoned for in the first place? And at the top of the list, how have we been pardoned?!?!
The first three questions are basically the same. Ok, we have been pardoned, but what for? Well, that's simple- because we sin. We fall short, we miss the target, we mess up. A lot. Even after we have accepted Christ, we are still going to make a mess of everything!!! We fall short of His standards of righteousness, which means we cannot be, SHOULDN'T be with Him in Heaven. But God pardoned us from the dungeons of Hell; he made us righteous. He bestowed upon us His grace, so that we can be with Him in Heaven. And that grace isn't a contract- no matter what you do, you still have His grace, His pardon, forever.
The last question is how DID God make us righteous, even while we continue to sin? Because His one and only son, Jesus, died. We live an imperfect life, and therefore deserve Hell. Jesus lived a PERFECT, absolutely SPOTLESS life, and therefore deserved Heaven. But Jesus died the death we were meant to die, taking upon Himself the death and punishment we deserved, trading with us so we could have the righteousness, the eternal life in Heaven he earned for us.
Both these answers are such typical "Sunday School" answers, so we tend to skim over them. I've heard this a million times before, right? But the reason we hear it a million times is because it is sooooo important!!! I can't even begin to comprehend the enormity of it all, to start to understand all that he did for us.
I think this title, "Eternal Grace," sums up a lot about why we are Christians, about the point of following Him. Because he loved us, he gave us the grace to let us be with Him forever.
I know this was a long one, but I have one more thought before I end-
"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."
-Ephesians 2:8-10
This is not at the top of the blog for no reason- take it as something to think about this week:)
God bless you, and I hope you better understand the incredible gift of God's eternal grace.
-Heather
But if we say, oh, we're done, that's it, we are missing the whole point of what those two words tell us!!!!!!! You see, the million dollar question is not what does "eternal grace" mean, but what is the eternal grace for? Why DO we have an always existing pardon? What have we been pardoned for in the first place? And at the top of the list, how have we been pardoned?!?!
The first three questions are basically the same. Ok, we have been pardoned, but what for? Well, that's simple- because we sin. We fall short, we miss the target, we mess up. A lot. Even after we have accepted Christ, we are still going to make a mess of everything!!! We fall short of His standards of righteousness, which means we cannot be, SHOULDN'T be with Him in Heaven. But God pardoned us from the dungeons of Hell; he made us righteous. He bestowed upon us His grace, so that we can be with Him in Heaven. And that grace isn't a contract- no matter what you do, you still have His grace, His pardon, forever.
The last question is how DID God make us righteous, even while we continue to sin? Because His one and only son, Jesus, died. We live an imperfect life, and therefore deserve Hell. Jesus lived a PERFECT, absolutely SPOTLESS life, and therefore deserved Heaven. But Jesus died the death we were meant to die, taking upon Himself the death and punishment we deserved, trading with us so we could have the righteousness, the eternal life in Heaven he earned for us.
Both these answers are such typical "Sunday School" answers, so we tend to skim over them. I've heard this a million times before, right? But the reason we hear it a million times is because it is sooooo important!!! I can't even begin to comprehend the enormity of it all, to start to understand all that he did for us.
I think this title, "Eternal Grace," sums up a lot about why we are Christians, about the point of following Him. Because he loved us, he gave us the grace to let us be with Him forever.
I know this was a long one, but I have one more thought before I end-
"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."
-Ephesians 2:8-10
This is not at the top of the blog for no reason- take it as something to think about this week:)
God bless you, and I hope you better understand the incredible gift of God's eternal grace.
-Heather
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