I choose grace....

GRACE: Grace is God's unmerited favor. It is kindness from God we don't deserve. There is nothing we have done, nor can ever do to earn this favor. It is a gift from God. Grace is divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration (rebirth) or sanctification; a virtue coming from God; a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine favor. (definition from internet search)

Genesis 2: 15-17
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

Above is the moment that God gave one of the first commandments to the only man (at that time) on Earth. Although this was commanded by God, Adam was given free will and the ability to make the choice to decide to obey or not... fully knowing the consequences of his choice.

We all have the God given right to use the free will He has granted us. We cannot love God without this privilege of free will.  It is not possible to enter into any kind of loving relationship without free will. That is the reason we have it... God wants us to choose to love and obey him, fully knowing the consequences of our choices.

The Bible is full of many more commandments from God for our lives. Each commandment is issued with a purpose of a more fulfilling and joyful existence, and on the other hand, each commandment is issued knowing that each man gets to choose to follow these or not. Each time a commandment is followed you become closer to who God intended you to be, and each time a commandment is disobeyed you step farther away from that most important relationship.

In our lives sometimes we feel like for each step closer.... we take two steps back.

Presently, there is a confusion in the air and conflict stirring. It is not a new thing on this Earth... it continually happens and will continue to be present as long as man has free will... and free will is from God so it will continue to live in some form. When we choose to follow the commandments and believe what is in the bible and practice these things, we are accomplishing what God has intended for us.

It is time to seek the truth and use it in our lives to create a reflection of God's desire for our time here. Take this time as an opportunity to dig deeper into our relationship with God and live in his will for us. It is time to trust less in man and more in God and His word.

The truth is - God did give us all free will.

Yes, this freedom and your decisions WILL impact your fellow humans and the world we live in.

No, we are not all going to agree on every issue.

Yes, we will have to look deep into our hearts and make choices for ourselves and wish that everyone would see things the way we do... but they won't.

Yes, we are still commanded to love each other anyway.


The 4th of July, our Independence Day, is approaching and I can't help but think of my Grandfather who was born on the 4th of July and served in the military. He once asked me about a decision I made. It caught me off guard when my 90-something year old grandfather asked me... "Andrea, if you knew what he was doing, why did you marry him?" speaking of a former marriage of mine during a divorce that was certainly one of my "two steps back" that I mentioned before. But we all sin, and I certainly have done my share, thank God for forgiveness. I couldn't answer my Grandfather that day so I just sat there in his prescence wondering what he really thought of me. He looked at me for a few moments and then said "well, now you know better" with love in his eyes. He still loved me.... whew! He was even giving me permission to try again. He wanted me to know that he knew what I did ....and he expected better. He would not and could not force me to do better..... but just knowing he trusted me to make the right decisions and that he still loved me, made me want to be better.

We each have free will and we each have the responsibility that comes along with it... we have a description of what is right and wrong... it is spelled out for us in the bible. We have all made choices that disregards these words that we are meant to live by.  It is up to us to decide for ourselves what we will or won't do from today on. Everyday we make those choices... but God still loves us and we should still love each other despite these decisions and even when there is confusion on what our response should be to other people that do not believe what we do.

My advice... lets all take a deep breath, read the bible and love God first .... He will show you how to love others. We should realize that each person has the freedom to make a decision about their own lives. We cannot and should not try to FORCE our beliefs on another person and they cannot and should not try to FORCE their beliefs on us... God did not force us to love him therefore His consequences and judgements are not for us to hand out to each other. We can encourage, we can love and we can live as an example and we can share the truth.... we are not responsible for our neighbors decision but for our response to it, our example for them, our choice to love them and for our own decisions in our own lives.

God knows all and He is the one true determiner of right and wrong. GOD gave us freedom to make choices.... and the responsibility to reflect Him in our responses to others.

I choose to respect that God granted each of us free will. I choose to believe that God is in control. I choose to remain in a relationship with Him. I choose to believe what the bible says and to try my very best to obey each and every commandment. I choose to forgive myself for all the times I didn't obey him because He has forgiven me. I choose to be peaceful. I choose to love. I choose to stand in God's great grace for us all....

Love,
Andrea

"The Power of Praise"

By: Ashley B. Downing

Never underestimate the power of praise, if God our Father takes pleasure in praise, it is only natural for His children to be encouraged by compliments. The assurance that you give someone by acknowledging their skills, talents, and abilities gives support and cheers a person on in their development! Where would our little ones be without the support and praise in reaching milestones, like taking those first wobbly steps? Whatever our chronological age, we are still God's children. 

 

Praise propels a person to fulfill their purpose. People confuse flattery with sincere praise. Flattery is fake. Flattery is emotional manipulation rooted in insincerity. Compliments are honest, sincere unselfish expressions that provides assurance. Compliments compel you to reach the next level.  Praise propels a person to fulfill their purpose. And how extremely pleased we are when we fulfill our purpose!

Self-esteem and self-worth is found at the cross. I am not talking about self-esteem. I am talking about esteeming others, aiding them to be all that they can be in God, fulfilling a duty as brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles, grands who have been adopted into the family of God.

Scripture says: "Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

—Matthew 22:35-40

In other words, that double reference is really the core of Christianity. God should consume us. He should be in our hearts, souls and minds. Our social interactions should be filtered through  love. We are to love our neighbors like we love ourselves. This begins in praise and ends in a whole lot of joy!

Haters are going to hate. Encourage someone today and see how your words make a positive influence in someone's life. There is enough hate in the world.

My Prayer for you and me: Father, Please bless this person reading this and awaken their heart to You. I pray that you are acknowledged right now as the one and only true Living God, perfect and profound in every way. I ask for grace and perfection, for myself, and my neighbors, because I understand that perfection can only come through Your grace, first. Please encourage us as we move toward fulfilling your perfect will in our lives and fulfilling our joy! Thank you Jesus for the work on the cross and the work of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus name, Amen! 

{Loves}, Ash