I’ve been talking a lot about meeting God and striving to be with Him at all times, but none of it would be possible without grace. As a sinner, I don’t deserve anything from God and yet, He provides. As a human, I fall from God. Because of this fact, I am more than unworthy to be in God’s presence.
God’s love is something we can’t comprehend, and yet, it’s something we attempt to obtain every single day. There would be no reason to try to be a good person if God didn’t extend His grace to us. Without it, we’d all be spending eternity away from Him.
So why does God wait for us? Why does He want to be with us after all we’ve done against Him? It’s because He loves us. It’s that simple. He loves His creation, and will give us as many second chances as it takes for us to come around and take shelter in His loving arms. This is why we need a relationship with Him, He will never abandon us in times of need and He will show us the path to righteousness when we feel like we can’t do anything correctly.
Grace is what drives me to be a better Christ follower. Grace is what defines me because without it, I have nowhere to turn. We need to praise the Father for his unimaginable love and His willingness to give us Jesus who gave us reason to live.
He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
I’m at one of those points in my life where I’m just confused. I think that everyone has one of those days where we wake up and just know that the day is going to take a lot more work to be successful than others. I’ve been so overwhelmed with homework and studying lately that I don’t even have time to stop and evaluate things, and as an engineer in training, I need to be able to analyze my day to really feel good about it.
There are days when I feel great because I finally feel like I have everything under control, and then the next day comes when everything comes crashing down. It seems like it all happens at once, all the stress that I thought I had under control just comes right back. I thought my new trust in God would protect me from all of this.
How many wake up calls do I really need? As many as it takes to get me to WAKE UP. It’s so easy to love God one day, and then fall into the same routine as before. I still trust God and pray all the time, but when everything is going perfectly, it’s too easy. God wants us to work at our faith because it’s continually changing.
When we have days where it seems like nothing is going right, we just need to keep reminding ourselves that God is in control, and He will never give us more than we can handle. I can’t stress this fact enough. God wants to be in a relationship with us so much that He will literally give us reasons to come to Him when it seems like we’re too far away to turn around. God’s love is beyond all that we will ever comprehend during our time here.
I pray that when you’re confused about the future and why everything seems to come apart at once that you can turn your eyes to Jesus and realize that you will come out victorious from this battle. Faith and grace make that more than possible.
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:1b-2
When I read the Bible and see all the things that Jesus did, I tend to wonder why such amazing things don’t happen today. Jesus healed lepers, cured the blind, and raised people from the dead. If God really wanted us to believe, wouldn’t it be easy for Him to perform a few miracles and make everyone believe at once?
The fact is, there are miracles happening all around us. What defines a miracle? I personally consider anything that God gives me as a miracle. Whether it be something physical, like food or helping me get through an exam, or more importantly a spiritual miracle like God extending His grace to me.
God sent us to this earth to be miracles too. It’s our job to help others and help cultivate their faith. So with God doing so much in our own lives, why are we searching for more? Do we need Jesus to come give sight to a blind man or feed thousands with a little fish and bread? I hope your answer to this question is the same as mine, a huge no. Faith is seeing what God has done in our lives and trusting that He will never turn His back on us. The fact that He never will is the greatest miracle in history.
I pray that God makes each and every one of you into a living miracle that lives and breathes the love of the Savior. Look around you today and see all that God has done and realize that the greatest miracles are sometimes the ones that we take for granted.
I [Jesus]tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:12-14
A man stands alone arms across his chest,
His heart pounding through his bones.
Denial wasn't supposed to be this way.
His passion fell to the ground,
But beauty couldn't be found another way, another way.
Well only his answer would tell the story.
Three times were all he had to say yes,
Say yes say yea yea yea,
But denial seemed so beautiful.
Three times were all he had to say yes,
Say yes say yea yea yea,
But providence took its hold.
Oh tears drown his eyes a puddle of shame at his feet,
As the reflection of guilt overwhelms a broken man.
Dissent was all he had and he needed a reason to believe.
This doesn't happen to only me.
Well only his answer would tell the story.
(Wake up and see we're all the same!)
Three times were all he had to say yes,
Say yes say yea yea yea,
But denial seemed so beautiful.
(Seemed So Beautiful)
Three times were all he had to say yes,
Say yes say yea yea yea,
But providence (Providence!) took its hold.
An electric pulse you can't escape,
A force that rules the human race,
Hold the hand of Providence.
An electric pulse you can't escape,
A force that rules the human race,
Tonight the stars tell no fortunes,
They tell no fortunes,
They tell no fortunes.
Three times were all he had to say yes,
Say yes say yea yea yea,
But denial seemed so beautiful.
(Seemed So Beautiful)
Three times were all he had to say yes,
Say yes say yea yea yea,
But providence took its hold.
Took took took!
Took it's hold. Hey!
Three times!
Three times!
Three times!
This song, called Providence by Abandon, obviously takes cues from Peter’s denial of Jesus. Although he swore to Jesus that it would never happen, he openly denied being associated with Christ three times. Are we so different though? Do we deserve God’s providence?
I am guilty of putting my relationship with God on the backburner when it seems like it’s too much work to spend time with Him. When do we cross the line though? When do we go from turning away to all out denying Him?
As Christians, we are to live a life that magnifies Christ’s. This means that we need to not only be faithful believers to our church friends, but to everyone. How we act around other groups of people is how they define our lives. If we don’t show love and move our faith forward by moving others, we deny Jesus.
If we make choices that don’t glorify Jesus’ love and grace, then we deny him. It hurts him to see us falling away. We deserve eternity away from God because of our sinful denials. But God has bigger plans for us, and I praise Him that He showed us so much love.
God doesn’t hold our denial against us if we ask for forgiveness. I pray that we can open our eyes to our sins and realize that we are denying the One who wants our lives to be amazing. I pray that God forgives us when the world takes hold, and I pray that the love of Jesus can be seen by everyone we meet today.
So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. 2 Timothy 1:8-12
Lately I’ve been pondering why God puts hardship in our lives. When we become Christians, shouldn’t living be easier since we accept God’s plan? For many Christ followers, it can become the exact opposite. I know that everyone goes through hard times, but it’s hard to accept that it’s part of the Father’s plan for us to go through difficult trials.
So the question lies, why would God want this to happen to me? It takes a clear mind to really understand the answer to this. He wants us to be strong. Stronger as friends, stronger to face the trials ahead, and there will be more, but most of all, stronger Christians.
Being a stronger Christian leads to a better comprehension of what is to come. It doesn’t make it any easier to grasp the trials at hand. It’s interesting to think that our solace from these hard times, however, is the One who allows them into our lives. God wants what’s best for us, and sometimes it’s not what we think is best for us.
There are essentially two ways to react to a trial. I can give up and let it consume my life until there’s nowhere to turn, or I can save a huge amount of stress and pain, and talk to God about it. Life is tough, but it can only make me stronger. We need to cast our burdens to God because He will carry us through all of life if we realize it’s too hard to do it ourselves and accept Christ.
I pray that we can all stay strong in the face of hardship. God’s love for us is greater than any troubles that we will experience on our time here, and with His help, we can overcome this world and show the same love to others who need God in their times of suffering. God is so good.
I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:9-10
Why does God put certain people into our lives? Sometimes, a person comes into my life with such perfect timing that it can’t be an accident. There are times where it may not be a new person either, it may be one that you’ve known for a long time, and you finally see their faith shine.
God loves relationships. He gave us friendship to show us the kind of connection we need to have with Him. I’ve been really quiet about my faith story up until this point. Most of my friends on campus knew I was a Christian, but only because I told them so. God has put on my heart this week to share my faith story with others around me. The reaction has been overwhelming. I’ve learned some amazing things about my friends. Some new people came into my life as well, and it really makes me excited to see what path God is taking my life.
I think as Christians, we need to be able to share our life story with others, but sometimes we feel that it’s insignificant and that nobody wants to hear it. This is another time when we need God to instill confidence in us. It’s so cool to see that when I felt ready to tell mine, I learned about the faith of so many others around me.
When we feel lost, broken, and helpless, God puts people into our lives right when we need them. It’s just one of the times when we can see His overwhelming love for us. I pray that you can see God’s perfect timing in your lives, and that you see friends as a gift from God. Next time a friends comes into your life, praise Him for His wonderful timing, and be bold in love and creating a God centered relationship.
My [Jesus’] command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other. John 15:12-17
