Eph 2:8> Joy of Grace!

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, “(Ephesians 2:8 NKJV)

Don’t forget your roots!

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…”(Romans 8:1 NKJV)

You are justified by God’s grace. God had not “dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.” (Psalms 103:10 NKJV)

Rather, He gave freely His Son Jesus to pay the wages of sin. The gift of God is eternal life (Rom 3:23)!

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7 NKJV)

You are redeemed. “…He made us accepted in the Beloved”. (Ephesians 1:6 NKJV)

Take pride in it. Brag about it. Facebook!

Let Jesus know your joy too:

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You. (Psalms 5:11 NKJV)

Okay God, Here I Am

Okay God, Here I am. I have loads of reasons why I should feel overwhelmed. But I’ve noticed how You’ve already seen my state, and prescribed some truths from Your Word for me to look at.

I see here from Your child David in Psalm 25:16-17 how I should approach You in my distress:

Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses! (Psalm 25:16, 17 NKJV)

At the price of Your life, I can run to You at Your throne with no restraint of fear. There Your mercy will meet us, and Your grace relieve us at our most needed of times (Heb 4:16).

You even had a remedy for my loneliness. You directed me to Genesis 28:15. Your child Jacob was a fugitive of his brother’s rage, and in his retreat, he has made a stone for a pillow.

You met him there of all places! You marvel him with a spectacular vision of Your fearsome presence among the army of Your glorious angels. He heard Your great promise to bless him beyond his imagination.

What really touch me was when You secured Him of Your company. This is what You said:

Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” (Genesis 28:15 NKJV)

You assured Him You will keep His Word. You’ve also extend this promise to me. You said You will never leave me (Heb 13:5). It’s like we say: “You got my back!

I also recall where You’ve said that I can be confident….that [You] who has begun a good work in [me] will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ [Your return] (Philippians 1:6 NKJV)*

I can relax: I find rest in You. Help me unbelief and amaze me with how You reward those who really come to You (Heb 11:6)

Thank You Jesus. There is no one like You. You are my Only Hope!

*Alterations made.

Access to God

We have access to God by Christ. The Bible said that when Jesus died, there came a terrible earthquake:

“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.” -Matthew 27:50-51

It shook the earth greatly and his spectators fled in fear. A centurion in his awe said,”Truly, this man was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:55). Among the impressive damage the quake left was the tear of the veil of the temple that guarded the Holy of Holies – the imaged presence of God.

But God had a purpose to ruining his furniture. The veil being torn represented man’s now available access to God. The shedding of the Lamb of the God was the completed sacrifice that made the permanent remission of mankind’s sin. No longer will anyone have to give offerings to make peace with God for Christ paid the price of the payment for sin on the cross.

What does this mean? It means the end of traditions, rituals, procedures to come into God’s presence. We can simply come to God just as we are. We enter into community with God by receiving His grace -the grace that brought salvation. Christ giving to us no what other could: peace with God.

May we come to the Lord with reverence. Honor his holiness by confessing sin and requesting Him to be filled of His spirit.

I Have It Good

A valuable moment in life is when you are reminded to be grateful. I was in Neumünster, Germany, serving at Cafe Jerusalem. Cafe Jerusalem was a coffee shop where the hungry could come and receive a free warm meal and also hear about the Bread of Life -Jesus Christ.

I came with some friends of mine to volunteer for a day at the cafe. As I rotated between waiting people and washing dishes, I was constantly meeting broken people with broken stories. Unemployed. Imprisoned.  Homeless. Addicted – all of them consumed with an idea of hopelessness for life.

This led me to think about how good my life is and how great God has blessed me. I stop thinking about how much I would love American peanut butter and began thanking God for His goodness to me.

Look around. You can see enough where you live you are living better than someone else. Take time today and thank Jesus for all that He has given you.

Freedom from Regular Sins

“…Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation.” -Psalms 62:6

I read Psalms 62 today and I was embalmed with the delight that our God saves us from sin, from temptation, from harm and from attacks of the devil. What particularly impressed me is that God also saves me from habitual sins or “regular sins”.

I’m referring to those sins that so easily besets me (like a saying a crude joke). I call them “regular sins” because I commit them over and over again.

But I can say I do have victory over these sins, because by the power of Christ, I am saved also from regular sins.

“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness.” (1 Peter 2:24).

His death on the cross eliminated every dominance of sin over our lives.

“And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18).

I don’t have to feel enslaved by them. God has rescued me from their control and by His blood I have been purchased to serve Him.

No sin does have to take you down. Ask God to save from those habits and let your soul wait for God, knowing He will deliver you.

Access to God

“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.” -Matthew 27:50-51

When Jesus died, there arose a terrible earthquake. It shook the earth greatly and his spectators fled in fear. A centurion in his awe said,”Truly, this man was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:55). Among the impressive damage the quake left was the tear of the veil of the temple that guarded the Holy of Holies – the imaged presence of God.

But God had a purpose to ruining his furniture. The veil being torn represented man’s now available access to God. The shedding of the Lamb of the God was the completed sacrifice that made the permanent remission of mankind’s sin. No longer will anyone have to give offerings to make peace with God for Christ paid the price of the payment for sin on the cross.

What does this mean? It means the end of traditions, rituals, procedures to come into God’s presence. We can simply come to God just as we are. We enter into community with God by receiving His grace -the grace that brought salvation. Christ giving to us no what other could: peace with God.

May we come to the Lord with reverence. Honor his holiness by confessing sin and requesting Him to be filled of His spirit.

Haiti & God’s Daily Bread

You know I’m thankful for God’s daily provision of food. My heart breaks whenever I look at the people in Haiti suffer from the cholera outbreak. Over 300 people have died so far and the cause of this disease is just contaminated water! The sad thing is a resource like water is something we constantly take for granted.

“Who (God) gives food to all flesh, for His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 136:25). Your “daily bread” is a precious gift from God. He sends the rain and made the seas that supplies your tap every single day. Be thankful to Him and bless His name.

Happy Thanksgiving!