Christian Living
This morning in church I was Blessed to hear a wonderful sermon. The message rang so true in my heart, that I felt compelled to write -----
Frequently I hear Christians refer to this life as a journey to Heaven, 'Keep looking up'.
Not that they are wrong to seek His Face …………… but the context in which it is said is often sadly lacking.
Another misused message, is that we are saved by Grace and not by works.
Almost an excuse to sit back and do nothing, especially when we are pressed on all sides.
For sure it gets hard. Really hard. For sure we get weary, and for sure we lose heart, but I pray……..with all that I am , that we never lose purpose.
James 2: 17,
‘Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.’
We are called to be,
'The light of the World'.
Matthew 5,16:
‘ Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’
The 'salt' :
Matthew 5, 13:
‘Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing, but to be cast out, and trodden under the foot of men.’
Grace comes into play because without Him we are nothing, and even with Him we all fall short.
He is the Light, and the salt, and we are merely vessels.
We need Grace to wash us clean, Clean enough to carry his unconditional love. To have any light at all. Clean enough to follow his example, of giving and Living for God. Clean enough to follow Jesus.
Grace is about Love, His Love. Unconditional, and for all mankind.
His Precious Gift to us, and for us , to extend to our fellow man.
I do not believe, in any way, that Grace was given for us to use, soley, as a free ride into Heaven!( although I may have once shared that view.)
Jesus came to show us how to live on earth.
To give His Life .
To offer hope for all men, through His Perfect gift of Grace, that we may be Saved, Sanctified, and,
'someday' be with The Father. To be back in His Arms forever.
The part that grieves me, over and over again, is that often all I ever seem to hear about are the promises of Heaven.
Have we forgotten that He came to show us how to live/ love first ?
There are hopeless hurting people everywhere, and we do not have to be Super Human to help.
To make a difference.
We are not Jesus, but if He truly lives within you, hear Him.
Follow Him, all the way to the Cross , if need be.
Get a little wounded, our wounds are nothing compared to the price He paid.
We get lost, in self, sometimes only considering ,’my God Loves me as I am.’
Sure He does. God loves all, despite and in spite of our selves.
John 3:16
‘for God so Loved the world’
Nowhere does He say, ’for God so loved me.’
He Loves the Saved, and the Unsaved, and it rains on both.
When I leave this place, my prayer is not that I have left a fortune.
Not that everything worked out necessarily for my own comfort,
and most certainly not that all I ever did was to keep looking up.
God is right here, and I can see His Face every time I search my heart.
His purpose for us is in today, in every walk of life.
Jesus is alive, and kicking hard, to be seen in action through our lives.
I pray that my life, albeit humble and strewn with mistakes, can be lived fully, and in every aspect,
to honor and Glorify my Lord.
To be remembered as one who always gave of her heart, for Him, in Him,
and through Him. At least, that I tried to.
Nothing else is of any lasting value.
For I so love Him.
Then, I will think about Heaven.
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