Tag Archives: grace

DON’T BE AFRAID, JUST TRUST ME.052515

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There Are Miracles All Around You card with sky backgroundMark 5:22-24 says, “And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  .  . some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” Continue reading →

TOMORROW [a Kairos Talk].051915

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[This is an excerpt from a talk on a Kairos Weekend in a prison]

need helpOn this final day we need to look back to where we were on Thursday, and then look at where we are today.  Might say we’ve come a long way. Think back to the first day and the first talk “Choices”.  We said the choices we make effect where we end up in life.  What do we mean when we say life is a journey?  We’re not really talking about going from one place to another on the earth.  We’re talking about in our hearts.

About being in a new place inside. 1] About realizing we’re different, something has happened, something has changed. 2] Feeling different about others. 3] Finding new experiences and new relationships. 4] What are some new things you have experienced these last 3 days? Continue reading →

OBSTACLES TO GOD’S GRACE: 051115:

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FARMER WITH CORN.051115‘Obstacles’ is the next to the last talk on the Kairos Weekend Program in the prisons.  “We’ve been talking all weekend about God’s plan for our lives.  Let me tell you what His plan is for us; to surrender ourselves to Him.  To do whatever He wants us to on a minute by minute basis.  To accept the gift of His grace and share it with others.  Pretty simple; but it’s not easy.

What is Grace?  It is unmerited favor.  That means God being nice to us when we didn’t deserve it.  Grace is a lot like mercy, Mercy is God being nice to us when we deserved to be punished. Continue reading →

WALKING IN GOD’S GRACE.050715

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[The following are excerpts from a Kairos talk called “Walking in God’s Grace”.]                  Religious Words on Grunge BackgroundI wish I could tell you that living the Christian life, after you really commit to God, is going to be easy, that you’re going to feel God’s presence every day, more and more; that you’re going to be obedient, that you’re not going to do anything stupid, that you’re going to trust God all the time, that you’re going to love everybody and they’re going to love you; that there’s going to be a steady shining light in your life all the time and no more darkness.  Sorry, it’s just not going to be all sweetness and light, because we’re all still a bunch of sinners.

Let’s say that because of this Kairos weekend, everybody here has made a commitment to Jesus.  We’ve had good food and good fellowship; we’ve felt God’s unconditional love through the brothers, both those from inside and those from outside the prison; and we’re excited about the prospect of going back out in the world to share Jesus with other people out there in the dark.  How are we going to do that?  We can’t.  Why can’t we?  We’re heard the message; we’ve accepted it; we’ve made a commitment to Jesus; and He’s definitely made a commitment to us (to each one of us).  So what is holding us back? Continue reading →

WATCH OUT! 042315

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Der Wolf im SchafspelzMatthew 7:15-16 says, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are vicious/ferocious wolves. You will know them by what they do.”  This is Jesus talking, in the Sermon on the Mount.  He goes on to say that good trees bear good fruit, bad trees bear bad fruit, and people are the same way.  Beware means “be warned”.  Watch Out! Continue reading →

Works of Righteousness. 041215

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Ephesians 2.8In Ephesians 2:8-9: Paul says,“For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

And in his letter to Titus, in chapter 3, verse 5, Paul says again,  “ .  .  not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,”   Did you get that?  It is not by any works, not by any deeds we have done, or by any special actions we have taken, that God saves us.  Particularly not by “works of righteousness”, meaning good things we’ve done to make God like us. 

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CORRECTION AND DISCIPLINE. 040615

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Warning SignHebrews 12:5-8 says, “My son .  .  .  and do not lose heart when He scolds you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he [corrects] everyone he accepts as his son.” .  .  .  If you are not disciplined—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.” NIV

My son Ian, 16, just got his ‘real’ driver’s license, and an ’88 Ford pickup.  Along with the license and the truck he got a few hard fast rules to live by.  FIRST RULE “keep your parents informed.”        Second rule: Don’t drive near the HEB, the primary shopping area by our house. It’s dangerous: traffic accidents, teenage drivers and others not paying attention; cell-phones, texting and other distractions.  Not a place for an inexperienced driver.

The other night, after supper, he says, “I’m going to go drive around just for fun.”  He said he’d drive in the neighboring subdivision and be back in 25 minutes . We agreed.  In 25 minutes he called.  He said, “I’m down here across from the HEB and the truck won’t run.”  When I arrived, I asked him about gas. Turns out he bought a little gas ($2.50 worth) 3 days ago.  No wonder he ran out. Continue reading →

Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. 040115

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shadow of karavan“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good .  .  .” Genesis 50:20 

You know the story of Joseph.  He was the favorite son of Jacob, the eleventh of twelve, and when he was young he was a little arrogant.  His father gave him the “technicolor dreamcoat”.  He told his brothers he had a dream which showed all his brothers and even their father bowing down to Joseph. He probably shouldn’t have done that.  Made ‘em mad.  So mad they wanted to kill him. They even threw him in a well and left him there to die.  But Reuben (one of the brothers) got him out and sold him to slave traders on the way to Egypt.  Continue reading →

GOD’S GRACE.033115

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Miracles HappenHere I am.  66.  Married to a good wife with three grown children and six grandchildren; and a 16 yr old son at home. I’m still working at a ‘real’ job, ‘cause my baby needs shoes.  Really because God wants me to keep on working so I get to talk to people about Him. Continue reading →

FAVOR—GOD’S SHIELD. 022315

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In Psalm 5:11-12, David says to God, “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You.  Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them.  Let those who love Your Name be joyful in You.  For You O Lord will bless the righteous with favor.  You will surround him as with a shield.” (and who are the righteous?  It’s those who have Jesus’ righteousness, because they trust in Him.)

So why should we rejoice?  One reason is because we have put our trust in the Lord, and we know He is taking care of us.  He IS defending us.  We have this great reason to be joyful.  Another reason we have to rejoice, and be thankful, and praise and worship God is because we know He is blessing us; because we are righteous, because we have the righteousness of those who trust God, like Abraham. (see Genesis 15:6, “Abraham believed (trusted) God and it was counted to him for righteousness.”)

How do you like that line, “You will bless the righteous with favor. You will surround him as with a shield.”  Makes me think of an invisible shield; a bullet proof, electron shield, so the galactic invaders can’t touch you.  Even better, this shield comes with God’s favor.  (You know favor? That’s God’s Grace, His Unmerited Favor.) When you have God’s favor, it means that God likes you and almost everyone else likes you too, because God moves them to like you.           Yes, I know you may think I’m kidding.  You may say that doesn’t happen, certainly not in this day and age.  Au contraire!  I have personally experienced it and witnessed it in the lives of others.  Favor.  It’s like being golden. For no apparent reason, good things just happen.  Why?  Because God enjoys granting favor to people, especially to those who trust Him.  It’s like ole David says in the end of the 23rd Psalm, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  That’s what favor feels like.

So rejoice! Be happy! Be thankful! Enjoy the favor!