Ephesins 2:8 - Grace?

 

Ephesians 2:8

NKJV

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. 

NLT

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 

 

In 1829, a Pennsylvania man named George Wilson was sentenced by the United States Court to be hanged to death for robbery and murder. President Andrew Jackson pardoned him, but the prisoner refused the pardon. Wilson insisted that he was not pardoned unless he accepted it. That was a point of law never raised before, and President Jackson called on the Supreme Court to decide. Chief Justice John Marshall gave the following decision. “A pardon is a paper, the value of which depends upon its acceptance by the person implicated. If it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be hanged.” And he was.

 

As I read this morning’s devo, the above short story was given. It got me to thinking about how I treat the grace given to me. I read in a commentary that the more familiar we are with certain words, the more we have an attitude of a shoulder shrug and “ho-hum”.  Words like grace and saved and faith; we hear them so often we can lose sight of the depth and width of them. Grace is a word that Christians throw around like it’s a frisbee. I’m guilty of the attitude of “I got it, I know what it means”. But do I really get it? Man, if I really understood the idea of grace…would I do some of the things I do? We could discuss grace for pages and pages, but I want to just stick with a little piece of it.

 

George Wilson refused his pardon, don’t know why…but he did. On the surface, I think everyone loves the idea of grace.  Somebody else paying for my wrong doing?  Heck yeah…sign me up. That’s what Christ did for us. Our sin separated us from God; our sin made us stained. God is holy and only things that are holy can be near God.  There was atonement, or payment, that needed to be made to cover our sins.  A The payment for our sins was death, pure and simple. Death. Something had to die to atone for our actions. In the old testament, there were sacrifices that covered their sins. Blood for blood. But they were only covered, each person still had to make atonement daily, weekly, yearly…

God chose a way for us to come completely back to him with a perfect payment for our sins. He sent His Son to not just cover our sins, but to take then away completely; for those that accepted Him as Savior.

 

I did, I accepted Him as my Savior. But for a long time, He wasn’t my Lord. There’s a difference. The difference is what we do with our idea of what grace is. If grace is “somebody else paying for my sins”, which is what Christ did for us, then we must understand deeper what this is. To me, grace is this definition and then some. If I love Jesus and am thankful for what He did for me…am I honoring that sacrifice? Do my actions show that I truly understand the sacrifice that was made for me? To be honest, sometimes they don’t. Someone once told me “when you know better, then you do better”. I want to serve my Lord better; I want to serve other people better; I want my faithfulness to be honoring to God.

 

What will you do with your grace?

 

Faithful today,

cej

 

 

Psalms 34:18 - Don't Head to the Shadows

Psalms 34:18

NKJV

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

 

NLT

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

 

“A bird with a broken wing, an animal with a broken leg, a woman with a broken heart, a man with a broken purpose in life – these seem to drop out of the main current of life into shadow. They go apart to suffer and droop. The busy rush of life goes on without them. But God draws nigh.” (Meyer)

 

Sometimes, a broken heart can cause us to withdraw. To put ourselves in the shadows because what we’re dealing with is just too hard. And, quite honestly, this is where the enemy wants us. He wants us separated, alone and fearful (steal, kill and destroy). The devil hasn’t got anything new, he still uses the same tools he’s been using since the beginning.  Let me say that differently; the devil is the enemy and he isn’t creative at all. So he uses the same things he’s always used; separated, alone and fearful.  These can come to us many ways.

Through addictions, and the shame those bring. I encourage you to take a breath and in that moment be courageous and ask someone for help. Don’t head to the shadows…” No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” There is a way out.

Through the loss of a child, no matter what age. A child is a child; whether they are a fetus or breathing in this life now. You are still valued and it hurts and it would feel like the waves are never going to stop. Don’t head to the shadows… “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” Lean into God and the peace that only He can bring.

Satan would have you believe that you are fragile, afraid and alone. Jesus Christ, the One who overcame death and was resurrected, says something different. Jesus Christ says you are worthy enough to die for; that you have value.  Yes, broken hearted pain is real. But fear not, He has overcome the world. You can overcome the broken heart…lean in.  Don’t head to the shadows.

 

Don’t head to the shadows,

cej

 

Isaiah 6:8 - Here I am, Send Me

 

Isaiah 6:8

NKJV

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

NLT

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

 

I first heard from the Lord clearly about serving in full time ministry almost 25 years ago. And I have fought against that call since then. Oh, don’t get me wrong…I have served as a volunteer a lot during this time. But to pull that trigger and say, “Lord, here I am…send me” for real and for full time? It was a nerve-wracking thing for me in the past. But the Lord has been refining me in the past few years. From a 30 career in the oil and gas industry, to a couple of years in critical power…to now.  Full time ministry as a care pastor (a paid professional as a friend of mine says). I have said that I’m excited, nervous and scared…an you can put that on repeat! But I trust God that the timing is right because HIS timing is always right. Do I feel worthy, to be honest…no I don’t.  I have felt like Isaiah, painfully aware of my own unworthiness, but in the light of who God is and who God has made me through Jesus Christ…the blood has made me worthy. I’m going to lean into that and serve Him the very best way I can.

 

But enough about my calling.  This verse speaks to me about the calling for each of us as believers. Rest assured; God doesn’t just call those in ministry.  We all have a call to serve Him and serve other people. Isaiah was sent out to a people who he was told would not listen to him, but God said go anyway. When we answer a call on our lives; it may be as simple as helping someone change the brakes on their car or as involved as serving in ministry full time; if we let God lead…it will always turn out for the good of God. What is important to know and remember is that when we make Jesus the Lord of our lives, we are saying “here I am Lord, send me!” and then we actually have to “go”.  To do what God is calling us to do.  From my own experience, don’t wait 25 years to finally be obedient. Go now.

 

Finally obedient,

cej