settingatthepoolofgrace

When you prepare for a trip what do you carry with you? Does it depend on the type of trip you are taking? Sometimes it’s for pleasure and sometimes it’s for business but they both require baggage. You will need  to bring whatever will be needed for the success of your journey.  In life we seem to carry our baggage from one relationship to the other.

Many times the baggage is excessive, we hold on to it and allow it to compound until it affects every relationship we become involved in. Each experience will provide us with positive or negative reactions from the choices we make.  The negative feelings we suppress will infect each new relationship we encounter with the  pain we have packed away in our baggage.

We become distrustful,angry,accusatory, violent and unforgiving . We place upon the new relationship the task of healing the hurt from the old wounds we refuse to forgive. Forgiveness empties the bag of the hurt that blocks us from moving forward in love.  In some cases the baggage has been lying dormant for long periods, even from childhood.

We don’t recognize it because it has always been there and we can’t remember what happened to make us feel the way we do. Then a trigger unlocks the door, we relive the pain from the past long buried. It maybe something said, someones actions,something we see or a place that is familiar to us. We are reminded of how hopeless and helpless we may have felt.

Our immediate response  is to lash out, unfortunately; those who love us are usually the ones who experience the wrath of that anger and not the one who caused the pain. This behavior will manifest itself in our relationships until we unpack our baggage. The guilt about the things we couldn’t control, the feelings of being inadequate, hatred,misunderstandings from words spoken,feelings of hopelessness, past hurt and sorrow.

Once we begin to unpack the healing will begin, when we forgive the process will intensify and when we forget we can move forward to a place of love.  The hardest thing we will ever do is to forgive and forget. We will need help to be successful. That help comes from one who’s heart is so full of love that he forgave his enemies as they were crucifying him.

Give him your baggage and allow him to teach you how to refill your bag with joy and love. Let him restructure your journey so you can travel lite. With him nothing is impossible try him and be revitalized.

Sometimes life is like playing a game of chess. It is your opponents job to block your progress and keep you from capturing his king or queen while he tries to capture yours. Each game begins with an action. The first act of disobedience for Christians and the adversary begins his attack. He encourages a continuous path of disobedience. Our counter move must be repentance and reconciliation; like Saul on the road to Damascus sometimes it takes the blinding light of Christ to knock us to our knees.

It is then we recognize our need for a Savior whose gentle voice speaking to our hearts stirs them to repentance.  The adversary will immediately throw doubt and guilt into the game. He will preview our wretched lives before us to stay any actions we take toward repentance. We must remember Saul was a “murderer of Christians” before his Damascus road experience. Our counter move must be acceptance by faith. We must accept the gift of forgiveness Christ gave to us by his death on the cross of Calvary

We must believe with every fiber of our being that he has forgiven us and we are on the path to reconciliation. Every opportunity must be used to learn more about Jesus and draw closer to the light of his love. Make no mistake the game will get harder after your last move. Your whole world may turn upside down. The real warfare will begin, any and everything that can be used against you will be used. Your faith will be sorely tested.

Family, friends, and church members there are no exceptions, the adversary will begin a vicious attack against you. He will show you who he really is,”a roaring lion seeking whom he may destroy”. Your next move is to stand strong in faith knowing that “greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world”. We must strengthen our faith with the word of God, have no doubt the Jesus loves us, will not leave us and has already won the battle.

The adversary will try to make us believe we can’t win that he has all power and to fight against him is hopeless. He knows the stakes in the game are high with eternal ramifications. If we fall prey to his devises we will miss our promised Perfect Inheritance.  Our adversary knows the inheritance is real and tangible. He walked the golden streets of heaven, he visited the garden of Eden and he stood at the Holy Throne of God.

It was through his pride,selfishness and disobedience he lost his great privilege. His greatest pleasure would be to keep us from receiving Gods gift, our inheritance. Our last and final move is the Blood of Christ which covers a multitude of faults. Jesus is and will always be the answer. It was Jesus and his angels who cast Lucifer from heaven to the earth. It was Jesus who opened the road to reconciliation after our 1st parents were deceived and disobeyed God our father.

It was Jesus who  made it possible for us to go to the Throne of Grace in prayer by the shedding of his blood. By his death and resurrection the battle was won.  We must bury this truth deep in our hearts and hold tight to the hand of Jesus Christ our savior and redeemer. He has promised to us the “PERFECT INHERITANCE” and he is not a man that he should “Lie”.

There has been so much rain in the last few days, the thought came to me as I observed the overcast sky; “after every storm the rainbow appears”. We seem to go along each day not realizing that life is a gift and each day we wake is another day the gift has been given to us. We fail to realize what we do with the gift impacts everything around us.

We never question why we have the gift or where it comes from. Consider this; man is limited in the things he controls. Yet, he lives in an environment filled with things he can’t control.   He has no power over the rising or setting of the sun or moon, the power of nature, the changing of the seasons or what keeps the earth he lives on fastened in it’s place in the universe.

Now consider this, “who is really in control?”.  If we are honest with ourselves we’ll acknowledge someone beyond our human understanding controls the world we inhabit. Just considering this one question should open our minds to the only answer, God Is. We are the jewels in his earthly creation, his love for us is so profound that nothing we do is so bad that he turns his back on us or leaves us too the consequences of our choices when we ask for his help.

No matter what experiences life brings, faith in God  and his son Jesus the Christ is all we need to overcome any adversity. As the rain cleans and revitalizes the earth to bring forth the beauty of spring, when we open our hearts to his love we are cleansed and given new life in him. He gives us an unexplained joy and peace beyond understanding. Then the world we live in will speak loudly to us saying”nothing is impossible for God”.

We only have to accept his gift of love, trust him, and believe he knows what is best for us. Once we have committed to him the sun will shine continuously in our lives, even through the storms.

The word of God teaches there is a season for everything in the life of man. A time to be born and a time to die,a time to sow and a time to reap, as well as a time to laugh and a time to cry.Death is never in the fore front of our thoughts. We think about how we are going to pay our bills,feed our families and find employment. We never consider the question ,”are we ready if death should come?.” “are we prepared to stand before our righteous judge?” Who is Jesus the Christ.

We take the time to prepare ourselves for each day of our earthly walk. We prepare for our education,marriage,birth of children, retirement and some of us for death. We know there is a time appointed for all men to die,however; the day and hour of death is in the hands of our creator. In Gods word we have the assurance of eternal life through Christ Jesus.

Eternal life in a world reborn,a world without pain,fear, worry, sorrow or death. God loves us so much that he allowed his son to die that we might have the opportunity to be reborn. To shed the sinful natures we were born with and put on the sinless nature of his son. The decision is ours, we must make a choice. Only through Jesus abiding in our lives, being lead by the Holy spirit will we be prepared to transition from death to life.

Only when we give Christ control of our hearts and minds; allow him to change our character will we be prepared to receive the gift of eternal life he offers us. When we give our lives to him we can rest in the grip of death knowing our slumber is temporary and we will be reborn when our redeemer returns for his children. The time draws near, what will your choice be? Eternal life or Destruction///

The word tells us to be angry, but sin not. This requires some thought, what happens to us when we allow anger to inhabit our beings?  Do we think rationally, respond logically, see clearly the situation or do we cast everything to the wind and retaliate to whatever action causes the anger.

Anger can be created several ways. Disagreements can lead to anger when one feels their opinion is more important then the other persons. Words falsely spoken can cause anger, a lie can have a very destructive affect on others. Rebellion against authority can cause anger and inflicting pain wither mental or physical can cause anger.

To experience anger is a normal human reaction. However; as Christians we must allow any anger we experience to be filtered by the Holy Spirit. We are admonished to sin not in our state of anger. Only when the Holy Spirit is leading us are we in control of our emotions and not emotionally out of control.

Anger just like love is an emotion and we have the ability to decide how we will allow it to effect or change our behavior.We must be mindful that anger can lead us into  the dark territory of the evil one if we allow it to control us. Uncontrolled anger can lead to uncontrolled violence,  no forgiveness, and self destruction.

We know a soft answer turns away wrath. It is very important we exhibit the character of Christ at all times. The fruit of the spirit should be the determining factor in our response to anger which are love, joy, peace,long-suffering,gentleness,goodness,faith,meekness and temperance. Remembering “whatever a man sow, he shall also reap.”

Have you ever laid in bed with no desire to get up? You feel as if you are on an island alone and nobody understands what you are going through. There are times in our lives when it just seems we are going around and around in the same place not making any progress. We are up to our necks in bills we can’t pay, our children are living their own lives; they only see us when they need us or need something from us.

To top it all off we loose someone dear to us. Loss can come in many ways but  only in death do we feel hopeless. We know that death is a final express of a life. It seems during the Fall and Winter when nature is preparing for her change these feelings are more prevalent. Life slows down, the trees loose their leaves and the earth prepares to rest.

We have more time to contemplate on our lives and what we have accomplished with them. When we allow the worry of life to extinguish the light of love, have allowed selfishness replace kindness, have forgotten to help those who can’t help themselves, and when we fail to see God in even the tiniest of his creations. How can we claim the name Christian.

Cry help,I need a miracle worker. To the foot of the cross we must go, Jesus was and is the healing balm. Only when we go to him can we receive all that we need to sustain us through those times when we loose sight of the road we should be walking as Christians. Only through faith can we over come the winter storms in our lives. Only with his love inside can we put others first.

We are all created in sin and only through the sinless life of Jesus is there deliverance. Jesus is our miracle worker, the gift from a loving Father to his wayward children. Seek his face, open your heart and be Transformed.

Time appears to be an endless stream of moments strung together like pearls. Life experiences that flow from one to the other. The moments turn to hours, the hours to days, the days to weeks, the weeks to months, and the months to years.  Some of us go through our lives with blinders on, we see nothing but what is right in front of us and have no concern for anything else.

Some of us go through our lives with our only focus on self and what possessions we can obtain. Some of us are stumbling through our lives in darkness and confusion.  Then there are those who have found the key to an abundant life.  We forget how fleeting life can be,how uncertain and unpredictable. We hear sayings like “wake up and smell the flowers” but don’t realize we are sleeping.

Each of us will stand at the gate of time and our pearls of life will dissolve and float away.  It is important  while we are given pearls of life to use them wisely.Jesus tells us that he came that we might have life and that abundantly.  He alone is the key. Open your heart and allow him to enter,fully commit to his leading and accept his gift of a timeless existence.

When we give him control we will experience unspeakable joy in time of sorrow, unexplained peace in the midst of the storms in our lives, love that changes a stony heart into a heart of flesh and the love of a father who will never leave or forsake us. When we are broken he is near,he comforts us in our trials and desires to shower his love on us.

He sent Jesus that through him the love of the father would be realized. No matter how long you have been asleep our heavenly father desires to show you great and marvelous things. He wants to give you an abundant life through his son Jesus the Christ. Wake up from your slumber give your life totally to Jesus Christ. When we have totally submitted the flower gardens of our lives will bloom radiantly.

Then when we stand at the gate of time and our petals float away in the breeze, the fragrance of our love will linger in the minds of all those who visit our garden.

Have you ever experienced a bad dream that you just couldn’t seem to wake from? You toss and turn but the dream hangs on,just when it appears the worse is about to happen you find yourself calling on the Name of Jesus. Isn’t it amazing how even when your conscience mind is turned off there is something within us that still cry out to Jesus in time of uncertain danger.

When Jesus is not in control of your life it is like that kind of dream. We stumble from one bad situation to another thinking we know what to do too solve the problem and change the situation. Yet, things go from bad to worse nothing changes. The night of confusion and bewilderment seem to hold us captive in the darkness of uncertainty.

However, when trouble abounds our hope lies in the name above all names, the name of Jesus. When we call on his name chains are broken. When we surrender our lives to him our direction becomes clear and when we make him the center of our lives, they are filled with love and joy.

He is ever present to intercede on our behalf. we have his assurance he will never leave or forsake us. He stands ready to fight our battles and nothing we do can separate us from the love he has for us. He gave the ultimate sacrifice that we might be covered under the umbrella of his love by shedding his blood for our sake.

He died the death we should have died to remove the stain of sin from our lives. Giving us the opportunity to wake up from the darkness in our lives and step into the marvelous light of his love and forgiveness. We do not have to remain tangled in the web of darkness that surrounds a Christ less life. “Behold I stand at the door and knock if any man open the door I will come in and supp with him”.

Allow the love of Christ to shake you and wake you to new life in the brightness of his Glory. Without Jesus in your life the darkness could lead to eternal consequences.  Do you really want to keep sleeping?

Have you ever considered yourself to be a captive? What does the word captive mean to you? The dictionary defines it to mean: a person who is enslaved or dominated, held bound. We never think of ourselves as prisoners unless we have been convicted of a crime and jailed. Confined behind iron bars with no escape for a period of time.

Our freedoms limited, our actions predetermined, and our choices controlled. But, that is not entirely true. We all have been or are captives by the consequences from the choices of our lives. Unfortunately, many of us are still chained by those choices. What are the chains that bind you?

There are so many chains we get caught up in and find ourselves enslaved. Drugs are a euphoric experience that we feel we are in control of until we try to stop using them. The excitement is temporary and requires continued use. Alcohol numbs the mind and distorts our view of the situations we find ourselves in. It invokes irrational behavior and sometimes confrontations.

Greed is a chain we fail to recognize. Our search for success is measured by the amount of money we have,how big the home we have, how many cars we drive,  and how much influence we have. However; we never seem to have enough. Violence is another chain we fail to recognize,we find ways to justify the actions we take which result in hurting another.

We tell ourselves it is because we know what is best for them, they disrespected us or our opinion, we have to show them who is boss or we have to put them in their place because we are more important and they don’t really matter. The most common excuse is they deserved it.

Sometimes it is not physical but verbal, yet; the hurt is the same. The pain caused is still real and the effects devastating. The enemy is constantly finding ways to chain us to the choices we make. He tempts us with riches of the world, power to control &dominate others, and material things that have limited value.

When we succumb to his temptations we are unable to break away by our own strength. We become his captives, enslaved by our own lust and selfishness. Entangled by chain after chain as we seek to gratify our selfish desires until we are so heavily  bound we give in to captivity. Too weak to fight we are overcome with darkness of heart.

Love is filtered through what we can gain for our selves. Do you want to be Free? Have you realized you are enslaved? Are your passions in control of you instead of you controlling your passions? The enemy is very deceptive, he keeps us confused and distracted from the truth of who we have become with him leading our lives. We fail to acknowledge we are not in control but are being controlled by him.

Freedom is available, but we must want to be free. By our own strength we cannot defeat the enemy nor can we escape his grasp. We must believe he is a defeated foe by the blood shed at Calvary’s cross. Only when covered by this blood can the chains of the deceiver be broken. Redemptive cleansing blood that changes the hearts of men.

Blood that was freely given and is available for the asking to all who wish to be released from captivity. It is the blood of Jesus the Christ, the choice is yours. Live in captivity or BE FREE.

Is it real? or is it memorex? this was a question asked by a commercial some years ago. Recording with memorex was said to be so true to life you couldn’t tell the difference. Some of us as Christians are reflecting a memorex story in our Christian journey. It doesn’t matter if we worship on the biblical Sabbath of the 4th commandment  the 7th day or the changed Sabbath by the Catholic church the 1st day we are not the true example of Christ’s Teachings.

Some are Formal Christians, they go to church to worship because it is what their family has always done. They get baptized because it is what is expected of them. They join organizations in the church and are dutiful in their commitment , however; their heart is unchanged, their tongue remains sharp and mistakes are not tolerated . Some are copy cat Christians, they do what they see everyone else doing. They are outwardly connected in the eyes of those who see them, but; the life in secret has not changed.

They sit by the pool of life giving water but choose not to drink. Then there are Christians who have in their own eyes attained such spiritual enlightenment they consider themselves to be Holy. They sit in judgement of the faults and mistakes of others, forgetting that some of them are the same mistakes they have made. so easily they forget the only difference is they are forgiven sinners, yet; they have no forgiveness in them. They find it easy to hold you to a higher standard then they hold themselves.

The title Christian means you have chosen to follow the Christ who is Jesus. Therefore you should walk as he walked. He met no stranger, relieved suffering wherever it was found, feed the hungry, comforted the broken, spoke truth at all times, rebuked wrong with love, and loved those who were considered bad as he loved those that were considered good.

He was constantly at work for the salvation of all men. He went where the people abode in darkness to give them the opportunity to choose light. So the question to you is, when you look into the mirror of your life and compare it to the example of the life of Christ; “Is it REAL or is it MEMOREX?”