Grace (revised)

I have a heavy burden on my heart and it gets heavier by the day, I can only share with you what it is, because that is all I can do.

God has given us freedom of choice, we can either chose to be more like Christ or we can live each day worried, depressed, in fear everything. God says in John 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." We can either live in the fact that God has overcome the world or we can live worried about everything. He never said it would be easy to walk tall, to be a Christian and to be different then everyone else, He says you will have tribulation, trouble, adversity and more. He says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." How am I to do that? That is the question, but if God overcame the world, He knew we would have struggles, tribulation, storms, but He says give Him thanks for all of it, because He has already won.

Today are you struggling with adversity, are you worried, full of doubt? Give thanks to God, for He is good, His mercy is never ending.

God knows what changes us, He created us, He knows what troubles we will face and for us to be angry at God for them does us no good. He says give Him thanks, because I believe He knows that by us having a thankful heart, it changes our perspective from the negative to the positive, but all of this is a choice that we have to make. We are not wired to be thankful or glad, our heart is full of junk, it says it in Matthew 15:18-20 "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”" God knows that we have all that junk in our hearts, but He overcame it all, so that we could live not in the negative as the world lives, but in the positive allowing Jesus to rule our hearts. The world lives looking at the negative, focused on all the junk, but God calls us to look at Him, focus on Him and to lead our hearts, not just let them do what feels good. Isn't it time we start walking How Jesus calls us to walk? Isn't it time for a change?

We are saved by God's grace, but that grace is not a licenses to live as the world lives, but to live according to how God has called us to walk. Grace is amazing, but God calls us to a deeper walk with Him, to follow Him, to allow Him to lead, no longer is it about I, but You. The times will get increasingly difficult and the world will grow increasingly cold to the truth. It talks about the end times in 2 Timothy 3 "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive,disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. 6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds,who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone." The one other thing on this 2 Timothy 3 verse that we need to be watchful of is verse 5 "having a form of godliness but denying its power." The people will have godliness, but they will not do what the Bible says, they will only use it better themselves, not for God's glory. They will not want to do what the Bible says, because it is to hard or to difficult, they will be lukewarm and not doing anything to grow their faith. They will not listen to wise counsel and will actually avoid it and say it isn't for them. The Bible talks about wisdom and how we need to be open to it, in Proverbs 12:15 "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice." They will avoid hearing the truth, even though the truth is right in front of their face, because they want only what they want and not what God calls them too. Are you hearing God or are you shutting God out, because it is to hard?

As I was thinking about what I have said here, I also thought about a verse in Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus said "“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" What is lawlessness, it is acting without care for the rules that God has put in place and God is very clear to what they are, He has written them in the Bible, are you in the word seeing how it talks to walk? Are you following it or merely just reading it, because you feel you have to?

God's grace is here so that we can live in freedom from this. It is written in Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." or in 1 John 2:15 "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them."

What is God saying to you today?