But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10 ESV)
Thank God for the present. There are many opportunities, many responsibilities... This means there are more tasks, more action items, which means more people to interact with, more places to go...
More pictures to take, more prayers to make, more songs to sing, more reason to praise... Halleluyah! God is good.
If I was to make my own evaluation of how my time and resources are spent, then I would fail miserably each and every time. I just realized that. But thank God that I don't have to live according to a flawed mindset, but a purged conscience which is fully aware of the finished work of Christ! He saved me, and He saved me completely...
He saved my past - all that has happened, He has caused for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose. All that has transpired has, in one or (most likely) many ways, happened for the furtherance of God's perfect Will!
He saves me at present - He is my Shepherd, and I shall not want. He leads me beside the still waters, and leads me to the paths of righteousness. Jesus Christ restores my soul! Every second of my life, my being is by the grace of our loving, Heavenly Father!
He assures me of my future - no matter what comes, I know where I am going, and I know I will go in His perfect timing.
I shall not be moved! Let me not be afraid, let not my enemies triumph over me! Though sorrows may last for the night, His joy comes in the morning, His mercies are new every morning, and His lovingkindness endures forever!
As I declared all this I realized I was deviating from what I intended to write; however, I see now that before I declare anything else about what I think I need, I will say this: that we all need Christ, and it is His heart for us to believe and receive! This just blesses my soul that I simply could not stay quiet about it... I firmly believe that Christ is mighty to save even the hardest of hearts!
I believe that salvation comes through Him and Him alone, and that the salvation He worked for is absolute and complete. This means that no matter where we are in life, Christ is able to reach into our heart of hearts and bring us to life! He is light to those who are blind, He is bread to those who are hungry... He is water to those who thirst, life to the dead and dying!
And no matter how busy I may get, I know that He is faithful and true to work in, through, and for me, that His perfect will would be done, not by any means through my own strength, but His grace and love and the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit in me!
Friend, it is by no accident that you have read this far. It is my sincere prayer that your heart opens up for Christ to bring life - real, abundant, powerful life - to your body, your relationships, your family, your situation, your being... For it delights our Heavenly Father for you - yes, you - to be saved!
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email me at jibee@rocketmail.com.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26