"Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts." Winston Churchill
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Quote of the Day 12-14-2011
"Men will always be making mistakes as long as they are striving after something" - Goethe
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Grace Wins
The other day I was reading once again about grace and the overwhelming thing that it is. Yes, it was in “The Ragamuffin Gospel” by Brennen Manning, but don't worry, I am not continuing the small series I started a few weeks ago.
The grace that the death of Jesus Christ has wrought on humanity is the most complex phenomenon in the history of the world. There is nothing that compares to the freedom and liberation that grace brings to those who accept this free gift.
While reading “The Ragamuffin Gospel” by Brennen Manning this week I rediscovered the promise that “nothing can separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:30 NLT). No matter whether we are children of God or not there is nothing that can separate us from the love that He has for us. This verse does not give a disclaimer that a person needs to accept God's free gift of grace only that there is nothing that can separate us from His love.
The meaning of this verse has eluded me for quite some time. It's not that it is a hard verse to understand in theory and thought. It's that it is so hard to understand in heart. It is easy to understand when life is going like a bowl of cherries, but when life turns on us and we feel the crushing wait of sin, shame, and guilt. However, the beauty of God's grace is that the wait of that sin, shame, and guilt has been lifted by the grace of Jesus Christ. No matter if you have stolen a candy bar from the local grocery store, had premarital sex, are addicted to crack, or look at porn. God still loves you.
There is a disclaimer here because God does absolutely, positively love you without reservation, but He absolutely, positively hates the sin that you have committed. It is also worth noting that you are not your sin. You and I are a sinful beings by nature, but grace has changed that. Grace doesn't mean we will never sin again, but it does mean that we are free to struggle against sin and in the end grace wins.
The grace that the death of Jesus Christ has wrought on humanity is the most complex phenomenon in the history of the world. There is nothing that compares to the freedom and liberation that grace brings to those who accept this free gift.
While reading “The Ragamuffin Gospel” by Brennen Manning this week I rediscovered the promise that “nothing can separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:30 NLT). No matter whether we are children of God or not there is nothing that can separate us from the love that He has for us. This verse does not give a disclaimer that a person needs to accept God's free gift of grace only that there is nothing that can separate us from His love.
The meaning of this verse has eluded me for quite some time. It's not that it is a hard verse to understand in theory and thought. It's that it is so hard to understand in heart. It is easy to understand when life is going like a bowl of cherries, but when life turns on us and we feel the crushing wait of sin, shame, and guilt. However, the beauty of God's grace is that the wait of that sin, shame, and guilt has been lifted by the grace of Jesus Christ. No matter if you have stolen a candy bar from the local grocery store, had premarital sex, are addicted to crack, or look at porn. God still loves you.
There is a disclaimer here because God does absolutely, positively love you without reservation, but He absolutely, positively hates the sin that you have committed. It is also worth noting that you are not your sin. You and I are a sinful beings by nature, but grace has changed that. Grace doesn't mean we will never sin again, but it does mean that we are free to struggle against sin and in the end grace wins.
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