A Community of Grace »

There is nothing more spectacular than watching the sun rise from the window of an airplane. As the sun begins its ascent in the eastern sky, the darkness of night silently flees away.  A new day dawns. The beauty of the earth is revealed in greater degrees of glory as the sun rises in all its fullness. The world awakes and rises with the sun.

We, as God’s children, have also been called to awaken and rise up into the newness of  life which is ours through faith in Christ. God calls us to arise from the darkness of our old sin nature. Like Lazarus, we have been raised from the dead. But we must choose to be unbound from the rotten grave clothes of our old nature. The deeds of our sinful flesh nature have been crucified with Christ. The old has gone, the new has come! The light of the glory of the gospel has shined in our hearts and been revealed to us in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

It is time to be clothed in the radiance of our Savior’s holy character. Grave clothes must be exchanged for robes of righteousness — the dazzling purity of tender-hearted pity, mercy, kindness, patience, humility and love.

Will you come near to Christ today? 

Will you let Him adorn you in the beauty of His holiness?

A new day has dawned. It is time for the night shadows of lingering sin to flee away in the presence of Christ.

      “Arise from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you – rise to a new life! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come and the glory of The Lord has risen upon you!”             Isaiah 60:1

Beauty. It’s a subject that stirs up all sorts of thoughts and emotions in both men and women alike. Our society praises and esteems physical beauty. Consumers spend billions of dollars every year in pursuit of becoming more beautiful. Can’t we all fall prey to seeking beauty by society’s standard?

God praises something different:

“Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works praise her at the city gate” (Proverbs 31:30-31).

We love these verses because they summarize a lengthy description of someone who would be quite overwhelming to emulate. Her list of activities and achievements is intimidating.  Yet, for what is she praised? What is the true source of such beauty and excellence? She is praised because she fears the Lord. But the fear of the Lord may not be exactly what you think.

To fear the Lord is to be afraid not to heed His invitation to come to Him.

To fear God is to have such an immense reverential awe of who He is that you fear living life apart from Him.

We are so programmed to live in our own strength. May God open our eyes and rewire our thinking! We need Him. Every minute of every day, we need Him. We need His strength, His wisdom and His power. Above all, we need His love. Reaching this level of dependence is the result of coming to Jesus and listening to His voice.

There’s a perfect beauty routine available just for you. 

Will you recognize your need for a deeper dependence on God?

Will you seek to depend on Him as you walk out your day?

 “Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame” 

(Psalm 34:5)

 

I’m not sure if he is the same he that was here last year, but regardless, he is back and he’s driving me as crazy as he did last year. He’s a meadowlark. I’ve named him Relentless because that’s exactly what he is.

He keeps flying into our large kitchen window.  Launching from the deck railing just a few feet away, he takes flight over and over again, Fly – crash – fly – crash…  You’d think he’d grasp the futility of his actions, but he won’t give up, because he’s Relentless. 

He’s not trying to get into the house. His reflection has become the object of his affection. Are you tracking with me? He believes he is seeing a “she.” But he’s completely deceived.

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, to be relentless is to be unyielding and persistent. It’s to show no signs of slackening in one’s purpose. Every person is pursued by two relentless voices:

1. Satan – who constantly speaks lies to you.
2. God – who constantly speaks to you in love and truth.

These are two universal truths. Their implications are as far-reaching as life and death, and yet conceptually they’re not complicated. Moment by moment, throughout every day, we are thinking on and believing either truth or lies. Truth sets us free and gives life. Lies put us in bondage and bring death. Period! The source of truth is God’s Word. As we read and meditate on His Word we will be able to discern His voice. God’s words are always consistent with His Word.

When we believe a lie, we think and act in accordance with that lie — all while being deceived. Like the bird at my window, the crazy thing about being deceived is that we don’t know we are deceived. The greatest deception may be the times we think we are believing God, but in reality we are listening to and believing Satan. Jesus cautioned us in Matthew 24:4: “Watch out that no one deceives you.”  It’s a very real danger.

What are you thinking right now?

What will you choose to think on throughout this day – truth or lies? How?

 Let the truth of God speak to you today:                                                                                                                                                 “This is My Son, My Chosen One – My Beloved; listen to and yield to and obey Him!”  (Luke 9:35)