Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
The grace of God is unmerited and undeserved. There are no righteous works that can earn it. There is no one righteous person who deserves it. If salvation could be earned, Jesus would not have offered His life in exchange for ours. His sacrifice would have been in vain. His sacrifice placed us in right standing with God. It was too small a thing that He would be salvation to the Jews alone. Jesus came that in Him the world could be saved!
Philemon 1:25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
What an amazing, loving Father that we serve. God offers us salvation in the sacrifice of Jesus. In our salvation we have the heart of God, Holy Spirit, who is always ready to guide us into the ways of His Son. Joy in our salvation is our strength. Carla
Galatians 6:18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
2 Timothy 4:22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.
One of my favorite homilies to preach is from Matthew’s Gospel. Where Jesus tells the disciples, “You are the light of the world.”
And then adds, “Let your light shine.”
Can you give me a synonym for the verb let? Yes, Allow.
Allow, as in, the light is already there. Inside.
Jesus never said, “Create the light.” He never said, “Make the light.” He never even said, “Be good at light shining.”
He simply told us to get out of the way, and let the light that is already there, spill.
So. Instead of light shining classes, let us give ourselves the gift of embracing the light that is alive and well inside... the light of compassion, kindness, empathy, inclusion and hope.
(I can’t help but sing out loud, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”)
Here's the deal: When I see only scarcity, I miss the fact that every single one of us has been gifted with creativity, heart,
love, passion,
gentleness, helpfulness,
caring, kindness,
tenderness and a shoulder to lean on (for crying or for dancing, depending on the mood at the time).
This is the paradigm—and the gift—of Sufficiency.
Opportunities to be generous, big-hearted, kind, human, thoughtful, empathetic and attentive. Opportunities to offer hope. Even if the gifts we give (or the light that shines and spills) comes from a wounded or broken heart. “Sabbath Moments”
Hebrews 13:5 (ESV) "Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you. '"
The lavish gift of God's Son supersedes the love of money and replaces it with peace.
But warnings like this are found throughout Scripture, perhaps because we don't recognize our affection for money as easily as we think.
1 Timothy 6:10 states that the love of money leads to all kinds of evil and troubles, including wandering away from faith in Jesus. The writer of Hebrews wasn't saying money is evil, just the love of it. The things we possess can start to possess us when we attach our affection to a way of living instead of the One who gives us life. True life does not consist in the abundance of things (Luke 12:15), which can never satisfy our spiritual longings.
Yet Scripture also does not require us to take a vow of poverty like monks, either. We are specifically called to a "free" life in Hebrews 13:5, neither trapped by self-deprivation nor trapped by self-indulgence.
The secret of this contentment is found in Christ alone. In Christ, we have all we need (2 Peter 1:3). He is enough for us even during lean times and hard circumstances. Jesus doesn't want His people to worry about provision as the world does (Matthew 6:31-32) because our hope is not in our provision but in the presence of our Provider. First5
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