The law of faith -v- The law of works

"But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]." (Hebrews 11:6, AMP)

Not only do I believe God exists but "I believe Him" I believe His Word, His promises, I believe that there is nothing impossible for God. I would dare not to ever limit Him. He can make a way when there seems to be no way. He can turn any situation around and do great and mighty things. And when it seems impossible at every turn God can still make a way. He is a great and awesome God! And when He says He is a rewarder I believe Him.

Faith is what pleases Him and earnestly and diligently seeking Him brings rewards from Him. He is indeed a rewarder! But sometimes we can get so caught up into thinking about all the things we must do to get God's blessings/rewards that we forget that His blessings come from our believing in Him and believing Him. Most everyone believes in Him but what I am saying is Believe Him with all your heart, there is a huge difference between the two. Why not rest a little from all your worries, fretting and constant questioning of yourself and circumstances: "Am I doing something wrong, did I do that right? I must do my morning devotional, I must say this prayer this way. Did I walk the straight path today? Is God pleased with me? Did I obey everything in the scripture's today? This is not faith in God but faith in yourself, so stop... and place your faith in God. This is not walking by faith but by works.

As long as we live in this flesh we will never be perfect within and of ourselves. Yes.. I hear you saying but faith without works is dead. Here's a question to think about, "Are you working as to establish your faith, or are you living by faith which will in turn establish good works? Are you loving and doing well because your heart is full of faith and belief in God and believing God? There is a law of works and there is a law of faith. The law of faith will establish the law of works but the law of works will never establish the law of faith (Rom. 3:27,31).

God's grace is unmerited favor so you can't earn it. He just gives it because of His love for you. Take a good hard look at your heart and do some examining of it and ask yourself, do I believe and obey out of obligation in hopes of God's blessings and rewards or do I believe and obey out of a heart that is full of love and belief in Jesus my Lord and Savior? Do you have a heart to do right because it might get you some brownie points or do you do well because you just Love Jesus and you want Him to shine through you? May we examine ourselves and ask "Am I living by faith which will establish good works or am I living by works in hopes of establishing my faith?"

What it basically comes down to is to know that you are truly loved so very much by your Father God, and that there is nothing you can do to earn His love. Even if you don't believe in Jesus (God's only begotten Son), and you don't believe that He sent His Son to die for the sins of the world, He still loves you and desires to be with you, but it is only by Faith in His Son Christ Jesus that that can be possible. Faith is what pleases Him and that is all.. If you truly have faith in Him (believing in Him and believing Him) then all else will follow.

(Eph. 2:8-9) For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works lest any man should boast.

God Loves you and He desires to be with you now and for all eternity, so rest and surrender in faith in Him and He will take care of the rest for you "For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus unto good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [ living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]. ( Eph. 2: 10 AMP)

God's Little Lamb

God brought forth His Little Lamb

conceived of the Holy Ghost

From Heaven He did come

Being the Lord of Host

Leaving His Heavenly Throne

Departing from His Father's Hand

He came to this earth in the form of a man

Riches He did leave, Glory He did forsake, Becoming as a man that's

what it had to take. God's Little lamb was unblemished and without spot

Perfect in all His ways, Love is what He taught. Though hate and

rejection was given in return, man could not stop the Truth to be learned

God's Little Lamb spoke words so precious and so true, "Father forgive

them for they know not what they do." Forgiveness of sin was the message to

hear, God's Little Lamb must die so that we could draw near.

Giving us His mercy

His Love and His Grace

God's Little Lamb was slain

to take our place

Undeserving and unworthy

of such great Love

Yet uncondemning was our Savior

Sent from above

Thank you God for giving us

Your Son

Your precious Little Lamb

Is how it all begun

We now have a hope

A future secured

Eternal Life in Jesus

Who is the WORD

Tamela Greenwell

Rejoice in His Grace!

Rejoice in His Grace for it has been freely given to you: We are free to live in God's Grace (His unmerited favor). (Eph. 2:8-9 N.L.T.) God saved us by His special unmerited favor when we believed. And we can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Have you heard the term; that there is nothing we can do to make God love us any more or any less? Knowing this, why do so many constantly try to prove themselves worthy of God's love. A lot of people have been conditioned for so many years to believe that if they are ever going to have anything they are going to have to earn it. After all nothing is free, right? It's hard for most to comprehend Grace because they are trying to understand it in the natural. It will never be naturally understood though. As long as we are trying to put it on an intellectual level we will never grasp it. It is only by faith that we can acquire this beautiful revelation of Grace and what it truly means. Grasping it can be the difference between life and death spiritually and sometimes even physically speaking.

For example let's take a look at the person that sees everything in a legalistic kind of way. They pull out their legal list and check mark all the religious conditions that their doctrine has expected them to follow. Here are some examples, for the woman, she must never cut her hair. For the man, he must always cut his hair but have no facial hair. For some, you must say this prayer for that sin three times a day before your sin will be forgiven. If you don't attend church every time the doors are open then you really don't love Jesus. You must be busy working for the church at all times to be considered a worthy child of God. And the list can go on and on. By the time they get through their legal list day after day they can be so mentally and physically exhausted that they can literally become weakened in their bodies and discouraged in their spirit because they still feel they are just not doing enough to earn their love and acceptance from God. Some truly believe that this is a sign of their holiness and or right living, and to be truly saved you must look like this and abide by all these rules. They will even try to convince and lay this burden upon others. Some will tell you, that if you want to be a true witness of your salvation than you must fulfill all these precepts that we have. You must dress like this, don't wear that. Don't clap in the church, you can't say amen.
Have you received the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing of faith? Having begun in the Spirit why are you now trying to become perfect by the flesh? Many are living in this pit of painful obligation and works. They feel as though they are required to do this or not to do that as to be pleasing to God. All the while the bands are being snapped on and they are being held captive in a prison of deception. We must not allow this to be our identity in Christ Jesus, because this only nullifies the cross of Jesus and exalts the religious laws of man. Freely God has given you this gift of salvation by Grace through the cross of His Son Jesus Christ. It is His gift that He is offering you. No strings attached. May we not grieve our Heavenly Father by telling Him thanks but no thanks I'll do it on my own. Or may we not say to our Father, "here let me pay You for your gift to me, because I must pay for such a gift before I can receive it, because after all I am not worthy of it." If we were worthy then we wouldn't need His gift of Grace, right? This is why we must freely receive God's gift of Grace for us, because in doing so we are acknowledging that despite our unworthiness we can humbly receive and be ever so grateful for Jesus and His death on the cross for us. This is humility in all of it's beauty.

Receive God's gift of Grace and know freedom and rejoicing in your life in Christ Jesus!

Water off a duck's back

We had a Pastor who use to say that he had a back like a duck because he had learned not to carry or allow offenses to soak into him, they would just roll right off of his back.

Jesus said in Lk. 4:18-19 That the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

The word brokenhearted in the Greek means to have crushed/shattered feelings. I think most of us have experienced this kind of pain. Having your heart crushed is a horrible pain. It's like a heaviness that lingers in the pit of your stomach. You have been pierced through and feel utterly devastated. The worst pain I think I have ever felt is the pain of betrayal. My heart has literally felt crushed by this heartache. But praise be to God that He didn't leave me with holes of betrayal in my heart. And He doesn't want to leave you with a shattered heart either. Jesus has said that He has come to heal the brokenhearted. Jesus came to mend our hearts and bring healing into our lives. He desires to make us brand new. The first step in becoming brand new is to first give our forgiveness to those who have caused us pain. We must forgive others of their offenses before the holes in our heart can be filled with Jesus' healing balm.

God has allowed me to experience some tough emotional pain in the last few years and I believe this is because He has been teaching me the lessons of giving forgiveness and Grace to others so as I can have His forgiveness and experience His healing in my life and be set free. He is teaching me to keep my eyes upon Him. These experiences have been some hard ones for me but I will have to admit that it is getting easier for me to let things just roll off of my back and not allow offenses and unforgiveness soak into me. I have been taught some valuable lessons by the Holy Spirit to not only be forgiving and gracious toward others but also to use Godly wisdom and discernment.

I truly believe that the only holes that will forever be permanent are the ones that Jesus (our Lord and Savior) took so that we wouldn't have to. Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted. May we allow His healing to take place in our heart by first offering our forgiveness to others

so that we can say,

"It's just water off a duck's back!"

I Called and Grace Came

I can't seem to get away from His Grace. Maybe it is because God has been so very gracious to me and I am so very thankful to Him for this.

When I should of been dead I Called and Grace Came and I found that He had kept me alive.

When I felt so alone and rejected I Called and Grace Came and I found that He would never leave me nor forsake me.

When I felt so ashamed and full of guilt I Called and Grace Came and I found that He had forgiven me.

When I should have been in prison I Called and Grace Came and I found that He had set me free.

When I didn't know which way to go I Called and Grace Came and I found that He was leading me.

When I was ready to give up I Called and Grace came and I found that He had strengthened me.

When it seemed that all hope was loss I Called and Grace Came and I found that He rescued me.

I am so thankful to God for His Grace. It has caused me to have an intimate relationship of communion with Him which is first and foremost in my life, but it doesn't stop there. God/Jesus has been our example of how we are to treat others. What I have learned is that I can never expect God to expand my territory as to be an honorable vessel for Him and for His Glory if I cannot be faithful in showing His Love, Mercy, Grace and Forgiveness to others. It is all about our relationship with Him as well as our relationships with others! Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart soul mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. On these two laws hangs all the laws. If we can't get these two right than we can't expect God to entrust us with anything. Love, Grace, Mercy and forgiveness are all verbs they come with action. Jesus showed His love, Grace, Mercy and forgiveness by stepping up and taking our place.

Love reaches

Grace gives

Mercy replaces

Forgiveness brings communion

Ask yourself: Am I giving Love, Grace, Mercy and Forgiveness to others as God has given to me?

Your Love, Your Grace, Your Mercy

It is because of Your Love Your Grace and Your Mercy that we live and move and have our being!

It is because of Your Love Your Grace and Your Mercy that despair has been turned into Hope!

It is because of Your Love Your Grace and Your Mercy that sorrow has been turned into Joy!

It is because of Your Love Your Grace and Your Mercy that turmoil has been turned into Peace!

It is because of Your Love Your Grace and Your Mercy that pride has been turned into Humility!

It is because of Your Love Your Grace and Your Mercy that hate has been turned into Love!

It is because of Your Love Your Grace and Your Mercy that confusion has been turned into understanding!

It is because of Your Love Your Grace and Your Mercy that death has been turned into Life!

It is because of Your Love Your Grace and Your Mercy that You have not given up on us!

It is because of Your Love Your Grace and Your Mercy that all things work together for the good to them who love You and who are the called according to Your purpose!

You have Loved us and You have chosen us. When You heard our cry You came running and pulled us up out of a miry pit and set our feet upon the Rock (Christ Jesus)! It is all because of Your Love Your Grace and Your Mercy!

Our help comes from You O' Lord! What we pray in secret, You will openly reward us! It is all because of Your Love Your Grace and Your Mercy!

I need Your Love I need Your Grace and I need Your Mercy. I desire this from You with all of my heart and I am not ashamed to ask for it. For I know that without You I am nothing and I cannot take my next breath without Your Love Your Grace and Your Mercy in my life!

So I thank You Father God for Your Love Your Grace and Your Mercy in my life for yesterday, today, and forever!

"In You O' God I live and move and have my being! You are my sustenance of Life and You are my Everything!"

Freedom to Freedom!

May we open up the prison doors of our heart and set those we hold captive free!

When we do this, we will then know true freedom for our own life as well.

Physically speaking a prisoner is held captive until he pays his debt in full. Spiritually speaking we can try and hold someone captive behind the prison doors of our heart until they pay us what we believe they owe us. And we will refuse to open those prison doors and release them until they do just that. We offer them no mercy and grace, and thus no forgiveness. We are hurting no one but ourselves when we do this. We may think that we have the power over the one that we are trying to spiritually hold captive, by continually making demands of them, and not being satisfied until they give us what we think they owe us. This will not work, because we all have been given free wills. This is why I say that we are only hurting ourselves. It is like beating our head against a brick wall. Spiritually speaking, when we try to hold someone captive by holding unforgiveness in our heart toward them, we are only holding our self captive. We are not hurting them, they are free and living life. They might regret not being able to have a relationship with us because of our unforgiveness, but other than that, we are the one in turmoil, because we are the one demanding a payment from them, which we honestly believe is a worthy and just payment, and we will not be happy until they have paid the payment in full. Sadly, when we do this, we neglect the lessons of mercy and grace, and we cause our self a lot of unnecessary grief.

Grace is unmerited favor and mercy is a disposition to be kind and forgiving despite the fact that we might think the offender in our opinion is worthy of our justice. Grace and mercy was never intended to be earned they were freely given to us by our Father in heaven when His beloved Son Jesus (our Savior and Lord) took our place on that cross. He died for us while we were yet in our sin.

Don't misunderstand me, we all must use wisdom. For example a person who abuses his wife and will not change his behavior (no efforts in going in a new direction) and has every intention to continue abusing her, should not be shown mercy and grace as to be allowed back into her presence. She should still offer him grace and mercy and forgive him, but to allow him back in her life would be a foolish thing for her to do.

What is it that stops some of us from giving mercy, grace and forgiveness to those who are trying to make a difference though? Here's some things to think about: 

It's pretty easy for us to forgive and forget about the complete stranger who flips us the bird on the highway as he is cutting us off and almost causing an accident. Usually before the day has ended we have forgotten about it and think no more of it. We never even considered the possibility of harboring that stranger and his actions in our heart for any length of time. But when it comes to a friend, a loved one or even an acquaintance we will hold onto that offense and harbor it in our heart. We will rehash it and play it over and over in our minds. We shut the door of our heart and try to spiritually lock that person and his hurts up nice and tight on the inside of us, and we hold onto him and his offenses until they give us what we want, and or what we feel we deserve. We neglect to remember that we are only human, and a lot of times the way we see things are in parts and not the whole picture. But even so, shouldn't we let the person who we care about go free just as we would the stranger. We say it is easy to let the stranger go free, because after all there are no feelings of genuine care or love for him.

This is a question that I present: "Because there are feelings of true genuine care and love for the friend, loved one or acquaintance, shouldn't that be all the more reason to let them go free whether we think they have paid their debt in full or not?" Besides that, what if there is a possibility that it's not as clear cut as you might see or think it is? That is just something to think about. Selah.....

Allow me to explain what I am saying. God is the only one that holds the whole truth, the honest truth and nothing but the truth. When God revealed this to me, I was set free from offenses and hurt. I also was able to spiritually set free those who I held captive in my heart. Within myself I offered them mercy, grace and forgiveness and they didn't even have to ask for it. Instead of living in hurt and only offering hurt to others I began living with joy and offering joy. God's power of forgiveness washed over me and His peace came into my life and I was finally set free. This was for my own sake and benefit and for my own spiritual and physical well being.

See, I had my truth and the way I seen things, and the others (whom I had locked up in the prison of my heart who had offended me) they had their truth and the way they seen things. But it was God who held the fullness of Truth, and that was what mattered to me and gave me peace. For you see, God is a just and righteous God and He is all knowing. God is merciful, gracious, loving and forgiving. And for me to know that God held the whole Truth brought great peace and freedom into my life. God revealed to me, that everyone had their own perspective of the situation and how they seen it. I was able to accept this and be content with that. Thus I was able to offer grace and forgiveness to the situation and to everyone involved.

My God forgave me my debt and I must forgive others their debt. If I don't, the Master will hand me over to the tormentors to be tormented (Mt. 18: 22-35). This could mean emotional, physical or even spiritual torment. Being forgiven and forgiving others has set me free, and whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Thank you Father God!

I can entrust my heart in the hands of my Heavenly Father because I know that His judgements are pure and righteous toward me. And you can entrust your heart with Him as well. He knows you and sees you more intimately than anyone else ever will be able too. He is your Heavenly Daddy, He created you and breathed life into you. You can rest in Him!