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Living Fearlessly ~ Part 4 or God Disappointed?

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” ~ Colossians 1:13-14 (ESV)

Do you feel that you have disappointed God? To be honest I do some days. The way how I treat others; not always in a way He would like me to. Some days I don’t live forgiven even though I am.

Will my actions deny me entrance to heaven. No, of course not. But still…

Before I continue with this week’s look at living fearlessly, let me share a quote from ‘Fearless‘:

“‘Cash in too many mercy checks, and sooner or later one is going to bounce!’ The devil loves this line of logic. If he can convince us that God’s grace has limited funds, we’ll draw the logical conclusion. The account is empty. God has locked the door to his throne room. Pound all you want; pray all you want. No access to God.’ ~ Max Lucado (emphasis mine)

You know, I fear that when (not if) I get to heaven, that our Lord would raise an eyebrow because I didn’t follow the path He has laid out for me. I am afraid that I miss something; I miss being compassionate to someone He has put in my path…Again, what if

In his book, Max Lucado pointed out people that have messed up ‘big-time’ (Peter, David, the Samaritan woman). Guess what? God and Jesus restore them all, forgave their sins. All three of them received grace. And you know what? So are we: forgiven and received grace.

Do I want to mess up? No, I don’t. But in my human state I do. Looking at Peter, David, and the Samaritan women, I have good company. Peter denied Christ three time (Mark 14:66-72), David took another man’s wife (2 Samuel 11), the Samaritan woman had more than one husband (John 4:1-42). Where their sins greater than mine, or visa verse? This is not the point. All sins are the same in God’s eyes. I don’t have to fear to disappoint Him – He already knows that I will slip up. He has provided my way to heaven in Christ.

I think that Casting Crowns have hit the nail right on the head when they penned the song “Who am I”. I want to close my post with the bridge of the song:

“Not because of who I am,
But because of what you’ve done.
Not because of what I’ve done,
But because of who you are.”

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: You are forgiven, so that you can live fearlessly; you will not disappoint God.

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Category: Faith, Fearless, Life  Tags: , , ,  3 Comments

Toby Mac ~ City on our Knees

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” ~ Philippians 2:9-11 (ESV)

The song “City of our Knees” by Toby Mac is a song the local Christian radio station has been playing often for the past four weeks. The lyrics are marvelous…you can find them here.

Have a glorious weekend…Remember: One day all nations will know that He is God, every knee will bow and confess Jesus as Lord.

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Category: Faith, Life, Music  Tags: , ,  5 Comments

Only God Can by Kathy Howard

Please welcome Kathy Howard, Christian speaker, author, Bible teacher, to Grace Alone. Kathy’s brand new book “God’s Truth Revealed” has been released. This book is a wonderful evangelism tool. But read Kathy’s blog below to find out more about “God’s Truth Revealed”.

Have you ever tried to convince an atheist that God exists? Or a postmodern thinker that Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life?” Not easy tasks. In fact, they’re impossible. We can’t do it.

Only God can give faith to a skeptic. Only God can reveal truth to a heart. The Bible says that no one can come to Jesus unless God draws them first (John 6:44). But He does draw. He does reveal the truth about Himself to individuals. He wants people to know Him. And He wants us to make the introductions.

I’ve never convinced an atheist there is a God, but I’ve seen God do it. My friend Victor was raised by a military father who taught him that God did not exist. That there is nothing after death. That life is about what you can get out of it for yourself. And he believed it all.

But then God began to put “doubt” in Victor’s mind. As a young man he began to sense there had to be a great power behind the wonderful complexities of the world. He began to investigate all kinds of spiritual things including Taoism, Buddhism, and other eastern religions.

Then Victor came to one of my Bible study classes. For three months he learned what the Bible says about God, faith, and salvation. He heard about Jesus. When our class was over Victor told me he believed in God. But he didn’t know what to think about Jesus.

Time passed. Victor watched his wife grow in her new relationship with Jesus while he struggled with the idea of faith. But God continued to woo him. God slowly unveiled truth about life, eternity – and Jesus – to Victor.

Two years later Victor came back to Bible study. This time his hunger to know God was obvious. Victor devoured truth. And he met Jesus. God took Victor from atheist to skeptic to believer. And I got to have a front row seat!

God has allowed me to witness similar miracles dozens of times. I spent several years teaching the Bible to adults who’ve never studied the Bible before. Everyone’s story is different. Each person’s journey with God is unique. But God’s truth about Himself, life, and eternity is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And He has revealed this truth in the Bible.

I used the experience God gave me to develop a Bible study for spiritual skeptics and new Christians. This study provides biblical, historical, and scientific evidence to support creation; the reliability of the Bible; and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. “God’s Truth Revealed” is a straightforward journey through the Bible to help participants understand the importance of knowing God, not just knowing about Him. Each chapter also includes the real-life story of an individual like Victor who became a Christian as an adult.

Do you know someone that God is wooing? If someone in your life is asking questions about faith or God that is evidence that God is actively working! Ask God how you can join Him in what He’s up to. There isn’t anything more exciting.

Kathy Howard

You can find Kathy at Kathy Howard. You can purchase Kathy’s book “God’s Truth Revealed” at Amazon and Christian Books.

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Living Fearlessly ~ Fear of Change

As you remember, Karon had a wonderful guest blog on February 1st. Karon’s new book “Unafraid” so perfectly fits for my 2010 theme “Living Fearlessly”…

Some of the questions Karon posted at the end of her blog:

  • What change are you facing now? What has your response been – to fear or to build?
  • How have you overcome a fear of change in the past, or what have you learned from your fear in the past that helps you now when change happens?
  • Why do you think we fear change so, and how do you think God wants us to respond to it in our lives?

I haven’t handled some of my life chances well; honestly I down right struggled. My dad’s death, my move the US, my son moving out just to name a few. Today, I do not want to share anything from my past, but would like to respond to Karon’s first question. I want to encourage you with my words…

Girls, I am turning 50 this year!?! Standing before a fork in the road I am wondering what I would like to do with the rest of my life…

Several weeks ago I open my Bible to the epistle of James. The following verses the Lord impress upon my heart:

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”” ~ James 4:13-15 (ESV ~ emphasis mine)

James is telling us not to look too far ahead. Hm, interesting…Don’t get me wrong; I still make plans and have dreams for the future…but I am looking now first to get His approval to move ahead. I am not waiting to see a direct sign from heaven, however I know that He has my blue-print of life in His beautiful hands. He will open or close doors.

I am excited to step out in faith, knowing that He will be there all the way. I know that I will still encounter valleys but that does not strike me with fear. He has a pretty good ‘track-record’ in my life. He is always ready to send someone special into my day to encourage me.

Sweet one, I know that this life is not easy. God placed some special women in your life as well. They are more than willing to share your fears, dreams and hopes by praying over you. Don’t be afraid to ask your girl friends to stand by you. I am blessed and thankful that I have these special women in my life…they help me to live life with less fear.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: Live life for the here and now…giving your hopes and dreams to Him; He has your blue-print in His hands.

My series based on Max Lucado’s book “Fearless” will continue on March 8th. I hope you will join me than again for “Living Fearlessly in 2010″…

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