Grace over Religion

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 ESV   To give a little backdrop to this post… Yesterday during our gathering, the question was asked – “If we are free in Christ, does that mean we can do whatever we want…won’t people take advantage of this?” Well let me tell you, this opened up a conversation that lasted the rest of service, it was great! I pondered this topic the rest of the day and on into the evening. In fact, I woke up this morning with the subject still fresh in my thoughts. So I figured it would make a good post…   To you, what does it mean to be free in Christ? We use this term constantly but is using the term enough? Are we living in “freedom” as the Bible means or are we living as we want? There is a difference.   The world would define freedom something like this; to be really free and able to do exactly what ever you want, when ever you want, how ever you want and...

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2Corinthians 5:18-19 NIV An evangelist is one who recognizes how great it is to be reconciled to God and to be in fellowship with Him. He understands that God provided the way for this relationship to exist by making His own Son pay the debt we each owed. He also understands the awesome and privileged responsibility we have of getting this message out to the entire world! Reconciliation restores the fellowship we were created to have with the living, loving God of the universe! Fellowship with God is… companionship - mutual association on equal and friendly terms partnership - joint interest company - a state of being together communion - intimate familiarity God doesn’t need us—He wants to share Himself and His etern...

I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11 We have all read or heard stories about those who have chosen to die for the glory of God and we think to ourselves “Wow! I wonder if I could stand even in the face of death”. But what about “continuing on” in the face of tragedy or out-of-our-control circumstances? What about trusting God in all things - even when they make not one bit of sense to us? I believe it is easier to choose immediate death for the glory of God than to keep the faith in the wake of life’s turmoil. Remember Todd Beamer, the hero who helped over-through the hijackers during the 9/11 attacks? Many have marveled at his wife Lisa, whose strength and ability to carry on after the tragic loss of her husband, was quite inspiring to say the least. Through it all she has adamantly given all the credit to God for her strength and peace. Several years ago - Lisa ...