You Are the One (Jason Castro)

 

YOU ARE THE ONE

Looking for meaning
Looking for love
Looking for something to
Never give up
You are the one
You are the one
Looking for purpose in all
Of the pain
Looking for someone to
Hold in the rain
You are the one
You are the one

You came in my darkness
You came in my night
You came without warning
You came to my side
You are the one
You are the one
There’s no before you
There’s no too late
There’s no without you
There’s only today
You are the one
You are the one

You are life more beautiful
You are love more powerful
You are the light that always shines
You are the one
You are the song I wanna sing
You are here
You are everything
You are the light that always shines
You are the one

And I will never move on from you
Oh oh
I will never move on from you
Yeah

LOVE NEVER FAILS

Jason Castro

You Reach For Me (Peter Furler)

This song has been coming to my mind often lately, and I thank God for reminding me of the wonderful truth in the lyrics.  He reaches for us even when we aren't seeming to reach for Him.  He calls us even when we sometimes don't call on Him.  His is a love that just won't let us go, that is always reaching out to us, embracing us, holding on to us, doing us good no matter what!  Wonderful grace...

The Spirit's Waterfall of Grace

I wrote recently about how I had been going back under some performance thinking and feeling condemned and "not good enough."  And God in His grace and love just helped me so much and reminded me of the truth that I'm not under performance pressure (law) and that He has already made me "good enough" and even better than enough through Christ!  It has been a relief to just relax lately and know that He is not requiring or demanding anything of me.  That He is happy with me and loves me right now in the place where I am.   I need to hear the grace message EVERY SINGLE DAY, and I can't be truly happy and at peace unless I know that He's okay with me and is here with me, accepting me.  That is the bedrock of my life, the foundation upon which I function.  Without Him and His love for me, nothing else fits together.  But praise God we DO have Him and His love forever, whether we always sense it or even remember it or not.  So we are always fine in Him, secure and safe in His arms, dearly loved and cherished, accepted and acceptable, whole and perfect to Him, whether we see that or not.  He is the One who draws me back to seeing that truth.  He removes the blinders and lies and clouds that confuse me sometimes.  He pushes back the accusations of the enemy.  He clears the air with His fresh breeze of GRACE as He whispers once again to me, "I love and accept you now and forever.  You are perfect to Me.  You are beautiful to Me.  You are mine.  We will always be together and I will always love and hold you." 

One wonderful experience I had during this whole time of "crash and renewal" happened when I met with my dear friend Julie one day to talk and pray.  I love Julie so much, for she reminds me of the truth about me, the truth about who God has made me!  At one point as we talked, I was telling her about my mentality lately, and I said, "I am such a legalist."  My friend looked at me with deep intensity, with a look that went right into my soul, and she said so strongly, "You are NOT a legalist.  That is what you WERE."  Wow!  I was stopped in my tracks!  Yes, that's right, I slowly remembered.  My brain fog began to clear and I was able to say, "Right, I am a NEW creation and I'm not a legalist anymore!"  Thank You, Lord, for a friend who will tell me the truth about my identity in Christ and remind me of the good news that we are new and righteous because of Him!

I have to share another amazing moment from that meeting.  We decided to pray, and Julie began to pray for me.  She put her hand on my head and began a heartfelt prayer.  I just felt like a little baby, really, just so weak and vulnerable, needing to receive help and care.  Then as she prayed, Julie said, "I see water pouring.  I see water pouring down from the top of your head, washing all the way down your body, then going off into the gutter, washing away all the old thinking, all the legalistic thinking."  It was so wonderful!  She had this vision of God washing away all the lies and old performance-based thinking, just washing it away by His Holy Spirit's Waterfall of Grace!  And I really do feel lighter since that day, and find it easier to pray, find myself just knowing deep down that everything is okay.  I am able to rest again in Him.  I am able to know that I don't have to prove anything to anyone or look like a super-Christian.  The pressure is off.  The clouds are gone.  He really did remove some kind of oppression that day, and I am so thankful to Him!  I really wanted to share all that and just give Him praise and thanks!

I guess any of us can get confused and troubled sometimes.  The enemy tries to inject feelings and thoughts of inadequacy and being lacking and of needing to 'strive' or 'try harder.'  He tries to make us feel condemned by our failures, tells us lies.  But grace is always the answer.  God gives us a refreshing drink of grace, or maybe even a waterfall drenching of it!  He is so good to us.  He never leaves us confused.  "I will not leave you comfortless.  I will come to you." "Nevertheless I am continually with You.  You have taken me by my right hand."  The grace of God will be there for us, no matter what.  Even when we can't see Him, He can see us!  Even when we can't remember grace (now what was that truth of grace again??), He remembers!  He is still with us.  He is still holding our hand.  His grace is still carrying us!  He is still working and lifting us up, pushing away the clouds so we can see clearly again!  His grace is sufficient! No matter what, now and forever - what a wonderful God!

Remind Me Who I Am (Jason Grey)

Wow, this is an amazing song..

I am susceptible to fall to the lie of believing in who I am not, believing the lie that I am a nobody, etc.  Then I end up feeling that I am "not enough" - not good enough, not strong enough, not lovable enough.  And I seek ways to "be enough" - futile ways that lead only to failure and dead ends and condemnation.

And yet..All along that whole process I have been FINE!  I have already been made "enough" by the perfect work of Jesus!  I am ALREADY accepted, complete, whole, holy, lovable and loved!  I am already enough and will be for all eternity, because Jesus' work made me so for all eternity! 

"For by one offering He perfected forever those who are sanctified."  Heb 10:14.  You can't get any more perfect than that!  You can't be any more "enough" - than that, any more accepted or loved or right with Him.  Thank You, Jesus!

It's time for me to stop worrying about being lacking or "not enough" and to just enjoy the wonderful gift of intimate fellowship with Christ, because that's what He's brought me into.  He says I'm enough.  He says to come away from the crazy lies and look into His eyes as He calls me "Beloved."  Beloved!  Think of that!

What a relief to know who we are..

If I'm His Beloved, that's truly "enough" - that's all I've ever really wanted, all I've been searching for - Someone to love me and accept me, embrace me and delight in me, Someone to love in a deep genuine, intimate, open, secure relationship!

He is more than enough to satisfy my deepest longings to be loved, and He says I'm more than enough - that I'm His perfect and beautiful Bride!  Beloved!

I am the one Jesus loves..I am Beloved!

You are the one Jesus loves..You are Beloved!

We are the ones Jesus loves..We are Beloved!

"You're My Beloved" (Kari Jobe)

Wonderful Quote from Sammy Bilyeu

Here's a wonderful quote I read on the Facebook page of Sammy Bilyeu (his page is called Grace, Life, Now!).  It's exactly what I need to hear right now (and always!) and exactly the message I want to share with this world..

"God is at peace with you!

He loves you and you're okay with Him.

He has given you peace.

He has paid for your perfect standing with Him.

Come to Him boldly, He is smiling to you with open arms ready to embrace you and kiss you...

That's our Heavenly Father.."

                                                                                         Sammy Bilyeu

Dance With Me

He seems to be calling me to just rest..

Not to try, not to strive..

But just to rest in His arms..

Just to let Him romance me..

Just to look into His eyes of love..

Just to enjoy the Dance with Him..

Just to be caught up in His tenderness and grace all over again..

He reminds me that nothing is required of me..

I can rest in His arms today..

Who I Am In Christ: A Great List

Recently, my dear friend Julie encouraged me by sending me a list she had compiled of confessions to make about our identity in Christ.  I want to renew my mind on the wonderful truth of who I am in Him, and this list is great for doing that!  It's a great list of statements and verse references, and she graciously has allowed me to reproduce it here.  (If you would like to visit the ministry website that Julie and her husband have, here's the link:  Harvest International Ministry

Who I Am in Christ

I am a servant of Jesus Christ.   Romans 1:1
I am set apart for the gospel.     Romans 1:1
I am blessed because my sins are forgiven.       Romans 4:7
I am justified by faith and have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.     Romans 5:1
I am reconciled to God.     Romans 5:11
I am alive to God in Christ.     Romans 6:11
I am set free from sin.    Romans 8:18
I am under no condemnation.     Romans 8:1
I am controlled by the Spirit.     Romans 8:9
My spirit is alive because of righteousness.    Romans 8:10
I am a son/daughter, so I received a Spirit of Sonship.    Romans 8:15
I am an heir of God and co-heirs with Christ.    Romans 8:17
I am God’s child.     Romans 8:16
I am predestined, I am called, I am justified, I am glorified.     Romans 8:30
I am more than a conqueror.     Romans 8:37
I am Abraham’s seed and an heir.    Galatians 3:29
I am redeemed so I’ve received the full rights as sons.      Galatians 4:5
I am a son and because I am a son, I am an heir. (Everything God has is mine.)     Galatians 4:7
I am saved & called.     2 Timothy 1:9
I am appointed a herald, an apostle & a teacher.         2 Timothy 1:11     
I am prosperous & successful.     Joshua 1:8
I am loved by God the Father & kept by Jesus Christ.     Jude 1:1
I am faithful.     3 John 1:5
I am a witness.     Acts 1:8
I am filled with the Holy Spirit.    Acts 2:4
I am made alive.     I Corinthians 15:22
I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.    Ephesians 1:3
I am holy & blameless.    Ephesians 1:4
I am a priest of the Lord.    Isaiah 61:6, 7
I am a minister of our God.       Isaiah 61:6, 7
I am wise because I win souls.    Pr. 11:30
I am anointed.    2 Cor. 1:21   
I am the aroma of Christ.    2 Cor. 2:15
I am set apart. I am ordained by God.    Jeremiah 1:5
I am marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.    Eph. 1:13
I am seated with Him in heavenly realms.    Eph. 2:6
I am God’s workmanship.     Eph. 2:10
I am an heir together (w/ Israel)  in Jesus.     Eph. 3:6
I am an apostle.     Eph. 4:11
I am light in the Lord.     Eph. 5:8
I am always in God’s love.    Romans 8:39
I am a citizen of heaven.    Php. 3:20
I am richly blessed because I called on Him.     Romans 10:12
I am sanctified.    I Cor. 1:2 
I am enriched in every way.    I Cor. 1:5
I am the salt of the earth.    Mt. 5:13
I am the light of the world.     Mt. 5:14
I am strengthened and encouraged in my faith.     I Thess. 3:2
I am chosen.    I Thess. 1:4
I am approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.     I Thess. 2:4
I am appointed a herald and an apostle.    I Tim. 2:7
I am holy & faithful.    Col. 1:2
I am a faithful minister.    Col. 1:7
I am alive with Christ.    Col. 2:13
I am God’s chosen (people).     Col. 3:12
I am holy & dearly loved.     Col. 3:12
I am rescued from sins.    Gal. 1:4
I am set apart and am called to preach Him.    Gal. 1:15
I am blessed along with Abraham.    Gal. 3:9
I live by faith.    Gal. 3:11
I am redeemed from the curse.    Gal. 3:13

Harvest International Ministry, Inc. 

A Special Verse God Gave Me Recently

I went through a slump recently, just getting into some "performance" thinking, imagining I needed to do more or be more to really be a "good Christian."  I was into the comparing game, examining myself in comparison with other people and feeling I came up short in many areas.  This led to feelings of self-condemnation and withdrawal from spiritual thoughts.

And there in my muck, God ministered to me.  He reminded me of such wonderful truths.  He healed my thinking and threw out the lies of the enemy!

Here are some words He shared with me through a friend:  "God has no agenda for you today.  He has no expectations of you.  There is no  - as in zero  - condemnation.  Jesus smiles and laughs because He is so in love with you.  He loves you no matter what you do."

God gave me a beautiful verse from Luke 15 that spoke directly to my needs.  I had needed to know from God that He was still around, still loving me and being with me even though I felt like a failure.  And I needed to know that I wasn't lacking or inadequate, because I kept comparing myself to others and feeling so much "less."  He gave me a verse that was perfect for me in dealing with these troubling thoughts (thoughts which were lies from the enemy, by the way!):

Son (Daughter), you are always with me, and all that I have is yours."

Wow..First He calls me daughter..this makes me feel special and wanted.  I love how God jumps over the faults and troubles and doubts which SEEM so big to us, and He goes right to our hearts and ministers LOVE.  He ministers to our real need.  When we get confused or whatever, He never sees our sins (it's been dealt with at the cross already!) - He sees His dear child who needs to be held and loved and reassured!  He is so tender with us!  I love how He continually delights in us!

Then He assures me that I'm ALWAYS with Him, no matter what my behavior, no matter how many times I get caught in the same tired legalistic lies, no matter whether I prayed this morning or not...He is still here with me and I am still with Him!  He hasn't left me because my performance wasn't so great.  He is committed to me and sticks with me, no matter what.  I love the STABILITY of our relationship!  I read a verse about that, it said, "My only hope is in Your steadfast love and faithfulness."  He won't let me down - He will keep on loving me and being faithful to stay with me!

And He says that ALL that He has is MINE!  I have such a rich inheritance, really have EVERYTHING in Christ!  ALL of Christ is in me and mine!  HE Himself is my peace, joy, hope, victory, strength, love, etc.  Talk about adequacy!  As it says in the Bible, "our adequacy is in Christ."  Having Him, I have all the Father has to give, and it's wonderful.  I'm not lacking or less than any other person.

When we end up in the gutter because of our confusion at the enemy's lies/attacks, God in grace is down there in the gutter with us, and He lifts us up out of the gutter!  We were only in trouble in our mind, we were always free and safe in His arms, we just had a momentary memory glitch!  He brings our minds back to clarity that all is well, and that during that whole time of confusion, He was right there with us, loving us, working to bring us to see the truth again!

I thank God for ministering GRACE to me in my confusion!  He is so good..

God the Lavish Giver

I was talking with a friend recently about how God always gives, always loves, always has more beautiful things to show us about Himself, more, more, more!  He just wants to lavish His love on us!  The image came to me of a daddy who just can't wait to grab hold of his little child and give that child hugs and kisses.  Or see that child open up the gifts he has brought for him, just anticipating the look of excitement and happiness in his little one's eyes when the gift is opened.

What a wonderful Father God we have, who always wants to lavish His love on us!  And nothing is required of us, nothing is expected of us, nothing is demanded of us..we can just sit on our Father's lap and enjoy His loving attention.

It touches me so much to know that God wants, actually wants to be with me, to just hang out with me.  He loves each one of us exclusively yet equally - a mystery to me, yet so wonderfully true:  He loves each of us the best, the most, the greatest, as if we were His favorite and the only one in His vision.  Yet he loves all of us that way.  We are each His favorite and His first choice.  We are each loved exclusively and uniquely, in a way that is just between the individual and Him.  Wow!  We can each say we are the apple of His eye, the favored child sitting on His lap, the joy of His heart.  We can each declare that we are in His favor and love and delight at all times!  That we are cherished and adored, held and safe!

He is a good God, and He is ONLY a good God, never bad or harsh!  God doesn't give bad things!  God only gives good gifts, and every good gift we receive is from Him.  He has so many gifts He has already given us in Christ, and we simply 'see' they are ours with the eyes of faith and so receive and claim and enjoy them as our own.  That is how He is helping me understand it right now. 

Thank You, God, that You are a Giver and that You love to lavish all Your love and joy and gifts on us, Your dear, favored, beloved children!

Third Day - Call My Name and I'll Be There

God has had this song on my mind lately, and it's played twice in the car recently and just seems so appropriate right now.  I have been feeling a little unloved, a little condemned, slipping under some law thinking and comparing myself to other Christians, feeling I didn't measure up.  It's such a joyous relief to know we're loved no matter what, and that He's always right here with us.  There is never any distance between us and God.  He keeps this relationship going, and He keeps us perfectly loved and accepted before Him in Jesus' precious work and name!  The love He has for us is so alive, as the song says...it's a love that causes rest, peace and joy to flow.  It's a love that gives new hope and banishes despair.  It's a love that erases fear and doubt and makes everything clear again.  It's a love - and a Lover - that won't leave us or forsake us, ever..

It's been so long since
You felt like you were loved
So what went wrong
But do you know
There's a place where you belong
Here in My Arms

When you feel like you're alone in your sadness
It seems like no one else in this whole world cares
And you want to get away from the madness
You just call My name and I'll be there
You just call My name and I'll be there 

The pain inside
Has erased your hope for love
Soon you will find
That I'll give you all
That your heart could ever want
And so much more

When you feel like you're alone in your sadness
It seems like no one else in this whole world cares
And you want to get away from the madness
You just call My name and I'll be there
You just call My name and I'll be there

You just call My name
You just call My name
Call My name say it now
I want you to never doubt
The love I have for you is so alive
 

Call My name say it now
I want you to never doubt
The love I have for you is so alive 

You just call My name
You just call My name

The love I have for you is so alive

You just call My name                                    Third Day

Wonderful Words from Bertie Brits

"Any verse in the Bible - even in the New Testament written by Paul - that does not reveal GRACE (effortless life) is simply misunderstood.  Any scripture that is seen as something that we need to do to contribute to HIS work is MISUNDERSTOOD.  Don't be blinded by a scripture that seems to contradict the simple Gospel of HIS LIFE IN YOU AND THROUGH YOU FREELY.  If it is not effortless it is flesh."                                                                                  Bertie Brits

Wow, I love that!  I have been confused by certain scriptures in the past, coming as I did from a more performance-oriented background.  I had probably put 'works' and 'effort' and 'should' and 'must' into verses because of my legalistic perceptions.  What a relief to know that God is gracious and loving, and that even the scriptures I don't understand will eventually become clear in the light of GRACE! 

It helps me to know that if I read the scriptures and feel condemned, tense, pressured, and wanting to focus on self-effort, I must be confused, because His Word of Grace is always life-giving and liberating, joyful and releasing!  His Word of Grace always frees and lifts us rather than depressing and crushing us.  His Word of Grace always points to Jesus, not us.  His Word of Grace lifts off burdens rather than putting on burdens!  His Word of Grace is always life and healing, not death and despair. 

Grace is the New Covenant that we are in, the ministry of the Spirit and of Life, so we can interpret every scripture through the lens of grace and His Life, not law and our works which are a dead-end.  As Bertie says so well, "If if is not effortless it is flesh."  It's all about His work in and through me while I rest.  What a blessed relief for someone who gets worn out trying to do enough, be enough, change enough, measure up enough...ad nauseum!

Thank You, Lord, that the Gospel is all about Christ living in me FREELY through the Holy Spirit !  Oh, how I need to hear that today and just lean back in Your arms and REST!  Thank You that when we get caught up in the "doings" at times, we can just STOP and fall back into the arms that never let go of us for a minute!  Thank You for loving and delighting in us at all times, whether we're basking in Your presence or confused and troubled or even on a wearying flesh-trip.  Thank You that You are unwavering in pouring out Your life and love and Spirit in us!  You are a river in us that never, never, NEVER runs dry!  Amen..

Servant or Son?

Here is a wonderful article by my dear friend Patty, someone who loves God and loves His grace!
I loved this so much and wanted to share it here, and she has kindly allowed me to share her words with all...

The story as found in Luke clearly defines grace [as being the opposite of a servant mentality] through the picture of eldest brother who is angry when his brother comes home and is met by his father's grace and a feast of celebration.

The eldest brother's attitude seems to be based on what he feels he deserves because of his efforts. "All of these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. You never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends?"

Notice the brother's attitude and then ask yourself-Am I a servant or a son?

Might we be striving in all are efforts to literally live up to the name, servant of God?

Might we be thinking and feeling and living not like a family member should, but like a servant does?

The servant is accepted and appreciated on the basis of what he does, the child on the basis of who he is.

The servant starts the day anxious and worried, wondering if his work will really please the master. The child rests in the secure love of his family.

The servant is accepted because of his workmanship, the son or daughter because of a relationship.

The servant is accepted because of his productivity and accomplishment. The child belongs because of his position as a member of the family.

At the end of the day, the servant has peace of mind only if he is sure he has proven his worth by the work that he has done. The next morning his stress and anxiety will begin again. The child can be secure all day, and know that tomorrow won't change his standing as a beloved family member.

When a servant fails, his whole position is at stake, he might lose his job. When a child fails, he will be grieved because he has hurt his parents and will be corrected and disciplined but he is not afraid of being rejected by them. His confidence is in the belonging and being loved and his performance does not change the stability of his position in the family.

Grace then is unearned belonging. To grasp this view of belonging (because of complete acceptance and total unconditional love), will correct a faulty way of thinking, feeling, acting, reacting and relating in life.

So let us thank the Lord above for the miracle of GRACE. May he help us each to stop living as servants, while keeping us ever willing to serve him and others. May we know the difference and begin to esteem ourselves the rightful position as children of the most high God. May we be reminded daily that we are sons and daughters and may he help us live and feel that we are loved and accepted, that we are forgiven for our sins, no matter what, because of Christ's provision for us to become members of God's family as a direct heir of God through Christ! And lastly may God give us each increased confidence in this newly understood position of grace.               (by my friend Patty)

When Attacked by Those Nasty Lies..

Sometimes I wish I would get to the point where I have it all together - haha!  That isn't going to happen anytime soon!  At least I wish I could get a firm grip on grace and not sometimes slip back into that awful performance thinking - aargh!  I really have needed a big dose of grace and love and acceptance in my life lately, as I have been down and feeling condemned about a certain aspect of my life.  In my case, it's my lack of ability to be consistent in intercessory prayer like I "want" to be.  But really, any work or struggle will suffice to be used by Satan to accuse us when we fall short..


Does anybody else identify with this scenario:  You see another Christian who is so vibrant and alive and thriving in a certain aspect of their Christian life (for me, enter the intercessory prayer warrior).  A tiny, little, seemingly harmless thought pops in the mind - "I really should do that too" - for me, it was about praying for other people more.  So you start to "try" to add in that Christian virtue (notice the focus on self-effort, oh-so-subtle!  It's like we're putting ourselves back under law without even realizing it - ugh!)  Then the inevitable failure.  (I forget to pray for people that I said I would pray for!  I go for days without interceding for anyone, even myself!  I feel like a rotten excuse for a prayer warrior!  I try to think, well, maybe this just isn't "my" kind of ministry - but it's too late, I've already agreed to help lead the intercessory prayer chain group at church!  ARGH!  Sadly, this is all a true story..)

Next comes the inevitable attack..the enemy with his lies..."See, you are a rotten Christian.  A hypocrite, too!  You failure!  Surely God's displeased with you, disappointed.  Can't you do any better than that?  You are hopeless as a Christian, just what was suspected all along.  Don't go crawling to God now, why would He want you around?  You've fallen from your strong walk in God and would have to work too hard to get back to that position of growth and closeness with God.  So why try?  Give up.  Run the other way.  Drown your sad and sorry feelings in meaningless hobbies.  Withdraw from other Christians because they are better than you anyways and will probably judge you if you admit your struggles.  You are such a loser, just like you always feared.."

It hurts even to write that because so many of those lies have been thrown at me at times.  And they are ALL lies!   God told me recently a very simple thing:  "Stand on the Word."  What the devil says and what feelings say and what other people say isn't the Word.  The Word is what GOD says, and that's the final authority, the truth, and the last word on the matter!  God is teaching me all over again, as He washes over me in grace and acceptance, what His Word really says:

The Word says:  "You are accepted in the Beloved."  (Eph. 1:6)

The Word says:  "You are called a son/daughter of God - that is what you are!"  (1 John 3:1)

The Word says:  "Noone can snatch you out of My hand."  (John 10:28)

The Word says:  "God is not counting your sins against you!"  (2 Co. 5:19)

The Word says:  "You are not under law but under grace!"  (Rom. 6:14)

The Word says:  "There is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!"  (Rom. 8:1)

The Word says:  "The law of the Spirit has set you free from the law of sin and death!  (Rom. 8:2)

The Word says:  "He that the Son sets free is free indeed!"  (John 8:36)

The Word says:  "I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy.  (Lk. 10:19)

The Word says:  "You are more than conquerors through Him who loved you!  (Rom. 8:37)

The Word says:  "NOTHING shall separate you from His love! (Rom. 8:38-9)

The Word says:  "You have been set right with God as a free gift through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ! (Rom. 3:24)

The Word says:  "You are the righteousness OF GOD in Christ!"  (2 Corin. 5:21)

The Word says:  "You are a new creation.  Old things have passed away, and ALL things have become NEW!"  (2 Corin. 5:17)

The Word says:  "I will NEVER leave you or forsake you!"  (Heb. 13:5)

Wow, I love it!  So God is reminding me that when the enemy tries to pull the old "you're under a set of performance rules, and if you fail you're condemned," that I can remember the truth that hasn't changed, no matter how my feelings waver:  I am still as accepted and loved and cherished as ever.  I am NOT under a set of performance rules.  God isn't looking down at me to see how I'm measuring up or not.  He is looking at me with intense love for His little child.  He is holding me in His arms and won't let go.  Nothing can stop His love from coming to me, not even my sin - my sin has been removed and is gone, never to be held against me again!  I'm not under law (earn acceptance or else be punished), no!  I am under grace (He accepts me already without any having to earn it, so receive acceptance for free!)

And in my case, even if I never become a prayer warrior, I am still 100% fine and accepted and SUCCESSFUL as a Christian right now, because I've been accepted through the work of the Son!  I've been born again by grace through simple faith, just believing the gospel of grace (the good news that God has reconciled me to Him in Christ).  I'm a new creation in Him.  I don't have to do anything to earn an acceptance that is already mine by BIRTHRIGHT!  Always His child!  Always innocent in His sight!  Always pure and holy and clean!  Always cherished and beautiful in His eyes!  Always a DELIGHT to Him!  Always, forever, once-for-all, for sure, perfectly and completely taken in, included and ACCEPTED!  Belonging with Him for always!  THAT'S living by faith, walking by the Spirit, being built up in Him..

Thank You, Lord, for defeating the lies that attack my mind!  Thank You for showing me the condemnation I sometimes FEEL isn't even REAL!  Lift off every lie that may be clouding our vision and perception right now.  Let us clearly see You in all Your glorious grace and love for us!  Let us see how perfect that love really is, how wonderful and freely ours, how eternally and permanently ours!  Thank You so much for who You are - the Purest, Truest, Best, most Amazing LOVE in this universe, a Love that is Pure Grace from start to finish!  We love You, O Lord!

Grace Says..

God's Grace Message says:

I love you even at your worst moments.

And I love you in the midst of your worst circumstances.

God's Grace Message also says:

I raised you up and have made you the best you could be.

And I raise you up in your circumstances and make them turn out for the best, too.

Restoration and the Great Exchange

Wow, what a beautiful song about the restoration God has worked in our hearts and spirits!  Because of the complete and finished work of Jesus, everything rotten and dead and old in us has been exchanged for everything good and living and new in Him!  What a wonder is the new creation reality He has brought forth!  The old has gone, and the new has come, hallelujah!

What a great exchange!  What a great and amazing restoration - Eden is restored, and actually, we have something better than Eden, because we have His very Life, His Spirit, inside us in union with us - HIS Life as OUR Life, as our heart of hearts - that is heaven, being one with God like that!  We have heaven in our spirits!  Praise God, You make all things new!

Restoration (David Brymer)

You bring restoration
You bring restoration
You bring restoration
to my soul

You've taken my pain
called me by a new name
You've taken my shame
and in it's place, You give me joy

You take mourning and turn it into dancing
You take weeping and turn it into laughing
You take mourning and turn it into dancing
You take my sadness and turn it into joy

hallelujah, hallelujah
You make all things new, all things new

Your Great Name

I woke up this morning and found that God had put this song on my heart.  What a beautiful message and reminder that all that can get us down just falls away in His presence.  At His name, every lie of the enemy must be gone.  What a wonderful place to be, dwelling in Him by grace!  I sometimes forget where I am and who I am in Him, yet just a thought of Him or mention of His name brings me back to clarity!  And it's not that I must remember to turn to Him, no, HE brings me to remember those truths!  Just like He put this song on my mind this morning when I felt troubled about something.  What a wonderful life this walk of grace is!  He doesn't leave us down, He enters into the pain and comforts us saying, "Peace, be still!  All is well!  Surely I will help you!  Surely I will uphold You in my hand!  Speak My name, for I'm here!" 

Your Great Name

Lost are saved; find their way; at the sound of Your great name
All condemned; feel no shame, at the sound of Your great name
Every fear; has no place; at the sound of Your great name
The enemy; he has to leave; at the sound of Your great name

Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man
You are high and lifted up; and all the world will praise Your great name

All the weak; find their strength; at the sound of Your great name
Hungry souls; receive grace; at the sound of Your great name
The fatherless; they find their rest; at the sound of Your great name
Sick are healed; and the dead are raised; at the sound of Your great name

Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man
You are high and lifted up; and all the world will praise Your great name

Redeemer, My Healer, Lord Almighty
My savior, Defender, You are My King

Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man
You are high and lifted up; and all the world will praise Your great name.
                                                                                            Natalie Grant

Jesus Says, "I love you.."

Do you ever have those mornings when you wake up feeling out of sorts and just need to hear Your Precious Lord say that He loves you?  I sure do!  Just this morning, in my heart I found myself asking, "God, what do you think of me?"  And I just felt the presence of the Spirit reminding me He is right here with me, delighting in me and loving me, no matter what.  And that was all I needed, everything was okay again. 

He loves us more than anyone else ever would or could!

I read something about that very truth recently.  It was about the verses in the New Testament where Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love Me more than these?"  In the comment I read, Charles Spurgeon turns that question around and lets us see how much Jesus truly loves us!  Here is the quote, from a sermon of Spurgeon's called "The Gladness of the Man of Sorrows:"

Jesus speaks today to us, "I have loved thee more than these; 

...thy mother loved thee; strong were her pangs when thou wast born, and anxious her cares when she nursed thee at her bosom; but I have loved thee more than these, 

..and thy brethren loved thee, and thy sisters; born of the same parents they watched over thee with delight, and they have been ready to help thee in thy time of need, but I have loved thee more than these: 

..and thy husband loved thee, loved thee as his own soul, he has cherished thee, and has been ready to lay down his life to give thee back health when thou hast been sick; but I have loved thee more than these: 

..thy children, too, have loved thee; they have climbed thy knee and smiled upon thee for all thy kindness to them, and they have strengthened thine old age, and thou hast leaned upon them, as upon a staff, when thou hast been tottering with weakness; but I have loved thee more than these: 

..and thou hast had a joyous companion, a dear friend who has been with thee from thy youth up, and has never lifted his heel against thee; and thou hast had thine intimates and thy familars who went up to the house of God with thee, and talked cheerfully by the way, but I have loved thee more than these," 

I think I hear him say to me—"There are some in this congregation who would pluck out their own eyes to give them to thee; they love thee, for thou art their spiritual father, but I have loved thee more than theses." And he points to all the good men that have ever tried to teach you, to all the comforters who have given you joy, to all the helpers that have aided you on the road to immortality; and he says, "I have loved you more than these." 

                                                                         Charles Spurgeon

He says to us that no matter how much anyone else has ever loved us or could ever love us, He loves us MORE than these!

No matter how much we imagine His love is, it is always MORE!  He loves us MORE! 

No matter what we're like in our walk and talk, He loves us MORE than we could imagine...purely, totally, freely, completely, unconditionally, unreservedly, permanently, unchangably, unstoppably, faithfully, surely, amazingly, infinitely, boundlessly, unswervingly, and any more "-lys" you can think of!  

As Brennan Manning says, no matter how great we think His love is, it's always MORE.

Thank You, Jesus, that You love us more than these on earth.  Thank You that Your love is more than we could ponder or comprehend.  Thank You that Your love is more powerful than any sin, trouble, worry, doubt, circumstance or problem.  No matter what the situation, You and Your love are always MORE!

Thank You that Your MORE kind of love holds us now and forever!   

That's My King, My Savior, My Friend!

What a powerful video..He is our King, our Savior, our Lover, our Lord, our Hope, our Strength, our All..

That's my Wonderful Savior, Jesus!

He is all those wonderful things, and He calls me His friend..

I love you, Lord Jesus!  Thank You for being all that to me, all by grace, all as a gift, all for free.

Nobody ever loved me like You do.  Nobody ever cared about me like You do.  Nobody ever listened to me or accepted me like You do.

I see that You truly love me no matter what I do, no matter how I fail, no matter what I feel, no matter what happens..

Your love is the unconditional love that my heart has longed for all my life.  I have finally found my forever Lover and forever Friend, the One who satisfies all my longings, fulfills all my hopes, and heals all my wounds - it's You!

You stand before me and look at me so tenderly and joyfully, with pure love and acceptance in Your eyes!  It's just me and You, in that special place of the Spirit, where the whole realm of earth fades away and all that is left is You and Your love..

I love you!  I adore You!  I worship You!

You are everything to me!

Your Love Never Fails, It Never Gives Up, It Never Runs Out On Me

I love this song!  Here I've posted the "short" version of the song, but the long version is wonderful, too.  In the longer version, when the band is basically finished singing, the audience picks up the refrain, and sings it over and over, "Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me," till the band starts up again with the song.   It's like they just can't stop singing about His great love, like they just can't get over such a love that never fails them! 

I think that idea of His love NEVER failing us is the heart of the grace message, the core truth that grounds my life and rocks my world.  That main refrain of grace in my heart is that "You can't get away from a love that will not let you go (R.R. Capon)."  His love is stronger than anything - stronger than any circumstance, any trial, any sin, any doubt.  He just won't let us go - we are safe in this unfailing, unending, loyal, never-running-out, never-giving up unconditional LOVE!  That just embodies what God's grace is to me - it's His love and acceptance of me that I don't have to deserve and that I can't make go away.  This love will hold us forever!

His grace never fails us!

"One Thing Remains" by Jesus Culture

Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant in the trial and the change
One thing... Remains (repeat)

On and on and on and on it goes
It overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I never, ever, have to be afraid
One thing remains

Your love never fails, never gives up
Never runs out on me (3x)

In death, In life, I'm confident and
covered by the power of Your great love
My debt is paid, there's nothing that can
separate my heart from Your great love

At the end of the longer version the singer, Chris Quilala, just starts praising God in his own words:
"Your love never fails me
Your grace never fails me
Your grace never fails
His love never fails
His presence never fails
His mercy never fails
Your kindness is never-ending
Your grace is never-ending
Your faithfulness is never-ending
Your love is never-ending
Oh, Father.."

Thank You, dear Lord, that Your love never fails us!  (1 Co. 13:8)

Grace = Effortless Life!

I just read a wonderful quote from Bertie Brits:

"Any verse in the Bible - even in the NT written by Paul - that does not reveal GRACE (effortless life) is simply misunderstood.  Any scripture that is seen as something that we need to do to contribute to HIS work is MISUNDERSTOOD.  Don't be blinded by a scripture that seems to contradict the simple Gospel of HIS LIFE IN YOU AND THROUGH YOU FREELY."

"If it's not effortless it is flesh."

Wow!  Grace means effortless life, because God by His Spirit is flowing through us!  Anything of our effort or our work, anything that seems hard or something we must struggle to 'do' is just flesh.  We don't contribute to His Life!  His Life is more than sufficient, infinitely sufficient, all on its own!  That is the Life that we now have in us, the Life that naturally rises up and flows through us.  That is the Life that is freely given to us and freely pours out of us without our effort.  In fact, we are in union with that Life! That is the Life that is OUR very life!  

Living by grace is effortless!

Law Thinking vs. Grace Thinking

When I'm caught up thinking I need to do something to earn God's favor, get some blessings, or get into that 'sweet spot' where my Christian life will 'really' go great, I only get run down and frustrated.  That kind of thinking leads to spiritual burnout, and I've definitely been there!  But when I'm caught up in His love and the complete nature of Jesus' work on the cross, seeing that I'm already set for eternity and nothing can change that, I relax.  I am drawn to just enjoy my dear Savior.  I am able to accept myself and others.  This kind of thinking leads to pure joy!

So I was comparing these two lines of thinking lately, and these are some thoughts that came to me:

Law thinking tells me I'm bad, bad, bad.
Grace thinking tells me I'm good with the goodness of Christ!

Law thinking causes me to be self-focused.
Grace thinking causes me to be Son-focused.

Law thinking makes me realize I can never measure up, and I feel depressed.
Grace thinking makes me see He measured up for me, and I feel elated!

Law thinking always demands.
Grace thinking always frees.

Law thinking adds burdens.
Grace thinking removes burdens!

Law thinking causes me to judge myself and others, too.
Grace thinking causes me to accept myself and others, too.

Law thinking means I'm always noticing the bad in me and others.
Grace thinking means I'm able to see the good in me and others.

Law thinking causes me to despair of ever living the Christian life.
Grace thinking causes me to rejoice because He's already living the Christian life IN me!

Law thinking makes me feel I'm never good enough.
Grace thinking lets me know He's good enough, and so am I IN Him!

Law thinking causes me to feel distant from God.
Grace thinking causes me to feel intimate with God!

Law thinking makes me pull away from God in fear.
Grace thinking makes me cuddle up in Daddy's lap because I'm secure!

Law thinking makes the Christian life seem so hard.
Grace thinking makes the Christian life so flowing and easy!

Law thinking is the mind set on self-effort, and it's death.
Grace thinking is the mind set on the Spirit, and it's life and peace.

Law thinking makes me feel I'll never please God.
Grace thinking shows me I'm already pleasing to God through Christ!

Law thinking makes me feel unworthy.
Grace thinking makes me feel worth something, worth Jesus' dying for me!

Law thinking screams guilty, condemned, punished!
Grace thinking whispers forgiven, accepted, blessed!

Law thinking is used by Satan to accuse me.
Grace thinking is used by the Spirit to affirm me!

Law thinking makes me feel God is an impossible judge.
Grace thinking show me God is a loving Father!

Law thinking makes me think that God is all about performance.
Grace thinking lets me know that God is all about unconditional love!

Law thinking makes me feel everything must be earned.
Grace thinking reminds me everything is a gift.

Law thinking says work, work, work.
Grace thinking says rest, rest, rest.

Law thinking makes me feel I need to DO more.
Grace thinking shows me Jesus has already DONE it all!

Law thinking causes me to withdraw from interacting with God.
Grace thinking causes me to be drawn to worship, talk to Him, and enjoy His presence!

Law thinking causes me to feel down on myself.
Grace thinking causes me to be UP on Christ!

Law thinking makes me try to earn God's blessings because I feel they contingent on my performance.
Grace thinking lets me enjoy God's blessings because they're already mine through Christ's performance!

Law thinking makes me feel it's all up to me to live this Christian life.
Grace thinking lets me know it's all up to Christ to live this Christian life!

Law thinking makes me feel salvation and the Christian life are all my responsibility.
Grace thinking lets me know salvation and the Christian life are all His responsibility.

Law thinking makes me think I'm alone living this life.
Grace thinking shows me it's Christ who lives through me!

Law thinking makes me feel separate and disconnected from God.
Grace thinking makes me feel close to God, and I enjoy the union and constant connection I always have with God.

Law thinking makes me fear that God might reject me and I might lose this relationship, since I'm basing it all on how I perform.
Grace makes me relax, knowing God will never reject me and I'll never lose this relationship, because it's based all on how Christ performed!

Law thinking makes me feel that if I've sinned too much, I'm out.
Grace thinking tells me no matter how much I sin, I'll NEVER be out!

Law thinking makes me sin-focused, and I feel my sins are all over me.
Grace thinking makes me Jesus-focused, and I know my sins were put on Him and taken away!

Law thinking makes me feel dirty and ugly before Him.
Grace thinking makes me feel clean and beautiful before Him!

Law thinking makes me feel imperfect and lacking.
Grace thinking reminds me that He's made me perfect and complete!

Law thinking is a dead end.
Grace thinking is the way of endless life!

My Souls Sings

I woke up with this beautiful song (here sung by Bethel Live, but originally by Delirious) on my heart..our souls sing to You, Wonderful Father!

Lyrics:
Open my eyes to see
The wonderful mystery of love
Falling into you
I'm drawn to the gravity of love


Open the page and see
The wonderful history of love
I start and end with you
I'm pulled to the gravity of love

We're standing still in a moment of eternity
Where worlds collide and I feel the breath of heaven over me

My soul sings
My soul sings
My soul sings
How I love you
Oh, how I love you
                                                      

Bound by Love!

 Here's a wonderful quote from the dear and amazing grace-lover, Jamie Weeks:

"God did not bind us to himself with the commandments. In fact, under the Old Covenant, we attempted to bind ourselves to God through our performance. God always had a better way! He bound himself to us by the cross, making his performance, not ours, the only contingency for righteousness and life."

"Where the law can never hold us, the love of God will keep us."

                                                                                              Jamie Weeks

I love that!  The law could never hold us.  But the love of God expressed in the work of Christ on the cross will keep us!  We are bound to God by love-strings, held by the power of Christ's work for us, safe in His arms today and forever..

Things I Love About You

Jesus, here are some things I love about You!

I love the way You are kind..

I love the way You are gentle..

I love the way You are beautiful..

I love the way You are so good..

I love the way You are so loving..

I love the way You are gracious..

I love the way You look at me with love in Your eyes..

I love the way You smile at me..

I love the way You hold me in Your arms..

I love the joy You have over me..

I love the way You are always there for me..

I love the way You call me Your best friend..

I love the way You always build me up..

I love the way You never focus on my faults..

I love the way You think I'm beautiful..

I love the way You embrace me..

I love the way You accept me..

I love the way You understand me..

I love the way You listen to me..

I love the way You feel my hurts..

I love the way You grieve with me..

I love the way You laugh with me..

I love the way You want to be with me..

I love the way You love our times together..

I love the way You love me!

I love the way You love the world through me!

We Can Take Heart, Because He Has Overcome and He is Lord - His Love Reigns!

This song, "Take Heart," by Hillsong, goes along with the whole idea of Christ being Lord - He has conquered and overcome, and we can take heart because He has put us into a place of freedom, security, and grace!

The Lamb has won!

Grace reigns, Freedom reigns, Love reigns!

He has overcome....Jesus is Lord of all!

I love You, Lord!

Take Heart - Lyrics:

There is a light
It burns brighter than the sun
He steals the night
And casts no shadow
There is hope
Should oceans rise and mountains fall
He never fails

So take heart
Let His love lead us through the night
Hold on to hope
And take courage again

In death by love
The fallen world was overcome
He wears the scars of our freedom
In His Name
All our fears are swept away
He never fails

All our troubles and all our tears
God our hope, He has overcome

All our failure and all our fear
God our love, He has overcome

All our heartache and all our pain
God our healer, He has overcome

All our burdens and all our shame
God our freedom, He has overcome

God our justice, God our grace
God our freedom, He has overcome

God our refuge, God our strength
God is with us, He has overcome
                                                                              Hillsong United

The Lordship of Christ Revisited

Growing up in church, I heard a lot about the Lordship of Christ and making Christ Lord of your life.  We were often encouraged to surrender our lives to Christ and commit to follow Him wherever He would lead, do whatever He might tell us to do.  With my performance-oriented brain, I tended to see this as a very hard thing.  I felt I was being told to give up my 'real' desires and do all kinds of hard things I would hate to prove I was a really 'good' Christian, to prove I really was committed to Him.  I figured if I really surrendered and "made Christ Lord" that He would surely send me to work in some foreign jungle with no flush toilets, or that He would force me to marry someone ugly (I really thought that!).. Why did I always think God's will would be something I would dislike?  Why did I not see that His will would be 'good, perfect, and acceptable' to me?  That His plan for my life would be more beautiful and amazing and soul-satisfying than anything I could dream up?  That His plans for me were good, to give me 'a future and a hope?'  Perhaps it all stemmed from my view of God as Someone whose agenda was all that mattered to him, not any of my desires or interests.  I didn't know that God's agenda is to love us and all people!!

So I was lacking, I think, in my understanding of how loving God really is, and since I saw Him as performance-oriented, I figured the Lordship of Christ centered on getting me to perform things I would rather not do. 

But lately God has given me a beautiful, new understanding of what the Lordship of Christ really means!  It doesn't have to do with forcing us to do things against our will or making us submit to some horrible plan that we dislike.  The Lordship of Christ has to do with freedom! 

The Lordship of Christ means that Jesus is Lord and the devil is not!  Jesus has all rightful authority over me - and if Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth and in me, the devil has NO authority!  Haha!  Jesus reigns in my life and sin doesn't!  Jesus is over all in my circumstances, and evil does not hold sway!  Jesus' righteousness rules in my heart, and condemnation can't stick!  Where sin abounds, grace MUCH MORE abounds and trumps sin every time!  Where death used to reign, now Life has the upper hand! 

I have been planted in the Kingdom of the Son of God's love, and that means that I'm no more held captive in the devil's kingdom - he has no more right to my life!  Haha!  I'm not a prisoner of Satan, sin, death, shame, guilt, oppression, fear, bondage, or struggle anymore - I've been set free by Jesus, the Rightful Lord of this place!  He has bought me back by the cross, and He is my rightful owner, not the enemy!  He came to set the captives free and tell the prisoners, "Come out, it's all right, you're safe now!" 

The Lordship of Christ means a new Kingdom has begun, a kingdom in which we are FOREVER removed from the threat of death and hell, condemnation and punishment, and the power of sin and the enemy.  Satan can't ruin me or destroy me or even touch me, because Jesus is Lord over me!  The power of Satan has been defeated in our lives by the cross and resurrection, and Jesus' power holds sway and is flowing through! 

We are in a new country now, where we're dead to sin and alive to God in Christ!  We won't ever be stuck in that old country again, because we exited it by death and were raised to a whole new life in this new Kingdom of Love and Grace!  The Kingdom where Christ, the Lover of our Souls, who means us good and not evil all the days of our lives, REIGNS!  In this Kingdom, Love reigns, Grace has the final say, and Goodness wins!  In this Kingdom, we are safe and secure, and the enemy can never EVER snatch us out of Christ's hand - because Christ is LORD! In this Kingdom, "surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of my life, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!"

So what does it mean to say, "Jesus is Lord?"  To me, it is confessing reality, confessing the truth of what the cross did for me.  Saying Jesus is Lord is saying Satan has no more ownership of me - I'm safe in the arms of Him who perfectly loves and protects and keeps me!  I'm safely in His embrace, and noone can snatch me out.  My problems can't crush me, Satan can't crush me, my own failures and even doubt can't crush me, because Jesus is Lord over all that!  He is BIG and that makes everything else small and insignificant in comparison.  Jesus is Lord!  We are free!  Free to enjoy His presence, free to accept ourselves as He accepts us, free to lay down our efforts to be "good" because He's made us "good" with His goodness, free to rest and be at peace, free to enjoy our lives without shame and guilt, free to love the person next to us, free to dance, to sing, to soar in His grace!  Free to know Him intimately and be loved like we've never been loved before, for this is what we were made for - intimate fellowship with the Lord of All! 

Jesus is Lord - His love reigns and rules! 

Jesus is Lord!  Hallelujah!

A Favorite Grace Quote

Here's a favorite grace quote on what God has already done within us by Christ's wonderful work:

By faith we rest in what God has ALREADY done in the unseen and eternal realm within us.  He has made us His holy, blameless, irreproachable children.  He has made us the righteousness of God in Christ.  Our old man died with Christ.  We have been raised with Christ as completely new creations, born of God's Spirit.  He has made us perfect in His sight.  there is no condemnation.  He has become one with our spirit, through which He manifest His life to the world.

How many times have we said, "I'd like to be.  I wish I were.  Maybe someday."  And God was on His throne saying, "You are!  You are!"

Every one of us who has believed into Christ is complete in Christ (Col. 2:10).  We are already holy (Col. 3:12)  We are already perfect (Heb. 10:14)  We are His righteousness (2 Corin. 5:21)  There's nothing else to be done.  

There's nothing left for you to do to get close to God.  You and God are one.  There is no more separation.  [He who is joined to the Lord is ONE SPIRIT with Him!]

We live out of what is already true.

                                                               from The Rest of the Gospel
                                                                          by Dan Stone

Photos from our Waterfall Hike

We recently took a hike to a waterfall, and my daughter took these lovely pictures of our time there.  I wanted to share them with all..

Quotes from The Happy God

Here are some great quotes from the book I'm now reading, The Happy God (by Benjamin Dunn).  It's a wonderful book reminding me that God is happy with the finished work of Christ and happy with us, His children!

At the beginning of the book, he defines some common Biblical terms.  Many of these are words that I have misunderstood or taken in a more "performance" way than a "grace" way.  I wanted to share some of those definitions here:

Gospel - I always knew it meant "good news," but I didn't know how really and amazingly GOOD that news is!  I thought it was mainly about forgiveness, sort of giving people a second chance (and we better not blow it this time around!) and going to heaven when we die.  But it is so much more!  Ben Dunn says the Gospel is "the glad-message of the glory of the happy God; the glad tidings of salvation through Christ; the proclamation of the grace of God manifested and pledged in Christ."  It's about the revealing of God's grace through the work of Jesus, to free us from sin and shame and put us safely in His arms forever!  It's the message that we are right now reconciled with God and called His friends, and that He's not holding our sins against us, for they've been taken away by Jesus on the cross.  This message reveals that God is smiling on us - what a happy God!

Grace - here's another word that I felt clueless about when I tried to define it.  I guess I used to think it meant forgiveness.  But discovering what grace really means has literally changed my life!  Ben Dunn defines it as "total, undeserved divine favor, by which a man is saved.   Grace is not just the kindness or mercy that is shown by the Lord when one is in a fallen condition, but Grace is also the influence that keeps one from falling."  I love that!  Grace means salvation is a completely free gift.  Grace means we are favored for free, without having to deserve it, and grace means our salvation is secure, for He will keep us from falling.  We didn't have to do anything to get this favor and acceptance, and there is nothing we could do that would cause it to be lost!

Faith - I'm still learning what this one means, for so often in the past I turned faith into a "work," focusing on it as something I must somehow "do" to "get" God to give me good things or be on my side.  But that isn't what faith is, for it is the opposite of works!  Ben Dunn says it is "a firm persuasion produced by God's infinite goodness.  A childlike response to God's wonderful love and works.  It is also a gift."  Faith is just the natural response when we hear the good news of God's love for us in Jesus.  Faith isn't focused on me but on Christ!  It's not something I "do;"  faith is when I stop my "doing" because I see that Jesus already DID it all!  And it's not something I muster up - it's a gift from God, so it's actually Christ's faith in us!  Now that's perfect faith..

Flesh - Here's another word that has been tricky for me to figure out.  I guess I always thought it meant "the real me," in that I thought of myself as truly bad at the core.  Well, that is what the real me WAS, but not what the real me IS NOW, since I've been newly created in Christ!  Ben Dunn says flesh is "the unregenerate state of men that was destroyed or cut away by Christ at salvation.  "The flesh," "Old-Man," "Sinful-Self" and "Sin-Nature" are all different terms to describe the same unregenerate state."  That unregenerate state doesn't exist for us anymore as His children, so none of those terms describe us anymore!

Righteousness - Here's a word that I was also confused about (boy, have I been really confused!  Sometimes I still am, but that's okay, because HE isn't confused about our relationship and says it's perfect, keeps it perfect!)  I always thought righteousness meant basically doing everything God commanded, and how could I ever think I was totally doing that?  So I never felt righteous. I never felt righteous, so I figured I wasn't.  And this left me feeling that God wasn't pleased with me, and that it was impossible to please Him.   Here is Ben Dunn on what righteousness is: "uprightness and right standing with God.  The state of him who is as he ought to be."  This is what Christ has given us as a gift!  Salvation is simply the deliverance from being un-right with God and being given the gift of being right with God.  We're He's truly happy with us because He remade us righteous and acceptable to Him in every way in Christ.  We're now rightly related to God with nothing amiss or lacking in that relationship.  We are as we were always meant to be, in perfect, right relationship with Him, with absolutely nothing between us!

Justified - This is similar to righteousness, coming from the same Greek word.  I never really knew what this word meant.  Ben Dunn says to be justified is to be "declared or rendered righteous apart from the works of the Law or self-works."  In other words, made right and acceptable before God as a gift, apart from any works needing to be done on our part!  My whole life it seems I've been searching for acceptance from God.  I never felt really accepted, always felt He was looking at my ways and that I was coming up so very short in His eyes.  Oh, how I longed to know He accepted me!  And then He started showing me that grace means favor and ACCEPTANCE, and that being righteous or justified (which is basically the gift He gives us at salvation) actually means being ACCEPTED by God, made ACCEPTABLE in His eyes!  All along through my whole Christian life, I'd been accepted by God and had been since the moment I'd first believed in Jesus, yet I hadn't known it.  I'd been longing for Him to accept me, trying to clean up my act so He would, when He already had!  What a wonderful revelation..

God - how do we define God?  I guess the way we see Him determines so much about how we relate to Him, ourselves, other people, and our circumstances.  I have seen Him as more of a Judge in the past, a very serious and unsmiling person looking at my works and shaking His head in disappointment.  I knew or at least heard that He loved me, but it was hard for me to get past the fact that I felt He was requiring me to do things that I was failing at.  I always felt He was saying, "do better, why can't you just do better?"  But to start to meet the real God has been the greatest joy of my life!  He is so loving and happy with us!  He is so good and so kind!  He isn't looking at our works but at the perfect work of Christ for us.  He was literally dying to be with us, and became a man and died to make that union with us possible.  He loves, absolutely loves, being with us and spending time with us in fellowship.  What a wonderful God!  He shows off His glory for all time through Jesus and His work in us - He shows off how wonderful and loving and good He really is!  Ben Dunn has a quote in his book about God that describes Him as "the Good Being, a fountain of infinite benevolence and beneficence towards His creatures..In a word, a Being who, from His infinite wisdom, cannot err or be deceived; and who, from His infinite goodness, can do nothing but what is eternally just, right, and kind."  What a wonderful God!

Thank God We Just Can't Escape Him!

Thank You, Lord, that I can't escape You!  Thank You that You won't let me go!

Everybody crashes down
Sometimes
Everything come falling down
Sometimes
I don't even know how,
Or know why

At times I try to hide away
From Your eyes
At times I'm covered in shame
From my lies
You sweep me into Your embrace
And I cry

The thing I can't escape is You
The promise that You made is You
Will pull me through
You're never far away no matter what I do
The thing I can't escape is You

It's You
Your grace
Irresistible
It's true, it's true
Your grace
Irresistible

The thing I can't escape is You
The thing I can't escape is You

                                                                           Rush of Fools

The Happy God

I am reading a wonderful book right now called The Happy God, by Benjamin Dunn.  He makes a wonderful point in the book that the Bible actually describes God as a happy God!

In 1 Tim. 1:11, Paul calls the good news of grace "the glorious gospel of the blessed God," and in 1 Tim. 6:15, he calls God "the blessed and only Ruler."  In both of those verses, the Greek word translated "blessed" is makarios, which basically means "happy!"

It's wonderful to me to think of my dear God and Father as happy.  So often in the past I have imagined Him as very serious, maybe even frowning in disapproval or shaking His head in disappointment.  But the Bible describes Him as happy!  And since He is perfect, He is perfectly happy.  Since He is everything in an infinite way, He is infinitely happy.  And He is infinitely happy with us and in us!

Back in Gen. 1:31, when God saw everything that He had made, it was very good.  And He blessed the man and woman He had made.  Eden was a pristine and innocent place of perfection, a place filled with God's joy and happiness.  And now that Jesus has come and died and rose and ascended for us, we have something better than Eden within us right now!  We are new creations!  The old has passed away and is forever gone - destroyed! - and the new has come!  And I think God sees us, His new creations that He has perfectly made in Christ, and He sees that what He has made is very good, and He smiles and is so happy!  Happy because we are beautiful to Him and happy because fellowship is ours, the intimate spiritual fellowship of being IN Someone, because the very Spirit of God dwells in us!  We dwell in God and He in us, how wonderful..

I believe God is happy and delighted with us today.  His Holy Spirit in me is always joy, pure joy.  Always love and delight in me.  Always grace and tender love.  Always open and accepting.  Always there in support and always there lifting me up when I'm down.  He has shown me the true nature of God - delighting, joyful Love!

We worship a Happy God!  He sings a love song over us today, to quiet our hearts and make us rejoice (Zeph. 3:17).  He smiles upon us with shining eyes (Num. 6:24) as a Proud Papa, for He is proud and happy with us, His little children!

Thank You, Lord, and let us enjoy Your joy today!

Already

I have been one who has been insecure about God's love for me.  I have tried to get it, tried to keep it, agonized when I felt I'd lost it, wondered if I had it, wanted it but felt it was just out of reach..so many lying voices I've listened to concerning His love for me!

Yet one day I could try no more.  I was so tired and just basically gave up trying to get His love and favor, trying to finally feel I was "right" and "okay" and "pleasing" to Him.  All my Christian life seemed to be a bust, and I just quit trying.

And He whispered to me that I was His own child, that He loved me anyway.

He had already proved His love for me before I was even born.  If someone actually being willing to die for you doesn't show the greatest love a person can have for another, I don't know what does!  I haven't ever thought of it that way, really, but that cross is such a proof of love.  We look around and sometimes feel noone cares, noone is willing to listen, noone will take any time for us, noone would actually give up anything to help us.  And here is Jesus giving up all just to be with us!  We are worth sooo much!  We are cared for, cherished, and loved beyond our wildest dreams!

There's no need to earn such a love.  It's already been given, long before we were even born.

Long before we were even created, God already loved us.  He loved us knowing all that we would do.  He loved us knowing all the mess we'd make of our lives.  He saw every thing that we feel is rotten about us, and He LOVED us still, loved us anyway, loved us with all that junk! And He went and became a man and died to absorb all our junk into Himself and carry it away, so it could harm and defeat and shame us into hiding NO LONGER!  So we could finally be free to enjoy the love that has always been ours.  To enjoy the God who has always been on our side.  To be held in the arms that have always been available to us.  To open up to the Friend who has always been there for us.  To embrace the Father who has always cherished us.  To relish the intimacy of being in the family we've always been meant to belong to.

We were made to be loved by Him.  This is where we belong.  And it's already been done.  There is NOTHING left for us to do!  We can just accept it!

Your failures are gone, that you are loved and welcomed in!  There is nothing between you and God!  He is fine with you!  He loves you forever!  You can relax in His arms...

Because He Is In Us..

Because He is in us, always and forever in perfect loving communion with us, in a relationship based on His grace and love and set in spiritual concrete through the sufficient and finished work of Christ, because of that wonderful reality, we will always be:

Cherished, adored, valued,
Taken in, accepted, embraced,
Held, affirmed, wanted,
Cared about, cared for, nurtured,
Supported, helped, strengthened,
Guided, cheered, comforted,
Kept, secure, safe,
Warmed, hugged, nestled,
Upheld, carried, lifted up,
Chosen, wanted, delighted in,
Valuable, listened to, remembered,
Thought of, important, significant,
Companioned, attended to, encouraged,
Whole, complete, sure,
Released, empowered, freed,
Needed, joined, included,
Celebrated, smiled upon, favored,
Befriended, fellowshipped with,enjoyed,

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED!

Thank You, dear Lord!