Father - Love, Jesus - Grace, Spirit - Communion

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. (2 Co. 13:14)

I read somewhere that in the Greek the word "of" isn't there, so it seemingly reads: "The grace - the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love - God , and the communion - the Holy Spirit - be with you all. Amen."  It reads so neat that way. Obviously Jesus demonstrates the grace of God, God IS Love, and the Holy Spirit brings us into communion with God and also makes us have fellowship with each other, all one in Christ.  I looked it up in the Greek and even though the "of" is implied, you can definitely still get the same meaning out of it reading it the regular way. Jesus has grace for He IS grace, we enjoy the love of God because He IS Love, the communion of the Spirit is special because He IS our linkage. I love that verse!

The Message translation of it is beautiful too:
The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.

So glad we have a Savior who is grace, a God who is love, a Holy Spirit indwelling us who is our Friend!

We can see these same attributes of the Trinity in the work of our salvation.  My friend Martha pointed this out to me (thanks, Martha!).  The Father (Love) planned our salvation, Jesus (Grace) carried out the plan and took away our sins so we could be given His Life, and the Holy Spirit (communion) is the gift given, the Life of God inside us and one with us forever!  Love planned out the new covenant, Grace inaugurated it, and Communion applied it to each of us individually.  He saved us BECAUSE OF Love, He saved us BY Grace, He saved us FOR communion (union, constant fellowship)!

I love to see and think about the beautiful love relationship and intimate union of hearts within the Trinity.  And it's so special to remember that we have been brought into that very love relationship, that very unity!  Dwelling forever IN LOVE!

Everything in this wonderful life with God is just wrapped up in Him - He takes care of everything!  For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things!  To Him be the glory forever! (Rom. 11:36)

                   Love to all,

The Outpouring of His Love

God accepts us with the promise that we will never be unacceptable to Him.

God looks not to our strengths but to our weaknesses as a means of inserting His love into our hearts.

It is the voice of the Spirit within us that reminds us that we are the Beloved.

We may feel disappointed with ourselves, but God is not.  We may feel like condemning ourselves, but God does not.

The peace that Jesus [gives] comes from the fact that He will never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5).

God's love is constant, ever-present, and unchanging.  Every moment of every day God is with me, loving me first.

When we grasp the magnitude of God's love for us, we will begin to feel it flow out of our hands and feet and mouths into the lives of others.

                                                   James Bryan Smith

Jah Love

 The love of Jah (Yahweh) is better than life! 

Because Grace Is True....

In the face of all this, what is there left to say?  

If God is for us, who can be against us?  He that did not hesitate to spare his own Son but gave him up for us all - can we not trust such a God to give us, with him, everything else that we can need?

Who would dare to accuse us, whom God has chosen?  The judge himself has declared us free from sin.  

Who is in a position to condemn?  Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us! 

Can anything separate us from the love of Christ?   Can trouble, pain or persecution?  Can lack of clothes and food, danger to life and limb, the threat of force of arms?...

No, in all these things we win an overwhelming victory through Him who has proved His love for us.  

I have become absolutely convinced that neither death nor life, neither messenger of Heaven nor monarch of earth, neither what happens today nor what may happen tomorrow, neither a power from on high nor a power from below, nor anything else in God's whole world has any power to has any power to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord!                     Rom. 8:31-9

Because grace is true, noone can stand against us.  God Himself is for us against every enemy and we are already victors through Christ.  God withholds nothing from us.  He ALWAYS leads us through this life in triumph.  He freely gives us all we need in and with the gift of His Son; we are lacking in NO WAY at all.  We are ready and have all sufficiency for any situation that comes our way in this life.

Because grace is true, noone can make any accusation against us to stick.  God Himself has declared us FREE from sin!  We can thus walk through this life without any sin-consciousness AT ALL!  If the Judge declares you in the right, noone can reverse that decision, ever!  Let the voices of accusation say what they will, they are unable to change the FACT that Christ's work forgave us and made us right with God.

Because grace is true, noone can condemn us.  Christ Himself has won our acceptance before God, and it holds for all eternity!  Our standing before God is unchangeable no matter what our  behavior may be, since it is based not on our own imperfect obedience but on the perfect obedience of Christ!  NOTHING will ever cause us to be rejected because Jesus' sacrifice that perfected us will never be rejected!

Because grace is true, noone and nothing can remove us from the Love of God.  We are in the Presence of Divine Love and noone can take us out, not even our own selves.  We are truly safe in His hands.  No matter what we do, no matter what we think, no matter what terrible circumstances we suffer, He HOLDS us and will never let go.  His Love will always engulf us, carry us, speak tenderly to us, see the best in us, and call us beautiful.

Because grace is true, I am alive and well and thanking God today!  I am Son-conscious and not sin-conscious!  I am Life-conscious and not good-and-evil-conscious!  I choose to hold my head high and say, despite my feelings to the contrary, I am the righteousness of God in Christ and never condemned!  I am God's Beloved and the apple of His eye!  I am in union with Him who is Pure Love and would never, ever harm me!  I am free in Christ from all sin and guilt.  I am beautiful to God!  I am accepted no matter what!  As Jesus is to the Father today, I am!

Because grace is true, as Jesus is to the Father today, YOU ARE!

        With love from

"Get Over It"

I was talking to a friend today about how the hurts and trials in our lives can leave us reeling.  She had posted something on her blog that really resonated with me and we began talking about it.  It was the idea that Christian culture sometimes tells us we "shouldn't" be hurting or struggling with some problem in our lives, because we "should" always remember someone has got it worse than we do.  This sounds pious, but it sends a message that our pain is unimportant.  That's the message of Christian culture, but it's not the message of grace.  The message of grace is that it is okay to feel.  It's okay to be honest and say "I'm hurting."  The message of grace is that no problem is unimportant to God.  He cares about every hurt and doesn't compare our problems and reactions to other people's.  He knows our unique makeup and personality and background.  It's okay to have trouble in some area that other people seem not even bothered by.  It's okay to be who we really are and feel what we really feel in our pain.

Then my friend said something that ministered so much to me.  It was definitely a grace statement meant to heal some wounds inside me.  She said "It's okay not to ever get over it."

You see, a few years ago my family went through a tragic crisis.  This situation scarred our lives and its effects are still with us.  It is something we will have to deal with for the rest of our lives.  I went through great worry, fear and pain during and after this terrible time.  And now, a few years later, there is this guilt I have, thinking that I should have "gotten over it" by now.  I keep thinking I should be pain-free and worry-free and sadness-free.  I know other families who have gone through similar or worse things, and they seem to be doing so much better than me.  The message my brain hears is "Get over it."  Since I haven't gotten over this situation, since I still bear the pain, it's made me feel like I'm a "bad Christian."

But today God gave me this wonderful word through my friend:  It's okay not to ever get over it.  Our pain is real and valid.  I don't have to feel guilty about still feeling it years into this situation!  I don't have to get over it!  It's okay to hurt.  It's okay to cry.  It's okay to feel pain.  I felt this statement was giving me permission to let those feelings come out without any shame or guilt.  I am accepted just as I am by God and understood in my hurt.

One day the pain of this trial will be gone.  It will be perfect in heaven, and God will wipe away my tears.  Until then, I don't have to be ashamed to feel.  I don't have to feel ashamed to say, "I'm not over it."  And He is here in the midst with His healing presence in the midst of that pain.  He gives me permission to be real about my problems.  He accepts me and doesn't compare me to others.  He sees me in His Son, and that's perfection.  Yes, I believe God ministers to our hearts.  Yes, I believe He brings healing balm to our wounds.  But I am so thankful that He loves and accepts me, feels my pain with me and isn't telling me to "get over it."

Thank you to my friend, Courtney, for sharing with me, and thank You, God, for loving me and my family through all the  pain and never letting us go!  May all who stop by feel freed to just BE before the God who never rejects us but accepts us as we are in all our troubles and has compassion on us.

                           With love,

Grace - The Essence Of Who God Is

God is gracious and compassionate towards us (Ps. 86:15, Ps. 111:4).  In fact, grace is the essence of who He really is toward us and the foundation of all His relations with us.  God is defined as Love, and when He stoops to love us, the ones who did nothing to deserve it, and continues loving us no matter what we do, that is grace.

Recently I did a little study of the word "grace" in the Bible and how it relates to the character of God.  These are some things I learned:

Grace describes the very character of God and is seen in each member of the Trinity.  The Father is called the God of all grace (1 Pet. 5:10).  The Spirit is called the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29).  The glory of Jesus the Son is full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14).

God's grace isn't inadequate in any way - it's sufficient for us at all times (2 Co. 12:9).  It won't run out, either - it's exceedingly abundant (1 Tim. 1:14), for God is RICH in grace toward us and this grace will be showered upon us for all eternity (Eph. 2:7).   This grace is not small or puny - it's glorious and makes us jump up and down in praise to God (Eph. 1:6).  His grace isn't just a "sometimes" thing, for God is gracious in ALL His works (Ps. 145:17).

God longs to be gracious to us (Is. 30:18).  He wants us to taste and see how gracious He is (1 Pet. 2:3).  His grace toward us has been shown or revealed in Jesus,  for the most special way God has graced us is in Christ (Eph. 1:6).  Jesus showed us God's grace by becoming poor for us so we could become rich in Him (2 Co. 8:9).  By grace He tasted death for every person in the world (Heb. 2:19).  He gives us His own Life as the most wonderful grace-gift of all (Rom. 6:23). 

Grace is who God is, and He shows us that grace in Jesus!  In Christ, we are accepted for free and receive the gift of Life and righteousness.  Thank You, Lord, for being a God of ALL GRACE!

                    With Love,

Led by the Spirit - WE ARE!

As we go through each day of our lives, He is working and bringing His life out in us and in our circumstances.  That is such a wonderful thing! He is at work, we don't have to worry about making things happen. I was reading about that recently and it brought rest.  I think God opened my eyes to that more. I learned that as believers it's not that we have to put the Holy Spirit in control - He IS in control. He IS leading. He IS working all out for good. He IS resurrection life, the glory and very essence of God, and that unstoppable Life, WILL and IS transforming us and our circumstances for good. He IS bringing out what is already true in the spirit realm out into the visible realm.  His Life is shining through in our messy lives, even in the midst of our turmoil, problems, pain and even failure.  The River of Living Water IS flowing, the Life IS coming out!  It won't be completely seen till the redemption of our bodies, but He is there working.  And that brings me rest. Just to know He's at work.

As many as are led by the Spirit, these are the sons of God.  Doesn't that mean that as God's children, the Spirit IS leading us?  That's just a fact of our new existence.  And He ALWAYS leads us in triumph and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ!  We don't have to worry about making that happen by works, understanding, right focus, or even faith.  It IS happening, now and now and now and now.  The Life just IS.  The Life just LIVES.  His Life, His Spirit is at work sustaining, holding, keeping, moving, motivating and expressing Himself in, to, through and as us at all times!  It's not up to me in any way at all to get that to happen.  We don't have to "activate" Him; He is activating us!  Grace means God does it all!  It's up to Him!  And if it's up to Him, it's done. 

                       Love to all,

Because We're in The Covenant of Grace, Not Law....

Because we're in the covenant of grace, not law:

• We have favor and acceptance before God that is a free gift - we didn't have to do anything to earn it, don't have to do anything to keep it, and couldn't do anything that would make us lose it.
• We can sin and fail and know that we are still in His grace, still delighted in and smiled upon by God at all times - we can't outsin the grace of God.
• We never have to feel inadequate or lacking or not good enough - we are already complete in Christ and perfect before God as a free gift, not through anything we did or earned.
• We can come boldly to the throne of grace to receive help when we need it - we never have to feel we need to "clean up our act" before we can approach God.
• We can be sure of God's blessing in our lives without needing to do one single thing to earn or get those blessings - they are already ours because we are in Christ.
• We can relax, knowing there's no pressure on us to perform or to change or constantly improve  - we are alright in Jesus right now as we are.
• We can enjoy security, knowing nothing we do will cause us to fall out of His favor or make Him reject us - we are in His favor and right with Him by Christ's performance and not our own.
• We can be sure of His loving closeness to us and know that nothing that happens and nothing we do will separate us from Him - our relationship is one of perfect fellowship (union) at all times.
• We can trust that when bad times do come in our lives, He is not inflicting them on us or punishing us through them - Christ was already punished for us, there's no punishment left for us.
• We can know that the Holy Spirit will never point out our faults or bring them up again - He always convicts us of our righteousness. before God - we never have to be afraid that God will rebuke us.
• We can rest, knowing God will never get angry with us for anything we've done - He is at peace with us and is pleased with us constantly on the basis of Christ's finished work.
• We can know there's nothing we have to do to maintain this covenant, keep it going, or keep it from failing - Christ put us in it and maintains it for us by His works.
• We can enjoy freedom, knowing we are completely free of all requirements before God and not expected to keep rules that we in ourselves can't keep - Christ already kept the law for us.
• We can know that when we fail, absolutely nothing has changed in our relationship with God - we are still in perfect fellowship, for that's based on Christ's work for us, not our own work.
• We can rest knowing that even if our behavior never matches our true spirit identity (and it won't until heaven!), that we are still completely accepted by God as right with Him!
• We can know that we are not required to produce fruit or live this Christian life - Christ lives it in us and will work in us to bring out the fruit of righteousness in His time.
• We can trust that we are not resistant to God - sin uses law to produce rebels but God uses grace to produce righteous,obedient children whose nature is to love, and this is all a gift from God
• We can know that everything that happens in our lives will be worked out for good, including all hard times and even our mistakes and failures - His grace overrides any problem or failure.
• We can know that God never relates to us on the basis of our own works or effort but always on the basis of Christ's work and effort, and that makes our relationship secure.
• We can know that our sin and our old self are gone forever and that we are righteous, new creations (alive with His life) forever because of all He's freely done for us - His work is finished.
• We can know that we'll never be lacking or inadequate before Him - He has made us complete in Christ and perfected us forever, and we are not deficient in any way.
• We can know we are loved and accepted and right with God for free, that God never sees us as a loser or a failure or a disappointment but only as His dearly loved child - forevermore!

What a blessing and relief to be under the covenant of grace, not law!

                       With love,

Spring Comes

Photos: Top - the woods I love to walk through; Bottom - mountains near home

Spring has come and everything is waking up.  It's time to awaken.  It's time to awaken from the nightmares of condemnation and guilt and separation and wake up to the truth that we are accepted and righteous and one with God!  I've lived too long in the wintry lands of mental anguish and self-condemnation.  I've suffered too long from those dark dreams that God is distant or uncaring, disappointed or angry.  That there is always something more I need to "do" to get close to Him.

Time to wake up!  Birds are singing, the grass shoots up, the trees bud and early flowers bloom!  Skies clear and the gentle breeze replaces the shivery cold we had felt too long.  Time to awaken!  Awaken to the new life that has been ours since the day we first believed.  All this time we have never been alone, never been apart from Him.  We don't need to do something to get closer, for we are IN Him - IN!  He is not angry or uncaring but madly in love with us!  He has been our Dearest Friend all along and He ever will be.

This is the real world.  The wintry world of cold and dark was not true reality.  LIFE is our true reality, the season and country we now dwell in.   Let's enjoy our beautiful Lover and Friend!  Let's forget about the sins, the guilt, the "shoulds", the pressure to perform, for all that has been left behind.  Now we awaken to the real life that is ours forever, free from sin and shame and law's demands, free to live, to love, to be beloved!

Plants don't wake themselves up; God awakens them.  It is the same with us - we don't have to struggle to drive confusion away and "see" these truths, for God Himself will wake us up and reveal TO us all that He has already done IN us.  Dear Lord, thank You for waking us up to enjoy the Life which is You in us!

                        With love,

Last Snow

My Savior, My Friend

Love Unknown

My song is love unknown;  

My Savior's love to me;

Love to the loveless shown,

That they might lovely be.

O, Who am I,

That for my sake

My Love should take

Frail flesh, and die?

He came from His blest throne,

Salvation to bestow;

But men made strange, and none

The longed-for Christ would know.

But O, my Friend, indeed,

Who at my need

His life did spend.

Here might I stay and sing,

No story so divine;

Never was love, dear King!

Never was grief like Thine.

This is my Friend,

In whose sweet praise

I all my days

Could gladly spend.

Samuel Crossman

This is my Savior, my Friend.  He loved me before I was born, sacrificed His own life for me before I even existed.  He loves me when I'm unloving in my actions.  He loves me when my words are hurtful.  He loves me no matter what my thoughts, feelings, doubts or confusion.  He loves me with a love that has no strings attached.  He loves me with a love that has no beginning or ending.

This is my Savior, my Friend.  He understands me.  He understands why I do and say the things I do.  He understands my fears.  He knows my background and the ghosts that sometimes haunt me.  He knows the deeper reasons behind my sins and knows my deepest needs.  He understands where I hurt and why.  He looks on me with sympathy and compassion.  Even if noone else does, He understands!

This is my Savior, my Friend.  He cries with me when I am crying.  He walks beside me when I walk aimlessly through my pain.  He holds my hand in the very darkest night.  I am never, ever alone.  He is a VERY present help in trouble.  He goes through everything with me, as me.   Even if my problem is of my own making, He is there, pouring out love and compassion on me.  There is no failure or sin that would EVER make Him leave me!  He's in this for keeps.   No matter what the mistake or circumstance, He is with me and He won't ever desert me!

This is my Savior, my Friend.  He does only good to me, never evil.  He doesn't wound, He heals.  He is never harsh but gentle.  My Jesus would never harm me but only help me.  He won't kick me when I'm down; instead, He picks me up and carries me in His arms.  He effortlessly lifts my depressed spirits.  He whispers words of truth to me that clear away the cobwebs of untruth.  He always gives words of encouragement, never anger or disappointment or rebuke.  Even after I fall on my face, He is smiling at me, delighting in me!  He is okay with me, and that makes me able to be okay with myself and with other people, too.

This is my Savior, my Friend.  He wants to be around me.  He enjoys being with me!  He is never too busy to talk and He cares about every word I say.  He is interested in the things that interest me.  My hobbies aren't boring to Him;  He shares my joy in the things that interest me.  He likes to spend time, just the two of us, doing nothing together.  He is delighted with me and believes in me, sees the beauty and goodness He put in me which I cannot see.  His love gives me worth, value and dignity.  It makes me want to hold my head high!  It makes me want to introduce everyone to my Friend!

And I have this friendship for free, by grace, through the finished work of Jesus.  I did nothing to earn it and I could do nothing to lose it.  It's freely given to all, to be received by simple faith that says, "Oh, this friendship is mine!"

This is my Savior, my Friend.  I love You, Jesus.  Thank You for being my Friend!  And thank You for being the Friend of every person..

                    With love to all,

The Glorious Truth of the Gospel

"The GOSPEL itself....is the glorious truth that we are justified freely by His grace, clothed in His righteousness, having the same standing before God as His own dear Son, with the right by His blood to stand in God's presence and bask in His glory as sons and daughters of the Lord, to hear His voice, and to cry Abba Father. And to know that we are free from any form of payment, free from any requirement to meet human regulations, free from the accusations and reminders of how we fall short....God's grace is free, access into His presence is free, for every single child of God. It is essential that we encourage God's people to stand firm in the grace of God and enjoy their full inheritance."

                                                                   Peter Day

A Picture of True Freedom

The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.  In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.   (Rom. 6:10-11)

So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.  (Rom. 7:4)

"Here is a picture of true freedom.  You are a death row inmate sitting in the Electric Chair as the final minutes of your life tick by.  Just before the switch is puled something happens.  You are taken out of the chair and another takes your place!  Sounds familiar, doesn't it?  But don't stop there.  For just before the switch is pulled the person in the chair reaches over, grabs your hand and says, "You can't understand what I am doing right now, but you will learn later!"  And the current that rips through his body rips through yours...and you die with him.

"Freedom?  I'll admit, it's not a very good altar call, but this is the Gospel!  You say, 'NO!  I don't remember that!' and you are right, because the whole exchange took place outside our puny concept of reality... 

"Listen, Jesus was raised to NEW LIFE, and HE raised us with Him!  This New Life has no relation to our sins!  Instead, it only relates to GOD!  By killing the people we were - who could do nothing but evil - HE raised us to New Life!!  NOT the walking death that we have come to think of as life.  Don't we know that we have died to sin?  Don't we know that we now Live in relation to GOD?  Don't we know that this is the meaning of true Freedom?

"Our REAL lives are untouched by sin and law, for we have been taken out of it through the miracle of being joined with Christ in his death and resurrection."
                                                           
                                                                Jim Minker
                                                                       

The Life Realm

I was thinking recently, pondering some troubles in my life and thinking about my worries, when the thought came to me suddenly:  "you are already free from them."  My feelings and thoughts can make me feel as if I am in a place of sin, worry, fear, condemnation, struggle, and lack.  Yet here was the idea that I was already free from all that.

"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son." (Col. 1:13)  We have been taken out of the realm of sin, law, struggle, condemnation and striving.  Through the death of Christ we have been delivered from that realm and have been raised up with Him into a new realm, the Life realm.   In the Life realm there isn't any sin.  There isn't any condemnation, guilt or shame.  There isn't any striving or inadequacy or lack.  There isn't any bondage.  We have been placed into the Life realm, which is Him - we have been placed into HIM!  And in Jesus, none of those things exist.

The Life of Christ is where we are now hidden.  That is the Life realm, the Kingdom of the Beloved Son.  In the Life realm there is freedom.  In the Life realm there is righteousness, peace and joy.  In the Life realm, there is abundance, fullness, and completeness.  In the Life realm there is union with God, uninterrupted intimate friendship with Him in a relationship of complete acceptance and divine love.

Every day I FEEL like I'm in the realm of struggle and sin.  Every day thoughts and perceptions come at me trying to tell me that.  So I THINK I am in the place of inadequacy, trying and failure.  Yet it isn't so.  The truth for me and all of us His children is that we are in the Life realm.  We really are free from the struggle and sin.  We may not feel it, we may not experience it, we may not see it.  But it is true.

So since it is true, that makes me say to myself:  why not enjoy the peace, the joy, the fullness, the acceptance, the love relationship, the union with Him?  Why not stop the obsessing about problems and worries, failures and struggles?   Why not run free in the sunshine?  Why not explore all that the Life realm (Jesus) is, the waterfalls of grace, the rivers of living water, the tree of Life itself?  Praise God that He has brought us into the Life, Jesus, and that's where we are today and forevermore, no matter what...He will never stop telling us of that truth.  He is renewing our minds to that truth day by day.  And even if we never enjoy it to the fullest extent, it's still where we are always!

Let's run freely and dance with Him who IS Life and Love in this wonderful new Life realm, the new creation in Christ!

                     With love,

Love Never Fails

 

Love is not proud
Love does not boast
Love after all
Matters the most

Love does not run
Love does not hide
Love does not keep
Locked inside

Love is the river that flows through
Love never fails you

Love will sustain
Love will provide
Love will not cease
At the end of time

Love will protect
Love always hopes
Love still believes
When you don’t

Love is the arms that are holding you
Love never fails you

When my heart won’t make a sound
When I can’t turn back around
When the sky is falling down
Nothing is greater than this
Greater than this

Love is right here
Love is alive
Love is the way
The truth the life

Love is the river than flows through
Love is the arms that are holding you
Love is the place you will fly to
Love never fails you

                                                                Brandon Heath

When everything falls apart, Love holds us together.  Love, whose name is Jesus, will always be there for us, no matter what.  Love weeps with us when we weep and laughs with us when we rejoice.  Love holds our hand and walks through this life with us.  Love wishes only the best for us and would never harm us.  Love isn't interested in getting something out of us or using us - Love gives without expecting anything in return.  Love only wants to hold us in His arms forever and see us smile.

Love protects our heart.  Love builds us up when everything else conspires to tear us down.  Love always sees us as beautiful and perfect, no matter how we see ourselves.  Love doesn't see our failures but only our value and worth.  Love won't let us go.   Love will be the one carrying us through the darkest days.  For Love won't ever, ever leave us.  Love, whose name is Jesus, will never fail us.

I had a dream recently that I was holding the most beautiful little baby girl.  I knew in the dream this was my own dear child.  Her face was so beautiful, every feature so delicate and perfect.  She snuggled quietly in my arms with a hint of a smile on her lips.  What a beautiful dream!   The next morning at breakfast I "happened" to read these words:  "Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you." (Is. 49:15)

I think God sees me and every one of His children as a little one in His arms.  He sees us innocent, pure, beautiful, without one single blemish, every feature so perfect and delicate and lovely.  He cherishes us and holds us in His arms, safe with Him forever.  You are His dear little child.  Love holds you.  Love says, "I will not forget you."  And Love won't ever let go of us.  Let's not grow up, let's grow down.  Let's see ourselves as His little innocent ones today, receiving from Him all  nourishment and care.  Let's see the world from that place where we truly are right now, cradled in His arms.  Let's rest and sleep like a baby, snuggled up close to His heart.  Because that's where we are today.

"I have loved you with an everlasting love."  (Jer. 31:3)

(I'm dedicating this post celebrating God's love to my two friends, Stan and Martha, who are celebrating their 38th wedding anniversary today.  Stan and Martha, His love shines through you so brightly and it will hold you both forever!  Congratulations on your big day!)
      
           Grace and love to all,

When I Look at Me, When I Look at Him

When I look at me, I see failure, struggle, lack, selfishness, trials, fears, problems..

But He gently directs my gaze to Him.  He diverts my eyes from myself and draws my eyes to Him.  He looks at me with tender love and compassion.

And when I look at Him, I see hope, peace, acceptance, joy, fulfillment, love, grace, confidence and REST.

When He lifts my face to look in His eyes, I see all that's needed has already been provided.  I see He accepts me and embraces me right now.  I see His perfection and I see my perfection in Him.  I see our union.  I see that I have already arrived at the place of perfect rest.  And it's Him.

Thank You that You remind us of the truth so beautifully, dear Jesus!  Thank You for looking into our eyes with such love that it melts our hearts and makes us relax once again in Your arms.  Thank You for reminding us that You are okay with us, and we are okay to You..

"I forgot about me when I saw You."  (Jamie Weeks)

                     With love,

Happy Day!

The greatest day in history, Death is beaten
You have rescued me
Sing it out Jesus is alive
The empty cross, The empty grave
Life eternal You have won the day
Shout it out Jesus is alive
He's alive

When I stand, in that place
Free at last, meeting face to face
I am Yours Jesus You are mine
Endless joy, perfect peace
Earthly pain finally will cease
Celebrate Jesus is alive
He's alive

Oh happy day, happy day
You washed my sin away
Oh happy day, happy day
I'll never be the same OH NO
Forever I am changed

Oh what a glorious day
What a glorious way
That You have saved me
Oh what a glorious day
What a glorious name

YEAHHH

Oh happy day, happy day
You washed my sin away
Oh happy day, happy day
I'll never be the same
Love has rescued me
Forever I am changed
What a glorious glorious day,
I'll never be the same

Tim Hughes 
  
He is alive and we are alive in Him!  We are seated with Him in heavenly places!  We have been catapulted out of the realm of death into the realm of LIFE!  Happy Resurrection Day to all!


              With love to all from

You Didn't Have To Do It

You Didn't Have To Do It

I´ll never know why
Why you did what you did
You didn't have to die
But you did
You hung on the cross
So that I wouldn't be lost
You took my place
Now you're pleading my case
You didn't have to do it
Oh, but I'm glad you did
You didn't have to do it
But I'm glad you did

You didn't have to suffer
You didn't have to give your life
You could have come down from the cross
But you chose to die
You said "Father forgive them
For they know not what they do"
An when they pierced Your side
You just hung bled and died

You didn't have to come down
From the Father's side
But because of Your love for me
You made the sacrifice
You knew no sin
But became sin for me
An all who believe
Can live eternally

You didn't have to do it
But I'm glad you did
You could have come
down from the cross
Then my soul would be lost
But You chose to stay
And Your love made a way

                                                 Crystal Lewis

Behold the Lamb of God Who Takes Away Our Sin

We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.  (1 John 4:14)

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.   (John 3:17)

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.  (1 John 3:8b)

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  (John 10:10)

The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.  (Matt. 20:28)

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  (John 15:13)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (Rom. 5:8)

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;  the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.  (Is. 53:5-6)

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.  (1 Pet. 3:18)

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.  (1 John 2:2)

Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  (John 1:29b)

For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.  (Heb. 10:14)

“Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”  (Heb. 10:17b)

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.  (2 Co. 5:14-5)

For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.  I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.  (Gal. 2:19-21)

Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.  (Rom. 6:6-7,10-1)

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Co. 8:9)

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?  Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.  (Rom. 8:31-4)

Phil. 2:6-11
[Christ], being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:6-11)

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!  (2 Co. 9:15)

The Wonderful New Covenant of Grace

The New Covenant means God does everything for us and we get all the benefits without having to deserve or earn them!  The New Covenant of Grace is an agreement between Jesus and the Father that God will relate to us and bless us based solely on the perfection and finished work of Christ on our behalf..In this covenant we are the beneficiaries simply by believing in Christ.  We need do nothing, for Christ has done it all, and we get all the benefits, rights, and privileges as beloved sons and daughters of God.  The main clause of this covenant is that our sins and iniquities He will remember NO MORE and that we are righteous (in right relationship with God) with the righteousness of Christ Himself (2 Co. 5:21, Heb. 10:16-7).  This covenant is inaugurated by the blood of Christ, which took away our sins and perfected us forever!  Believing this caused us to receive the gift of Life Eternal - the very life/Spirit of Christ put within us, producing the goal of the covenant - knowing God in intimate, perfect, continuous, unbroken fellowship!  We were made to be in love-union with Him forever and Jesus brought that about and it's a free gift.  Everything is in Christ and we receive everything when we receive Him by faith - that means we live in the ALREADY - we already have life, acceptance, forgiveness, holiness, sanctification, completion, righteousness, oneness, freedom, perfection, GLORY.  We have it already in Christ, now and forever, as a gift.  We have been delivered from the realm of law, sin, condemnation, and death through being crucified with Christ and we have been placed in the realm of grace, freedom, righteousness and life by being raised with Christ.  Jesus maintains this covenant and maintains His own life within us, taking care of everything for us both now and forever.  This covenant can only fail if Jesus Himself and His sacrifice were to somehow fail - which is impossible!  So this covenant is secure forever.  All as a gift of grace!

                                 With love,

Blessings of the New Covenant

Jeremiah 31:31-34
“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Jeremiah 32:37-41
"Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul."

Ezekiel 36:24-28
"For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God."

Here are some blessings of the New Covenant that I see in these passages:

1 -  He's our God and we're His people.  In Him is belonging and acceptance.

2 -  We all know Him; we're not trying to know Him, we already do.  In Him is relationship.

3 -  He's forgiven all our sin and we are clean.  In Him is total forgiveness.

4 -  Our sin is remembered no more; it won't be brought up ever again!  In Him is release and freedom.

5 -  He's written His law on our minds and hearts (not a little Ten Commandments tablet inside but the very life and righteous nature of Christ within).  In Him is righteousness.

6 - He's put His Spirit inside us, so we are never alone.  In Him is companionship.

7 -  We have a new heart, a good nature that won't turn away from Him.  In Him is holiness.

8 -  He causes us to walk in His ways.  In Him is holy living and fruit.

9 -  He won't turn away from us.  In Him is security.

10 - He rejoices over us to do us good.  In Him is celebration and blessing.

11 - He'll dwell in and with us forevermore!  In Him is union!

12 - We're safe!  In Him is protection.

13 - He gathers us and brings us in, He does it all.  In Him is care and rest.

14 - He feeds us abundantly and we'll never lack.  In Him is satisfaction.

15 - He put a new spirit within us and put His Spirit within us.  In Him is Life!

We have been taken out of the realm of sin, condemnation and death and put into the realm of righteousness, acceptance, and life!  What a wonderful covenant we live under!  It is amazing, this life we have in Him!

                        With love,

We Live By Grace

Grace is the best thing going!  And not only are we saved by grace, but we also live by it as well!  Grace really undergirds the whole Christian life, and everything happens in the Christian life by grace.  I did a little study of the word "grace" in the New Testament recently, and I was amazed at how this is so.  We truly live this whole Christian life by grace.

Grace keeps sin from reigning over us (Rom. 6:14) and instead makes us reign in life (Rom. 6:17).  It causes us to labor and labors in us (1 Co. 15:10).  By grace we have (Rom.  12:6) and use spiritual gifts, and we minister by grace as stewards of the grace of God (1 Pet. 4:10).  Grace makes us strong with His strength when we are weak (2 Co. 12:9), and helps us when we are in time of need; in fact knowing He's gracious gives us boldness to approach Him for help in those needy times (Heb. 4:16).  

By grace we serve God acceptably (Heb. 12:28).  Being established in grace helps us not be confused by false doctrine (Heb. 13:9).  We stand in grace (Rom. 5:2), conduct ourselves in grace (2 Co. 1:12), continue in grace (Acts 13:43), are built up in grace (Acts 20:32), grow in grace (2 Pet. 3:18), and are strong in grace (2 Tim 2:1).  Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and live righteously (Tit. 2:11-12).  By grace we have faith, knowledge, diligence, love, and generosity (2 Co. 8:7).  And because of grace we have an abundance for every good work (2 Co. 9:8).

Grace makes us know how to answer people, and our words impart grace; in fact, edification is actually imparting grace to people!  (Eph. 4:29).   Grace causes thanksgiving and brings glory to God (2 Co. 4:15).  We worship with grace in our hearts (Col. 3:16).  Grace consoles us and gives us hope (2 Th. 2:16).  We hope for the grace to come (1 Pet. 1:13), as we're heirs of the grace of life (1 Pet. 3:7).  God actually saved us to show us grace and kindness forever (Eph. 2:7)!

His grace is all over us, around us, under us, before us, and in us.  Grace is just Jesus Himself loving us, living in us, and working in us without our having to deserve it.  He freely blesses us!  We're carried along in His arms of grace today, and that grace is sufficient for all of our lives (2 Co. 12:9).  We live by grace, live by the Spirit, live in the New Covenant where all is gift!

                         With love,

Ocean Waves And Grace

When I was a child my family used to enjoy vacations at the beach.  My dad was an early riser, and he loved to go out and walk on the beach at sunrise and look for shark's teeth along the shore.  Now I loved to be with my daddy, and often he would wake me up while it was still half-dark to go with him on these early morning walks.  Some of my favorite memories are of those walks on the beach with my dad.  We just walked and looked at the sun rising over the waves.  He would show me where I could find shark's teeth (once I even found one that was an inch long - yes, I'm bragging), and I would look for my favorite shells, the ones with the pretty little spots on them.  Dad would try to capture the sunrise on film, and we would walk for a long way down the uncrowded beach.

It was peaceful and perfect.  I felt like I could look at that sea forever, with the sunshine dancing like diamonds on its shimmery surface.  The sound of the waves coming ashore was so soothing and just went on forever.  The waves just relentlessly caressed the sand...

Grace is, to me, like those sea waves.  Grace always comes to us.  Just like a person standing in the waves of the sea, we stand in His grace and it washes over us and over us and over us.  It's a never ending and constant supply.  His grace and love and presence are more than sufficient for every situation we face, every need we have, every day we live.  The grace we were saved by His the grace we live by, and His grace will never fail.  Grace always comes to us, as steady and sure as the waves rolling in upon the shore.  It can never be stopped, it can never be diminished, it can never be diverted.  At our lowest point, it will still wash over us!  His grace always comes to us.  We are standing and wading and running and diving and floating in the sea of His grace!

Grace to me is just the unconditional love and acceptance of God expressed in Jesus through His finished work.  He pours grace on us to show us it's safe to approach Him, safe to confide in Him, safe to trust Him.  He pours it on us to show us that we're reconciled and there's nothing standing between us because of the cross.  He  pours it on us to show us that we don't have to deserve His love.  He pours it on us so we can be one with Him in perfect fellowship, and He makes every day special because He loves us.  He's our Father and friend.  He loves to be with us and just walk through life with us, and as Brennan Manning says, just being together is an end in itself.  We are blessed to walk through the waves of grace with our Heavenly Daddy always!

Running through the waves of grace with Jesus today...

                         With love,

Out of Darkness

I could live a thousand years
Never earn a moment of Your grace
Even in my darkest day
You shine on me
You shine on me

And out of the darkness
You brought me into Your glorious light
Saved from the death I was facing
Rejoicing in the future, a hope that is mine

The greatest of all gifts
From the greatest of all givers
Jesus there upon the cross
True love displayed for all to see

And your grace runs after me
Runs after me
Everyday of my life
And your mercies they never fail
They never fail
Everyday of my life

                                                Tim Hughes

Flying Free

Una Paloma Blanca

When the sun shines on the mountain
And the night is on the run
It's a new day
It's a new way
And I fly up to the sun

I can feel the morning sunlight
I can smell the new-mown hay
I can hear God's voice is calling
For my golden sky light way

Una paloma blanca
I'm just a bird in the sky
Una paloma blanca
Over the mountains I fly
No one can take my freedom away

Once I had my share of losing
for they locked me on a chain
Yes they tried to break my power
oh I still can feel the pain

Una paloma blanca
I'm just a bird in the sky
Una paloma blanca
Over the mountains I fly
No one can take my freedom away

                                                  George Baker

I loved this oldie as a child!  And I love the grace message in it..We are free in Him today, and nothing can take that freedom away!  We are free from sin, condemnation, guilt, punishment, rejection, pressure to measure up or perform, law, requirements and rules we couldn't ever keep, the old self, the old way of life - we are free!  Free to dance, sing, and fly in His grace!  Free to enjoy His loving presence, free to fail and know we're still accepted, free to love ourselves and just let ourselves be, free to love others and just let them be!  Grace is so wonderful!  Nothing can take His love, favor, and acceptance away!  Nothing can take HIM away from our hearts!  We soar free in Jesus today!  We're like white, clean, pure doves flying in the sky on Spirit wings, and noone can take that freedom away!  "Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you" (Gal. 5:1).  I'm just a bird in the sky...

                       With love,

Free To Just Be

We don't have to be anything.  We don't have to be wise.  We don't have to be strong.  We don't have to be beautiful.  We don't have to be tough.  We don't have to be courageous.  We don't have to be energetic.  We don't have to be anything.

We are free to just be ourselves.  We are free to just be whatever we are right at this moment.  We are free to let go of trying, let go of struggling to improve or be something different than we are.  We are free to feel, to laugh or cry, to understand or be confused.  We are free to fail. We are free to be honest and realize we don't have it all together.  And we don't have to.

Jesus is the One that matters.  He's the One who has to have is all together, and He does!  He is the One who is wise, strong, beautiful, tough, courageous, energetic.  He is all of that for us and in us and as us.  He has made us all those things in Him anyway whether we feel that way or not.  Nothing can change that.  Our thoughts, feelings, and actions are not the deepest thing about us - HE is the deepest thing about us!  We can just be and find that He IS in the midst of our "stuff."  He will speak to us and minister to us and love us and accept us and delight in us right where we are!   He won't ever let go of us, we're safe with Him just as we are, no matter what.  His Life will be there no matter what, a constant spring of living water.

One thing I love about grace is that He takes us as we are.  We don't have to try to look good, ever.  It's great to be honest and let down all pretenses and just be, knowing nothing is required of us and no heavy burdens are placed on us.  We are not required to be perfect and lovely and smart and godly - we are accepted as we are.  Yet the paradox is that He has made us all those things already inside!  He has made our inner life with Him perfect already and we can rest in that, whether our outer life matches the inner one or not.  He's taking care of our life.  We can just be.  We can be honest and naked before Him, for He is a safe place to be, a place of acceptance.  Real acceptance!

Jesus is okay with us.  Right now, as we are, whatever we are feeling, thinking or even doing.  And we are okay before Him.  We are okay in Him.  We can just be.

                         With love,

We See Grace

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

                                                               John 1:12-18


Jesus has declared to us who God really is and what He is really like.  We see the nature of God, the glory of God, in the face of Jesus.  When we look on His face, we see GRACE!  Not anger, frustration, harshness, coldness, condemnation or disappointment but GRACE.  The law condemned our sin, but in Jesus there is NO condemnation, only acceptance in the Beloved!  Jesus is FULL of grace and truth.  And we've received of that fullness, we've received GRACE.  We are graced today.  God is for us, favors us, is on our side.  I'm His favorite and so are you!  We look at this day through the lens of grace, knowing we are held, loved, understood, accepted, lifted up, GRACED!


                            With love,

Peter, Peter

Lately, I have come to identify with Peter in the Bible.  I don't think my personality is much like him - he seemed much bolder and more of a leader than I am.  Yet there is something about him that is similar to me:  he tends to make grand sweeping statements about his faith and then proceeds to fall flat on his face.  That's me!  I say I believe in grace and know God accepts me no matter what, that I'm not under law and live freely.  The next thing I know, I'm failing at something, comparing my performance to someone else's and feeling sin-conscious, condemned and confused rather than remembering I'm accepted!  Aaarrgh! 

That's when I identify with Peter.  He really felt he would never deny Christ.  He was so sure of the passion in his heart for Jesus.  Yet he turned around and denied Jesus three times.  And Jesus looked at Peter...You know when I read that in my past law-based days, I always saw that as a disappointed, I-told-you-so kind of look.  But I think it was a love gaze, really.  There's a quote by Brennan Manning that really speaks to me about this very moment in Peter's life:

"Peter knew that no man had ever loved him or no woman could ever love him as Jesus did.  The Man whom he confessed as the Christ, the Son of the living God, looked into his eyes, saw the transparent terror there, watched him act out the dreadful drama of his security addiction, AND LOVED HIM.  The love of Jesus for Peter lay in his complete and unconditional acceptance of him."

Jesus looked on Peter and loved him.  He knew he would deny Him.  It was no surprise to Him that Peter failed.  Yet that fact didn't change Jesus' love and acceptance of Peter one bit.  He gazed on him with love and Peter melted and wept.

After the resurrection, the disciples and Jesus were having breakfast on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him.  Now in my old way of thinking, I always saw this as Jesus convicting Peter of his sin, reminding him that he'd denied Christ three times and really needed to work on his love quotient.  I saw it under law, I suppose, as Christ calling Peter to be better, do better, love better.  But now I see it differently.  Jesus knew what was in Peter's heart.  He knew Peter loved Him.  But maybe Peter didn't know it.  Maybe he still felt guilty about those denials and unsure of his own heart.  And so I see those three questions as Jesus' way of assuring Peter that he did love Him and that Jesus Himself knew that.  He saw the good in Peter that he himself couldn't see.  He even saw the future, that he would be ministering the life of Christ to others.  He affirmed him and built him up.

This is exactly how I feel Jesus is with me and with all of us.  We all fail.  But Jesus gazes on us with love.  He already knows about those failures.  They are no surprise to Him, and He is not disappointed in us.  He knows that we will fail.  And He's taken away all those failures onto the cross and they are NO MORE.  They are gone and forgotten, out of His sight and out of His mind.  He's made us new creations with His righteousness as our own.  He sees us complete, whole, perfect, new, right and lovely.  For we are in Him, and He is all those things and has made us all those things.  He tenderly shows us what is in our heart.  It isn't evil or dirty as we may sometimes suspect if we consider our failings.  No, it is beautiful, clean, pure, and new.  Filled with Him.  His heart pulses within our own and as our own.  His love pulses there with every beat.  He shows us that we ARE okay with Him, we ARE love because the One who IS love is our very Life now.  He shows us the beautiful creations we now ARE in Him and that the Life of Christ IS oozing out of us to others!

So yes, I fall flat on my face sometimes.  So what?  Jesus has taken care of that sin already and given me His perfect righteousness and even given me Himself.  And I'm not a yucky sinner anymore - that person died on the cross with Christ.  I'm a new creation, filled with His resurrection life and with His very love bursting from my heart.  I can stop thinking about my performance for He loves me as I am.  He gazes on me with love and accepts me, whether I'm flat on my face or jumping with joy in His grace.  And that's true for all of us who are in Him!

He's looking at us with love today, gazing upon us with delight!  And in those eyes of love, we are perfectly lovely to Him!

                           With love,