We gleam some amazing wisdom from the book of Proverbs... One piece of glorious truth in particular came bursting from my thoughts and heart this morning as I was out for a long run - Proverbs 24:16: "for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again..." What a beautiful illustration of grace! The righteous are clothed in grace and only called righteous because of the blood of Christ upon them... and it is quite important to be reminded that the righteous are not righteous by any self merit. Quite contrary! It is all the work and atonement of Jesus on the cross... That is THE GOSPEL, full circle! Hallelujah! AMEN! I don't know about you, but as for me, I know that I try to live each moment to the fullest and unto the glory of God, but try as I may, this flesh is still attached to the very core of me and I fail quite often. It saddens and pains my heart, but then I am reminded that I am not perfect, but only clothed in HIS perfection! What a grand weight is lifted from my shoulders when I step out of self-condemnation and into God's grace! As a believer in Jesus Christ, I know that I desire each moment to please God but I never will be able to FULLY, this side of heaven...and this is NOT a ticket to engage in pre-meditated or flamboyant sin, but it IS very much a place that I can find rest and peace - knowing that He has paid it all...and therefore all to Him I owe! Such joy is found in this beautiful place called GRACE! So, as I come to this shelter of GRACE, and in the realization of not wanting to live life with ANY regrets, I came to this verse in Proverbs this morning, and the Lord spoke to my heart... He reminded me that though I fall seven times, in HIM, I can stand up eight. My failures are not the end of the story! No no! The story is already written, and in HIM, I stand TALL! The hinge on which regret swings is this... Did you right your wrong? First, before God, and then, before man? Did you stand back up and walk forward in obedience and Godliness? Or did you give up, give in, turn away from Him? I was reminded this morning to never give up, give in, or turn away, but always always to stand tall and give my all! While there is still breath in my lungs, there is HOPE... LIVING HOPE in JESUS, in His abundant and never-failing grace! How beautiful this truth is! What a reason to rejoice! So, the moral of the story is this - today, from this very moment forward, this is the rest of your life... So, stand back up, stand tall in Him, walk in His grace, and live your life...and love it! Comments are closed.
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"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." I welcome you to dive into my grace-filled attempt at sharing the love and truth of Jesus with you! Prayerfully and hopefully, I desire to encourage you and partner with you in your faith, fitness, freedom, and family! ♡
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April 2018
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