Thursday, June 25, 2009

Living the sufficiency of God's grace!

I received this today in an email and thought wow! What a thought.

I was shocked, confused, bewildered As I entered Heaven's door, Not by the beauty of it all, Nor the lights or its decor. But it was the folks in Heaven Who made me sputter and gasp-- The thieves, the liars, the sinners, The alcoholics and the trash. There stood the kid from seventh grade Who swiped my lunch money! twice. Next to him was my old neighbor Who never said anything nice. Herb, who I always thought Was rotting away in hell, Was sitting pretty on cloud nine, Looking incredibly well. I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal? I would love to hear Your take. How'd all these sinners get up here? God must've made a mistake. 'And why's everyone so quiet, So somber - give me a clue.' 'Hush, child,' He said, 'they're all in shock. No one thought they'd be seeing you.' JUDGE NOT. Every saint has a PAST... Every sinner has a FUTURE!

We forget that as we are looking through our own lens of unrighteous and skewed truth because we hold on to our expectations, unfulfilled dreams, and unforgiveness that have nothing to do with God but all ‘us’. We hold on to our hurt-filled heart and mind which clouds our way as it festers and grows. We forget this creates a division between the person and the Father, thus…we cannot worship fully in spirit and truth, because we are not being it…
See we all have a story to tell filled with triumphs, victories, mistakes, bad choices….love taken advantage of, manipulative relationships, twisted mercy, misinterpreted grace, and blunt force trauma justice (some we have been the giver, and some we have been the receiver)…I know, I have….Hezekiah Walker got it right with his song – God Favor…would not fall, would not bend, not compromise…God favor me…I speak life, I speak prosperity, I even speak health…This is what we should do as Christian; walk it out, let God handle it, forgive it, because all things work out for those who love God. His will, not ours…I can speak for me, my life changed, I obtained PEACE of mind, once I stopped trying to ‘fix it’. When I stop trying to get people to see their mistakes, and understand my point. I saw the error of my ways. Then, I had to realize, I cannot make anyone do, change or see by being hostile, angry, rude, or combative, and own my contribution to the problem. However, I could still loved with the same intensity, and not put myself in the hurtful places or be around negative people. I cannot make individuals who live in a negative space because of their doing, to move out of their fear and hurt. Just like no one can make me move out of mind. This was a hard transition, but I can say it is a blessed position and disposition. You know, I finally got this, when Paul stated - 2 Cor. 12:9-10 - My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. (MSG). God’s grace is sufficient for me, and I am stronger because I am not loaded down with the excess of baggage of madness and confusion. I free to see God’s picturesque light, whether big or small, shine unconsciously from all…God got me, does not mean I am without the hurt, the blame, or the consequences of my past actions, but what it does mean, I am not imprison by my fear, unforgiveness or insecurity…God’s grace is sufficient and it is has power to take my mess to become my message, my tests to be my testimony, and struggles to become my story…wink

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