GOD

My People,

Hi! Had a holiday shifted from a Tuesday to a Saturday this week! Sorry for the delay with the post.  

On a cold chilly morning, as I walk down the staircase, I hear the church bells ring in with ‘Ave Maria’ and it’s the most fantastic sound of music to my ears.

Music does wonders to our mind. It has a way of calming us down. Now that depends on the kind of music you listen to. Personally I like listening to love songs, Country, ABBA and Bryan Adams. See there is no hate in these songs, no violent tendencies. I like my music to inspire me and to be the kind to uplift my spirit.

If you listen to the music that is revolting and abusive, you become kind of what you hear. And somewhere down the line, you begin to lose track of being able to judge the right from the wrong. Because if you listen to aggressive music you will never know that you’ve become what you love so much.

On the 11th of November, after the mass, I saw two lepers sitting on the road. As I neared them, I saw tears in one of the person’s eyes. It was enough to move my heart and make me long to do something. But sometimes you can only feel the pain.

I hear people use the word friend, for anyone and nothing wrong with that. But when you call someone friend, would you go backbiting them? That would be wrong, wouldn’t it? I think you got to keep the trust.  I think you got to be able to sacrifice-for the good of the other.

Jesus tells in John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.”  

When studying Psychology, I remember the lecturer’s first line she stated - that you must love yourself to be able to love anyone else. I was amused at what I heard. I thought ‘what’? Years later, I realized that she had a point. The first lesson, I learnt with God, is-He showed me how important I was to Him.

I thought my name was too common. So that’s what God started with first. He showed me that it meant ‘grace’- God’s Grace. Everybody has a calling in their life, mine is to love and be able to forgive with all my heart. What Jesus gave me so generously I cannot hold it back from someone else now, can I? When I pray the ‘Our Father' if I feel that I have any kind of resentment or anger towards anyone I pray with them in mind. And I feel the peace of God come back to me.

I don’t like fights. I don’t believe in blaming others for my shortcomings. I always believe that life is filled with opportunities. There is an entire universe out there. If you want to learn God is the most wonderful, gentle teacher ever. He will show you the way, He will teach you to trust Him and you will always recognize His voice. He will gently pick you up each and every-time you fall. He will wipe your eyes dry. And you will never ever walk alone! I’m telling you from what I know.

Don’t ever doubt HIS LOVE and don't ever be afraid! Jesus walks with you! You know He does! YOU KNOW!

May the Peace of JESUS be with you!

With all my love,

For Love Prevails,

AnitA.

"Grace" is God's unmerited favour. We endure "by His grace" and not our strength.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10

1. 1 Corinthians 15:10 : 2 Cor. 11:23; 12:11; Col. 1:29
2. 1 Corinthians 15:10 : [ch. 3:6; 2 Cor. 3:5; Phil. 2:13]; See Matt. 10:20
Cross referen

Paul tells us it was "bestowed" (to present as a gift) and "yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." We need God's grace to meet the trials of life. Romans 12:6 tells us grace is measured, meaning the heavier the burden, the harder the task, the greater the need, the more God supplies grace. When we depend upon GOD and not ourselves, "He giveth more grace." James 4:6. WE CANNOT MAKE IT THROUGH all the dangers, problems, disappointments, hardships and needs of all kinds WITHOUT THE ABUNDANT GRACE OF GOD BESTOWED ON US! In 2 Corinthians 11-12 Paul describes a difficult life and his experience for which God gave him a "thorn in the flesh." He prayed about it three times and got his answer back from God, "MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE."  

Paul has several choices for the thorn...

• Fight it in the flesh.
• Blame God with doing Him wrong.
• Become bitter and give up, or as he did,
• "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

The reason many of us become bitter is because we fight in the flesh. The grace of God influences our speech and strenghens us. We need to trust God for the "Grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-16 states-Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

James 4:6 states-But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

Sure signs that one is not living in the Grace of God are anger, bitterness, resentfulness, seeking revenge, unkindness, coldness, unfaithfulness and blaming God with their condition.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthinans 10:13

1 Corinthinans 10:13 tells us that God will "Make a way to escape" in our time of tribulations. We look for it at the "Throne of Grace." May God's grace be upon us all. May we never loose hope, fully knowing that we’ll never lack help!

Paul begins and ends all his 13 letters in the New Testament with a blessing of grace-something like "Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Or: "Grace be with you."

Grace is the only word that is common to all those blessings. Grace is something that comes from God.

All we have is from Him and through Him and to Him. Paul says in Romans 11:34–35, we can't give a gift to Him so that we could be repaid. All our gifts are His already.

Grace is the overflow of God's free goodness and power and wisdom. Saying that God is a God of grace is a way of saying that God is God—that He is the infinite and all-sufficient. When goodness comes from Him, it comes freely. It can come no other way. Therefore all His goodness is grace.

All the grace Paul has in mind when he blesses at the beginning and end of all his letters is future grace. May God do something gracious now. May God go on being gracious to you, starting now. We need to believe in this future grace. We need to be confident of it and trust in it.

Paul expresses what it is like to live faith in future grace-1 Corinthians 15:10: "By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not in vain, but I worked harder than any of them. Yet it was not I but the grace of God which is with me."

Paul says, lived by faith in future grace. At the beginning of the letters he says, "Grace to you," and at the end of his letters he says, "Grace be with you."

Paul says: through the hearing of the Word of God grace is coming to you. Paul says, "The Lord be with you all." This is what it means that grace will be with you. The Lord will be graciously with you, by His Spirit.

1 Peter 5:8–14 states:  Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.

And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

If God called you to His glory, He's going to get you to His glory. A little suffering in between is not going to stop Him.

The meaning of being a Christian is that we have been effectually called to eternal glory. This is Peter's way of saying what Paul said in Romans 8:30: Whom God calls He also justifies, and whom He justifies He also glorifies. Peter simply says, The One who called you to His glory will get you to His glory: He will perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. It's a promise.

Peter says, you don't start with being qualified. You start with the God of all grace. Grace precedes qualification. You may have this promise freely, if you will believe in this God of all grace.

And he gives one last encouragement to believe it in verse 11: "To Him—to the God of all grace—be dominion forever and ever. Amen." Dominion means superior strength. God has dominion over the devil. He is stronger than Satan. Therefore when GOD promises to successfully get us through to glory, He can do it and will do it. Dominion belongs to the Lord.

So when Satan roars with his suffering in your face and threatens to devour you, say, "The God of all grace has called me to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, and after I have suffered a little while from your claws and fangs, He will perfect and confirm and strengthen and establish me. He is a God of all grace. He is a God of absolute dominion. GOD has called me to glory and He will get me to glory."

That's how to resist him firm in your faith. Take this promise and Believe it. Fight with it. Persevere with it. It's yours free from the God of all grace.

Every suffering means a lesson to be learned. Every successful lesson learned is also a good thing we earned in terms of our faith and trust in the Lord.

Now, don’t tell that we have a big problem that we can not handle. Everything seems so big if we lack in faith. But when we have that complete trust and faith in the Lord, we can see that everything is so small and none is so hard.

Forgiveness brings healing. It sets someone free from the chains, burdens and years of bondage. Have you hated and begrudged someone for weeks, months and years? Set them free, find relief for yourself, and make brothers of your enemies.

The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.

There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your Redeemer. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.

To see and understand and to learn from what you understand is something else. But to act on what you learn is all that really matters.

CONCLUSION: Most of the times we think all hope is gone. There is nothing left in life for us but I want to assure that there is a lot in store for you from God if you will have faith and pray to Him. What you are going through is to make you stronger.

GOD WILL MAKE A WAY WHERE THERE SEEMS TO BE NO WAY!

REMEMBER: Joseph was sold by his brothers; his master’s wife lied against him and he was put in prison by his master. It was against all odds that he was the one to interpret the dream Pharaoh had but the bible tells us that God was with Him and showed favour on him. Joseph was in charge of all those people held in prison. Have you ever heard of anyone put in prison and put in charge of all the people held in prison? No, but the Lord did it for Joseph because Joseph believed in Him. Though it was against all odds things got better. After he interpreted the dream he was put in charge of the palace and people submitted to his orders. Genesis-41:40. Genesis-39:23 says The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did, Isn’t that great? Watch this; the Lord made him (reign) in prison and out of prison. You might be reigning though you are in trouble but you cannot see it. What you are going through is to make you stronger. Believe and pray to the Lord and He will surely show you kindness and favour just as He did for Joseph.
Isaiah 40:31 states-but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

PRAYER: Abba Father, Your Holy Will be done. Keep me always obedient and faithful to You. Never let go!

PROMISE: Date: 17^th November, 2012. (Daniel & Emmanuel).