IT is your whole life

Joel stole our hearts. His eyes were big and brown and he had the moves that would make Michael Jackson jealous. He cried big tears when it was time for our team visiting Agape Home to say goodbye. Joel was always smiling, laughing, kicking a soccer ball or helping with the younger children. After a celebration lunch on Sunday afternoon, we picked on Joel on how much he ate and his stomach looked like he was hiding a soccer ball in there. But this wasn't always the case for Joel. He has known hunger, disease, and the despair of deep poverty.  He was rescued off the streets where he lived after his parents died of AIDS. His bed was a sidewalk. All he knew was the street life of begging for food and finding a way to survive anyway he could. He has found new life at Agape. Not only are his physical needs met but his spiritual needs. Joel came to know Christ and has begun to grow in Him. He is being supported, encouraged and equipped to become a man who will follow Christ into whatever he has planned for him to be a part of the mission of God. Now, Joel has hope.

When darkness surrounds us and circumstances seem hopeless, God is still at work turning death into life. This is the hope we have as Christians. We believe not only in a God who brings Hope in hopeless situations, but He also asks us to do the same.

Our God is a God who went to the cross and died for the least and the lost If we get real with ourselves, we understand that you and I are the "losers" God sent His Son to die for. When we hear stories such as Joel's, instead of perhaps judging his family or feeling overwhelmed for his circumstances, we should be reminded of our own neediness and poverty and the life saving and life changing Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I once was lost but now I am found, I once was blind, but now I see!

But, how easy it is to get caught up in well meaning religious acts like studying scripture and going to church while failing to live out God's Truths. Full of head Christianity, we forget that we also worship God with our heart, our hands and our feet.

In our zeal for "good Christian living" we sometimes forget about God's passion for the fatherless and the widow. "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself  unstained by the world." James 1:27

 

 

In our love for bible studies and program checklists we forget that God told us to "Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy." Prov 31:9



It is not as simple as writing a check or a well-meaning gesture of justice. God looks upon our heart. He's not after our money or efforts, He is after us. When our heart is surrendered to Jesus' call to "follow me." our hearts change to compassion and our actions follow as a grateful response to the love of Christ and the Gospel transforming our lives.

I have been caught up in religious effort and  comfortable Christianity and thought I was doing just fine. Thank you Jesus for an awakening and how He continues to clear the fog from my eyes to see things more clearly.  How many years I wasted just doing the church thing while giving no thought to God's Kingdom in the here and now. This life and its comforts are temporary, the most important thing is taking the Gospel into the world. How can we receive the free gift of Salvation and not share it with others?  Following Christ calls us into something greater than Sunday services and moral living. Response to the Gospel calls us to say, "Here is my life, God. Take it. It's Yours."

It is not enough to be simply a decider; Jesus wants disciples."-Richard Stearns
 

Being a disciple of Jesus is not a one time decision, a day of playing Jesus, or a discipleship program.

 It is your whole life.

 Discipleship is 1,000 moments every single day, choosing to walk in the ways of Jesus." -Jen
 Hatmaker

I don't know what that will look like for each of you. For many, it may be as simple as picking up a phone, sending an email, driving down the road, sponsoring a child, adopting a child or buying a plane ticket. If we are His disciples, we act, speak, live as Jesus did. And if we look at His life to imitate, who did He spend time with and care for? -Children, women, poor, diseased, sinners, the marginalized of society.  Then what are we to do in response to our lives being made alive in Christ?

We must prayerfully consider what God is calling our families to do to care for the poor and afflicted.  We cannot help everyone, but we can help someone. You find your ONE. God will place situations, opportunities, people in your life to share Jesus with and to care for those society has  marginalized.  One thing is certain, Heaven and hell are real, the Great Commission is urgent and we all have a part to play.

Jesus speaks strongly and clearly to those who call themselves followers but refuse to care about the hurting and needy.

"Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me....truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' Mat. 25:41-43,45

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.

St. Francis of Assisi



*Photos by Elizabeth Woodson





The End of Undone and the Middle of Broken

Each one of us has been exposed to it on some level. There is no escape. Suffering is no respecter of persons. It's part of living. Whether it's unmet dreams, loneliness, crumbled marriages, death or illness. It's always an unwanted intruder. But all is not lost. It is often in walking through deep suffering that creates an emptiness that can only be filled by God and we find fullness of joy through receiving His grace. At the end of undone and in the middle of broken is forever changed. Nothing is wasted.

So where is God and what is He doing when all hell breaks loose. When bombs go off and babies die and churches build aquariums?

He is making all things new.

He sent Jesus to live on this earth, die and rise again to conquer sin and death. One day He will return and complete what He started to reconcile the world to Himself and if you are in Christ, you will reign with Him forever. We know how this is going to end. Jesus Christ will reign forever.

"To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever." Rev. 5:13

 Forever. That is longer than any pain I may experience on this earth.

Jesus showed up and walked right into the mess and met people there. He touched our wounds and shared in our suffering. "He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Isa 53:3 He is doing the same today. We don't cry alone. When we are trying to just hold on, He is holding us.

"For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ." 2 Cor. 1:5

"God is good even in the bleeding."-Matt Chandler

Lean in and look up, knowing that following Christ means to follow Him into suffering.

"Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him." Rom. 8:17

When someone is suffering, we want to walk circles around it in avoidance. There is someone you know right now. The neighbour down the street, the girl that serves you coffee, the boy in the pew across from you, the child across the globe, the girl on the corner. Closing our eyes to it because it makes us uncomfortable doesn't make it go away. And the person who is wounded cannot heal by staying numb to the pain, hiding behind walls and making pain invisible.

The heaviness of suffering wasn't meant to be carried alone.

The Body of Christ is never more beautiful than when it walks through suffering beside someone and meets people in the mess. Acknowledging the pain and encouraging them to keep moving, keep walking toward the finish line. To "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Phil 3:14 The Body should be a safe place to wrestle and hurt. None of us are without broken and broken breaks us to our need to extend our arms to the world and point people to Jesus Christ, the healer of hurts and One who gives life.

The enemy tries to destroy our faith but pain, when brought to the feet of Jesus, can ignite a passion for Christ and clinging to the cross.

Many times we are searching for answers in the middle of pain when what we are really searching for is Someone. We want to know answers and God just wants us to know Him.

 I can't be anyone's savior, but I can hold someone's hand and point them to Jesus. I would rather have my hair singed from trying to  "snatch someone from the fire" and arrive in Heaven breathless than to hunker down in my own bubble wrapped world with an illusion of safety.

"We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." Rom 5:3-5

My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus' blood and rightousness. Though every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. Keep walking toward Jesus my friends.  Victory is ours.

"Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children." Rev. 21:7

Worlds Collide

Arriving in the states from the Agape Mission Team's trip to Uganda, every one's phone suddenly woke up and chiming sounds filled the air. Our lives came rushing back as one team member received 350 email notifications. I think of the moment the team prayed on the hill when the world faded away and Jesus rushed in.  As the phones continued to receive all the data, we got off the plane to notice how sterile the environment looked compared to what we had just left. Neatly dressed American business men and women rushed through the airport and I thought of the woman sitting on the sidewalk by the busy streets of Kampala in tattered clothing with her two babies sleeping beside her, one in a card board box and one on a piece of cloth that was laid on the cement. We hit the highway and my mind went back to the rutted out mud roads we covered through the villages of Uganda.

We pass school children getting out of school with parents lining the streets in their cars and I remember the many children roaming the streets and villages of Kampala, not able to go to school because it cost money they don't have. I think of Agape Home kids who are able to attend school because of help from sponsors. They count it a joy and privilege to put on their school uniforms to walk through a muddy path to be able to attend school where  the day begins at 7 and ends at 5. I call and make a doctor's appointment on the way home and I think of the baby who's head was covered in parasites. She lived with her siblings in a mud shack and her mom had found out that very week she had AIDS and she nor the baby had anyway to receive medical care.  

We drive past a church and I think of Sunday morning in Kampala where people rush to worship despite a waiting line because armed guards check cars, people and bags for explosives and weapons before they can enter the church campus. I think of Joseph, the director of Agape home who heard the Gospel from church planting missionaries from Singapore and was rescued and redeemed and now disciples and has rescued  children and I wonder if many in the American church understand the importance and eternal value of global missions and sharing the Good News. I hug my children and they hand me their welcome home letters and play their piano recital piece. I think of Whitney, the quiet girl who lost her family to AIDS, passionately and loudly leads worship of the living God.

My worlds collide.

The ache comes in the worlds colliding. Not that one world is preferred over the other but it is a longing for all worlds to be connected. A world where it is simply all Jesus. There is pure joy but also great ache in the day after an incredible revelation of Jesus.

What are those of us to do in the longing, the feelings of low in the space in between the there and here?  Between the that and the this.

How do you answer the questions or understand the passivity of the responses to having seen Heaven peel back? How do you navigate that with grace, seasoned with salt?

The answer is in, allowing the worlds to collide. You love with all your being wherever you are. You give more generously and more willingly. You open your eyes to see what Jesus sees. Whether its the needs of your sponsored child from Agape Home living among the deepest poverty or your very own baby. You love both with all your energies and efforts. Because as you love both with all your being, somehow, the worlds collide. Because the Spirit of the Lord is among those that love and give so generously. There is no variation in giving here or giving there....you are simply giving...and in turn receiving Jesus.

The "let down" sometimes felt after such an incredible experience is natural, normal. We were warned of them. However, they should only propel us harder and faster to the things of God and a desperate dependence on Him. Release of the ache found in the day after should come as we raise our hands in thanksgiving for each breath we take.  As we take notice  every little moment that  occupies our time. We can do all things in Christ and allow space for Him to invade our world in every moment of every day, wherever we are. Each moment has the potential to be the greatest moment we have ever seen Jesus.

It is in the going- Being sent to a place such as Uganda and doing something that more than exceeds my  knowledge or ability, Jesus' Spirit is very palpable. The Jesus I was able to encounter this week was more than I can put into a blog post...but it is also in the coming back. Jesus is just as much on display in the cards from my children and in their laughter and hugs.  The worlds collide as I hear about their week and I seek after their hearts and reach into their world so they will know Jesus more just as we sought after Joel's heart of Agape Home, that he would know that he is loved by us and Jesus.

The first world is harder to navigate to find a thick and uninterrupted display of Jesus, but He is  there AND here. We just need to lean in tighter and allow what happened there to motivate how we live here.

Allow the worlds to collide.

If you have had a transformational experience with Jesus, and if you know Him, you have, don't shrink back. Let it change you forever. Share by allowing it to change the way you live. Share how to become involved in those things where your passion lies and Jesus has broke your heart for. Share by pointing to the reason we live and why we live life the way we do...JESUS. Allow God to prove faithful as you walk in the path He has laid out for you. You were created by God and for God for His purpose.

Where the Spirt of the Lord is, there is freedom. The freedom felt in His presence should be in the there and the here. Don't ever let the flame of passion you felt to reach into others and draw out Jesus disappear...be it there are here.

Allow the worlds to collide.

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Isa. 52:7

Believer, Be Moved

I've sponsored  a child here. I've put pictures on my refrigerator, cried a few tears and spent sleepless nights over her.

But to really be in Uganda. In her land with her people. It has left me breathless and created a consuming fire in me that could only be explained as Divine. The people are now seared in my soul.

Uganda has been touched by God with beauty. The countryside is green with rolling hills, tea fields, sugar cane and banana trees. The Nile flows peacefully and then rages violently. There are beautiful creatures that are only found In it's borders. There are many beautiful, architecturally  magnificent buildings constructed many years ago with arches and detailing but given no care since their construction and now stand crumbling.

War in the country wiped out families, jobs and resources. Corruption, murder and disease escalated. Thousands of Ugandans die from AIDS and Malaria each year . Sewage flows like streams, water shortages, dismal living conditions and lack of health care and food cripple the great country. The tales of children of their innocence lost to violence and dignity lost to despair made my blood boil and heart break.

Then...

"But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ." Eph. 2:4-5

There are bright brown eyes everywhere with laughter. Tiny little arms reaching for hugs and hands, stroking my hair and caressing my face. There is hope in the future of its children.

I look around and all I see is God's grace and mercy for Uganda. Hope is in the cross of Jesus and His work through God's servants  It's in the voice of Whitney, the 7 year old worship leader whose 

mom and dad died of AIDS. It's in the dancing of Joel who lived on the streets after his father died and acquired a fleah eating flea called a jigger. It's in the smile of Sarah who had an abusive family and lost her dad to drugs and alcohol. It's in the prayers of Ronnie who lost his parents to AIDS.

Their life is hard, but they are going to make it more beautiful.

It's in the service of Joseph of Agape Home who is a fierce advocate for Uganda, spending his life on
setting captives free and loosening chains of injustice. Hope is in the courageous people of Uganda declaring God's goodness and faithfulness.

Hope. I can't explain it but I can see it. It's literally everywhere. It's contagious.


Will you pray for us and the mission team's role in supporting Uganda? Will you pray for Uganda and the children of Agape Home? If you want a better place to invest your emotional energy than first world problems, pray with me to see God's Kingdom come. When we who recognize and receive mercy, we will show it to others and act justly for a country that has endured tremendous suffering.

 "Let His compassion make you weep. Let the remembrance of His Salvation  in your life bring you 
to your knees. Let your voice be lifted high as you sing the song of the redeemed. 
Believer, be moved." 

Grab my hand. Let's do this.

Mercy Said No

After a 25 hour journey to Kampala, Uganda, Joseph Roberts, the director of Agape Home picked us up at the airport. We piled into the van and Joseph prayed to begin our visit. He prayed that God be glorified and Christ be magnified and gave praise to God for sending His Son so those who believe in Him would no longer be separated from Him but would be washed white as snow through the blood of Christ. We who were far off could now be alive with Christ. As the name of Jesus was lifted up in prayer, in the background on the van's radio played "Mercy Said No." God's presence filled the van and entered our hearts and gave focus and clarity to the reason we are here. We want to know Jesus more and live our lives seeking Him and be with Him in whatever He is doing to bring His Kingdom on the earth.

A few hours later, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was evident in the faces of 25 children who just want to be loved and give love. Many have life stories that you and I could never comprehend, yet they sang with joy in their hearts, "I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that Cross." A young girl who had been abandoned dropped to her knees to worship. How can this happen that children who have been through horrendous circumstances can worship Christ in abandon? It's Jesus, only Jesus, who took our place on the Cross and was raised to life so we may be adopted sons and daughters of the King.  As followers of Jesus Christ, we will reign with Him forever. The Gospel is the only thing that can give new life.

Whitney, a young girl at Agape grabbed my hand and taught me a new song.

It's OK, it's OK.

In Uganda, in Uganda.

It's OK

The World, it's OK.

In the land of Agape,

Where there is God 's love.

No sorrows,

No worries,

At All.

I cannot put into words or pictures of the beauty in a life rescued and the raw, real worship of ones who lives have been transformed because "Thank You, Jesus. Mercy Said No". I hope today that you spent time time in heart worship of the One who gave you life. No matter what you have done or haven't done or what circumstances life has given you, if you have life in Jesus Christ, we have reason to celebrate and give Him praise from the rising of the sun to its setting. 

For God so loved the world, that He sent His son to save 
 From the cross He built a bridge to set us free
Oh, but deep within our hearts, there is still a war that rages

And makes a sacrifice so hard to see
As midnight fell upon the crucifixion day
The light of hope seemed oh so far away

As evil tried to stop redemption's flow

Mercy said no

I'm not gonna let you go

I'm not gonna let you slip away
You don't have to be afraid

Mercy said no

Sin will never take control

Life and death stood face to face

Darkness tried to steal my heart away

Thank You Jesus, Mercy said no

* We couldn't get pictures uploaded. Check back another day.

Grace Flows Down Part 2: Gospel Change

The Gospel is that Christ suffered the complete wrath of God for our  sin. He lived a perfect life and endured death in my place. He took my sin debt and covers me with His righteousness. When I received that grace in repentance and faith, Salvation is mine as a gift. There is nothing I can add to Jesus' finished work on the cross. My Salvation rests solely on God's mercy and grace.

Let that truth sink in.

So how then shall we live?

"What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?....For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin- ...For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace....You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness  ....the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom. 6:1-23

I do not need a set of rules and empty religion or a get out of hell card. I need new life in Christ.

The glory of God demonstrated in the Gospel gives us freedom from both sin and religion.  The Gospel liberates us from condemnation and  transforms our hearts so we want to know His presence and honor Him.  Our response to the grace of the Gospel should be no less than radical obedience to God's Word, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

To read the first part of the series on grace go here.

Are you swept away by the extravagant grace Jesus demonstrated on the cross?

The people who encountered God's grace in the bible, did not walk away the same. He accepts us just as we are, no matter what we have done or where we have been but He doesn't leave us as we are. By His grace He changes us, not so He will love us more but because He loves us.

It is impossible to experience the grace of the Gospel and not be transformed

In John 8, Jesus receives the woman who was caught in adultery and offers grace and mercy. She deserved death, but Jesus became Lord of her life that day and she was  forgiven and she received life. She did not have to earn the love of Christ, she only had to come to Jesus feet and proclaim Him as Lord. She was not left to continue in her life of sin. Jesus said to her,  "Neither do I condemn you, now go and sin no more." (v.11)

Zacchaeus gave away his riches after encountering the grace and mercy of Jesus. Paul, the self proclaimed "chief of sinners" known for murdering apostles, became an ambassador of Christ after experiencing amazing grace on Damascus Road.

"No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him...No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God." 1 John 3:6-9

We will never live perfectly in this life.We cannot do anything to earn God's love but living as a redeemed child of God, we should see evidence of grace in our lives. With eyes fixed on Jesus, we rest in the Gospel and war against the flesh and the devil. Our lives should increasingly reflect the holiness of Jesus and a habit of going to God to repent and be cleansed when we sin.  By God's grace we can  be in pursuit of spiritual holiness to  "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." (Rom. 12:1)

"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope- the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2:11-1

God's grace forgives our sin and empowers us for good works as a grateful response for what He's done.

 A Gospel motivated change is being overwhelmed of what Christ has done for us on the cross and being caught up in God's grace. The beauty and grace of God changes us from the inside that is followed  with change on the outside.  The more we taste and see that the Lord is good, the more we desire the things of God out of delight, not duty. We will be diligent for good works that glorify Him and lead us to know Him more intimately.

"We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand." (Eph. 2:10)

Knowing Jesus and having a life that brings Him glory becomes our desire and the satisfaction of  our souls as we stand in awe of His beauty and Majesty. His presence is joy and worth anything we forsake or endure. He is the Giver of every perfect gift who has promised to be with us always. He is the treasure worth it all.

It's easy to be discouraged by the problems we face and the wickedness in the world. Evil is a strong force around us. Temptation maybe strong and unrelenting. We may get knocked down, but DO NOT GIVE UP! Get back up! Only in God's power can we push back! Living in Christ is not without a struggle, but  the Spirit of Christ is with us and it's a fight we will win!  In Christ you serve a different master. You are a beloved child of God, dead to sin, alive to righteousness and dependent on His finished work on the cross- now go live like it!  A glorious King sits on the throne and we are assured, that God is stronger "you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4)

Grace Flows Down

The majority of my Christian life has been spent striving or hiding. Striving to do the "right thing" to earn God's favor, approval from others and for perfection. I found it impossible to live up to the checklist of churchy standards of the "good girl", so I began hiding, never completely believing of God's love for me. I could never be "good enough", especially in God's eyes so I lived with guilt and condemnation. I lived as if I were unloved by God.

Moralism and legalism was my religion. Self-justification and self sufficiency can be a great front for outward Christianity when all is going well in life. It is when a crises hits that the heart is exposed.  When the storms in life come, and they will come, there is no foundation to stand.

"You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace." (Gal 5:4) That is exactly how I felt- fallen, alone, an outsider and Christ was far from me. I had desperately tried to earn His love and was a screw up. I thought my failures disqualified me from being a Christian not realizing I could not live the Christian life by myself.

"Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit,

are you now going to be made complete by the flesh?"

Gal. 3:3
 

Our failures in striving and in hiding, reveal our desperate need for a Savior and can lead us to the grace of Christ and into a new life transformed by the gospel, wrapped up in a relationship with Jesus and dependent on the Spirit.

"He made Him who knew no sin,

to be sin on our behalf, so that we

might become the righteousness of

God in Him." 2 Cor. 5:21
 

We don't have to be perfect because there is another who is perfect.

"I am guilty, filthy, and stained, but He became a curse, drank my cup and took my pain"-Lecrae

"God shows His love for us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8) In God's great mercy, He saw fit that we who were once slaves to sin by birth are no longer orphans but would now stand as the sons and daughters.

I am a daughter covered in the Father's love through the blood of Jesus.

Having talked to many "good church girls", I am convinced that I am not the only one who has lived in the false gospel of moralism and legalism. This bondage is not just personal but can affect our relationships and entire church communities. Women especially fall victim to comparison and performance as we try to fit the church image and hide sin rather than being transparent and receiving help. We try to do and say all the "right things" and compare our lives to others, judgements are made and grace is rarely extended.

The true Gospel says that, if you are "in Christ you are a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come." (2 Cor. 5:17)  In Christ, you are victorious, righteous, forgiven, loved and holy. In Christ you are not your sin, you are hidden and your sin is made clean by your identity in Christ's Holiness. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus." (Rom. 8:1) When God looks at you, He sees Christ. Trusting in the blood of Christ and His finished work on the cross, you are free to receive and rely on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

How liberating it is to understand that this life is not about me, my achievements or my failures. It is all about Jesus. His work, His life, His death. His resurrection.

After years of trying to be a Christian, I became "in Christ".  Finally, I fully received His grace. I stopped striving and began receiving. I stopped fearing and began following.

I can still drift into striving for perfection or hiding under the weight of guilt and shame that creates  distance in my relationship with Christ.

"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, Lord, take it seal it. Seal it for Thy courts of love." 



Each day, I have to return to the cross of Christ so that I don't lose sight of amazing grace to "standfast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free" (Gal. 5:1).