Tag: word

Grace and Truth

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

This is the reason that we celebrate the birth of Jesus. He came in the flesh to be a man on earth and walk among mankind. It was like the Lord God came and stepped into the neighborhood and decided to make His home there. He brought to the earth grace and truth. Grace is what saves us; it is God’s undeserved mercy that takes away all of our sins so that we can stand before Him, righteous and clean. We did nothing while He did it all for us on the cross. The truth that Jesus brought is what sets us free. We are freed from the curse of the law, freed to come before the Lord God as many times a day as we want, without going through a priest or a lot of ceremony. We can have a conversation with our Heavenly Father because Jesus showed us the truth of how to have a relationship with God. We just have to confess, repent and be the person He created us to be. In my devotional two days ago, this verse was the central focus and the video that I watched from the YouVersion inspired this post. One of the things the speaker said in the video stuck with me, “Lean on His grace and live by His truth.” It is in the leaning and the living that we find the pathway to eternal life and thus we have the reason for the season!

Have a blessed and wonderful Christmas Eve as you ponder Jesus’s birth, life and sacrifice which left behind His grace and His truth for each of us to enjoy forever.

Real Hope

On By vickleaIn ScriptureLeave a comment

As humans, we have a tendency to wake up each day and hope for a good day with good things to happen in our lives. God wants that for us, too, but more importantly, He wants us to realize and to tell others that the only hope we have is in Jesus.

God spoke the world into existence and Jesus was right there with Him. Then, when God sent His Son to earth, He did not come to save us because of our own worthiness. Rather, we are saved only because of God’s great mercy. He sent and He saved.

We cannot overcome the sin in our own lives by just hoping that it will go away. We have to believe that Jesus delivered us from that sin on the cross and that we don’t have to bow to sin any longer. We are children of the Most High God, not slaves to sin as we once were. There is where our real hope lies, for today and for eternity.

If we awaken and have hope in things or events coming to pass, then our hope is misplaced. We need to fix our hope on the grace that Jesus gives us each day and the grace that will be ultimately revealed when He returns and takes us to be with Him. That is our real hope.

When I awakened this morning, I was thankful for a new day and hopeful for what it would bring. With my devotional completed and my meditation on the word “hope”, God has shown me that He is my hope and things that happen are just circumstances that change from moment to moment. But His love, grace and mercy in my life stand forever. Real hope!

May each of you know the real hope that is only found in the person of Christ Jesus. God bless you!

Our Testimony

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

Have you ever tried to tell someone about Jesus and the gift of salvation and they just turn away? They act as if they have heard it before and just don’t want to hear it again. I think it’s because our actions (or the actions of those who have gone before us) have spoken so loudly that our words have been muted. The Bible gives sound advice about how we should be acting and speaking.

One of the words that I see online a lot is “karma.” The folks using it seem to think that “karma” is their ability to call on the powers that be and await the results, on the other person, of course. What the Bible teaches is that we are not to wish bad karma on others but instead, we should be blessing them, asking God to bless them because in blessing others, we are blessed. It sounds really strange, doesn’t it? Remember when Jesus reviled the sinners and called the angels down to rain bad karma on them because of their unbelief? No, you don’t remember it because it didn’t happen. Jesus didn’t condone their sin but neither did He condemn them. He had compassion on them and offered His free gift of forgiveness. He blessed them with healing, miracles of provision and wisdom from above. Not once did He rail at them that they were all going to hell unless they straightened up and flew right. Hmm. And yet somehow, we think that our hellfire and damnation speeches will convince people that Jesus is a loving God who died for them. Perhaps the way of Jesus is better…a blessing and not the insult. This is the example of the words we should use.

Next, how do we live? I have lived for over seven decades and I have never had the Lord remove me from a situation that was difficult and away from non-believers who were annoying me. He has been much more likely to place me in the middle of them and then wait for me to act the way He has been teaching me to act. I cannot take advantage of every opportunity to be a witness if I’m so busy thinking I’m so much better than those around me just because I’m a Christian. I’m just a sinner saved by grace. They are sinners who still need to know that grace is available to them. I’m the vessel through which they can hear and see this grace, so I am responsible for my actions in front of them. Our testimony is not just what we say, but it is also how we act.

I still have a lot of work to do in my life on myself. God did not put me here to fix other people but to tell them that He can fix them. He can mend their broken hearts and lives and give them a hope for eternity with Him. I can show them how He has fixed me and tell them how He is still repairing all of my broken parts. I’m not perfect yet, but one day, when I’m with the Father, I will be. That is my testimony that I want others to know. God works with us right where we are to make us what He knows that we can be…our very best selves.

Have a beautiful and blessed day, my friends! May you ever be mindful of your testimony, both in word and in deeds.