Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

Have you ever thought about the freedom that you have been given in Christ Jesus?  When you sing the song “Amazing Grace” (My chains are gone) how does it make you feel to know that you are not being restrained from teaching others about Christ?  Remember when Paul was in prison and there was an earthquake and it loosened all of the prisoners chains?  What an amazing feeling it must have been to know that “their chains were gone” yet it was all part of God’s plan for Paul and the prisoners to stay there and not leave.  The Philippian Jailer was about to take his life.  He knew that if any of his prisoner’s escaped that he would surely be put to death.  What beautiful words it must have been to him to have heard Paul cry out “Do thyself no harm, we are all still here!”  (Acts 16:28).  All of the sudden he realized that he too was a prisoner within himself and that he wanted what they had.  He wanted to be released from the chains that were keeping him a prisoner of the world.  Whatever Paul had that caused him to sing songs of praise in prison and to stay in such a place when his chains had been loosened he too wanted a part of that!  So he yelled out “Sirs, What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30).  And Paul taught him Jesus and that same night he believed and was baptized and was saved!   

 

If you are a Christian living in America then you have many more freedoms today then Christians living during Paul’s time.  However, are you taking advantage of these freedoms to share the good news with others, demonstrate the love of Christ in how you live your life, invite others to come with you to a bible study, youth rally, or church retreat, or special service?  OR…are you letting the “chains” of life bog you down.  Are you feeling depressed?  Do you feel like your marriage is dead?  Are you living in financial debt?  Are your children causing you grief?  Has someone close to you died?  Isn’t it time that you let go of these chains.  Just like the song says and more importantly the bible promises us…our chains are gone when we are in Christ Jesus!  Allow God’s amazing grace to release you from the chains of life.  If you have not yet taken the steps to become a Christian then please do not delay any further.  The Philippian Jailer went that night and was baptized into Christ!

Tax Collectors, Sinners, and Agape Love

This week in our life groups we studied Luke 5.  The Pharisees were questioning Jesus because he was eating with the tax collectors and sinners.  Jesus replied to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.   I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”  The question was then posed to our life group "Who are the tax collectors and sinners in your life?"  And at first it seemed like an odd but easily answered question.  It seemed as if we might all need to just examine ourselves and then answer the question as if we were the ones who were the tax collectors and sinners.  And we are.  We must come before God with humility and recognize our own faults and our own sins and bring them before him.  We must also be willing to obey the gospel. 


 But what if we took that question for just one moment like Jesus did and looked around the world at the people we know and the people we don't know and searched earnestly for that one person in our life who we could make a difference with?  What if we prayed for God to send us that particular tax collector or sinner in our lives so that we could study with them, have lunch with them, change that tire on their car for them, buy groceries for them, give them a ride to the doctor, in some way minister to them.  What if that tax collector or sinner that he sent in our lives didn't fit the picture of what we thought "christianity" should be.  What if we had to get on our hands and knees and do some dirty work, get uncomfortable, show some agape love, to some hurting souls out there that need salvation?  What if?

A Holy Calling

When sin plagues our lives and we feel like there isn’t anything we can do to ever get “right” with God we need to remember that it is through the grace of God that we are saved in the first place.  Yes, there are certain commands that God has given us to become Christians.  For example, Acts 2:38 says that we are to be baptized for the remission of our sins.  However, we cannot “work” our way into heaven or into a right relationship with God.  So even when we sin we have to ask for forgiveness and trust in him and continue on in our journey as a Christian.  If we dwell on what we have done then all it does is cloud our relationship with him.  It keeps us off focus.    2 Timothy 1: 8-9 says, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”  If you have obeyed the gospel then you have been called to a holy calling.  But remember it is not because of your works but it is because of HIS own purpose and grace.  So stop feeling ashamed, unworthy, unloved, for all of the past mistakes you have made.  Remember that God erases sin.  Allow him to cleanse you of your past and strengthen you for your own “holy calling.” 

Prepare, Pray, Provide

We have been made right in God’s sight because of our faith in HIM.  Yet, having faith in God during the good times in our lives is much easier than having faith during the bad times.  How do we ensure that we are able to be faithful to God during both the good and the bad times?  What can we do to make sure that we have that ultimate peace with God that is only made possible through our Lord Jesus Christ?

1.       Prepare yourself for both the good and the bad times.  Recognize that they will come.  Acknowledge that it will be difficult at times.  Gather tools (favorite bible verses, songs, or recorded sermons, bible dictionary, commentary, journal, etc) and start now using these tools to help you study and grow stronger so that you will have something in place already so that when the bad times come you will be better able to deal with them

2.       Pray for strength, pray for faith, pray especially through the preparation stage, and ask God to help give you the peace that can only be given to you through Jesus Christ

3.       Provide help to others who might be suffering.  It may help you with your own needs.  God often shows us how to work through our own problems when we help others.

 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ² Through him we have also obtained access by faith^[b] into this grace in which we stand, and we^[c] rejoice^[d] in hope of the glory of God. ³Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. -Romans 5:1-5

The Journey

This summer I was empowered as a human being, as an artist, as a writer, and as a child of God.  As many of you may or may not know I was provided the opportunity to go on a series of “journeys” that truly tested me both physically and spiritually.  We traveled through nine different states, had three break-downs, endured 110 degree heat and 50 degree breeze extremes within days of each other, had serious conversations/arguments/discussions/ in close quarter spaces with my husband and in-laws through 20 hour drives across mountainous regions of Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, and the like!  And yet the most amazing “journey” that God took me on was a journey that occurred four days after arriving home from our one month vacation.  I was feeling overwhelmed from the trip.  I was exhausted.  I was anxious about the new school year that was fast-approaching.  My muscular dystrophy was flaring up.  I could not concentrate on God’s plan for my life.  Everything was piling up and I didn’t know how to handle it all.  And then God showed me a way to put everything in perspective through the friendship of a very special group of people that I met through a Christian program that saved my life!

One of the first things that I found out from my Christian group of friends was that I do indeed have a talent as a writer/artist.  I had no idea that I had any real talent in the writing department until I started sharing my music and my words.  God allowed me to bless others through my music.  I was then encouraged by my friends to share my own life experiences with others through my music and through a blog.  I was hesitant at first.  I didn’t think I had it in me to write my own life experiences down in such a way that people could relate to.  However, I have been sharing my music and my blog for a few months now and the response that I have received has been very positive! 

My experiences as a writer helped me discover that I am actually a beautiful child of God who has truly blessed, encouraged, and made a difference in the lives of many people that I have met along the way.  Finally, I found out from a very special friend that I don’t have to be perfect to worship God or to receive God’s precious love and forgiveness because Romans 8 says there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus.  I can start new each and every day because when I became a Christian I was given a new chance at life even though I did not deserve it.  I was baptized into Christ and was raised to walk into newness of life.  But there wasn't anything magic about the water.  Its this thing called Grace.  God’s grace covers me because I have salvation in Christ Jesus.  His grace makes me whole again.  It renews me each day.  It refreshes me.  It is the soother of my soul.  Paul said “My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9).  So its okay to make mistakes.  It is okay to be weak at times.  We are all human and we are all sinners.  You have to pick yourself up and ask God to forgive you and start over again!  You don’t want to live every single day fearful to venture out and worship God, fearful to live for HIM, afraid of what you might do to hurt HIM.  He knows your heart and he is ready to accept your sacrifice, your holy worship, if you worship him according to HIS will!  Don’t be afraid!  Be strong.  Be courageous.  Stand firm.  Let nothing stand between you and your worship of HIM.  And so if you are here today feeling scared or fearful, needing prayers, needing God’s forgiveness please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask for them.  If there is ANYTHING you would like for me to pray about please post it here or email me at prayerwarrior4thepsalms@yahoo.com and I will pray for you. 

Your Chariot Ride

“All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.  For the Kingdom is the Lord’s and He rules over the nations” –Psalm 22:27-28

“So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading’

                And he said, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.” –Acts 8:30-31

We are called by God to be missionaries (Mark 16:15).  We are called by God to minister to each other (Heb. 6:10).  Psalm 22 says that the Lord rules over THE nations (that includes all nations-even the one you live in) so don’t use the excuse that you don’t have the money, time or resources to “go ye into the world” because you ARE The world!!!!!  Look outside your window, in your backyard, down your street, there are people all around you who are in need of the Lord Jesus Christ!  Have you ever tried talking with someone at your job about Jesus Christ?  What do you do when you see or hear others talking about religion or reading religious material?  Do you hang your head in embarrassment?  Or do you allow God to open the door to a conversation about Jesus Christ?  In Acts 8 Philip jumped at the opportunity to help another person who was reading the bible.  He actually took charge of the chariot!  When is the last time you “overtook someone’s chariot” to tell them something great about what God was doing in your life???  And yes, I know I am speaking metaphorically here but you can’t just sit in the back and hope for a smooth ride now can you???  It takes action.  The transition from where you are now to where you will be “in the driver’s seat” may prove to be difficult, a little bumpy even!  But sometimes you just have to go in faith!

The Power of Prayer

I believe in the power of prayer during times of trial, during times of joy, during times of peace.  One of the greatest gifts that God gave us is the book of Psalms that contains scriptures that we can use to uplift, encourage, and comfort others through prayer.  I thank God for this gift and pray that you will leave with me any requests that you have so that HE will provide for me clarity and understanding  so that I might find the most perfect psalm and prayer for you and your needs during this time!