Is Grace Enough?
Faith Filled Thoughts
April 7th 2010
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Proverbs 4:18
“The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day”
Is Grace Enough?
How do we understand, how do we experience grace today?
I often
think of it in terms of a statement I once heard:
"You are accepted."
You and I are accepted,
fully and totally accepted by God, now,
always, without condition, without deserving,
without question.
To be accepted in this way means to be cherished,
to be loved, to be
guarded from ultimate evil.
It means that who we basically are is
valued, honored and respected.
It means that we don't have to earn
or deserve such care;
it is simply there for us, ours as a gift
outright.
The grace of God is given to us at God's initiative. It
is an expression of God's love for us,
of God's desire, of God's
unconditional acceptance, an expression of the very nature of God's
being.
In many of our communities,
even acknowledging brokenness is not welcome or safe.
To expose vulnerability is to invite judgment, risk shame,
or fear standing out as "the only one." If the truth be known,
I too am sometimes reluctant.
Our fears that no repair is possible are real.
Some brokenness can literally destroy us; any residency has its limits.
For some, counseling is one of the few places where their fractures are felt,
where their brokenness is bared.
At such times, I recall that often the difference between suffering
which destroys us and suffering which transforms us begins
with the presence of a caring, thoughtful other who is willing
to acknowledge that brokenness with us.
I can say at this very moment, there are many right now harboring anger.
Anger against a friend , a neighbor, a stranger, and even a family member.
I recently had the pleasure of watching a movie, which I seldom do called,
Amish Grace.
I was astounded at how an Amish community could hold such high esteem
for forgiveness.
In one part of the movie, the explanation of grace came up.
The explanation to me was so profound,
I felt God strongly wanted me to share this with you today.
The Amish believe that if you harbor so much hate and anger in your heart.
There leaves no room for Love.
It begins to eat away all that which made you as Christians in the
Image of Christ himself.
I began to really look at my heart as open doors.
A lot of baggage was stored their… bitterness …hurt…anger..
So on and so forth.
At that very moment, I decided it was time to clean out the closets of my heart.
I wanted enough room for as much Love to come in and overflow.
So I ask You Today?
Come Clean Out Your Closets With Me.. Will You?
And
Please Believe
HIS GRACE IS ENOUGH
May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:
Unbelievable
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtnE_e1LylY
Is Grace Enough?
How do we understand, how do we experience grace today?
I often
think of it in terms of a statement I once heard:
"You are accepted."
You and I are accepted,
fully and totally accepted by God, now,
always, without condition, without deserving,
without question.
To be accepted in this way means to be cherished,
to be loved, to be
guarded from ultimate evil.
It means that who we basically are is
valued, honored and respected.
It means that we don't have to earn
or deserve such care;
it is simply there for us, ours as a gift
outright.
The grace of God is given to us at God's initiative. It
is an expression of God's love for us,
of God's desire, of God's
unconditional acceptance, an expression of the very nature of God's
being.
In many of our communities,
even acknowledging brokenness is not welcome or safe.
To expose vulnerability is to invite judgment, risk shame,
or fear standing out as "the only one." If the truth be known,
I too am sometimes reluctant.
Our fears that no repair is possible are real.
Some brokenness can literally destroy us; any residency has its limits.
For some, counseling is one of the few places where their fractures are felt,
where their brokenness is bared.
At such times, I recall that often the difference between suffering
which destroys us and suffering which transforms us begins
with the presence of a caring, thoughtful other who is willing
to acknowledge that brokenness with us.
I can say at this very moment, there are many right now harboring anger.
Anger against a friend , a neighbor, a stranger, and even a family member.
I recently had the pleasure of watching a movie, which I seldom do called,
Amish Grace.
I was astounded at how an Amish community could hold such high esteem
for forgiveness.
In one part of the movie, the explanation of grace came up.
The explanation to me was so profound,
I felt God strongly wanted me to share this with you today.
The Amish believe that if you harbor so much hate and anger in your heart.
There leaves no room for Love.
It begins to eat away all that which made you as Christians in the
Image of Christ himself.
I began to really look at my heart as open doors.
A lot of baggage was stored their… bitterness …hurt…anger..
So on and so forth.
At that very moment, I decided it was time to clean out the closets of my heart.
I wanted enough room for as much Love to come in and overflow.
So I ask You Today?
Come Clean Out Your Closets With Me.. Will You?
And
Please Believe
HIS GRACE IS ENOUGH
May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:
Unbelievable
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtnE_e1LylY
posted by Pastor Connie Ciccone | 12:17 PM
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