Most new babes in Christ make the mistake of straining to do more to deserve God’s love and grace. This might be a hangover from a world point of view. The world strives to impress, to do great things to reach goals. 

The world teaches that people attain nothing without effort.  Christianity is an upside down business! As a newborn, we take a step of faith and fall, and our Father picks us up. As we try to DO something to pay God back, we get no more of His love.  IF we SEEK to ATTAIN more of His grace, we MISS the grace He has already provided. Our walk with God begins WITH  absolutely nothing on our to-do list! Sing 🎵 Who breaks the power of sin and darkness? Whose love is mighty and so much stronger? The King of glory, the King above all kings. Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder? And leaves us breathless in awe and wonder? The King of glory, the King above all kings! This is amazing grace,
This is unfailing love, That You would take my place, that You would bear my cross. You laid down Your life, that I would be set free!
Oh, Jesus, I sing for ALL that You’ve done for me! 🎶

We begin our walk with God with a giant relief!  Jesus has DONE it all for us! Simply receive and rejoice. The letter of Ephesians opens with a shocking truth! “God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.” Eph 1:3  Our Creator invited us to be still and enjoy what God has done for us. He does NOT require us to do anything to be His adopted  child. TRUTH: Faith is a gift, forgiveness is a given, and our Salvation is a free gift. God loved us first. Before we were born, He initiated, He wrote down all our days in His book. We choose to receive His plan for us, then we proceed with the Holy Spirit leading us. If we want to flourish in the call of God, we must depend on Him.  NOT on our wit, or our skill. We can do nothing on our own to please God. Without God, we are nothing.  What God desires to do through us, requires our willing surrender.

Being a disciple, we learn as we go. We are purifed by the blood of Jesus, and we are sanctified.  Our old nature to be in control, to be self-sufficient, causes us to be prideful. Pride is a sin. We live in a broken world, we make mistakes, we confess our sins, and God is faithful to forgive, and once again, we are sanctified. WOW! Sanctification is a process and it is complete when we step into glory.  Our Father promised to complete the good work He began in us. Meanwhile, we reflect Him as His Spirit mingles with ours every time we choose to be gentle, kind, merciful,  compassionate, or forgiving.

“Guide me in your truth and teach me, for YOU are my GOD, my Savior and my hope is in YOU all day long.” Psalm 25:5 ❤️ We depend on God; He is everything we need. What’s even more astounding is that our hearts brim with joy since we have taken for our own His holy name. We are His Christ-ians, His light bearers and His power indwells us. Our Father loves us with all that He is. Who is God?  “God is love.” Who are we in Him? “Transformed by the renewing of our mind, we choose to believe and have new LIFE because of what He has done for us.” AMEN

2 Peter 3:8 “but grow and [spiritually mature] in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” – It is by the grace of God alone that we grow, NOT through our own brilliant understanding. We grow as we allow the Holy Spirit to give us a word to comfort, encourage, or to make gentle course corrections. 1 Corin 6:1 “As God’s co-workers we urge you NOT to receive God’s grace in vain.” Read more.

When we finish our days on earth and we humbly stand before our Lord face to face — we will be able to ask, “Lord did I get it right? Did I resemble Your love, did I represent Your character during the difficult times?” Our Lord has given us all of Himself in the Holy Spirit. Our Father held nothing back! We are more than actors on a worldwide stage. As God’s chosen Ambassadors we are to behave with engaging joy, kindness, gentleness, wisdom and self-control. The Holy Spirit transforms us as we allow Him to express through us. For all believers the “Reward” for all eternity will be our Lord Jesus saying to us, “Well done My good and faithful servant.” Ephesians 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.”

Jesus had emotions. He felt the sting of rejection. He wept, He cried, He mourned.

Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your (mind/soul) heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Discernment is not just knowing the difference between right and wrong. Discernment comes from  knowing God, His Word, and Who is truth and what He says. “My ways are not your ways. My thoughts are not your thoughts.” Choose NOT to defile your mind with false teaching.  Read God’s Word and listen to what the Spirit is saying.

To discern rightly is to hear what the Spirit of God is sounding. An  alarm of  warning goes off in our spirit when what we are hearing is a version of truth that has been stretched to fit man’s idea. Protect your mind from being led astray.  The word spoken with the best intention may ride on the tail of heresy. God protects us with a Spirit that discerns. In our gut, we just know. “This is not right.” Prov 4:24 “Keep your mouth free of perversity;  keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” Church listen up.

“Woe to the shepherds (pastors, teachers, priests) who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have NOT attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,” declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 23:1-2 😳 Jeremiah did not want to be a prophet. He whined that he was too young. God gave him harsh words to warn! “Concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them⁠—yet they keep saying, ‘There will be no sword or famine in this land’⁠—by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end!” Jeremiah 14:15