And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.  Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Philippians 4:8 NLT -

  It is truly amazing the impact our thinking has on how we feel at any given moment.  Some of us are prone to worry, it seems to come so naturally.  Others seem to have in their thinking in a  poor self image and a hesitation to believe that any good thing could even come their way.   There is a reason the Word of God encourages us in a life of grace to think about things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and worthy of praise. The impact of our thinking not only affects our emotions, but also our decisions which direct the course of our life.  Grace has been given to transform the way we process the information that is before us.  So on this new day, may you enjoy and experience the transformation of grace in how and what you think about.  Relationships are made well here, hopes are experienced in this place and refreshment is found in some of the most difficult places.  Thinking this way allows you to speak, respond and give in ways that will bless you and everyone around you. May all your thoughts be refreshed in this freedom that grace gives to you on this new day

The LORD does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 -

 

One of the beautiful things along our journey through life is when we feel something and we describe it as feeling it with all our heart.  This is not an academic statement, it is something that touches the very fiber of our being.  The beauty of God's grace is that it takes our belief in the Lord from the academic into a relationship with him that touches the very soul of who we are.  Grace impacts our heart like nothing else can and in this place our desires and emotions become free to express love, kindness and encouragement without the feeling of embarrassment.  Here our marriage, our children and our relationships are refreshed in ways that cause us to praise and give thanks to the Lord.  On this new day that has been given to you as a gift from the Lord, may you enjoy this freedom of his grace.  May your heart be refreshed and encouraged along this new journey and may he then give to you the desires of your heart as you delight yourself in his grace.  In this place there is no regret or sorrow.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Romans 1:21,22 –

 It is one thing to believe that there is a God or to believe in God.  The beauty of grace, which is God's love given without condemnation, is meant to change how we think of God and therefore how we feel and think about ourselves. Grace lets us know God in a way that refreshes and  brings the desire to express thanksgiving.  The man or woman that lives thankful automatically gives glory to God.  On this new day may you delight in finding ways to be thankful.  Let God's grace express through your words the beauty of a thankful heart.  In this place you will always be known as an encourager and a blessing.  Some of the most difficult situations are changed with a heart of thanksgiving.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD.  They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.   Psalm 92:12-15 

What an interesting journey life is.  We can hardly wait to grow up and become an adult.  But along that journey we seem to have some less than stellar feelings about what we look like and who we are.  It is in this condition that grace can renew, refresh and give great freedom.  For in the freedom of grace we find a joy and strength that comes from the very life of God, it is called eternal.  No matter what our age is, grace can and does make our life new every morning with the joy of thanksgiving.  On this new day may you enjoy the promise of grace in your life.  You are the expressions, the voice and the attitude of God's love to everyone around you. What you say and do in the grace of our Lord can bring a beautiful delight to everyone you meet and at the same time let you feel brand new.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son. Romans 8:28,29

Have you ever been at a place in your life where things are just not working? Have you ever had a season of life that you wished was over? I have and the Word of God that is before us is a refreshing reminder of who we are in Jesus the Christ. If you will, it renews the soul to freshness again. Sometimes we just forget who we are in Jesus the Christ and when we do, we settle back into habits of emotions and thoughts that are less than stellar. Grace does not just save us, it gives faith life to live through the details of our journey in the power of God's Word. Several years before his death, Karl Barth - a Swiss theologian - came to the United States for a series of lectures. After a very impressive lecture, a student asked a typically American question. He said, “Dr. Barth, what is the greatest thought that ever passed through your mind?” The aging professor paused for a long time as he obviously thought about his answer. Then he said with great simplicity, "Jesus loves me! This I know. For the Bible tells me so.” On this new day may you celebrate the beauty of his grace in you because of Jesus the Christ. May you know and live in the assurance that Jesus loves you and his purpose for you is given as a blessing. May you experience the reality of his love with praise and thanksgiving in and through your life.

Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ. Colossians 2:8-10 NLT

Many times along our journey we look for that which will give us some fullness or a sense of meaning or completeness. For in it, we think we will find our worth and passion. Without it we seem to struggle with who we are and where we are going. If that turns out to be our way of feeling valued, we will continue to set up something that gives us a sense of fulfillment and bring us a sense of value concerning ourselves. Grace lets us experience something that is more than fame, more than wealth and more than good health, all of which do bring joy, but never seem to be enough no matter how much we have. The freshness of grace is to live in a sense of wow, that we have been given the greatest of all things, our union with Christ. There can be nothing more magnificent or fulfilling than God himself. On this new day may you acknowledge your life in Christ with a heart of thanksgiving and praise. Smile, relax and rejoice for you are dearly loved in the grace of God found in Jesus the Christ. Let your emotions and thinking smile, relax and bless. This is a good day to enjoy.

None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked. Ecclesiastes 8:8

These are sobering words along the journey of our life. Jesus the Christ came to give that life that is called eternal so that on that day which we all get to experience we will know the meaning of - Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Living each day overwhelmed by His grace gives our relationships a place of beauty and rest, in which we and those around us experience life in a most enjoyable way. This is where memories will be found that give glory to God and a blessing to others. Grace lets us be clothed in a joy that is refreshing and renewing each new day. On this new day may you be the expression of our Lord's kindness and encouragement. May your life be a living example of what God's love and grace look like and sound like. Praise him today for that life the is called eternal given by his grace through Jesus the Christ our Lord. Enjoy and delight in him.

The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith 1 Timothy 1:5

Saint Francis of Assisi said it well when he said - "O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in dying that we are born to eternal life".  This love is the unmotivated sacrificial giving of our self which actively seeks to give glory to God and the highest good of all others.  Enjoy this day of his grace.