For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. Colossians 1:20-22 NLT

Many times along our journey through life we will hear someone say, "If God is so good why does he let bad things happen?" Well, bad things happen because that is the nature of sin. It is while we are living in this condition that God poured out his grace for us through the blood of Christ on the cross. Grace brings us to life so that we may believe, enjoy and love God and his Word instead of accusing him or fearing him. Grace by nature encourages, trusts and blesses by its nature and therefore relationship are strengthened and refreshed. On this new day may you enjoy who you are because of the grace of God. May your old habits from your old nature have no place to express themselves in or through you. May your very presence bring peace and blessing to all who come in contact with you. You are absolutely free to rejoice and delight yourself in the Lord.

So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? Ecclesiastes 2:24,25

He gives us taste buds to enjoy and delight in eating and drinking. He gives us vision and hearing to enjoy and delight in his creation. He gives us his grace so that we may enjoy and delight in a relationship with him and others without feelings of insecurity. What happens in the noise and busyness of our time is that we have a tendency to forget that his grace is relational and refreshing. In those moments we forget who he is and who we are in him. On this new day may you find your self choosing to enjoy what is around you with a heart of thanksgiving to the Lord. Go ahead and bless everyone that you come in contact with and your life will be a fragrance that everyone delights in.

Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Luke 23:34

What a picture of the emotions of grace that we have here. Jesus had been falsely accused, punched in the face, spit upon, had his flesh whipped off his back, beard pulled, carried his cross to the point of overwhelming fatigue emotionally and physically, nailed to a cross and crowned with thorns. It was in this condition that he said - "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Grace goes beyond the situation and sees the love of God for the souls of men and women. In the midst of pain, grace gives the freedom to not be consumned by the bad attitude of accusers and therefore it finds a sweet relief in forgiveness. As we can see clearly here, there was and is no condemnation in the grace that is in and through Jesus the Christ. On this new day, may you enjoy that freedom of his grace that allows you to bless, encourage and forgive in such a way that the love and kindness of our Lord is seen and heard through your life and voice. You will be so relieved and refreshed that you will hardly be able to contain it. So lift up your heart and voice and praise the one who loves you. The attitude of grace will bring a delightful blessings to your relationships.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91:1,2

No matter who we are, no matter what our education, no matter what our wealth and no matter what our nationality is, some time along our journey death comes to us. It may be the death of our career, our money, our desires, our marriage or our friends and our family. It is right here where grace in Jesus the Christ can make a difference in our sorrow. Grace is God's love that is alive and can refresh and renew our emotions and thoughts right in the midst of heartache. Death does happen, but grace lets us know that it is not the end of the journey. On this new day may you rejoice in his love with thanksgiving and praise no matter where you may be found. His grace is a place of rest and brings joy back to our emotions and thoughts. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean Hebrews 10:22

Sometimes along our journey we feel or have some kind of sense that God is not interested in the details of our lives or how we feel. That feeling or sense is real, but it is not telling us the truth. Here again we have in God's Word a wonderful picture of his grace working in and through our lives. We are invited to come into his presence with our full emotions and intellect, allowing the faith and grace he has given to express itself before him. In this place we are reminded that we now have no condemnation, guilt or shame because of the blood of Christ. So on this new day, may you enjoy your journey of grace and go right into his presence with the details of your life, allowing your emotions and intellect to be renewed. As you do, enjoy the attitude of rejoicing and thanksgiving, it will bless you and in some way blow your hair back.

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. Romans 8:1,2 NLT

One of the by-products of the nature of sin is condemnation and nothing about this has ever brought renewal to our emotions, thinking or our relationships. This natural habit of condemnation has its own by-products, such as irritations, anxiety, anger, peer presure, unforgiveness and even cursing. It is right here in this place where grace came in. Grace free's us from condemnation because we are united now with Jesus the Christ, who is God's love given without condemnation. In his grace there is freedom from the power of condemnation so that we may begin to enjoy the by-products of his love, such as joy, peace with ourselves and our relationships, patience instead of irritations, kindness instead of anger, faithfulness instead of anxiety, forgiveness instead of unforgiveness and self-control instead of peer pressure. On this new day go and explore the freedom of his grace in you without condemnation. Rejoicing is natural in the freedom of grace. Enjoy!

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10

Our natural nature has a tendency to disgree with what our Lord says. Here, money is not the problem, it is the love of money. The root of the love of money brings anxiety; the root of the love of money brings all forms of lust; the root of the love of money brings worry and is the ruin of many a family. It is here where the grace of God in Jesus the Christ can refresh us into a new creation. For all the wealth that is in the world, through all the generations of man is still here, it always stays and we leave. The ability to earn money is meant to bring glory to God, delight to us and a blessing to others. It is designed so that we may become our Lord's cashiers, having the joy of seeing what his plan may be and saying I can fulfill that need. On this new day may you be overwhelmed by his grace concerning your money. His reasoning will always be more refreshing than your own. Give thanks continually, encourage everyone around you always and find ways to bless what our Lord is doing through what he has put into your hands.

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 steller 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. Enjoy!

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. Enjoy!

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.

Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean Hebrews 10:22

Sometimes along our journey we feel or have some kind of sense that God is not interested in the details of our lives. That feeling or sense is real, but it is not telling us the truth. Here again we have in God's Word a wonderful picture of his grace working in and through our lives. We are invited to come into his presence with our full emotions and intellect, allowing the faith and grace he has given to express itself before him. And here again we are reminded that we now have no condemnation, guilt or shame because of the blood of Christ. So on this new day, may you enjoy your journey of grace and go right into his presence with the details of your life. As you do, enjoy the attitude of thanksgiving, it will bless you. Enjoy!