Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him, praise his name. Psalm 100:4 NIV

Our natural nature is birthed in feelings of condemnation concerning others and ourselves.  In that condition we can find ourselves easily annoyed, irritated, criticized and at times embarrassed.  When living like that, giving thanksgiving and praise is something to do and it feels like it is just one more task along our journey.  Grace changes the entire situation.  It puts God's love right into the center of our lives and changes our thinking, emotions and values.  In grace praising his name is not one more thing to do, it is who we are.  Living our journey in thanksgiving and praise to our Lord lets us encourage, bless, be considerate and esteem others as more important than ourselves.  Today, may you absolutely enjoy his grace that has set you free from the condemnation of your old nature.  Go ahead and enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; his grace will renew your emotions and let thanksgiving and rejoicing be your gift to those who come into contact with you today.  Enjoy!

If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O LORD, who could stand?  But with you there is forgiveness. Psalm 130:3,4 NIV

Sometimes in our life, we become record keepers of others sins and even our own sins.  In this condition forgiveness is hard to ask for and even harder to give.  Our emotions seemed to be overwhelmed with all the wrong memories. Yet the One who has the right to keep good records doesn’t because of His Grace. If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O LORD, who could stand? Grace in Jesus the Christ removes the record of our sins by giving to us the love of God without any condemnation about ourselves or others.  In grace there is a life that refreshes us right down to the depth of our soul. But with you there is forgiveness.  Today be willing to enjoy this life of forgiveness that is yours through the grace found in Jesus the Christ.  Let all who come in contact with you feel the freedom of your joy in His grace.  God fully intended that his grace would overwhelm you in all the right ways and joy, kindness along with all kinds of encouragement will be the results of grace in you.  That is just what grace does in a man or a woman who is willing to receive it.  Enjoy!

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  For God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:6,8 NIV

Sometimes there just seems to be so many emotional storms through life.  If I was just a little older, if I was just a little younger, if I was just a little thinner, if I just was a little heavier, if I just was married, if I just felt important, if I just had a little more money. These are moments where condemnation and what we know as peer pressure arise and many times begin to direct the course of our thinking and emotions in ways that are less than stellar.  But in the midst of all the details of our lives God demonstrates his love (grace) for us, (When we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly, While we were still sinners, Christ died for us,) right where we are, usually not right where we want to be.  If in your life you have ever felt powerless, ungodly or what can be known as a sinner, know in this place Jesus the Christ gives you his grace, which is his love without any condemnation of any kind. It is here that you begin new, a rebirth into a life that is full of joy and thanksgiving. May your new day be filled with his love, his kindness, his delight and his blessing.  You are either a man or woman of God because of the grace in Jesus the Christ.  You are no longer powerless, you are no longer ungodly, you are no longer a sinner!  In fact you are now the demonstration of the blessing of God to your family, your friends and your neighbors. It is the right day to enjoy! 

He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the LORD require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8 NIV

Sometimes through our journey in this life we find ourselves thinking life is much more complicated than it was intended to be.  Let’s just suppose the grace of God in Jesus the Christ is real and is not complicated.  He has showed you, O man, what is good.  Here in his grace there is no condemnation of any kind, no bitterness of any kind, no resentment of any kind and no mistrust of any kind. It is a total freedom to Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly. His grace gives a beautiful voice to mercy and faith so we may begin to live life in a freedom that can be called joyful.  So on this new day that has been given to you as a gift, relax in the beauty of his grace and mercy.  Let your thinking and emotions enjoy your life in him without fear or anxiety.  There is a natural fragrance that will be yours in the grace and mercy of our Lord, it is called thanksgiving.  Everyone around you will be blessed because you are now the expression of his grace and mercy.  Enjoy!

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 and enjoy anything apart from him? 

Ecclesiastes 2:24, 25 NIV

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 through the grace of Jesus the Christ!  What happens in the noise and busyness of our time is that we have a tendency to forget that his grace is relational, renewing and refreshing.  In those moments we forget who he is and who we are in him. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. On this new day may you find yourself choosing to enjoy what is around you with a heart of thanksgiving to the Lord.  For who can eat and enjoy anything apart from him? Go ahead and bless everyone that you come in contact with and your life will be a beautiful fragrance that brings delights to those around you.  Enjoy!