I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.  I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.  Philemon 5, 6 NIV

 

One of the magnificent wonders of God’s grace is the giving of a living faith.  It is not a belief system or set of standards by which we live our lives.  Faith is sure, hopeful and certain (Hebrews 11:1 NIV) about God’s grace in Jesus Christ and can be recognized as a love for people.  This faith and love is very real, in fact it is called – Your Faith, your love. Let’s face it, most people know us by what is ours.  So, if faith in Jesus the Christ is actually ours, the Word of God says – “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith.”  Faith that is active is filled with joy, encouragement and is very refreshing to everyone around.  This activity opens the door so that you may begin to understand every good thing you have in Jesus Christ.  Let what you know to be true in Jesus Christ express itself so naturally that you and those around you will be renewed in life today. Faith and love are meant to be lived and enjoyed because they are the results of a new life in Jesus Christ.  By His grace it is all yours. Enjoy!

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors.  And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver.  It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.  God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.  1 Peter 1:18-20 NLT

 

It is amazing, we as individuals have an inheritance and its impact is describe as an empty life.  For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors.   For most of us it does seem that such things as gold or silver are somehow on most people’s minds and hopes.  If we can acquire a significant amount of these things we think we will experience the feelings of fulfillment. Yet, with all these things acquired all over the earth we still are full of emptiness whick looks life violence, immorality, brokenness and sadness. What possibly then could have more value than silver or gold?  Well, it was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, God’s gift of grace.  Today let yourself live a life that has been redeemed by the grace of Jesus the Christ.  Ransomed by the blood of Christ is the declaration that you are loved now and for all eternity. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.  This is a good day to finally rest in what God has said he has done for you through Jesus Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.  Enjoy!

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 through life we are looking for some kind of philosophy (direction) that will give our life meaning or completeness. Without it we seem to struggle with who we are, where we are going, and why are we here? 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. Grace lets us experience something that is greater than any philosophy or high sounding nonsense. The freshness of God’s grace is to live in a sense of WOW!  For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.  So you also are complete through your union with Christ. We have been given the greatest of all things, our union with Christ, which is eternal life and it is complete.  There can be nothing more magnificent or fulfilling than God himself.  Today let yourself live complete in your union with Christ, filled with joy and praise. Allow yourself to smile a lot and rejoice a lot, for you are dearly loved, lacking nothing in the grace of God found in Jesus Christ.  Enjoy!

So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. Colossians 1:9, 10 NLT The life of God's grace that has been given through Jesus the Christ brings a great confidence. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Think of the words – complete knowledge of his will, spiritual wisdom and understanding. So we might ask, what is this? But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. James 3:17 NLT. When faith in God is very much alive in us, we will find our emotions and our thoughts enjoying His will, His wisdom and His understanding, which obviously pleases the Lord. It also will bring a blessings to those who are around us. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. Here grace becomes the blessing to our family and the healing of emotional wounds begins to take place. In the Word of God this is called - Good Fruit. Let his grace through faith allow you the confidence of knowing him better and better. Today let yourself know for sure that his will for you is good. It is designed to refresh you, to delight your family, to bless your co-workers and to renew your community. Enjoy!

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:15 NIV

 

We always feel good when we know we are at our best.  Well, the life of God’s grace that is given through Jesus the Christ is life without any form of condemnation about who we were or are. When we know there is no condemnation because of Christ (Romans 8:1) we become free so that we can do our best to present ourselves to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed.  Grace is powerful, kind and relaxing at the same time. Grace gives a rebirth to our character which obviously, if allowed can renew our emotions and thinking, this is a wonderful example of handling correctly the “word of truth”.  Grace makes life joyful; therefore husbands and wives that are full of grace make really good marriages and families.  As we begin this day may we choose to rejoice and praise the Lord.  Believe what our Lord says about us, one approved, who does not need to be ashamed.  Think of this, he enjoys us and loves us.  Lets smile right down to the depth of our soul and our life will be the living example of correctly handling (and living) the word of truth! Enjoy!

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.  He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation.  

Colossians 1:15 NLT

 

If a man or a woman would want to know what God is like, they only need to look at Jesus the Christ.  “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God” which means what God promised he has brought to pass in his son.  The good news is that God loves us and has demonstrated it visibly through Jesus Christ.  In the grace of Christ we have been given eternal life (the joy of knowing ther LORD) for our journey with our family, our friends and those we work with.  We can see that the nature of the gospel is to recreate the character of God in our lives and this is accomplished through his grace.  The life of his grace lets those around us see the beauty of the nature of God through our lives. To know Jesus Christ by His grace can change everything. Today let yourself experience the life of grace in how you see your opportunities.  Be willing to let your decisions and goals be visible expressions of the results of his grace in your life.  May your family and friends be blessed with the attitudes of Christ through you.  Enjoy!

Imitate God, therefore in everything you do because you are his dear children. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity or greed among you.  Such sins have no place among God’s people.  Obscene stories, foolish talk, and course jokes – these are not for you.  Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.  Ephesians 5:1, 3, 4 NLT

 

What is commonly known as salvation in Jesus the Christ is the life that his grace gives to our character, which he says is to "be born again." When a man or woman receives God’s Grace a privilege comes which says - Imitate God, therefore in everything you do because you are his dear children.  So the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul then lists some of those sins that seem to plauge us along our journey. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.  The nature of grace is that it changes our values, our thinking, our emotions and our attitudes towards God, family, friends and co-workers. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and course jokes – these are not for you.  Today in grace we can choose to imitate God in everything we do. Imitating God with a heart full of thanksgiving will produce a great amount of joy. Let there be thankfulness to God. Here we can experience a delight in relationships with the Lord and each other that will overwhelm us in all the right ways.  May we be so refreshed in this grace that everyone who meets us today gets to see and hear through us the beauty of the grace of Jesus the Christ!!! Enoy!!!

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.  Romans 8:11, 12 NLT   The magnificence of God’s grace is expressed here. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.  The grace of our Lord that has been given to us in Jesus Christ is not some sort of religious activities or duties that are required in order to receive freedom from our sinful nature.  Grace is God giving us life which is called eternal and it is the same life and Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead.  Therefore he will give life to your mortal bodies by the same Spirit living within you.  When a man or woman has received God’s grace they are delivered from the condemnation of their own sin and from its power over them.  While living in these bodies grace does not deliver us from sins presence, but from its power and condemnation.  Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.  So when you feel an old habit that is less than Holy urging you to act or think in its way, remember you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.  Today may God’s Word refresh, renew and overwhelm you with joy!  Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again; Rejoice!!!  Philippians 4:4 NIV.  Enjoy!

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. You love him even though you have never seen him.  Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.  

1 Peter 1:3, 8 NLT

 

When we experience the grace and mercy of the Lord, we are changed in such a way that is called born again.  It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.  When we can speak of God’s grace and mercy as something that we have received, we will find our heart being carried away with joy and praise.  All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Being born again opens the door for joys we could have never known.  Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.  Praise is a reverent celebration which fills our heart with the joy of worship. “Worship is ultimately our first priority.  Nothing on anyone’s agenda is more important.  In fact, the hectic pace of modern life only elevates the importance of active, deliberate, purposeful, daily worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Joseph S. Carroll – “How to Worship Jesus Christ – page 9”.  Today, may I encourage you to start your day with praise and joy to the Lord.  You are created for such things and they will refresh your life no matter where you are.  To be born again by the mercy of God is so you can rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy!  Enjoy!

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.  Galatians 5:13 NLT

 

We are a nation that is all about freedom. But it does appear that what we are now calling freedom is the ability to express and live out our sinful nature to its fullest.  As a nation we seem to be losing our freedom and becoming enslaved to actions, attitudes and emotions that are destructive to our families, our neighborhoods , our cities and even our nation. For you haver been called to live in freedom, but don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.  It isn’t just alcohol, drugs and all forms of immorality but also violence in attitude and actions. What is ironic is the more someone asserts his or her self-centered so called freedom, the more he or she becomes enslaved to their own sin. But there is a prescription for freedom, it is the grace of God found in Jesus Christ. So if the Son of God sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 NIV. This freedom of grace is a life that penetrates the very foundation of our emotions and thoughts, it is called a new creation. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.  Today enjoy your freedom of grace that has been given to you through Jesus the Christ. Let your day be free in grace so that you know your old habits and addiction in your thinking and emotions are no longer a definition of who you are or were. Your freedom in Christ can bless you and bring refreshment to everyone around you.  Enjoy!