Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:12,13

For most of us along our journey through life, no matter what our age is, we enjoy having new clothes. It does not matter if it is swim shorts, shirts, pants, dresses, suits or shoes, something in these new experience makes us feel better and most of the time we at least feel we look better. New clothes usually even impact our attitude and emotions; it’s just a refreshing time. God's grace puts new clothes in our closet every day and these clothes not only make us feel better, they bless everyone around us. Believe me; these clothes really impact our attitude and emotions for the day. What is wonderful about these clothes is that they are a gift from the Lord and they are wrapped in grace. That means every day we can experience the opening of a new gift and when we put them on, we do look better. Today may you enjoy what the Lord has given you in and through his grace. There is great freedom here with no condemnation and you will find that what he has given you to wear is a perfect fit. Thanksgiving and joy will come very naturally and everyone around you will comment on how you look.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Psalm 139:16,17

One of the great beauties of God's grace is that it gives us the ability to relax and rejoice all at the same time. Living overwhelmed by his grace gives us better hearing, of what is really around us and much better vision as to the situations we are walking through. Grace changes our values and choices, which automatically impact our attitude for the day we find ourselves in. Living in a grace condition removes fears, anxiety and much of mistrust about others. It gives the freedom to know that our Lord is involved in the journey with us and therefore we do not need to be offended so easily and we can enjoy encouraging others along their journey as we have been encouraged by our Lord. Today let his grace be precious to you and enjoy his attitude of kindness as it will be expressed through you. You will be pleased at the way you process info and so will those around you. This is a good day to smile and give thanks to the one who has overwhelmed you with his grace and enjoy his thoughts, bringing praise and refreshment through you.

Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him. Psalm 34:8 NLT

Imagine if you will, going to a wonderful restaurant and as you walk in you immediately notice the beauty of all that is around you. Then you order your meal and its presentation and taste, blow your hair back. The next day you find yourself telling all your friends how wonderful it was and encourage them to go. Well here is even a greater invitation. Taste and see that the LORD is good. Wow! Obviously this is not some kind of invitation to a religion or belief system. This is an invitation to experience the beauty, the life and the grace of God within your journey. Here in him there is refreshment and a freedom that is found nowhere else. Today may you taste well and see well that his grace for you is good. May you find your joys in him overwhelming. Let the foundational relationships of your home be found in the joy of his grace.

If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. John 7:37, 38

There was a time in my life when I know I became thirsty. It was after I had grown up into a young man, finished my time in the Marine Corp and had come back from Viet Nam. I had a job making what I thought was good money, I had a motorcycle, a truck and I had a few dates with some wonderful ladies. It was at the moment of my life that I became thirsty, even though for all appearance my life looked pretty good to all who knew me. The thought came to me – “what is life for?” I believed in God because it says – “In God We Trust” on our money. So I asked this God on our money to please do something with my life and he began to do something in my life that would change and refresh me forever. By his grace he gave me faith to believe in Jesus the Christ and I have never been the same. This living water flowed which I discovered was the Holy Spirit in me producing a new character within me which has no sorrow, no regret and no embarrassment, it is known as eternal life which is God’s life. Today may you enjoy being thirsty and find that what our Lord said is true for you and it is living. That life that is eternal will be yours and even through your opportunities through life, you will never be the same and streams of living water will flow from within and through you. This will give you great freedom without any regret.

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 grief’s. 1 Timothy 6:10

Our natural nature has a tendency to disagree 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 has been the ruin of many relationships. 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. Today may you be overwhelmed by his grace concerning your money. Let his Word refresh your thinking as to who you are in his grace and the value you place on your money will find where it belongs. 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.

So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing. 1 Kings 18:20, 21

The kindness and love of God for us is really beyond our understanding. In the days of Elijah, believing in God was not the people’s problem, but their belief in God did not impact their decisions, their goals or their morals. Their life was focused on what they thought was good for them, which was mostly money and the forms of wealth. Yet focused on all that they thought was important, life was still a mess at home and in the community, even though they believed in God. The power of his grace is that it makes belief alive and changes thoughts about God into love for him and others. In this place freedom is found in our relationship with the Lord and those around us. Here there is no sorrow, no regret and no sense of famine in the details of our life. Today may you let his grace express life in and through you. Grace will refresh you in your emotions and thoughts in such a way that the pleasant look of encouragement will become who you are. If the LORD is God, follow him. This is meant to be much more than thoughts, it is the refreshment in life.

Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? Romans 2:4  

The nature we are born with gives us the ability to be intolerant, impatient and at times less than kind towards those around us, even those of our own family. With this comes condemnation about ourselves, others and even God. The beauty of being overwhelmed by his grace in Jesus Christ is that we have the freedom to live without this condemnation, guilt and even shame, which changes all the relationships around us, especially our view of God. Repentance does not come from the feelings of our natural nature, it comes as an act of worship because of his grace (his love and kindness expressed and given without condemnation, guilt or shame). This being true, we have joy in the details of our lives because of the results of repentance. For repentance is a change in our emotions, thinking and activities along our daily journey. This change gives glory to God, refreshment to others and a blessing to us. Today, may you enjoy the freedom of his kindness that gives you a brand new day in your emotions, thinking and activities. Let his grace overwhelm you along your journey and you will experience that freedom of emotions called grace. You and everyone around you will like this day. Thanksgiving, praise and rejoicing will be just who you are.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. Ephesians 3:16-18

Here in God’s breath we have a prayer given so that we might enjoy our relationship with the Lord and find out that our worship is much more beautiful than something we just do on Sunday. In worship, prayer can be described as the oxygen of the soul. Worship is from the inside out and we find that it is founded in love and therefore has no condemnation at all. When we realize this love of God in the depth of our being, we begin to enjoy and live in his grace. Growing in grace can be defined as the decreasing frequency of sin and therefore there is no condemnation. Today may you find your heart established in his love, for you, your family and your friends. Your expressions, your voice and your opinions in this place will delight you and everything about your journey will become uplifting for anyone who meets you. May those around you be able to grasp the love of Christ because of you.

You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:14, 16 NLT

One of the beautiful benefits of God’s grace in our lives is the freedom we have in letting. His grace not only gives life but the power to let. The illustration of the life of grace here is seen as light, light that can be seen in all directions like a city on a hill. But this light is also now our character which is the character of grace. The power of his grace is now the freedom to “let” this new life be seen and heard in the midst of all our opportunities. Then men and women will see and hear through us the refreshment of the life of Christ and begin to praise our heavenly Father. This refreshes families, neighborhoods and communities. Oh, it also blesses us and lets us enjoy the wonders of his grace. Today may you find that what you are “letting” is like a light shining on a hilltop and everyone around you, including you will be blessed.

Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people - none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NLT

The nature of sin will produce by-products that at best are filthy. There has never been a family, a community, a state or a nation that has become refreshing and renewing when these things are the habits of its people. Grace comes in right at this point to remove sin's power and give us a freedom in our nature that will bring thanksgiving and delight. Grace is the power of God's love in Jesus the Christ to release us from habits that are hurtful by nature and produce habits that have their foundation in God's love, where there will never be any regret or shame. Today may you allow the strength of his grace to set you free from habits that do not bless you or anyone else. In his grace you have the right as sons and daughters to praise, bless and encourage through your actions and words. This freedom is now and forever yours because of his grace kindness and encouragement in you.