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 called salvation in Jesus the Christ is the freedom that his grace gives to our character. If the things listed here in God’s Word were so outstanding, we would have stayed in them and rejected the life of his grace. Here we can experience the refreshing nature of grace as it renews our values, our thinking, our emotions and our attitudes towards God, family, friends and co-workers. Today may you celebrate the freedom you have in his grace to live with the attitudes and emotions of thanksgiving. Here, you and everyone around you will experience a delight in relationships with the Lord and each other. As you live in the freedom of his grace, no one around you will be irritated, including you. Kindness and integrity will just be who you are.

For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17 NLT

There is a beautiful gift given to us in and through Jesus the Christ. It is not just some kind of forgiveness so that we may continue in our addictions to our old sins. There will always be a great contrast between what once we were and what now by the grace of God we are. God's grace is his love given in power, by which he grants total exemption from judgment to men and women who were guilty and condemned because of their sin. Grace has nothing to do with our worthiness or what we have done or failed to do. This is the wow of salvation, a life full of freedom, encouragement, with attitudes and actions that bless us and those around us. Today may your life bring praise and glory to the one who called you by his grace. May you rejoice in this life in Jesus the Christ that is eternal and as you delight in him may you discover what it means to give glory to his name.

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me. But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:38-42 NLT

Worship is that one thing that is needed for our good. It comes when we enjoy the Lord and live with an attitude of thanksgiving. For without these, there can be no worship of the Lord and therefore we will not sense his freedom of grace. What we experience is the emotions of condemnation in all its forms, about others, about ourselves and at times even about the Lord. Worshiping the Lord puts all the details of life in proper perspective. Today may you allow his grace the freedom of expression through your words, your attitudes and your work. In this place there is no complaining, no stress and no mistrust. Here you will experience his freedom in all the details of your life and it is called grace. Enjoy!

No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:24,25,27,33

From the beginning of creation our first parents, Adam and Eve began to reason within themselves that their logic and understanding was better than what God had said. It was there that the battles began with God and with each other. Men and Women all over the world are still suffering from this logic and understanding. Many times we find ourselves much more devoted to what we feel and what is in our hand than what we know the Lord has said. It is in this condition that grace can overwhelm us, so that what is in our hand does not own our emotions or our understanding. Grace gives a great freedom of delighting in our Lord no matter where we may be found. May you know and experience today the blessings of grace, where you will find no worry, no stress, no forms of envy and no tension. Let his grace bathe your heart and mind with the freedom of rejoicing in the Lord.

This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.” Zechariah 7:9,10

It seems that the nature of all mankind is to be very self-absorbed as it matures. It does not matter if it is our marriage, our education, our career or even our retirement. There are no laws or set of standards that can change this nature, which has been seen throughout history. Just look at the wars, the divorces, the crimes or even all the swear words. But in this condition God gave his grace through Jesus Christ, not to fine tune our old nature, but to give us his nature. In grace there is great freedom, no monkey on our backs, no elephants in the room and best of all no regret. Grace gives joy and can put a smile in our soul in some of the most difficult opportunities. Today enjoy the grace and mercy of our Lord that is in you. Relax and embrace his kindness that is now yours. Take a deep breath from his word today and then go out and live in the freedom of who you now are because of his grace that renewed you.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4 NLT Our natural nature seems to be birthed in condemnation, which is very self-focused. In that condition we can find ourselves easily angry, annoyed, irritated and easily having feelings of being criticized. With that nature living thankful and praising the Lord is something to do, which is just one more task along our journey. Grace changes our entire situation. It puts God's love right into the center of our lives, changes our values and how we see ourselves. In that condition, thanksgiving and praise are 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 control of your old nature. Grace is stress and tension free and that will give you a good day. Those around you will feel important, encouraged and refreshed. His grace lets thanksgiving and rejoicing just be who you are.

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 in us 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 better when these things are the habit 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 renew and delight relationships. Grace is the power of God's love in Jesus the Christ to release us from habits that are filthy by nature and produce habits that have their foundation in God's love. Today may you allow the freedom 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 in you.

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. Proverbs 10:19

Proverbs is known as a book of wisdom which is simply the ability to take understanding and knowledge and apply it appropriately to the situation we find ourselves in. How many quarrels would not have taken place in a marriage if only one would have remembered how to speak in grace? How many business partnerships have ended because of so many words, that the friends that started off are no longer friends? How many times have churches had problems because someone started talking about what they did not like until they had a group and off they go to the leadership complaining and the impact on family, church and community is less than outstanding? Grace gives us the wisdom of God to speak in such a way as to handle things without condemnation and therefore finding solutions will give glory to God and a blessing to those who hear. Today may you enjoy the words of grace that express themselves through you. As you speak may those around you sense the kindness, patience and tolerance of the Lord because of the grace that is heard through you. You will be refreshed, blessed and full of thanksgiving. Those around you will feel secure and encouraged. Being overwhelmed by his grace is very freeing.

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 in which our world exists. 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. Grace gives reconciliation to our emotions and thoughts concerning ourselves and how we see others. Grace by nature encourages, trusts and blesses and therefore relationships are strengthened and refreshed. Today may you be renewed in how you feel and think because of the grace of God. Do not let your old habits from your old nature have any place to express themselves in or through you. May your very presence bring peace and blessing to all who come in contact with you. On this day you are absolutely free to choose to rejoice and delight yourself in the Lord.

Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right. Proverbs 20:11 NLT

What we call character is what either builds or destroys relationships. Character is more than just a family name; it is the foundation for building life in a family, a neighborhood, a community or a nation. For some it can be about them first, how they feel, what they want or how they see things. In this place no one is really happy and wounded emotions take individuals down roads of adultery, divorce, drugs, drunkenness and over eating. Here families are wounded and broken, businesses fail and communities are in disarray. God’s grace given in Jesus Christ is much more than saving someone so that they may go to heaven someday. Grace brings a new character which is called eternal life. It is the freedom of life that becomes a blessing to all who know you. It has no jealousy, no bitterness and no regret. It is described as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in Galatians 5:22, 23 NLT. Today let yourself enjoy the freedom given to you in and through Jesus the Christ. His character is now yours, right now in the place where you find yourself. Your freedom is at hand, his blessing is now yours and you can be the blessing of God to your family, your business, your neighborhood and your community. Today is a good day to live the salvation of your character. Enjoy!