The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. John 1:41,42

When we find something along our journey that is true, refreshing and exciting, we want to share the news with our family and friends. There is something inside us that loves to give good news when we are not living life just for our self. It is also true that when the journey of our life has gone on for some time focused on our self we have much more of a tendency to be critical of others, condemning and focused about things and people that are less than good. The grace of our Lord does more than save us for heaven; it refreshes our values of family, friends and community. There is a joy in being overwhelmed by grace that just has to express itself through encouragement, kindness and refreshment. On this new day in the grace of our Lord may you be renewed again with the heart of an Andrew. There will be no condemnation there. Your joy for the day will become overwhelming and the refreshment you give to others will impact there life and values in all the right ways. You will be delighted in this season of grace.

You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered.  Psalm 139:16,17  NLT

One of the beautiful benefits of God's grace is that it gives us the ability to relax and rejoice all at the same time, in some of the most awkward opportunities.  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 also removes fears, anxiety and much of our mistrust about others.  It gives the freedom to know that our Lord is involved in all the details of our life; therefore we do not need to be irritated so easily.  We can enjoy encouraging others along their way as we have been encouraged by our Lord.  Today allow his grace to put you at ease and enjoy his attitude of kindness as it will be seen and heard 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. How precious are his thoughts about 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 called salvation in Jesus Christ is the transformation 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 in Jesus Christ 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 choice you have in his grace to live in the joyful attitude of thanksgiving.   You and everyone around you will experience a delight in relationships with the Lord and each other. As you live and imitate God in the life of his grace, no one around you will be irritated, hurt or ashamed.  Transparency, kindness and integrity will just be who you are.  Enjoy!

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.  Psalm 63:1, 3

There may be moments in time when we can be in a great throng of people and yet feel weary and alone.  It is as if we are in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  There in that place we discover emotions that never give any life, they only seem to exhaust whatever we thought we had.  We name them as hopelessness, despair, sadness and depression.  But right in that moment our God offers his grace which is water for our soul.  It is his love that quenches all our thirsts and brings hope, joy, refreshment and an abundance of kindness.  That is why his grace is called amazing and overwhelming.  Today allow yourself to know the sweet relief of his love and grace.  Let your emotions and thoughts be renewed in his presence and compassion. Let yourself experience the sweet freedom of thanksgiving, praise and rejoicing in your soul. You will find your lips will glorify him; you will live in the beauty of his life where there is no remorse or weariness.  Enjoy!

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear.  Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds.  They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them.  And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?  Matthew 6:25 – 27 NLT

Somehow through our life, stress and worry show up and seem to make their home in our hearts.  With them being resident in our emotions and thoughts, habits begin to form so that our conclusions of where we are or where we might be in the future are much smaller than a blessing.  Then tension shows up and our world does not seem to be enjoyable.  Here in this place grace can be experienced.  You see God’s grace in Jesus Christ replaces stress and worry with thanksgiving and praise.  There is a powerful freedom in thanksgiving and praise, for where they are stress and worry cannot come or even express themselves.  Oh, and by the way, tension is never found in grace. Today let your emotions and thoughts live the experience and freedom of his grace.  Let your heart express thanksgiving and praise through your mouth, with words and tones that will bless you and your family.  Because of his grace you have been given a new life and it is yours to live.  Enjoy!

Repent, all of you who forget me, or I will tear you apart, and no one will help you.  But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.  If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.  Psalm 50:22,23 NLT

Sin has no desire for God or his path, it lives only for wanting, not thanksgiving.  If left to itself, it will tear apart the individual, the family, the community and a nation.  Yet, in this place the grace of our Lord can be found.  Here in his grace love given without limit or condemnation.  His grace makes us new which changes everything, from living a constant consuming life, to a life that gives thanks to the Lord and esteems others as more important.  Living in the grace of Jesus the Christ renews us, our family, our community and even our nation.  It is a life of no regret. Today may you choose the joy of our Lord as you consider your ways.  Let yourself find many varied ways to give thanks for the life you have, for what he has put into your hands and for the freedom that is yours to be an encouragement to everyone around you.  There is no remorse, no brokenness or tearing apart in the grace of our Lord.  Enjoy!

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 living gift given to us 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 with new emotions, new attitudes of encouragement, and new actions that bless us and those around us. Today may your life bring praise and joy to the one who called you by his grace.  Let yourself rejoice in this life in Jesus Christ that is eternal and as you delight in him may you discover what it means to give glory to his name.  Enjoy!

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 (delighting in the Lord) is that one thing that is needed for a good and healthy attitude.  It comes when we enjoy the Lord and live with a heart full of thanksgiving.  For without these, there can be no worship of the Lord and therefore we will not sense the nature of his grace.  What we experience is the emotions of condemnation in all its forms, about others, about ourselves and at times even about the God.  Worshiping the Lord puts all the details of life in proper perspective.  Today may you allow his grace the freedom of expression through your attitudes and your thoughts.  In a life of grace there is no complaining, no stress and no mistrust.  Here you will experience his joy in all the details of your life and that 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

Somewhere in the beginning of creation, Adam and Eve began to reason within themselves that their logic and understanding was better than what God had said.  It was there that sin came in and 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, over 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 the ability of delighting in our Lord no matter where we may be found.  Allow yourself to 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 delighting in the Lord.  Enjoy!

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.  Give thanks to him and praise his name.  Psalm 100:4 NLT

Our emotions seem to be birthed in feelings of criticism, which is very self-focused.  In that condition we can find ourselves easily angry, annoyed, irritated, having feelings of being evaluated.  With that nature, living thankful and praising the Lord is something to do, which is just one more task along our journey which can  eventually be exhausting. 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, emotions of 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 power of your old emotions.  Grace is stress and tension free; it 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.  Enjoy!