And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Memory of the Month: Psalm 33:4
4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
Today's reading: AMOS 4-6 REVELATION 7
Forever Grace
"Eat your dessert first". That's what he said. He was 100 years of age. That was the answer to living 100 years-eat your dessert first. The retired pastor was making a joke, of course. He went to be with the Lord shortly after turning 101.
The old pastor knew that he would not live forever, here. He would say, "I can't see well; I can't hear well; I can't move well-and sometimes, I don't smell well. Then he would laugh and hobble off to get a smile out of someone else.
How does one live for a hundred years, lose all old friends, lose eyesight and hearing and still be joyful?
I think a better question is how or why can some younger people who have everything going for them be so miserable? And don't say it takes a hundred years of living to find joy-God's mercies are new every morning. New Year's day is not the only new beginning. In Christ, we have a new beginning every day-every single day!
It has been said many times before-life does not have to be as hard as we make it. The Lord died on the cross to deliver us from inner misery. Why is that so hard to grasp for the multitudes?
The Christmas season should remind us of the Life of Jesus. With the life of Jesus, we have life. With the death of Jesus, we have life. With the abiding, divine Holy Spirit of Jesus, we have life. Jesus is life. God is our life itself.
He came to give us abundant life-he defeated death. Death is not the end. It is simply a change. It is the ultimate change from a life where pain is a reality to a life where pain does not exist.
So, what is the abundant life? It is replete with all the pain that human beings know-but-complete with the peace and healing and recovery that believers in Christ know.
James 4:6 ►But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.
The more we realize humility before the Lord, the more grace we realize to handle whatever comes at us. Then, in turn, we should give more grace-becoming a channel of His grace-His tender mercies to the lost and hurting around us. Charles Stanley says, "Christians who live like the beloved, empowered heirs that they are, will lavishly spend their inheritance of grace to benefit everyone they meet."
This season is not about how much we get but how much grace we give.
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
Forgive me my self pity...
Make me a person who shows the peace of Your heart to the world while enduring pain with dignity. Focus my mind on Your power and grace.
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