7-10Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing. (The Message)
Again, I am back in The Message! I love this translation. It's like Paul says, "Hey folks, it's not about YOU!'
I once knew about a situation where two believers were witnessing to the same person but at different times. One would eat lunch with the lost person and try to share things from the Bible, while one would go to dinner or something with the lost person and share things too. They both had the same goal. They both knew that this person needed Jesus and wanted to win he/she to the Lord. Unfortunately, one of the believers took it as some sort of competition and wanted to make sure they were the one that actually sealed the deal with the lost person and got he/she saved. Well, I am not quite sure what happened but the lost person disappeared out of both believers lives, neither one of them actually got he/she saved but they both planted seeds. Hopefully someone else came along and sealed the deal through the power of the Holy Spirit and not the power of competition!
It's funny how Christians act sometimes. We are all a little embarrassing at times. Quite often we need a huge kick in the butt to remind us that IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT US! We sing a song at church with lyrics that says it best.
It's all about you,
It's all about you,
It's all about you JESUS
Do we really and truly get that it's all about Him? We are here to serve and only serve.
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20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
We with HIM as our foundation are made perfection. We become important to the foundation of the faith. All of us. Not just those people we call great. Moody, Billy Grahm, Corie Ten Boom. And it takes time.
Sometime the HOLY SPIRIT gives us revelations that change us all at once. Those are great leaps for our faith. Then in our devotions we get nuggets here and there that are showing us more and more of HIS character. We continue to grow day by day just like children.
What an awesome GOD we serve.
I read.
i read.
I'm behind in my reading..but I hope to get caught up today!
I'm a little behind but I'm reading your blogs. You are very encouraging to me. I love your guts.
I read 2 & 3.
v.6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus
It doesn’t say God raised us to be seated below Him, at his feet. It certainly doesn’t say God raised us to be above Him. No, it says He raised us to be seated with Him. God cares about us so much that He sent His Only Son Jesus to die for our sins just so we could be with Him despite all the dumb and bad things He already knew we were going to do! He IS an awesome God!!
v.7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. The incomparable riches of his grace: hmmm…sound totally remarkable or what? Then, to go on saying ‘expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus’: I have to think, can I even really dissect that to understand what it truly means? Do we, as mere humans, even know that type of kindness? Like maybe Mother Teresa? I don’t even think she begins to touch that brand of kindness. Our God is humbling and breathtaking!! I cannot wait to see Him face-to-face!
V10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
God fitted us for this very time; for this generation. He purposed and planned our lives in advance. We are created to do His good work. The work that he called us to do.
V13 But now in Christ Jesus you who were far away have been brought near through the blodd of Christ.
I have been far away from Christ! Before I accepted Him as my saviour I was in the pit. Email for more details...
But by the blood of Christ he brought me near. How incredibly awesome! HE brought me near.
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