Grace, my invisible and relentless instructor, is always teaching me. Here is some of what I’m learning from Grace, again and again:
I can breathe in days of circumstantial smog
Relief from pressure, which immediately turns to sheer delight in my very present Helper in times of trouble
Absolutely certainty and foundational confidence in the Word of God
The experience of inward peace which I’m unable to completely define
Gratitude displayed by streaming tears, and no shame for having cried them
Hope secured by promises which set me at liberty
Joy, and then joy, after that…joy
Real laughter, loud, recurring and full of substance and purity
Quietness which proceeds from realization that I was once perilously close to ruin
Compassion for the wayward and deceived, among whom I have been chief
Mercy for the miserable, for in them I see the once-upon-a-time Me
Committed patience for bearing with the willfully blind and ignorant, whom I see as my former tribesmen
Expectancy for those who seem so close to hearing with faith, believing for their breakthroughs
Passionate engagement in the mission of a King I’ve never beheld with my eyes
Deep gratitude for His voice behind the words in His book – I know the Author
Thankfulness for moments when He surprises me with evidence that He is
Security within the overwhelming truth that I belong to One who will never leave
Hunger for an inevitable reunion with all that I miss and some I’ve never met
Surrender of all my fears and pestilent worry
Relinquishing my excuses for why I cannot be victorious and faithful
The very real experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit and tasting of His priceless gifts
Kneeling…kneeling lower…prostrate on my face as I worship the majestic Master who stooped once to heal my soul.
And then there is Love. I am learning how I need it from my King and others. Love. I am learning how to give it without concern as to whether it will be properly received. Love. I am increasing in my awareness of its power. Love. I believe it will be the very first glorified sensation we experience the moment we breathtakingly cross over to Him to begin our forevers in paradise.
These are some things that Grace, my invisible and relentless instructor is always teaching me. I hope to see you in class soon.
First, I want to give Praise and sings to our Saviour JESUS and Father God of Heaven. The anointing on the words here is very heavy. I feel sometimes I am losing my joy, my shout and then I read something of this magnitude and it leads back to the water by the tree of life. God Bless my brother. OH, how I love you JESUS.
I’ve been listening to your sermons for quite some time and I notice that you do not avoid speaking the word, and I love that. But I noticed that you speak a lot about Muslims and how they are persecuting Christians. But we must remember that Muslims are not our enemy. We cannot put a face to evil because we are at war with one common enemy and that’s Satan. We pray about the evil Spirit that is using these Muslim extremists so in return we pray for them. They are lost and they are not beyond saving. We were all once and someone prayed for us and that is what we must remember. For GOD so loved the world, John 3:16. GOD loves the sinner but hate the sin. We must love our enemies and pray for them cause someone prayed for us as well. There are 2 types of people in this world, sinners and Christians that’s it. So whenever we are preaching about wrong doing and we continue to point out a certain group then that can lead to hatred and we must be careful of this because there are a lot of terrorist groups even here in the United States of America that are not mentioned. Love isn’t mentioned enough and we know that we are Christians by our love.
Hi, Mark. Just to clarify, every time I have mentioned Islam, or terrorism in the context of Islam, it has been a reciting of the facts. The terrorists who are beheading children, raping women, and burning Christians and others alive in the name of Allah are all Muslims. Not all Muslims do these horrible things, but those who do perpetrate these acts are all, indeed, Muslims. I agree with you that they can be saved through Jesus Christ. I agree with you that we must love all people. However, my stating the globally known facts about Islamic terrorism neither violates the call to love them, nor does it undermine the ability for them to be saved. I would love to never mention Islamic terrorists and their damnable actions again. When they stop savagely murdering people as part of their religion, I will stop mentioning it. I pray for that day to come.
Amen to Isaiah 55:6.
What amazing hope in this blog! Praising the Lord tonight for providing/guiding us to a new Church Body of Believers; to a Pastor with such transparency and teaching ability in practical application of the Truth in God’s Word (we need that), and for the “worship” of our praise and worship team, our worship leader’s songs and the hands and faces of those singing unto the Lord. Defeat was “in the air” this morning at home (subtle, yet lists of lies). Praying/knowing/claiming the Armor of God, we literally made a mad dash for church last minute, conquering the enemy in the power of Jesus, (having already forsaken small group and dress code, for a minute), because the enemy HAS BEEN conquered and WOULD NOT reign over us this morning. We ran to our King and the body of Christ. May there be no spirit of applause sensed here, only of one incredible thankfulness, praising the One Who works in us, so we know we can come running to the Throne where there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
So, would the Holy Spirit not be the same Spirit of practical application like this, in each person’s life, and Spiritual Gifts? Would Holy Scripture just be Words on a page without His ever-engaging Spirit within us; to reveal His wondrous Truth to us? I can’t find a verse about our specific morning, so…absolutely; and also because sometimes we don’t even know what we don’t know! Break us into total surrender Lord, if it must be that way, so we may know Your Truth that sets us free. May we push outside those boxes where we compartmentalize the Lord, allowing an opportunity and greater impact of enemy attacks in our lives. Truth-trust-patience…one…step…at…a…time…if it must be. Even when we want to run, whether in fear or excitement. But to know a genuine hunger and thirst for His Truth alone, focusing on the LORD God Almighty, through prayer, time reading Scripture and listening for His still, small Voice, so we know what HE wants us to do. To know His Sovereign POWER, for His Holy Spirit to give us BOLD hope, BOLD faith, BOLD courage, and BOLD love, as we move forward to serve and glorify HIM. Thank you for the intercessory prayer today, Pastor Lyle. Praises!
As we submerge into another work week (sigh), let’s not “hold” our breath for ourselves, hoping we can make it until the next church-gathering “refill”, but know His breath is in us continually, so we can exhale (yep, this Tuesday night ladies-yay) and then expel His Breath to those who are weak in the faith and to a lost world. To really know in our inner-most being, He is the Source of the continual Breath we are given. May His Words and Breath given TO us, be His Spirit FOR others, and His ultimate Glory.
Not sure why all this spewed out, but may it be all about You, Lord, and Your Truth, no matter what anyone thinks or says.
Now, let’s go serve our King :)!
Isaiah 55:6
6Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.