This morning, when your alarm clock woke you from your peaceful sleep, what was the first thing you did? For me, I stared at my phone hoping it would turn itself off and I could go back to sleep, but we all know that wasn't going to happen. So I opened my eyes, it still being pitch black unable to see anything, and I looked to the heavens and thanked God for allowing me to wake and see another day, to take a deep breath filling my lungs with air. I thanked Him for blessing me with this day, for allowing me to be part of all His glory and for His never ending love and His eternal grace.
Grace can be defined in many ways, depending on who you ask or which definition you read when using Google or for those that may remember, a dictionary. Simply stated though, grace is the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings, a virtue coming from God, a state of divine regeneration or sanctification freely offered by our Father in Heaven.
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 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.
Ephesians 2:6-7
Each of us can probably look back and remember some things we may have done or said, or acted in such a way that we may be ashamed of now, but at the time, didn't think twice about. That is the part of us called free will. That is the power that God put into each of us to make our own decisions, to make are own choices, to do what we think is best or at least what we thought was best at the time.
When God created each of us, he gave us the power to choose, he gave us free will, for he didn't want us to be slaves to him or to be robots, he wanted us to choose to serve him, to honor him, to worship him, to praise him. And now, we do, however, due to some of our past choices, it is by the grace of God that we have been saved, that we have been forgiven, that we are "not guilty" of our past indiscretions, because our Lord and Savior, the son of God, Christ Jesus, already paid for all our sins with his blood, the day he was nailed to the cross, the day he was crucified.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10
Many of us tend to hold on to the past, to remember the times before we were saved, and we tend to not forgive ourselves or maybe have a hard time forgiving ourselves as we have some sense that we deserve to suffer for our past indiscretions. This is when you need to remember that you have already been forgiven of your sins, past, present and future; forgiven of every bad choice you may have made or may make.
By God's grace and the death of his one and only begotten son, who died for our sins, you have been saved and you need to drop to your knees and thank God for the freedom from guilt, the freedom from shame, the freedom from sin, the freedom from your past, that he has bestowed upon you, bestowed upon me, by His grace and His mercy. Thank God every morning for each and every blessing you have received and will receive, because you chose God's will, over free will. Remember, unless you stop living in the past, you will never enjoy this day and everyday forward that God has planned for you.
As I speak a blessing over each of you this morning, always remember, I am here for you if you ever need to talk or get something off your chest or if you need prayer for yourselves, your family or your friends. Please do not hesitate to contact me.
May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Dear Father God, thank you for blessing us with this day and loving us as Your children. Watch over each and every one of us as we start each day, as we go through this week, keeping us in the palm of Your hand. Guide us in our daily lives, directing us on the path You have planned for us, bringing forth the dreams you have planted in each of our hearts. For we know who we are and whose we are, children of the most high God. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
"Keep your Faith strong, your Hope alive and your Prayers never ending."
God Bless
Pastor Mark
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