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Today's blog devotional comes from 11 years ago. Things were peaceful and the thoughts I had were worth a revisit. I chose this one at random and read it's main point. I enjoy getting into the Word and often like to read things back from different years to see what was going on in life then! I hope you enjoy it and follow up on the daily reads at the end! I may start this up again! Former Teresa was so wise! HAHA!
Today is a beautiful day, it is not too hot and it is not too windy. It is calm and peaceful in my house. I can hear nice music playing and each child is off doing his or her own thing. It is easy to be graceful and think of being full of grace toward my children at the moment. How can I keep this peaceful graceful feeling? Where can I go to find help to be more full of grace?
In His Word!
You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured
upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you
forever. Psalm 45:2
So all bore witness
to Him and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth and
they said “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
Luke
4:22
But He gives more
grace. Therefore He says:” God resists the proud, but gives grace to the
humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Humble yourselves in the sight
of the Lord and He will lift you up. James 4:6-8 &10
Life
is not always so calm. More often than we like the children are at each others
faces saying ‘mine’ or ‘you’ or ‘give it back!’. No grace abounds in those words!
While
enjoying watering my garden today and fellowshipping with the Lord in song and
praises I thought about how a group of us have been reading the book of James.
Now James talks about a lot of things that are important but
today I was thinking first on my speaking setting the mode, like we spoke of
before, but also how I can cause grace and peace to flow in my surroundings.
I know
that what I say effects those around me, because I know that what others say
effects how I react to them. So what can I do to understand this ‘grace’ I hear
about?
I know that Jesus spoke with grace. In Luke 4 it tells us of this fact. In fact it
also shows us what happens when we speak with grace! His words came out with
humbleness and kindness and those around Jesus questioned if this were the boy
they knew as Joseph’s son. They could tell by His speech that He came from God
the Father! Though they may not have made the connection at the moment they
knew He was more than just a carpenter's son who had such wisdom.
In James we read that Grace is something that was given. God
gives grace to the humble, which would be those who submit to God and allow His
will to be their own.
Okay, so grace is given to us when we humble ourselves and follow His lead.
How can we bring grace into our homes?
First of all, we have
to know from Whom grace comes from.
Jesus- He performed the biggest act of Grace when He died on
the cross for us! If we know Him, then we can have His grace with us always.
So how do we share His grace with others?
By putting them before us. Isn’t that what Jesus did? He put us before Himself
when He died for us!
So if I want my children to behave I need to give them
grace?
Yes! But that does not mean I let them get away with murder!
Jesus died for us so we could be saved, basically from ourselves! We have the
choice to follow Him and share in His grace by doing what He wills in our
lives. So Grace and obedience are on the
same side of the coin as they would say. They are on the same team!~
So if I want to speak grace, I need to remember that it is
not about me, but it is about Him and my wanting to please God!
I can choose to be angry with the people around me when they
fail to line up to my expectations, or I can choose to not let it get to me and
love them and speak with kind words and still get the point across. Jesus did
not mix words, HE did however speak the truth in love!
Remember the woman at the well, from Samaria? (John 4) He told her
exactly what she had done in her life, things she had not told anyone else. He
did not let her get away without knowing that He knew her heart. In the same
way when we speak with grace, we can share the truth about what is bothering
us, with out using hateful or hurtful words.
In James 4:11 it tells us plane and simple, “do not speak
evil of one another brethren.” Instead we are to give grace to those who are
ignorant of what the right thing to do is, and yet hold accountable those whom
we know have the knowledge to do the right thing. Call a cat a cat and a dog a
dog! But don’t go pushing buttons just to get what you want.
It is not about you, or me! It does not matter if our dinner
is cooked on time, or if we eat when the Jones’ eat. It is about Him, and His
love, and His grace being filtered
through us. We are God’s ambassadors and our job is to stand up for Him. So if
He gives grace to rotten discusting little old me then I need to give grace to
the person who spilled the milk and did not clean it up.
Okay, that is a lot of word
pictures but I am hoping to get across the idea that today we all need to work
on giving out grace as Christ would do. Remember that the Pastor is a person
first, as frail and fallible as the rest of us, and remember that the woman at
the grocery store who opened her door and nearly smacked you in the hip is just
a person too! Whether it is the fact that the laundry does not get done with
out you doing it, or the toys don’t get picked up unless you tell them to do it
a hundred times…
Grace will abound when you speak
the truth in love.
I was able to test this out today,
while standing in a long line at the local store I noticed another line had
opened up. I looked at the line I was in with shopping carts and full ones at
that, and decided to go to the new line. I proceeded around the long line so as
not to push my way through the people in front of me and possibly offend them.
On the way to the, still one person, line I grabbed one more item, a paper bag.
Just as I turned my head back to my line… I was stepped in front of and the
person who had been in front of me in the first line, cut in. Exhausted and
tired from waiting behind this family to start with as they doddle alone I was
upset. I thought to tell them “Ex-cuse-me! But I was here first!” then dropped
my basket in disapproval and slowly made my way to the register behind them.
It took a lot of strength not to
say anything, cause gee I was the one carrying a basket as apposed to pushing a
cart, and I was the one who was there first, and I was the one who had tired
feet, one of which was fighting to get out of the shoe it was wearing… it
wasn’t fair! But then again… I had no idea what that other family was going
through in their day. They had a cute little baby sitting in the cart, and
maybe that little one needed to get through faster.
So I thought on it for a moment and
realized I gave them grace! I got a smile when they left too, not a mean “ha ha
we cut on you” but a nice “have a great day” type of smile. Grace is good.
On the way home I took a wrong lane
change and had to do a U-turn to get back where I wanted to be but it did not
even bother me as it would have before. I figured God had some reason for me
not to get in that turn lane when all those other cars came barreling into it
first.
Grace comes easy to act on when we keep our minds on Him. He gives us peace, and we pass that on so that grace may abound. When we give others grace God's grace touches them and changes lives!
Dear Heavenly Father, help me to continue in an attuited
of grace today and
each day as I grow more and more like you. Help me to shed off that old man and
put on newness in You each day. In Jesus name, amen.
Suggested Readings for this week;
Monday: Psalm 45-all
Tuesday: James 4:1-17
Wednesday: James
5:1-12
Thursday: 1 Peter 1:
3-9
Friday: 1 Peter
3:8-4:11
Weekend readings: Hebrews 3-4 all
***If for any reason you choose ever not to receive this
devotion again please remember that all it takes is replying with a
"Please remove me from this list." I do ask that if there is a
problem with anything I write for you to feel free to write me back and let me
know what the problem was, that we might go over it together and seek the truth
in love.
In His love,
Teresa M. Wilson
www.teresawilson.com
Copyright © 2004