‘The cross is not a mere event in history; it’s a way of life’ (John Piper)
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Many years ago, I used to watch a programme on TV based upon a show I had watched as a child, it was all about a space station (Star Trek Deep Space 9 – 1993 – 1999) and on the station there was a race of beings called the Ferengi; they were all about money and what they could get, and they had a saying;
‘Free advice is seldom cheap’ (Star Trek Deep Space 9 – season 2 episode 7 – Rules of Acquisition).
Now, wouldn’t we all like something for nothing?
In the past I have heard people say that they got something from a shop with a ‘five-fingered discount’ in other words, they stole it, something for nothing.
In Hinduism and Buddhism, there is something called ‘karma’ which states that a person’s past will decide their future. Many people also think that what goes around comes around;
‘You know, nasty little fellows such as yourself always get their comeuppance’ (Evelyn [Rachel Weisz] – The Mummy 1999 – Universal).
As a Christian, we do not believe that what we do dictates who we become, but we do believe that we all have a second chance.
Our Great God is all about second chances, and that is the reason that Jonah was told to go to Nineveh, (Jonah 1:1) in fact that is also the reason that Jesus came to earth.
‘For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life’ (John 3:16 GNB).
Our past does make us who we are, because we are the sum of all of our experiences, both good and bad; but our past does not, and should not dictate our future.
Everyone struggles with something. I myself struggle with past sins that drag at me often, and it can be a great challenge to overcome these pulls against the flow.
One thing that we need to remember when others around us may be cheating the system to get what they can, is that we who have decided and chosen to follow Jesus, should be different.
We do not have to be different in a ‘holier than thou’ attitude, but people should be able to detect a difference in how we act, and by what we say or do not say.
We are a spear of light that is penetrating a dark world around us, and the light we carry is Jesus.
‘Therefore I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy……… Do not conform to the pattern of this world’ (Romans 12:1 & 2 NIV).
We do not and should not have an attitude of ‘we are so much better than you’ but we should have an ‘attitude of gratitude’.
I work around a lot of ex-offenders, and in conversations with them, I constantly say, “another day, a different way, I could be you, and you could be me”.
We all walk a path through life, some of us choose the wider path, and sometimes it is with complete knowledge that the path we are on is destructive.
‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it’ (Matthew 7:13 NIV).
But however we come to where we are, we should not judge others, only look to ourselves for what we have done, and to God for forgiveness.
Choosing to be a Christian is not taking the easy path, the one where there are no temptations; Jesus even tells us this;
‘Anyone who wants to come with me must forget self, take up their cross every day, and follow me’ (Luke 9:23 GNB).
Life is not all rainbows and unicorns, we struggle, even Paul struggled with what he should do and what he should not do (Romans 7:18-24).
But we are who we were made to be. We were made on purpose, and we were made for a purpose.
‘But by God’s grace I am what I am, and the grace he gave me was not without effect’ (1 Corinthians 15:10 GNB – emphasis mine).
We cannot do anything to earn God’s grace, or else I would still be wallowing in the mud and dirt of my many sins.
We can do nothing to earn it, and God knows this, that is why it is a free gift, and, this is the only free gift you will ever have that there is no cost attached to it.
If we choose to follow the teachings of Jesus and do what God wants us to do, then the changes we are to make will not feel like anything out of the ordinary, in fact we should want to make them, so there is no cost for the mercy and grace we receive, in fact there are only a few things that we will need to do;
‘To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8 NIV).
Turn to Jesus, and be the person that our God knows we are.
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Spirit of the living God
Fall fresh on me
Spirit of the living God
Fall fresh on me
Melt me, mould me, fill me, use me
Spirit of the living God
Fall fresh on me
Spirit of the Living God
Daniel Iverson
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Father God, we thank you that you are indeed the God of second chances, second, third, fourth even, many are the chances that you have given me. Help me to be like minded with others, so that I may forgive them for how people hurt me, and that I may be able to love them like you loved me before I chose to follow you. Lord you are the Great God of love, help me to love like you do.
Amen
Bobbles Stuff 