Laced With Grace

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Matthew 5:14 NKJV

If I were to tell you that today you would be on stage, standing before tens, even hundreds of people watching your every move, how would that make you feel? Would you be frightened? Would your heart begin to race? Would your hands get sweaty? What if I told you that you are on stage before people every single day?

While at Disneyland this summer we took a ride on a double-decker bus down Main Street. As I stepped up onto our bright and shiny red ride, a small metal box mounted on the wall caught my eye. It was the counter that the bus driver used to keep the numbers of his riders each day. However, it wasn’t the counter that had my attention, it was the handwritten message that had been taped to the front of this box. “Smile, you’re on stage!” in pen, was there for this employee to see each time he added numbers from his ride.

For anyone who has had the joy of being in Disneyland, you know first hand that it’s not only the rides, but the people who work there that make your experience something that you’ll never forget. No doubt, the employees are reminded on a daily basis that they are to smile, that they are forever on stage for all of us visitors to see. It got me to thinking that as a Christian, we too are on stage for the whole world to see.

How many mornings do I greet my family with a smile? When I get up on stage before my husband, my children, my friends, my co-workers, do they see in me a person who reflects the light of Jesus? As a Christian, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a supernatural deposit of our Saviour. People should see that there is something different about us. When we are at the mall, at a restaurant, or just within the walls of our own home, we need to remember that we are on stage for all to see. God didn’t save us in order to hide us. He saves us and gives us a glorious hope so that we can go out and share our experience of Him, our glorious regeneration with the world, for all to see!

So today, whether you suffer from stage fright or not, remember to “smile, you’re on stage”. Thankfully, whether your audience is small or large, it’s the standing ovation of ONE, and His applause, that will make all the difference.

I have to confess, I’m really into researching different parts of my family genealogy. On one side we have my grandmother’s family who are from Ireland and Scotland and on the other we have my grandad’s family who came from Spain. Getting information is really hard and although I have names and dates finding out more about my ancestors definitely isn’t an easy task. One of my mother’s cousins put together a book of their family that she’d been working on for over 15 years and it’s still not yet finished – apparently there was a King and Queen of Spain in the 12th century mentioned too.

Psalm 33:11
But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

On the flip side I have the knowledge of knowing that no matter where my roots come from God made me and you in His image. He created me to be exactly who he made me to be. I have the blood of Jesus there to protect me, I have God’s grace, mercy and love. I may not know where my extended family came from originally but praise God that He knows every inch of me. He knows me inside out, He knows where I am at all times and thanks to Him I can pass on his good news to future generations through my children.

Ask yourself, what knowledge and foundations are you preparing for the generations to come after you’ve gone?

“Amazing Grace”   

You know the words. 

“I once was lost, but now am found.  Was blind, but now I see.”    

What we don’t always realize as Believers, though, is that Grace is so much more than  (just) being forgiven of sin.

Grace is the power to be the women God has created us to be!  Grace empowers us.  God wants our hearts to be strengthened by Grace, as it says in Hebrews.   

The Lord does not want us to be in bondage to failure.  He does not want us to live defeated lives.  He does not want us to believe and succumb to the lies of the enemy.  He wants us to be free and full of joy.   

His Word calls us “more than conquerors.” His Word says “He equips us with everything good for doing His will.”  His Word says we “can do all things through Christ Jesus.”  We have got to start tapping in to this power of Grace!  It is the power to overcome all of the enemies in our life- fear, doubt, temptation…

We need to believe and LIVE out His Truth. 

“And, you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.” –John 8:32

My friend Donna says it like this, “The Truth BELIEVED IN and ACTED UPON will set you free.”

 It’s not enough to know the Truth, but we must believe it and LIVE it!   

Today, if you are feeling like a failure, feeling like you have “blown it” again, remember- you are a new CREATION in Christ Jesus.  The old has gone, the new has come!  If you are feeling hopeless today, please take heart.  There is hope.  “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”   

Grace give you the power to believe His Word and what it says about you as a Believer and LIVE it.   

Grace gives you the power to live for Him and through Him.   

Grace gives you the power to BECOME, to BE the woman He has created you to be.   

And…that is AMAZING. 

Lord, thank You that You love me.  Thank You that Your Grace empowers me.  Thank You that “You love me just the way I am, but that You love me too much to leave me that way.”  Lord, help me to believe Your Truth and live it.  Thank You that as I do, it has the power to set me free! Thank You that it DOES set me free to be the woman You have created me to be.   Praise You, Jesus!