Laced With Grace

“You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord. “But you say, ‘What do you mean? What have we said against you?’  “You have said, ‘What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the Lord of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins?  From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.’”

Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name. “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”  Malachi 3:13-18 NLT

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard the expression, “What’s in it for me?”  I have heard parents ask their children to do something and the child will barter with them before they do what they have been asked to do.

Sometimes I feel that our nation has become a selfish society.  Many have the attitude that unless it benefits them in some particular way they will not do ‘it’.

Unfortunately, this attitude has been brought into the church as well.  Serving and Worshipping God has become more about the worshipper and not the One whom we are to Worship.  Church attendance is not a priority in many Christian lives.  Parents wonder why their grown children no longer attend church.  Maybe those same parents need to think back to when their children were in their home.  Did they, as parents, show their children that God is the number one priority in their home as well in their life?  When a child’s ball game was scheduled at the same time as church did these parents choose worshipping God instead of going to the game?  I believe that if enough Christian parents stand up for what is right there will not be ball games on Sunday mornings.

As Christians we should not go to church or serve the Lord only when it is convenient or we don’t have anything better to do.  When we do we are saying, “What’s in it for me?”  We should worship and serve our Lord because He is worthy of all praise, glory and service.  For He is God!

God will remember those who have been faithful to Him; for those who are faithful will be called His very own special treasure.

So my questions for you today, “Why do you Worship God?”  Do you have the attitude as some, “What’s in it for me?” or “I Worship and serve my risen Savior because He is God and worthy of all honor and praise.”?

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
(Romans 15:13 ESV)

As I was leaving my favorite coffee shop this morning, my eyes caught the head-line of the NY Times. I was so sad to read that yet another student opened fired on his peers…

As I was driving to work, my mind kept going back to the headline and the image of crying teenagers on the front page. I do not understand why these type of things keep happening. I read a little about the story on NY Times’ website to search for the reason. Reading about the teenage shooter, I understand the reasoning even less. Only one question comes to mind: Is there no hope left in this world?

Sadly, in today’s age of “reasoning”, many have turned away from believing that Christ died for them and their sins. Even thought Jesus was God, He was also human. He completely understood the struggles we face this side of heaven.

Jesus’ human side experienced hunger, disappointments, loneliness. Because of Jesus’ human side, I have hope. A hope that will see me through the day-to-day struggles. Hope that tomorrow will be brighter than today.

Today I asked myself: how can I share the hope I have with those who seem to have no hope left; especially the younger generation? With all the media we have at our fingertips, we have lost the human touch. We have isolated ourselves to live a life behind a computer screen. We don’t share hope longer in person…

“…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…”
(1 Peter 3:15 ESV)

Will you join me today to be intentional about reaching out to someone in your life that seems to have lost all hope? To touch the hopeless with the Good News of Christ’s death and resurrection? Share the Good News of the Giver of Life?

I always like to share Scripture passages on an index card with my Christian co-workers. So why not write out a Scripture passage for someone who does not yet believe? It may get me in trouble with HR, but my action may give someone hope…

Lord of Heaven and Earth; guide us today to reach out with the Good News of Your never ending love. Bring us together with the people that have lost all hope and are searching to find peace. Give us the words to speak of hope and love that can be found at the foot of Your Cross. We are trusting in Your mercy. In the precious name of Jesus. Amen.

“No, dear friends, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to strain to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT)

My husband and I sometimes watch the new TV drama, Unforgettable.  The main character in this series is one of few people in the world who has the daunting ability to never forget a single detail in her life.  Sometimes I think this ability would be great to have since these days I forget why I walked into a room in the first place.  Then again it would be exhausting at times to know that you have so much “stuff” locked up inside your head and as much as you may try you cannot get rid of all that “stuff” that just really does not matter at all.  Of course my husband commented that he would feel sorry for her spouse!

Seriously though, it made me think about the useless and unnecessary “stuff” I keep in my brain.  I can forget what I just ate for dinner, but when my husband and I have a disagreement I am quick to bring up something he said 20 years ago!

Satan, the deceiver, is quick to bring to our minds our past mistakes and failures.  He knows exactly what our weaknesses are and if we allow him, he will keep us focused on those weaknesses so we cannot move forward in our lives.  We begin to doubt if we will ever get out of a certain situation or circumstance so we will eventually give up.

In the above scripture, Paul reminds us that since our hope is in Christ, we are to let go – forget those things that are past (even if it was just yesterday)  and look ahead to what God will do in our lives.  We are not to dwell on our past mistakes and failures, but instead we are to grow in our knowledge of God by focusing on our relationship with Christ now – this moment.  We need to realize that we are forgiven then move forward to a life of faith and obedience to His Word.  Each day when we awake, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us keep our focus on Christ.  In so doing we can look forward to a fuller and more meaningful life because our hope is in Christ and not ourselves or others.