It's not quite a quiver full, but it's a start!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Amazing Grace...or Unworthy Excuses

God's grace truly abounds every day, but are we allowing ourselves grace or just providing excuses? When we are adopted into the Kingdom of God it is not merely an acceptance of the "gift" of salvation, it is sacrificing my old self and becoming a new creation in Christ. It is picking up my cross daily to follow Him. It is not about heaven, but about my life here on Earth. If becoming a Christian were only about spending eternity with our Creator and Savior then don't you think we would be taken from this life into the next the moment we become saved? Time and time again scripture calls us to put aside our old selves, to not act as the "natural man", to abide in Christ. So why, when we find ourselves getting caught up in the patterns of our flesh do we simply continue in it expecting God's grace to cover us? God provides grace to cover our weaknesses, but so often we use His grace as an excuse to continue in our old behaviors. A lifestyle is a choice. If we continue in our weakness time and time again, expecting grace to cover us, but doing nothing to change our behaviors we are missing out on the fullness God has called us to. If we have the ability in Christ to be transformed, then why do we choose to cover ourselves in excuses to continue our old behaviors? Is it because we do not trust that we can change, or is it because we do not trust that God can change us? How can we set aside our old way of life, but continue to live in it at the same time? What does it say to God and to others about our relationship with Him if there is no change in us, if there is no belief in us, if there is nothing to set us apart from those in the world? Live your life in such a way that you do not have to share your faith with others, but others will notice it in your actions and will ask you about your faith. Accept God's grace in the moment, but don't cheapen your life by making excuses. Grace brings change, but excuses bring nothing but an unfullfilled life.

2 comments:

  1. After you commented on my blog I had to come check out yours, and boy am I glad I did! I am so glad you wrote about this, it is definitely an area I need to work on. This is such a wonderful, convicting, and encouraging post, I cannot wait to read more!

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  2. Thank you! I hope you saw the post that I linked up to yours!

    How encouraging that someone found it "convicting" and still wants to read more haha. Trust me, all of my posts are about areas I am working on in my own life as well! I look forward to reading more of your posts as well!

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Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you found encouragement and joy from my posts. I would love to hear what you have to say! It is my responsibility to make sure all of the content is uplifting, respectful, and true. Any comments that are viewed as personal attacks, false accusations, and any use of profanity will not be tolerated. Thank you, and please leave a comment that I will be able to post so others can be encouraged through your words as well!