Posts Tagged ‘grace’

Be Still

Posted: February 25, 2013 in bible, friendship, life, love, music, religion
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Life can be difficult at time, and it’s often during those times that we find it hardest to be still and wait on the Lord. The thing is, if only we took the time to stop and wait on Him, we would find the reassurance and help we need.

Exodus 14:13-14 (NIV)

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Don’t be afraid of the silence, it’s during the silence that we can hear God more clearly when all around us is in turmoil.

Be Still For the Presence of the Lord by David J Evans

Be still for the presence of the Lord,
The Holy One is here;
Come bow before Him now
With reverence and fear.
In Him no sin is found,
We stand on holy ground;
Be still, for the presence of the Lord,
The Holy One is here.

Be still, for the glory of the Lord
Is shining all around;
He burns with holy fire,
With splendour He is crowned.
How awesome is the sight,
Our radiant King of light!
Be still, for the glory of the Lord
Is shining all around.

Be still, for the power of the Lord
Is moving in this place;
He comes to cleanse and heal,
To minister His grace.
No work too hard for Him,
In faith receive from Him;
Be still, for the power of the Lord
Is moving in this place.

Grow In Grace

Posted: July 26, 2012 in Bellshill, Bellshill, bible, friendship, life, love, music, religion, Salvation Army
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Grace is a free gift from God!

It can be easy to think at times that just because we love Christ and profess to be Christians, that we will automatically grow in grace, but I’m afraid that’s not how it works!

Weakness is not your biggest problem, God’s grace is sufficient, but it’s delusions of strength that get in the way of your growth in grace

As the above statement says, sometimes I think we are guilty of forgetting just how much we need God, particularly when life is going well for us. We must be true to God during our happiest times as well as our darkest of times, because in doing so we will grow in grace.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

What Grace Means

Posted: July 25, 2012 in friendship, life, love, music, religion, words
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Grace is one of those funny words that we hear at church from a very young age, but do we really understand what it actually means?

Here’s one definition that I think is particularly useful:

Grace means you don’t have to hide what’s already been forgiven, or fear what’s already been defeated, or earn what’s already been given

In order to receive grace, me must first receive Christ into our life, and into our heart. If Christ is not part of your life today, I’d urge you to ask Him to enter your life today, so that you can be forgiven for all your sins and receive God’s grace and peace.

Amazing Grace!

Forevermore

Posted: November 17, 2011 in friendship, life, love, music, religion
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Forevermore, You are holy
Forevermore, You are worthy

God can take the broken and the weak and make them into superstars. He does this for every individual who gives their life to Him, and in return He promises to love us all forever.

God will be with us forever, He has planned our lives out before us, and in doing so proves again just how much he loves us, and will always love us. So how should we repay Him? By loving Him and giving our heart to Him today.

All my life, all that I hope
It rests inside Your plan
Your love, Your grace, Your truth alone
Forevermore will stand
You have called me Your redeemed
And hidden me in the shadow of Your wings

Everyone Down!

Posted: September 9, 2011 in friendship, life, love, music, pray, prayer, religion
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If My People Pray by Avalon

Now is the season for healing
Deeply we need to see, God’s mercy revealing
Where we have fallen from his ways
For we know he gives hope to the humble,
gives light in the darkness, and grace when we stumble
Let us, call on His name, together, knowing he will say

If my people pray
and reach for me with hearts, that are broken
I will not forget what I’ve spoken
Come and seek my grace
Heaven will rain, rivers of my grace, overflowing
Night and day my ears will be open…
If my people pray

Now is the day to awaken, to pray with conviction,
to the souls of the nation
(So) let us, call on His name
Whose faithful, promise still remain

If my people pray
and reach for me with hearts, that are broken
I will not forget what I’ve spoken (oo)
Come and seek my grace (seek ye and..)
Heaven will reign, rivers of my grace, overflowing
Night and day my ears will be open…
If my people pray

Let us not grow weary as we wait for the day
When the Light turns our night into morning
All we need is to call your name
As we lift our hearts to Heaven (yeah)
Knowing You will say…

If my people pray
and reach for me with hearts, that are broken
I will not forget what I’ve spoken (oo)
Come and seek my grace (seek ye and…)
Heaven will reign, rivers of my grace, overflowing
Night and day my ears will be open…
If my people pray(oo)
If my people pray

How important is your prayer life to you?

How important is your prayer life to God?

Prayer should be one of the most important parts of your Christian life. Why? Imagine having a friend and never speaking to them, could you honestly still expect them to consider you a friend?

God should be our best friend. He will never forget that He has promised to always be there for us:

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. (John 36:37 NIV)

Let’s all get down on our knees and pray because together we CAN change this world!

Amazing!

Posted: August 21, 2011 in bible, family, friendship, life, love, music, prayer, religion
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All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth – Colossians 1:6 (NIV)

God’s grace IS amazing, here’s how…

Reach For God

Posted: June 10, 2011 in family, friendship, heaven, life, love, music, pray, prayer, religion
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If My People Pray by Avalon
Now is the season for healing
Deeply we need to see, God’s mercy revealing
Where we have fallen from his ways
For we know he gives hope to the humble,
gives light in the darkness, and grace when we stumble
Let us, call on His name, together, knowing he will say
If my people pray
and reach for me with hearts, that are broken
I will not forget what I’ve spoken
Come and seek my grace
Heaven will rain, rivers of my grace, overflowing
Night and day my ears will be open…
If my people pray
Now is the day to awaken, to pray with conviction,
to the souls of the nation
(So) let us, call on His name
Whose faithful, promise still remain
If my people pray
and reach for me with hearts, that are broken
I will not forget what I’ve spoken (oo)
Come and seek my grace (seek ye and..)
Heaven will reign, rivers of my grace, overflowing
Night and day my ears will be open…
If my people pray
Let us not grow weary as we wait for the day
When the Light turns our night into morning
All we need is to call your name
As we lift our hearts to Heaven (yeah)
Knowing You will say…
If my people pray
and reach for me with hearts, that are broken
I will not forget what I’ve spoken (oo)
Come and seek my grace (seek ye and…)
Heaven will reign, rivers of my grace, overflowing
Night and day my ears will be open…
If my people pray(oo)
If my people pray
In Daniel 9:4 (NLT) Daniel prayed to God:
O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands.
God has promised to love us forever, unconditionally. Say thank you to God for loving you by praying to Him.
God loves to hear His people pray, so go on, make God happy!

Musical Emotions – Part 11

Posted: April 27, 2011 in cross, Easter, friendship, Health, heaven, holiday, life, love, music, pray, prayer, religion
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Over the last few months in my series that started with my blog post Music to Touch Our Hearts I told you about a number of pieces of music/songs which always get me very emotional. Now today, I want to finish this series of Musical Emotions by talking to you about the song entitled Amazing Grace (My Chains Fell Off).

It’s been a few weeks since my previous post in this series, however I wanted to leave this final one until Easter, as this song embodies the whole reason for Easter as far as I’m concerned:

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace
 
The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine

Easter for me is all about the cross, and how without that I would still be lost as I’d still be carrying all my burdens around with me. However because of the cross, I’ve been set free, all because My God, my Saviour has ransomed me. Wow!

I mentioned in To Die For that Easter is my favourite time of year. I hope over the last couple of weeks as I’ve spoke about Easter, that I may have helped you feel a little bit of the pain and grief Jesus suffered on the cross, but also the amazing feeling that you too can have when you let God set you free from your burdens and chains. Let God in to your life and let Him release you!

I hope you are as blessed and moved by Chris Tomlin singing Amazing Grace (My Chains Fell Off) as I am every time I hear it – Enjoy

Saying Grace

Posted: September 27, 2010 in pray, religion
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Yesterday I asked if you knew what grace means and gave you some definitions of grace (Yesterday’s post was entitled Grace and you can read it using this link). In yesterday’s blog I talked about God’s grace (His promise to protect us), so today I’d like to look at grace in the form of a prayer said before meal-times.

So here’s a fuller descriptions of the word grace when used in this context:

In our tradition grace in this context is usually referred to as “saying grace“. Grace is a short prayer that is said either out load or is said to oneself, thanking God for providing food and nourishment that you are about to partake in. It is a way of offering thanks to God for providing sustenance to us. It is a way of asking God to impart a blessing on the meal.

If grace is to be said, it is considered impolite to start eating before grace has been said and completed.

Do you say grace before every meal you eat?

I must be honest and say I don’t, and never really have done apart from many years ago when we used to go to my gran’s for Sunday lunch between our morning and afternoon services.

Are you surprised by my admission? Well let me explain – I think it all come back to the fact that while my Mum and I are Christians and attend the Salvation Army, my Dad does not believe in God, so I guess we never said grace at home, because we respected my Dad’s belief that God did not exist. These days, since I’ve been married, I have a similar situation to what I had when I lived with Mum and Dad, in that hubby is not a Christian, though, unlike my Dad, he does believe there is a God.

So does this make me a bad Christian because I don’t say grace before I eat? No I don’t think so, because it doesn’t stop me from thanking God for the food I eat during my prayer times throughout each day. I would however make me a bad Christian if I was ungrateful to God for all He provides for me, but I certainly hope when I pray I do extend my thanks and gratefulness to God for all He provides for me, not just the food!

In conclusion, whether you say grace or not before you eat, I personally do not think is the real issue. The real issue is whether you thank God for all the things He provides for you in your life, whether it be food, clothing, a roof over your head, love of family and friends etc.

Take time today to say thank you to God for all He has done for you, and continues to do for you.

Grace

Posted: September 26, 2010 in religion
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For those of you who have attended church at some point, you will have no doubt have heard the word grace being used quite frequently, but do you know what grace is?

Here’s the definition I found in the dictionary of the word grace:

  1. Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.
  2. A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.
  3. A sense of fitness or propriety.
  4. A disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill.
  5. Mercy; clemency.
  6. A favor rendered by one who need not do so; indulgence.
  7. A temporary immunity or exemption; a reprieve.
  8. Divine love and protection bestowed freely on people.
  9. The state of being protected or sanctified by the favor of God.
  10. An excellence or power granted by God.
  11. A short prayer of blessing or thanksgiving said before or after a meal.
  12.  Grace Used with His, Her, or Your as a title and form of address for a duke, duchess, or archbishop.
  13. In music it’s an appoggiatura, trill, or other musical ornament in the music of 16th and 17th century England.

As you can see there are a number of varying definitions of the word grace. However I want to concentrate on those that relate to faith only (i.e.those highlighted above – 8, 9, 10 and 11).

So do you feel you are protected and sanctified by God?

God has promised us His grace forever, so we must use the grace to make us into the person God wants us to be.

1 Corinthians 15:10 (NIV)

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

If you don’t feel you are protected by God, maybe it’s time to seek God’s grace…Please listen and take strength and encouragement from the following song by the International Staff Songsters of The Salvation Army, entitled Your Grace I Seek:


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