12 Days of Grace- Day 5- A Life of Piety

“That which lives in the darkness will be exposed to light.”

A life of piety means living all of one’s life in relationship with God. We should have nothing to hide from Him, but have a genuine openness. Our relationship with God influences all other relationships, much like food coloring in water colors everything.

What we receive from our relationship with God is proportional to what we put into it. We must willingly receive the relationship, and then live like it! This is the hard part, because there will be highs and lows to go through.

Characteristics of a Relationship with God:
1- Attention- God deserves out undivided attention
2- Time- even Jesus went off alone to spend time with God.
3- Honesty- that we are truthful and honest in our communication with Him
4- Deep Commitment- we must be willing to give deeply of ourselves by making our relationship with God a priority
5- Sharing- we need to spend time in friendship.

In John 15:5, Jesus says “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Our relationship with God is enhanced by Spiritual practices:
1- Prayer- the communication language of the soul
2- Reading the Bible- here’s where we find the heart, mind, and soul of God
3- Meditation- fovusing our attention on God. Center our heart and mind and listen for God’s voice.
4- Worship- this is our expression of love and praise to God. It is here that we confess our sin, hear the Truth, and respond with commitment.
5- Holy Communion- reminds us of the love of God- where we receive the gift of Christ.
6- Spiritual direction- spiritual friendship

Qualities of a life of piety:
1- Awareness- we are aware of ourselves, of others, of creation, and of God
2- Desire for God-
Psalm 42:1-2 – As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3- Action- test of the relationship- actions should reflect a life of piety
4- Direction- comes from living in relationship with God
5- Naturalness- a Life of piety keeps in touch with the real world- where you and others are
6- Courage- a life of Piety exhibits security, free from fear, as we live for His love despite the cost.
7- Joy- a life of piety can provide inner joy that transcends outward circumstances. We experience joy in our relationship with God. It is also easier to serve God our of joy than from a sense of duty.

When we accept God, our world is colored and filtered through our relationship with Him. The more we commit our time- in prayer, Bible study, worship, and communion with Him- the more joy, desire, and courage we receive. We go to a hospital because we’re physically sick; we go to church because we’re spiritually sick.

12 Days of Grace- Day 4- Justifying Grace

Robert Munsch wrote a book called “Love you Forever” based on this verse:
I”ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be.”

There has never been a time that God has not loved us.

In the Old Testament, God invited people into a covenant relationship with Him. He used the prophets to call the people back to Him.

In the New Testament, God sent Jesus. He was a gift- a servant to the people, who fed the hungry, raised the dead, healed the sick. He said “Come, follow me.” And He died for us- why? Because that was God’s way of saying “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as you can imagine, my child you’ll be.”

God pursues us, loves us, woos us, and waits for us to say yes.

GOD LOVES JANEEN! (And you can put your name in there, too!)

Justifying grace allows us to say “yes” to God and accept the loving relationship He offers.

In legal terms, justification means “to be made right.” We receive God’s justifying grace the moment we accept the relationship God offers.

We need to be made right- sin has made us a mess!

Romans 3:23 says “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” We can’t fix it alone, but with God, we are not alone.

Remember the phrase “but God”-
We have ….. but God loves us.
We have …. but God wants us.

Justification is all about God. He cleans up the mess we have made of our lives.

Justifying grace grants us pardon for all our sins; past, present, and future. (That’s why it’s so amazing!) It is all about what God does for us in our lives, that we are saved by grace through faith. Salvation is an act of God, not of men. It isn’t our action- our action is faith. Justification comes by grace alone.

Ephesians 2:8-9: Saving is all God’s idea, all His work- all we do is trust Him enough to do it. (The Message)

Justification is like a conversion. It is when we accept the free gift of grace that God has been offering our entire lives. But get this- conversion doesn’t happen at any one moment or at any one stage of life. It is almost a daily choice, one we make in prayer, in study, in fellowship. All of these things help us to choose God every day. They help us stay grounded in God’s grace.

God offers us His agape love. He reached out to you before birth and He reaches out to you now- unconditionally. If you want more proof of His love, think about this- Christ died for us while we were still sinners. That proved that we can’t earn it, don’t deserve it, but He loves us enough to offer it anyway.

12 Days of Grace- Day 3- Priesthood of All Believers

2 Corinthians 5: 18-20:
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

True happiness and humanity are found only in Jesus Christ. He came to bridge the gap between people and God.

The priesthood are the clergy and laity of baptized believers who are one in Christ. All people are important- none are more important that others. A priest is God’s representative in the world. A priest:
- pronounces God’s forgiveness and healing grace
- Acts as the people’s representative to God, interceded and offers the love of God.
- Is not necessarily ordained clergy but anyone who has experienced the love, acceptance, and forgiveness of God (and who helps others experience it, too.)

Hebrews 6:20- Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7:23-28- There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.
- Jesus is our representative to God, sacrificing His life for us.

Three Missions of the Priesthood of Believers:
1- Make Christ real for people
-incarnate Christ is everywhere, not only in the church. People are the church.
2- To be channels of God’s grace
-share love, acceptance, forgiveness with others. Remind others that God forgives them and loves them and offer to pray with/for them
3- Proclaim the mighty acts of God with all our lives
-overcoming fatalism and hopelessness

Characteristics of Mission:
1- Personal- Jesus struggled in the wilderness. Avoid stereotypes and witness naturally
2- Spiritual- wholeness of life according to God’s will. Help interpret God’s will for others’ life.
3- Service-oriented- serve as Jesus served
4- Shared- requires teamwork. Even Jesus called disciples!
5- Calls for our Best! Our best attitude, ability, and action. God calls all Christians not toe be passive participants but active players!

The mission of all Christians is to make Christ real and to share His grace with all around us, proclaiming His mighty acts.

12 Days of Grace- Day 2- Prevenient Grace

The root meaning of grace is “gift.”

- an open fire hydrant on a hot summer day- lavish, unending, refreshing, overflowing, out of your control, and unearnable
- Websters defines grace as “divine mercy and favor”
- John Wesley called it “unmerited favor”
- God drawing us to himself

Grace comes with many facets
- Prevenient Grace (the grace that comes before) is the grace given before His acceptance- conception to conversion.
- Invites us into courtship – God “wooing” us, drawing us into His will.
- God freeing us so that we may respond to His offer

God chases, pursues us, never stops until he gets our undivided attention.

God created us- and saw that we were good. God is love, so we always have the capacity to love and be loved.

At our central core, we are longing for a relationship with our Creator. Our heart will not find rest until we rest in God.

God provided for Adam and Eve even in their sin. He welcomes us home with open arms, like the prodigal son. You cannot earn God’s love, and you cannot do anything to take it away.

God desires a relationship with me, more than I desire one with Him.

Covenant love- Jesus’ new covenant
Divine love- seeking love.
Everlasting love- desires to keep us safe forever.

Grace overcomes our alienation and allows us to come home.

We are offered eternal friendship with God- God reaches out and invites us in. This is experienced through:
- Events- both good and bad
- struggles and difficulties
- divorce
- grief
In hindsight, we see the presence of God in all these.

Parents, ministers, friends, and the church all help us to experience God’s love. Sacraments are symbols of His love. We can never earn a place in God’s love- but the Holy Spirit brings it to us.

We have a need for grace- for the relationship with God:
Psalm 139:
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, [a] you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.

21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?

22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

12 Days of Grace- Day 1: Priorities

These next 12 days come from a seminar I went to about 3 years ago. I just found my notes and thought I’d put them here so I can find them again- and because it is wonderful to read back through them.

Priority: superiority in rank or position, something of leading importance. What you live for that gives life focus.

Your priority has first claim on your time, energy, and resources. You spend a lot on this!

Priorities are designated by:
-Values
-Beliefs
-Ideals
-Commitment level

Identify your priorities:
-you have the power to decide and set whatever you want to be important
-you have the freedom to set your priorities creatively and purposefully to your time on earth (this is our greatest power.)

3 capacities needed:
-imagination- vision, dream, want a better life
-intelligence- think, reason, evaluate, plan
-will- seek desired goal, rise above situations

Authentic priorities are:
-Consciously chosen- did you decide or was it set by circumstance, convenience, or by another?
-Gives life purpose, direction, and meaning. Without them, life feels useless.
-Gives you enthusiasm, motivation
-Frees you from the forces of circumstance, expectation, and habit
-Realistic- must be attainable, or it will frustrate you if you can’t get there

Examples of priorities may include time with family and friends, wealth, happiness, peace, health, joy, more prayer time, etc. Priorities change as we grow.

Remember the “rocks in the jar” experiment, where if you put the big rocks in the jar first, followed by the smaller rocks, followed by sand, and then water, the jar holds a lot? But only if you put the big rocks in first!

Discover your priorities:
-Think about what they could be- kids, spouse, parents, church, friends, job, hobbies, house, schedule….
-What do you spend the most money on (this is usually a priority!)- house, food, children…
-What do you spend the most time on? work, church, house, food

Take time today to really think about your priorities. What matters most to you?

December 19, 2009- Planning Ahead

Scripture to read today:
John 5; John 6

Scripture that spoke to me:
John 6:53-56
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.

Observation:
Jesus already knew about the Last Supper- about the covenant he would share with his disciples and all who follow Him. It is good to have reminders throughout the Bible that God is proactive- He plans ahead and already knows what He wants to accomplish.

Application:
I love communion. It is such a great reminder of the closeness that we have with Jesus. I am so glad to see that God plans ahead. I know that He has plans for me (he tells me so in Jeremiah 29:11) and I trust that they are wonderful plans, plans that He has laid out ahead of time. I only need to listen and follow to bring those plans to fruition.

Prayer:
Lord, help me to listen. Help me to hear You so I know what You have planned for me. I trust that you have wonderful things ahead for me that will further Your kingdom. Help me to be open to Your call. Amen.

December 18, 2009- The Jesus Sideshow

Scripture to read today:
John 2; John 3; John 4

Scripture that spoke to me:
John 4:48
“Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

Observation:
Jesus realizes that the miracles are what help people believe. They need something concrete to hold onto instead of just being told.

Application:
We’re the same way, but I think sometimes we miss the miracles. We expect them to be grand- on the scale of turning water into wine. But if we have faith- true faith- we would believe without the miracles, without the sideshow, and turn to the One who made it all to begin with.

Prayer:
Lord, I admit to enjoying the miracles. I love to see Your handiwork! I like feeling your presence and knowing that You are there. Help me to have more faith, so that I don’t rely on these signs and instead, rely on the knowledge of You. Amen.

December 17, 2009- Building on Faith

Scripture to read today:
2 Peter 1; 2 Peter 2; 2 Peter 3; John 1

Scripture that spoke to me:
2 Peter 1: 5-7
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

Observation:
This, according to Peter, is how you escape your worldly desires. You build on your faith, adding goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, and godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

Application:
Notice Peter doesn’t say that you get all that stuff the day you find your faith. You build on that faith block by block. We’re a work in progress. Good think God isn’t finished with me yet!

Prayer:
Lord, I need some help in that self-control and perseverance area… I don’t feel very disciplined at the moment. I need to exercise more and eat better to take better care of the body You gave me. Amen.

December 16, 2009- Is Beauty only Skin Deep?

Scripture to read today:
1 Peter 1; 1 Peter 2; 1 Peter 3; 1 Peter 4; 1 Peter 5

Scripture that spoke to me:
1 Peter 3:3-4
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

Observation:
This really sounds like “pretty is as pretty does” – which is so true. Beautiful people get their beauty from within, not from without. And a beautiful heart shines through with the love of Christ.

Application:
I don’t think this means that we should go around in rags, not do our hair, and not take care of our bodies. We can have that inner beauty and be physically pretty on the outside, too. But I’ve seen people whose faces are drawn and lined with years of ugliness. The hate we harbor in our hearts shows through too, and often remains on our faces long after the feeling is gone. So I want to smile- I’d sure rather have laugh lines than frown lines!

Prayer:
Today, I want my inner beauty to show through and reveal the love of Jesus that is in my heart. Amen.

December 15, 2009- Thy Will be Done

Scripture to read today:
James 1; James 2; James 3; James 4; James 5

Scripture that spoke to me:
James 4:2-3
You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Observation:
We all know that God answers prayers, but He doesn’t always answer them the way we would like. And that is because of us- we want what makes us happy, not what makes God happy.

Application:
I know this, but sometimes I don’t know what makes God happy! The big things are obvious, but it is the little things. How do I know what he has planned for my children? Or if he wants me to love this person or that one? Or go this way or that, when both look honorable to me? I try to pray for God’s will to be done, but then the Bible says to ask for what you want! So this is all really easy for James to say, but in practice it becomes tougher. I just will pray for what I want if it is God’s will and let it be. (oh, the “and let it be” is the toughest part!)

Prayer:
Lord, I know You have a plan for my life. Help me find it. Let my prayers reflect Your will and grant me grace, peace, and forgiveness through Jesus Christ, Amen.