Tag Archive - Grace
23

LEGALISM: My Recovery From This Addiction

I don’t know when it started, I just remember when God spoke directly to me and told me it was wrong.

You see, I’m a recovering legalist.

There was a time in my life when I used to think it was up to me to do all the right things. To have more check marks than x marks on my list of do’s.

I’d even see people who were doing things and think about how much better I was because I wasn’t doing them.

It wasn’t like I didn’t have issues. It was just that mine weren’t as easy to see, weren’t as easy to point out. I’d see someone doing something in public that I thought was wrong and think about how much better I was because no one saw my junk.

What I came to realize is that many of these things weren’t undeniably wrong, they were just my way of judging and getting a leg up on others.

It took me some time, but I finally came to realize that God isn’t keeping score to see if He loves me or not, that’s already a given.

What He does care about is that I’m surrendered to Him, that I seek hard after Him.

Ultimately, I had to realize that God just wants me. Not my deeds, not my perfection, just me.

It’s freed me beyond explanation. What I do now, instead of trying to see another’s sins, I seek to be like Jesus.

The actions will come with it.

I’m Jonathan and im a recovering legalist.

Are you?


Written by on June 2, 2011 and categorized under Blog, Encouragement, Life

3

Influence Isn’t Grace

Grace is completely free.
There’s nothing you and I can do to earn it.
It’s readily available because it’s provided free of charge by an Awesome God.

Influence MUST be earned.

I don’t have the right to speak to certain issue in certain people’s lives.
I don’t know them well enough.
I haven’t earned the respect and credibility with them.

Other people I can speak to those same issues in their lives.
I know them.
I have the respect from them.

Some people have the right to call me out when they find me doing certain things.
I won’t take offense.
I’ll listen.

Some people don’t have that right.
They don’t know what I’ve been through… they don’t have a close relationship with me.

You and I have to be careful not to speak into someone something that we haven’t earned the right to speak.
I also have to be careful that I speak life and truth into people who I’ve earned the right to speak with.

It’s a careful balance.

The more I balance it correctly, the more right I earn to speak into lives.

Influence…. It’s important, but it isn’t free.


Written by on April 27, 2011 and categorized under Blog, Leadership

10

grace.

grace.

According to Webster, grace means…

unmerited,
divine,
assistance
given
humans for their regeneration or
sanctification.

grace.

We can’t earn it. It’s completely unmerited.

We can’t be good enough. It envolves divine intervention.

We can’t get salvation on our own. It requires assistance.

We can’t go get it. It’s given freely.

We can’t control it. Sanctification comes only through Jesus.

grace.

Just accept it.


Written by on April 11, 2011 and categorized under Blog, Encouragement

16

The Rocky Path

When I was still living at home, my parents decided to remodel their kitchen.

They decided that they really liked tile floors and called the tile man.

I still remember how careful the tile guy was to be sure that he was laying the tile on a smooth surface.
Every few minutes, I’d see him smoothing out the grout to be sure that the tile would lay flat.
After he laid a piece of tile on it, he never smoothed it again, it had already been worked out.

“If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” - Frank Clark

The obstacles that are in your way exist because the path is not worn…
The grout hasn’t been smoothed out.
No tile has been laid.

Few have traveled the tough path,
the path that it takes real faith to travel.

  • The path that gets up everyday and lives out their faith even though the office they work in is filled with people that don’t.
  • The path that prays for their children even though their children ignore the faith they’re taught.
  • The path that loves when it doesn’t make sense… when it’s not easy.
  • The path that forgives because they’re forgiven.
  • The path that pastors even when the people refuse to be lead.
  • The path that prays for and obeys their parents even though they’re never shown love.
  • The path that is faithful to their husband even though he isn’t faithful to her.
  • The path that lives a vision from God by the voice of God and not by the opinions of man.

Those paths have obstacles because they haven’t been smoothed out… not many people have been there… not many people are willing to pay the price.

Today, welcome the obstacles.

The obstacles are evidence of the destination.

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.- Matthew 7:14

Travel on and…

turn the world UPSIDE down.


Written by on March 23, 2011 and categorized under Blog, Encouragement

20

Testify!

Remember when churches used to have testimony times?

Times for the congregation to give testimony to what God has been doing in their lives.

The truth is, God is good.
He’s been good to us.

There’s certainly something that we can all testify to that God’s done in our life recently.

For me, He’s given me more vision for what He’s gonna do through me in the future.

So, your turn.

Testify!


Written by on March 4, 2011 and categorized under Blog, Random Stuff

32

Which Came First? Chicken or Egg?

The common question is what came first, the chicken or the egg.
I lean toward the chicken since God created it, but that’s not the point of this post.

The point? As Christians we have to know what comes first… Jesus or getting our actions right.

A lot of Christians want the egg before they have the chicken.

They want to change their behavior before they allow God to change their heart.
This leads to nothing but frustration and often quitting because it’s impossible to get right.

A lot of Christians want others to do the same… To become perfect before they will “accept” them.

It will NEVER happen.

The key to our Christian life isn’t trying to clean up and become a trophy to sit on the shelf.
A life truly lived for Christ seeks Him first and leaves the behaviors up to him.
A life truly lived for Christ is about fighting to become more about Him and less about self.

You see, I’ve noticed something during my short life…
When I seek Jesus, I become more like Him.

It’s the natural result.

If your frustrated with your actions and are on the verge of giving up or giving in, return to the Father and be changed from the inside out.

Spend time getting to know Him, beg Him to change your heart, and gain a better appreciation for His love and grace.

Don’t try to find the eggs before you have the chicken.

PS: I’m in no way calling Jesus an actual chicken. It’s just a metaphor. :-)


Written by on March 3, 2011 and categorized under Blog, Church Ministry, Life

9

Don’t Eat From the Religion Buffet

Religion isn’t a smorgasbord.

John 14:6 “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

Did you read that?

No one comes to the Father (God) EXCEPT by Christ.

We can’t pick and choose what faiths we want to combine.
All roads do not lead the the same heaven.
There aren’t many different avenues to God.
It’s only through Jesus.

You can’t earn it.
You can’t get to a certain point to get there.

It’s through Him.

If you are trying it any other way,
you now know what you have to do.

Send me an email,
ask a friend,
comment on this post.

If you’re a “Christian” but are still trying to earn His love somehow,
QUIT!
You do nothing but cheapen His grace.

That’s my post for today.
I think it needed to be said.


Written by on August 24, 2010 and categorized under Blog, Encouragement, Featured, Life

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