This Grace of God is simply overwhelming.
If there is any good in our lives, it is God's Grace.
If we do any good in His Power, God's Grace is the origin,
the altar, the watercourse, the fountain, the conduit, the Source of it all.
And here's Paul saying, "We wish to make known to you the Grace of God which has been given in the churches...that in a great ordeal of affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality." II Cor 8:1-2."As long as we relate primarily to each other's wealth, health, stability, intelligence, and soul strength, we cannot develop true community. Community is not a talent show in which we dazzle the world with out combined gifts. Community is the place where our poverty is acknowledged and accepted, not as something we have to learn to cope with as best as we can but as a true source of new life." It is at the place of our poverty, we can reveal our richness. Henri Nouwen
Jesus became poverty that our poverty might become rich. Because of His unsurpassing Grace and Goodness, we are rich indeed. Broken. Poverty-stricken. Owning a richness that comes from no humanity.
PRAYER FROM PSALMS
God, You are the One Who gives Grace & Glory.
Nothing. Nothing will you withhold from those who love you.
Would You give us the Grace we need to face this present hour, today & always.
Psalm 84:11
God, You are the One Who gives Grace & Glory.
Nothing. Nothing will you withhold from those who love you.
Would You give us the Grace we need to face this present hour, today & always.
Psalm 84:11
Our Christmas Good News
ReplyDelete2 Cor. 5:18-21 "Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
Be reconciled unto Him. All because of Jesus. Let us celebrate this wintery day the Gift of Jesus.
I love your comment by Henri Nouen so much that I read it over several times. Living without material things I thought were necessities have made me aware of those who live with so much less. I am humbled and graced by His extravagant abundance to me..
ReplyDeleteJan, thank you for your beautiful words. You know, we packed up everything we owned October 2010 and placed it all in a Public Storage 10X20. We moved in with friends that day. All I had with me was clothes and oh! I kept with me a Christmas wreath and small tree and Nativity cause ... well, I love Christmas so much. I leave one wreath up all year. I've never been back to the storage unit. Not once. Have lived without all my stuff for 3 years now. When I go into people's homes or take virtual tours like of LPL office, I wrestle with joy for them and loss on our part. However, I wouldn't trade where I am in my walk with the Lord for anything --- and that part of our story got me to this broken yet beautiful place. I think it's okay to struggle---it's what we do with it, where we go with it. I've never had this much peace and joy and beauty. And that's good. And look where you are. Same thing. Similar place. But---The Beauty just pours out of you.
ReplyDeleteIt truly is ALL Grace....it is God Reaching Across Circumstance Enabling. I see that fleshed out in your words Bev and in Janet's as you both give Him the honor and praise for the places where you are. True wealth is NOT in the things we have or the things that surround us. Bev you are leaving a legacy....a legacy of your heart in words on this blog. As I sit here and pray in earnest for NO ice and no loss of power to heat my home, I have to remind myself there are so many people who do NOT have what I have and are not poorer because of it, but are richer. A friend's adult daughter who is handicapped but does NOT see herself that way and who would not want to be cured because she says she has learned so much more of Him than she would have had she been healthy. She has three boys and a loving husband and she can no longer walk and her range of motion with her arms is growing more limited by the day....she radiates Christ. At Thanksgiving....what she was grateful for was WATER....her mother was astounded....thought that Jennifer would come up with something more "spiritual" than water....she told Cheryl...think about it the next time you turn on a faucet, Mother. And she is right!!! in so many parts of the world, people do not have water in their homes, nor have access to clean water which we take so for granted in our day to day lives. Made me stop and think about the other things that we take so for granted that so many in other places DO NOT HAVE....we are a wealthy people. And praise God He has made us RICH because we have eternal life when we accept Him and follow Him.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you all, I am trying to be more reflective and check out my inner self much more closely and see what is really there and ask Him to show me where I fall short and what He wants me to do to correct it. He will for He is faithful. His mercies are NEW every morning and His grace is always more than sufficient for the day, no matter what it holds. May we each one, of us Pearls, cling to Him a little more tightly today and shine forth more of the riches that He has given us. Oh, what a Savior....