Where are you?

When the kids want to ask us something or need us to get something for them, they shout down the passage, "Mom/Dad, where are you?"
If they bothered to walk a few meters they would see that we are closer than they realise.

Sometimes we call out to God in a similar way, asking "Lord, where are you?"
The truth is, God hasn't gone anywhere - he is still there.

Trevor Hudson reminds us that, "Nothing can ever extinguish the flame in God's heart that burns to be in personal relationship with us."

However, sometimes we are the ones who do the hiding and God needs to come searching for us. He calls out to us, "Where are you?" not because he wants to chastise, but because he wants to loves us and restore us.

I urge you not to ignore the call of God. When we return to his loving arms, all will be well.

Living in Grace
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Pray and work

Ora et labora
These Latin words mean"pray and work!" and they were adopted by the Benedictines. Of course they refer to two of the major components of the monastic life - prayer and work. However, it is interesting that the monks put 'prayer' first and then 'work'. They were advocating that all of our actions must stem from an attitude of prayer. Work is a gift from God, but we need to strive to make our work flow from an attitude of prayer.

Could you imagine how different our places of work could be if people did this? Wow, work could be very different hey? So many people think that we need to separate the two fields, because one seems to be a spiritual exercise, while the other seems to be economic. As Christians, we should seek to be more prayerful at work. We should also 'work' more on our prayers!

Nehemiah 6:9 - "They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”

My friend Dion Forster co-authored a wonderful book on 'Transforming your work Life' - if you want to have a look at that book then click here to see more on this topic.

Living in Grace
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A Prayer to begin the day

How do you begin your day? Do you find the demands of the day rushing into your mind as your feet hit the floor? Do you have 5 thousand things on your "to do" list before you even get to take your first sip of coffee? If this sounds a little like you, then can I suggest you pause for a second - turn
your phone on silent - look away from your diary and pray this prayer...

"O Lord, I place myself in your hands and dedicate myself to you. 
I pledge myself to do your will in all things: 
To love the Lord God with all my heart, all my soul, all my strength. .... 
 To desire eternal life with spiritual longing. 
To keep death before my eyes daily. 
To keep constant watch over my actions. 
To remember that God sees me everywhere. 
To call upon Christ for defense against evil thoughts that arises in my heart.
 To guard my tongue against wicked speech. To avoid much speaking. To avoid idle talk. 
To read only what is good to read. To look at only what is good to see. 
To pray often. 
To ask forgiveness daily for my sins, and to seek ways to amend my life. 
To obey my superiors in all things rightful. 
Not to desire to be thought holy, but to seek holiness. 
To fulfill the commandments of God by good works. 
To love chastity. To hate no one. 
Not to be jealous or envious of anyone. Not to love strife. 
Not to love pride. To honor the aged. 
To pray for my enemies. To make peace after a quarrel, before the setting of the sun. 
Never to despair of your mercy, O God of Mercy. 
Amen." - Benedict of Nursia (480-547)

If you find this helpful please forward the pray onto someone else. God bless you.

Living in Grace
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A chance to be blessed - sharing with Trevor Hudson

Trevor Hudson has inspired me for years. He has the unique gift of being able to preach God's word with such compassion, sincerity and grace, yet equally with tremendous power. There are only a few preachers who, when their sermons are finished, make you wish they carried on for longer - Trevor is one of those preachers!

The other gift that Trevor has is his ability to put pen to paper. His books have touched the lives of many people all over the world and I am no exception. I was so humbled when he agreed to write the foreword for my first book, Living Oceans Apart - he is a good man.

Trevor has written loads of books, including some of the following:

Signposts to Spirituality
Invitations to abundant Life
One day at a time
Holy Spirit, here and now
The Cycle of Grace
Journey of the Spirit
Questions God asks us

We have the privilege of having Trevor share with us for 3 days, starting this Sunday (31 August) evening at 6pm. He will be sharing on a few of the 'Questions God asks us.' If you are around Pietermaritzburg this weekend and early next week, then feel free to join us. You don't want to miss this opportunity.


Living in Grace
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A message from Benedict

Benedict of Nursia shaped the Western church in so many ways. His deep commitment to Jesus and his vision of creating monasteries changed many lives. At a time when people were turning to their own devices he challenged people to become dedicated followers of Jesus. He wrote some guidelines, known as the 'Rule of Benedict', which have proved to be tremendous help in assisting others to search for God.

Here is a portion of that 'Rule', taken from the Prologue:

"Listen carefully, my son (child), to the Master's instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from a father who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice. The labour of obedience will bring you back to him from whom you had drifted through the sloth of disobedience. This message of mine is for all, and armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for the true king, Christ the Lord."
(the Rule of St. Benedict, Prologue, verses 1-3)

Psalm 119:5 -  Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!

May we remain true to Jesus and faithfully put his words into practise.

Living in Grace
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You have to give it away!

Are you bored with your Christian journey at the moment? Do you feel that you have become "stuck" in the routine of your faith? Well, if you sometimes feel like this, then you had better read on.

In preparing to go on our Mission today, I have discovered a renewed excitement in my faith. The thought of moving out of our comfort zone is not only scary, but it is also exhilarating. I have witnessed the same effect in the Mission Team, who are all preparing to share something over the weekend. Our faith has moved from a passive experience into a 'Living faith.'

So, this is my conclusion on this matter:

If you want your faith to come alive, you have to share it with others. You have to "give it away!" When we share our faith, it moves from being a 'receiving' attitude into a "what can I offer."

I would ask for your prayers as we travel up to Mtunzini for the weekend. Please pray that God would use our testimonies to encourage people in their faith and to perhaps stir up their Christian experience.  Thank you.

Acts 22:15 - You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard.

"The life of Christ was a life of humble simplicity, yet how infinitely exalted was his mission. Christ is our example in all things." -Ellen G. White

"Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times." -Martin Luther

Living in Grace

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No short cuts

Recently we noticed that our palisade fence was showing signs of rust. It was tempting to ignore the rust and pretend that it wasn't there, but we knew that something had to be done about it. So, we set about sanding the fence and getting as much of the rust off as we could. Then we had to wash the fence, before we began to paint it with some anti-rust.

Obviously, this all takes time and we aren't even finished yet! Yesterday as we were painting over each spot of rust I was reflecting on whether there was a quicker way of doing the job. And I realised there isn't. The only way to do the job correctly is to do it one pole at a time. It is laborious, but there is no short cut!

In our faith, we are sometimes painfully away that there is some rust developing. We can ignore it and pretend that it doesn't exist, but in the long run it will 'eat' away at us and we will be broken. The only way to remain strong and 'rust free' is to do things step by step, day by day, pole by pole. There can be no quick short cuts when it comes to living out our faith. Sometimes developing a sturdy faith takes years of doing the small things properly.

So, next time you are tempted to ignore the problems in your faith, don't! They won't go away on their one. Be honest about them and get to work on them, one 'spot' at a time. Ask a friend to help you and be accountable to each other, as you seek to remain strong.

May God bless you today.
Living in Grace
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What are you thinking?

Christian philosopher Soren Kierkegaard reminds us that whatever consumes our thoughts will influence our lives. 

"Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts."

Solomon also realised this many years before Kierkegaard, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." (Proverbs 23:7, KJV)

What has been dominating your thoughts of late? Is there a chance that we have allowed our thoughts to be hijacked by something unhelpful or ungodly? Meditating on God's Word is a great start in allowing our minds to be influenced by things that are pure, right and just. 

Why don't you take a few moments to read and pray over these words from Psalm 91:

 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

³ Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰ no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

Living in Grace

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Brave Faith

"I don't want an easy faith, I want a brave faith.
I want a faith that takes risks, that asks questions, that experiments,
that evolves, that thrives amidst change and obeys amidst doubt.
I want a faith that engages both my heart and my head,
a faith that operates out of love, not fear, 
a faith that leaps when it needs to and crawls when it has to.
I want the kind of faith that moves mountains precisely because it is small:
small enough to need, small enough to grow,
small enough to surrender to a God that is much bigger than it will ever be.
I don't want an easy faith." - Rachel Evans

There are so many things about this prayer that make me want to live a better faith.  How are you feeling about your faith today? Even if you are feeling a little 'weaker' than you want to, why not ask the Spirit to fill you with bravery.

Having a brave faith is not about having all the strength or answers, but rather about trusting that Jesus has already got those areas covered. It is our job to put our hand in his hand and to walk forward, one step at a time.

1 Corinthians 16:13 -  "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong."

Be brave today and may God's Spirit go with you.

Living in Grace
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1500 Thank you's

I noticed that during the last few days I reached the milestone of 1500 blog posts. So I just wanted to thank you all for taking the time to read these thoughts and devotions. I love the fact that God uses each post to touch someones life and often I only find out weeks or months later. God is so good. So, let me say again.... 1500 THANK YOU'S to you all!

I am often asked, 'how do you decided what to write?' The simply answer is this - "I write what I am prompted or compelled to write." I don't usually plan anything, I try to listen to the prompting of the Spirit and then I type away. It is up to God to use it as he wants to. Keeping it simple, is what I like to do.

The first post I wrote was back in 2007, but it was only in 2009 that I committed to write as often as I could. I have loved the discipline and challenge of doing this, but I am kept accountable by the fact that you are willing to read it daily. Your comments, prayers and feedback help me to carry on. Glancing back over the topics that I have written on, it seems that some of my favourites topics include:

Christian Life
Prayer
Hope
Psalms
Grace

The reason I write is because of this scripture:
"God was so gracious, so very generous - here I am and I am not about to let his grace go to waste." - 1 Corinthians 15:10

May God bless you today. And remember that I love to hear from you, so send me a comment when you get a chance.

Living in Grace
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Financial stress

People struggle with their finances all the time and the present economic climate doesn't help at all. There often seems to be such a big divide between the end of the money and the end of the month! What I find helpful in times like this is a dose of reality - I know this may not help the cash flow, but it does get me thinking. I reflect on how people survive on the minimum wage - which in South Africa is just over R 2500 per month. After my initial shock, I then think about how blessed indeed I am and how much of what I spend is really necessary.

“Worry, like a rocking chair will give you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere.” – Vance Havner

Paul reminds us to be content in whatever situation we find ourselves. This is easier said than done, but he wrote it none the less:

Philippians 4:11-13 - "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

Living in Grace
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Just 15 minutes!

We often find that our prayer lives hinge on either end of a scale - we pray with passion when we are going through rough times OR we shout 'thank you' prayers when we receive an answer to our prayers. It is the everyday prayers that we struggle to make regular time for. It's not that we don't want to pray, it's just that something else crashes into our lives and then we put our prayers off until tomorrow.

Can I encourage you to put aside 15 minutes on Saturday and to join us in prayer. We are praying for a range of different needs, but if you need some guidelines click here. It doesn't matter where you are living right now - Johannesburg, Cape Town, England, Durban or wherever, please raise your prayers to God this weekend.

15 minutes is not a long time. That's the halftime break for a Football match and almost a break during a Rugby game. That's how long a Soapie is, minus all the adverts! That is how long it takes to walk nearly 2km's or even to drive across the city. In fact, 15 minutes is even shorter than holding on for Telkom to answer the phone :)

Join us as we ask God to bring about change in our world.

Living in Grace
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Page 6 news - A Crucifixion?

Reading the newspaper today was another disheartening exercise. Besides one or two 'good news' stories there were the usual bleak reports of crime, violence, theft, dishonesty, abuse and so on. However, what was most frustrating for me, was that the news of a Crucifixion in Iraq barely made page 6 news.

Let me repeat....another human being was Crucified (in August 2014) and we can only bother to conceal it on page 6 of our newspapers. A politician can fake his qualifications and we will put that on the headlines, but a man is crucified for not converting religions and we hide this story amongst other 'world news.' We are a messed up society.

Forgive my deep irritation on this issue, but how can we not stop and take notice of this? When fellow believers are crucified for their faith, then we need to move into some kind of action - even if that means praying for God to intervene. We should never assume that because it happens in another country, it can't happen to us. Our global village is impacted by every good and evil event in the world.

Oh yes, and one more thing. I remember that evil men once crucified a 'trouble maker' in Jerusalem. They shouted with victory cries, believing that their evil deeds had defeated the son of a carpenter. It only took 3 days for their plan to be destroyed. Crucifying believers will never stop the Gospel for spreading.

Jesus will always be victorious.

Acts 2:36 -  “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

Living in Grace
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Robin Williams

We woke up this morning to the devastating news that Robin Williams had taken his own life. I can't believe it! The man who made me laugh in Good Morning Vietnam and Mrs Doubtfire, who made me rethink my life in Good Will Hunting and The Fisher King, and of course who shaped my teen years with echoes of "Captain, O my Captain" in Dead Poets Society. I still can't believe the news.

Perhaps it is not my place to offer any thoughts on Robin's life, but I would like to encourage anyone of us who is struggling with depression. Reports suggest that Robin battled with depression, which strikes me as ironic - he always made others laugh, yet he was masking a severe struggle in his own heart.

Friends, Depression is not something that we can just "snap"out of, or even simply psych ourselves up to "get over it!" If you are struggling with depression please seek some help - don't be embarrassed to admit that you are needing some extra help. As we have seen from Robin William's death, depression can impact anyone - money and fame can't buy all things. If you know someone battling through depression, pray for them and love them through this difficult time. Depression can be managed and even beaten, but it is dangerous to ignore it.

Nehemiah 2:2 - "so he asked me, “Why the long face? You’re not sick are you? Or are you depressed?”

Romans 12:7-8 (MSG) - "...if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face."

Living in Grace
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Urgent prayers needed

I know that we feel helpless and unable to do much for the crisis in Iraq, but we can't sit back and ignore the fact that thousands of people, mainly Christians, are being persecuted and driven out of their homes. The ISIS (Islamic State) group have continued their campaign of 'religious cleansing' and are intent on driving/killing all Christians from the land. Read this article for more info.

As a Christian community, we are called to urgently pray for our sisters and brothers in Northern Iraq. Pray is not without results - it does work! Even when some of the early disciples were imprisoned for their belief in Jesus, the church was committed to prayer for them. God heard their prayers and in one incident Peter was miraculously released (Acts 12).

What is happening in this part of the world may seem foreign to those of us who are allowed religious freedom, however, it was the norm for the early church. I was reading Acts 8 this morning and this is how it starts:

Acts 8:1-5 - "On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. ² Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. ³ But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.⁴ Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. ⁵ Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.

What is striking about this passage is this:

1. History is repeating itself - Christians have endured persecution for 2000 years.
2. Saul was the leader in this persecution, but God still loved him enough to give him a second chance. Through Saul's conversion, millions of Christians have come to know the Gospel. God can still work in the lives of the perpetrators of this new persecution.
3. God used the persecution to spread his Word further into the world. What may seem like only disaster now, could still be used to bring grace and love to others - we have to believe/hope in this.
4. The Good News can never be stopped. Emperor's Nero, Diocletian, Vespasian and others tried their best to destroy the Church, but we are still 'alive' in the year 2014.

Please can I urge us all to stop right now and to pray. Don't worry about what your prayer sounds like, just say something to God. Plead for our church family in Northern Iraq. Pray for protection of families who are now refugees. Pray for forgiveness for all those who are killing Christians.

PRAYER DAY - we are setting aside 12 hours this Saturday (16th August) to pray for the many needs in our communities and in the world. If you have 15 minutes to spare, take some time out and pray any time between 6am and 6pm.

May God's grace sustain us all,
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No hands, but ours...

This well known poem by Teresa of Avila has always spoken to me. It reminds me that God has entrusted us with a great task - we are to be his hands, feet, mouth, eyes and body.

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

 - Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)

Where are you being called to be Christ's hands today?

Living in Grace

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What colour is your soul?

Watching the movie "12 years a slave" is a moving experience. It touch me on many levels and spoke loudly about how we judge people according to their outward appearances. In the movie, Solomon Northup makes a startling statement concerning what is on the inside of every human being - our souls. He says:

“What difference is there in the color of the soul?”

That's a tough question to answer - or is it? I believe there is no difference in the colour of our souls, but our souls can be focused on God or not. We can associate a particular colour to our souls, if it helps us to describe how we are feeling or living, but in the end our souls have no colour.

Psalm 33:18-19 (MSG) - "Watch this: God’s eye is on those who respect him, the ones who are looking for his love. He’s ready to come to their rescue in bad times; in lean times he keeps body and soul together."

Solomon makes another insightful comment later on in the movie. He reflects as follows:

 “At such times, the heart of man turns instinctively towards his Maker. In prosperity, and whenever there is nothing to injure or make him afraid, he remembers Him not, and is ready to defy Him; but place him in the midst of dangers, cut him off from human aid, let the grave open before him, then it is, in the time of his tribulation, that the scoffer and unbelieving man turns to God for help, feeling there is no other hope, or refuge, or safety, save in his protecting arm.” 

May God bless you over this weekend.
May your soul be as bright as sunshine.

Living in Grace
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Daybreak

"Jesus Christ changed all our sunsets into daybreaks."- Clement of Alexandria

For me, dawn is always the promise of a fresh start. It is a constant reminder of God's perpetual grace - of the promise of light after the darkness.

So, can I encourage you today to "Look for the dawn." God's Light is here... waiting is a frustrating thing, but in the end it will increase your joy when you see the first rays of sun on the horizon.

2 Samuel 23:4 - "He is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.’"

Living in Grace
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Shaking off the snakes

In Acts 28 we come across an interesting situation where Paul encounters a snake (viper) while putting wood onto a fire. This is one of my worst nightmares - snakes love to hide amongst piles of wood and it would be easy to find one lurking underneath a log. Snakes are not my favourite reptiles!

This is how the actual story goes:

"Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. ⁴ When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” ⁵ But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. ⁶ The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god." - Acts 28:2-6

My friend and colleague Collin Moore was preaching on this passage on Sunday and he reminded us to 'shake off the snakes' that wrap themselves around our spiritual lives. Perhaps it would be a helpful exercise to think about this for a moment. 

Who or what has become a viper in your life? 
What has wrapped itself around your heart and is threatening to poison your life?
What will you do about it?

Paul has the strong conviction that God has called him to preach the gospel and he is convinced that this viper will not take his life. So, in an act of bravery, he shakes off the snake that has just bitten him. God protects him from the bite and he carries on to spread the gospel.

We may not have control over what snake may bite us, but we do have a choice in allowing it to stay wrap around our lives. Let's follow Paul's example and 'shake off the snake'! 

Ask God to show you what vipers are in your life and how you can shake them off.

Living in Grace
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Is your prayer something like this?

The story is told of a wise, old Middle-Eastern mystic who said this about himself:  
‘I was a revolutionary when I was young, and all my prayer to God was: “Lord, give me the energy to change the world.”

“‘As I approached middle age and realized that my life was half gone without my changing a single soul, I changed my prayer to: 
 “Lord, give me the grace to change all those who come into contact with me. Just my family and friends and I shall be satisfied.”

“‘Now that I am an old man and my days are numbered, I have begun to see how foolish I have been.  My one prayer now is: 

“Lord, give me the grace to change myself.”  If I had prayed this right from the start, I would not have wasted my life.’” – Paul Wharton

So what are you praying for today?

We should always know that we can ask God for anything - he delights in hearing our prayers and he promises to respond in his perfect way. However, I am challenged that often I need to pray for my own short-comings and for my will to be aligned with God's will, and not the other way around.

"Let Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."

NOT

"Let My will be done!"

Living in Grace
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Clash of the Clans

My kids have become all excited about the game 'Clash of the Clans.' If you want to know more about the game, have a look at it here. Part of the game is that you need to build a village and then fight against other armies, doing a whole lot of other things along the way. Watching them build their village made me think of these words from Isaiah, where he speaks about God taking care of us. It is almost as if we are his 'city' and God does all he can to protect and defend us.


1 "We have a strong city;
    God makes salvation
    its walls and ramparts.
² Open the gates
    that the righteous nation may enter,
    the nation that keeps faith.
³ You will keep in perfect peace
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust in you.
⁴ Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal." - Isaiah 26:1-4

May you rest in the safe surrounds of our Almighty God.

Living in Grace
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Worn out from over use

I saw a funny thing today. As I was paying an account at one of the local shops, I noticed that the keyboard had hand-written numbers stuck onto the top of the original keys. It looked a little weird, but I guess it does the job. I asked the attendant why they had done this and he just laughed, "because we use it so much!"

There were a number of things that struck me about this keyboard and the comment from the clerk.

1.  In a 'throw away' age, it was nice to see someone recycling an old keyboard.
2. It is good to see that something lasts longer than a few months - a lot of modern gadgets aren't built to last very long.
3. It made me think about how much we use our bibles. Wouldn't it be nice to 'patch' up our bibles, because they showed 'wear and tear' from over use?
4. How much time do I spend reading God' word compared to using my computer/Ipad/phone etc?

Mmmmmh, makes me think we need to spend a little more time 'wearing' out the Word. You?


Living in Grace
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All that Matters

Recently I have come across a number of poems by Edgar Guest - they are brilliant! His poems convey messages on so many different levels, but I liked this one entitled "All that matters!" For me, it reminds me that God has blessed us with life and called us to live well. May these words inspire you to do all you can for Jesus' sake.

"When all that matters shall be written down  
And the long record of our years is told,  
Where sham, like flesh, must perish and grow cold;  
When the tomb closes on our fair renown  
And priest and layman, sage and motleyed clown  
Must quit the places which they dearly hold,  
What to our credit shall we find enscrolled? 
And what shall be the jewels of our crown? 
I fancy we shall hear to our surprise  
Some little deeds of kindness, long forgot,  
Telling our glory, and the brave and wise  
Deeds which we boasted often, mentioned not. 
God gave us life not just to buy and sell,  
And all that matters is to live it well."

Acts 11:17 - "So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

Living in Grace
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