The Greatest Story ever told!

I really enjoy reading the thoughts of John Maxwell - he inspires me. Early on in his ministry (in 1976), he received a book as a gift. The title of the book was: The Greatest Story Ever Told. However, can you imagine his shock when he opened the book to discover that all the pages of the book were blank, except for the note from his friend, which read as follows,
"John, your life is before you. Fill these pages with kind acts, good thoughts, and matters of your heart. Write a great story with your life."

This 'book' motivated John to begin writing his own life story and it changed his life.

As we begin 2017, God has given us all the gift of a book with 365 blank pages. Through his Spirit God is urging us to write our story and to honour the life he has given us. So, the hard question is this: "What will we write on these blank pages?"

Of course, we get to write our story in the shadow of the GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD, which is the story of Jesus.

Living in Grace
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A Room called Remember

“The time is ripe for looking back over the day, the week, the year, and trying to figure out where we have come from and where we are going to, for sifting through the things we have done and the things we have left undone for a clue to who we are and who, for better or worse, we are becoming. But again and again we avoid the long thoughts….We cling to the present out of wariness of the past. And why not, after all? We get confused. We need such escape as we can find. But there is a deeper need yet, I think, and that is the need—not all the time, surely, but from time to time—to enter that still room within us all where the past lives on as a part of the present, where the dead are alive again, where we are most alive ourselves to turnings and to where our journeys have brought us. The name of the room is Remember—the room where with patience, with charity, with quietness of heart, we remember consciously to remember the lives we have lived.”
― Frederick Buechner, A Room Called Remember: Uncollected Pieces

Behold

To "Behold" something is to see it, or take notice of it, or let it sink deeply into our souls. It is not just catching a fleeting glimpse of something, but allowing it to impact our world. I invite us all to "BEHOLD" the Messiah this Christmas season and to allow Jesus to impact our lives.

May the Grace of Jesus fill you to overflowing this year and may you have a Blessed Christmas.

›         Matthew 1:23 - Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

      

    Living in Grace

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The depths of who I am

"Mary said,“With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
⁴⁷     In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my saviour.
⁴⁸ He has looked with favour on the low status of his servant.
    Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favoured
⁴⁹         because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
⁵⁰     He shows mercy to everyone,
        from one generation to the next,
        who honours him as God." - Luke 1:46-50 (CEB)

Christmas has the potential to impact the "very depths of our being", if we will allow Christ to change us. Who we are can be completely redefined by the message of Christmas. 

Will you allow Jesus into the depths of your heart this year?

Living in Grace

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Prepare yourself

"So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world." - 1 Peter 1:13

Let us spend more time preparing our hearts for Christmas than we spend in buying all our goodies and food for the celebration. 
 
John 3:19-21 - “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”

Living in Grace
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God is Able

"Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault." - Jude 1:24

God is ... ABLE to do more than we could ever dream of or even imagine. God is miraculous, generous, powerful and yet gracious. In this season of Advent, let us not forget that the God we worship is Able to confound all human logic.

Daniel 3:17 - If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.

Romans 4:21 -  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.

Living in Grace
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Enter the silence

Lamentations 3:28-30 - When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face. The “worst” is never the worst (Message).

I don't think that one needs to add any other words to these majestic thoughts from Eugene Peterson. Advent is a time when we need to Enter the Silence and ...
wait for Hope to appear.
With Christ we can face trouble face on, because the worst is 'never' the worst.

Have a blessed Advent Day.

Living in Grace
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Love never gives up

Thank you Lord for never giving up on us. LOVE never gives up! 
Jesus never gave up on us, even when we rejected him. This is the true message of Christmas...

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

^8-10 Love never dies. - 1 Corinthians 13 (The Message)

Living in Grace

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When the shine wears off

“Faithfulness means you stick to a commitment after the shine wears off… 

Faithfulness means you keep saying no a thousand times if you must to the temptation of cutting a corner and taking the easy way out… 

Faithfulness means you refuse to jump ship even when the waves of adversity are splashing over the decks of your marriage, your relationship with your children… or your relationship with others. Faithfulness means you stay true to your relationship with Jesus Christ no matter what it costs you.” – Bill Hybels

God loves us even when the shine wears off. Human love can be fraught with imperfection and disappointment. The 'honeymoon' period never lasts forever and people are left wondering who blew the candles out! Yet, Love is always about a CHOICE and never a feeling.

Choosing to remain faithful to God, a spouse, a prodigal child, is all about a decision - yes, a hard decision, but one we can make.

Thank you Lord that you refused to 'jump ship' even when humanity turned our backs on you.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

His Love never Quits

God's love never Quits! God pours out the abundance of his love for us every day. When all kinds of things around us stop working and quit on us, God's love never does. Advent is not a time when we welcome the love of God and then wave goodbye to that love - No ways. God's FAITHFUL love endures forever.

^1-3 Thank God! He deserves your thanks.
    His love never quits.
Thank the God of all gods,
    His love never quits.
Thank the Lord of all lords.
    His love never quits.

^4-22 Thank the miracle-working God,
    His love never quits.
The God whose skill formed the cosmos,
    His love never quits.
The God who laid out earth on ocean foundations,
    His love never quits.
The God who filled the skies with light,
    His love never quits.
The sun to watch over the day,
    His love never quits.
Moon and stars as guardians of the night,
    His love never quits.

Living in Grace

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