Love and Faith.


I've heard said, "Christians are the only army who shoot their own soldiers." I hate to say that I see that true...but I often do.

Why do we get so focused on keeping "error" out and "performing?" Salvation is not performance based, sanctification isn't either...GRACE.

"Because he was full of grace and truth, from him we all received one gift after another. The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:16-17

"But God's mercy is great, and he loved us very much. Though we were spiritually dead because of the things we did against God, he gave us new life with Christ. You have been saved by God's grace. And he raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with him in the heavens. He did this for those in Christ Jesus so that for all future time he could show the very great riches of his grace by being kind to us in Christ Jesus. I mean that you have been saved by grace through believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. It was not the result of your own efforts, so you cannot brag about it. God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing." Ephesians 2:4-10

Christ calls us to love Him and to love others...showing them His love.


My goal at work and in relationships is to be real. In high school I was stuck on the doing, letting no "error" into my life. I couldn't "mar" my witness. I've found that people only find that a major put-off. What they want is to see the real you.

Who cares what you believe, when you are only worried about the DON'TS and YOU DO THIS WRONG attitude. People are searching for love.


I'm not sure where I'm heading with this, but things in my "Christian world" have been shaken a bit as of late. I'm not going to be so inwardly focused and fall to thinking my excellence and perfect (haha) performance will make God like me better!!!

"Thanks be to God for his gift that is too wonderful for words." 2 Corinthians 9:15

The purpose of my life, as a follower of Christ, a believer is to worship Him, have a relationship with Him and let my love for Him overflow to the relationships I have in this life.

I'll let people know where I stand with my faith, but I will not fear letting them see that I too am a sinner...saved by grace. The Holy Spirit lives in me, leads me, guides me and reveals more to me each day. What a mighty God I serve!

Love those around you. Don't waste your time. Be real, show love.
"Most importantly, love each other deeply, because love will cause many sins to be forgiven." 1 Peter 4:8

"Don't ever forget kindness and truth. Wear them like a necklace. Write them on your heart as if on a tablet. Then you will be respected and will please both God and people. Trust the LORD with all your heart, and don't depend on your own understanding. Remember the LORD in all you do, and he will give you success." Proverbs 3:3-6

Alissa

Comments

  1. I think that shift in thinking is probably one of the most dominant changes in my walk as I've matured. I have a much deeper understanding of how much I like things to be performance based because I'm the type of person who can really "control" the performance and appear to have it all together. I like the approval of others, I like the approval of God, I like to use my "perfectionism" to lift myself up, oh the list could go on and on. But I have come to realize there are probably going to be a lot of people in heaven whom I didn't expect because I was so caught up in trying to be God, because I was so caught up in performance that I missed the biggest part of all: God's choice to love us despite our behaviors and our desire to draw near to Him. Sin is sin and my sin is certainly no worse than the "really big" sins of others. Usually it's just that my sin is easier to hide while others have more revealed struggles. What's so Amazing about Grace by Phillip Yancy is a great read on the topic of how we view our sin/the sin of others. And In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado is also a good read.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sheree8:10 AM

    I think you said it all.Amen AND Amen. Can I write that all down & hang it in front of my face for the rest of my life? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Preach it, sister! And it's not just showing grace and love to unbelievers, either, but to those in closest relationships with ourselves. I've been thinking about that a lot lately...am I showing grace and love to Steve each day, or am I letting my stuck-up "I can do it better" attitude of perfectionism get in the way?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love and grace. Just about sums it all up, doesn't it? Thanks for posting this!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Finish It Up Friday...Scrappy Triangle Shag Rug

Finish It Up Friday...Pink Triangle Shag Rug!

Hello, Jellyfish Wedding Quilt