God's Grace Graph

Romans 5:9 "Much more then, being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" 

If you followed the news recently, you may have heard about the sudden shift in the stock market.  How it skyrocketed for twelve months, and then a few weeks ago declined at a rapid rate.  When it was going up people were up.  When it went down, some commentators were reporting that the "sky was falling"!  Well guess what, it started back up again. 

I want to ask you a very important question…is your view of God's love for you up some days and down the next?  If it were charted on a graph, how would it look?  Perhaps after a great church service, you feel God's love for you is "up".  Then you do something you shouldn't have, and you feel God's love for you is "down".  Then you read your Bible, and you feel like God really loves you!  Then you don't read your Bible one day, and your graph shows a decline.  Here's some good news.  God's love for you is constant.  It never changes.  Your behavior does not change God's love for you.  

Romans 5:8 says "But God commended His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us".  Then in verse nine it says, "Much more then, being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him".  In other words, before you were saved, as a sinner, God's grace abounded toward you.  How "much more then", after you were saved, did His grace super abound toward you. That's really big.  

Fix your eyes on His love for you, not on your performance or behavior.  His love for you is unshakable and immovable.  When you do, you remain stable, settled and strong no matter how you "feel".  No more up one day, and down the next.  God's grace graph is always the same…love, love, love.   

Fix or Facts by Natalie Fortunato

James 1:14 - "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed" 

Some of you might remember a song from the early 70's called If Loving You is Wrong (I Don't Want to Be Right).  It's a song about a man that's in love with a woman, but he's married, and the woman he's in love with is not his wife!  For some reason, that title has always stuck with me.  I guess it's because I've seen it play out over and over again in people's lives.  They know that something's totally wrong for them, but they want it anyway.   

Are you holding on to or involved in something that you know is not good for you, but you want it anyway?  Are you holding on to something that's hurting you, but you think that letting go will hurt even more?  If yes, then you have a choice to make, do you want a fix or the facts?  

A fix: when you take matters into your own hands, and try to satisfy your desires your way.  When you do things, and won't allow God to do them for you, in His way and in His time. When you decide what's best.  When you answer your own prayers.     

The facts: When you surround yourself with people who will tell you the truth from God's Word, and you make yourself accountable to them.  When you know who you are in Christ and find your value and identity in Him. When you stick to what God has told you to do, no matter what.  

A fix or facts.  You choose.  (Choose facts!)

Trust Now, Understand Later

John 13 :7 " What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand" 

Much of the Christian life is spent trusting Jesus now and understanding later. Jesus typically doesn't always explain on the front end why He is doing something the way He is doing it. Like Peter, when something looks wrong to us, we are tempted to go against the Lord's will.  God wants us to trust Him.  During those times when we don't understand, we need to remember Jesus' words to Peter, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand". 

Peter had grown used to Jesus doing and saying unpredictable things, but in the context of John 13:7, the way Peter saw it, Jesus washing the disciples feet was just plain wrong.  He believed Jesus was the last person in the room who should be washing feet, that was a house servant's job, a non-Jew.  People traveled in sandals, their feet were smelly, dirty and came in contact with things the law declared unclean.    

Here's the twist.  Under the law the unclean makes the clean, unclean.  But under grace, the clean makes the unclean, clean.  Jesus washed the disciples feet, when it should have been Peter down washing the feet of Jesus.  It looked like it was all backwards.  Peter didn't understand in the now, but he would later.

Today you may not understand what God is doing in your life, but trust Him, you'll understand later.  Follow the example in His Word, listen to that still small voice that says "This is the way, walk ye in it" (Isaiah 30:21). Remember this simple truth, God is good, all the time. When your down to nothing, God is up to something!  Something good.  

Step Into Peace

Mark 5:34 "and He said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague" 

Imagine being healed of a blood disorder after 12 years of going to every doctor you could find, spending every penny had, and things just getting worse.  Just like that, one encounter with Jesus and she was instantly healed.  What happened next?  He said to her "Go in peace", or in the original Greek, "Go into peace".  This is really important.  Jesus wasn't bidding her farewell.  He was telling her to step into the realm of peace, the way you would step into a house. 

You might be going through a prolonged season of challenges where nothing you have done seems to work. Perhaps you are dealing with a chronic condition.  Or maybe you’re a single parent struggling to make ends meet. Or possibly you have done all that you can to mend a broken relationship, but all your efforts have come up short.  

Jesus is inviting you to receive grace for your situation, step out of your place of fear, worry, and anxiety, and step into the realm of peace.  Peace is a key component to keeping what grace has given through the finished work of the cross.  Grace and peace always go together, as seen in so many of Paul's epistles.  So, go ahead, receive your victory, and step into peace, it will change the course of your life.  

Never, Never Land

Hebrews 13:5-6 - "…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." 

In the popular children's story Peter Pan, there is an imaginary place that is so ideal and perfect called Neverland.  As believers, we too have an ideal "Never" land of our own.  In fact, it's a "Never, Never" land.  The only difference, it's not imaginary, it's real.  

As described in Hebrews 3:5, it's a place in Christ that God promises to never leave us.  Never.  When things are going great, He's with us.  When things are falling apart, He's with us.  When we are doing everything "right", He's with us.  When we're doing everything "wrong", He's with us.  

He said it twice, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you", meaning never, never.  God is saying to us in the strongest possible way, that He will never ever leave us or forsake us.  

Still not convinced, look at this verse in the Amplified Bible:  "…for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]" 

No matter what is happening in your life today, God is with you.  Living and abiding in you.  Even if you have turned your back on Him, He will never, never leave you.  He doesn't come and go based on your performance or behavior.  He is committed to you.  He loves you.  

Toes, Heels, Soles

Joshua 1:3 "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said to Moses" 

There's basically three types of people that I have met in life.  First, people that walk on the toes of their feet.  Second, people that walk on the heels of their feet. And third, people that walk on the soles of their feet. 

People that walk on the toes of their feet tip toe through life, like the teenager who walks in two hours after curfew, and his dad is sitting on the Lazyboy in the living room waiting for him.  He tip toes in because of fear.  Fear causes people to walk on "egg shells", afraid of situations, people and challenges.

 People that walk on their heels are those who are ready to go backward at the first sign of opposition.  If it doesn't happen immediately they assume, "Well I guess it wasn't God".  A little wind can push them back into neutral.

People that walk on their heels are those who are ready to move forward at a moment's notice.  They are well balanced.  They walk with confidence of "knowing the One in whom they believe".  

The key for Joshua is that four times God instructs him to "be strong and of a good courage".  Under God's grace we know that His strength is made perfect in our weakness.  When we are weak then He is strong. Whatever you're facing today…financial hardship, pain inyour body, a child who's not acting right…, "walk on the soles of your feet".  Press toward the mark with confidence in God's Word, toward the victory that is already yours in Christ, waiting for you to receive it.  Toes, heels, soles…you get to choose.   

Breaking Through Resistance

Philippians 3:14 "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God In Christ Jesus" 

Even a dead fish can swim downstream.  Know why? There's no resistance!  How do you respond to resistance in your life?  When you decide to live in the "high calling", you will face opposition and resistance.  "…all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" 2 Tim3:12. 

So, if there's a "high calling", there must also be a "low calling". The high calling is a life lived on earth according to heaven's standards; it's seeing the kingdom of God manifestedthrough an individual's life. People who live in the high calling control their surroundings. By staying in their authority, they change the spiritual climate around them. 

Darkness cannot overpower light, light always expels darkness.  The brighter the light, the more darkness is displaced. This is how it is when we walk in the authority of God's kingdom.  We place our surroundings under its rule.  Jesus could eat with sinners because HE controlled the atmosphere. If you are stronger in God then the unbeliever is in the devil, you will control the atmosphere.  If the sinner is more dominant  in evil than the believer is in righteousness, the unbeliever will control the atmosphere. 

Again, when you decide to live the high calling, you will face opposition.  But you've already overcome because of the finished work on the cross.  Yet many settle and live for the low calling.  Why?  They don't want to face the resistance that accompanies pressing toward the high calling.  They would rather conform to their surroundings than change them with godly confrontation.  It's much easier to blend in than to stand out. 

The word "press" signifies an aggressive mentality that refuses to give up, rather than a "passive" mentality that follows the path of least resistance.  Keep pressing forward with the Grace of God and the power of the Holy Ghost.  Greater is He that is in you than what you are facing in the world. Break through the resistance!  Press toward the mark!  Start today!

Why is it Taking So Long for God to Answer My Prayer?

Daniel 10:12  "Then he said to me, 'Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words"' 

Day 1: Daniel prayed.  Day 10: Didn't see the answer yet.  Day 20: Still didn't see the answer.  Day 21: Angel shows up, Bam!  He sees the answer to his prayer.  Wow.  Have you ever prayed for something, and it came rather quickly, and then at other times it seems like it took a long time?  

Why does God answer some prayers in a short period of time, and some prayers in three weeks or three years?  Here's the problem with that question.  God answered your prayer the moment you prayed it.  However, we think God answered it when we see it with our own eyes.  God told Daniel, "from the first day…your words were heard, and I have come because of your words".  The variable is not God.  It says in John 4:24 that "God is Spirit", He moves instantly. 

So what happened?  In verse 13, it says, "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days".  Your faith is like a bridge from the spiritual world to the physical world.  If you quit standing in faith to see the answer to your prayer because you can't see it, you can stop the manifestation.  What if Daniel had quit on the 20th day, right before the 21st day when he got his answer?  When we pray, we must believe that the power of God is released instantly on the first day that we pray. Period.  Expect to see it, no matter how long it takes.  Don't quit.  Every day is the "20th day" until you see it!  You're "21st day" is coming.  

Truth = Grace

John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free" 

The breakthroughs you have been fighting to have for years can happen in a supernatural instant. I want to ask you a very important question, "Have you often felt anxious, worried, or fearful that the worst would happen to you and your family?  These negative, exhausting emotions are merely flags that indicate what we truly believe about ourselves, our lives, and God. 

If worrying or being fearful seems to be your natural mode, what you need to do is keep hearing and learning about how much God loves you and how precious you are to Him.  

John 8:32 is a verse that has been widely used, even in secular circles.  But what does it really mean?  What is the truth that sets you free?  We need to recognize that Jesus said this to the Jews of His day. These were people who at an early age grew up studying and learning the law. Yet these people, much like today, still battled with fears, anxieties, sicknesses, and all kinds of oppression, bondage and addictions.  So what is the truth that Jesus was talking about, this truth that would set them free from a destructive lifestyle? 

It clearly couldn’t be the law because they were already well versed in the law. The truth Jesus was talking about, the real truth was the grace and unmerited favor of God.  Freedom can only be found in grace.  Jesus came by "grace and truth" (John 1 :17).  The word "came" in this context is used as a singular verb, meaning grace and truth are one in the same thing.  Truth = Grace.  It's the truth of God's grace that sets you free.

Wounded Time, Is Wasted Time

by Natalie Fortunato

Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." 

"If you're going through hell, don't stop!".  Heard this line in a country song while I was waiting at the car dealership for my oil change.  Loved it!  Totally got my attention.  Such great advice, right?  

When we really mess up, totally miss God, sometimes the guilt and shame is paralyzing.  It's almost unbearable.  But the worse thing we can do is stay there. All wounded and condemned, kicking ourselves.  What a waste of time.  

The enemy loves to rehearse the incident over and over again in our minds.  How we failed.  But the Holy Spirit is the exact opposite.  When we miss it, He loves to remind us of who we are in Christ.  He reminds us that we are loved, accepted, forgiven and righteous.  He reminds us of our calling and our assignment.  

If you've messed up big time, change your mind and change your direction.  Admit where you got off track, take responsibility for your actions, take dominion and authority over the enemy, and allow the Holy Spirit to get you back on track…and move on!  

A Meal. Or a Mountain.

Matthew 17:19-21 "Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." 

What comes out only by prayer and fasting?  The spirit?  No.  He was referring to unbelief.  It's unbelief that only goes out by prayer and fasting.  He fully expected the disciples to cast that spirit out, on the spot, or He wouldn't have rebuked them saying in verse 17, saying, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?"  The issue wasn't casting a spirit out, it was their unbelief. 

Prayer and fasting brings us from a place of unbelief - where my mountains refuse to move, where everything seems impossible to me - to a place where nothing is impossible for me.  

When we fast, we are enforcing the positional truth that the sin nature was crucified with Christ and our flesh no longer has the power to rule over our spirit.  Our fasting doesn't move the devil, he's not the one with our problems.  Fasting doesn't move God, it moves us into a place where we can receive from God.  

Fasting destroys the hold that the flesh has had on our lives, that has defeated us time and time again, year after year.  Lies that tell us things will never get better, or that we will never accomplish more than we've already accomplished, that this is it for us.  

Fasting has the same effect on our flesh as it had on Jesus' flesh: it braces us against the temptations of the devil and helps us shut down the flesh by enforcing the perfect standing Jesus has already given us.  As the flesh loses ground, the peace of God can begin to rule in our lives.  

You choose.  A meal. Or a mountain.  Which would you rather do without?

Think Responsibly

Romans 12:2 (Amplified Bible) - "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs] but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude]."

Especially around the holidays, you hear the phrase "Drink Responsibly" or "Don't Drink and Drive".  It's an effort to convince people to stay off the road when drinking.  I can't tell you how many stories I've heard lately about car accidents caused by drunk drivers, it's so selfish and beyond dangerous. 

However, to "Think Responsibly" is the most important principle of our lives.  Why?  Proverbs 23:7 tells us that our whole life, and how we perceive other people and ourselves, is summed up in "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he".  Your life is a product of your thinking.

Just like an alcoholic is addicted to alcohol, the "negaholic" is addicted to negative thinking.  Positive thinking is a principle of the Word of God.  It's thinking the best, the Word, in negative situations, it's a confident expectation of good. 

"Negaholism" is something that can only be combated with one thing, the Word of God.  We must be in a constant, and I repeat, constant state of renewing our minds.  Here are four types of Negaholics...

Attitudinal Negaholics:  they are successful people who are drivenVerbal
Negaholics:  they are hopeless, helpless and unable to change their negative statements about themselves, others, situations, and just about everything.
Behavioral Negaholics:  they try so hard that you don't want to fault them, but self-sabotage is written all over them.
The Perfectionist: they have high and unreasonable standards, anything short of perfection is unacceptable. 

Let's make a commitment to be transformed in our minds by the Word of God.  Let's get rid of any negative thinking patterns and replace them with positive expectations of good, which is the Word of God. 

Forward

Exodus 14:15 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:”

In the above verse, God is speaking to Moses, His commander in chief on the earth and asks him, “Why are you crying to me?”, I have already told you to go forward!  In verses 10-12, the children of Israel began to complain because they were uncomfortable.  Their minds even conjured up stories of their fondness for Egypt, challenging Moses and asking him, “Why did you bring us here?  We want to go back to Egypt, back to the way it was!”  The devil is real good at making the things that you couldn’t wait to get out of, become something that you want to go back to, when you face challenging times. 

Sometimes we can get stuck in a certain place, sometimes for weeks, or sometimes for even years.  Because the misery of the known can seem safer than the need to trust in the unknown.  I’m sure when Peter stepped out of that ship to walk on the water, it was a “forward” moment in his life.  He wasn’t just walking on water, he was walking on the water to go to Jesus, he was going someplace, he was going to Jesus. 

That’s the perfect will and purpose for every person, to go to Jesus.  He is the only One who has the fulfillment and contentment we desire in life.  Things don’t, hobbies don’t, even other people can’t fulfill us.  Don’t get me wrong, those things are good, but if you want meaning in your life, you’ve got to get out of the “ship” and “walk on the water”, walk on the Word. What word?  The word “come”. 

That’s what Jesus is saying to us today, “Come, I have new things for you, I have a destiny and a plan waiting for you, come to Me”.  It’s time to move forward!

Kismet?

James 4:7 " Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you" 

Much of religion today believes in a fatalistic mentality that everything that happens in life, whether good or bad, must be God's will.  They say things like, "bad things happen to good people".  I know what people mean by it, but what's behind it is a doctrine of the extreme sovereignty of God, that says no matter what happens in your life, it's from God. 

The term "kismet" is an old Turkish word that simply means "fate".  In other words, if someone dies of cancer, or a terrible accident happens to a family member, or a woman is raped, well, it must have been God's will, or at the very least, it couldn’t have happened unless God allowed it!   

In James 4:7, we are told to submit to God and resist the devil.  But why resist if everything is from God?  Because it's not!!  Sickness is not from God.  Acts 10:38 says "How God anointed Jesus Christ of Nazareth who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil".  

It also says, "and he will flee from you", the keyword here is you (and me).  God will allow what we allow.  So don't just accept that you have to live below the standards of God's covenant of blessing, health, favor, and the good life!  To resist means to actively fight against.  Don't just accept depression as the norm, lack as a way of life, sickness as something to just endure, but instead, use your authority, speak the Word, and say NO!  It's your choice…resist or kismet?

My Pillow

Mark 4:38 "And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master carest thou not that we perish?" 

Have you heard the pillow commercial on TV and Radio with a catchy jingle that says, "For the best night's sleep in the whole wide world, mypillow.com".  Now, I’m not endorsing "My Pillow", but I love the concept. You probably didn’t know that My Pillow is the official pillow of the National Sleep Foundation.  Founder, Mike Lindell, tells the purpose behind the pillow, "When I invented My Pillow, my dream was to help as many people get a good night's sleep as possible". 

In Mark 4:38, it says that Jesus was in the back of a ship sleeping on a pillow in the middle of a storm. I think most of us would be busy bailing water out of the ship, or screaming for help!  Not Jesus, He's asleep on a pillow in the middle of the storm.  It was the peace that was already on the inside of Him, that allowed Him to sleep through a storm.  It was that same peace that was spoken out of His mouth, "Peace, be still", that calmed the storm.  Jesus shows us a picture of restful increase.  His sleep was evidence of his trust, faith and rest that "all is well".  

We have that same peace, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, on the inside of our born again spirit, that is to be exhibited in our actions and our words. When we rest He works, but when we work He rests.  More happens when we rest, than when we don't rest.  So grab your grace pillow, lay your head down, and rest on the promises of God.  

Blank Slate Baby by Natalie Fortunato

Colossians 2:14 (The Message) "Think of it!  All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross".  

In 2014, Taylor Swift wrote a song called Blank Space, poking fun at all her multiple failed romances and the casualties she's left behind.  Though her relationships were at a loss, her song won a Grammy for Song of the Year..crazy! 

I'd like to put a little twist to her song title, to help you remember this very helpful principle when dealing with your close relationships.  Here it is: Blank Slate!  If God has wiped the slate clean with all our sin, how about if we wipe the slate clean at the close of every day with other's sins against us?  

Ephesians 4:26-27 says to “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil."  In other words, wipe the slate clean every night and wake up the next day with a clean slate, totally empty, no records of wrongdoing against anyone.  Don't mess up today with your wife, or husband, or best friend, or boss, or neighbor's mess ups (intentional or unintentional) from yesterday.  

Paul said there is one thing that he does…forget those things that are behind and reach forward to those things ahead (Phil. 3:13). If you need to confront something, do it in a godly way, then regardless of the outcome, move on!  Forgive!  Let it go!  Start each day with a blank slate baby! 

I Know God Loves Me, But...

Romans 5:8 "God commended His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" 

A few years ago, our puppy Benny (who just turned 16 by the way), went outside for a little while.  Then there he was at the back door asking to back come in.  I opened the door, and the smell was so strong it almost knocked me over. Benny had a close encounter with a skunk.  Well, he started running around the whole house and the smell of the skunk got on everything.  Our couch, the carpet, everything, yuck!  I searched every possible remedy to get rid of the smell. I used vinegar, baking soda, Lysol, you name it, I did it, in an effort to "neutralize" the smell, I did it all! 

If we really understood how much God loves us it would change everything.  If we understood that God loved us, worry, stress, and panic would no longer be an everyday occurrence.  When we say "I know God loves me, but…", we basically neutralize everything about His love for us. Neutralize means to render something ineffective by applying an opposite force or effect. That’s what "but" does, it renders God's love ineffective in our life!  

Think about this, when you were born again, how much had you been fasting, praying, going to church, paying your tithes, living holy, and doing everything just right?  Romans 5:8 means that Christ did the ultimate when you deserved it the least.  You may have been in adultery, doing drugs, at your very worst, whatever, and yet Christ died for you!  It was completely independent of what you could do. It was a gift, and it was presented to you. So, don’t neutralize God's love for you…no more buts.  

Recipe for a Tender Heart

Ephesians 4:32 "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you". 

I recently grilled some thin pieces of beef on skewers, marinated in a teriyaki sauce with sesames, delicious...uh, no.  Even though I only cooked them for five minutes on each side, they became a "burnt offering", really tough, dry and chewy.  Then next time, I definitely decreased the time on both sides and they came out perfect, really tender, and…delicious! 

The word tender means having a soft or yielded texture, to soften. Similarly, the word tenderhearted means easily moved with love and compassion.  And the word tenderize means to make tender or soft by applying a process or substance that breaks down the hardness. 

In Ephesians 4:32, Paul says for our hearts to be tender towards ourselves and other people, to "be kind" one to another. That simply means to be nice or to be easy with one to another.  But he goes on to say that a tender heart comes from one thing and one thing alone - forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you!  In other words, know that you are forgiven of past present and future sins, and forgive one another, as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.  

So, here's a recipe for a tender heart!  "Cook it" the right amount of time in God's presence, listen for His voice and follow His instructions, be nice to each other and forgive one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.  Have a kind day.  Voila!

Say Goodbye to Guilt

Gal 4:17 (The Message Bible)  "Those heretical teachers go to great lengths to flatter you, but their motives are rotten. They want to shut you out of the free world of God's grace so that you will always depend on them for approval and direction, making themselves important." 

The biggest curse in the body of Christ today is the enormous amount of guilt, condemnation, shame, and fear.  These destructive behaviors are totally disarming and paralyzing the people of God. Sadly, statistics have shown that Pentecostals, Charismatic's and full gospel people suffer with guilt and guilt related disorders more than any other religious group in the world. 

The dictionary defines guilt as, the feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, or crime, whether real or imagined.  The reason why is we get hooked on what I call a toxic mixture of old testament law and new testament grace.  Once you mix the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life, it will poison every area of your Christian life. 

For the majority of believers in the church today, guilt is their drug of choice.  For many, if they don't feel guilty, they wonder how they be motivated to serve God!  Some actually think guilt is a Christian emotion. IT"S NOT! Paul calls this mixture "another gospel".  Any time a person tries to earn the love, acceptance, forgiveness and favor of God, it is going to result in guilt, condemnation, shame and fear. God's unmerited favor is the answer that will deliver God's people from this addiction.  God loves, accepts, and forgives every one of us unconditionally.  It's time to kick the habit!

The Happy God

1 Timothy 1:11 (Rotherham's Emphasized Bible) "…the glad-message of the glory of the happy God…" 

The other day I was laughing and talking with someone about the Lord, and how good He is.  We were having such a fun time.  When I walked away, someone I had never seen before, was listening to our conversation, and glared at me, then quietly cursed at me and said that I had no idea what I was talking about.  If eyes were guns and looks were bullets, I would’ve been target practice! This was not a happy person. 

I love this translation for 1Timothy 1:11 that says "It’s the glad message of THE HAPPY GOD".  This is such great news.  I can assure you today that God's definitely not glaring at you.  In fact, whenever He thinks about you, which is all the time, He's grinning from ear to ear!  To glare means to frown, to scowl, to glower, to make a nasty face (love that one), to look with daggers (like that one too) to give someone a look of disgust. 

Well, there's nothing you can do to make God glare at you.  The gospel of Grace declares that God loves you with a love you cannot measure.  To quote Philip Yancey, "Grace means there is nothing I can do to make God love me more, and nothing I can do to make God love me less".  Another definition is " the good, glad, merry news that makes you want to jump and leap for joy". 

God is a happy God and has a glad message, so smile!  God's not frowning at you, He's not mad at you, and He's not even in a bad mood.  You put a big smile on His face!