Welcome

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/FINAL-DAY----Fasting---Prayer-for-Grace-Church.html?soid=1101656665942&aid=II36i7dX8MU

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/FINAL-DAY----Fasting---Prayer-for-Grace-Church.html?soid=1101656665942&aid=II36i7dX8MU

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/DAY-FOUR--Fasting---Prayer-for-Grace-Church.html?soid=1101656665942&aid=7cjWjTVRTD0

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/DAY-FOUR--Fasting---Prayer-for-Grace-Church.html?soid=1101656665942&aid=7cjWjTVRTD0

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/DAY-THREE--Fasting---Prayer-for-Grace-Church.html?soid=1101656665942&aid=pLtSH9cVAjU

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/DAY-THREE--Fasting---Prayer-for-Grace-Church.html?soid=1101656665942&aid=pLtSH9cVAjU

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/DAY-TWO--Fasting---Prayer-for-Grace-Church.html?soid=1101656665942&aid=CaNV5MFaObQ

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/DAY-TWO--Fasting---Prayer-for-Grace-Church.html?soid=1101656665942&aid=CaNV5MFaObQ

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/DAY-ONE--Fasting---Prayer-for-Grace-Church.html?soid=1101656665942&aid=e-HtM-cw9O8

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/DAY-ONE--Fasting---Prayer-for-Grace-Church.html?soid=1101656665942&aid=e-HtM-cw9O8

"We Are the World" + Haiti Remix = Awesome!!!

Just had a chance to preview the remix of the iconic 80's hit - "we are the world", and wow! Loved every minute of it; for some weird reason though, what really stuck out at me was the little kid in the blue shirt dancing on a roof at the beginning of the video (despite all the devastation around him).

It is incredibly hard to kill the human spirit if it can sense even a small glimmer of hope. So please if you haven't or still have more to spare, find an organization working in Haiti and give to the needs of our brothers and sisters!

I had a chance to give through Samaritan's Purse, click here to give through them.

If you're really jonsing for it, below is the original video, enjoy!

Getting Saved on my Own?

“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” (Romans 3:20)

One truth that will never change is this, not a single good deed of my own doing will ever make me right before God. I could be as caring as mother Teresa, or be as generous as Oprah. I can be as inspirational as Mahatma Gandhi or be as happy as Joel Osteen - none of it inches me a foot closer to God.

Not that it were possible, but even if by some chance I was able to live the rest of my life observing and obeying all the laws even that supposed righteousness would still not make me appear faultless before God. This so because obedience to the law was never intended to save anyone, if anything at all it was intended to reveal to us our desperate need for God. It serves as a constant checklist and reminder of the areas of God’s commands that I am severely lacking in (verse 20).

The good news however is that “…a righteousness from God, apart from the law has been made known” (3:21). It makes sense doesn’t it? The one whose approval we all desperately seek (whether we are aware of it or not) should be the one who would set the standard for how we should approach him, right?

And the means God has chosen for us to appear sinless before him is through faith in his son Jesus Christ, that’s what Paul means when he says in verse 22 “…This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” Later on in verse 24, Paul is going to say we are “…justified (declared sinless) freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”.

I think that’s the part of the gospel that causes many people to stumble when it comes to trusting in Christ alone for their salvation, it seems too easy! I guess it doesn’t help that they are bombarded by tele-evangelist and over enthusiastic Christians who tell them that “God loves you so much and wants the best for you and your family, trusting in him is soooo easy and doesn’t cost you anything”

While I agree with that message (on some levels) and admire the evangelistic zeal of those who preach it, it sounds a little incomplete. Truth is, trusting in Jesus Christ does come at a cost; it came at a cost to God and will cost you something. First, you; it comes at a cost to you because it requires a total submission on your part to God and an ongoing surrender of your old behaviors and attitudes. Though God declares you sinless (Justification) at the point of salvation and you are secure for all eternity in him, the fact is, you will have a long journey of growth (sanctification) ahead of you that might include spiritual opposition from Satan and his hoards, and intense periods of persecution. The fact is, “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12)

So that’s some of the cost to you, but what about God? What did it cost him? Well, verse 25 says in the process of trying to reconcile us to himself, “God presented him (his son Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood”. To fully appreciate that text, you’ll have to understand that way back in Leviticus 16, God gave his people some incredibly specific directions as to how they were to approach him in the earthly Tabernacle his presence dwelt in.

To sum it up, it required the high priest, to take lots of showers, put on some very specific garments in a very specific order, and most of all bring with him the blood of slain animals, and lots of it. If he didn’t do it right and approached God, he would die! (Leviticus 16:1-2). Later on in the book of Hebrews 9:22, we come to understand that all that bloodshed was required because the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness – hint, hint: someone always has to pay for sin!

But once again, just like obeying the law was incapable of saving anyone, so in the same way the animal sacrifices that people brought to the temple each year never really saved them, it couldn’t because it was an imperfect sacrifice. Instead, those bloody animal sacrifices were an annual reminder that death was what each one of them (and each one of us) deserve for our sins. If the deaths of the animals could have wiped away their sins, then they would have stopped sacrificing after year one, but it didn’t because they returned each year.

Though all that “blood-talk” sounds gross to our modern ears and the animal rights activists reading this are prepping for a protest outside my office, it’s important to know that those sacrifices were a visual illustration of the perfect sacrifice that God would someday make and has ultimately made in Christ (Hebrews 9:8-10).

Now, back to my original point in verse 25 where it says “…God presented him (his son Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood”. That language, and that imagery is intended to remind us of those yearly temple sacrifices, but in this case – the sacrifice is a person, a God-man who would take upon his shoulders all the sin of the world (John 1:29).

So rather than use an animal (which was an imperfect sacrifice), God himself put to death on the cross his son Jesus Christ as a perfect sacrifice to atone for all our sins, once and for all (Hebrews 11:26).

So picture this if you can, out there somewhere in space is a list of all the sins you have ever committed (Colossians 2:13-14), every single one of it, secret and public, and that list continues to grow each day with each new sin you commit. If you were to die today and stand before God, that list would testify against you and you would end up suffering in hell and burning forever and ever in the lake of fire (sorry, there is no other nice way to put such harsh reality). But, if at some point, you respond to God’s leading and you place your faith in Jesus Christ, in that moment, God miraculously grabs that list from space and nails it to the cross of Jesus Christ and declares you COMPLETELY FORGIVEN!!

We really should pause here and let the profundity of that statement hit us… because it means that ALL, ALL OF OUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN, every single last bit of it, past, present, and sins to come. Can I get an amen!!!

They are forgiven because Jesus took our place as a substitute, the punishment and suffering that should have been ours was his, the wrath he endured should have been ours – and the salvation he secured is now ours, through faith in Him!!

I love the way “the message” translation of the bible sums up the last five verses of chapter, here are some snapshots “… What we've learned is this: God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does. We've finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade…..God sets right all who welcome his action and enter into it, both those who follow our religious system and those who have never heard of our religion.”

The scriptures declare that we are only saved by the grace of God through faith in his son Jesus Christ. How have you responded to that message? Have you fallen on your knees in humility before him and surrendered your life to him? Or are you still trying to approach him with your own set of plans and agenda?

Sleepwalking in bed?

Couldn't resist this amazing video of a girl sleep walking in bed. Phenomenal photo tricks! The song is titled "Her Morning Elegance" by Oren Lavie (who??).

So that must be why I wake up with a messy bed every morning!