AMAZING GRACE

God's grace, in-view of my sin, is amazing. Why?

Sin is not incidental or accidental, but rather intentional. It is the deliberate act of our will to disregard and disobey God. Too often we are soft on sin, God never is!

However, God is amazing in His forgiveness of all who turn to Him and ask to be forgiven. Consider the very meaning of God’s name as explained by Him.

“Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh. 6 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. 7 I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty…" Exodus 34:5-7 (NLT)

Years later the prophet Daniel would write:
"O Lord, we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. 9 But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him." Daniel 9:8-9 (NLT)

Manny years later Jesus would express God’s forgiveness as no one else ever could.
" When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross…..Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing…" Luke 23:33-34 (NLT)

The Apostle Peter sums it up in this way:
"He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.” Acts 10:43 (NLT)

Today when I reflect on the breadth of God’s forgiveness it is truly breathtaking. When I experience it, it is truly amazing grace.

The Psalmist sums it up well:

Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! ² Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! Psalms 32:1-2 (NLT)

I'M NOT EXACTLY MR. FIX IT!

Yesterday I was working on our sprinkling system, a couple of them had become clogged, so I thought I can do this. Well, I did. But in the process I got soaked, wasn't sure I could get the water turned off and thought the water police came by, not good!. It was a little stressful but turned out to be a confidence builder. It was so simple, yet I thought I had to use some big wrench to loosen them. Sometimes we can make life more complicated than it really is. It reminds me of Philippians 4:6 (NLT)

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."

I am glad that God is concerned about little things. Because it proves to me that what is important to me is important to Him, however small my concern may be. Including a tiny screw that I dropped in the grass which was needed for the sprinkler to work. Well, it was found and I am glad and they're working. I am not Mr Fix It, but I know who is.

BTW Thanks for my nice welcome to blogland. Was encouraged by your comments.

In the Beginning

There always needs to be a beginning, so for me, this will be a beginning. A journey of sharing my reflections from my recliner on various subjects which I hope will be interesting and helpful to those who stop by.

A couple of days ago my grandson had a swimming accident in their swimming pool at home. He is 11 years old and had been in the pool many times. Yet this time as he dove in head first, he tucked his head into his chest and hit the bottom of the pool head on. There was a jolt to his body. It was nearly a very tragic accident. After several ex-rays, MRI, and brain scan it was discovered the he had three contusion to his vertebrae. The neurologist said he was very lucky, it could have been so much worse.
So I begin today being very, very grateful for God's protection at a extremely critical moment. I do not always understand life, but here is what I do know: Romans 8:28 (NLT)
".....that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." All things are not good, but God uses all things for our good, yes even tragedy. This is a very personal discovery and certainly transforming. For me it is an anchor and a hope. Just thought I'd share this reflection from my recliner.

*Watercolor of me in my recliner by my wife Wanda