Why The "Panicking Christian"?

Like most Christians, I occasionally find myself in a borderline, all out panic about something which I already knew, but seem to have forgotten or that I only knew in my head, as opposed to my heart. And mercifully, God decides to show me what is really going on or what it is that I needed to know, before I completely lose my mind.

So the writing within is just that. It is that which God has shown and taught me while I was typically in one of those times in my life. Since the way in which He has chosen to reveal things to me tend to be fairly easy to follow and understand, I am sharing them via this format. That said, I take no glory for any of this. It is God whom has given me the ability to write, and it is He who has given me the content to write as well and He who saved me by His glorious grace in the first place.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Oh, Have Mercy...

It is almost a bit of a sobering thought to think that the demonic actually know God - on a character level - better than we do. In the Book of Mark, a "group" who called themselves Legion asked Jesus for mercy and GOT it. Considering who we are talking about here, there is a good chance that they would not have asked for it if they did not think they would get it. So what does that say about us? You know, we who refuse to ask because we tell ourselves we do not deserve it for one (or more) of any myriad of reasons.


Did Legion deserve mercy? No. Do we deserve it? No. But mercy is not now, nor ever has been, about what you deserve at all. Point blank, you do not have because you do not ask. Now, I am not talking about asking for the winning lottery numbers but rather with regards to whatever problem or situation you find yourself in right now.


So go ahead...ask Him. Just ask.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

How Sweet the Sound...

Grace, grace, grace - if you are a believer, then you should love that word for we are covered and dependent upon it. Not just any grace either but the very grace of God.  But grace to do what?  Is it grace just for the sake of sake grace? Not likely. Is it grace to live however we want to live - that is, to sin our little butts off? Probably not (for 'we' may be justified, but 'sin' never is).

Let us say you are interested in science. You do not have a PhD or anything of the like but it is a serious interest of yours.  Now then, all considered, do you think you would deserve becoming an apprentice to someone like Stephen Hawking? Or perhaps you like to sing along with your favorite song? Do you think you deserve to be taken under the artists' wing?  Of course you do not.

Are you aware that not one of us is worthy to be a disciple of Jesus?  Not one of us deserves or has earned the right to follow Him? He never said come to me, get forgiven, dunk your head then just carry on with life as you want to live it. He said "follow me", not "go your own way and I'll just tag along". He said come to me for my yoke is easy - a yoke hooks two together - you and Him. But as flawed, frail, screwed up and totally unworthy as we are, how could we ever follow Him? How could we ever be His disciple?

Grace.

By grace we are allowed to do that which we otherwise would never, ever be allowed to do. God's grace allows us to follow Him. Sure, it is by the grace of God that we have a total, undeserved forgiveness but more importantly again, it is by grace that we are permitted to follow Christ! Not follow like the thousands did, but follow like the 12.


By grace, we have been given this amazing wonderful gift: to learn everything anew from the Master.