Grace...for the moment ~

NeonTetra SG

God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them.
LUKE 18:7

God's Good Timing
Why does God wait until the money is gone? Why does he wait until the sickness has lingered? Why does he choose to wait until the other side of the grave to answer the prayers for healing?

I don't know. I only know his timing is always right. I can only say he will do what is best....

Though you hear nothing, he is speaking. Though you see nothing, he is acting. With God there are no accidents. Every incident is intended to bring us closer to him.

NeonTetra SG

dumbdumb! SG

sometimes some preachers preach doom and gloom oso.. then the people never fully understood grace.. christianity is hard Sad

NeonTetra SG

yeah....Christianity is about Grace.

NeonTetra SG

Plant goodness, harvest the fruit of loyalty, plow the new ground of knowledge.
HOSEA 10:12

Sowing Seeds of Peace
Want to see a miracle? Plant a word of love heartdeep in a persons life. Nurture it with a smile and a prayer, and watch what happens.

An employee gets a compliment. A wife receives a bouquet of flowers. A cake is baked and carried next door. A widow is hugged. A gas station attendant is honored. A preacher is praised.

Sowing seeds of peace is like sowing beans. You don't know why it works - you just know it does. Seeds are planted, and topsoils of hurt are shoved away.

Don't forget the principle. Never underestimate the power of a seed.

NeonTetra SG

I will be with you always.
MATTHEW 28:20

One Secure Place
David, the man after God's own heart, said: "I'm asking Yahweh for one thing, only one thing: to live with him in his house my whole life long" ... (Ps 27:4 MSG).
What is this house of God which David seeks? Is David describing a physical structure? Does he long for a building with four walls and a door through which he can enter but never exit? No. "Our Lord does not live in temples built by human hands" (Acts 17:24). When David says, "I will live in the house of the LORD forever" (Ps. 23:6), he's not saying he wants to get away from people. He's saying that he yearns to be in God's presence, wherever he is.

NeonTetra SG

He remembered us when we were in trouble. His love continues forever.
PSALM 136:23

The Reachable Jesus
God chose to reveal himself through a human body.

The tongue that called forth the dead was a human one. The hand that touched the leper had dirt under its nails. The feet upon which the woman wept were calloused and dusty. And his tears...oh, don't miss the tears... they came from a heart as broken as yours or mine ever has been.

So, people came to him. My, how they came to him! They came at night, they touched him as he walked down the street; they followed him around the sea; they invited him into their homes and placed their children at his feet. Why? Because he refused to be a statue in cathedral or a priest in an elevated pulpit. He chose instead to be a touchable, approachable, reachable Jesus.

NeonTetra SG

When he arrived, he saw a great crowd waiting. He felt sorry for them. . . . So he began to teach them many things.
MARK 6:34

The Compassionate Christ
When Jesus lands on the shore of Bethsaida, he leaves the Sea of Galilee and steps into a sea of humanity. Keep in mind, he has crossed the sea to get away from the crowds. He needs to grieve. He longs to relax with his followers. He needs anything but another crowd of thousands to teach and heal.

But his love for people overcomes his need for rest....

Many of those he healed would never say "thank you," but he healed them anyway. Most would be more concerned with being healthy than being holy, but he healed them anyway. Some of those who asked for bread today would cry for his blood a few months later, but he healed them anyway.... He had compassion on them.

NeonTetra SG

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father encourage you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.
2 THESSALONIANS 2:16

Guard Your Attitude
"Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me alone to do all the work?" (Luke 11:40)....

Martha's life was cluttered. She needed a break. "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things," the Master explained to her.

"Only one thing is important. Mary has chosen [it]" (Luke 11:41-42).

What had Mary chosen? She had chosen to sit at the feet of Christ. God is more pleased with the quiet attention of a sincere servant than the noisy service of a sour one....

What matters more than the type of service is the heart behind the service. A bad attitude spoils the gift we leave on the altar for God.

NeonTetra SG

Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.
MARK 5:34 NKJV

A Hunch and a Hope
Maybe all you have [is] a crazy hunch and a high hope. You have nothing to give. But you are hurting. And all you have to offer him is your hurt.

Maybe that has kept you from coming to God. Oh, you've taken a step or two in his direction. But then you saw the other people around him. They seemed so clean, so neat, so trim and fit in their faith. And when you saw them, they blocked your view of him. So you stepped back.

If that describes you, note carefully,... one person [whom Christ] commended... for having faith. It wasn't a wealthy giver. It wasn't a loyal follower. It wasn't an acclaimed teacher. It was a shame-struck, penniless outcast [a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years] who clutched onto her hunch that he could and her hope that he would.

Which, by the way, isn't a bad definition of faith. A conviction that he can and a hope that he will.

NeonTetra SG

He had compassion on them.
MATTHEW 14:14 NIV

God Heals Our Hurts
The Greek word for compassion is splanchnizomai, which won't mean much to you unless you are in the health professions and studied "splanchnology" in school. If so, you remember that "splanchnology" is a study of...the gut.

When Matthew writes that Jesus had compassion on the people, he is not saying that Jesus felt casual pity for them. No, the term is far more graphic. Matthew is saying that Jesus felt their hurt in his gut:

He felt the limp of the crippled.

He felt the hurt of the diseased.

He felt the loneliness of the leper

He felt the embarrassment of the sinful.

And once he felt their hurts, he couldn't help but heal their hurts.

NeonTetra SG

God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
PHILIPPIANS 4:7

The Lord Is Peace
The Lord came to Gideon and told him he was to lead his people in victory over the Midianites. That's like God telling a housewife to stand up to her abusive husband or a high school student to take on drug peddlers or a preacher to preach the truth to a congregation of Pharisees. "Y-y-you-b-b-better get somebody else," we stammer. But then God reminds us that he knows we can't, but he can, and to prove it he gives a wonderful gift. He brings a spirit of peace. A peace before the storm. A peace beyond logic....He gave it to David after he showed him Goliath; he gave it to Saul after he showed him the gospel; he gave it to Jesus after he showed him the cross. And he gave it to Gideon. So Gideon, in turn, gave the name to God. He built an altar and named it Jehovah-shalom, the Lord is peace (Judges 65:24).

NeonTetra SG

People harvest only what they plant.
Galatians 6:7

The Greenhouse of the Heart
Think for a moment of your heart as a greenhouse. And your heart, like a greenhouse, has to be managed.

Consider for a moment your thoughts as seed. Some thoughts become flowers. Others become weeds. Sow seeds of hope and enjoy optimism. Sow seeds of doubt and expect insecurity.

The proof is everywhere you look. Ever wonder why some people have the Teflon capacity to resist negativism and remain patient, optimistic, and forgiving? Could it be that they have diligently sown seeds of goodness and are enjoying the harvest?

Ever wonder why others have such a sour outlook? Such a gloomy attitude? You would, too, if your heart were a greenhouse of weeds and thorns.

NeonTetra SG

Shout and be glad, Jerusalem. I am coming and I will live among you, says the Lord.
Zechariah 2:10

Holiness Among Us
God became a baby. He entered a world of problems and heartaches.

The Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness (John 1:14 NLT).

The operative word of the verse is among. He lived among us. He donned the costliest of robes: a human body. He made a throne out of a manger and a royal court out of some cows. He took a common name-Jesus-and made it holy. He took common people and made them the same. He could have lived over us or away from us. But he didnt. He lived among us.

He became a friend of the sinner and brother of the poor.

NeonTetra SG

Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
Revelation 3:11 NIV

Your Day is Coming
Some of you have never won a prize in your life. Oh, maybe you were quartermaster in your Boy Scout troop or in charge of sodas at the homeroom Christmas party, but thats about it. Youve never won much. Youve watched the Mark McGwires of this world carry home the trophies and walk away with the ribbons. All you have are almosts and what ifs.

If that hits home, then youll cherish this promise: And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away (I Pet. 5:4 NIV).

Your day is coming. What the world has overlooked, your Father has remembered, and sooner than you can imagine, you will be blessed by him

NeonTetra SG

God can do all things.
Mark 10:27

God Always Gives Grace
Our questions betray our lack of understanding:

How can God be everywhere at one time? (Who says God is bound by a body?)

How can God hear all the prayers which come to him? (Perhaps his ears are different from yours.)

How can God be the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? (Could it be that heaven has a different set of physics than earth?)

If people down here wont forgive me, how much more am I guilty before a holy God? (Oh, just the opposite. God is always able to give grace when we humans cant-he invented it.)

NeonTetra SG

Lord, I love the Temple where you live, where your glory is.
Psalm 26:8

A Home for Your Heart
When it comes to resting your soul, there is no place like the Great House of God. Im asking Yahweh for one thing, [David] wrote, only one thing: to live with him in his house my whole life long. Ill contemplate his beauty, Ill study at his feet. Thats the only quiet secure place in a noisy world (Ps. 27:4-5 MSG).

If you could ask God for one thing, what would you request? David tells us what he would ask. He longs to live in the house of God. I emphasize the word live, because it deserves to be emphasized. David doesnt want to chat. He doesnt desire a cup of coffee on the back porch. He doesnt ask for a meal or to spend an evening in Gods house. He wants to move in with himforever. Hes asking for his own roompermanently. He doesnt want to be stationed in Gods house, he longs to retire there. He doesnt seek a temporary assignment, but rather lifelong residence.

NeonTetra SG

He took our suffering on him and felt our pain for us.
Isaiah 53:4

Jesus Understands
Jesus knows how you feel. Youre under the gun at work? Jesus knows how you feel. Youve got more to do than is humanly possible? So did he. People take more from you than they give? Jesus understands. Your teenagers wont listen? Your students wont try? Jesus knows how you feel.

You are precious to him. So precious that he became like you so that you would come to him.

When you struggle, he listens. When you yearn, he responds. When you question, he hears. He has been there.

NeonTetra SG

We all know that God does not listen to sinners, but he listens to anyone who worships and obeys him.
John 9:31

Prayers Make a Difference
Most of our prayer lives could use a tune-up.

Some prayer lives lack consistency. Theyre either a desert or an oasis. Long, arid, dry spells interrupted by brief plunges into the waters of communion....

Others of us need sincerity. Our prayers are a bit hollow, memorized, and rigid. More liturgy than life. And though they are daily, they are dull.

Still others lack, well, honesty. We honestly wonder if prayer makes a difference. Why on earth would God in heaven want to talk to me? If God knows all, who am I to tell him anything? If God controls all, who am I to do anything?...

Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.

NeonTetra SG

Nathanael said to Philip, Can anything good come from Nazareth? Philip answered, Come and see.
John 1:46

Come and See
Nathanaels question still lingers, even two thousand years later. . . . Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Come and see.

Come and see the changed lives:
the alcoholic now dry,
the embittered now joyful,
the shamed now forgiven...
marriages rebuilt, the orphans embraced,
the imprisoned inspired....

Come and see the pierced hand of God touch the most common heart, wipe the tear from the wrinkled face, and forgive the ugliest sin.

Come and see. He avoids no seeker. He ignores no probe. He fears no search. Come and see.

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