LAW AND GRACE

By: Maggie Escoto

We do not keep the Ten Commandments, which is the old covenant, for the same purpose that Israel was commanded to keep them. In keeping covenant with God, Israel displayed faith by living “under” the law. The law (Ten Commandments) was external and written on two stone tablets. And so, Israel's devotion to God was seen in external works of the law.  The law was in the driver’s seat. It was in control for the purpose of leading Israel and all mankind to the Messiah (Jesus Christ). When Jesus Christ, came the law changed position, and grace took over the wheel. The law was exchanged with grace. We can view as the process in which a caterpillar evolves into a beautiful butterfly.

Law did not and does not have the power of grace. The law was and is defeated by sin, while grace defeated and will forever defeat sin. Those who lived under the law were in bondage to the power/control of sin. Jesus defeated sin and offered us grace.  If keeping the law was enough to make us acceptable to God, there would have never been need for Jesus to come. The law proved our need for Jesus Christ (John 3:16).

The Apostle Paul wrote, in Romans 7:7, “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. No, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, You shall not covet.”

In fact, it is possible to be an obedient follower of Jesus Christ without knowing the literal words of the Ten Commandments from the old covenant law. This is said only to emphasize that with grace in control it is the Holy Spirit that empowers the believer to “walk in the Spirit” so as not to fulfill the “lust of the flesh”.

Paul states in Rom. 6:14... “for you are not under law but under grace.” He also makes it clear in Gal. 5:18 “if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”  The previous verses state “so that you do not do the things that you wish.” The Law is not given to the Christian as the standard to live by, but to show the everyone how below the standard we do live, as Paul states in 1 Tim.1:9 The Law is for the unrighteous.

This time was Israel's, as a whole nation under the law. But when God moved from law to grace (caterpillar to butterfly), Israel resisted that move, preferring the old program of rules and regulations from Moses, illustrating the danger of law. We look good from the outside, but in the inside, we are an awful mess. Not only are we an awful mess, the mess destroys us in the inside, hence, DIS-EASE. Grace, on the other hand, removes the mess and frees us from DIS-EASE.

For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law ... but the righteousness of faith speaks in this way... with the heart one believes to righteousness. Rom. 10:5-6, 10.

Law and grace work together as a team in bringing salvation in Jesus Christ. Law brings conviction of sin and shows our need for a Savior Grace.

LET'S DO IT AGAIN

By Pastor Troy Gramling

Not long ago there was a commercial for Kodak where a dad takes his little girl to a public pool with the purpose of teaching her how to dive off the diving board.  As she climbs the high ladder and looks down into the water...she freezes.  It's a long way down...the water looks intimidating...What will happen if she leaps off and lets go?

She looks over the edge of the board and can't move, legs solidly in place.  She can't move. Unmoving. Unsure.

Dad tells her to jump.  He reassures it will be fine. That she will be safe.  That he would never let anything happen to her.

Doubt is a powerful entity.  Our Heavenly Father wants us to jump but often...

We need reassurance.
We need security.
We need proof
We need God to do something first.

And so we stand in the same place expressing our needs at the end of a great leap...

But need doesn't move God's heart.

"Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  A Gentile woman who lived there came to Him, pleading, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely." 

But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word.  Then His disciples urged Him to send her away. "Tell her to go away" they said. "She is bothering us with all her begging."

Then Jesus said to the woman, "It isn't right to take food away from the children and throw it to the dogs."

She replied, "That is true, Lord.  But even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath the Master's table."

"Dear woman," Jesus said to her, "your faith is great.  Your request is granted." And her daughter was instantly healed. (Matthew 15:21-28)

This Gentile woman needed for her daughter to be healed....she begged and pleaded.  And interesting enough, Jesus did not say a word to her.  Was He being mean spirited or cruel?  Of course not.  He was on task...doing what He had been sent to do...serve God's chosen people, the Israelites.  He knew He couldn't (and wasn't meant to) get to everyone who asked for His time. 

She persisted.  Crying her needs into the air...seeking reassurance...a guarantee...proof that miracles still happen.  She expressed her needs to God...but it wasn't what she said that made Jesus change His course of action.

IT WAS HER FAITH.

It wasn't what she needed that moved Christ...IT WAS WHAT SHE BELIEVED.

Faith is what God is looking for. Persistent and unshakable faith.  Belief that...

That the pool will be deep enough...
That your prayers will be strong enough...
That your God is strong enough...

God knew her needs...but it was FAITH that healed that little girl.

At the end of the Kodak commercial, the girl closes her eyes and jumps...trusting in the depth of the water and the words of her father.   Splashing down and quickly popping back up, she looks over to the deck she looks at her dad and tells him, "Let's do it again, daddy!"

God will always be enough. Don't doubt. And remember, God knows you needs before you even have them...but it's not His knowledge of the things you need that fixes things...

IT'S YOUR FAITH IN HIS ABILITY TO DO IT.

And when you take that leap and God catches you,  you will tell Jesus the same thing.....

"LET"S DO IT AGAIN!"

WHAT IS THE EMOTIONAL TONE OF YOUR FAMILY OR LIFE?

By Les Brown

Check yourself.  Just Stop! Take a moment and think before you act so that you are in control of yourself, your emotions, and your responses.  It is easy to justify unpleasant or rude behavior with excuses of being tired, overworked, and stressed.  Sometimes, we take out the irritations of the moment or the day out on our family, children, co-workers, or even the family dog or cat.  What is the emotional tone of your family or your  life? Is it harsh, cold, unforgiving, withdrawn, warm, loving, and embracing?

Take each day to generate new verbal and non-verbal responses that will allow you to build your capacity to be gentler, kinder, more compassionate, peaceful, and loving person.  This is a skillset that takes intentional rehearsal and practice - just like playing sports or working out.  If you find yourself acting out often out of irritation, anger, or even rage, reflect about what excuse you make OK to allow someone else to be the brunt of your bad attitude or worse - your bad behavior.  Decide that no excuse is worth the cost of emotional vomiting or venting public or private, especially on those you love.  Do the hard work and the heart work to hold yourself to a higher standard.  Raise the bar on yourself, your attitude, and your behavior.

CHOICES

By: Rick Psinakis

Chosen....Choices
 

I've heard those words a lot recently, and have been taught a lot about the meaning of them as well. Did you know that the average person makes more then 2500 decisions a day? Most of those of course are relatively simple and with little consequence. Which color to wear today, cereal or toast for breakfast, or in my case which donut? Easy right? Blue, cereal and one of each please.  Other decisions we make will be of a bit more importance and could change lives, ours and those of others today and perhaps for years to come. In fact, beyond just years, the choices we make could effect eternity itself and how, and where it is spent.

 

So, after getting dressed and having breakfast things are going to get a tad heavier around

here....maybe we should chose to stay in bed! Or, we could learn, believe and never forget that the most important choice has already been made.

 

God chose you!

 

You have been chosen by the Creator of the universe. He knew you before time itself (Ephesians 1:4-6), knit you together in your mothers womb (Psalms 139:13)and He has a plan for your life to prosper you, not to harm you and give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). You are His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10) and the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8).

 

 Yes, you are chosen!

You were created on purpose with a purpose. All that, and yet God still allows a free will in us, because choosing to love Him means so much more then being made to. Scripture says that we have a choice, between life and death. Seems simple enough right? So why do so many put it off, leaving it for what may very well be too late?

Chose life. Chose life now. Chose life forever.

 

The Bible says that if you confess your sins, ask for forgiveness and repent from those sins that you will have life and life eternal (1John 1:9)  Believe that God sent his only son, Jesus, to die for your sins, and that by the power of The Holy Spirit He rose from the grave that you might also live (John 3:16). When you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, God will send the same power that defeated the grave, the power of The Holy Spirit to live within you. You will start a journey that will take you places beyond your wildest dreams and imagination.

Ok, so now that that is taken of, it is time to get down to the business of allowing that power within you to start shaping your choices!

The Spirit will begin to nudge your mind and heart to do things that before you were born again you may not have even considered long enough to bother to make an excuse to get out of. But know this, the Holy Spirit will always lead you to what is good. You may not know right away who, what or how your choice to be obedient will affect you or others or even the final outcome, but prayerfully considered decisions will always be blessed.

 

As I said earlier, I have heard a lot about being chosen and choices recently. I also had mentioned that I learned about them as well. Part of what I learned was to get out of my comfort zone, remain obedient and share this experience, with no one in particular but to the very ones, who through absolutely no coincidence, happen to be reading it now.

 

I made my decision for life many years ago, and most certainly in the time since, God has blessed me with the most wonderful people in my life. Through their many choices for good that they made, I am now at a point where God has used me in a way that I never thought He would. Even a simple choice to introduce people, making that connection that God will use later can be life changing as it was for the One God used to get this whole party started!

 

To fast forward now through a few blessed years...Choices were made by someone to contact me, to call, visit and even drive a sick friend, Greg, to his doctor's appointments and chemo treatments. When she felt that nudge, she could have easily dismissed it, not wanting to bother me, or leave it for me to hear for myself. She didn't though. She took her chances and was obedient to the call on her heart. While at peace with her decision, she could not have realized what God was doing behind the scenes. I was glad to help, but neither did I realize what God was up to.

 

Choices were made by others to bring our mens group meeting to our friends hospital room one Tuesday night instead of the usual meeting place. Again, The Holy Spirit leading them to what is good, and again not aware of the greater good that was yet to come. More nudging and more good choices as a few from men from the church went to visit him. As the chit chat turned into prayer, one of the men asked Greg if he had accepted Jesus into his life. He replied that he wasn't really sure but wanted to do it privately, maybe after the church service on Sunday. And now on that Sunday, I was given a choice. At Greg's request, do I leave work early and pick him up to drive him to our church service?

 

While I can still remember a time when I would have made an excuse not to bother, I can now say that by the grace of God this was an easy decision. It was no big deal, right?, Not even imagining what would happen next, this was just going to be a simple ride to church, right? Not so much.

 

When I got Greg's, he was in no shape to get to church. The cancer that had been ravaging his body and brought him into the care of hospice was winning this battle. But Greg would not lose the war! Soon after I had arrived, Greg told me that he never formally accepted Jesus and wanted to be saved! He asked me to pray with him and for him.

 

God showed up and showed off that morning!

 

The Holy Spirit came and filled the room and Greg's heart with a peace that surpasses all understanding as well as my heart too. As much as God prepared me for this, being used in this way seems and is overwhelming, and even as it has yet to fully sink in, I know that I know that I know that this choice, that was years in the making was every bit for His glory. I am humbled and honored at the same time and I cant wait to see what He has for me next !

 

Make that first choice, accept Jesus in your life, then live that life for Him and Him alone. Then take the next step and show the world that you are a chosen one through baptism. Open your mind and hearts to The Holy Spirit as He lives in you and guides you to good and godly choices. Choices just like the ones that lead to heaven celebrating and opening its gates for Greg.

 

Greg lived just one more week here in His peace, but is now be with his Savior and God in paradise forever.

 

What will you chose to do today?