Isn’t that just like God? He takes the bad and makes it good, always for our benefit. The punishment and torture that brought Him pain, was for our peace! His pierced hands and feet ~ His crushed body and spirit, was for our healing. Step into His peace and claim it! Walk in it and find healing and forgiveness.
Isaiah 53: 4,5
“Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”
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♫❤♫❤♫❤B L E S S I N G S
Of the Cross♫❤♫❤♫
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Sometimes we just try too hard to do it right in this life ~ to make the mark and to succeed before God. God says we don’t have to do that! It’s not about the good we do or the bad we don’t do! We don’t have to try so hard because it isn’t about us and how good or bad we’ve been, but rather how can we glorify God in our living “now” before Him! “Living For Him is evidence of our “Faith in Him”! It’s about His grace covering us when we don’t. Has His forgiveness made a difference in your life? Have you met Him at the cross, where mercy and justice meet? Have you taken care of that crucial request and that awesome opportunity for the good of your own soul? Have you believed His words and accepted His Salvation plan for your life? That’s your beginning! From there it’s a journey onward; the ‘journey’ into spiritual maturity of renewed heart and mind only begin at the moment of salvation! It’s not an instant growth pattern and it’s not the same for everyone. It takes time for the baggage to drop and Growth to happen and God’s grace is there to cover the slip ups, the baggage that we hang on to and the missed marks that we don’t have to strive for. We can never make up for all of those and He knows that! Our success is measured not by what we do or don’t do, but by allowing God’s grace to cover the faults as we persevere in this
“Faith” / “Grace” journey … Even when… Even if… Even though… ♥ ♥ ♥
Ephesians 2:8-9
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Oh those giants are huge aren’t they? Those things that haunt us and taunt us, hunting us down ruthlessly! The enemies appear out of nowhere and just hang out in our houses like skeletons in the closet, our backyards and anywhere we go. They hang over our heads and over our days like tons of heavy weight pressing in from every angle; around and beside, before and behind. We try to escape them by running but they head us off at the pass, distract us at the crossroads, sideswipe us, and beat us to our destination!!! How did they do that?? Simply because they are us and they lurk in our weaknesses and in our unforgiving spirit. They’re powerful in our strongholds, and because the enemy is within and hangs about in our attitude and our thoughts, running isn’t the answer because every problem tags along.
So then, what is? How do we defeat the dreadful giants in our life? How do we come against them? David had five smooth stones, It only took one smooth stone of faith in His one true God to bring down the giant that stood before him. I wonder if he felt a pang of nervousness or doubt ~ just before battle? Most likely he did and most likely you will too if you decide to tackle that stronghold that lives with you and plagues you relentlessly day and night or creeps in on occasion to rile you and bring you down in defeat! But you can do it, if you go before it in the Name of the one True God and a smooth stone of faith! The battle isn’t yours but Gods. He’s got your back and your best interest at heart! He’s won! He’s the winner! He’s the champion of champions and the victor over death. With Him on your side and your smooth stone of faith in Him…how can you lose?
1 Samuel 17:45 “David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”
1 Samuel 17:47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”
So you missed the mark? It’s ok! There’s God’s grace for that!
Ahh, that unconditional love that God gives is a blessing isn’t it? Aren’t you so thankful for it on the days when you feel you’ve missed the mark and it really doesn’t matter what others think anyway, it’s really about how God sees you! Even though you feel tossed, wrecked and blown about in the winds of chaotic guilt storms ~ God sees you beautiful and lovely. Ahh, yes He does! He overlooks the mark we missed and covers us with ~ that precious mercy and sweet grace of forgiveness again! Why are we so reluctant to accept it? It’s always there to meet us and cover us even in our most down of down moments. It’s always there for the worries that took over, the doubts that crept in, the fear filled moments where faith didn’t surface ~ no ~ not even for a second, and where temptation was stronger than our self-discipline.
There are so many crafty and subtle things the enemy uses to set us up, catching us in the trap of guilt ~ making us believe the lie that we’re not good enough for any good at all~ especially for any good things that God has to offer. Yet, that’s exactly what God had in mind for His created people with His plan of salvation wrapped in awesome, unconditional love. Christ, The cross, the shed blood, the grave, the resurrection and the victory over death. It’s what He came for and It’s yours! It’s mine! It’s ours for the asking and receiving of it. Look to the cross ~ it’s there for our salvation for this journey of “now” life and “Life Everlasting” and it’s there when we miss the marks along the way. Step into that peace!
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe on Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
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♫❤♫❤♫❤B L E S S I N G S♫❤♫❤♫
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Hope and Healing In Hard Places 