THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST I

"Costly grace...is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Grace I

Today is the first day of fifth month of the year 2015, our year of triple grace. It is therefore in the direction of that all-important subject matter to which we must turn. When we say the benediction, many times we declare, "THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST…rest and abide with us now and for evermore, Amen." Yet folks know next to nothing by experience about that grace, not a few.

D.L. Moody once told a story, "Once, I preached about grace and when I got through I asked anyone who would like to hear more about grace - who had any interest in it, to remain. I expected some would have stayed, but to my amazement, the whole congregation rose up and went away. They hadn't any interest in grace; they didn't want to learn anything about grace. I put my coat and hat on and was going out of the hall, when I saw a poor fellow at the back of the furnace crying. "I want to hear about the grace of God," said he. "You're the man I want, then," said I. "Yes," the poor fellow said, "you said in your sermon that it was free, and I want you to tell me something about it." Well, I got to talking to him, and he told me a pitiful story. He had drank away twenty

HUSH, BE STILL I

"The quieter you become, the more you can hear." - Ram Dass

Hush

A farmer realized he had lost his watch in the barn. It was no ordinary watch because it had sentimental value for him. After searching unsuccessfully among the hay for days; he gave up and enlisted the help of a group of children who usually played, outside the barn. Promising to reward whoever found it first. With this, the children raced into the barn. They went through and around the entire stack of hay in there, but couldn't find it. Just when the farmer was about to give up looking, one other little boy went up to him and asked to look again. The farmer looked at him and thought, "Why not? After all, there's no harm in trying."

So he sent the little boy back in the barn. After a while he emerged - with the watch in his palm! The farmer was both happy and surprised. He asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed. The boy replied, "All I had to do was, sit still on the hay and listen. In the silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction."

WHAT'S GOING ON?

"The United States is falling away from the very things that had made it what it was. What it is becoming is something to be feared..." - Adam Bradford

INTL

Kenneth Hagin said in his book - I Believe in Visions - "Judgement came, and judgement is yet to come. The only thing that can save America (and the world - emphasis mine) from the judgement of God is genuine repentance - a turning to God." This is not about America but a wake-up call. A reminder. It's something to ponder. You know, food for thought. Looking around today, in the news, on the streets in your neighbourhood, you see and hear of things that make the ears tingle. These are all signs.

For instance with Obama talking about limiting church services to twice weekly, because according to him, "Americans are praying more instead of working more." And you hear news about the first ever 'head transplant' at a Hospital in South Africa. Meanwhile the news on the Xenophobic attacks is still fresh. In Nepal a natural disaster claims lives. While, in San Francisco, I read a post about the Catholics there, writing a letter to God, asking him to remove Jesus from the trinity. In their open letter to God, Jesus critics say his morality-clause push, is not only mean-spirited but, that it also "sets a pastoral tone that is closer to persecution than evangelization."

LOST YOUR LEFT ARM?

"Good, Understand, Words
Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses." - Marilyn vos Savant 

Left Arm

A ten year-old boy had lost his left arm in a car accident, but he began lessons with an old Judo master. So he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training he'd been taught only one move.
"Master," the boy said, "Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?"
"This is the only move you know, and will ever need to know." the master replied.
Months later, the boy. Went for his first tournament. Surprisingly, he easily won his first two matches, and even though the third was difficult - yet with his one move - he won, and was in the finals. His opponent this time was bigger, stronger, and more experienced: the boy appeared to be over matched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the master intervened. "No, let him continue." replied the master. Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. And the boy used his one move to pin him. He'd won. He was the new champion. On the way home, the boy asked.
"How did I win with only one move?"
"You won for two reasons," replied his master.

WILL YOU ACCEPT IT?

"For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Once upon a time, long ago, there lived an old warrior. One afternoon, a younger warrior - known for his complete lack of manners - arrived his compound: this young warrior had never lost a fight. Hearing of the older warrior's reputation, he'd come to defeat the old warrior and increase his fame. All his students were against the idea, but the old man accepted the challenge. They gathered at the town square, and just then the young warrior began to release a barrage of verbal assault on the old master. He threw a few rocks at him, and spat in his face. For hours, he did everything to provoke the old warrior, but to no avail. This young warrior got upset. Feeling humiliated, he left. Disappointed, the students asked:
"How could you bear such indignity? Why didn’t you use your sword, even knowing you might lose the fight, instead of displaying your cowardice in front of us all?"
"If someone comes to you with a gift, and you refuse it, what then happens?" asked the old warrior.