Every Good and Pertect Gift Comes From the Father Above!

Grace, common grace, every good thing, enjoyment, pleasure, provision (food, clothing, cars, homes), blessings, ability (physical, mental, spiritual) is a result of the grace of God. All this flows from the fountain, God Himself, as His goodness overflows to His creation. How quickly I find myself filling up and living on all of these graces as if I thought they were from me, mine. Spending and being spent on drinking in these gracious gifts without acknowledgment of the fountain from which they flow.

Do you not know that you body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). I become so in love with living life and life itself, my affections find themselves wrapped around self enamored with the gifts and the glitter of worldliness that my eyes barely acknowledging my gracious Father, the generous giver of all good things.

Before you know it the chapters and years of life have passed by, they are gone and with it all the opportunities to expose and display His generosity to those around us. We spend our lives feasting on the gracious gifts of our father becoming so obese we can no longer move for Him. We are such consumers of His generous grace when we have been called to be stewards (1 Peter 4:10), stewards who house the grace of God looking for opportunity to pour that grace into the lives of those around us.

We spend our time hording this amazing grace, but such grace was never meant to be kept to itself. It is infinite and the more that we give, spread and display the more of its newness we receive. The Lord Jesus Himself said, 'it is more blessed to give than receive'.

Time and again scripture refers to God's children as vessels, clay pots, that everyday common tupper-ware container used for the meaningless. You never put left-over meatloaf in a tupper-ware container to stay for an eternity, it is put in there until the next opportunity that it might be taken out and nourish (if that is possible with meatloaf) some unsuspecting hunger pain.

Jonathan Edwards once said, 'For certainly God does not plant vines in His vineyard except for the fruit which He expects they should bring forth. He does not hire laborers into His vineyard but to do service. They who live only for themselves live in vain, and shall at last be cut down as cumerers of the earth'.

Instead of hording His grace for self I must live asking the question with earnestness what the Lord would have me to do with the genreous grace the He has given me, and then live with all my might spreading that generous grace to those around me in hopes that those around me become another conduit of God's gracious goodness.

Oh to be 'Born Again'

I was talking to a good friend this morning who has just become a dad for the first time and I was reminded of how amazing it is to be 'born again', to be brought from death to life, to have the hand of God give me a new heart that desires Him.

I remember when my son was born and how hard it was for that little guy to be pushed into this big old world. There was much anguish, pain, and blood as every ounce of energy that my wife could summon was put forth to bring in this life.

How tragic it has become when we take salvation, coming into right relationship with God and boil it down into some little prayer, or sing some heart warming song after a week of sleeplessness at camp. 'I have decided to follow Jesus'. It took the Sovereign power of the God of the universe to bring me to life. There was blood spilled as the Son of God was crushed and bruised for my sin as God's infinite eternal wrath was quenched that I might be reconciled, me a sinner to Holiness itself.

To be made alive in Christ, to be given new birth into the things of God, to be given a new heart of passons for ht things of the spirit, to be regenerated into a new creation is an impossibility outside of divine Sovereign power, wisdom, and love.

Amazing Love (And Can It Be)
Charles Wesley

And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, should die for me?

Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, should die for me?

He left His Father's throne above; so free, so infinite His grace!
Emptied Himself of all but love,and bled for Adam's helpless race!
'Tis mercy all, immense and free, for O my God, it found out me.

Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, should die for me?

Long my imprisoned spirit lay fast-bound in sin and nature's night.
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray; I woke-the dungeon flamed with light!
My chains fell off, my heart was free!
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee!

Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, should die for me?

No condemnation now I dread. Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head, and clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

'Amen!'