Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Love and Grace (09/11/14)
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TITLE: Scarfing The Frosting, Rejecting The Cake | Previous Challenge Entry
By Judith Gayle Smith-Owens Vitouswykegardinerclark
09/18/14 -
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I lack the grace to permit him to continue. I want to believe his incredible display of love, but I am cynical as to his true motives. I can endure but a few moments of his slobbery warm tongue. Growing frantic, this intense little fellow will grab my sleeve and lasciviously eye my upper arm with unspeakable desire.
How does this display of puppy love compare to my love for Jesus? What am I praying to receive from Him with my incessant howling cries for His help? The enabling power of His grace, or just to fulfill my desire of the moment?
I cling to Him, appropriating His wondrous grace to enable this tired old body to serve Him faithfully, without grumbling complaints. Just arising every morning requires His strengthening grace. I feel His empowering love flowing through the weakened frame that houses my soul, freeing me from the resentments, selfishness, poor me self pity and grief over situations otherwise impossible to overcome.
Because Jesus loves me, He gifts me with His perfecting enablement to walk in His righteousness, clearing the thorny path to bask in God’s perfect love. Is this grace automatic? Do we all experience this loving gift of grace? Or must we constantly beg Him to help us survive each day?
God hears our prayers – even the prayers we cannot define, as His Holy Spirit prays for us when we are unable or unwilling to offer to Him when we bathe in our doldrums, selfishly serving ourselves, unwilling to love beyond our frail forms.
God does love us, but do we truly love and serve Him? We can, if we are desirous to live righteously, holy through His perfect enabler, Jesus, the Christ. Our “works” are weak, allowing us to flounder like a fish out of water. Only what is done through the Christ will last. Why? Because we lack His Spirit, intensifying our prayers for selfish reasons and not His purpose to return us to our holy Father.
I am an imperfect being – a sinner truly redeemed by His grace. His love for God draws us foolish creatures to cling to the grace Jesus wishes to gift us with, perfecting us for His purpose and pleasure. His Holy Spirit instructs us, His Word encourages us, teaching us what pleases our Father. Do we truly love God? Are we willing to obey Him? Gasp. Does this entail works? Faith without works is dead, being alone. Constantly beseeching His love and power without our willingness to sacrifice our prideful desires is akin to scarfing the frosting and rejecting the cake.
What does God want and expect from us? To fear Him and keep His commandments. Simple – if we have His enabling grace to love God. Yes, we need help loving God, because our all too human flesh resists obedient unselfishness.
Dearest Father – thank you for your magnificent sacrifice, your loving and obedient Son Jesus, the Christ. If we attempt depending on our own self-righteousness to enter your holy Kingdom, we will be sorely disappointed. We must make the decision to repent of our sins, both known and unknown, and cry out for the incredible grace offered to us through Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection. Thank you Lord, for raising Jesus from the dead, and offering this wonderful opportunity to experience the same because of Your holy Love for Him, and for us unworthy but very grateful believers, stumbling through grace, but propped up by His faith . . .
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The Author’s noteworthy notes:
2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV
Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV
James 4:6 KJV
Ephesians 2:8 KJV
Romans 11:6 KJV
Romans 6:14 KJV
1 Corinthians 15:10 KJV
Romans 5:8 KJV
2 Peter 3:9 KJV
Colossians 4:2-6 KJV
2 Timothy 4:22 KJV
Isaiah 40:31 KJV
Hebrews 5:9 KJV
Ephesians 2:1-22 KJV
Romans 3:24 KJV
Colossians 2:2 KJV
1 Timothy 6:17 KJV
Romans 6:16 KJV
Romans 3:20-24 KJV
Matthew 5:45 KJV
Hebrews 4:16 KJV
Romans 6:4 KJV
Acts 2:1-47 KJV
1 Peter 5:5 KJV
1 Peter 3:7 KJV
1 Corinthians 12:9 KJV
John 1:14 KJV
Job 42:1-6 KJV
Numbers 6:25 KJV
Titus 1:1-16 KJV
Romans 6:2 KJV
John 3:16 KJV
Luke 1:1-80 KJV
Jude 1:4 KJV
Some scripture references/categories courtesy of Open Bible .info under CC BY 3.0
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Your piece was overflowing with good questions and descriptions of grace.
I especially liked the prayer you gave at the end.
Thanks for including that!
God bless~