A Word About Grace
I've been thinking about, and meditating on the concept of grace for a few days. What I've learned is nothing new or revelatory. But it IS good.
Grace: noun. The freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
Let's look a little deeper and examine what a couple of the words in this definition mean.
Unmerited: Causeless, groundless, unjustified, undeserved.
Favor: Granted out of good will. Approved.
"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions (sin), it is by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:4-5He loves us so much. He GAVE us grace, when we did not deserve it. And He is continually showing us grace in our lives.
When we fail, when we make mistakes, when we don't even try...He gives us grace.
When our faith is small, and are doubts are large...He gives us grace.
We don't deserve it. We certainly can't earn it. It is a gift. And a gift from God should not be taken lightly.
So then, what should we do with this gift of grace He has freely given us?
I know I have opportunities on a daily basis (literally!) to practice giving grace.
How about you? Can you give favor, love and approval to someone who, in your eyes, is undeserving? It won't be easy. But by the grace of God, I think we can do it.
No Fear
Life has its ups and downs. Happy moments and sad, peaceful moments and times of stress. We all experience them at one time or another. Right?
Well, this particular snapshot in time is a rather stressful one at my house. It isn't anything that we won't survive. But it isn't easy either. Treading water is exhausting. There just comes a time when you get so tired, you just want to give up and go ahead and sink. But the instinct for survival is too strong, and so you keep struggling.
In times like these, we turn to our Father God and He is always there to comfort and guide us. Sometimes though, it seems as if He is silent. And this is one of those times.
Yesterday while praying and seeking Him, He reminded me of this scripture:
You may have noticed the part that stood out to me the most. "They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD." I love that. It doesn't say "They will never hear any bad news..." it says they will not be afraid when they hear it. We are not exempt from bad things happening in our lives, but we don't have to be afraid when they do happen. Our hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.1 Praise the LORD.
Blessed are those who fear the LORD,
who find great delight in his commands.
2 Their children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
6 Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
they will be remembered forever.
7 They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
8 Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
Psalm 112:1-8
In pondering this, a picture came to mind of a child who is perhaps playing outside when a thunderstorm hits. The child becomes frightened, and what is the first thing he does? He runs to his Dad, who has been right there watching all along. He jumps into Daddy's arms and hides his face in his shoulder. And Dad just holds him. With Daddy's strong arms wrapped around him, he knows that he doesn't have to be afraid. The thunder isn't going away. But he is safe in Daddy's arms.
And that's where I am today. The thunder may roar, but I am safe in my Father's arms, and I am not afraid of anything. It's a peaceful, comforting place to be.
I highly recommend it.
A Warning
Have you ever had one of those moments in a relationship when it just seems as if the words coming from the person you're talking to don't make any sense? Maybe it feels like they are attacking you and you don't understand why. Maybe you are the one doing the attacking.I think this is a tactic that our enemy (the devil) uses to distract us. I truly believe that he somehow can take the words we say, and garble them up just before they reach the recipient. They will be twisted just enough to cause confusion, anger or hurt. My husband and I have had situations like these, when we seemingly cannot communicate with each other, and yet neither one of us understands why the other is being so difficult. We seem to be in two different dimensions and we can't come together and make sense of anything being said.
Here is why it happens:
"For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens." Ephesians 6:12
AND
"Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour." 1 Peter 5:8
It's very hard to recognize when you're in the middle of it, but we've got to remember that our loved ones, friends, even strangers we encounter are not the enemy. The Devil is the enemy. And he doesn't follow the rules of fair fighting. There is no Geneva Convention for him. He will hit us any way we let him and I think he particularly enjoys destroying relationships.
Jesus said:
“Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as harmless as doves.” Matthew 10:28As much as we can, we must be aware, alert and not blind to the Devil's schemes. If we aren't aware of his tactics, how can we fight back?
Let this be a reminder to all of us that we should never be guilty of fighting against flesh and blood. Sure, there are times when we have disagreements. But when it doesn't feel right, when you KNOW something weird is going on - remember this:
"The weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds." 2 Corinthians 10:4
Be alert and don't let the enemy catch you off guard. He wants to destroy relationships, and he's good at it. Don't let him! If you find yourself in an odd situation, that doesn't make sense, take a moment to look at things from a spiritual perspective and then fight back.
Just make sure you are fighting the right enemy.
Questions:
Maybe I'm the only one who has ever found myself in these types of situations. I would love to hear from you if you have ever found yourself in one of those situations where the argument seems to come from nowhere and doesn't make any sense.
Have you ever been able to recognize the enemy at work in one of these situations and been able to stop it before damage was done?
What ways have you found to fight back?
Reply here or on my Facebook page: facebook.com/angiesnotes
What's So Good About Good Friday?
I never have liked the term "Good Friday".
Good Friday is the day that Christians choose to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made. It was a bloody, torturous, vicious, murder.
But just because it was horrific, from our perspective, doesn't mean that on a much, much deeper level, it wasn't good.
Here's the explanation, in a nutshell.
It all goes back to the fact that God keeps His word. When He created Adam and Eve He gave them a choice. Obey Him or don't.
But if they chose not to obey, there would be consequences. They would be forever separated from Him by death. We're not talking about physical death, necessarily. We're talking about spiritual death. Complete separation from all that is good.
Well, Adam and Eve were deceived into believing that God surely would not follow through and keep His word. These are people who literally walked with God. Can you imagine? And yet they chose to take the chance that their disobedience would NOT cause spiritual death and separation from Him.
And they were wrong.
So now what? The companions that God created, His friends, betrayed and turned their backs on Him. They chose eternal separation from Him- to satisfy a desire for temporary fulfillment. Little did they know that their choice would not only affect themselves, but everyone that followed them...for generations to come.
God was heartbroken. His own friends had rejected Him.
He could not, would not, go back on His word. Yet He could not bear the thought of being separated from His people.
Enter: Jesus. The third person of the Godhead. The part of God Himself that would take human form and because only He could do it, take responsibility for the choices of mankind. By dying an actual physical death, and shedding His holy, perfect blood, He fulfilled His word, taking our place and restoring our relationship with God.
He didn't have to do it. He could have just annihilated us all and started over.
But He didn't. Because He is good.
He chose to give Himself up in our place. And that sacrifice was for each and every one of us. So when you hear Christians talking about Jesus "dying for our sins". This is what they are talking about.
And that's why "Good Friday" is good.
Have a blessed Easter weekend...
-Angie
www.facebook.com/angiesnotes
Be Prepared....
For the last several days, I have had multiple "encounters" with people, or have read about encounters with people who are not only unbelievers, but have made it their mission to mock God and those who serve Him.
One article I read spoke of a "rally" that an atheist group held in order to "come out" and announce to the world that they are no longer "afraid" to proclaim their (un)belief. However, their "rally" turned into a mockfest where they actually encouraged each other to mock and make fun of Christians. You can read the article HERE.
I suppose this should come as no surprise, Jesus told us this would happen.
But I admit, I was angered and hurt when I read about that rally and when, in the very same week, I encountered a person who was very viciously taunting another Christian, I wanted to take a stand. I wanted to "defend" the faith."People will hate you, shut you out, insult you, and say you are evil because you follow the Son of Man. But when they do, you will be blessed. Be full of joy at that time, because you have a great reward in heaven. Their ancestors did the same things to the prophets." -Luke 6:22-23
While there isn't anything wrong with "defending" the faith, we as Christians have got to be careful, and follow Jesus' example. When He, the King of Kings, was mocked, beaten and crucified, He did not defend Himself. Because when you're right, but the world is blind to it, there is no point to defending yourself, because they won't see the truth.
1 Corinthians 2:14 states:
"A person who does not have the Spirit does not accept the truths that come from the Spirit of God. That person thinks they are foolish and cannot understand them, because they can only be judged to be true by the Spirit."So what are we to do? Just keep our mouths shut and let them carry on? Not necessarily, but we must proceed with caution. The first thing we need to do is study. We need to be certain of what we believe in. We can't defend our faith if we don't understand it ourselves.
"Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth." -2 Timothy 2:15Next, we need to practice. Practice giving an answer. Practice living a life that is an example of a Godly life. Be prepared to share your faith, when the Holy Spirit nudges you that the timing is right, and be able to do it with gentleness and respect.
"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." -1 Peter 3:15Be aware, that as time passes and we approach the "last days", even many Christians will be confused and led astray.
"God's Spirit clearly says that in the last days many people will turn from their faith. They will be fooled by evil spirits and by teachings that come from demons. They will also be fooled by the false claims of liars whose consciences have lost all feeling." -1 Timothy 4:1-2This is all the more reason we need to study and be prepared. I don't want to be one of those who is led astray. And the enemy is extremely good at deception. Many people become deceived because he takes a bit of truth and twists it just enough to make it a lie. Don't believe everything you hear, even if it comes from someone you trust. ALWAYS check it with the word of God.
We need to understand what we believe and who we believe in. And remember Jesus' words:
"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirit) to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. But every spirit who does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist; you have heard that he is coming, and he is already in the world now. You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." -1 John 4:1-4With this in mind, my next few blogs will be on the subject of "Apologetics" which simply means, "defending the faith". No- we aren't going to have rallies and accost people on the street and konk them on the head with our Bibles.
But we ARE going to be ready to answer them when the moment is right!
Can you guess my inspiration for this poem?
I wrote this poem years ago, for fun, and thought of it this morning.
Can you guess what poem inspired it and who the author of that poem is? (My oldest daughter knows the answer, but she's not allowed to say unless nobody else guesses!)
Post your guesses on my Facebook Page Angie's Notes.
There’s an unseen kingdom far away
Yet evermore has been
Where no dark thing can ever stay
No evil dwell within
The castle boasts of golden spires
A courtyard shimmering
And luminous waves of glorious light
As from the dawn revealing
From the meadows green and lush
A tranquil breeze doth blow
And murmur through the trees and hush
The trickling streams that flow
And all around this peaceful place
The sound of children singing
Echoes as they laugh and play
The towering trees repeating
Now seated in the inner court
The master of this place
High above he sits enthroned
In majesty and grace
He rules supreme from sea to sea
Merciful and just
And with a word created He
Life formed from the dust
Robed in white, with kingly crown
His glory fills the chamber
And beings heavenly surround
And praise His name forever
And evermore throughout this land
His praises shall be heard there
For darkness He has overcome
And triumphed o’er forever
Now standing for He hears the call
At last the time has come
His bride awaits Him, He will rise
And bring her to His home
With thunderous voice and eyes of fire
He beckons to her “Come”
A gown of glistening white she wears
She’s ready for her groom
And as she enters thru portals gated
Breaks forth thunderous applause
For many years they have awaited
This hour to come to at last
And banquet there prepared for them
Like none has e’er before
And celebration now begins
To last forevermore
© 2001 Angie Dutton
Lesson from a Ballerina
This morning I was reminded of something God taught me a long time ago.
Several years ago I was playing with my church worship team at a Women's Conference in Prineville, Oregon. During worship several of the women came forward and were dancing and worshiping. One of them had an obvious disability and her dancing was not graceful or beautiful, but clumsy and I even worried that she might hurt herself. But as she danced with great sincerity and passion, God gave me a tiny glimpse of what He sees when He looks at us. I saw for just a brief moment (in my mind) this same woman, but now she was dressed in a beautiful, white, flowing ballerina's tutu. She was twirling, swaying, and dancing gracefully and majestically.
And God said- "I don't see my children as they are... I see them as they will be."
Fast forward to this morning. I was lamenting (again) the fact that my songs, to me, are amateur and not well done. I keep wishing I could get someone to help me make them better. The heart is there, and the message is powerful, but I know that when more professional people hear them, they probably say, "Oh bless her heart. She's trying so hard."
But I was reminded this morning of that ballerina.
Today, I am that woman.
I write, sing and record my songs with sincerity and passion and though they may in our eyes be "clumsy", in God's eyes they are beautiful. And He IS using them to accomplish HIS purpose. He keeps trying to tell me to stop worrying about what others think and just keep doing what I'm doing. He keeps encouraging me to write, sing, record, listen to Him and be obedient.
And because I know Him, because I trust Him, I will keep doing what I'm doing.
Because in His eyes, I'm a ballerina.
For some reason...an oldie.
This morning, I randomly (or was it not that random?) remembered a song I wrote back in the 90's. It's called "He Knows" I might have to "resurrect" this song, since I think God brought it to mind for a reason. I've been trying really hard to listen to His direction and I can't imagine why this song just suddenly popped into my head, other than the fact that He wants me to share it. So without further ado....
"He Knows"
You're so tired of fighting
You want to give in
You feel just like hiding
From the hurt that you're in
But just keep holding on
There is One who hears your cry
And as He's promised,
He's with you all the time
He knows your pain
He knows your heart
He knows your name
He knows who you are
and He knows what you need
and He hears your cry
Trust in the Lord
He knows!
You're never alone
Draw strength from His word
The Father is watching
And He heals every hurt
When you feel you can't go on
Just remember whose child you are
and lay your burdens
in the hands that are nail scarred!
He knows your pain
He knows your heart
He knows your name
He knows who you are
and He knows what you need
and He hears your cry
Trust in the Lord
He knows!
Copyright 1995 Angie Dutton
The Clock's Ticking...
A few months ago, I wrote about the above quote and how it affected me."Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of
succeeding at things in life that don't matter."
-Francis Chan, from his book Crazy Love
I am sad to say, that I still haven't mastered the balancing act. For almost everything I do, is for my own enjoyment and fulfillment. If I become successful at these things I spend so much time doing, what have I accomplished in the end that really matters?
Of all the things I spend time on, how many of them actually matter in the grand scheme of things?
How much time am I spending on things that don't matter?
Too much.
Still too much. Even after challenging myself months ago. I am still fighting with myself over how to better spend my time.
How about you? Take a look at your life. Think about your time and how you spend it.
be successful at things that don't matter?
We only have a small amount of time here on this planet. Time spent gratifying ourselves is wasted time. Don't get me wrong- we have to make time to relax and recharge. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about priorities.
Are you spending you precious moments on things that matter?
A Psalm
"Please, God! Please! We are desperate! We need Your touch on us, Jesus! Please fill us with Your presence, God! Fill our empty cups! We need You! We are wearing thin, Jesus. There is no way we can continue our journey without You. Hold us in Your arms, God, never let go. Keep Your hands cupped, with us perfectly placed inside.
Keep us safe from this world. We know this is not our home. We long to see Your face, Jesus.
We need Your comfort and mercy.
Pour into our lives and never stop! Overflow us with Your unfailing love!
We are broken, God! Fix our hearts and our bodies and our spirits, God! Our hearts are Yours completely. You are our father. Our friend. Our comforter. Our light. Our strength. Our breath! Let us bask in Your glory like a lizard basks in Your glorious sun.
God heal our minds from the putrid things this world has shoved inside, God. Keep us warm in this dark, cold place. Be our light in the darkness, the lamp unto our feet. Keep us wrapped in You and keep us surrounded by You!
Fill us with a crazy intense peace we have never encountered. Don’t let us slip away. Don’t let worldly things pull us away. Keep our minds and our thoughts pure, God.
You are unrelenting! Fill us with a fear of You, God!
You are our protector. Our healer. Our shelter. Our safe place, God. Our refuge. Please, Jesus. We need Your love. We are hungry for more of You. We cannot satisfy our thirst and hunger without You, God. We will sooner starve than worship anyone else.
You are OUR GOD. Creator of the universe! You made the stars! The planets! The beautiful things we see every day that we take so much for granted, God. The beautiful things You have made..You have created them to fade away with time. You God, You will NEVER fade!
You are our strong tower. Our deliverer. The bread of life! Our commander. Our counselor. Our consuming fire. You are faithful. You are our foundation. You are a gentle whisper. You are our guide. You are our hope. Our redeemer. Our living water! Our leader. You are mercy. You are power. You are righteous. Our Savior. Our teacher! You are the truth. The only way!
You are GOD and You will NEVER come up short."
Marissa Dutton
- age 15