A Gift From God

Grace Gift
Grace


For by grace I have been saved through faith.
And this is not my own doing;
it is the gift of God.
{Ephesians 2:8}  

 Grace means to get something that you do not deserve; unmerited favor. Mercy means you do not get a punishment that you deserve; God is abundant in grace and mercy.

 

 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:16

Love Shine

Grace Gift
HIS Light

John 8:12 Then spoke Jesus again to them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

                                            

                          

How majestic you are.
You paint the sky in darkness, 

sprinkled with stars,

 

then,

oh so gently,
one ray of sunlight after another,
You usher in daylight,
and the hope of a new beginning.

 With you,

  each day is a new beginning.

With You,

each moment overflows with hope.

You are the light of the world.
You dispel darkness.

May Your love shine bright in me today.
Together, may we dispel darkness and
oh so gently,
one ray of hope after another,
usher in Your light,

illuminating this world with the light of Your love.
In Jesus' precious name,
Amen~

After April Showers

Grace Gift
Flowers, flowers and more flowers.

Luke 12: 27-28: “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you …”

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. (Revelation 4: 11)

ONE beautiful flower, I might be able to overlook. But hundreds upon hundreds, all intricately-formed, with the same basic pattern, yet each completely individual? I find myself thinking: How is it possible that God would flood a PLANT with so much beauty? And if He is willing to do that with a plant, how much more would He be willing to do that with a human life?  

“THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S, AND EVERYTHING IN IT, THE WORLD, AND ALL WHO LIVE IN IT

FOR HE FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS AND ESTABLISHED IT UPON THE WATERS.” (PSALM 24:1-2)

 

I marvel at the precision of each flower. How could anyone imagine that this was not divinely created?

Why did God create so many different flowers? I wonder if it’s because He wanted to show us that His power, His mercies, His blessings, His mind, and His creativity know no bounds? He is capable of “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).

 When we think that we’ve seen all the blessings He has to give, we haven’t. There’s always infinitely more that God is capable of giving. And when we can’t imagine that there is anything other than what we currently see before our eyes, we are wrong, because God’s divine imagination and vision far exceed ours, and He sees possibilities even where we see none.

 Look at a flower through eyes searching for a Designer. It won't be difficult to find evidence for it.

 Was God concerned only with creating a world that would be useful to us, or did He care about beauty as well? Genesis 2:9 records that God created trees that were "pleasing to the eye and good for food". Ours is a God who cares not only about feeding us physically, but also about feeding us spiritually.

 

“I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32: 27)

  This just looks like God opened up His paintbox one day, intent on capturing a burst of joy in a flower.

 “FOR BY HIM [JESUS] ALL THINGS WERE CREATED: THINGS IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH, VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE … ALL THINGS WERE CREATED BY HIM AND FOR HIM.” (COLOSSIANS 1:16)

 What a wonderful design!

 Nature's little Chinese lanterns?

 This is one I couldn't conjure up if I tried. I can't believe how intricately and perfectly formed this is.

 Ezekiel 34:26
I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.

Thank You, Lord, thank You for sharing Your beauty with us.

---

The Blessings Of Rain

Grace Gift
Rain

Psalm 147:8
He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.

As I watch the clouds build, my own heart cries out for clouds of it's own.
Clouds to shade.
Clouds to rain down.

I hear thunder in the distance and smile.  It it music to my ears.
This rumbling, it is more than the sound of an approaching storm, it is the sound of hope.

Tiny droplets of water now dot my windowpane. I unlatch the lock and slide up the glass.
And, I breathe in. 

I inhale deeply and allow the moisture infused air to seep into every part of me.
Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh.

Right on time, Lord. 
How we needed this rain.

From the corner of my heart, a tear begins to form. 
Gratitude overflowing, watering the parched soil of my heart.

You are so good, Father. 
You're blessings have no end. 

Your faithfulness reaches to the Heavens,
then, overflowing with grace, 
your love rains down.

As it falls we are

 refreshed,

 revived,

 renewed.

I watch as a hummingbird waltzes with one raindrop, then another, and another.
Fluttering his wings, the water spurs him on.
Twirling here, diving there.
He feels it, too.
This blessing of rain.

Heavenly love,

Fatherly care,

Godly provision,

sent in the blessing of showers.

 I feel it, too.
This blessing of rain.

Heavenly sweetness,

Fatherly embrace,

Godly indwelling,

sent in the blessing of showers.

Like The Highest Mountain

Grace Gift
His faithful love.

Psalm 36 : 5-6
Yahweh, Your faithful love
reaches to heaven,
Your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is
like the highest mountain...


Yahweh, Your faithful love
reaches to heaven,

Your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righteousness is
like the highest mountain...

Lifting my eyes, I know where my help comes from — this God, who made heaven and earth.  His strength begins to hold my heart and it is lighter within me. I choose to open up this day to Him, knowing His goodness unchanged, and He begins to shine His light into the dusty corners. The emptiness begins to fill with peace that I couldn’t find for myself.
Trusting in His unfailing love, I will not be shaken.

Every promise here, every redeeming hope – it is mine and it is yours. I don’t know if you ever feel despair on your heels, your heart growing heavy – but, if you do, choose praise. Choose trust. Maybe change won’t feel instantaneous, but trust anyway. Because He promised to take the spirit of despair and replace it with a garment of praise. He promised that His joy will be our strength. Sometimes we have to stop clinging to the familiar garments of darkness, letting go and lifting our hands to Him, letting Him take the sorrow and wrapping us instead in His light. Sometimes He lets us walk in the heaviness, knowing how our faith is strengthened when we can understand that He is sovereign in the good and the bad. But the night will not last forever. He always brings morning, in His time, and with it – joy.