Wow! I recently watched Saving Private Ryan again and cannot get my mind off of it! I literally bawled at the end where Tom Hanks dies and his last words to Private Ryan were "Earn this!" Through my tears I said to Denny, who was watching with me, "How can anybody earn that?"
My mind quickly goes to the spiritually application of anyone trying to earn his way to Heaven after Jesus gave up His life for that very purpose. But what a picture of what Jesus did for us!
Then how sadly the movie ends when Ryan is at the grave and asks his wife, "Was I a good man?"
Man! As I have thought and thought about that whole scenario, I wondered, what could he have done to truly honor the men who died for him. It seems like he lived his life
however, and at the end "hoped" it was good enough. How many people live their lives that way!
But Ryan experienced personally and tragically the loss of many lives that saved his, yet it did not seem to motivate him to make choices that would honor them.
Humanly speaking I thought of some things he could have done.
1. Learned all about the men who died.
2. Visit their families.
3. Find out if they had any of their own hopes or dreams and aspire to carry one or any of them out. (Like Forrest Gump did for his friend Bubba)
Spiritually thinking I thought of how I should be honoring my Lord for laying his life down for me.
1. Learn all about him.
2. Find out what would please Him (not hard to find)
3. Live my life intentionally seeking to please and honor him.
I might die for someone, but do I "die to self" on a daily basis for the ones I love.
That is my struggle right now!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Monday, August 29, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Nothing In My Hands I Bring...
Remember the song "Nothing In My Hands I Bring, Simply To The Cross I Cling"?
"As I therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so I walk in Him." Nothing in my hands I bring...
"Every good and perfect gift comes down from above." Nothing in my hands I bring...
"For it is God who works in me both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Nothing in my hands I bring...
"God has blessed me in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus." Nothing in my hands I bring...
"His divine power has gien me everything I need for life and godliness." Nothing in my hands I bring.
"Forgive as God forgave me." Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to the cross I cling!
"As I therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so I walk in Him." Nothing in my hands I bring...
"Every good and perfect gift comes down from above." Nothing in my hands I bring...
"For it is God who works in me both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Nothing in my hands I bring...
"God has blessed me in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus." Nothing in my hands I bring...
"His divine power has gien me everything I need for life and godliness." Nothing in my hands I bring.
"Forgive as God forgave me." Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to the cross I cling!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Out of the Overflow
I had a Pastor that would always say that we should minister to others out of the overflow of our own hearts.
It's true, Romans 5:5 says "...God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
If God has poured out his love in my heart, there should be enough love to share with others, don't you think?
And guess what else He has given us (me)?
In Ephesians 1 "...in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
So if He lavished grace on me, there should be plenty of that to pass around too, right?
In my last blog, I discussed the meaning of grace. God's grace is Him giving us good things we don't deserve. So what does that mean if we are to minister out of the abundance of our heart? Well, to me it means that if God has lavished his glorious grace on me, then I should lavish it on others. So if God is constantly (and gloriously) treating me like I don't deserve, then, I should be treating others around me like they don't deserve! (and I'm saying that in a good way)
What did I just say?
Well, God gives me situations every day to "practice" giving grace . As a matter of fact, anyone that has to drive on the roads with other drivers, never lack opportunites to practice ministering grace to others! But this is about me, not you, even if the shoes fits! :)
So if you are a fellow driver, you understand where I am coming from and where I am going. If you are in a long line of bumper to bumper traffic and you are in the lane that you have to be in in order to make the turn you have to make (several blocks ahead), you probably have experienced a similar attitude that I have had with cars going past you and "cutting in" farther up the line. Well, guess what? I "used to be" one of those people. No way was I going to get into the back of that line, when I knew I could easily "slip in" much closer to the beginning. Except that it wasn't always that easy to slip in. Then I had two options, I would have to stop and block traffic in the lane I was in and make more cars angry (for MY convenience) until someone let me in OR I would have to keep going and take a different route (which was usually my choice)
As I have been studying about grace and God giving me good things I didn't deserve, I started to get convicted about my driving attitude. I began to see that I was considering myself better that all the rest of those people waiting in line, and God didn't like that.
So now I have been getting in that long line and "gracefully" watching other drivers "cut in" (just like I USED to). Okay so it takes me 5 + - minutes longer, so I just have to learn to leave home earlier!
For a long time I have given a measure of grace to drivers on the road, and it has given me a great deal of peace without the stress and aggravation of constantly being upset for their bad driving habits. It is easier for me to accept the fact that they are there, look out for them, give them the space they need, and be at peace with myself (and my passengers), but there was this one area, that I was holding on to, that God is now delivering me from (and I say "is delievering) and not "has delivered" since it is a process... may it increase!
It's true, Romans 5:5 says "...God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
If God has poured out his love in my heart, there should be enough love to share with others, don't you think?
And guess what else He has given us (me)?
In Ephesians 1 "...in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
So if He lavished grace on me, there should be plenty of that to pass around too, right?
In my last blog, I discussed the meaning of grace. God's grace is Him giving us good things we don't deserve. So what does that mean if we are to minister out of the abundance of our heart? Well, to me it means that if God has lavished his glorious grace on me, then I should lavish it on others. So if God is constantly (and gloriously) treating me like I don't deserve, then, I should be treating others around me like they don't deserve! (and I'm saying that in a good way)
What did I just say?
Well, God gives me situations every day to "practice" giving grace . As a matter of fact, anyone that has to drive on the roads with other drivers, never lack opportunites to practice ministering grace to others! But this is about me, not you, even if the shoes fits! :)
So if you are a fellow driver, you understand where I am coming from and where I am going. If you are in a long line of bumper to bumper traffic and you are in the lane that you have to be in in order to make the turn you have to make (several blocks ahead), you probably have experienced a similar attitude that I have had with cars going past you and "cutting in" farther up the line. Well, guess what? I "used to be" one of those people. No way was I going to get into the back of that line, when I knew I could easily "slip in" much closer to the beginning. Except that it wasn't always that easy to slip in. Then I had two options, I would have to stop and block traffic in the lane I was in and make more cars angry (for MY convenience) until someone let me in OR I would have to keep going and take a different route (which was usually my choice)
As I have been studying about grace and God giving me good things I didn't deserve, I started to get convicted about my driving attitude. I began to see that I was considering myself better that all the rest of those people waiting in line, and God didn't like that.
So now I have been getting in that long line and "gracefully" watching other drivers "cut in" (just like I USED to). Okay so it takes me 5 + - minutes longer, so I just have to learn to leave home earlier!
For a long time I have given a measure of grace to drivers on the road, and it has given me a great deal of peace without the stress and aggravation of constantly being upset for their bad driving habits. It is easier for me to accept the fact that they are there, look out for them, give them the space they need, and be at peace with myself (and my passengers), but there was this one area, that I was holding on to, that God is now delivering me from (and I say "is delievering) and not "has delivered" since it is a process... may it increase!
The Best Things in Life are Free
Take salvation, for example. It's free. Ephesians 2:8,9 says It's a free gift. Has anyone every paid for gift?
How about grace? Ephesians 1 says God has "freely" given us his "glorious grace". Furthermore, it says that He lavished grace on us with all wisdom and understanding!
So what IS grace anyway?
I have been saved for 36 years now.
For 36 years I have "supposedly" walked with God. In 36 years I have never fully understood or comprehended God's grace. This summer I substituted for a S.S. teacher and I was supposed to be teaching the kids about grace. I "taught" them without even knowing myself! Scary, huh!
Then my counselor recommended Phillip Yancy's book "What's So Amazing About Grace?"
I started to get the picture, but I still don't think I had "gotten it" fully yet.
And you know what's so amazing? I knew the "definition" of grace - or that is what I have been taught. and the cute acronym we learned.
Cute Acronym - God's Riches At Christ's Expense (What does that mean to me?)
Cute Definition (goes along with definition of mercy)- Mercy is not getting what I DO deserve and Grace is getting what I don't deserve.
And actually that is exactly right. Grace is God giving me something I don't deserve. What is so hard about understanding that? But I didn't. I understood the words, but I didn't understand the meaning TO ME! What a difference!
But now, I DO GET IT! Thank God!
And now everytime I sing about grace or read it in Scripture (or anywhere for that matter) it has a whole new meaning...more in the next blog....
How about grace? Ephesians 1 says God has "freely" given us his "glorious grace". Furthermore, it says that He lavished grace on us with all wisdom and understanding!
So what IS grace anyway?
I have been saved for 36 years now.
For 36 years I have "supposedly" walked with God. In 36 years I have never fully understood or comprehended God's grace. This summer I substituted for a S.S. teacher and I was supposed to be teaching the kids about grace. I "taught" them without even knowing myself! Scary, huh!
Then my counselor recommended Phillip Yancy's book "What's So Amazing About Grace?"
I started to get the picture, but I still don't think I had "gotten it" fully yet.
And you know what's so amazing? I knew the "definition" of grace - or that is what I have been taught. and the cute acronym we learned.
Cute Acronym - God's Riches At Christ's Expense (What does that mean to me?)
Cute Definition (goes along with definition of mercy)- Mercy is not getting what I DO deserve and Grace is getting what I don't deserve.
And actually that is exactly right. Grace is God giving me something I don't deserve. What is so hard about understanding that? But I didn't. I understood the words, but I didn't understand the meaning TO ME! What a difference!
But now, I DO GET IT! Thank God!
And now everytime I sing about grace or read it in Scripture (or anywhere for that matter) it has a whole new meaning...more in the next blog....
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