GraceBook

*These are some of my FB status updates from over the past few weeks. God keeps drawing my thoughts back to this one word! Guess you could say I've had a one-track mind... 

 - The way most people react to condemnation is to unconsciously confirm their accuser's verdict. The most common denominator amongst incarcerated people is that someone told them as a child they were 'bad.' Speak hope and encouragement into the lives of others'!

- "Jesus didn't do away with the law, He fulfilled it... He didn't condemn, but he also didn't condone. Instead, He extended grace."

- "Jesus resisted assigning blame, and so should we... the Good Samaritan did not ask how the injured man ended up in the ditch. He did not ask about his denomination, his political party or his sexual orientation. He simply saw a man in need, and cared for him out of compassion."

- "As freedom-loving Americans, we were raised to be self-reliant. That can be a virtue. But as believers we need to re-think that and become God-reliant."

- Too many of us who call ourselves Christians, myself especially sometimes, fail to live out the love and grace of the Christ we follow. We live in a culture where living in true community with others is almost counter-intuitive. Invite God into all interactions.

- "... do I express my negative emotions of anger, fear, and pain appropriately to those who... stir up my emotions? Or do I seethe inside...? The way we answer those questions will likely indicate whether we... are candidates for deliverance to our emotions." -Jim Croft

-  Grace is more than forgiveness. After grace saves us, it enables us to be whatever God wants us to be. His grace empowers us to do the work He's chosen for us.

- Be intentional in everything you say and write! The average guy associates the word Christian with hate. Most often, Jesus saved his criticisms for self-righteous 'saints' of his society, not 'sinners.'

- When you're being bombarded by a thousand negative voices, focus on is the one thats saying, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

-  "When Jesus encountered sin, he didn't use guilt as a tool for change. Instead, he spoke words of love and encouragement. If people don't rely on the power of God's grace, they will stay stuck in behavioral ruts forever. Why? Because we have cannot change ourselves." -Jeff Petherick

- "I've leaped in faith, fallen on face, landed on my feet, barely left my seat. Though I beat the odds I don't make the cut, but I'm praising God and He lifts me up, and I'm gone, so gone!" -Me

- "We evaluate others with a Godlike justice, but we want them to evaluate us with a Godlike compassion." -Sydney Harris

- "... God does not always spare us from the consequences of our mistakes, but forgives us nonetheless."

- "Using sound judgment means looking UP to God. Being judgmental means looking DOWN on a person. Looking UP to God for guidance is done out of love and respect for truth. Looking DOWN on others is out of fear and selfishness in a rush to judgment."

- "Every other world religion says 'do.' Only Christianity says 'done.'" -Jeff Petherick

-  "... God's grace is not something you can earn... not conditional...not temporary... not an excuse to sin... absolutely, positively not judgmental... Its the perfect, holy nature of God to show grace; its the fallen, sinful nature of humans to judge." - Jeff Petherick

- Grace; its the polar opposite of karma. God's grace transcends all, and it cannot be earned with deeds. We may reap what we sow while on this earth, but Christ was crucified so that we would not spend eternity paying our debt. Its paid in full.

- “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2

- "Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the NEED of God's grace." - Jerry Bridges

- "I do not at all understand the mystery of grace -- only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us." -Anne Lamott