It's a Gift

Romans 4-4-6 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. ⁵ But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. ⁶ David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it:

The more and more I read the more I understand that this life and my salvation is a gift from God that I can not understand.  Call me crazy but at times I sit back and ask myself is this real? When you look around the world you see evil. But when you look into the evil you are able to see God at work. Even when we do not understand God has a plan. It's simple God is simply able to see some things that you and I can't.

I have a deep love for history for many reasons. The biggest reason is because you are able to see God's work. The fact that Christianity started in America around 1646 with the arrival of the Quakers in Pennsylvania. July 4, 1776 52 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were devoted to ministry. The other three had believed that the Bible was truth. Now in 2010 you can still see God at work in our world.

There is a revival taken place in China and it is because people are taken a risk a true risk to serve these people. The underground Church is the reason that we are able to witness God do a miracle in that country. You can read that even this month it is a fight. But no matter what there is still revival taken place.

My point is that we can look into history and see that God has a will and a plan. God hasn't left, he just simply does it his way. We can also see that this is a gift from God. To live in a country to worship freely is a gift. To have a choice is a gift, and our salvation is the best gift from God.
   

Nailing it to the cross

Colossians 2:13-15 13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,[b] God made you[c] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.




When you really sit down and think about it, you can not explain the power of the cross. So many times we will worship but yet we are simply looking to feel good. I believe that Christ has a way to comfort us. When you look at the cross do you see comfort?



I sit here thinking about what my savior had to go through so that my sins would be nailed to the cross and forgiving. At the same time I have fear, my fear is not heaven or hell. My fear is that we simply worship out of our emotions. We forget worship is an action not an emotion. Do we give when it really hurts? Do we seek to find those who not know about the loving grace of Jesus Christ? Better yet do we simply try to earn his grace and mercy?



Allot of questions I have, my fear is that we simply love the idea of Jesus but we simply do not have a clue of who he is. He is a God who has a deep love for all of us and is willing to do whatever it takes for his children see that love.



The cross is not just some symbol that we see at church, the cross is life! The cross is what gives us hope when everything thing else has gone wrong. The cross doesn't promise a million dollars, but it does give us the peace for today.



My prayer is that I would true see the cross for what it really is. The cross is not about death, the cross is what brings us life

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

the Maker of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,

born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins;

the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.

Amen.