Tonight, I was putting Ali to sleep, I was telling her what we learned at bible study...
The story of Simon(the Pharisee) and the woman who came into and washed the Lord's feet with her hair. She took a risk and gave everything she had for Jesus to have mercy on her...
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R: Ali, Do you know that Jesus loves you?
A: Mommy,
I love Jesus... I want to give him a hug!
R: You can show him your love by loving others and sharing your love for Jesus with them.
A: Mommy,
where is God? I want to see Him.
R: God is everywhere. He is with us all the time. He lives in heaven and watches over us all the time. God knows everything.
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Christ is perfect, he didn't deserve to die for us (sinners) -- He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one shall get to the father except through Him. There is only one way...
Who are we to judge, let's just ask forgiveness, be thankful for the grace and mercy God has shown on us, and praise God with thanksgiving.
GRACE:
God blessing us despite the fact that we do not deserve it -- extending kindness to the unworthy
MERCY:
God not punishing us as our sins deserve -- deliverance from judgment
According to the Bible, we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). As a result of that sin, we all deserve death (Romans 6:23). With that in mind, every day we live is an act of God's mercy. If God gave us all what we deserve, we would all be, right now, condemned for eternity. In Psalm 51:1-2, David cries out, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin." A plea to God for mercy is asking Him to withhold the judgment we deserve and instead grant to us
the forgiveness we in no way have earned.
Mercy and grace are best illustrated in the salvation that is available through Jesus Christ. We deserve judgment, but if we receive Jesus Christ as Savior, we receive mercy from God and we are delivered from judgment. Instead of judgment, we receive by grace salvation, forgiveness of sins, abundant life (John 10:10), and an eternity in Heaven, the most wonderful place imaginable (Revelation 21-22). Because of the mercy and grace of God, our response should be to fall on our knees in worship and thanksgiving.
We need to have the innocence of a child --
We need to trust and have the faith of a child --
I pray that God gives me the wisdom and direction to raise our girls to know and love God.
My parents did this for me, and I am forever thankful -- We all need to be reminded often that our lives are in His hands and that we need to turn to him for guidance and direction in our lives. We can not leave Him out and go "our own way"...
Seasons of our life bring us close and push us far away... they make us see full circle --
my prayer today is that God would be present in the lives of my parents, family, friends and that they would feel the closeness with God, have the innocence of a child to say, I want to give Jesus a hug.
We need a relationship with God -- talk to him -- pray --
This is a simple prayer I came across on pintrest...
