Yes! You are in the
right place!!!
Since this is a new
year, I decided to make some changes to the look of my blog. Don’t let that
scare you. Just because the look has changed doesn’t mean the content has,
because it hasn’t at all!!! I’m excited about the things I have to share this
year. Just like the look of the blog has changed, God has already made changes
in me and as He continues to I look forward to sharing those with you. So let’s
get started!!!
One of my favorite
verses over the past year has been
2
Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient
for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all
the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me
This verse reminds me just how perfect God’s
grace is. God does not give us just a little bit of grace to get us through
those uncomfortable times in our lives, so His power can be shown to others,
though He will do that if need be. More often than not, He allows us to go
through, what we would consider, great trials and sufferings so that He can
bestow upon us a great measure of His grace for us to get through it. Then when
we come out the other side, there is no doubt that we did nothing to make it
through the trials, but rely on God and His Grace!
I may be talking in terms that are too ambiguous
for you to totally understand what I am talking about, so I would like to share
an unusual example with you. On New Years Day Cecil and I saw the movie “Les
Miserables”. For those that don’t know the story of “Les Miserables”, let me
give you a little background. It is the story of a man, Jean Valjean, who has
just completed a 19-year prison sentence for being a thief, and is now on
parole. He leaves the prison trying to find work, and can find none. This is
France in 1815 and no one will help him because he is an ex-con. Besides, there
are so many poor people in France at this time they are all having trouble
feeding themselves and their families, much less a parolee. Jean Valjean
stumbles upon a kind Bishop who offers him food and shelter for the night.
During the night Jean Valjean steals all the silver from the Bishop and leaves.
He then is caught by the authorities and brought back to the Bishop to press
charges against Jean Valjean, but instead the Bishop says to the police that
the items were a gift, and that in fact Jean Valjean forgot something. The
Bishop then hands him a set of silver candlesticks. Of course the police let Jean
Valjean go, and the Bishop requires nothing of him. This changes Jean Valjean’s
life. He then vows to treat others with the same kindness, grace and love that
the Bishop showed to him from that day on. The story is how Jean Valjean does
that and what consequences his past has on him.
If you have read this book by Victor Hugo, seen
the musical, or watched the movie, you know that it is an extremely sad story.
There is poverty, illness, death, and hopelessness. If that is all we
concentrate on, we will seem hopeless, because that is the plight of the human
race, without Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
But and that is a huge BUT, when we know that
Jesus came to this earth and GAVE himself as a sacrifice for all the disgusting
things we have done and we accept him as our Lord and Savior.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but
have eternal life.
We no longer have to live the hopeless and
miserable life! Now we can be hope-filled and joyful! Knowing that though the
road won’t be perfect, we have Jesus with us giving us an abundant life, and
that God will give us the grace to get through the hard times!!!
Living in Grace,
Angie
I would like to share
with you more on Grace. The first time I heard about “Les Miserables” in the
context of grace was from this video. It’s about a 30-minute video by Max
Lucado on Grace. It is #2 in a series of 13. You won’t hear about Jean Valjean
until minute 23, but it is all definitely worth your while!!! I challenge you
to watch it.
No comments:
Post a Comment