Grace Seeds # 13

Habakkuk 3:19

The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills

Excursions Into Grace

Love is found in little acts

Not the bluster of the self righteous

The thunder belched from rooftops

Flamboyant demonstrations of the famous

But in the gentle moments of unaware treasure

Tender eulogies at funerals

The smuggled purpose of the reluctant

In silent footsteps towards sacrifice,

The realize worth of commitment

Faithful signatures upon life,

An unseen touch on a shoulder

Playful glance through shadows

The wiping of a dying brow

The care of a fragile heart

Excursions into grace

A smile

A hug

A moment of reassurance

Knowing that you will be there.

Grace Seeds # 12

John 10:10

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly

From A Park Bench - Let The Things of The World Grow Dim

Every now and then I get the urge to throw caution to the win and subscribe to the Ice Hockey channel. I love watching Ice Hockey and since the 1990’s I have followed, - at a very long distance – the Vancouver Canucks. The closest I ever get, is watching the highlights on my laptop. The temptation I know deep down inside would completely distract me. It would start to focus my attention onto a sport I love and away from the saviour I love. Now there is nothing wrong with watching Ice Hockey, but there is something unhelpful about that love of the sport diminishing the flow of grace in my life.

The cares of the world, the business of life, the amusement of the mind all these things can rise up and distract us away from Christ in us. We don’t lose our salvation, we don’t lose the blessing of God, we are still accepted, forgiven, righteous and holy but we can lose our focus and drift into dulling our spirit to the flow of grace.

It takes time for the word of God to be established and rooted in our lives, the more we fall in love with Christ the greater his presence and grace transforms our consciousness and overflows into our daily walk. Give his spirit time to invade and permeate our hearts, mediate on his words of truth and let the truth fill your mind. Be consumed by his presence, soaked in his spirit and wallow in his love. Let the things of the world grow dim and let his light shine in your heart.

Enjoy God, cherish the son, be immersed in the spirit and let the grace of God overflow and drench your life. Say thank you to Christ for all his wonderful promises and blessing and receive all he has provided for you from his storehouse of his treasure. It is all free, all unmerited, all available, just believe and receive.

Grace Seeds # 11

Psalm 23:1

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

Grace Notes - John 6 v 9

John 6:9, "There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?"

God wants to be involved in every moment of our daily life. He is interested in every breath we take and he desires to use our natural, everyday gifts for the glory of his kingdom.

God in His fullness is with us, alive in all his power inside us, with our every heart beat. Nothing is mundane, nothing is ordinary, and everything in us is alive to the power of God working in and through us. We are God’s channel of provision to everyone we meet.

God’s grace is an overflowing reservoir of abundant life that is available; we have entered the Promised Land, a land overflowing with all that God has provided in Christ. He has blessed us and He wants to work through us, with every day items to show His love and mercy.

As Andrew Wommack explains Jesus could have just made the miraculous happen on his own, but Jesus involved the disciples to plant the seed of faith into their hearts and demonstrate that God blesses the ordinary and uses it to produce the supernatural.

“Notice that Jesus didn't just turn some of the stones into bread (as Satan had tempted Him to do in Lk. 4:3). We find only one instance in scripture where God created a supply to meet a need (Num. 11:21-23). Usually, the Lord simply blesses what we set our hand to do. The resources were totally inadequate to meet the need in this instance, but when the Lord blessed it, there was more than enough.

Jesus didn't just teach the disciples, but He trained them also. He was constantly trying to involve them in these miracles. Just a matter of days later, He again asked His disciples what they could do to feed the multitude of four thousand men. It was like He was saying "You missed this question when I asked you how we could feed the five thousand men. Now, here are less people and more food. What would you suggest this time?"

Instead of remembering the previous miracle, they acted like they had never seen Jesus feed the multitude and they looked at their own resources again (Mt. 15:32; Mk. 8:1). Likewise, we all too often try everything we can do first and forget God's supernatural power until all we can do is pray. Many people have missed their miracle because they never took that first step of faith and used what they had. This young lad was certainly credited with part of this miracle for offering what he had. When in need, we should seek God's direction for something to set our hand to, and then trust Him to bless it and multiply the results of our work.”

Grace Seeds # 10

1 John 4:4

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Seven Steps to Success

Focus on the grace and love of Christ.

Soak in the grace and love of Christ.

Be consumed by the grace and love of Christ.

Be Immersed into the grace and love of Christ.

Let the grace and love of Christ fill your mind and thoughts.

Overflow with the grace and love of Christ.

Desire Christ in all his grace and love.

Because grace is not a doctrine it is person, fall in love with Jesus.

Grace Seeds # 9

Psalm 118:17

I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.

Beneath the Cross of Jesus by Elizabeth Clephane

Beneath the cross of Jesus 

I fain would take my stand, 

The shadow of a mighty rock 

Within a weary land; 

A home within the wilderness, 

A rest upon the way, 

From the burning of the noontide heat, 

And the burden of the day.

Upon that cross of Jesus 

Mine eye at times can see 

The very dying form of One 

Who suffered there for me; 

And from my stricken heart with tears 

Two wonders I confess: 

The wonders of redeeming love 

And my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow 

For my abiding place; 

I ask no other sunshine than 

The sunshine of his face; 

Content to let the world go by, 

To know no gain nor loss, 

My sinful self my only shame, 

My glory all the cross.

by Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane

Grace Seeds # 8

2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Friday's Five - The Cross

The Cross

God gives us the cross, and the cross gives us God. – Madame Guyon.

That terrible tree, which is the death of God and the life of man. – G.K. Chesteron.

There are some sciences that may be learned by the head, but the science of Christ crucified can only be learned by the heart. – C.H. Spurgeon.

By the cross we know the gravity of sin and the greatness of God’s love towards us. – John Chrysostom.

The cross is a tree set on fire with an invisible flame, that illumineth all the world. The flame is love. – Thomas Traherne

Grace Seeds # 7

Psalm 107:20

He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions.

From A Park Bench - Keep It Simple.

A few years back I worked for a local environmental charity in Wigan, Lancashire. My boss, the Chief Executive of the charity had a saying, “Keep it simple.” The charity world culture was interwoven with the intricacies of Local Government and all the bureaucratic jargon that clung to it. Everything was either strategic, holistic or inclusive, so much in house language that no one from the outside had any idea what was actual being said.

This can also be the trap of Christianity; we are so wanting to impress each other with deep theological ideas and understanding that the simplicity of the Gospel is almost by passed as we argue over the Greek or Hebrew interpretation.  My Mother’s favorite book was an analysis of the book of Daniel. I once asked her what it was about. She told me it was so deep that she didn’t understand all of it but just that she liked reading parts of it. It is a pity that some of this passed over her head.

The truth is the truth, and to get the truth of God into our lives we must understand it. We have to read the word and let it take root in our lives. When we don’t understand the word, Satan just comes and steals the truth from our hearts.

Our born again spirit is completely united into Christ and our hearts contain all the good soil we need for the planted seed to grow and flourish. As we read and mediate on God’s word his spirit reveals his love and truth to us.

The smallest seed can grow into a mighty tree. All we need is just one seed, planted and digested into our system for the truth to set us free. All the riches of God’s grace have been provided in him through the cross. Christ is the living word, the word of God is alive and the Spirit magnifies Christ to us. The Spirit and the Bible are interwoven and inseparable. To love Christ is to love His love letter to us.

Just take a seed, mediate on it, understand it and keep it simple. The simple truth will set you free.

Grace Seeds # 6

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.