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GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION

I Was Shouting At The TV In Agreement

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Over a month ago my husband Steve listened to this teaching by Judah Smith, Pastor of The City Church in Seattle. He said he wanted us all to watch it as a family during one of our weekly family rallies.

I was literally shouting at the TV in agreement while my family and I watched this teaching. It will help you understand how grace works in your life. That’s why I was shouting. He was explaining the journey that I have been walking out for the past 4 years.

This message is about how to see our impulses, appetites and desires become more like Jesus!

While watching, I was shouting, “That’s right. That’s exactly how grace works. People have got to hear this. It’s gonna help them!” Then, the minute we finished watching it, I emailed The City Church and asked permission to post a link on my website. I’m thrilled to say that they said yes!

If you have ever heard Judah Smith preach you already know this, but the man is hilarious so get ready to laugh and be helped at the same time! This link leads straight to the church’s website where you will find all of Pastor Judah’s other teachings as well.

The Six Week Journey – Part Two 

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If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!

Sandra McCollom

Don’t Let Sin Be Your Master

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Don't Let Sin Be

For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:14)

This is such a freeing verse. Many Christians today believe that they will never get above sin. They believe that they are still sinners who are just saved by grace. But this is not the truth. We are not still sinners because sinners have sin as their master. Every born again person is the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). Sin is no longer our master. Jesus is our Lord and Master.

If you see sin as your master then you will always see yourself as a slave to obey sin. It will always be your focus. You will never truly live free. You are not under law. The Mosaic Law is no longer valid for a New Testament Christian. We are under grace. We do not live by a long set of “thou shalt nots”. We get to live under freedom which is relationship based, not rule based.

I know that many people still struggle with “sins”.  They might be addicted to pornography, have anger issues, or gossip.  They may live with incredible insecurities which cause them to do things to find security, rather than find their security in Christ.  Does this make them a sinner?  I don’t believe so.  If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation.  Therefore, he can’t be a sinner if he is a new creation.

The issue here is how we see ourselves.  Perspective is everything.  Now, I am not saying that one can do whatever they want.  Just because we live under grace doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want.  May it never be!

What is does mean is that when we understand our standing in Jesus, that we are sons and daughters of the Most High God, we will not want to sin because sin is beneath us.  It is not who we are anymore.  We may struggle with it at times, but it is not our master!

Don’t allow the thought that you can’t conquer your vices, addictions, sins, bondages, etc. hold you back any more. You are under grace. God’s grace is sufficient. Will you mess up? Most likely, but you are not counted out because you messed up. Under grace, you are not guilty because you messed up. You are declared righteous because of your Lord and Savior. That is amazingly great news.

Don’t allow sin to have one more day as master over you. Begin to declare grace over every imperfection, weakness, addiction, and bondage you might be experiencing. You are free in Christ.

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any area where you have allowed sin to master you. Then submit that area to the Lordship and the grace of Jesus. Declare you are free and live as a free person.  The way you see yourself is the way that you will live!

What about you?  How do you see yourself?  Does it affect how you live?

The above blog was taken as part of a daily devotional page from my FREE 30 day devotional, Going Deeper in Grace!  It’s yours free if you sign up to receive updates from this blog.  Just fill out the form on the sidebar near the top on the right.  

Freedom From Legalism

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Do you find yourself wondering if you have done enough for God? Are you looking for a to-do list to accomplish for God in order to be acceptable to Him? When you struggle with sin do you think you would be able to overcome if you would just try harder? Do you have a hard […]

The post Freedom From Legalism appeared first on Sandra McCollom.

539. Becoming Christ Conscious Instead of Sin Conscious

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When we focus on our struggles and problems instead of the answer to them, it can be a frustrating endeavor. Jesus came to release the Israelites from a covenant that kept them in a constant state of sin consciousness. His one-time sacrifice was meant to put an end to this. If we're stuck in a mindset that revolves around trying to avoid sin with the commands of "thou shall not," it will generally cause an increase in sin, resulting in self-condemnation. The alternative is giving up and surrendering to the completed work of Jesus Christ.



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538. Freedom from a Sin Consciousness

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Under the law, the Jewish people were trapped in a consciousness of sin because they were in a covenant based upon their works and repeated sacrifices that constantly brought a reminder of sins. In contrast, Christ offered one sacrifice for all time to remove the struggle of a guilty conscience and the taking away of sin to be remembered no more. We shouldn't be seeking freedom from sin, but begin realizing God already provided it through the blood of Jesus. We can now live in this freedom found in Him.



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Going Through A Trial? Here’s Some Encouragement!

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I’ve been up since 2:30 am with symptoms of paresthesia. Paresthesia, by definition, is an abnormal sensation, typically tingling or prickling (“pins and needles”) caused chiefly by pressure on or damage to peripheral nerves.

This has been going on for about a month and yes, I am seeing a doctor for it.

As I was laying in bed and couldn’t go back to sleep I thought, since I can’t sleep, maybe I can write a post on what to do when we go through trials and maybe it will help others who are also going through something right now.

So here’s some encouragement for you!

When you’re going through a trial here are some things I recommend.

1.) Remember that God loves you and that He didn’t give you the trial to teach you a lesson

I know there are many different schools of thought on this issue and I’m not here to argue with anyone, but if your reading my blog, you’re never going to hear me say that God gives us trials or even permits them in our lives. My belief is that the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.  See what Jesus Himself said here is John 10:10 .

I sincerely feel what we believe about God and His nature is critical to our lives. If you would like to hear a really good message on this subject click here to listen to a teaching by our pastor, Jeff Perry: Does God Cause Or Permit Bad Things In Our Lives.

2.) Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus

This past month Jesus has reminded me over and over again to keep my eyes fixed on Him.

Matthew 14:24-33 says,

24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” He said. “Take courage. I am here!”

28 Then Peter called to Him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped Him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed. (NLT) 

This Biblical story is so amazing as it so clearly proves the difference Peter experienced when He was keeping his eyes firmly fixed on Jesus as opposed to when he started focusing on the wind and the waves in life – the storm going on around him.

I’m so glad this is in the Bible for us to look back at over and over again to remind us what to do when we’re in a storm…like for me, right now. The paresthesia symptoms have lessened a little over the past couple of weeks, but not at any kind of lightening speed as I would like. But a few weeks ago the tingling was so bad that it was literally going all over my body. Crazy. I called and texted a few people for prayer and I knew I had a decision to make right then and there. Was I going to focus on the storm of my circumstance or was I going to trust Jesus by keeping my eyes fixed on Him and His finished work on the cross? I knew from experience that one would result in me having to fight fear and the other would result in me being able to stay in peace right in the middle of the storm – symptoms and all.

It’s not about trying to work up more faith. It’s simply about us choosing to trust in Jesus and trust that He will see us through. I’ve said this before in a previous post, but I love what my pastor, Jeff Perry, said one time about faith at Friday night church. He said, “Faith is just reliance on how good God is.” This helped me so much because it simplified it and made it more practical for me.

Hebrews 12:1-3 says,  

12 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (NASB) 

I LOVE what the Amplified translation says here in the first part of verse 2:

[looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity] Hebrews 12:2a (AMP)

3.) Refuse to be moved by what you feel, see or hear. Instead, be moved by the promises in God’s Word.

I certainly had to put this into action the day I had that severe paresthesia all over my body and I still do right this very minute as symptoms are happening while I type.

I’ve had to ask myself a number of times: Are these symptoms going to dictate to me my outcome or is God’s Word going to dictate my outcome. It’s almost like I’ve had to get obstinate against what I’m feeling and purposely hold my head up high and fight the good fight of faith by continuing to rest in the finished work of the cross. To me that’s what not being moved by what I feel means.

Then, when I heard several doctors say to me in the beginning of this, If you keep having the tingling you need to get back in here. That’s not something you want to mess with,” I had to choose to not be moved by what I was hearing. This doesn’t mean I have ignored what the doctors have said. In fact, I am going in and getting treatments. But to me, not being moved by what I hear simply means I don’t let the doctor’s report unnerve me and send me into a panic. How can I do this? By keeping my eyes fixed on Jesus and the truth that He already paid the price for my healing on the cross.

I really can’t be looking around in anxiety thinking, Oh my gosh, what am I gonna do, what am I gonna do. I have to do something to make these symptoms stop. No. What I have to do is keep believing that God’s got this no matter what I feel, see or hear…because He actually does!

So many times people (and I’ve done this many times before) launch forward in their own efforts in a situation like this and instead of trusting God and being perceptive to the leading of the Spirit, they are led by their own mind, will and emotions. But self effort is never going to produce the same result that resting in Jesus and His finished work and following the leadership of the Holy Spirit will produce.

4.) Recall past victories

When we are in pain or discomfort it’s easier to say we should be in faith than to actually do it. I have been in the hospital on numerous occasions with high fevers and infections and was in such a delirious state that I didn’t even feel I had strength to pray for myself. All I could get out of my mouth through my delirium was, Dear God, please help me, but guess what…that was enough! In fact, this is now my favorite prayer to pray. I pray this every day, all throughout the day when I need God’s help…which very is often!

This past month I have felt somewhat discouraged at times. I believe this is partially because of the pain I’ve been fighting. I’m sure you would agree that pain has a wearing affect on us. One of the things I have done to combat this discouragement is to purposely recall past victories over unpleasant circumstances that God has delivered me from in the past.

For instance, from 2009-2011 I went through what I refer to as a 2.5 year health nightmare, but guess what? – God brought me through it. Here’s that story if you would like to read about it or listen to it via audio post: The Value of Trials. 

Just like David looked back and recounted the victories God had given him with the lion and the bear to prepare him to conquer the giant, we also need to purposely recount all the things God has helped us through in the past to help us have the strength to fight against discouragement during a trial.

The McCollom family has what we call our book of remembrance. In it, we record the things God does for us, the prayers that have been answered in our lives and our friends’ lives and the trials God has brought us through. We haven’t recorded anything in our book of remembrance for a while, but not because God hasn’t done anything. We have just gotten busy and not taken the time to record anything lately. Let me go on record by saying this bugs me.

I told my husband the other day, just imagine if we recorded every single thing the Lord did for us, how big our book of remembrance would be and how encouraging it would be for us to look back on in years to come! 

Here are just a few recent blessings that come to mind.

  • The medal part of a chair fell on Angel’s head this morning while she was laying on the floor, but she is totally fine. I believe God protected her from what could have been a serious injury.
  • We made a change in our girls’ schooling situation recently and although it was a little hectic (time wise) while working through the transition, God’s grace is totally on the change and things are going great!
  • Sophie, one of our dogs, had a bad rash recently. We scheduled an appointment with her Veternarian, but then prayed that she would get better so we wouldn’t have to spend the time or the money on this appointment. The rash cleared up very quickly and we were able to cancel the appointment.

I am inspired after writing these few, very recent, breakthroughs, to open up my book of remembrance this weekend and catch up on recording all the things I can remember since the last time I’ve recorded in it. I seriously DO NOT want to forget all the awesome things that God does in my life, the lives of my family members and my friends’ lives!

5.) Remember Romans 8:28

Don’t forget what Romans 8:28 says:

And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. (Romans 8:28 – AMP) 

I believe this Biblical truth with all my heart. This is why I am able to say to myself, when going through a trial, God is gonna work this whole thing together for the good… for sure.  This blog post is one example. No, I don’t believe God gave me paresthesia. What I do believe is, the devil hates me and wants to stop me from helping others. But look at how God is helping me have the stamina to write this post and causing all things to work together for good!  In fact, I just noticed that the symptoms I had when I started typing are gone! Thank You Jesus!

So I really encourage you to hold onto Romans 8:28 as a promise.

6.) Receive Communion to honor Jesus for His sacrifice for you

Well this may be the last piece of encouragement I’m giving, but it certainly is not the least. I really enjoy receiving communion on a regular basis as a way to honor Jesus for the sacrifice He made for me through His finished work on the cross. It’s a great way for us to receive afresh everything Jesus provided for us through His death and resurrection. In fact, I tell Jesus every time I receive communion that I am going to receive every single solitary thing that He died to provide for me, leaving no stone unturned… and guess what, sometimes I say this while experiencing negative symptoms at the same time. Again, we CANNOT be moved by what we see, feel or hear. We have to decide that , by God’s grace, we are going to hold our heads up high, even when the devil is trying to beat us down, and only be moved by the truth of God’s Word.

I have posted about the privilege of honoring Jesus through receiving communion before and have had quite a few comments from people saying, Oh wow, I didn’t know I could do this on a regular basis.

If you would like to read a wonderful mini-book on the power of communion, I recommend Pastor Joseph Prince’s book titled Health And Wholeness Through The Holy Communion. This is such a good book that I’ve given away numerous times when visiting and praying for people in the hospital and I believe it dispels some common misconceptions about communion that will help you!

Well, 2,435 words and 6 hours later… I pray this blog post brought you encouragement.

Special note of thanks to my daughter Angel, who made me a great breakfast of her own free will so I could finish this post. Also, Angel said Starr made Angel’s breakfast so Angel could make mine – haha. Thank you Starr!

If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!

Sandra McCollom

10 Ways Religion is Bad for You

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Every story needs a villain and the villain I most often employ is religion. Grace is good, but religion is bad. Grace promotes trust in God, but religion is all about trusting self. Grace says, “God helps you,” but religion says, “God helps those who help themselves.” Some have said that I’m giving religion a […]

You May Freely Eat! (podcast)

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I am posting a message I did at The Gathering Place in Dyersburg, TN.  I believe this is one of the most important messages I have ever released.  Many people see God as being stingy, miserly and withholding. They see Him as angry and judgmental.  But He is not like that.  He is generous and rich in mercy.  The original temptation in the Garden of Eden was to get Eve to believe that God was withholding from her and Adam.  It’s the same way today.  We don’t believe that God is enough, so we go searching for more.

Click here to listen.

God’s Treasure Chest – Romans 14

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Here’s some treasure I discovered while reading and studying Romans 14. I hope this post brings you encouragement!

Romans 14:1 says, 

Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. (NLT) 

This is such great advice the Apostle Paul gives here. I’m sure we’ve all been in conversations with other people where we didn’t quite see eye to eye. I know I have. Sadly there have been times when I have tried and tried to convince the other person to see things my way. It wasn’t wise and I’m thankful the Holy Spirit showed me how to handle these kinds of situations through love and prayer. 

I really believe that walking in love is the bottom line. I don’t believe the bottom line is being right or convincing someone else that they are wrong. It’s whether or not we handle each situation in love.

Why is love the bottom line? God is love and Jesus came to show people the Father. Everything Jesus did was done in love and we are Jesus’ disciples!

Let me encourage you about the love walk. If Jesus lives in you (if you’ve received Jesus as your Savior) you have the epitome of love living inside of you. You really do have the ability to love people – even people who aren’t acting lovely at the moment. This is 100% possible when we live our lives through the life of Christ that is in us and allow Him to live His life through us. On the contrary, a life of love is 0% possible (to live out on a consistent basis) when we’re just trying to carry out the love walk in our own ability – in our own strength. 

I hope this is giving you hope because for you and I to be world changers there has to be something different about us. I believe that us choosing to love other people with God’s love, which is unconditional love, is one of the striking differences that God intends for the world to see in us. 

Again, although we won’t walk in love with others 100% of the time simply because we’re imperfect, it is 100% possible for us to live a life where God’s love eminates from us if we are taking the time everyday, all throughout the day, to receive God’s unconditional love for ourselves and reminding ourselves that we need to stop trying to be something in our own strength that we already are in Christ Jesus. 

Often, we can shoot ourselves in the foot (so to speak) by trying to live our Christianity through our own strength and self effort. Believe me, I did it for years. Then God helped me make what seemed like a subtle change, but it was actually one of the most significant changes I had ever made in terms of me being able to really, truly live out this Christ life inside of me.

Here’s the shift that God helped me make and I continue to grow in daily:

When a situation comes up where someone else isn’t being loving toward me, yet I know I am to respond in love I don’t reach down into my own ability, my own discipline or my own self-control to help me do the right thing. I reach into the life of Christ within me to help me respond correctly. And really, more than anything, I make the choice (by His grace) to surrender right in my moment of need by allowing Jesus to live His life through me rather than trying to handle things on my own. I get out of the way (so to speak) and simply allow Jesus to shine.

I’m telling you, when you begin to live your Christian life by continually relying on and surrendering to the life of Christ that is in you… it’s game on! 

You may have heard me say in a number of my TV interviews that since I’ve been on this grace journey I feel like my spiritual life has taken off like a rocket. Well, I believe this is one of the big reasons why. It’s really just us learning to live a life of staying connected with God no matter what’s going on around us – no matter what’s going on in our circumstances. 

Now, here’s Romans 14:1 again:

Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. (NLT) 

I know for me, I had to learn to trust God and am still learning to trust Him to reveal to other people the revelations He wants to give them and at the same time I have learned to purposely continue to ask that God would keep me on the right path so I don’t fall into the ditch on one side of the road or the other. This new mindset helped me stop trying to change people and instead, receive God’s grace to love people, pray for them and trust God to bring about any needed changes.

Romans 14:13 says,  

So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. (NLT)

There it is – the love walk! Thinking about others first and considering how what we’re doing is affecting them is the very best way to live. It’s taking the high road in life.

Taking the high road of love leads to a much better outcome than taking the low road!

We won’t always feel like taking the high road, but at some point we have to ask ourselves if the way we’ve been handling things all along is really working. I know I sure had to ask myself this question.

Sometimes us Christians can be guilty of living our Christian lives the same way we’ve always lived them without ever stopping to ask ourselves if we are experiencing the overcoming life that the Bible promises us. I was a classic example of this.

I went through the same motions day after day, year after year, but it wasn’t until 34 years later (as a Christian) that I stopped and realized, oh my gosh, what I’ve been doing is not working. I’m not free. I struggle with so many of the same things I did on day one. I definitely was not living the overcoming life in Christ that I could have been had I understood God’s grace as I do today.

I highly encourage you to ask yourself the same question I had to ask myself. Is what I’m doing working? Am I living the overcoming life in Christ that the Bible promises? 

And just to clarify, when I say the overcoming life I don’t mean you will be perfect or never struggle with anything. I also don’t mean you won’t have any problems or trials. I just mean that if you had a bad temper the first day you got saved 20 years ago and you still have just as bad of a temper today, then you should start questioning some things.

Ask yourself if the teaching you are listening to at church, through podcasts and through the books you read is setting your eyes on Jesus and His finished work on the cross. Is it reminding you of the person you are in Christ? Is it reminding you that your righteousness is a gift and not based on your works? Is it showing you God’s true nature – His great and unconditional love for you and the riches of His grace toward you? Is it showing you practically how you can successfully live your life through God’s grace?

My friend, it is critical that you are hearing the Gospel of Grace in every message you are listening to because it is God’s grace that will transform your heart.

Once you’re finished trying to live this life by your own efforts and you’ve come to the end of yourself, you’ll clearly see that the best thing you can do is throw yourself, full force, on the grace of God!

If you’re hearing the right teaching, it will result in you having right believing and right believing leads to right living. 

For so many years, as a Christian, I spent all day, every day, running on my treadmill of accomplishment, forever trying to do it all right. At the same time I would assess everyone around me to see if I thought they were doing it all right. I spent a fair amount of time doing what the first part of Romans 14:13 tells us not to do – condemning others.

Thankfully though, now I’ve discovered that living a life of love is far superior and that love leads me to do what the second part of verse 13 recommends which is to live in such a way that I will not cause another believer to stumble and fall!

See here what Romans 14:19 says:

So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up. (NLT)  

Amen. A thousand times – Amen! 

Next God’s Treasure Chest post will be on Romans 15

To find all my other God’s Treasure Chest posts just click here on My Grace Journey and then scroll down to the topic that says God’s Treasure Chest!

If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!

Sandra McCollom

The Key To Humility

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I woke up this morning thinking about humility and this came to me.

The key to humility is knowing that any good thing that we’ve ever done or ever will do is because of God’s grace alone. JESUS is God’s grace personified; therefore, it’s really all about JESUS.

- If we’re able to live effective lives it’s all because of JESUS

- If we happen to have discipline in a certain area it’s because of JESUS

- If we choose to walk in love in a specific situation it’s because JESUS helped us

- If we are willing to forgive it’s because JESUS forgave us first

- If we happen to be helping people in any way it’s because JESUS made us able

- If we’re experiencing success in any area it’s because we’re with JESUS

I’m sure you would agree, this list could go on forever…

When we really understand it’s ALL because of JESUS we just want to brag about JESUS and point people to JESUS and be forever grateful to JESUS!

Made Alive in Christ

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. -Ephesians 2 (NASB)

What else is there to say.

IT’S ALL BECAUSE OF JESUS. 

When we remember this we hold the key to humility.

If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!

Sandra McCollom

Do I Have A Calling?

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calling

Do you know what you are called to do? It can be a complicated question. Most believers are conflicted because we want to enjoy life as God intended originally in the Garden of Eden. But given the world’s state, we want to make an impact with the Gospel. Most believers would say they want to do what God wants them to. Wouldn’t you?

This begins the pursuit to find and fulfill your call. First and foremost, the “high calling” on your life, as referenced in Philippians 3, is to embrace salvation in Christ. The calling that Paul prays you’re counted worthy of in 2 Thessalonians 1:11 is the same, that you embrace salvation. The other times the word “calling” is used is in association with a believer expressing the salvation they have embraced in Jesus.

Your calling is not your job or the reason your were created, it’s how you express Christ. Your calling is fulfilled as you daily embrace the free gift of salvation in your heart and yield to the influence of God’s spirit. Yes, there will be “assignments” that God will have for you as you go about embracing and expressing salvation but saying yes to Jesus is the fulfillment of your calling. Saying yes to Jesus includes responding to his leading daily.

He gave you a new heart that knows how to hear and follow him. You can jump off the religious stationary bike that goes nowhere and stop trying to get your job description from God and start enjoying your freedom in him. Fully walking in this freedom as a mature Christian will produce the fruit of following him. Stop trying to perform your calling and just walk in it by daily embracing this rich salvation that’s alive within you.

The definition of “calling” is: a divine invitation to embrace salvation.

Because of the performance mentality that has permeated Christianity, we have turned our “calling” into a job description rather than daily experiencing the salvation we’ve been given. This salvation produces maturity, it brings healing, it teaches us, it leads us in wisdom, it leads us to love people and take the Gospel to the world. Stop asking God what he wants you to do and fully embrace what he’s done.

To make it practical:

  • Stop asking “what should I do” and start asking “who should I love?”
  • Stop asking “what’s my passion” and start asking “who is my passion?”
  • Stop asking “why am I here” and start thanking God for salvation and open your heart to express it toward people in love.

The post Do I Have A Calling? appeared first on Forward Ministries.

Has Your Heart Ever Been Broken?

by

the one who made your heart

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised

Jesus is speaking under God’s authority and he declares God’s will to the brokenhearted, the captive and those who have lost their way. The will of God for those who identify is freedom. The will of God for those who are bruised or stuck in life due to trauma or emotional pain is emancipation. Jesus’ declaration is deliverance  from the dulness and depression of life.

Salvation is best understood in sacrifice. Sacrifice is best understood as exchange. Jesus carried your sorrows, he absorbed your grief. Jesus became your failure and underwent the necessary penalty for your deliverance. You are qualified for joy and happiness because Jesus has traded places with you.

Yes, you’ve experienced failure and pain but Jesus has secured your salvation. Behold him in his glorious state and personalize his victory. He became your pain, now become his joy.

This is a season where our past is inescapable for some. Christmas is truly a wonderful time of year but it comes with baggage. I find myself still having to make the choice to let go of the past in certain Christmas situations. Of course, it’s all about Jesus but there’s still stuff to deal with. I encourage you in this season to remember why he was born, to rescue from death and the power of sin, to set you free from your failures and heal those wounds that seem to never heal. He is with you, he is for you, he knows what it’s like to be you and he is pouring his grace into you heart as you read this.

I pray you find peace in his finished work and open your heart to let healing flow.

The post Has Your Heart Ever Been Broken? appeared first on Forward Ministries.

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