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GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION

Relax – It. Is. All. About. Jesus.

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Do you know what one of the coolest things about the grace-life is? It’s that you come to realize it’s not about you. You suddenly see it as clear as day – oh my goodness, This Is All About Jesus! And when you see it, glorious results follow. As you may know, the Branson Women […]

690. Christian Catch Phrase Alert: Identifying Ourselves as Followers of Jesus

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One of the things that we often focus on here at Growing in Grace is built around helping believers in Christ to understand the identity we now have in Him as a new creation. Sadly, people are seldom taught they are righteous, holy, complete, forgiven, perfected, saints, etc.

But a catch phrase that is often used to identify us as believers: We are “followers of Jesus.” Just exactly what is a follower of Jesus today? Get ready for a wide variety of different answers because it’s one of those talking points within Christianity which people don’t think too much about. Typically, we might think it has to do with following the teachings of Jesus. But as previous programs have revealed, Jesus often taught things related to the Old Covenant which targeted Jewish people who were under the law - impossible demands - now made obsolete since the cross.

Almost all references to those who were followers of Jesus are found in the four books of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)… people who literally and physically followed Jesus from one place to the next. But their following ceased at the cross as they were relocated to a New Covenant where they would be led by God’s Spirit. You’re not merely a follower, you are a child of God, living in union with Him.



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689. Guaranteed to Fail: Working at Becoming More Like Jesus

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Anyone who has spent much time in the church world has probably heard that the primary goal for the Christian is to work at becoming more like Jesus. It sounds logical, doesn’t it? Sermons tend to shine from such a message with a typical backdrop of people shouting “Amen!” But seldom will you find a consistent model on exactly what it means to become more like Jesus through what we do, although most will have their preconceived ideas or assumptions. The general idea religion presents is that we gradually and progressively improve by our works and lifestyle choices. We’re told that improved morality will make us more like Christ. This approach has believers turning the gospel inside out as we work to achieve the impossible. It will benefit us to realize we’ve been born of God and have received an inheritance that has already made us like Jesus - completely righteous and holy just as He is - even while we’re in this world. These qualities we have inherited as children are gifts provided by grace, not our attempts to improve the flesh through human effort.



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Light is Featured in Darkness

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Boy With a Lantern

As I backed out of my driveway early this morning, I noticed that the carriage lights outside the garage were still on, though it was daylight. They had done their job during the night of dispelling the darkness around our house. But, they were still shinning, hardly noticeable.

"I'll bet they are sad," I thought as I decided I would not reopen the garage to turn them off. My sweet wife will notice soon and hit the switch. They aren't very that effective in the daylight. Hardly noticeable. They do their best work in the dark. If they were animated, they would probably tell with delight that the darkness is their chance to shine.

Moral blindness is not our friend. If offers cover for all kinds of wickedness, which destroys everything beautiful in our culture. Darkness has always been a metaphor for decay, deception, and destruction. Only in the light where truth reigns can we live as humans are designed to live. We don't actively invite darkness. Neither do we despair when darkness has crept in.

Jesus is the light that enlightens all people without distinction.

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5

When he came to earth, it was during a dark night in history. He was a brightness greater than the world had ever seen. He didn't just tell the truth. He is the truth; living truth. His own people did not receive him gladly, but those, both Jews and Gentiles, who received him became reflections of his light. Wherever these lights have gone, darkness has been pushed back. Ignorance, fear, superstition, tyranny, and wickedness has receded. Without such light, civilizations stumble in darkness.

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We have always done our best work in darkness. We have confidence that light can't be extinguished by darkness -- ever. We dare not shrink back just because darkness has increased in intensity and influence. The light of truth and grace has shown in our hearts, so we shine in our world. We are not selling a product for profit. Nor are we competing with various forms of human opinion. Light exposes all forms of darkness. We don't even have to be experts in analyzing the darkness. Light chases all darkness.

Sadly, many who have believed in Jesus have concluded that the daylight will last forever. They have kept their light hidden. It is getting dark. It is time to turn on the light. We don't have to fight the darkness with anger and revenge. We just act in accordance with who we are. The love in our hearts is stronger than the hatred in the hearts of those captured by evil. The truth we share is stronger than all the arguments made against the truth. The wisdom that is ours by virtue of sharing life with Jesus can overcome any complexity darkness has created.

There is a sound from heaven to the people of God. I think it says, "It's getting dark. Turn on the light. It is time to brighten up." We do our best work in the darkness.   

The Holy Spirit is Trying to Save You From Living a Complicated Life!

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Believe me when I say “Complicated” used to be my middle name. Sandra Complicated McCollom. I spent the first 34 years of my Christian life over-riding the promptings of the Holy Spirit. This made for one frustrated existence. Because of the way I used to live, I can’t even express how much I enjoy the […]

688. Jesus Often Taught a Ministry of Death and Condemnation

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Jesus always had a reason for His methods during His earthly ministry. But much of what He taught was not meant to be considered or received as New Covenant Christianity - yet we can still look back on it and benefit when considered in the proper context. As the Apostle Paul explained to the Galatians, Jesus was born of a woman under the Mosaic law so that He might redeem those who were under that law - the Jews needed to be delivered from that religious system which could only bring death and condemnation. To assume Jesus was usually teaching a new doctrine meant for future Christians has resulted in countless misinterpretations as to how the gospel is defined. Empty religious doctrines of men will scream that we should do our best to keep some of the commandments from that old law which is now obsolete. What’s the problem with this? “The law is not of faith!” Faith in Christ has no relationship with a law of works which can’t bring life.



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Where’s The Love?

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Do you ever wonder where the love is, among Christians? Sometimes we get caught acting Impatient….Judgmental… Critical….Jealous…..Opinionated…..Negative…. Arrogant….Rude….. and Unforgiving We’ve all done it, but why? Now that I’m living under grace myself I love to deal in real answers when I’m writing or ministering. I don’t want to tell others, “your doing this and […]

687. Confusing the Teachings of Jesus With New Covenant Christianity

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When you mix peanut butter with chocolate, you might end up with a delicious peanut butter cup. If you take (portions) of the Mosaic law from the Old Covenant God made with Israel and mingle it with the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, you’ll end up with confusion and uncertainty. One of the primary ingredients that has led to this problem within the Christian religion is making the false assumption that the New Covenant began with the birth of Jesus. It pulls people into a misleading belief system that Jesus was usually communicating a new Christian teaching meant to be applied to our lives today. Certainly there were moments when He did look forward to the New Covenant, but His primary purpose while walking the earth as a man was to minister to Israel - those who were under the curse of the law - and to ultimately redeem them from it. Don’t fall into the trap of concluding that much of what Jesus taught was always meant for you personally. If that were true, we’d discover inconsistency with some of the writings from the apostles after the cross… not because they contradicted Jesus, but because two different covenants need to be kept in the proper context.



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686. Danger: Elevating the “Good Book” Above the Person of Jesus

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Have you ever wondered how people have been spiritually nourished and sustained when they never had exposure to what we call The Holy Bible? It’s easy to forget in our modern-day western civilization, but Bibles haven’t been collecting dust on living room tables for most centuries since the time of the cross.

If you’ve been listening to the Growing in Grace podcast for any length of time, you know we cherish the information and revelation found within the pages of the Scriptures. But even as believers in Christ, our understanding of them is far from perfect, it can be easy for us to misinterpret various things or begin to filter our limited understanding through doctrines of men and denominational dogma. Unfortunately, at times, we may be doing the same thing some of the Jews did before the cross - elevating the written pages above the Person to whom the writings bear witness. Those Jews knew the Scriptures and thought they would find life within those writings… but they did not have His Word in them because they refused to come to Jesus - the only One who could give life.

Jesus put it this way when speaking to them: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40 ESV).

Jesus did not say, “I and the Bible are one.” He is supreme compared to scrolls and predominant over publishers. Jesus is the living Word that has been around before there was a beginning. Be thankful for the Scriptures, because they bear witness of the Son… but ultimately, life comes from one source - not the pages, but the Person - Jesus Christ. He stated that it would be the Spirit of truth who would abide in us and now be our guide. He is the one we should all agree to rally around and trust in together - not our flimsy theology.



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Your Search For Significance Is Over

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Wouldn’t it be a great feeling to know that regardless of: how much you do or don’t accomplish on any given day how many compliments you do or don’t get how many people do or don’t understand you how many people accept or reject you how much money you do or don’t have what the […]

Your Search For Significance Is Over

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Wouldn’t it be a great feeling to know that regardless of: how much you do or don’t accomplish on any given day how many compliments you do or don’t get how many people do or don’t understand you how many people accept or reject you how much money you do or don’t have what the […]

Your Search For Significance Is Over

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Wouldn’t it be a great feeling to know that regardless of: how much you do or don’t accomplish on any given day how many compliments you do or don’t get how many people do or don’t understand you how many people accept or reject you how much money you do or don’t have what the […]

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