Grace – Page 37

700. Podcast 700 – Growing in Grace Highlights

April 28, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Just a couple of months ago we celebrated 14 years of the Growing in Grace podcast. This week we hit another milestone - our 700th Growing in Grace podcast! To create a special edition of the podcast, both Mike and Joel have dug into the archives to share some "highlights" from past Growing in Grace podcasts. We truly enjoy sharing our hearts every week regarding this wonderful gospel of grace, and we hope you enjoy hearing these gospel nuggets.

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“Teenagers, What I Want You to Know”

April 25, 2019 by Wynema

There are so many things that I want to tell young people. That time in life when you are searching for meaning, looking for your place, trying to fit in. If you will give me your ear, I promise I will not judge. Here are a few suggestions that may make the journey a little less painful.

1. Pain is normal. Everyone feels it. Don’t run from pain, lean into it and allow yourself to take shape. Life is a series of ups and downs, without the downs you wouldn’t appreciate the ups and it’s the ride that will color your life and make you strong. This idea that you are the only one feeling what your feeling is common. Those feelings are very real and in some cases frightening, it’s ok. You are not in this fight alone. It is in these times that you reach beyond yourself, beyond your reasoning and your age to something higher. It’s now that you begin to lean on and trust your creator. God equipped you with everything you need and even when you can’t see it or feel it, trust Him. He has got you, just trust Him. Tell Him you trust Him, give the pain to Him, give the confusion, the heartache, the fear to Him and trust that He has you.

2. You will make mistakes, it’s a part of the growing process. No one on the planet can do it all right. Be willing to acknowledge your need for help. There is nothing shameful or weak in needing help with things. Anyone that tells you that you shouldn’t ask questions and get help is doing damage, don’t listen, don’t be a part of the lie. It is this very willingness to admit your weakness that brings you your greatest strength. When you are weak He is strong. God isn’t afraid of your weakness, He knows you are imperfect, He is cool with that. He made you so you will trust Him, not so you will do it all yourself. Trust Him and at the same time allow others to be used by Him to help you.

3. Your identity is not found in labels. No matter what label you have been given, whether good or bad, whether positive or negative. You may be gifted and talented, you may have ADHD, you may be athletic, you may be musical, and you may have no idea at all what you are. These things do not identify you. What identifies you comes from where you get your life. As a believer your life is not music, athletics, sexuality, diagnosis, these are not your life. These are things your life deals with, but who you are is who Christ is. Who you are is loved, forgiven, new and right, just to name a few. In fact, Christ is your life. Recognize that, acknowledge that and the labels and the diagnosis are just a part of your journey. Enjoy the journey, but don’t mistake those things for your life. Someday the athletics will end, the talent will fade, the diagnosis will not be such a burden, but Christ will always be your life, allow Him to live through you.

4. If you are in a situation and something doesn’t feel right, listen to that and act on it. Trust your heart. Listen to the still small voice in your heart and allow it to guide you. It will save you from mistakes, hurt and disappointment. Listen to those who have had this journey already, people like your grandparents. Respect their knowledge and their years. They may have different views than you, but try and see the world through their eyes. You don’t have to agree, but listen, respect and give them your time. Theirs is limited.

5. Finally, when you are laying in your bed at night with the lights out and your eyes closed, think about Christ life moving through your hormones and your veins. See His light transforming you, see yourself swimming around in it. Drink it in. Try and imagine the depth of the love that He has for you, with no regard for faults, or labels. Accept that love, see yourself running in a wide-open field of it. Then wake up knowing that His life is your life, His strength is your strength, His peace is your peace, His mind is your mind and go conquer the day!

Wynema I Clark – 4/24/2017

Just Say “Here I Am, Lord…Send Me!”

April 13, 2019 by Sandra

Here I Am, Lord…Send Me! What a great thing to tell Jesus! There are so many ways God can send you into other people’s lives, working in and through you to help them. That’s why I often talk about how important it is that we don’t limit God or put Him in a box! Even […]

696. The Spirit Vs. the Flesh (Walking in the Spirit)

March 31, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

“The law is not of faith.” This word from Paul is a central theme throughout the book of Galatians. It needs to be kept in mind as we look through the letter, including chapter 5 as the apostle compares the Spirit to the flesh. Believers in Christ who had been freed from the law are no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Romans 8:9). Although we can be tempted with the works of the flesh that Paul lists in Galatians 5, it is those who are of the flesh that will not inherit the kingdom of heaven (unbelievers). They are stuck in “works” mode… which may appear as sinful and at other times it may appear as Godly. This is not a passage on living “good enough” to inherit eternal life. We’ve all continued to struggle with being perfect… we still may have moments of anger, quarrels, jealousy, impure thoughts, etc. Fear not! God is always with you and He desires to be our helper during those times.

The Galatians were earlier accused of having fallen from grace because they were trying to be perfected by the law of works (Galatians 3:3 & 5:4). As children of God, we receive an inheritance as a gift because we are an heir, not because we are living in a way that is going to be considered morally acceptable. This is not to diminish or disregard the importance of behavior - Paul’s exhortation is for us who are in Christ to behave in a way that reflects the true righteous nature of who we’ve been born to be in Christ. This is not accomplished by our empty efforts of trying to produce our own fruit, but by the Holy Spirit within us. Now we can bear His fruit, apart from the law of works.

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Resolving Insecurities

March 26, 2019 by kingdomlife

Success in life is all about wholesome, positive relationships.

But here are some eye-opening facts:

87% of our success is directly related to our ability to get along with others!
90-95% of all the people we come in contact with are moderately to severely insecure!
We are included in that 90-95%!

An insecure person doesn’t know their true value, so they feel rejected, unaccepted and abandoned. Unresolved insecurities control and influence our decision-making processes, which ultimately determine our future and hinder our success!

Nothing kills relationships quicker than unresolved insecurities. They destroy relationships, driving more people out of business and ministry than anything else.

Most people just hide their insecurities, living behind masks and denying their true selves—and believers are sometimes the best at it!

But in hiding our insecurities, we slowly lose who we were created to be.

Hiding your insecurities is like treating cancer with an aspirin—it might make you feel better for a couple of hours, but it won’t fix the problem.

Doing My Part

Getting along with others actually has more to do with us than with them.

1. I Must Deal with My Own Insecurities

Knowing God and His love will positively affect our relationships, but we still need to work on our people skills. The true mark of a mature Christian isflexibility and tolerance.

May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop MATURITY in you so that you can GET ALONG with each other as well as Christ gets along with us. —Romans 15:6-7 (MSG)

And Christ gets along with us based on who HE is—not on us.

2. Find Something Good in Others.

Those who are not like us may seemstrange or weird. We find reasons not tolike, accept or get along with them.

Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody… —Romans 12:17 (MSG)

Nothing kills relationships quicker than unresolved insecurities. They destroy relationships, driving more people out of business and ministry than anything else.

Confronting others to “straighten them out” will always create strife, even if we are right!

3. Stop Taking The Easy Way Out.

Sometimes it’s easier to simply avoid other people. But this should be a last resort. Don’t get me wrong—some you just have to love from a distance!

Those of us who are strong and able in the faith… lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us…. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?” —Romans 15:1-2 (MSG)

4. Settle in Your Heart That It’s Okay to Disagree.

Usually this is a big problem for insecure people.

Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with…Treat them gently.—Romans 14:1-3 (MSG)

5. Remember, People Will Always Be People.

It’s impossible to have relationships and not have offenses!

Then said he unto the disciples, “It is impossible but that offenses will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!”—Luke 17:1 (KJV)

This is one of the greatest things I’ve learned over the years. It’s not what happens to me, but what happens in me that really matters!

6. Learn to Listen to Others.

We must be willing to listen to other people!

Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.—Proverbs 17:28 (KJV)

Clearly, flexibility and tolerance are the true marks of a mature Christian.

695. Love Is Better Than Law

March 24, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

In the third chapter of Galatians, Paul stated “the law is not of faith.” We’ve progressed to Galatians chapter 5, where the apostle attempts to encourage these people to avoid the pitfall of going from the freedom of grace back into the law of works. They had been bewitched and deceived into another gospel that really wasn’t the gospel at all. If they were going to choose the system of written commandments (such as circumcision), they would be obligated to keep the entire law - all 613 commands. Those who were attempting to be justified by law (works) had fallen from grace. Paul went on to admonish not to use their freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. So how does one walk in the Spirit and avoid the desire of the flesh? It’s done apart from the law of works and it’s rooted in the perfect love of God which was manifested through Jesus Christ… this is where we abide as believers inside of a New Covenant.

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Guests on the Gospel of Grace Podcast

March 14, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

This week, Mike and Joel were the guests on a podcast by Timothy Virge called "The Gospel of Grace Podcast." We had a great time talking about a variety of things, centered around the good news of God's love and grace.

Don’t Tell Them Jesus Loves Them

March 11, 2019 by Michael Wilson

Growing up in the late 80’s, one of my favorite singers was Steve Camp. One of his songs from that era has been on my mind lately. One line in that song simply says, “Don’t tell them Jesus loves them ‘til you’re ready to love them too.” One problem that I have with the American, [...]

The post Don’t Tell Them Jesus Loves Them appeared first on MichaelWilson.org.

693. Children of Inheritance – Not Slaves Under the Law

March 10, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Continuing on our current thread that "the law is not of faith." The Apostle Paul continues to explain and reveal the significant differences between law and faith in Galatians Chapter 4. Those who had formerly been under the law of Moses were described as slaves held in bondage. Jesus was born of a woman under that same system of law in order to redeem those who were under the law. This would result in the slaves becoming children... heirs of the promise. Paul would continue to show that most people who want to live by the law have no idea what the law says and requires (they had the impossible task of doing all of it). The child of slavery came through Hagar, symbolizing the Old Covenant at Mt. Sinai where the law was given - it gave birth to spiritual bondage. But the child of promise came through Sarah, symbolizing the freedom of grace and faith found in the New Covenant. Both Jew and Gentile believers are now children of the free woman.

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692. A Life of Faith Apart from the Law

March 3, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Faith. Grace. Righteousness. Forgiveness. Life. Salvation. These are gifts we’ve been delivered into since God established a New Covenant where both Jew and Gentile have been invited into the covenant - Christ Jesus is that covenant that has been given and established after the cross. These things were not attainable for those Jews living under the religious system of the Mosaic law from the Old Covenant. Their efforts at trying to abide by the many commandments fell far short of the requirement. The new way came by an oath or a promise. The premise of most Christian church doctrines tragically resembles a train-wreck where law and faith have crashed head-on, leaving people in a state of anxiety, pain, fear and bondage. Our program this week covers many of the differences between the law of works compared to the ministry of faith and grace… and why we should avoid the mixture.

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Relax – It. Is. All. About. Jesus.

February 20, 2019 by Sandra

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 […]

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

February 10, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

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.