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GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION

707. Born Identity: God Remembers Sins No More

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The Christian religion is often built upon the idea we should repeatedly be seeking a renewed forgiveness from God whenever we fall short.

It’s time to ask ourselves a question at it relates to the message of the gospel and the New Covenant of Jesus Christ: How can we be forgiven for something that God says He no longer remembers?



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Is Jesus The Tithe?

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I pray you are super blessed by this wonderful teaching by Pastor Greg Riether of Healing Grace Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I’m convinced Jesus wants His Bride (The Church) to live in freedom in this area! I have also created some artwork quotes from this message that you can save to your camera roll and […]

“Teenagers, What I Want You to Know”

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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

692. A Life of Faith Apart from the Law

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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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691. “The Law Is Not of Faith” (Galatians 3:12)

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We frequently find them blended into the doctrines and sermons of Church Incorporated… selected portions of commandments from the law which came by way of Moses. Not the entire law, mind you. Each religious brand will pick and choose what they think should be applied and what should be left off the list. The problem? There shouldn’t be a list. The entire written code of the letter from the Old Covenant was wiped out and came to an end. It was replaced with a better option that arrived when Jesus was manifested - it’s called faith. Paul was explaining to the Galatians they needed to make one of two choices… attempting to follow and live by the works of the law (the flesh) or to live by faith in Jesus Christ.

Before faith came, the Jews were held as prisoners under the law. The Mosaic law was a tutor or guardian which was meant to eventually lead them to the custody of Jesus Christ. When faith (Christ) came, there was no longer the need for the guardian because us who are in Christ Jesus became children of God by faith. The law and commandments are not based upon the faith that was provided for us within a new and better covenant.



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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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685. Is Everything in the Bible Written to Us Directly?

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Everything within God’s written Word is there for a reason. Sometimes this can cause Christians to assume that everything within each passage is somehow meant to be applied directly to our lives. God must have some sort of secret meaning or hidden message that we need to tap into in order for us to gain wisdom for our current situation or for the next step in our lives. Millions of sermons continue to be built upon this premise. Often, we’re trying to figure out how to make “verses” relevant for us today, but there are times when that isn’t why it was written. Our conversation this week revolves around the importance of context within the Scriptures. Not only the context of the passage, but the context of the two primary covenants upon which the entire Bible is based upon.



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EXTRA: On this week's podcast Kap mentioned a public speaking appearance of his from last year. Here is his 40 minute message on YouTube.


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Top Picks of 2018

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Happy New Year from the Growing in Grace podcast! We'll return in 2019 with brand new weekly Growing in Grace episodes, but this week's topic is the Top Picks of 2018. Mike and Joel have both independently selected two of their favorite episodes from this past year.

We'll start with this pick from Mike: Dead to Sin, Alive to Righteousness. (Podcast 655).



"This is one of my personal favorite Growing in Grace podcasts in 2018. It quickly and simply covers a handful of topics that are commonly misunderstood within the vocabulary of legalistic religious circles:

Under grace, can we just go out and do whatever we want?
Sin, repentance, and struggles.
Understanding who you are: The righteousness identity of a believer.
Already forgiven and sins taken away."

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Joel's first pick comes from a 17 part series that we did called "Summarizing the Scripture." As we were nearing the end of the series, we did an episode called Contradictions or Different Covenants? (Podcast 645).



"I like this episode because it's a great summary of the differences between the Old and New Covenants, and we talk about why did Jesus often taught works-based teachings that seem to contradict the essence of the New Covenant.  Under the Old Covenant, it was up to the people to keep the covenant, but all they ever did was fail.  Everything in the New Covenant is based on the finished work of Jesus and God's oath that He made to Himself, and not the works of the people.  It always confused me why Paul seemed to teach righteousness as a free gift that we receive apart from works, and yet Jesus seemed to teach that it was all works-based.

What I eventually came to understand is that Jesus was teaching the Old Covenant to those who were under it (Israel), for the purpose of showing them that they were not keeping it (and could not keep it), and they instead needed to turn, by faith, to this other covenant that was based upon God's oath to Himself and not their ability to keep a covenant with God."

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Next, from Mike, The Golden Rule: A Spiritual Death Sentence (Podcast 658).



"Here is one of my top 5 favorite Growing in Grace podcasts of 2018. It takes a traditional mindset 'head-on' with the subject of The Golden Rule as stated by Jesus:

'So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets' (Matthew 7:12).

Traditional Christianity has mistakenly mixed this law from the Old Covenant into church tenets and creeds. With one sentence He summarized the entire law which nobody could keep and it brought a sentence of guilt, bondage and death … not life. There is a better way."

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Another of Joel's favorites from 2018: The Gospel Is the Gift of God's Righteousness. (Podcast 665).



"Back to the basics with this one. We talk about questions such as What is the gospel? and How does it differ from the 'bad news?'  The 'bad news' is that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but yet the 'good news' - the gospel - is that God justifies ungodly people by gifting them with His very own righteousness.  The gospel reveals the righteousness of God that is given as a gift to those who do nothing but believe. Those trying to attain righteousness by their own works don't find it, and yet it's given freely to those who aren't even trying.  This episode is one of my favorites because it's a great reminder to me that I have nothing to boast about before God, and I can stop trying to perform for God in order to attain or maintain right standing with Him.  I've already received it, solely as His gift to me."

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We hope you enjoy our year end picks!  Do you have any favorites?  If you'd like to hear more, check out the "Most Popular Posts" in the column to the right, which lists the most viewed posts on this website in the last year.

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I Need Help

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Praying on Mountian

"I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." -- Psalms 121:1-2

We all need help. Some are aware of it and others trudge on as if they are completely sufficient for every possibility. Those who are aware are faced with where they will look for help. The crowd of Israelites marching to Jerusalem to worship sang the song as recorded in Psalm 121. While it was common for people of that time to believe that their gods ruled from the majestic mountains that towered above everything, the people of Jehovah trusted the God who made the mountains.

He is not our maid who does what we demand. He is our Father who hears our cry and acts in our behalf in the best way at the best time.

He does not compete with the imagined gods of other religions. He is in a class byHhimself. He alone created all things. He alone governs what He created. He has a name. He is the God who made covenant with Israel. By His own initiative, He has assumed responsibility to be a Father to them. Without His watchful care, they will surely stumble and fall. He alone can establish them as secure. The song says, "He will not let your foot be moved." Israel can stand their ground because of the commitment of their God.

He is not a projection of human imagination -- a bigger version of man. He does not sleep. His care is perpetual. He provides shade from the rigors of the sun's heat, and protection from the mysterious influences of the moon and planets. He rules the day and the night. He ensures the sustainability of His people's faith. He watches them as they come and go. He is their God, and He cares about every detail of their lives.

A New Covenant Cry for Help

As we New Testament believers sing the song, we have further understanding of this dynamic. We cry for help from the One who not only made a covenant but ratified it by fulfilling the conditions we could never fulfill.

Jesus as our covenant mediator has kept covenant with the Father, and we are blessed with the fulfilled promise made to the obedient. We have no reason to look anywhere else for our help. He is our God and He cares for us. All the resources in creation are at His disposal to be used as He directs. We can stop looking to the gods that our culture has adopted for our help. We have a helper who waits for our call.

He is not our maid who does what we demand; He is our Father who hears our cry and acts in our behalf in the best way at the best time. If you are ready to admit you need help, look beyond the mountains to the creator and Father, and call.

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Floods Of Rest

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An obsession with right and wrong had stolen my liberation most of my life. I wanted badly to get it right. It being my theology, my life, my character, my family, everything. But I got confusion and frustration and like parched earth on a hot Texas summer it starved my soul of the pure clean living water that was mine.

It was a drought of receiving and giving the love that so desperately wanted to flow. But slowly, the dam broke. Not like a thunderstorm, but like a still small voice saying, “It Is Finished” you can stop now and rest.

Let the water flow by letting go of right and resting now, because, I Am. I am your right, I am their right, I Am. And out of my belly flows rivers of living water. Floods of restful being, washing every part. I will never thirst again.

Wynema Clark 12/22/2018

Alone-ness

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It is in my alone-ness that God and I communicate the best. In the quiet of my evening, when my day has unfolded and my concerns or request are raw and laid bare. As I finish up my day, we talk all while I clean the kitchen or wash my face.

I also like to walk either alone or with my pups in tow. No music or podcast or sermons. Nothing to place my concentration on or distract me from where my thoughts are. Maybe family concerns or things happening with my friends. We talk about it. Even my own personal anxieties or feelings of inadequacy I notice in the quiet. Those I share with Him and He often reminds me of the truth or highlights a lie that I’ve allowed in.

I the quiet I can really focus on where my thoughts and feelings are settling. Where I am emotional in certain thoughts and why that particular thought elicits such emotion. The Holy Spirit gently and quietly points out the truth and where it fits or doesn’t fit with who I am.

Sometimes my feelings are strictly based on lack of sleep or hormones. In these I am given grace. Those are physical and may not be based on a lie, but physiology. In those times I remember the difference between eternal and temporary and I am thankful for the temporary and I allow myself to feel it and then let go.

Sometimes I even embrace the highs and lows for a time to enjoy the range of emotions that associated with being alive. It allows me a healthy, honest physiological experience in the moment.

I am thankful for a full range of emotions and thankful to my Father for being a woman.

Wynema I Clark

“The Real You” series – Week 8: You Are Blessed!

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What do you believe you have to do to qualify yourself for God’s blessings? Tithe? Give offerings? Give both tithes and offerings? Mine and my husband’s lives have been pretty radically changed within this past year after learning the truth that we are blessed because of Jesus alone! I had to personally come to terms […]

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