Grace for Today... Do I want it?
Vulnerability...
Today, I talked about it. How I sometimes don't believe God's grace is enough. How I struggle with sin daily. How I feel inadequate as a Christian and how I feel like a hypocrite because I am still such a dirty, loathsome sinner.
But today, I also did something different. I called upon a couple of my safe friends. These gals are people I have confessed my struggles to. They know my heart. They have seen the good, the bad, & the ugly because we have been intentionally and prayerfully vulnerable. So the thing I did differently was to go to them and ask them to agree with me in prayer. I re-confessed my current battles, and told them I needed them to partner with me to pray for God's overwhelming strength, hope, grace, love, and blood to cover me. I realized that I needed to submit myself, my struggles, and my resistance to God's grace. I realized I really didn't have the strength to do that myself. And I remembered from the Word of God (and from repeated words of a mentor) that when two or more are gathered, God is in the midst of them.
Sweet Jesus! I knew I needed Christ! I knew I only half wanted him... I wanted my sins too. Yet I wanted my sins gone... I can only describe my morning as a war of Spirit and flesh, laced with guilt and frustration- swirled with just enough truth trying to shine through.
My girls prayed with me. My Jesus interceded for me, at the right hand of God. And do you know what? I believe the gracious God of the Universe heard my prayers. He listened to our cries. Will he remove this thorn from my flesh? Maybe not. But may His grace be ever sufficient for me.
So today, I think I began to chip at the iceberg of understanding God's grace and His unity brought through the body of Christ.
Today, I am victorious in Christ Jesus.
Today, I am not strong enough to overpower this...But Christ is. And he lives in me! So by grace, through faith, I AM victorious, I AM filled with truth, I AM filled with the Spirit of the living God! I can chase after his Spirit, and leave behind the pursuit of the flesh.
Today is a new day. Same grace, renewed mercies, fresh start.
Lastly, I am reminded that the Word says to "choose you this day whom you will serve." Jesus, I choose to serve you today. So help me. Be my all and everything.
I love you Jesus! Praying that my readers & friends will find the full, all encompassing freedom as they pursue total renewal and redemption in every area of their life.
XOXO,
Melissa
Today, I talked about it. How I sometimes don't believe God's grace is enough. How I struggle with sin daily. How I feel inadequate as a Christian and how I feel like a hypocrite because I am still such a dirty, loathsome sinner.
But today, I also did something different. I called upon a couple of my safe friends. These gals are people I have confessed my struggles to. They know my heart. They have seen the good, the bad, & the ugly because we have been intentionally and prayerfully vulnerable. So the thing I did differently was to go to them and ask them to agree with me in prayer. I re-confessed my current battles, and told them I needed them to partner with me to pray for God's overwhelming strength, hope, grace, love, and blood to cover me. I realized that I needed to submit myself, my struggles, and my resistance to God's grace. I realized I really didn't have the strength to do that myself. And I remembered from the Word of God (and from repeated words of a mentor) that when two or more are gathered, God is in the midst of them.
Sweet Jesus! I knew I needed Christ! I knew I only half wanted him... I wanted my sins too. Yet I wanted my sins gone... I can only describe my morning as a war of Spirit and flesh, laced with guilt and frustration- swirled with just enough truth trying to shine through.
My girls prayed with me. My Jesus interceded for me, at the right hand of God. And do you know what? I believe the gracious God of the Universe heard my prayers. He listened to our cries. Will he remove this thorn from my flesh? Maybe not. But may His grace be ever sufficient for me.
So today, I think I began to chip at the iceberg of understanding God's grace and His unity brought through the body of Christ.
Today, I am victorious in Christ Jesus.
Today, I am not strong enough to overpower this...But Christ is. And he lives in me! So by grace, through faith, I AM victorious, I AM filled with truth, I AM filled with the Spirit of the living God! I can chase after his Spirit, and leave behind the pursuit of the flesh.
Today is a new day. Same grace, renewed mercies, fresh start.
Lastly, I am reminded that the Word says to "choose you this day whom you will serve." Jesus, I choose to serve you today. So help me. Be my all and everything.
I love you Jesus! Praying that my readers & friends will find the full, all encompassing freedom as they pursue total renewal and redemption in every area of their life.
XOXO,
Melissa
Wow so well said and an opener of many people including myself. It is by is Grace that we are saved and we just take it for granted sometimes. I can't help but think of the song victory in Jesus. I think I sang that 3 times on the way back home here in Springfield. I continue everytime I read your blog, spend time with you, or talk to you I am more inspired by you each time. God is up there smiling and telling the people around you that we need a mindset and heart just like yours. Yes we haven't known each other that long but day by day I am getting to know and love you more and more. I hope someday if you ever need more safe friends I can be one for you. I would love for you to be a prayer partner with me. Each day maybe we could send each other a text with a prayer request so we can specifically pray for each other. I include you in my prayers everyday but I would love to pray for something you need that day and the same for me to you. Could we set this up? The example you are to so many people is tremendous and God is rewarding you for that. I fall short everyday of Gods deserving grace and I pray that I can change my heart to be more deserving of his Grace to me. Thank you Melissa for touching my heart in so many ways and for being such an inspiration. You are so loved.
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