Something I read today....

mizpeh · #1 03-12-2009, 09:18 PM

From The Grace Awakening by Charles Swindoll page 19

"Instead of striving for a manmade ticket to heaven based on high achievemnet and hard work (for which we get all the credit), I suggest we openly declare our own spiritual bankruptcy and accept God's free gift of grace. "Why?" you ask. "Why not emphasize how much I do for God instead of what He does for me?" Because that is heresy, plain and simple. How? By exalting our own effort and striving for our own accomplishments, we insult His grace and steal the credit that belongs to Him alone."

mizpeh · #2 03-12-2009, 10:16 PM

From The Grace Awakening by Charles Swindoll pag 20-21

"Most people I know look forward to payday. You do, too, right? For a week, or perhaps a two week period, you give time and effort to your job. When payday arrives, you receive a hard-earned, well-deserved paycheck. I have never met anyone who bows and scrapes before his boss, saying, "Thank you. Oh, thank you for this wonderful undeserved gift. How can I possibly thank you enough for my paycheck?" If we did, he would probably faint. Certainly, he would think, What is wrong with this guy? Why? Because your paycheck is not a gift. You've earned it. You deserve it. Cash it! Spend it! Save it! Invest it! Give it! After all, you had it coming. In the workplace, where wages are negotiated and agree upon, there is no such thing as grace.We earn what we receive; we work for it. The wage "is not reckoned as a favor but as what is due".

But with God the economy is altogether different. There is no wage relationship with God. Spiritually speaking, you and I haven't earned anything but death. Like it or not, we are absolutely bankrupt, without eternal hope, without spiritual merit; we have nothing in ourselves that gives us favor in the eyes of our holy and righteous heavenly Father. So there's nothing we can earn that would cause Him to raise his eyebrows and say, " Um, now maybe you deserve eternal life with me." No way. In fact, the individual whose track record is morally pure has no better chance at earning God's favor than the individual who has made a wreck and waste of his life and is currently living in unrestrained disobedience. Every one who hopes to be eternally justified must come to God the same way: on the basis of grace; it is a gift. And that gift comes to us absolutely free. Any other view of salvation is heresy, plain and simple."

Sam · #3 03-12-2009, 10:29 PM

Greasy Grace!!!!!

Easy Believism!!!!

Weak on the Message!!!!

OK, I'm just kidding.
I agree with what Chuck Swindoll is saying.

The Apostle Paul said, "the wages of sin is death" (that's what we earn, that's what we get based on our works)
BUT
the gift of God is eternal life

Thank God for that gift!!!

Sam · #4 03-12-2009, 10:32 PM

This is a note written in the margin of my Bible at Jeremiah chapter 31

The New Covenant is a "gift certificate" for salvation.
The merchandise is not free. Someone paid the price.
We just go to the store and claim the purchased item.

GrowingPains · #5 07-01-2009, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mizpeh

From The Grace Awakening by Charles Swindoll pag 20-21

"Most people I know look forward to payday. You do, too, right? For a week, or perhaps a two week period, you give time and effort to your job. When payday arrives, you receive a hard-earned, well-deserved paycheck. I have never met anyone who bows and scrapes before his boss, saying, "Thank you. Oh, thank you for this wonderful undeserved gift. How can I possibly thank you enough for my paycheck?" If we did, he would probably faint. Certainly, he would think, What is wrong with this guy? Why? Because your paycheck is not a gift. You've earned it. You deserve it. Cash it! Spend it! Save it! Invest it! Give it! After all, you had it coming. In the workplace, where wages are negotiated and agree upon, there is no such thing as grace.We earn what we receive; we work for it. The wage "is not reckoned as a favor but as what is due".

But with God the economy is altogether different. There is no wage relationship with God. Spiritually speaking, you and I haven't earned anything but death. Like it or not, we are absolutely bankrupt, without eternal hope, without spiritual merit; we have nothing in ourselves that gives us favor in the eyes of our holy and righteous heavenly Father. So there's nothing we can earn that would cause Him to raise his eyebrows and say, " Um, now maybe you deserve eternal life with me." No way. In fact, the individual whose track record is morally pure has no better chance at earning God's favor than the individual who has made a wreck and waste of his life and is currently living in unrestrained disobedience. Every one who hopes to be eternally justified must come to God the same way: on the basis of grace; it is a gift. And that gift comes to us absolutely free. Any other view of salvation is heresy, plain and simple."

We certainly never "earn" it, but we put ourselves in position by being seen through Christ. My good works aren't a matter of getting saved, they are a byproduct of being saved.

KeptByTheWord · #6 12-09-2010, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mizpeh

From The Grace Awakening by Charles Swindoll pag 20-21

"Most people I know look forward to payday. You do, too, right? For a week, or perhaps a two week period, you give time and effort to your job. When payday arrives, you receive a hard-earned, well-deserved paycheck. I have never met anyone who bows and scrapes before his boss, saying, "Thank you. Oh, thank you for this wonderful undeserved gift. How can I possibly thank you enough for my paycheck?" If we did, he would probably faint. Certainly, he would think, What is wrong with this guy? Why? Because your paycheck is not a gift. You've earned it. You deserve it. Cash it! Spend it! Save it! Invest it! Give it! After all, you had it coming. In the workplace, where wages are negotiated and agree upon, there is no such thing as grace.We earn what we receive; we work for it. The wage "is not reckoned as a favor but as what is due".

But with God the economy is altogether different. There is no wage relationship with God. Spiritually speaking, you and I haven't earned anything but death. Like it or not, we are absolutely bankrupt, without eternal hope, without spiritual merit; we have nothing in ourselves that gives us favor in the eyes of our holy and righteous heavenly Father. So there's nothing we can earn that would cause Him to raise his eyebrows and say, " Um, now maybe you deserve eternal life with me." No way. In fact, the individual whose track record is morally pure has no better chance at earning God's favor than the individual who has made a wreck and waste of his life and is currently living in unrestrained disobedience. Every one who hopes to be eternally justified must come to God the same way: on the basis of grace; it is a gift. And that gift comes to us absolutely free. Any other view of salvation is heresy, plain and simple."

Mizpeh - I love your thoughts and postings! I have read Bro. Lawrence's book, and wow! What an inspiration it is. Have you ever read Hinds Feet on High Places? I love that allegory story too.

mizpeh · #7 12-10-2010, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KeptByTheWord

Mizpeh - I love your thoughts and postings! I have read Bro. Lawrence's book, and wow! What an inspiration it is. Have you ever read Hinds Feet on High Places? I love that allegory story too.

Thanks, KBTW!

I haven't read Hinds Feet on High Places but I have the book. I finished a book by Stott and I'm reading one on discipleship. I can't remember the name of the author.

*AQuietPlace* · #8 03-12-2009, 11:24 PM

Awesome stuff!

commonsense · #9 03-12-2009, 11:26 PM

Good words mizpeh. But I can tell you it's not the way I heard it.....

Very little mention of grace in fact.

mizpeh · #10 03-26-2009, 05:07 AM

From Joyce Meyer's The Battlefield of the Mind, a devotional #84

Quote:

Right Action Follows Right Thinking

Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. Romans 12:2

A friend once talked about a church building their congregation had bought. "Function follows form," he said, as he explained that the shape of the building and the size of the rooms had already determined how they could best use the building.

As I thought about it, I realized that's exactly how our lives work. Once we decide the form, the funtion follows. This could be stated another way by saying, once we set our minds to something -- that's the form-- the function, or the action, follows.

Too many people want to change their actions but not their thoughts. They want to be free from anger, gossip, lust, dishonesty, or lying. They want the bad behavior to stop, but they don't want to change their bad thinking.

The principle of God's Word is simple: Right action follows right thinking. None of us ever walks in victory unless we understand and put this principle into practice. We won't change our behavior until we change our way of thinking.

Many people struggle over trying to do the right thing. One woman told me that she had been a real gossip-- not that her words were always evil, but she just liked to talk. It was as if she felt compelled to be the first person to know anything and then to pass it on as quickly as possible. She struggled with holding back or saying less, and it didn't work.

My advice to her was, "Until you change your way of thinking, you won't be free." Then I said I would be glad to pray for her, but added, "You must be accountable."

"I am-- and I will be--"she interrupted.

"No, you haven't heard me. You want deliverance from all the gossip, but you don't want to make any changes in your thinking. It doesn't work that way. You need deliverance in your mind; then your words and actions will change."

She resisted my words, but she did ask me to pray for her, which I did. When I finished, she began to cry. "As you prayed, I understood. God showed me how insignificant and unimportant I feel. When I'm the first to pass on information, it makes me feel good--at least for a while--and important."

She had been asking us to pray for her to change her behaviour, but she still wanted to feel good about what she did. She had to shift her thinking and learn to accept that she was worthwhile and loved by God just for being who she was. Once she learned to change her way of thinking-- and she did over a course of weeks--she no longer had a problem with her tongue.

It's impossible to change wrong behavior to right behavior without an attitude adjustment, which means that first we change the way we think.

I like the way Paul taught in Ephesians 4. he contrasted the old nature with the renewed mind. He admonished his readers: "Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion: And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], and put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness (4:22-24).

Another translation puts it this way:" Let the Spirit change your way of thinking, and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy." (4:22-24 CEV)

There it is: Let the Holy Spirit change your way of thinking. that's the only way you can make permanent changes in your life.

Holy Spirit, thank You for Your ability to help me change my thinking. Help me strip myself of the old ways of thinking so that You can work in me to make me more like Jesus Christ. It's in His name that I pray. Amen.