WOW! Our grandson never ceases to amaze us.
Here he is being No. 1 in the soccer football frenzy.
This is his third promotion in quite a number of years, and he is only 18 years old.
The first episode in his sparkling career so far was at home, and he was playing for the local team in first grade.
Then...got persuaded to play for a team in the same competition. The thing was, this particular team was winning the comp at that stage. They were also a good 100 kilometers away, which meant lots of traveling for him, BUT he joined them anyway and has gone from strength to strength.
Now...He has been persuaded to join yet another winning team, a further 100 kilometers away, and has been put on contract for at least two years. I must say I am pretty amazed at his skills and perseverance.
He was ALWAYS so set on soccer when he was a little chap, it was constantly 'soccer in the backyard' at Pop and Gran's place, with the soccer ball always taking a trip down the road with good old Pop being Mr Fielder.
How important is being Number 1 in any sort of field? Looking at our boy, it makes me wonder.
Driving into the beach again today, I was overwhelmed by the many drivers I encountered (not saying I was any better than any of them) who were so keen to get in front of everybody they almost entirely ran up the back of any car that dared to get in front of them.
Just made me wonder how imperative it is for us to succeed in anything we do, and is getting in front of whoever is in the way, so important for us?
I couldn't help going back to one of the blogs I recently wrote called 'Bullfrogs and Butterflies,' which was about Keith Green. He wrote an amazing number of songs, one of which stands out to me, especially some of the lyrics.
In it, he talks about feelings and the amazing grace of God by which he is saved (when I say 'saved' I mean being committed to God and asking Him to take control of your life) He also mentions and I quote "You must remember that nothing lasts EXCEPT the Grace Of God by which I stand in Jesus" He then goes on the sing "I know that I would surely fall away EXCEPT for grace by which I'm saved".
When I look at our young fellow above and how he is doing in his soccer world, I am very excited for him - he has tried and succeeded so well, and I can't help but feel so very happy for him. Honestly, I enjoy every moment of seeing him succeed in his beloved sport.
BUT..
Nothing will last forever - not our good feelings about things or the bad things that happen in our lives, yes, nothing, absolutely nothing will last forever EXCEPT the very grace of God, which has been mentioned in the lyrics of Keith's song.
So, what is Grace?
Grace means courtesy, politeness, manners, dignity, honour, etc.
So, what is the Grace of God?
Grace is so essential to our great God - it is actually pretty much hand in hand with His amazing love and mercy. We are pretty much undeserving of His grace and of God's gift to us.
God is so willing to forgive us of all of our wrongdoings, and THAT to me is GRACE with a capital "G".
Grace is pretty much constantly mentioned all the way through the Bible, and it virtually means kindness or blessings. We can give and extend it to anyone we wish. In our Lord God's eyes, GRACE to Him means choosing to bless us even though we certainly don't deserve it, and only when we hand our lives entirely over to Him.
In the Bible, Ephesians 2 verse 8 says, "For by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves," meaning that we are saved only through believing in the Lord our God - we don't save ourselves, only through God.
Sometimes we can get caught up in guilt, fear, and a sense of constantly sinning, which can lead us to a feeling of lack of confidence in Jesus and also joy in our salvation.
So many times I have heard that people reckon once they have become "Christians" that they will never sin again, and when they do sin, they reckon "Well, that didn't work, did it?
NO! Because we are so human, we will sin all the time - the thing is that God will keep bringing us back to Himself and keep on reminding us that what we have just done in the sinning business will need to be forgiven by Him, and all we have to do is ask His forgiveness.
The thing is that as we progress in our Christian lives and we start making God No. 1 all the time, then our blatant sinning will become less and less - praise the Lord for that, I say!
God's amazing grace covers us, and He will save us. As we travel along with Him, He will change us more and more to be like Him in so many ways.
None of us is perfect, and we will never be until we meet God face to face. All changes are made through His great love and mercy.
God bless you this week. If you have any questions, please contact us.
Take Joy in the Lord.
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