Seesaw of Life - Living in God’s Grace
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| We have all been on a playground and I am sure everyone has played on a seesaw (teeter totter). One person sits on one end and another person sits on the other end, ever noticed the middle though? Have you ever stood in the middle and tried to balance it? If you have you noticed one foot leaned more one way and that side would go down but if you balanced in the middle it leveled out. I thought about this today and I think we treat our Christian walk as if we were on a see saw. Why? Because so many of us do not embrace grace. If someone has read the Bible and knows all the people in it they will know that even those that God chose had some pretty messy pasts. But get this...He still used them. From Abraham to the Disciples God took the most ordinary people with so much baggage but he still used them. As an example of what he can do for you when you accept His love and grace. I started reading “The Grace Awakening” by Charles R. Swindol and it reminded me of a conversation that my sister and I had one day. She stated “I do not want your baggage” and spoke of my past like it was a curse. It got me to thinking that well I do not want her to have my baggage, it is mine I will share the story of it, but I will not let anyone else carry it. I know that sounds crazy but that baggage it belongs to me, I immediately stated to her that everyone has a past and it is up to us how we carry the baggage. I did not realize that I was informing her that there is forgiveness, and to embrace grace, it frees us, it does not bind us. Here is the definition of Grace: a : APPROVAL, FAVOR (stayed in his good graces) b archaic : MERCY, PARDON c : a special favor : PRIVILEGE disposition to or an act or instance of KINDNESS, courtesy, or clemency. Okay…we have a free gift as children of God once we are born again we receive so much from our Lord but one that is the most moving is “Grace” we have been pardoned we have a privilege. Imagine that Jesus has took your place, anything that you do in your lifetime you are forgiven! Here is the best part of all, GOD FORGETS. He does not hold what you have done over your head he does not use it to bind you, keep you captive, in anger, hate, or pain. His grace sets you free! He has given you a way out all you have to do is take that way out. The saddest thing though it is something as his children we take for granted. The most frustrating thing for me is to see people that have this grace live as if they do not possess it and they do. They just do not live in it. Instead they take what has happened to them and use it as a leverage to manipulate people to gain what they want. And there are people that will use it to keep you where Satan wants you. Living a life as if there was NO SACRIFICE. Living a life as if Jesus did not take your sins to the cross and wipe you clean with his blood. What we have to remember is whether it is money, attention, or to progress in your job to gain what you want you are doing exactly what Satan wants you to. Some people want pity of others for what they have went through in their past. Instead of standing tall, firm, and in the word of God and living like a forgiven sinner with love and grace. Satan does not want others to look at you and see “THE GRACE OF GOD” Here are a few questions for you;
1. Have you ever used your past to gain something you wanted by
gaining sympathy from others?
2. Or have you used your past to help God bring others to him through your past?
3. Have you used someone’s past against them to hurt them?
4. Have you treated someone with the same grace as God has given you?
4. Why did Satan fall?
5. What is Satan’s Characteristics?
Now imagine a see saw.
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God God is on one side, Satan is at the other, where are we at? We are in the middle. When we take on the characteristics of God we not only walk in His will but we lean on that see saw towards him. When we take on the characteristics of Satan we walk in his will, we lean towards him. So if you answered yes to the first question you have took on one of the characteristics of Satan. If you answered yes to the second question you have took on the characteristics of God. Are you leaning one way and then the other? Or are you staying dead center with nowhere to go? I hope you can answer the question why did Satan fall, it is imperative that we do know. So we do not follow in his footsteps. Not a good idea folks! My whole point is we have those that do not understand the power of grace and what it can do for you and what it has done for others. And then we have those that understand grace but have not embraced it and they have used the good and bad in order to obtain what they want. And can they honestly say that they have obtained what they have through the grace of God or by manipulation from pride, jealousy, or anger? Or simply because they are selfish and just want whatever for themselves. Look, one of the worst things we can do to our selves is covet want what others have, and deceive ourselves so we can justify wrong. Have an addiction that is consuming us and destroying us, whether it is drugs, money, worry, stress, a broken past, eating disorder, obesity, alcohol, cigarettes, it is Satan and he has you leaning towards him. We will always be on this seesaw as long as we are in the flesh. But I ask do you constantly want to be going up and down? Or are you going to just stay in the middle? You have to decide and chose which side you are on, the side of grace or bondage? I do not know where you are on this seesaw, but I know when it is time for me to get off, I want to be on God’s side. Just know that when we live in grace and embrace it, we take on the characteristics of God we are set free of guilt and sin. The baggage you ask? The day you are born again and accept Christ in your heart you are welcomed into our Father’s eternal kingdom you are a child of God. You have a gift waiting for you to embrace and it comes with all the perks and that past that had so much weight becomes lighter. You start experiencing the grace of our Lord, you start living in His grace but most of all you experience forgiveness. And the really, really, cool part in that is then you can take the past that once had you captive and in shame you release it to him and then you can help others to better His kingdom!! Amen. ~ Shannon Wendler | |||||
