Will the Power of God's Grace Disable Duplicity?

The tendency toward deception is a problem even the strongest Christians must struggle against. When confronted with situations that are embarrassing, denying wrongdoing or admitting failure in morals and character is common practice. Large corporations pay out huge sums to settle lawsuits, while denying wrongdoing.

This prevailing mindset bows to deception as an effective means of functioning in society. However deception damages integrity, creates guilt, and may become emotionally habitual or a common way of life.

Living with deception fosters a way of life tainted by duplicity, which is dangerous. Listen to Proverbs 11:3, “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” Though sin may have gained a foothold in your life, God’s grace is greater, more powerful than sin’s stronghold. God is persistent in guiding you away from evil and toward Jesus Christ and his righteousness. 

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When Christ died, he died for sin once and for all. But now he is alive and lives only for God. In the same way, you must think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But Christ Jesus has given life to you, and you live for God. Don’t let sin rule your body. After all, your body is bound to die, so don’t obey its desires.

~Romans 6:10-12 Contemporary English Version

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Hallmarks of Faith

Faith gives life vibrancy like nothing mankind is capable of manufacturing! In fact, faith is indispensable for contending with life’s challenges and grasping opportunities that come to those who venture out to seize what God makes available. God gives each receptive individual faith that can endure whatever life presents.

Where there is struggle and temptation, faith provides a defense as well as an escape from each situation. Where sin abounds God's grace abounds even more. He unleashes his mercy, protection, and provision, which give faith endurance. God’s wisdom is available to those who seek to live within its power.

Faith cannot be separated from God’s undeserved favor and compassion, his grace, which is an attribute of God by which we receive his kindness and mercy. Faith produces compassion that reflects the values God wants his followers to demonstrate to others. Compassion and kindness are the hallmarks of faith.          

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If you believe that Jesus is the Christ – that he is God’s Son and your Savior – then you are a child of God. And all who love the Father love his children, too. So you can find our how much you love God’s children – your brothers and sisters in the Lord – by how much you love and obey God.

~1 John 5:1-2 The Living Bible 

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A New Year of Hope: Lay a New Foundation with God's Peace

When you think about the word foundation, what comes to your mind? What do you visualize? What are the main ingredients in a foundation that carries the weight of hope and blessings and is supported by the peace that only God can provide? A life based on God’s word provides strength for meeting each day’s challenges.

Secret sins that date far back in your life can sabotage the blessings God wants to bestow on you. So go in search of what you have hidden away from the light of God’s forgiveness and mercy. It is not too late to repent and come clean with Christ Jesus.

Since this is the beginning of a new year, why not break with the past and permit the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to give you a new start by cleansing  you from all unrighteousness? You may have to make a new start every day, but that’s okay with God. He understands and will help you do it. Don’t hesitate. “Come every soul by sin oppressed, there’s mercy with the Lord.” Happy New Year. 

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For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

~Jeremiah 29:11 New King James Version

Everyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.

~2 Corinthians 5:17 Contemporary English Version

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Go Forward with God's Presence

God created the family to provide a stable environment for children so they could develop the strength of character to leave home and create their own families. Stable families produce strong communities which create a nation capable of withstanding assaults hurled against it. At the core of a stable family is faith in God.

Disappointments are often seen as punishment from God because of sin. Moses faced disappointment but didn’t become disillusioned or turn his back on God’s grace and mercy. God gave him courage and the will to go forward and face the aftermath of poor judgment and bad choices.

             Moses’ faith in God remained strong when it came time for him to die. As you commit yourself to Christ Jesus, you can face whatever the future holds. Jesus will comfort and guide you through challenging times. God's grace enables you to count it a joy when life hurls uncertainty your way. God’s presence with you gives evidence of his faithfulness.  

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I’ve commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the Lord your God, and I will be there to help you wherever you go.

~Joshua 1:9 Contemporary English Version

 

You can never please God without faith, without depending on him. Anyone who wants to come to God must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely look for him.

~Hebrews 11:6 The Living Bible

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I Surrender!

When Jacob lay down to sleep on the night before he was to meet his estranged brother, he had a visitor who engaged him in a wrestling match for an entire night. It's not uncommon to a have sleepless night because of anxiety or worry about the next day’s events. Jacob’s past had caught up with him, which put his future in jeopardy.

          In this wrestling match God made an all-out effort to penetrate the defenses Jacob erected. He wanted to do as he pleased and to use all his schemes and tools of deception in order to wring out of life everything it was ultimately worth. Yet God intended for Jacob to live by a different ethic, a code of conduct that reflected God's grace and deliverance.

          Surrendering to God's leadership isn't easy. We're afraid to let go and turn everything over to God. It may take a crisis where everything is in danger of being lost and we're powerless to stop it. It's at this juncture where we can exercise hope that the God of all hope will intervene on our behalf to save and change us.

Don't Dance with the Devil! - Part 3

Doing good doesn't come easy even when we are committed to do so from the depths of our heart. Jesus never varied from the path of righteousness, but he had to dodge taking the easy, less obstructed pathway. Jim Grace’s book Quarantine speaks of Satan's attempt to pull Jesus away from what he knew was God's plan for himself. Satan obstructs the way to heaven with evil allurements.

Jim Grace said, "God's cushioned finger would take Jesus by the elbow and ease him from the devil's grasp with his word."  Satan's business is to make temptation look sweet, but once stung by temptation and sin, escape is possible only by God's grace. The sting may go on indefinitely, but we manage the sting by knowing God’s grace is greater than all our sins.

Jesus said, "Wide is the gate, and broad is the road that leads to destruction." God stands ready to take us by the elbow and hand and help us back onto the straight way. This is our hope.  
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To coordinate with KHCB’s “Five Days of Christmas” programming, I will post special Christmas thoughts on my blog Wednesday-Sunday, December 21-25. On those days, KHCB will air only Christmas music and short thoughts from the programmers.

On Monday, December 26, my blog posts again will coordinate with the radio broadcast schedule of Attitudes/Answers that airs at 5:45 PM on KHCB radio at 105.7FM in the Houston area. To stream it live or for a listing of sister stations in TX, OK, LA, and FL, you may click on the KHCB link in the "About Me" section of this page.