Grace and Truth in Christ

Grace and truth is what Christ was full of as he came to this world to carry out the direction of his Father. So too, must we be full of grace and truth as we attempt to carry out God's purpose for our lives.

Grace and truth is what Christ possessed when he came to this world to carry out the direction of his Father. So too, must we possess grace and truth as we attempt to carry out God's purpose for our lives.

Grace is unmerited favor, yes that favor and kindness that that we do not deserve but God grants us through the ultimate sacrifice of the blood of his son Jesus Christ. Jesus came full of grace and truth knowledgeable of the fact that man could only achieve salvation through God's grace.   Jesus came knowing the truth that he would have to die a painful and terrible physical death, one that He did not deserve but had committed to, if we were to have any chance of achieving salvation.  Grace and truth guided Jesus' walk on earth enabling him to complete his mission and start us on our journey towards salvation.  

The truth is that because of Christ's sacrifice we can stop sinning and start living the life principles outlined in His word. Grace gives us the opportunity to move pass the sin and learn through our walk with Him to repent.  That is true repentance, when we stop sinning because we have learned to overcome it through the strength of His Spirit.

God's grace is never ending but the truth is that if we do not stop sinning, then there is no repentance, no learning and no opportunity for forgiveness.  Without forgiveness we fail, suffering the consequences of our sin and the misery that often accompanies it.

Truth appropriately starts us on the walk towards repentance and spiritual development. Grace gives us the opportunity to learn the truth, accept it, and make it the impetus for change. Change begins when we stop sinning, whatever it may be. Repentance is the first step on that journey towards spiritual growth and salvation and it begins with grace and truth.  Just a little advice to go.

Respectfully,

Dave Hernandez

From The Inside Out

In Matthews, Jesus speaks about how the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart.  Our hearts represent our inner being, who we really are.  They reflect our deep seeded realities and in spite of our efforts to conceal our true identities, our hearts give us away.  We present an exterior that reflects what we want others to believe us to be, despite of the realities of who we are.  How can we justify this type of existence knowing that God is intimately familiar with our hearts.  He knows who we really are and patiently waits for us to grow into the person he needs us to be, that person we often feign being but fall short of becoming.  

John Maxwell teaches that your outside will never convert your inside but that sooner or later the inside person will surface and people will see us for who we really are.  He challenges us to become that person God wants us to be on the inside, so that our outside person reflects God’s love.  

Corey Brooks, the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey tells a story about an elderly inner city woman who taught him that the world he saw outside of himself reflected his inner being.  If your inside reality is sinful and out of sync with God’s principles then that is what you will see around you.  But if your inside person is aligned with God’s love, faith, and grace; you will see a world full of opportunity and promise.  There is good reason to make sure that our inside person is truly that wonderful, faithful, and loving person we aspire to be.  God can help us get there if we are willing to stop pretending and start changing from the inside out!  Just a little advice to go! 

Power and Presence

Power and presence are two keep factors in our service to God that we cannot forget.   As we encounter daily challenges we need remember the power and presence of God that dwells within us as believers. God's presence is with us for a reason, to assist in our daily walk through life.   It is a presence that can guide and direct our every step if we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit.  God's power can help fulfill the purpose He has for our lives.  If we are in His will, then we are not abandoned to the enemy's attacks but fortified by His power and authority.  We must learn to acknowledge God's continued presence in our lives and His willingness to address every aspect of our lives if we are humble enough to step out of the way and submit to His will.  We must move pride out of the way and learn to attribute the credit for our victories to God the Father.  

When we allow God's presence to prevail then we allow his power to be activated in us and can then achieve that which seems unattainable.  Suddenly the ideas come, the time needed to accomplish the goal is plentiful, the ability to multitask becomes second nature, the sense of panic and I can't do it yields to the feeling that no one can stop you, and everything falls in place.   Even when conflict occurs, you find yourself at peace because God's presence and power are in sync with His purpose for your life.    All you and I have to do is get out of His way and humbly yield to His power and presence!  Just a little advice to go!  

Unconditional!

Not everything we see and come to believe is always true.  In the movie Unconditional, this becomes blazingly clear at the end when a broken hearted wife encounters the truth about her husbands murder.  She realizes then that even in his death, he stayed faithful to his belief in humanity.  While the movie is not overtly religious, it provides a framework by which one comes to understand how God's love can transform lives and help the lost escape from the abyss of hopelessness into the eternal promises of God's love.  It is a movie that captures your mind, heart, and soul!  Please take the time to watch it, over and over again!  Just a little advice to go!  A2G-Dave Hernandez