WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...Grace keeper

I just love going thru old scrapbooks and picture albums. It brings back so many fond memories. Remembrance of the good times is often mixed in with some memories of the bad as well. It is fun to go down memory lane, but we must be careful of what we say about our past of regrets and failures.

It is easy to say things such as, "boy those were the good ole days!" or "we sure had some wild times back in college". We tend to forget the spiritual and relational struggles that took place during those times of our youth, the time before Christ saved us from a life of sin. How often do we minimize the dangers of what might have happened without the saving grace of Jesus Christ?

When I think about my spiritual journey with the Lord, I not only think about where I have been, but also I remember the wrong choices I have made and how I have reached the place I am currently in. I am not proud of some of my choices but I am grateful for them, for it is part of who I am today.

C.S. LEWIS said this...
"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains."

Paul writes to the Christians at Ephesus and trys to get them to look at their spiritual journey, so they can see where they were going and how grace played a huge role in their lives:

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, (2) in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." - EPHESIANS 2:1,2

Paul is evaluating their past lives. This is not a general statement he makes, he has come to know these Christians, he has listened to their stories, and he worked among them to know that they were dead in their sins. But he did not want them to stay straddled with their past mistakes or allow them to think they were worse than others.

ROMANS 3:23 "For we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

That's right. All of us! We are all sinners. But remembering is not just remembering what we were, it is also remembering what delivered us from this state. What was the changing power? What took us from "dead" to "alive"?

EPHESIANS 2:4,5 "But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy, (5) made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved."

In last weeks YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I polled the readers the following question: "What area of your life are you least proud of?" The top 3 answers are...

1. 37% of those voting said that they are least proud of their academic ability.
2. 25% voted and said that it was their professional achievements that they were least proud of.
3. Another 25% voted and said it was their appearance.

Failures ... we all have them.
Mistakes...we have all made them.
God's Grace...we don't deserve it but we all sure do need it!

I think we all can look at our own faith journeys and if we could log it all down in a special scrapbook...we would all have times where we have fallen down. But instead of tearing out that page of the book, we need to realize that because of God's grace we need not to worry about those times. Instead, we can rejoice that God loves us, accepts us and He is our grace keeper!

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD is a weekly blog post designated to highlight a personal study that I am doing. This week I was doing a word search on God's grace and it brought me to a remembrance of what God has brought me from and how He is turning my past into praise! I pray He will do the same for you today!