God's Sovereignty...

Over the past several days I have dealt with headaches, neckaches, and tension in my body. The past couple of days it seems that I allowed myself to begin to focus on my circumstances and I permitted my thoughts to be consumed with the "what IF's, what are we going to do?, where do I begin?" All of these external circumstances that I focused on, began to overwhelm me and I felt as if my whole world seemed to be collapsing right in front of my eyes. I know that it may seem a bit extreme, but that seemed like my reality at the moment.

Oh how quickly we can get so wrapped up in our own little worlds and circumstances and soon forget that it is not us nor the world that dictate what shall happen over the affairs in our life, but it is our Sovereign God.
God used a friend of mine to remind me of that yesterday and this morning I read this scripture in my devotional.

In 1 Samuel 2:1 (New King James Version) it says, "And Hannah prayed and said:

“My heart rejoices in the LORD;
My horn is exalted in the LORD.
I smile at my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation."

When I read these words, they put a smile on my face and joy in my heart. They reminded me of what the true meaning of salvation was and what Jesus Christ sacrificed for me on the cross. It allowed me to be reminded of all of the blessings that the Lord has given me. These words brought forth the memories of all the things in life that I have to be thankful for. It gave me confidence in God's sovereignty over my life and reminded me to acknowledge His ultimate control over all things and all circumstances.

At times, when you are in the midst of a moment, it can be difficult to look outside of it, but reminded today of God's supreme control over your life. Ultimately, when we allow God to reign in our hearts, our minds, our thoughts, and our lives. We give him the power to bless us beyond our belief. He gives supernatural grace and blessings upon every circumstance and situation IF we allow Him into our lives. Praise God for all the good gifts in your life and acknowledge that He has you in the palm of His hand.

"supreme power"

Sweet Perfume.

Recently over the past several weeks I have been receiving an alternative treatment called Oxidative Therapy (e.g. Hydrogen Peroxide therapy). The treatment consists of being hooked up to an I.V. for about an hour or two depending upon the kind of day my veins want to have. In the I.V. there is a mixture of Hydrogen Peroxide, vitamins, minerals, and at the moment they have added a substance called DMSO(this is suppose to help heighten/exacerbate the effects of the treatments). This DMSO makes the body supposedly have a garlic-like smell quality, but those that have been around me soon after my treatment have mentioned that they can't quite describe what I really smell like. Regardless of what it is that I smell like...undeniably, it is a very unique smell. Somedays I resent the fact that I "smell" and that it seems at times that this whole cancer thing seems to take over my thoughts and at moments, I feel like it just takes over my life.
My devotional today lead me to think about what if this "fragrance" of mine, was that of my Savior...what if my "unique smell" was that of Jesus. This verse in 2 Corinthians 3:14, "But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume," made me think what if my life was always the "sweet perfume" of Jesus and everytime someone smelled that fragrance, it reminded them of Jesus.
My prayer is that no matter the times that I seem to be overwhelmed by life and all that it seems to entail. That I can be that "sweet fragrance" to those around me, to those that need to know who Jesus is and that when they look my way, they are able to smell His sweet love. At the end of the day, no matter what I smell like (LOL) I just pray that it honors God, that I reflect His image, and that it is evident that Jesus is at work in my life.
Lord, I pray that even in the times that we don't understand what or why things are happening, that we trust in you. Ultimately I am truly grateful that you know the beginning and the end. Thank you for holding me captive and leading me in Christ's triumphal procession. For it is your news that is the life-giving fragrance that we all need. I Love You Daddy. Thank you for using me to spread the news of who you truly are.

Grace.

Webster's dictionary describes grace as an unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification; a virtue coming from God; the quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful; disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency. Jim Burns, a Christian author, writes, " Grace is receiving something beneficial that we don't deserve." Ephesians 1: 6-8 says, "to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. (New International Version).

In the book of Ephesians, Paul explains the wonderful kindness ("glorious grace") that God poured out on us because we belong to his son. He explains how he purchased our freedom through the blood of Christ, along with that, our sins are forgiven. Scripture also says that "in accordance with the riches of God's grace" he lavished on us all wisdom and understanding.

Wow, when I truly meditate on this scripture, it makes me be more in awe of the God that I serve. God's grace and kindness on me some days is so overwhelming. I think to myself at times, "what, why, Lord? I don't deserve this grace that you have bestowed upon me." But He just reminds me and says, it is just because I love you! We can't earn God's love, He freely gives it...we can't earn salvation, for His son already paid the price for our freedom on the cross. Some days we just need to sit back and enjoy the grace that our God has given us.

As C.S. Lewis once said while at a conference of comparative religions (while experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith)..."Oh, that's easy. It's grace." It seems that only Christianity dares to make God's love unconditional. We (Christians) need not offer a way to earn approval...God freely gives us His grace. I have only begun recently reading a book on grace and it has made me think truly on how Christians (me included) have been given the gift of grace, yet we don't always portray that gift to others.

It makes me think...what would our world look like, if only we gave the gift of grace to the world around us. Give the gift of grace today to a co-worker (maybe they've had a rough morning and that is why they were rude to you), give they guy that just cut you off in traffic a break (maybe his mind is on his family that seems to be falling apart at the seams) or maybe just maybe you need that gift of grace today and have prayed to God for it. What better way to show God off than to gift that grace...so that your eyes will be open to the grace that God has given you today!