Author: williechii4u

Am God fearing man and am also Adventist member. I like being with friends and share the word of God with them. Am black in complexion with black and white eyes.

THE CHOICE THAT HEALS

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Grace is always a choice—when God extends it to us, or we extend it to each other.
The decision to forgive, to not hold someone’s sins like death shrouds up against them, is always made in light of other options. No one can require God to love us unconditionally and forgive us unreservedly, for we are the broken, foolish ones who willfully transgressed His law.

And when the broken, foolish people around us disappoint or damage us, grace is a choice we make in echo of God’s kindness.

Only wounded hearts can offer forgiveness: only those with power to mete out penalties and vengeance can pour out grace instead. We are never more like Jesus than when we gift to those who injure us what neither they nor we deserve.

So stay in grace.

Read more at: https://adventistreview.org/gracenotes/the-choice-that-heals/

SUSTAINABILITY

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Breathe deeply now, and let your heart grow quiet as you turn from sins forgiven. “By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts before Him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything” (1 John 3:19-20).

It’s not the voice of God that drives you on to fear, or rush, or labor past your strength.  
We dare not make the Spirit own our anxiousness or lack of peace.  God is always on the side of what gives life, builds hope, and moves us even one small step toward balance.  

His grace is meant to keep us breathing, as well as for our saving.  The day that Jesus wants to bring us healing is the day that we are living, not only when our destinies are weighed.  “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

His grace is for today and always.  

So stay in grace.

Read more at: https://adventistreview.org/gracenotes/sustainability/

WALKING ACROSS THE LINE

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WALKING ACROSS THE LINE

December 31, 2022


The waning days of this old year remind us we ought never walk alone. We need three things to end December: forgiveness for the wrongs we’ve done; the healing of our wounded memories; assurances that we will have safe company in days and miles ahead.

The gospel tells us we have all of these in Jesus. His blood alone removes our shame and stains. His reconciliation shields us from hard-earned, high-priced bitterness. His promise to stay with us—in every hour, in every age—gives courage on dark nights, and lifts our hearts when we can’t know the future.

By grace, we walk away from sins—our sins, and those done to us through the pettiness or animus of others. By grace, we lose the need to sanctify our scars, or grimly tell our tales of injury. By grace, we stretch a hand into the as-yet-unknown future—and discover, to our joy, that we are grasped and held and loved and valued by the Lord who walks beside us.

We dare not make this crossing by ourselves, for we will either fall back into what has been, or hide in fear of what may be. The grace of Jesus makes the new year safe for pilgrims walking homeward. “I will never leave you or forsake you,” (Heb 13:5) Jesus says to all who journey with Him.

And for this moment, month, or year, our hearts are light, our spirits high. The road ahead is rich with kindness and companions.

So stay in grace.

A DAY TO REMEMBER

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A DAY TO REMEMBER

September 22, 2022


Exert. Perform. Achieve. Repeat.

The drumbeat of our days resounds until our souls are never still. We vibrate with intensity at moments when we most crave rest. We work in dreams: we nap at work.

But He who gave to humans work sighs in the heavens for how we have abused ourselves: “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work” (Exo 20:9). In every week, the Lord who calls the Sabbath His invites us to return to peace: “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28).

Our hearts cry out for healing and for wholeness. And Jesus, who created us for joy, reminds us of our destiny: “I came that they may have life, and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). The endless stress of all we do is ended by one day of grace.

There is a Sabbath in your future. Find the joy.

And stay in grace.

WHEN OPPOSITES ATTRACT

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WHEN OPPOSITES ATTRACT

September 1, 2022


We make our lists of opposites: love and hate; trust and fear; carnivores and vegans.

And sometimes we assume that the truth God knows about us is at odds with how He saves us, as if the Father must close one eye—or both—in order to embrace us. How can He keep the ones who break His law?

So here it is—the good news in one line: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Cor 5:21). The Father sees our hate and fear, and weeps when we devour each other. He knows the awful truth. But when we trust in Jesus, He looks only at the love and goodness of the One who never sinned. “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).

In grace, God is both just and merciful. Jesus took our penalty: we get His reward. “We have seen His glory, the glory as of a Father’s only son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

So stay in grace—and truth.

THE LEDGER OF YOUR LIFE

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THE LEDGER OF YOUR LIFE

June 16, 2022


On our worst days, we desperately imagine God is but a stern accountant, tallying our sins with unerring accuracy. Because we can’t forget our sins, we assume that an all-knowing God can’t forget them either. “Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive?” ( Psa 130:3).

“But the love of God is broader than the measure of man’s mind.
And the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.”

Hear what a loving Father actually says to those who put their trust in Jesus: “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more” (Heb 8:12). The joyous promise of the gospel is the Father’s pledge to both forgive and forget our sins when we trust Jesus as our Saviour. Because of Jesus, heaven’s ledger reads “Paid in Full.”

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins” (1 John 4:10). God’s love for us is always greater, wider, fuller, deeper than we know.

Receive that always-amazing love. And stay in grace.

THE CHAIN OF GRACE

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If you are a believer, then you learned Christ from another believer. Your story—ups and downs and still unfinished—is still a testament to grace.

Someone loved you for no reason. Someone taught you the reality of the unseen world. Someone shared with you the power and efficacy of prayer. Someone bui

lt the confidence you have in Him who holds all things together. 
Your shiny faith is the new link in a centuries-old chain of sharing that began when fishermen and tax collectors dropped nets and coins to follow after Jesus. 

So pause today to thank the risen Lord for grace that came to you through kindness from a modern-day disciple. And then, be like the one who shared their faith with you. Keep adding links: keep adding hope. For this chain is the symbol of unfettered joy and freedom.

And stay in grace.

Read more at: https://adventistreview.org/gracenotes/the-chain-of-grace/

GRACE WITHOUT DESPERATION

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When we’ve tried every other way, we give ourselves—with sighs—to grace. We miss its beauty and its joy because we save it as our last resort, a life ring for the drowning.
We strive as though the goal was to use as little of God’s grace as possible, like salt on vegetables, or gas when heating homes. 

But Jesus wants our joy “full-filled”: abundance is the sign of grace. The life that could be yours can now be yours—without delay, without the misery and thrashing. 

God saves the desperate, but not because He needs us to be drowning. Enjoy His joy—beginning now—and lasting till forever. 

And stay in grace.

Read more at: https://adventistreview.org/gracenotes/grace-without-desperation/

GRACE-MOVED-BY-LOVE

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The motive for the grace of God is nothing other than the love of God. It’s His unquenchable affection that moves Him to continually arrest our flickering attention; warm our icy hearts; heal our self-inflicted wounds; and wash away our sins. 

Grace isn’t given to make us lovable or acceptable, but because we have been, are now, and always will be deeply loved. The prodigal was loved before he repented and came home—and even if he spurned the Father’s marvelous forgiveness—for love is who the Father is. 
You cannot earn the Father’s love. You cannot lose the Father’s love.  

Depend on this. And stay in grace.

Read more at: https://adventistreview.org/gracenotes/grace-moved-by-love/