We All Fall

This past week, I spent two wonderful days at a Pastor’s Gathering dialoging around the subject of “Grace and Restoration”. This was a gathering of pastors and ministry leaders from around the country who had a heart to see the church once again be a vibrant place in the world.

One of the speakers said something amazing. He told us that when his son was learning how to skateboard, he bought him some elbow and knee pads as well as a helmet because falling was part of the process of learning how to use a skateboard. He said; similarly,  “Falling is part of the process of learning how to walk”.

I thought of how when teaching kids how to skate, we teach them as soon as they step on ice how to fall down. This way, they learn how to get up as well as learn that falling is part of the process of learning to skate.

The same is true for so many areas such as riding a bike or a horse. And each time that someone does fall, they are told to immediately get back up and try again. This is just part of the process.

So why, the speaker pondered out loud, do we not allow new Believers in Christ to go through a process of learning how to walk? Why not almost assume that they will fall and instead teach them how to get back up and keep going?

Why do we insist on telling them (or at least imply) that once a person makes a decision to follow Jesus by confessing with their mouth the Lord Jesus and believing in their heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead, they will be saved from falling?

Why not instead tell them that Jesus will continue to work on your life and that sometime along your journey you may slip or even fall?  Why not tell them that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 10:23-24 NKJV)

In the Christian walk, we all either slip, fall, or have the possibly of doing so at some point(s) along the way so why not admit it and help the newbies to understand that it is just part of the process and that they need not be afraid or discouraged when it happens?

Or are verses such as; “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again” (Proverbs 24:16a) reserved to encourage someone who has never struggled that he should get back up?

I think that this insight would have saved me a lot of times of distancing myself from the Heavenly Father; from whom I hid myself when I sinned, even though He longed to be in relationship.

Too many moments and days and months were spent in a long distance relationship with One who gave His very life to provide a way for me to spend time with Him by demonstrating His own love toward us, in that while I was in my sin and didn't know Him, Christ died for me. (Romans 5:8)

And He did it KNOWING that I was a sinner and KNOWING that I was fallible and would push past the roadblocks that He set up top provide a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13).

All this He did KNOWING that falling was just part of the process of me learning to walk.

Because He did it for me, I want to learn how to encourage others away from discouragement of their own fallibility when they forget that falling is part of the process of learning to walk. So get back up and keep walking; we all have more places to go in Him!

 

TRUST

Are you inclined to trust??

Trust means to rely on the integrity, strength, ability, surety of a person or thing. It is a confident expectation or hope of something.

Many people have difficulty trusting that things will works as they are suppose to work. We see this when we grab the wheel of our vehicle when we need to make a quick stop; not trusting that the brakes WILL do their job and bring the vehicle to a complete stop.

Many people have difficulty trusting people. We’ve been burned and so we set up our guards and (perhaps) become cynical as to whether or not they will let us down.

Many people have difficulty trusting God. How about God; do you trust Him? Can we trust someone we can’t see when those we can see prove that we shouldn’t trust them… Can we rely on the integrity, strength, ability, surety of a God and His Word (the Bible)? Can we be confident of His goodness, and have expectation or hope of Him coming through in our lives?

My friend, my answer is; “Yes, you can trust God” He has proven His faithfulness to me (and so many others) time and time and time and time and time….

So, how do we do this thing called trust? In the old classic book; “SOVEREIGN GRACE” by D. L. Moody, Pastor Moody asks his friend Reverend Marcus Rainford a question: “What is it to trust?"

Reverend Rainford replied: “I take it to mean four things:

1.) believing in CHRIST: That is, taking Him at His Word.

2.) Hoping in CHRIST: That is, expecting help from Him, according to His Word.

3.) Relying on Christ: That is, resting on Him for the times, and ways, and circumstances in which He may be pleased to fulfill His promises according to His Word.

4.) Waiting on Christ: That is, continuing to do so, notwithstanding delay, darkness, barrenness, perplexing experiences, and the sentence of death in myself. He may keep me waiting awhile (I have kept Him a long time waiting); but He will not keep me waiting always. Believing in Him, hoping in Him, relying upon Him, and waiting for Him–I understand to be trusting in Him.

I love how Eugene Peterson writes Proverbs 3:5-6 in his translation of the Bible:

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give Him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline; don't sulk under His loving correction. It's the child He loves that GOD corrects; a Father's delight is behind all this.”  (Proverbs 3:5-12 MSG)

My friend, today you too can put your trust in God; He will come through!

Need help learning how to TRUST God? Call 1-888-NEED-HIM 

ONLINE: http://needhim.org

Or: http://www.billygraham.org/spiritualgrowth_index.asp

 

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

 

 

The Warmth of a Small Child’s Embrace

Last Friday, I was at home getting my things together for my evening’s activities. A local ice rink hired me to be Santa at a “Skate with Santa” event and this would not only provide some cash, but also give me a chance to be a big kid again.

I was somewhat amused by the idea of playing Santa, because when we raised our children, Santa wasn’t part of the Christmas story that we told. No, I wasn’t a bad dad, I simply wanted my children to know that Christmas was a celebration of God’s love when He sent His only begotten Son to become “one of us”; Immanuel; who would die on a cross and then resurrected so that "whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 NKJV)

Everything I needed for the event was packed into a duffle bag along with my sharpened skates and the Santa suit the organization gave to me to wear for the event.  I had some time before I had to leave my house so I decided to turn on the television to see what was on.

My attention was quickly captivated by the news that had interrupted most of the major networks. The stations were reporting the tragic news that a lone gunman had gone into a school in Newtown, Connecticut and shot to death several adults and children.

During the next few minutes, my attention was absorbed by the television reporters as they attempted to provide specific details about the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre and its aftermath. They broadcasted that twenty-six people were killed; reporting that twenty of them children around six and seven years old. The gunman then shot and killed himself.

I, like so many of us on that day, began to pray and cry out on behalf of the families and administrators and rescue people who had to sort through this tragedy. My mind tried to make sense of it all as my emotions as a father and grandfather began to overwhelm me. My heart began to ache as I tried to imagine what those parents in Connecticut must be going through.

I called my wife Cathy at the school where she works; simply because I wanted to connect with another person before I headed out to be with the children and their families at the ice rink. I also wondered about how many of the children I would soon be with knew about the tragedy that had taken place twelve hundred miles away.

I loaded my gear into my truck and drove to the ice rink as I tried to focus on loving those whom I was hired to play Santa for. I arrived ten minutes later and went into one of the locker rooms to begin my transformation. I laced my skates, put on the Santa suit, and secured the beard with adhesive so that it couldn’t be pulled off.

I stepped on the ice and was greeted by jubilant shouts of joy as the awaiting children saw Santa arrive. My heart quickly was totally aligned with my assignment for the evening; be the best Santa I knew how and love on these children and their families as a form of distraction from the realities of our broken world.

I spent the next hour and a half playing tag, posing for pictures, and skating around bringing joy to the one hundred and fifty or so people who had come down for the event.

One of the absolute joys was being able to use my grandpa superpowers and stop several crying children by picking them up in my arms and giving them a ride around the rink, much to the delight of their parents.

My heart was filled up as grateful parents and children thanked me as they left the ice for spending time with them by posing for pictures and skating with them.

I stepped off the ice and made my way back into the locker rooms to begin my transformation from Santa back to Tommy O. I wiped off my skates, packed up my equipment, loaded my gear into my truck, and drove home.

As I drove home, praise rose from my heart; I was so very grateful to God for the gift of the evening! I was so very grateful at this precious gift of being able to have spent the time bringing joy and laughter to so many.

I was especially grateful for all of the hugs that I received from the children that helped to fill my heart that had been broken from the tragedy that had taken place earlier in the day.

I was so very grateful to my Heavenly Father for the warmth of a small child’s embrace.

“Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” (Luke 18:14-17 NKJV)

 

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

 

Driving In The Fog

My wife Cathy and I were driving home late one night after spending a few days on the road doing ministry. The freeway that we were driving on was covered in an ocean of fog and it was very hard to see where we were going.

About thirty minutes into the trip, we realized that we probably should have stayed over where we were one more night rather than drive home so late. The couple that had hosted us had invited us to stay one more night, but we declined. I had to get back home because I had an early morning appointment with another pastor who was coming over to my office and I didn’t have his number to call and cancel.

We continued to drive on as the fog grew thicker by the mile. The sky above us was bright with stars and a full moon; which helped a little because this area of Minnesota that had no lights along the freeway.  However, they also illuminated the tips of ears on herds of deer that were lined up grazing in the ditches for miles on either side of the highway, which meant that we had to be very attentive. 

We could only use our high beams for short times as we quickly had to switch back to low beams when we came upon another weary traveler on the road.

Driving under these conditions led to fatigue very quickly as every muscle in our eyes strained to make out the road ahead as we also kept our ears attentive to deer potentially crossing the road. Hands grew tense as they gripped the steering wheel keeping the car headed in the right direction.  

We were very tired and it was way too late to be driving and yet, we pressed on hoping to finally be past the fog that was surrounding our very lives.

The fog reminded me of the eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews in the Bible. The author Philip Yancey affectionately refers to it as; “Survivors of the fog”. In this chapter, we read about ordinary people who looked to God as they by faith “drove through the fog” in some area of their lives.

 “And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.” (Hebrews 11:39-40)

 My friend, I’m not sure what you are going through today. You may be in a place where you feel as though you, too, are “driving in the fog” and it is very hard to see what is coming up ahead. You, too, may be fatigued as you strain to make out the road ahead; not quite sure of what you are doing or where you are really going. You, too, may be aware of so many potential obstacles lying in the “ditches” along your journey.

My advice for you is to press on; in faith. No, not your own, but in Him; in God, the only One you should look to. That is how those mentioned and referred to in the eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews made it through. He wants to be the One who will “drive” you through this situation.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:1-3)

Don’t try to do it all alone. I am so glad that Cathy was in the car to help me watch the road and to keep me awake.  Call 1-888-NEED–HIM; someone is waiting to talk with you.

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

 

 

 

“When It Is Time for a Change”

I love autumn in Minnesota! Autumn is a season of changes; radical changes! All around, the trees are changing from green to vibrant colors as a way of distracting us from the fact the temperatures are plummeting from the eighties towards the freezing mark.

Walking in the park one day, Cathy made an observation about the leaves. She said; “The old leaves are being pushed off by the new buds that will become the new leaves next spring.” She also mentioned that oak leaves stay on the tree until spring when the new growth and buds will push them off.

Cathy said that she thought of a scripture passage which says; “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:18-19)

Eugene Peterson’s Message Version writes it this way: “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.

My friends; God is up to something new in our lives, and the old just may have to go in order to make room for the new. Do you see it? It’s important that you do because when God takes us through changes; it’s easy to get disappointed when we can’t see what He is doing.

Too many people spend their lives stuck on what could have been as they fail to fulfill the expectations or wishes of themselves, or others for their lives, and disappointment becomes the new focus of their existence.

Proverbs 16:9 says; “A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps…”  In other words, just because we planned some path for our lives, it may not go that way; God may have a different direction.

Grasping this truth can change your perspective and will make the difference between disappointment and “His”-appointment. It be an opportunity for anticipation of what God might be up to; rather than disappointment for how things appear to have turned out.

When God takes us through these changes, He does cares for us as individual children:

 

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matthew 10:29-31)

BUT He probably is not thinking only about you and how this affects your immediate life.

He is thinking about how He will show Himself THROUGH your situation and to WHOM He will show Himself throughout your life; He is thinking about generations. The changes don’t always make sense to us if we try to assess everything in light of whether we are doing something right or wrong.

 

Job (of the Bible) didn’t do anything wrong, in fact he was doing things right! And yet big changes came upon him Do you realize that Job never was privileged to understanding what was really happening the same way that you and I can because we are able to read the WHOLE story of the Book of Job?

Do you realize that when Joseph (of the Old Testament of the Bible) went through massive changes, it wasn’t because he was doing something wrong, in fact he was doing things right! And yet big changes came upon him

Do you realize that Peter (of the Bible) went through massive changes? In fact his FRIEND Jesus was giving permission to Satan to bring change into his life.

“And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” (Luke 22:31-32 31)

In all three stories, the changes were not only about their lives. The changes had as much to do with how we would talk about them and learn from them in our lifetime. We too can see how merciful the Lord actually was being; all three had stories of great victories after their changes.

If we are going to do this, we need to look at what is being asked in light of what He has done; looking through what He has done for us and how good He is

THEN: We can submit to God BECAUSE He has been so good to us

THEN: We won’t be conformed BECAUSE He has been so good to us

THEN: We will renew our minds BECAUSE He has been so good to us

THEN: Then we will know what is the perfect will of God …

Then we will be people who are flexible when changes come. Flexibility is about bending and adjusting with the changes that come. Being rigid can leave things broken (physically, emotion, etc.)

Let’s choose wisely how we respond and stop the mental erosion by asking the Lord to open our eyes to see what He is doing.

My friend, your story isn’t over yet! My guess is that His plans are so much better than what you would have ever thought or planned. Let Jesus Christ change your story for HIS-story.  The best is yet to come!

 

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Lost the Plot

Have you ever watched a movie that was already started and part way through the story and you had no idea what was going on? 

Have you ever watched the second part of a movie trilogy or television series in its third year and because you haven’t seen the earlier episodes, you feel as though you can’t seem to understand the plot?

Have you ever woken some mornings wondering; “So what is this life all about?” or woke up in the middle of the night wondering; “who I am I?” or “where I am I?” 

Have you ever felt as though you were playing some role, seemingly orchestrated by a director, but you didn’t have a script or that you somehow lost the plot?

To say that “you have lost your plot” means you have somehow gotten off track and lost the focus of whatever you doing. It means you have somehow veered off from the main path and are going a wrong direction. 

The response to this epiphany varies. For some it is a feeling of confusion and disorientation. For others the response is apathy; not really caring what, when, where, or why.

My friend, this isn’t how we were meant to live; we were created for so much more. We were meant to live a life that can only come through relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ. In fact, that is why Jesus came. The Bible records Jesus saying;

Luke 19:10 “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

John 5:30 “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.”

John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

John 8:28 “Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.”

THEN WHAT ON EARTH ARE WE HERE FOR? Simply put, it is to love God and love others. With so many things competing for our time, let's stay focused on things with eternal significance!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

When you come back again
Would you bring me something from the fridge?
Heard a rumour that the end is near
But I just got comfortable here.
Sigh.
Let's be blunt.
I'm a little distracted.
What do you want?

Headaches and bad faith
Are all that I've got.
First I misplaced the ending
Then I lost the plot.

Out among the free-range sheep
While the big birds sharpen their claws.
For a time we stuck with the shepherd
But you wouldn't play Santa Claus.

Sigh.
Let's be blunt.
We're a little distracted.
What do you want?

Once we could follow,
Now we cannot.
You would not fit our image,
So we lost the plot.

Once we could hear you,
Now our senses are shot.
We've forgotten our first love.
We have lost the plot.

When I saw you for the first time
You were hanging with a thief
And I knew my hands were dirty,
And I dropped my gaze.
Then you said I was forgiven
And you welcomed me with laughter.
I was happy ever after.
I was counting the days
When you'd come back again.
We'll be waiting for you
When you comin' back again?
We'll be ready for you
Maybe we'll wake up when...
Maybe we'll wake up when
You come back again.

Lies.
Let's be blunt.
We're a little unfaithful.
What do you want?

Are you still listening?
'Cause we're obviously not
We've forgotten our first love
We have lost the plot.

And why are you still calling?
You forgave, we forgot.
We're such experts at stalling
That we've lost the plot.
Lost the plot

When you come back again
Would you bring me something from the fridge?
Heard a rumour that the end is near
But I just got comfortable here.

Fallon Fell

On Saturday, December 3, 2011, my one-year old granddaughter Fallon fell down a flight of stairs; and I saw her do it. I want to tell you that she is OK and survived (physically) with only a very small bump on her head. 

Several of us were helping Fallon’s parents finish off the lower level of their house, and Fallon wanted to come down the stairs to see us. I heard her coming down the steps but my brain didn’t register what she was doing until she had already begun to fall.

Even now, as I close my eyes, I can still see her falling. And I can still her crying and screaming as she bounced off each step; every “thud” from her body and head hitting echoes in my head. My soul was in anguish and looked to see God in this; and so I seek Him to see how He was there in our moment of need.

The apostle Paul wrote in the Bible in 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 that we are to:^“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” In EVERYTHING? Even when Fallon fell?

King David had the perspective that even when things go bad we need to give thanks because they would have been a lot worse had the Lord not been there.

David wrote about this in Psalm 124:

“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,” Let Israel now say— ² “If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, When men rose up against us,³ Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their wrath was kindled against us; ⁴ Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, The stream would have gone over our soul;⁵ Then the swollen waters Would have gone over our soul.”  ⁶ Blessed be the LORD, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth. ⁷ Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers The snare is broken, and we have escaped.⁸ Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth."

Christian author Phillip Keller writes; “It has been well said that the true measure of any man’s spirituality is the degree to which he can detect God in the most simple events around him.”  As the scriptures say; “so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸ for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:27-28b.

When we look to the Lord to get His perspective, often times He will give us the bigger picture. We may never know just how many times God has protected us from harm without us even knowing about it. Just the night before while playing hockey, another player slashed me across the face with his stick. The force was hard enough that it should have broken my nose (again) but it didn’t because I had just installed a face shield on my hockey helmet.  God had been on my side to provide the shield and to give me the sense to put it on and start wearing it.

How was He there when Fallon fell? A friend of mine, Ben, was cognitive enough to reach out and grab Fallon before she went all the way down the steps to the concrete floor below. And, even though there were a variety of tools on the steps, Fallon missed hitting any of them. And Fallon, after throwing up because of the trauma, was able to calm down and rest and return to her happy self. And so were the rest of us; especially my daughter, Fallon’s mom (who is now pregnant with her second child). For that I am so very grateful because God had been on our side.

How about you; do you struggle to see God in the midst of the everyday events or in the trauma that invades your life?  If you are one of His children, it does make a big difference as to how you get through the “falls” in your lives. Don't hold back from Him; He wants you to come just as you are.

Call 1-888-NEED-HIM someone is waiting to talk with you. Or http://www.needhim.org

 

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

 

 

Seeing Value in EVERYONE

Around our house we have many pieces of art; paintings, photos, quilts, sculptures, wood carvings, photographs, jewelry, and so forth. Although most of the pieces wouldn’t fetch any large sum of money at an auction, they are all very precious to me because they were gifts given by the person who made them.

My father-in-law Gene was a good wood carver and came from a long line of many generations of wood workers; in fact it is one of the things that I really liked about him when we first met because he reminded me of my maternal grandfather who was also a great wood carver. I loved both men very deeply; both men are no longer alive and their absence from my life has left a great void.

Both men could see life in a piece of wood and bring it out as they skillfully carved away all of the unnecessary wood to release the sculpture that was inside. Both men worked with many different mediums and both loved creating objects using wildlife; ducks, birds, etc as their subject matter. Although just hobbies for both men, they could have “quit their day jobs” and worked their careers as carvers.

One of my favorite pieces that I have that was made by Gene is a little duck that is carved from a piece of wood that was rejected and is full of burls and holes. On first appearance, one can see the shape of the duck but may miss the beauty of the carving because of all that is wrong with it. I got the piece after it was passed over by other family members picking out a better piece from Gene’s collection.

I love the duck because it reminds me of how Gene was able to see the value in everyone; no matter of what they looked like on the outside or even how they acted.

Much like his carvings, he could remove all of the parts that didn’t really define who a person was to see what was really inside of them; someone who was made in the image and likeness of God. And, when people spent time with him for awhile, he helped them to see the value as well.

Oh, if we could only begin to see and treat people as my father-in-law Gene treated them; what a difference we all would make in this lost and broken world.

Recently, I read multiple stories about the high suicide rate in South Korea; a problem that doesn’t seem to be going away. The articles all talked about how more than 40 people kill themselves each day in South Korea, which is more than twice the number who did so a decade earlier and five times as many as in 1989. People killing themselves regardless of their how well known they were or were not, and how much money they did or didn’t have and who couldn’t see value in their lives. And my heart was broken.

I realize that we don’t have the ability to stop everyone around the world from taking their lives, but what if we chose to make a difference where we live? What if we chose to start seeing value in everyone; beyond the external manifestation of their brokenness? 

“Impossible”, you say? Not with the love of Christ it isn’t. Oversimplified, I think we justify blowing people off and excuse our indifference and forget that God wants to work through us. We can’t do it on our own.

In fact, if you would have asked Gene when he was alive why and how he was able to see the value in each and every person, I know that he would tell you that it was because the love of Christ compelled him to do so. He did what he did because he knew that God saw value in him.

God already set for us an example when He chose to see value in us. The Bible says;  “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8 NKJV)

Oh, if we could only begin to see and treat people as my Father-in-Heaven treats them; what a difference we all would make in this lost and broken world.

^"Now God has us where He wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all His idea, and all His work. All we do is trust Him enough to let Him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join Him in the work He does, the good work He has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” (Ephesians 2:7-10 The Message)

Want some help responding? Go to: http://www.harvest.org/knowgod/