Grace!

Remember we have Grace!

I want you to realize that you will make many mistakes in your walk with Christ, but I want you to also realize that God will use these mistakes to help mold you into a mature image of Himself through grace(God’s unmerited power and favor)!

So please don't let anyone or yourself feel guilt, or condemned for making mistakes, just continue to practice through faith and grace growing into an image of Him(Christ)!

Jesus has poured out His love for you and in you and me.  This unconditional love, unmerited favor, and power that lives within us as believers are his Grace through the Holy Spirit.  So even though we are not perfect, we have Christ who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit who now lives within us, who is perfect!

However, Christ also loves those whom we may not love and who like us are not perfect( who occasionally walk in their corrupt nature(their flesh)).  He knows that when we are not expressing His love through grace to others, that we could be potentially pushing others away from Him and eternal life! So through His Spirit and grace that lives within us, He has given us a model(an example) of the love He wants us to show to others through His grace.  When we show His grace to those who have hurt us this model(example) of unconditional love shown, without merit is called mercy! This unconditional love draws humanity to Christ!

Paul gives us discernment(a way to determine) what God’s love and abiding in the Holy Spirit looks like in Galatians 5:22 and he also gives us a glimpse of what living in our Corrupt nature(our flesh) looks like in Galatians 5:19!  Please practice His love through grace!

Love(abiding in the Spirit) = love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control!

Corrupt Nature(flesh) = strife, jealousy, fits of anger, sexual immorality, divisions, envy, hate & other acts that are not of God!