Ten Minutes of Grace

The biggest division noted in the Bible has always been between Malachi and Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John. Every Bible has the page that separates the Old Testament from the New Testament. But is that the only division?

I think there are some things about God and the Bible that we can be absolutely sure of today. These things can bring us comfort in hard times.

The Bible is progressive, like any other book. It tells a story. The story of humanity. Where do you fit in the story? Are you trying to trick God into putting you into part of the story you don’t belong?

How do we give our time and money? Should we tithe or give cheerfully? Abraham and the prophets talk about tithing. Paul talks about giving cheerfully. Is tithing the same as cheerfully giving?

What do you believe? What does your faith profit you? We all have core beliefs even if we have no idea what they are. Our beliefs are instilled in us from the time we are born, from our family, education system, friends, churches, culture, etc. These beliefs drive our actions. If we can understand what our core beliefs are, then we can see why we do what we do. And when we begin to see why we do what we do, then we can choose to change our beliefs. Grace allows us a seat at the table.

Does every Christian get what they pray for? Why don’t we always get what we pray for? What is the purpose of prayer?

Is it godly to be silent? Who has the authority to speak and who should be silent? Should women be silent? What does it mean to be silent? Silence is not the absence of words. Silence is listening. Silence is born out of humility.

Unity is not conformity but it has a common goal. We can all work together toward a common purpose. You are worthy and valuable. We might not agree on all aspects but we can listen and grow and live peaceably.

How are you? Are you ok? What does it look like to have peace in our lives?

Studies have shown that happy and successful people are resilient. The most common trait among successful people is resilience. Our experiences can lead us to resilience and all experiences can be used for good.

Boundaries are set by what we are comfortable with and what makes us feel loved. We set our own boundaries. Boundaries define who we are and not who other people want us to be. Only we can define our own boundaries.

We all have a deep need for love and belonging. Relationships fulfill these needs. In order for love to last and feel true belonging, it requires trust.

What is godly love? How does God find pleasure in sinners and abhor evil? Is God’s love unconditional?

Love is finding pleasure in something. God gives us free will to find pleasure in things and the choices we make are based on what will bring us pleasure. What do you choose? What brings you pleasure?

There are no longer consequences of our sin with God. No amount of sin can cause you to lose God’s grace. You might lose friends or you might lose respect and integrity but you will never lose your place with God. Losing friends and integrity can be pretty devastating.

If God isn’t blessing us physically today, maybe we should be blessing each other.

Why I’ve decided not to pray for miracles anymore. How can I say this? Why would I say this?

Does God reward good behavior? Becoming a Christian doesn’t fix the consequences in our life and it also doesn’t give us a recipe for rewards or blessings.

God is not asking you to clean up your life. Perfection is not the goal. Pretending to be sinless will not save you. Grace saves you. Grace teaches us love.

Becoming a Christian does not protect you from pain and suffering. You will still suffer pain in this world but we can know something that will give us peace. God’s grace is sufficient to comfort us during suffering.

God’s wrath vs consequences. Is god punishing people on earth today? Do parents punish or chastise their grown adult children? We are no longer children in God’s eyes. In the body of Christ, we are God’s children but we are fully grown adult sons of God.

What is God’s will? Do you know God’s will for your life? Can you know God’s will? God’s will is the same as his plan and purpose for you.

As Christians we want to find God’s plan and purpose for our life. We want to live according to God’s best for us. How can we know God’s plan for our life? Does God have a personal individual plan for our life?

Gods sovereignty and predestination influences our definition of grace. It is one of our core theologies of Christianity that affects how we live. It is the lens through which we interpret grace. What if there is a different way of defining gods sovereignty and predestination.

Grace seals us into the Body of Christ and religion unseals us. Can a saved person get unsealed? Maybe we need to question our definition of salvation. We must continue to question and be very careful how we interpret the Bible because it affects our thoughts and actions.

Words matter. Our definition of words influences our interpretation of the Bible and creates our theology. Theology is the systematic study and development of religious beliefs. Theology has a great impact on how we live our life. How do you define good works or good fruit? What does the Christian life look like? Are we commanded to live a sinless life or to be free?

Giving people freedom scares us. We are taught that asking “why” and questioning traditions and standards is lack of faith. But control is really the underlying issue. There is a power struggle between law and grace. Our understanding of God’s love influences our understanding of grace. Why can’t we let people live free under grace?

Beliefs drive our emotions and actions. We are passionate about ideas and experiences because of something we have been taught and know. We are conditioned in our beliefs from a very young age. How is the truth that you are telling yourself driving your actions? Is the knowledge you have been taught truth or untruth?

Are you searching for more meaning and purpose in your life? Are you free to live a life of purpose? I believe our happiness is found in freedom: freedom to be our true self. Gods grace frees us to live a life with great meaning and purpose. In this first episode we will begin to search out and uncover our true identities.