Overwhelming Grace

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Sometimes God's grace overwhelms me enough that there just aren't words to express my gratitude.


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An Uncertain Affinity (2 Cor. 4:7-11; Gen. 3:16)

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Today in my devotion time, I came across a word that led me to another word. Can I say that this is my usual, lifelong problem in reading dictionary entries . . . I have a hard time stopping.  It’s a real problem. ☺ The word connected to the word I was looking up about the tabernacle was skeuos . In the Greek, this word carries the meaning “of uncertain affinity; a vessel, implement, equipment or apparatus (literal or figurative [specifically a wife as contributing to the usefulness of the husband]):--goods, sail, stuff, vessel.” I got caught immediately in the first part: “uncertain affinity.”  Uncertain means “not able to be relied on; not known or definite.” Affinity means “a spontaneous or natural liking or sympathy for someone or something.” Putting these two words together is something of an oxymoron, which in the Greek literally means “pointedly foolish” because of its seeming contradiction. How in the world can you have an affinity for something you don’t know? How...
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Brian died this week, alone in his apartment. No one knows for sure which day he passed from this life into the next one, but regardless, the reality is that Brian is gone, and we are left with the many memories made during his lifetime. Like memories of anyone, some are good and others are hard, and I know that mine are somewhat warped by time and my penchant for drama as a child, which (of course, read as not really . . . ) I have TOTALLY outgrown, but they are mine, and I am glad to have them. My first memory of Brian was a few days after his birth, and my five-and-a half-year-old-self wasn’t the least bit impressed with the squirmy little bundle I could only see by standing on tiptoe through the window of the kitchen door because I had a horrible case of the mumps. Pretty sure that my parents driving away with my brother and leaving me with the grandparents I normally loved to be with was the lowest moment of my life up to that point. That was the unavoidable and unfortunate begin...
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During the course of my week, I found myself teaching one of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories, which usually involves delving into the dark condition of the human heart. As I led the discussion, a verse popped into my mind and I shared it with the class in light of the topic of the heart. In Luke 6:45, Jesus spoke to his disciples and said that the nature of the heart can be seen—either good or evil by what comes out of the mouth—its fruit. The version I memorized reads: “For out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45b, NIV). This set me thinking. In the multitudes he encountered, Jesus found both resistance to and acceptance of the salvation he offered, and it was the condition of the receptors on the human heart that made all the difference. Those with good reception understood, but the warnings fell on the deaf ears of all those whose receptors were in a state of disrepair. Proverbs 4:23 offers advice for caring for our hearts and tells us to “guard” our hearts because ...
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