My Place of Grace

Ever find yourself drowning in a sour pit of lemon juice? Everything in your life going wrong? Can't seem to find your way out? Well take heart my friend! Life is guaranteed to give us lemons...but with a little sugar those lemons can turn into sweet tasting lemonade. The sugar I'm talking about is God Himself. He's the sweetener that makes life lemons into our lemonade. Apart from Him we are settling for that sour juice. In the gospel of John, Jesus tells of his sweetness and power, He says "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) In the context of lemonade, we can say Yes, In this world you'll be surrounded by many lemons...but take heart...I have come to make the lemonade! We can see this relationship in John 10:10 as well when Jesus tells us, "The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and s

Well known author, speaker, and counselor, Leslie Vernick, will be presenting a free 2-session seminar for men and women on Friday evening, March 19th at 7pm at Faith Church in Allentown. She will be speaking from two of her books, Lord, I Just Want to Be Happy and How to Live Right When Your Life Goes Wrong featuring The TRUTH Principle. The Truth Principle Do you struggle to live out God's truth from your heart? Many Christians know more truth than they actually apply. Leslie offers a unique 5-step process called The TRUTH Principle that will help you: · Respond to difficult situations without losing your temper or your faith. · Break free from internal lies in order to fully embrace Gods' truth. · Develop the discipline to take your desires from dreams to reality. Lord, I Just Want to Be Happy It's not the new circumstances we often pray for that move us toward lasting happiness, but rather something entirely different. Drawing on her own struggles and those of people s

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11 "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent." Rev. 3:19 This is my Grand dog Charley. As you can see he's gotten himself in a bit of a mess! I love Charley. He is an energetic, fun loving, always ready to play and please puppy. He loves to be around people and he comforts them with his big brown eyes and is always ready to snuggle on your lap(even though he's really NOT a lap dog). Sometimes He gets a little carried away in his joy, as in this picture. These soft white rolls seemed like the perfect toy for him, they looked harmless enough. He thought he'd just check them out and before he knew it he had unrolled, tossed about, tore up and thoroughly examined each roll. He was feeling pretty good about himself, satisfied, till his master walked in the r

I have the honor today to post a review of "Thin Places", a memoir by Mary DeMuth. Mary has written numerous books, both fiction and non fiction. All have been wonderful reads, showing God's amazing love and grace over our lives along with His incredible redeeming power. In telling her story, she brings testimony that Jesus is always near to us, even in the most horrific of circumstances and is unfathomably able to heal up even the deepest of scars left behind. Thin Places takes this theme, and chronicles it through her own life experiences in a real, personal and powerful way. Her own walk with God becomes the catalyst for determining these defining moments, that she describes as: "snatches of holy ground, tucked into the corners of our world, where if we pay close attention, we might just catch a glimpse of eternity. They are snatches of time, moments really when we sense God intersecting our world in tangible, unmistakable ways. They are aha moments, beautiful rea

"...When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.(Hebrews 12:26-29) Passionately I will worship God. Singing His praises all day Hiding His word in my heart Coming before Him to pray. Delighting in His commands Loving Him in all I do and say. Trusting God for all my needs Walking in His way Obediently I'll follow And in His presence I will stay. Fix your eyes on Jesus...especially knowing that the things of this world will pass away. Do not let any obstacle keep you from God's presence...He is the source of your strength continually call Him to mind...He helps replaces all feelings of dread with His

"that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living." Psalm 116:9 Entangled by the toils, temptations, and troubles of daily living, not to mention those lies we believe from the past, the stress of finances, wayward children, troubled marriages, financial difficulties, mood disorders, jam packed days, sleepless nights, caring for elderly parents, and the list goes on... have a tendency to hold us captive and hinder our walking in freedom with God, keeping us from the person God intends us to be. God has a predestined plan for each of us to carry out in His kingdom here on earth. So how do we throw all these things off so we can run the race set out for us?(Hebrews 12:1-12) How do we grab hold our freedom offered us as followers of Christ? We need to know him. We need to spend time in his presence,we need to become fully dependent upon him and live out of the strength He provides. We need to become aware of our weaknesses and quickly repent of our sins, becoming willin

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. " Hebrews 12:1-3 I have been greatly inspired recently by a book that I read, called The Heavenly Man. It is a book about a Chinese mans life and journey to bring the message of salvation to the Chinese people, in spite of the great risk involved in spreading the message. You see, China does not allow freedom to express your own beliefs, you must be part of their registered church. So to stand against the government in the name of Christianity is a serious crime. Those who