Category: Grace

One Word, Best Gift

As I was having some worship time this morning, I was thinking, ‘What is the one word I would use to describe Jesus?’ I thought of all the words assigned to him: Master, Savior, Counselor, Prince of Peace, Redeemer, Mighty God, Emmanuel, Christ, Lord, Son of God, Son of man, the Word, Lamb of God, New Adam, Light of the World, King of Kings, King of the Jews, Rabbi, Chosen One, I Am, Bread of Life, Creator, Only Begotten Son, Alpha and Omega, Almighty, High Priest, Prophet, Teacher, Advocate, Mediator, Judge, Chief Cornerstone, Shepherd, Living Water, True Vine, Branch, Bridegroom, Dayspring, Carpenter, Lion of the Tribe of Judah, The Way, the Truth and the Life, The Image of God, and the list goes on. I’m sure I’ve left something out so don’t mark me off on this. As you read through those, can you see how much is used to describe him? It’s remarkable, isn’t it? Just think then how can we define Jesus with one word?


I sat there on the floor of my sewing room, pondering, because I decided I needed worship time more than I needed to do whatever it was I had been doing. I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of having an intimate relationship with Jesus and what that has meant to me in my life. I thought, ‘What would that one word be to describe Jesus?’ The words came flooding out; precious, loving, dear, merciful, cherished, best friend, loyal, and the list went on and on. I couldn’t put one word on such an intimate and beautiful relationship that I’ve had with him. He is so loving and so caring. He is there for me any time I need him. He is Always by our side. The only reason we may think he is not, would be because the world gives us distractions, but he is there. We just need to seek him and recognize that he meant it when he said he would Never leave our side. I felt his presence as I thought of this, and I talked to him. I asked, “How do I tell someone else all that you mean to me? How do I describe you in one word? It’s simply impossible!” But think about it, could you describe your favorite family member or best friend in one word? Maybe there is one word that stands out for them, but I don’t know of one word that stands out for Jesus other than love and best gift.

Jesus is the best gift that I could share with anyone else, with you, because if you take the time to get to know him, he will change your life. Your life will become more peaceful and more relaxed. He will center you and I’m not saying that in a new age way. If you put him at the center of your life, the rest will fall into place. It’s not that you won’t have trials, we live in a fallen world, but when you do have trials, take them to Jesus and he will help you with them. But more than that, he gives us a new life when we believe on him. He gives us grace. I asked one of my daughter’s for her one word for Jesus and she said grace. Funny that she said this as she was shearing her son’s hair because he had just cut it with the scissors so low that she simply had to shear it. She did not punish him, because by his life choices, he had punished himself. He was hiding in his room because he didn’t like what he had done. She gave him grace. How often do we hide out because we are ashamed of what we have done? Yet Jesus has seen all the mistakes, all the sins, all the things we think are irreparable and he fixes us. He fixes our problems, our too short hair, he shears away the mess, and he loves us through it all. We were created for relationship with him. He brings us back to him through his death and resurrection. Jesus died for all our sins and mistakes, so that we might have a new life in him. He died to give us life more abundantly.

That is one of the best words I can tell you about Jesus, is that he gives Life and he gives life more abundantly. Not only does our life on earth become better, but we gain eternal life by believing. Our sinful nature is replaced by a new nature. Our old heart becomes fresh and new. I have seen this happen where people who didn’t care about life, others, or themselves even were brought back to being happy people by trusting in Jesus. He is our (more words to describe him) transfiguration or transformer!  To transfigure means to transform into something more beautiful or elegant! I love that word, because that is what Jesus does to us when we allow him to. Will you allow Jesus to transform you today? I pray you have or do.

You can pray this with me: “Jesus, I come to you and ask you to forgive me of all my sins, I want to follow you. I believe you died for me and I give my life to you. Please accept me back into your fold. In Jesus’ name. Amen”

If you asked Jesus into your life for the first time or if you have had a long absence from God, then I suggest you find a good ministry to follow in your area. May you find the one word which is the best gift in your life. To me that word is Jesus.

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. – John 10:9-11 NKJV

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” – John 14:6-7 NLT

So, from now on, we refuse to evaluate people merely by their outward appearances. For that’s how we once viewed the Anointed One, but no longer do we see him with limited human insight. Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new person. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new. – 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 TPT

Free from the Law, Living in Grace

As a Christian living today, under this covenant, have you ever stopped to think how Amazingly Blessed we are? We are free from the vestiges of the law if we walk in his Grace. We are no longer bound, yet free, no more in bondage to law nor to sin.. Let me explain. 

How enriched are they who find their strength in the Lord; within their hearts are the highways of holiness! Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears, they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain. He gives to them a brook of blessing filled from the rain of an outpouring. They grow stronger and stronger with every step forward, and the God of all gods will appear before them in Zion. – Psalm 84:5-7 – TPT

He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.” – Exodus 15:26 – NLT

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Even under the law, people found blessings and healing, but what are his decrees for us in this day? Many would say the Ten Commandments are the law for believers today, if that’s the case what did Jesus answer one who questioned him about the law?

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:36-40

Those are the two most important, loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind and loving our neighbor… But WAIT! We are not under the law any more, we have been freed from it! In Hebrews 7 we are told, the priesthood has changed and if that happened, then the law must have changed to allow it. (Verse 12) It also tells us that the old requirement of becoming a priest was weak and useless. (Verse 18) A new covenant was established by God as all covenants are, that Jesus would be a priest forever, because he lives forever. (Verses 21 & 24) Jesus does not need to offer sacrifices because he offered himself once and for all as the ultimate sacrifice. (Verse 27) So what is the new covenant that the Bible speaks of? A covenant is a law or set of laws of agreement. Here it is:

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their minds [even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding], And engrave them upon their hearts [effecting their regeneration]. And I will be their God , And they shall be My people. “And it will not be [necessary] for each one to teach his fellow citizen, Or each one his brother, saying, ‘Know [by experience, have knowledge of] the Lord,’ For all will know [Me by experience and have knowledge of] Me, From the least to the greatest of them. “For I will be merciful and gracious toward their wickedness, And I will remember their sins no more.” When God speaks of “A new covenant,” He makes the first one obsolete. And whatever is becoming obsolete (out of use, annulled) and growing old is ready to disappear. – Hebrews 8:10-13 AMP

The house of Israel is not just natural Israel, but also includes the church as a whole. Here is a short definition to explain (not all those that draw their bodily descent from Israel are true Israelites, i.e. are those whom God pronounces to be Israelites and have gone through salvation). What was the last verse? The old covenant, the Mosaic covenant which many Christians live under in error today is obsolete! Because Jesus freed us from the law. And if you have trouble believing that, I can give you a litany of verses to back it up. Let me give a few:

Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. – Romans 6:14

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-5

For the Christ is the end of the law. And because of him, God has transferred his perfect righteousness to all who believe. – Romans 10:4

First, let me address, that many churches and religions today have created laws and traditions, which were never intended by God. We are not meant to live by these laws, but by grace. Also, this generation and many generations before us were not born under the law, but we and many before act as if we were. Now on to the above verses.

Those are all powerful verses, let me reiterate them. We do not have to let sin control us if we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, we live under God’s Grace, which shows us what sins we need to eliminate and sometimes this is a process. Jesus was born during the law but through his flogging, death, and resurrection, we received healing and freedom from the law. If we accept him as Savior, we become sons of God. Jesus Christ ended the law and through him when we believe on him, we receive God’s righteousness. That is humbling to think that when God looks at us, he does not see a sinner, but he sees an adopted son or daughter, he sees a righteous human being. We are no longer judged by the law, but we are given Grace and have been redeemed through Jesus Christ. If that doesn’t make you want to shout and give thanks, I don’t know what would!

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.  Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. – Romans 8:31-34

Is Projecting Constructive or Destructive?

What is projection? Projection is when we take a behavior and transfer it over to another situation. There are several applications to projection. For instance, if we have a low self image because of our weight, height, or intellect, etc., we might find someone we deem inferior to us and then put them down in an effort to make ourselves feel better. While this may sound like a negative way to boost self image, people do it every day. Gossip is a form of putting others down. How does bullying start? Because one person feels inferior to another for some reason. Perhaps they were made fun of by their peers, siblings, or sadly, their parents. Instead of being the victim, they later victimize others.

Another form of projection is to think that others should take up the same causes that you have. If you’re all for sheep eating green grass, then everyone else should be, right? If you believe that the version of Bible you read or your church is the right one, then everyone else should also, right? That’s a projection of arrogance and superiority. That line of thinking says that you are the only one who thinks correctly and promotes you as perfect. Others perceive you to be haughty and overbearing and you don’t understand why they don’t see things your way. Sound familiar? I’ve been there before. On some issues, I still am, but I try to be open-minded, while still staying grounded in the Word, led by the Holy Spirit. That is the crux of life as a Christian. It is who Jesus Christ left us, the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. But are we truly listening? Are we being guided? Did we hear the Holy Spirit tell us to argue with others? Let’s see, the Holy Spirit’s character is to comfort, to bring forth truth, to establish peace. No, I don’t think the Holy Spirit ever told me to argue with a friend or family member.

Then one of the ways projection hurts Christianity the most is by those who project their own mindset, their own thoughts, or the actions of others towards them on God and on Christians in general. Because, somewhere, someone professing to be a Christian hurt them and they decided ‘how could Christianity be real? How could God be real? How could God love me if I have these thoughts? How can I trust another ‘Christian?’ How can I trust another church?’ Well, here’s my answer, 1. God did NOT cause any bad things to happen to you! He didn’t give you or anyone else bad thoughts! God is LOVE! He Loved you so much, and everyone else in this world, that he gave up his own son to die and brought him back to life. You may say, ‘Well he knew he was going to bring him back.’ Oh? Why? Because he’s God? So then you Do Believe in God? Because everything within us cries out for our creator and if we nearly die, we cry out to him. Don’t let a near death experience test you to find out. Get off the fence and follow his Son, who was a perfect example of a human being and perfect love. 2. Mankind will fail. There’s not a single person out there who’s not going to disappoint you at some point. There are few, very few Christians who lead a life sold out completely to follow Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to lead them. Everyone has a weakness they won’t relinquish control over. 3. As far as thinking others think like you, there are some people who are not out to hurt you and who have very pure motives. If you’re tuned into the Holy Spirit, you’ll know which ones are pure and who to avoid.

There’s another area of projection I’ve seen Christians do in their walk, that thwarts their spiritual growth. Some Christians may think another believer has more spiritual knowledge than they do, so they belittle the one they deem beyond them. Or perhaps they’re afraid to move forward with God, to take the next step, so they criticize everything another believer says or believes, putting down their church or doctrine.

Jesus wasn’t looking for a set of rules, he came to free us from the law! He wasn’t here to participate in sacraments, traditions or even a church, nor a building, he was looking for true worshippers, whose lives were lived by example, those who would follow him. He wanted those who were led by the Holy Spirit, doing the Father’s will. His “church” was/is not bound by walls, or certain days. If we project anything as Christians, May it be the love of Jesus Christ, faithfulness, gentleness, self- control, grace, compassion, patience, peace, comfort, and joy.

John 4:23-24 But the time is coming-indeed it’s here now-when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Hebrews 8:1-2 Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.