Open Your Two Gifts from God

Do you have any gifts from last Christmas which you never opened? Of course not and neither do I. Most of us have such anticipation of opening our gifts, we struggle to wait until Christmas.

The majority of Christians today have two gifts God gave them the day He saved them that they have never opened. They are the gifts of abundant grace and righteousness. (Romans 5:17 "...much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.") These two gifts transformed my life and healed my marriage.

You can open these gifts today but only through faith. To open the gift of abundant grace is to depend on Jesus Christ in you to meet your needs for love and acceptance and to live His life through you. To open the gift of righteousness is to believe that your identity in Christ makes you as righteous as Him.

Why don't you open these two gifts right now? Here is a suggested prayer for you to pray today and beyond.

"Jesus, I realize that I have tried many ways to meet my own needs for love and acceptance, but it has not worked. I choose to agree with You believing that You love and accept me today unconditionally. I am also convinced that without You, I can do nothing in any area of my life. I ask You to live Your life through me today in all that I do. Finally, Jesus, I believe when You gave me the gift of Your righteousness, it became my righteousness which is my truest identity. I choose to believe regardless of my behavior, circumstances or feelings. Please remind me often of these two gifts from You. Thank you Jesus. Amen"

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Parenting by Grace - Is Your Identity in Your Kids

   Years ago, all of the families in our church small group decided to meet for lunch at the church building. My two oldest boys were play fighting and I had to get stern with one of them because he hit his brother in the eye with his sock.

  When it came time for us to all leave, he had disappeared. We searched the building but no one could find him. Finally, we all got in our cars hoping he would come out of hiding. In a few minutes, he came sheepishly walking from behind the building. It was a relief and a little embarrassing. I remember saying to Ellen, "I sure am glad we don't get out identity from our kids."

  Our daughter has Down syndrome. She is very loving but has experienced a lot of rejection in school and church because she can't perform like others think she should. An "expert" once proclaimed she would never mature past a 3^rd grade level. She is now a junior in a university program designed for young adults similar to her. It would be very easy to get our identity from her successes or the opinions of others rather than Jesus.

  One time I saw a call from my wife on my mobile phone while teaching a large Grace Life Conference. I couldn't take the call but listened to the voice mail on the way home. One of my sons had been doing doughnuts in a field that night and rolled the car over on its top. The car was totaled and thankfully neither he nor his friend was hurt. The police were called and he was charged with trespassing.   As we later stood in the Sheriff's office, it sure would have been easy to get our identity from our son rather than Jesus.

  My children have made many mistakes. They have also had many successes, making good grades, helping a friend in need, achieving student of the week, earning college scholarships, making the Dean's List, working hard on their jobs, serving God effectively and more.   Ellen and I are proud of them for all of these achievements but we still don't derive our identity from them.

  As a parent, we need to remember that whether our kids succeed, fail, obey us, disobey us, make good decisions, make bad decisions, follow Jesus or reject Jesus, our identity is in Christ. It helps to remind ourselves often that we are forgiven, righteous, accepted, loved children of God independent of our kids. Colossians 2:10 reminds us that we are complete in Christ, not our children.

  Parents, when we do a good job parenting and when we make mistakes, even then our identity is in Christ, not our children. I sense as I am writing this that some parents whose kids are now adults, need to be reminded that your identity is also in Christ and not your adult kids.

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder 

www.GraceLifeInternational.com 
All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Parenting by Grace: Fathers Need Christ in Them

   After 31 years of counseling people, I can tell you that dads have the most influence on their children, for better or for worse. That is not a surprise since the only two verses of Scripture in the New Testament are directed to fathers.

   Here is what they say. "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4 ESV "Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged." Colossians 3:21 ESV

   Men, we were designed by God to be the loving leaders in our homes. But when Adam sinned, that got turned upside down in us. As a result, all of us tend to struggle after the flesh to lead our families spiritually and to express love to them. The flesh easily defaults to passivity and anger in our homes.

   The good news is that Jesus came to turn things right side up. So when He tells us what to do to lead our families, He is reminding us of who we already are in Christ as fathers. It is also a reminder that we need to depend on Christ in us to lead and love then. I pray almost every day that Jesus will live His life through me to love my wife and my children.

   Don't fall into the former stinking thinking that it's up to your wife to lead your children spiritually, to express love or to discipline them. That is passivity and is from the flesh. But that's not who we are as men whose identity is in Christ. In Christ, we fathers are loving leaders! Our Heavenly Dad is telling us to "put on Christ" or simply, live like who we are.

   To lead primarily means to initiate. It's deciding to initiate to show and tell your kids you love them. It's deciding to initiate by sharing with your kids about your own relationship with God. It's deciding to initiate by asking your kids to forgive you when you blow it. It's deciding to initiate in a relationship with your wife that your kids can emulate. It's choosing to show respect to your wife and to require your kids to do the same.

   Dads, you don't have to do everything perfectly. That is why it's called parenting by grace. I made plenty of mistakes with my four kids. Even today, I believe that God's grace covers every mistake you and I make. Romans 5:20b "But where sin increased, grace increased all the more."

   Dads, the pressure's off. We can choose to depend on Christ to live through us to parent our kids! 

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder


www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Parenting by Grace: 3 Stages of Parenting

   One of the things Ellen and I spoke about at times when our kids were growing up was this.  “Let’s enjoy our kids and not be in a hurry for them to grow up or get older.”   In other words, we wanted to soak in and enjoy the moment.  There were great times of joy, exhaustion, and sorrow.  Regardless, we made it our goal to live in the moment and are glad we did.

   I believe this is part of what grace means when we are able to rest in the Lord as Hebrews 4 talks about. 

   It helps to understand what stage of parenting you are experiencing with each of your children.  The stages can be understood simply as Control, Convictions and Counselor.  In every one of these stages, parents need to depend on Christ in them to parent and need to have older grace filled parents who can mentor them.

   Control – When our kids are infants until they are around age 11, parents have to make a lot of their children’s decisions for them.  Our children don’t have the emotional or intellectual ability to do this without us.  Of course, even as they are moving towards age 11, we can be teaching them about making wise, good decisions.  There is also a place for giving them opportunities to do so.

   Conviction – From about age 12 through high school, we are in a time of helping our kids develop convictions about God, themselves and life.  We can’t force any of this on them but we want to be sharing the important things on how real Jesus is to us, dating, working hard, integrity, money and more. 

   This is definitely a time that can be very challenging.  Some teens are very compliant and go through this time with no problems.  Others seem to become an alien from another planet and parents wonder who took over their child’s body!  Our kids may have questions or doubts about their faith but talking it through with them will help.  Just don’t freak out if that happens.

   Counselor – This is when our kids have graduated from high school and are headed towards living on their own whether through a job or at college.  Parents primarily become counselors during this time.  We have to be very careful that we don’t regress to the Control stage during this time.  In fact, some parents sadly keep trying to be in the control stage even after their adult child is married.

   This is a time when we are continuing to guide our children into making more and more of their own decisions.  We have input of course, especially if they want to do something like go to a college that costs more then we or they can afford.  But in general, we want to help them learn more and more how to pray, seek God and make their own decisions.

   Please don’t take these stages and turn them into hard and fast periods. We all need to be led by the Holy Spirit and there will be some crossover in these stages.  Just to remind you, trust Christ in you, to parent through you.  He’s the best parent ever!

 Live Free In Christ, Mark Maulding, President and Founder www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

The Brevity of Life and Preparing Well for the Next One

One ancient writer expressed the brevity of life in this way, “You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing.”  My wife and I are experiencing this on a micro level as it seems our four children became adults all of a sudden though it took 20 – 25 years.

However, the life to come is forever.  It is sobering to realize that there are only two forever options for every living person.  One is to live forever unconditionally loved by God where all suffering, pain, sorrows, sickness and death are no more, and the world is the most beautiful place ever.  The other option is to live forever in a place where there is no love, no relationships, no parties, no light and none of God’s presence.

The question is who goes where and why?

Many people think that good people are the ones who go to a “better place” and bad people go to the alternative.  But how good does a person need to be go to this heavenly place?

Let’s look at a few of the 10 Commandments for just a moment.  One commandment says, “Thou shalt not steal”.  Have you ever stolen anything?  Everyone has even if it is a very small item.  That means you will stand before God one day as a thief and thieves cannot go to heaven.  Another commandment says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness (lie).”  Have you ever lied?  Sure you have, even if it was a little white lie.  All liars will stand before God one day and be judged as one who cannot go to heaven.  Let me give you part of the 10^th Commandment.  “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife…”  Have ever had a sexually lustful thought towards another person whether on television, the internet, in your neighborhood or anywhere else?  Every person has done that more than once.  As a result, you will stand before God guilty of sexual lust.  Sadly, no one who has done this, even once, will go to heaven.

Hopefully you can see that no one is good enough to go to heaven because we have all broken at least some of the 10 Commandments.

Because God loves you, He wants you to be with Him forever and has provided a way for you to be there.  You see God loves everyone, but he doesn't accept everyone.  He only accepts those who are acceptable.  So how do you become acceptable to God since no one is good enough?

You may or may not be familiar with what Jesus Christ said as recorded in the Bible in John chapter 3 verses 16-17. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

God loved you personally so much, that He sent His own Son, from heaven to earth, not to condemn you, but to save you from option 2.  The one condition is that you believe in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Believing in Jesus Christ means that you believe He died on the cross to take your judgment for your mistakes and sins.  You also believe He was buried and on the 3^rd day and He rose from the grave because He conquered death for us.  To believe is not just a mental belief.  It is also a giving of yourself to Jesus so you can fulfill the purpose for which you were created.  You were placed on this earth for a specific purpose which may include your present profession.

A relationship with Jesus Christ is not about being religious but is about learning to have a dynamic relationship with Him.  To keep it real, this does not mean your life will be great after you believe.  You will have problems in this life just like I do and everyone else does.  For example, I have a child with Down syndrome and have lost most of my ability to smell.  And because of our problems, we may be tempted to give up on our belief in Jesus.  Don’t do that.  Remember, you are preparing for the next life not just this one.  Keep the faith in Him.

Would you like to place your faith in Jesus Christ right now?  Don’t say, “I’ll do it later.”  This may be your last chance. None of us is assured that we have a tomorrow.  Join me and many others who have already believed.  If you are willing to do this, I have a suggested prayer for you to pray.   

I was encouraging a friend one time to place his faith in Jesus Christ when he said, "But I don't feel anything so I don't think I should".  I explained that you don't have to have a certain "feeling" to place your faith in Christ.  You may or may not “feel” like praying this prayer of belief but feelings are fickle and they come and go.  In other words, go ahead.  Don’t wait until you feel like it. He did and was forever changed.

Here is the suggested prayer.  Just stop for a moment and pray this to God either out loud or silently.

“Dear God, I believe that you love me so much that you sent Jesus Christ to die for my mistakes and sins.  I believe that He was buried and that you also raised him from the dead.”  I not only believe in Him but I surrender my life to you desiring to discover and live your plan for my life.”  Amen.

God encourages you in your prayer above with this Bible verse.  “If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This is in Romans chapter 10 verse :9.

If you placed your faith in Jesus Christ just now, please email me at Mark@GraceLifeInternational.com.  You don’t have to.  I am not a pastor.  I just want to know so I can pray for you and send you another email about how to grow in this new relationship.  I will never use your email for any other purpose or ask you for money.  There is so much more to understand about your relationship with Jesus Christ and I want to help you.

God bless you in your new adventure with Him!

Live Free In Christ,
Mark Maulding, President and Founder
www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Parenting by Grace: Why Only Two New Testament Scriptures?

    My wife and I have been parenting our four children for 25 years. During that time, we have learned some things that I'd like to share with you. Let me say quickly that if you are hoping to hear from someone who has been a perfect Christian parent, you will be disappointed. We have made our share of mistakes like every Christian parent does.

   There is a phantom Christian parent out there somewhere who does everything perfectly. They lead their children to Christ at an early age, always have them at church, never miss daily devotions with them, never get angry, always have the wisdom needed for every situation, have a great marriage, always pray and read their Bibles, and spend a lot of personal time engaging each child. I call them a phantom because that parent does not exist!

    I often ask people in our Parenting by Grace class how many New Testament verses there are on parenting. If someone had asked you that question, how would you have answered it? I've heard everything from 100 to 10 to none. The answer is that there are only two. They are Ephesians 6:4 and Colossians 3:21 which say almost exactly the same thing.

  Because parenting is such a challenging responsibility, that doesn't seem fair, does it? Its like, "Come on, Lord. Could you give me at least 10 Scriptures about parenting?"

   A long time ago I asked, "Why are there only two?" Then I believe the Holy Spirit gave me the answer. It's because God assumes that we understand the Gospel so well that we know how He parents us. He is our model of how to parent our children. Here are some important truths I believe He wants us to understand about parenting.

  Our Father loves and accepts us unconditionally whether we obey or sin. It's one of the privileges of being one of His children. This does not mean there are no consequences for sinning.   If you rob a bank, you will go to prison and God will love and accept you all the way there!

  Our Daddy does not punish us but disciplines us according to Hebrews 12. To punish us would mean that Jesus' payment for our sins was incomplete therefore we are being made to pay for them. Discipline is different because it is not retribution but guidance. It means that we are off track and our Father is trying to get us back on track.

   When we understand the Gospel, our Daddy assumes that we are going to rely on Christ in us to be a parent through us. When Jesus said in John 15:5, "Without me, you can do nothing", He was including parenting.   A parent must daily declare to Jesus that he or she is utterly dependent on Him to do the parenting through them.

   I remember several occasions that what came out of my mouth in response to one of my children was so wise, I knew it was from Christ in me. To keep it real, I also remember things coming out of my mouth that were from the flesh because I was not relying on Christ in me!

   The greatest parent in the world is God Himself who lives in you! Ask Him to parent your children through you and watch Him work!     

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Grace for the Legalist

    When I was a legalistic Christian, I understood grace to be the power God gave me to obey the 10 Commandments. Rather than grace being relational, it was the power to keep the rules. This stinking thinking meant that the more rules I kept, the more pleasing I would be to God. The more pleasing I was to God, the more I believed He would bless me for my obedient performance.     

  

   I was so much of a legalist, I believed I needed to obey the dietary laws of the Old Testament in order to please God. I recall one time when Ellen and I were first married, we were on vacation at her grandfather's beach house. We went out to eat at the local seafood restaurant only to realize that every item on the menu was forbidden by the Old Testament dietary laws. We left frustrated, angry and hungry!

   When I had a revelation of Christ in me and my identity in Christ according to Galatians 2:20, I experienced incredible healing and freedom. However, I also believed that I now had the power to keep the 10 Commandments and couldn't understand why I kept failing at it. This is the exact same thing  the Apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 7:14-25. Here he shares his own testimony of his habitual faliure to keep the law in his attempts to stop sinning.

   God continued to reveal more of what the entire Gospel really was and I soon began to see in the Scriptures that Christians have zero obligation to keep the 10 Commandments. Not only can it not save a person, it cannot prevent a Christian from sinning, nor can it help them grow spiritually.

   Romans 7:4 says that when Jesus died on the cross, we were united to Him so that we died to the Law with Him. If you die to something, it means that you no longer have any relationship to it. For example, if I died today, I would no longer be obligated to keep the laws of the United States.

   2 Timothy 1:9 says, "Realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person." The only righteous people are those in Christ. That means that the 10 Commandments are not made for us. Instead of the Law, we are now under grace.

   As I understood this, my freedom grew. My intimacy with God grew. My love for people grew. My freedom over sin's power grew. And I even lived a life more pleasing to God than when I had lived under the Law. Grace transformed this legalist into a gracist!

   To all the legalists out there, God's love and grace is what you need and really want deep down. You just may not know it yet. Your Father loves you and His grace has placed Christ in you and you in Christ. Let go of legalism and embrace grace. It may feel strange at first but it's the only way to live a victorious Christian life!

Live Free In Christ, Mark Maulding, President and Founder www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

It's Halloween: Fear God not the Devil!

   Christians have differing opinions on whether or not to participate in Halloween. Some say that it is a form of worshipping the devil. Others say that if you participate, you open yourself up to the demonic world. And then there are those who say that it's nothing but a fun time to dress up and eat so much candy that it makes you sick.

 

    I definitely take very seriously the reality that the devil and his demons can and do influence Christians. Christians can't be possessed because we are possessed by Jesus Christ. But we can be oppressed. I've seen it in our counseling and I've seen it in my own life.

    A few years ago, I became very nauseous as I was preparing to drive to a teen conference on our identity in Christ. I was the main speaker, so it was important for me to be there. I emailed some people and asked them to pray because I felt sick. Shortly afterwards, the Holy Spirit told me that I felt sick because it was demonic. You see, I was about to teach in one of the most religious cities in America and religion is from our Enemy. So I prayed with the authority we have in Christ and the nausea stopped immediately.

    But I'm not afraid of the devil and you shouldn't be either if you are in Christ. I have a healthy respect but I'm not afraid. Jesus has defeated our enemy through His death, burial, resurrection, ascension and seating. Colossians 2:15 "And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." Since we are united with Christ, we have defeated him too. Ephesians 2:6 "And raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." We do need to believe it and apply our victory.

    I do fear God but not such that I am afraid of Him. His perfect love for me has removed that kind of fear according to 1 John 4:18, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love." But I do have an incredible reverence for my Father who loves me that is so overpowering that I worship Him and desire to obey Him.

    You may be wondering if I am promoting the idea that Christians should let their children dress up and get candy going door to door on Halloween. I am not because this is an issue of conscience like we read about in Romans 14-15. Just as in those Scriptures, some Christians think it is fine and others are totally against it. You will need to decide between you and God what you have the freedom to do or not do.

    I will say this, just for the record. I've never dealt with anyone in my 31 years of counseling and teaching who was oppressed by the devil after dressing up to get candy on Halloween. But I've seen a lot more people who have been oppressed by the devil because of religion and other reasons. I am definitely more afraid of the damage religion does to Christians than Halloween!

Live Free In Christ,


Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com

All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Passionate Dating: Are You Ready?

   Are you ready to date? Is your teen or single ready to date? Here are some practical thoughts on dating from the perspective of grace for you to consider before you answer.

   Dating is really not discussed in the Bible. It is a modern invention of the western world.   In the time of the Bible, parents chose who you were going to marry. That may sound totally crazy to us today. However, we parents know our kids better than anyone else and have a good idea of the type of person who would be a good fit for them.

   I'm not suggesting that we go back to parents arranging who their kids marry. But I am saying that people who are dating would be very wise to ask their parents what they think about the person they are dating. Most parents are good at discerning the character of a person fairly quickly. Are you willing to do that?

   How is your love relationship with Jesus?   In other words, is your heart already filled with God's personal love for you? If so, you are prepared to date if God leads you to do so. Jesus' love for you will be a deterrent against you trying to suck the life out of the other person to meet your God-given need for love. This can be a major stumbling block in dating and in marriage.

    Depending on Jesus to live his life through you is the only way to mature as a person and a Christian. Nothing can better prepare you for dating than this. Jesus says in John 15:5, "Apart from me you can do nothing" which includes dating.

   Learning that your identity is in Christ is important too. Otherwise you will attempt to derive your identity from the person you are dating. That's one of those things that can sabotage your relationship quicker than playing a game of Call to Duty.

   Have you decided on your non-negotiables in dating? I covered this very extensively in my blog/devotion two weeks ago. I hope you have at least decided that you are only going to date someone who loves Jesus as much as you do.

   When you do decide to get engaged, believing God has brought that special person into your life, do yourself a favor and get some quality Christ-centered counseling. We offer great pre-marital counseling in our office and through Skype but we also know of other ministries around the country who can help as well.

Live Free In Christ, 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder 
www.GraceLifeInternational.com 
All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Passionate Dating: Safe Sex

   When our children were growing up, Ellen and I both believed that it was our responsibility to talk to each one about sex.   Sadly, in today's world, most children are familiar with sex long before they become teens.  They have heard all about it from their friends and many have seen a perversion of it because of internet and TV pornography.

   Let me share an example of what I mean.  I took each of my three sons on a father/son weekend to talk about sex when they were in the 6^th grade - the first year of Middle School. (I also took them in 9^thand 12^th grade.)  Ellen talked to our daughter.

   On one of those 6^th grade trips, my son said, "Dad, I already know all about sex.  You don't need to tell me anything."  My response?  "You probably do but you need to hear my perspective on it and especially God's perspective on it."

   You see, sex was designed by God to be great ... in marriage.  He designed it for procreation and for pleasure.  Sex was God's idea, not the Devil's!  It's not dirty in marriage.  It's a gift from God.

   The statistics are very compelling that parents still have the greatest influence in the decisions that teens and young adults make about sex before marriage.  That is not a guarantee that they will live like who they are in Christ in this area but it is still our God-given responsibility to talk with them and guide them in this area.

   The best thing we can do for our kids in teaching them about sex is to challenge them to make some decisions before they ever start dating.  If not, they will most likely make the wrong decision later when they are on a date.  Here are some of those decisions.

  Safe sex for the Christian is no sex prior to marriage. See 1 Corinthians 7:1-5  Today, you have to be very specific about what you mean by sex.  A decision that will help a single person is to agree that any area of the body below the neck is off limits while dating.  An exception, of course, might be holding hands.  And in reality, most people regardless of their age, cannot sit around and kiss very long without being tempted to do more.  Why?  Because God designed passionate kissing to be one of the first steps towards the beautiful act of sexual intimacy in marriage.  If a single is going to kiss at all while dating , they need to decide how much kissing they are going to involve themselves in.  If you have kids, I encourage you to share this with them whether they are 13 or 30. 

  Don't advertise.  Make sure your girls know that they can dress in style with being immodest. For example, a girl who shows cleavage is advertising.  A girl who wears shorts, skirts or dresses so that her butt cheek is showing or almost showing is advertising.  And some guy will be tempted to take the merchandise.  She needs to save all of that for her husband in private after she is married. 

   Another thing kids need to know is that the Bible tells them to treat the opposite sex as if they were their brother or sister.  Read these words to the single pastor, Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:2. "Reverently honor an older woman as you would your mother, and the younger women as sisters."  That is another great decision for those who are dating to make.  In fact, if they treat the opposite sex as a brother or sister, then a friendship may occur which one day might lead them to the one God has for them to marry.  Passionate Dating is definitely about safe sex when you live like who you are in Christ!    

    

Live Free in Christ,    

Live Free In Christ, Mark Maulding, President and Founder www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Passionate Dating: Non-negotiables

   My wife and I have four children in their early 20's who are not yet married. I am writing to you what we have shared with them through the years about dating from a grace perspective in hopes that it will help you or someone you know.

   The reality is that most people are not taught what God thinks about dating and how to be successful at it. Most acquire their dating advice from friends or the media but we can learn plenty from God and His Word.

   When our kids were getting close to dating age, here are some of the most important things Ellen and I shared with them. I encouraged them not to date at all until they got in college or beyond. I told them it was primarily because I did not want them to experience broken hearts before they entered into marriage one day. My encouragement was for them to focus on their getting an education. However, I did give them grace by saying that if they dated, Ellen and I would support them and walk with them.

   Two of our boys did decide to date some. We did walk with them during those times. Each had one relationship that brought pain but I did not say, "I told you so". We loved them where they were just like God does with us. One of our boys did not date anyone seriously because of school work. At this time, all three have put dating aside until they graduate from college. Our daughter with Downs wants a boyfriend and we keep telling her to ask Jesus for one.

   The main non-negotiable we have continued to strongly encourage our kids to decide is to only date and marry someone who loves Jesus as much as they do. Notice that we did not say someone who is a Christian or church goer. There are people who claim to be Christians and go to church but do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" Though the context of that verse is about business, it certainly applies to dating and marriage.

   As one who has Christ in you, you need to only date and marry someone who also has Christ in them but more than that, has a vibrant relationship with Him. How do you know if they do? If they don't talk about their relationship with Jesus during the first one or two dates, you can be sure they don't have that relationship. You can always ask them what kind of faith in God they have. Their answer will be very tell-tale, also.

   I have counseled many Christ followers through the years, who are miserable because they married an unbeliever or a believer whose relationship with God was a "private matter". They allowed themselves to fall in love with that person believing that it wasn't a big deal or that the person would one day come to Christ. In most cases, that doesn't happen.

   You tend to marry people you date! So if you are currently dating or are of dating age, you need to make a decision NOW that you will only date and marry someone who loves Jesus as much as you do. If you are currently dating someone who does not, I urge you to break off that relationship. Though it may be painful now, you will save yourself from a lifetime of future misery and regret.

Live Free In Christ,


Mark Maulding, President and Founder www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Free to Obey By Grace

    I remember in my years as a legalistic Christian how important obedience to God was to me.  In my mind, it was THE issue upon which all Christianity stood.   My entire relationship with God was centered on obedience.  When I read the Bible, I was only looking for new ways to obey God where I wasn't obeying him.  This belief that obedience was THE issue in Christianity led me into such burnout that when I read the Bible, it gave me a stomach ache.  I don't think reading the Bible is supposed to do that! 

   I am not diminishing obedience to God in any way.  1 Samuel 15:22b says "To obey is better than sacrifice".  So, obedience is extremely important but it is not THE issue in Christianity.  THE issue in Christianity is Jesus Christ and to take it further, it is Jesus Christ in us, as Paul shares in Colossians1:27. 

   The Apostle Paul said it this way in Philippians 1:21, "For to me to live is Christ."  Knowing Jesus Christ in us through intimacy with Him is THE main thing.  Again Paul said in Philippians 3:10, "That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death."

  Knowing Christ and making Him known is the essence of life.  Obedience to God is the fruit of knowing Christ and making Him known. 

  Anytime we are told in Scripture to obey God, we can be sure of a few things.  First, obedience to God is an expression of our love for Him.  Second, obedience to God is not a checklist but an expression of our identity in Christ.  Third, obedience to God is completely dependent on our dependence on Christ in us.  Forth, obedience to God glorifies our Father when done by grace!

..Here is an example.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 29:18-20 to go into all the world and make disciples.  This is known as known as The Great Commission.  So it's not optional but it's also not to be done from legalism.   I remember that for many years, I shared the Gospel with those who did not know Christ because I was motivated by guilt.   As I came to understand the completeness of the Gospel, that all changed.  Now as I abide in Christ, I watch for opportunities the Holy Spirit opens for me to share.  It's so much more exciting to live this way. 

  This happened the very day I wrote this.  Ellen  and I were away speaking at Montreat College and were relaxing in town for a couple of hours.  When we visited a running store, God showed up big time!  I asked the owner how business was and he shared with us that it had been good until recently when his father died.  Ellen asked him if he had any kind of faith background.  As a result, we thought we might get to share the Gospel with him and we were ready.  It turned out that he was already a believer and God had sent us to pray for him and comfort him.  What a great way to live life!

   The complete Gospel frees us to obey God in such a way that we experience the reality of what Jesus says in Matthew 11:29-30, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

   Let's obey our God as we live out of our freedom in Christ.  We may not always feel like obeying but we can.  It's not a heavy burden but a light one because we are yoked with Christ.  We are in Him and He is in us.  Hallelujah for obedience by grace!

Live Free In Christ, Mark Maulding, 
President and Founder 
www.GraceLifeInternational.com 

 All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Free to Deal with Our Past and Our Future

  Imagine a time line with the Past, Present and Future on it. The Past is where our present pain of anger, resentment, or hurt is usually coming from. The Future is where our fear is coming from. Now that you have this visual in your mind, let me share with you some practical things we can do to deal with each based on our union with Christ.

  The best prescription to deal with your past is to forgive. The pain of our past is most often the result of the sins other people committed against us. It can also be because of our own sins. Jesus Christ has already died for the sins of our offenders and for our own sins. Ephesians 4:31 tells us to "Forgive one another just as God in Christ has forgiven us."

  If we want to make peace with our past, we need to sit down with God and ask him to show us who we need to forgive. Then in prayer, we can tell the Lord the name of the person who hurt us, what they did to us and how it makes us feel. Biblical forgiveness includes giving the hurt feelings to God and telling Him how the person or circumstances hurt you, and what it made you believe about yourself. We see David in the Psalms being honest about his hurts and what he wanted God to do, then surrendering them to God. This is forgiving from the heart. Saying the other person didn't mean to hurt you is not dealing with the hurt you've received. Forgiveness is owning the hurt and giving it to God. Then conclude your prayer with something like this. "Father, I did not deserve your forgiveness but because you forgave me, I choose as an act of my will to forgive (name of person) even though I don't feel as though they deserve my forgiveness.

  I've discovered in my own life, that I must be intentional about forgiving. I can't wait until I feel like it. When I first understood this, my list of people to forgive was very long. Since then, I've learned the value of keeping my forgiveness up to date with family, friends and coworkers.

  Regarding our future, the best thing we can do is surrender our rights. Fear or anger are often indications that we haven't surrendered a right much like when the Check Engine light comes on indicates we have an engine problem. How does something become a right we need to surrender to God? It comes from a desire that we have turned into an expectation which we have made a right.

  To surrender a right to God, we need to go to Him and ask Him what rights we are holding on to that we need to surrender to Him. Then one by one, give up each right to Him. We are exhorted to do this in Philippians 2:5-7 "Have this attitude [e]in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself..."

  A friend of mine was having a problem with over whelming fear one day when he climbed the ladder to work on his roof. After a couple of tries, he began to talk to God about it because he realized it was a spiritual problem. What God showed him was that he needed to give up the right to fall off the house if that is what God allowed to happen. Once he did this, the peace of God welled up within and he got on his roof with no fear.

  Do you need to deal with your past today? Forgive. Do you need to deal with your future today? Surrender your rights. If you need help, contact us at 704-522-9026 or mailto:info@GraceLifeInternational.com for a free consultation. We provide live counseling and Skype counseling no matter where you live geographically. 

Live Free In Christ, 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder 

www.GraceLifeInternational.com 

All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Free to Fear the Lord

   Before I understood the New Covenant, that is the Gospel, I lived with an unbiblical, unhealthy fear of the Lord. When I or my family experienced difficulty, I believed God was somehow punishing me because I had disobeyed Him and His Word in some area of my life.

   At Grace Life International, we meet people in our conferences and in our counseling who also believe that God punishes them when they sin. They are afraid of God as I was. It's very difficult to enjoy a close relationship with someone when you are afraid of them, especially when it is God.

   Over and over, we have the opportunity to help people understand that our Father does not punish His sons and daughters because the death of Jesus on the cross has taken care of that for us. 1 John 2:2 says, "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." Propitiation means that the penalty of every one of our sins was paid for, which took away God's anger for our sins.

   Yet, in the New Testament, we see that we are still to fear the Lord. For example, 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God." Since this does not mean to be afraid of God's punishment, what does it mean?

   It means that we have such a heightened reverence and awe of God, that we are overwhelmed by His beauty and power of His glory. It removes all sense of human pride, humbling us to the point where it takes our breath away, causes us to fall to our knees, or to compel us to lay flat on the floor as we contemplate the greatness of God.

   When the Apostle John saw Jesus on His heavenly throne as recorded in Revelation 1:17, he wrote, "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead." (NKJ) John was so overwhelmed by the glory of Jesus Christ, he could not stand.

   John goes on to tell us how Jesus responded to his worship of Him. "But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid: I am the First and the Last.'" (NKJ) Though he was overwhelmed by the glory of Jesus Christ in Heaven, Jesus did not want him to be afraid of Him even in John's worship of Him.

   Here is an exercise that will fill you with such awe and wonder that you will not be able to restrain yourself from fearing the Lord. Think for a moment how creation exists because God wanted it to exist. Think for a moment how humans exist because God wanted us to exist. Think for a moment how your very existence is because God wanted you to exist in intimacy with Him.

   Just a moment... As I was writing, I had to stop and hit my knees for a moment singing a worship song to God. All of this also causes me to love Him more and to desire with all of my being to obey my God who loves me and lives in me! Let's all live free to fear the Lord! 

Live Free In Christ, 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder www.GraceLifeInternational.com 

All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Free to Submit to Authority

   At one time, I was planning on being a pharmacist. I had been accepted into the School of Pharmacy at the University of Georgia and was already working as an intern the summer before I started. The store manager and head pharmacist was named "Terry". He was easy to work for but he did mean business when he told me to do something.

   One day, after I had completed a job Terry told me to do, he asked me why I wanted to work for his drug store. I said, "Terry, I am here to make you successful." What I meant without saying it was that I was there to submit to him because I knew that God had placed him in authority over me. He didn't quite know what to say. (BTW it's a good thing I didn't become a pharmacist because I would have accidentally killed someone!)

   What would you think if I told you that you are a "submitter" by nature? That is a made up word but it is a good one. You see, everywhere in God's Word He tells us to obey Him. He is telling us to live like who we already are in Christ. And He tells us to submit in several areas of our lives.

   To submit in the New Testament means to make a choice in our hearts and minds to do what someone over us is asking us to do. This does not mean we will always agree or that we need to submit without sometimes voicing a difference of opinion. But the key here is that we are making a choice to live under this person or institution's authority because it fits who we are in Christ and pleases the Lord.

   We are free in Christ to submit to our government, our boss, our husband, our parents when we are children and mutually to each other. Here are some Scriptures about our freedom to obey God by submitting. Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 6:1-9; James 4:7; Ephesians 5:21-32.

   Let's be careful, though. We can submit according to the flesh because we want to people please, making it something we "have" to do. The tell-tale sign of fleshly submission is resentment. Submission, according to the Spirit, is something we want to do out of who we are in Christ, even if we don't feel like it. It's a choice we make ahead of time. This kind of submission frees us to give a different opinion at times to those in authority to see if they will change their mind. Then we can leave the results to God being willing to submit to whatever they decide.

   One of the questions about living as a "submitter" is what to do when we are asked to do something unbiblical or if someone wants to abuse us. Of course, God does not want us to submit to those situations but let's just make sure what we are being asked to do is truly unbiblical or that it really is abuse.

   If you find yourself struggling with living as a "submitter" please give us a call at 704-522-9026 and we will provide a free counseling consultation. More and more people around the country are using our Skype counseling option. Once you experience the first appointment online, it's like being there live. Of course, if you live close enough, we invite you to come to one of our five locations including our Asheville office. We also provide 3 and 5 day intensives.

Live Free In Christ, 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder 

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Free to Have Fun

    I live with one of the funniest and "funnest" people I know, my wife. Her freedom in Christ has continually liberated her to live life to the fullest in every way. She loves the outdoors whether it's running, hiking or taking a whitewater rafting trip. She's our "go to" person for fun and adventure. Yet, she is also very happy to be a loyal wife and loving mom in our home. And she has fun sharing Christ with people she cares about.

   One time, when our kids were pre-teens, she took us on an adventure in Tennessee to a hidden waterfall. We were hiking with our canteens and soon had to ask for help from a lineman out in the middle of nowhere because we were lost. He directed us to the correct trail and when we got to the waterfall, wow! It was breathtaking and loads of fun as we were able to walk under it and swim in the water with the little fish biting our toes. That scene is etched in all of our memories as one of the most fun times in our family.

   Galatians 5:1 states, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free..." That includes having some fun in life. I hope we understand that grace means life doesn't always have to be so serious.

   When my boys were into paintball several years ago, I asked for a paintball gun for Christmas. After I got it, we went to a large field near our home with a bunch of their friends and split into teams. My guys were so excited that I was on the opposing team. They couldn't wait to shoot me but I also couldn't wait to shoot them. At one point, I was laying flat on the ground trying to hide behind a clump of tall grass. The paintballs from my boys were whizzing all around me and I was returning fire. They finally got me. What a blast! I will never forget how much fun we had.

   I was counseling a pastor one time that was experiencing a lot of freedom in Christ but he was still burning out. I suggested to him that part of his freedom in Christ was to have some fun. He soon took up golf and enjoys playing it at least once a week to this day. He has since thanked me for helping him appreciate this aspect of his freedom in Christ.

   Maybe you are not into the outdoors or sports but you can still enjoy your freedom in Christ by having some fun. Some of my staff told me recently that when they were growing up, their families played all kinds of card games because they really couldn't go outside a lot to play during the cold snowy winters. As they recounted this to us, a big smile came over them. It made me want to learn some of their card games which I had never heard of. Who knows, maybe we will have a staff UNO tournament (one card game I do know how to play.)

   My wife encouraged me a while back to run trails with her. I had just started jogging and had always walked or jogged on the road. I just couldn't understand what the big deal was about running trails - until I went with her a few times. Now I'm hooked. I have so much fun running trails that the road seems boring now.

   Does your freedom in Christ include having some fun? If not, I encourage you to take a risk and enjoy life a little. Search for some things that will be fun for you to do, hopefully with at least one other person. Pray about it. In fact, I'm so excited about writing this, I think I'll go run a trail!

Live Free In Christ,


Mark Maulding, President and Founder



www.GraceLifeInternational.com

All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Free to Give Without Obligation

   When it began to dawn in my heart that I was no longer under the law but under grace, I was a pastor. As I studied the Scriptures, I began to realize that I had been communicating a mixed message from the pulpit of some grace with a lot of law mixed in. So, one Sunday, I stood before the church and apologized for not preaching the pure grace of God. I explained that from that point forward, my sermons would be different and they were.

   One area that I began to preach differently from God's Word was about giving financially. Previously, I had laid a heavy burden on God's people about this issue. Now I wanted them to give out of grace rather than some legalistic obligation.

   I was taking a personal risk, since my salary was tied directly to the monies which came through the giving each month. The tempting thought was this: "If I teach people that God's heart is 'grace giving' rather than legalistic giving, I may not get paid. But, I knew I needed to live by faith by preaching the truth and leaving the results to God.

   2 Corinthians 9:7 reveals God's heart for our giving by saying, "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (NIV ) Because we have a new heart in Christ, a new identity, God knows that the deepest desire of our heart is to live generously. He doesn't want our financial giving to be based on a spiritual checklist nor does He want fear to prevent us from giving. He wants our giving to flow from our new heart in Christ.

   So back to when I pastored. I began to ask people to go pray at home and ask God how much He wanted them to give on a consistent basis, to continue reaching people with the Gospel of grace. To my surprise, the giving went up, not down! In fact, we had the most money ever given to that church in its history. And people living more cheerfully in learning to live from their new heart, their new identity of being a generous person in Christ.

   I've been amazed over and over as I've heard this at Grace Life International when people say, "I am the one being blessed by giving to this ministry which shares the Gospel of grace with so many. Thank you for letting us give." Because we are a ministry which lives by faith, these comments sometimes bring me to tears because I reply, "Wait a minute. We are the ones being blessed!" But they persist in saying what a joy it is.

   Do you know why God is so pleased when we give cheerfully? It's because we are living like our Dad who is an incredibly generous God. We are living out of our new nature which He gave us through our new birth. Don't get me wrong, we don't always feel like giving generously in our emotions but when we give by faith; whether or not it makes sense financially for us, our new nature (heart) is cheerful within us. Have you asked God how much He wants you to give and where He wants you to give it? If not, this is a new area for you to live free in Christ!

   Are you enjoying your freedom in Christ in this area or are you living from the flesh in fear and/or anger? Would you stop and ask God what He is saying to you?

Live Free In Christ, 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder 

www.GraceLifeInternational.com 

All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Free to Embrace Diversity

   Have you ever noticed how easy it is to profile people? Here are some examples. Do we look at a person's clothing, skin color, age, hair style, disability, church denomination, etc. and categorize them? If we're honest, many of us probably do on some level. So we end up saying to our self or others, "Those people are always like this..." Do we know what is behind this statement? Usually fear and/or anger.

   Prejudice was a HUGE issue in the early church and unfortunately it still is today. In the early church, there were Jewish people and Gentiles (Non-Jewish people of every ethnicity) who were coming together to worship our Lord Jesus Christ. Jewish people considered every Gentile a "dog". No wonder when the Gentiles were first saved under Peter's ministry beginning with a Roman soldier named Cornelius, the other apostles were stunned! See Acts 10-11.

   It was quite a scandal when God made it clear that Jews AND Gentiles would be in Christ and were going to worship, eat, and hang out together. Talk about cultures clashing! How did God make this possible? Ephesians 2:14-15 says it this way, "For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in Himself one new people from the two groups."

   Sadly, the most segregated time every week in this country is Sunday mornings! 90% of the churches in America are segregated. Yet, in Christ, the racial divide has been destroyed through our death, burial and resurrection with Christ. Many of us just aren't living like who we are in Christ in this area of our lives.

   Think of our identity in Christ for a moment. Every person who is a believer in Christ is righteous, holy, beloved, a saint and more, regardless of ethnicity, disability or age. Galatians 3:28, exalts who each of us are in Christ by saying, "There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus." NLT

   A friend of mine shared that her son married a girl of a different ethnicity who was an authentic lover of Jesus. My friend's Christian family apparently didn't care about that as they would not have anything to do with this couple. How sad.

   Wouldn't it be great for us to trust Christ to live through us so we could embrace diversity? What would it be like if we were in a small group in a home or a Sunday school class that had yellow, red, black white, disabled, and different ages all together? I think those outside of Christ would look in amazement and say, "Wow! These followers of Christ really love each other." Jesus said, "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples." NLT

   Are you enjoying your freedom in Christ in this area or are you living from the flesh in fear and/or anger? Would you stop and ask God what He is saying to you?

Live Free In Christ, 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder 

www.GraceLifeInternational.com 

All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Free to Limit Your Freedom

   As we discover our freedom from sin and the law in the Gospel of grace, it is so wonderful that some describe it as being born again, again! I remember those days when the love of God rose up within me in such an overwhelming way. It almost seemed as if I'd never known Christ before, but I knew that wasn't true. I had known Him as my Savior who forgave me and saved me from the penalty of sin. I also knew Him as my Lord, the One to whom I told that I would do anything He wanted me to do. But now I know Him as my Life, the One who lives in me to love me and to live His own life through me. The pressure was finally off of me trying so hard to live the Christian life, and on Jesus. What freedom!

   I had come out of such a legalistic mindset that this new freedom in knowing Christ as my Life was truly awesome. Now I understood what Paul meant when he wrote, "All things are lawful to me." (1 Corinthians 10:23) For example, I had made a vow to God that I would read my Bible at least 5 minutes a day many years prior. It was such a burden. When I understood that I was no longer under the law, God's nor my own self-imposed law, I let go of that vow with great freedom. My conscience which had been held captive to legalism was now being shaped by grace.

   It wasn't long before I realized that I was freer in my conscience than some of my friends. At first, I wanted to try to convince all of my friends that they were freer than they knew. I was puzzled and sometimes I felt angry that they didn't "get it". My zeal outweighed my wisdom.

   As I grew in my freedom in Christ, I began to understand that I was free to limit my freedom. This came not only from my experience but mainly from God's Word. It must be a really big deal to limit our freedom for the sake of loving another Christ follower because Romans 14 and part of 15 are dedicated to this topic as well as 1 Corinthians 8.

   Those who don't have the same understanding of their full freedom in Christ are considered the weaker Christian. Those who do understand their freedom in Christ are called the strong Christian. (As a side note, when I was a legalistic Christian, I considered myself the strong Christian when I compared myself to those who did not live as strictly as me!)

   The responsibility lies with the strong Christian to limit their freedom for the sake of love. The issue in the Corinthian church was about meat sacrificed to idols. The strong Christians would go down to the local idol temple and enjoy grilled steak. The weak Christians thought it sinful to do this. And for them it was. The Holy Spirit instructed the strong to show love by limiting their freedom around these weak Christians.

   You will have to decide before God what your "meat sacrificed to idols" is for you and some of your Christ following friends. At the end of the day, love trumps our freedom. That is why we are free to limit our freedom in Christ.

Live Free In Christ, 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder 

www.GraceLifeInternational.com 

All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Free to Enjoy Intimacy with God

   Having been married now for 29 years, I am enjoying some of the best intimacy ever with my wife. In the movie, "Avatar", the people from that planet had a phrase which wonderfully describes what intimacy means. That phrase translated into English is "I see you". It means "When I look at you I see the love, the feelings, all that you are and all that you are to me by just being you. We are connected on the deepest level". For us to have an "I see you" relationship in marriage or with God, barriers must obviously come down.

   One of those barriers for me was criticism. This arose in me from my childhood interactions with my dad and my misconceptions of my Heavenly Dad. I thought God related to me in an accepting or critical way depending on my obedience to Him. Erroneously perceiving that God was critical towards me, I also treated others with criticism.

   This barrier began to crumble in me as God orchestrated circumstances allowing me to fail as a husband, a pastor and a Christ follower. He was jealous for intimacy with me but I could not experience it unless I learned to depend on His Son in me rather than myself. My inability to find intimacy my way was actually my pathway to this deeper intimacy. When I could not find it anywhere else, regardless of how hard I tried, God let me know that He unconditionally accepted me. It was God saying, "I see you". Only then did I begin to experience the kind of intimacy I had always longed for.

   In the same way, the barriers between us and our Heavenly Father had to be removed so we could enjoy Him and for Him to be able to enjoy us. A better understanding of the Gospel can show us how He did just that. This can lead to a more heartfelt intimacy with God. For example, every ounce of anger God had towards ALL our past, present and future sins were removed through the death of Christ on the cross. (1 John 2:1) He will never be angry with any of us who are in Christ. Another barrier God removed was our old nature, otherwise known as our identity in Adam. God crucified and buried that nature forever. (Romans 6:6) Then He resurrected us with Christ giving us a new nature, that is our new identity which is 100% acceptable to Him. (Romans 5:1)

   When God looks at us, He sees us as totally forgiven, 100% righteous sons and daughters whom He is completely enthralled with. He has united Himself to us offering the maximum intimacy possible. We can't get any closer to God than being united to Him. The good news of the Gospel is that our sins cannot sever this intimate union of Him in us and us in Him.

   Do you see the doorway for genuine intimacy whether between a husband and wife or between us and God? It is being united to someone who unconditionally accepts us. This is the good news of the Gospel which God wishes all Christ followers knew.

   That is why we are so passionate at Grace Life International to keep sharing the Gospel with other Christians. And I'm sure you are too! Let's all pray for God-given opportunities to share so other Christ followers can know that they are free to enjoy intimacy with God.

Live Free In Christ, 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder 

www.GraceLifeInternational.com 

All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Free to Be Yourself

   Our desire for acceptance is so ingrained that we will often try to become what others want us to be in our quest to define our identity. It reminds me of a scene in the movie, "The Bourne Identity". Jason Bourne, having amnesia, is desperate to discover who he really is. He ends up opening a safety deposit box in hopes that his true identity will be revealed. As he unpacks the box, he is surprised by a stack of passports. To his dismay, each one has his photo on it under a different name. He is obviously shaken and puzzled as he realizes he has been a different person in different parts of the world under a different name each time. He leaves no closer to knowing who he is than before. We often allow ourselves to take on the identity of the people we associate with. It might be one with our family, one at work, one with our friends on Facebook and another at church.

   One blessing in understanding the Gospel of grace is that we discover we have an unchanging, unshakeable identity in Christ. We are the beloved children of God. "What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it-we're called children of God!" 1 John 3:1a As God's sons and daughters, we are holy, chosen, blameless, forgiven, accepted and so much more.

   Let me put it another way, our new nature is our identity in Christ. Our new nature is the new norm for defining us. Let that sink in. It's not our past, our successes or failures, our sins, our Biblical knowledge, the opinions of others or our performance in any area of life.

   I've been teaching a more complete understanding of the Gospel for 25 years. The more I share it, the more I realize that understanding our identity in Christ frees us to be our true selves. We are each unique in our personality, spiritual gifts, God-given talents, personal passions and even body type. Ephesians 2:10 says it this way. "For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in."

   When we rest in our identity in Christ, we begin to discover and rest in our divine design. We can accept our personality type as the way God "hard-wired" us rather than wishing we were someone else. For example, if you are a high C on the DISC Profile, then God designed you to be very conscientious. Yet, many with this temperament wish they were high I's who are extroverts and tend to be the life of the party.

   It's like a lighting store our Director of Counseling, Tom Short, told us about recently. It displays every shape and color of light bulb you could ever imagine: each one showing the light within uniquely. In the same way, God designed you to be a special shape and color to express Himself through. Isn't that freeing?

   Why don't you tell your Father that you are standing firm in your identity in Christ today and that you accept yourself as the unique person God designed you to be. Christ in you is a gift to the world. Being confident in your identity in Christ will unleash the unique you to influence this world for God's glory, other's transformation and your joy.

Live Free In Christ,


Mark Maulding, President and Founder


www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding

Free to Live a Life that Pleases God

   If you previously burned out because of religious legalism, you may think that phrases like "pleasing God" are no longer necessary. In fact, you may consider the very idea of pleasing God simply another form of legalism. I understand what you mean. I, too, was a casualty of legalism, burning out emotionally, mentally and physically. It got so bad that when I read my Bible, my stomach hurt because I was focused on all the things I wasn't doing to please God that I thought I should be doing. After I began experiencing the freedom we have in Christ, I struggled with the idea of pleasing God because of my previous motivation. My incomplete understanding of the Gospel had tricked me into trying to please God so He would accept me more.

   Paul fiercely defends our freedom in Christ in Galatians. In fact, 5:1 says, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." Our freedom from obligatory law-based obedience is clear. We must never go back there. On the other hand, we may be tempted to use our freedom for selfish motives which can actually be destructive. Galatians 5:13-14 warns against this saying, "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."

   It is incredibly easy to confuse pleasing God with earning God's acceptance as I once did. That is why we are so passionate at Grace Life International about helping people gain a greater understanding of the Gospel. The Gospel of grace is clear that God unconditionally accepts all who are in Christ because He has made us righteous. That is settled. When the Holy Spirit turns the light on so we see we are in the room of grace, it frees us to live a life that pleases God from acceptance not for acceptance.

   Here is the New Covenant or Gospel expression regarding this. "So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it." 2 Corinthians 5:9.

   If one of my three sons said "Dad, you are a great father and I really love you", I would enjoy that. But if I later said, "Son, I want you to take out the trash" and he said, "I'm not going to do it because I know you love me", I would wonder if his declaration of love for me was genuine. When we love someone, we want to please them, especially our Heavenly Father.

   As you read this, you have some choices to make regarding living a life which pleases God. You can dismiss it as legalism. You can do it to try to get God to love and accept you more. Or being confident of God's acceptance, you can let Christ live through as you, to live a life which please God, demonstrating your love for your Abba Father.

   We are free through God's grace to live a life which pleases God. How else can we, who have a new nature from God, express the very life of Christ in us?

Live Free In Christ, 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder 

www.GraceLifeInternational.com 

All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding