Should We Make New Years Resolutions?

      Happy New Year!  As 2012 quickly approaches, we often think of New Years resolutions we would like to make for the coming year.   We think of things such as losing weight, begin exercising, start journaling, reading a set number of books, reading the Bible all the way through and more.  Most of us know that the problem is we don't seem to be able to follow through and after a few weeks into the new year, we begin to miss a day here and another there.  Soon we have missed a week and before we realize it, we have stopped completely.   The results are that we feel guilty, frustrated, and maybe like a failure. 

      Is there an alternative to making New Years Resolutions?  Yes!  Let me suggest a different approach.   I call them Prayer Goals.  Why not go to your Abba in prayer and ask Him what goals he wants you to pursue in 2012?  For the remainder of the week, continue to ask Him.  How will he show you these goals?   They may be new desires he puts in your heart, a sermon you hear, a suggestion from a family member, a Scripture, etc.  As these ideas come to mind, write them down and pray over each one.

     Once you have identified the goals your Abba has for you for the coming year, rather that resolving that you are going to do these through your own self-discipline and will power, you may want to pray something like this. "Father, I believe these goals are ones You have given to me for this new year yet, I know that I do not have the ability to accomplish them in my own strength. Therefore, I surrender each one of these to you asking you to accomplish these through me. Each time I begin to work towards meeting these goals, remind me to ask Jesus to live through me because Jesus says "Without me you can do nothing." John 15:5

      Finally, pray and tell God that you are taking yourself out from under any kind of self-imposed law which rises up and says to you, "I must meet these goals".  This is how we live under and by grace instead of self-effort and legalistic rules.

      As you approach these goals each day, week or month, trusting Jesus to live through you is essential.  However, that does not mean you are passive or irresponsible.   For example, if you are going to start exercising, you will need to trust Jesus living through you to prioritize your schedule, get you to the gym, do the exercises through you, and to be consistent.

     Happy New Year in Christ!  Remember, He loves us!  Live free in Christ!

How to Prepare to Be with Your Family for the Holidays

     One Christmas song invites us to go home to be with our family for Christmas because it is the best place in the world. We can't wait to get there. It goes, "There's no place like home for the holidays..."

     This idealistic phantom family lives in Christmas songs but rarely is it seen in real life. In most homes during Christmas, many have ambivalent feelings. Deep within, we want to be with family on Christmas day, but we also know this encounter has the potential for conflict, rejection and pain.

     So how do we prepare to meet our family during the holidays? First, make sure before we pack our bags for the trip, we unpack the baggage in our hearts. The best way to do that is to squarely face the hurts inflicted upon us by anyone we will encounter. To do so, go to your Abba and ask Him to remind you of all the things this person has done to you. While still in prayer, ask Him to show you how that event made you feel. Next, pray, "Father, you forgave me through your Son, Jesus Christ, when I did not deserve it. This person did __________ to me and it made me feel _________. This person does not deserve to be forgiven, but in Christ, my identity is that I am a "forgiver" and I have the Great Forgiver living in me. So, by faith I choose right now to forgive that person whether I feel like it or not." Before you leave that prayer time, take responsibility for your sin of resentment towards that person and confess it to the Lord. Jesus died for your sin of resentment so you can thank Him for forgiving you or ask Him to forgive you. Our Abba's forgiveness is one of our blessings in Christ! (Ephesians 1:7)

     The next preparation you will need to commit yourself to is to pray and tell your Father that you give up the right not to be hurt by this person again. In essence, you are telling God that you are trusting Him to be in control. We see this kind of trust in Jesus life in Phillipians 2. (If you have been abused, this does not mean God approves of that or that you should allow it again.)

     Finally, and foremost, ask Jesus Christ to live His life through you to love the people you will be around during that time. What would happen if you went to all of your holiday gatherings with the attitude that you are showing up to love these people instead of showing up to get them to love you! Jesus says to us, Without Me, you can do nothing!" John 15:5. Depend on Him to live and love through you, including those who may not seem lovable. You cannot determine how they will respond, but that is not your responsibility. However, we are responsible to love people (Romans 13:8).

     I would enjoy hearing from you if you choose to allow God to lead, live and love through you during the holidays.

Until next time remember, He loves you.

Be Free in Christ,

Mark Maulding , President and Founder 
GraceLifeInternational.com

The Devastating Failure of Performance Based Acceptance - A Real Life Story

    The real life story you are about to read is so full of the complete gospel that we share, I could not say it better myself.  I think you will actually want to pass this on to many of your family and friends.  

   "I've been saved for over 30 years (most of my life), but after discovering my identity in Christ through Grace Life's counseling and other ministries, I can say that it truly feels like I've been born again. My initial foundation in God was strong but the list of rules and religious duties deemed necessary to please God, far outweighed any explanation of my freedom in Christ. This was only compounded by the demands in my childhood home that seemed to tell me that good was not good enough and my best should have been better. I became addicted to the idol of high performance (to the point of being physically nauseous almost every day) and would do almost anything to avoid the pain of failure and experience the high of success. This need to succeed impacted me as a Christian, a wife, mom, and teacher. I believed that it was my primary means of gaining the love, approval, security, and sense of value for which I longed. I enjoyed many successes, while achieving great honors in high school, college, and in my teaching career."
   "No matter what struggles I faced, I took the attitude that I would pull myself up by the bootstraps and make things happen. After trying to hold the pieces of my life together, it all came crashing down when I faced a seemingly insurmountable personal crisis of devastation. I remember lying on my closet floor one day, and crying out, "I give up! I have no more to give!" I believe at that moment God lovingly said, 'Finally!'"
   "Not long afterwards, a short-term counselor recommended that I contact Grace Life for extended Christian counseling. So, I began one-on-one counseling and I can truly say that I will NEVER be the same. Before finishing my counseling, I was also blessed to participate in the Grace Life Conference and the Advanced Discipleship course, each having been uniquely instrumental in deepening my understanding of God's grace. What I have received has not merely been an experience but an encounter with God. Where fifteen years of counseling had miserably failed by trying to build my self-esteem, God spoke through the counselors and teachers at Grace Life to bring me to the end of my self-sufficiency and caused me to give up, so that He could show me that He had been enough all along---He is my peace, my joy, my comfort, my counselor, my husband, my life, my All... And even more, my ALL in ALL (meaning in every circumstance). He has changed my view of Him, myself, and others. (Joanne Saulsbury)
  
Until next time remember, He loves us!


Mark Maulding
President and Founder
Grace Life International
www.GraceLifeInternational.com

My Wife Hit My Car! Thank You God!

       A few years ago, God gave me a car.  Let me tell you the story. In 1997, I had been praying for a car.  Why?  Well the car I was driving had an 8 track tape player - the great grandfather of the IPod!    The real problem was that the car was just wearing out.

     I had been invited to teach a large Sunday School class at a well known church.  I joked with the class that I was glad I did not get my identity from my car because it had an 8 track tape player.  

      The next day, I received a phone call.  The person said he was in the class the previous day and told me that he felt like God wanted to him to give me his car.  I immediately, replied, "I think He does too"!  It was a used car but at least it had a cassette player!

      About two weeks later after I had picked up the car, my wife told me she needed to go on an errand.  About two minutes after she left, she came back in the house and sat down.  I asked, "what is wrong"?  She sadly replied, "I hit your car".  Though I was stunned, I told her to go ahead and go on her errand.  

     As I sat there, I prayed, "Lord, my wife hit YOUR car"!  I know that you tell us to give thanks for all things and in all things.  So I thank you that my wife hit the car".   Now I must admit, I did not feel like thanking God for this but I did it by faith.

      As we approach Thanksgiving, I realize that many events in our lives are not quite as humorous as that one.  And if I am honest, I don't always thank God during difficult or stressful times.  But usually afterward, maybe months or years afterwards, I am able to thank our Father because I see His love shining through that dark event.  I am able to do this because our identity in Christ is that we are thankful children of God.  That is who we are.

       Understanding our identity in Christ, has transformed me and every area of my life as it has all of our 32 staff members.  That is why we are so passionate about sharing this with others.

    You can help us keep sharing with the thousands of people God is sending our way by becoming a monthly financial partner.       At this time, we need 20 partners at $10 per month, 20 at $20 per month, 10 at $50 per month and 10 at $100 per month. Would you become one of those partners at one of those levels.   Click on the red "Donate Now" button above to get started. 

       Until next time remember, He loves us.  

Does Giving Make You a Giver?

   "I am what I do"!"  protested a very well known Christian in my office one day.  We were discussing what defines us as Christians.  We actually had quite a spirited debate that day.   We were not yelling at each other but it was certainly a passionate "discussion".
   Our culture communicates to us every day that what we do defines who we are.  We see it in the news, on reality shows, in popular books, and sadly in many churches.   We at Grace Life know how that belief causes great struggle and bondage for Christians.  We see it every day.
   Jesus himself challenged this belief by making it clear that it is not behavior which defines us but birth.  That is why he said in John 3 to a respected leader, "You must be born again".   Our birth is what Jesus says defines us.  Our first birth gave us the wrong identity.  Our new birth through our faith in Jesus Christ replaces that identity with the right one. 
   The person debating with me later came back and said, "I get it.  My identity is in Christ, not in what I do".
   As we think about Thanksgiving this year, let's understand that in Christ, we are Thankful People. So we give thanks.  Let's also understand that in Christ, we are already Givers.  So we give because that is simply who we are.
   As this year is winding down, we are asking Givers like you to become monthly financial supporters so we can start 2012 strong in getting the "grace" message out.
   We are asking God for 20 Givers at $10 per month, 20 Givers at $20 per month, 10 Givers at $50 per month, and 10 Givers at $100 per month.  Would you prayerfully consider joining us as one of those levels?  If so, just CLICK HERE and follow the instructions.
     Until next time remember, He loves us.  

 

Be Free in Christ, 

What is God's Dream for your Life?

  When I was entering college, my dream was to become a dentist. I tried to spiritualize this by saying that if I became a dentist, I could share the gospel with my captive patient while I was performing a dental procedure. The reality is that, I really just wanted to make a lot of money. I am so glad I did not become a dentist though I appreciate my friends who are.   Because of my height, I have been told I would have had a lot of back problems.
   People often talk about discovering and fulfilling their dreams. We have all heard singers, musicians and athletes speak passionately about their dreams for their lives. What they usually mean is that they had a goal in mind for their lives that they wanted to accomplish and have succeeded. In fulfilling their dream, they have typically become famous and wealthy.
   These few who fulfill their dreams, then tell all of us that we can fulfill our dreams too. To do so, we are exhorted to "believe in ourselves" and never give up on our dream. Yet, the reality is that most of us who have followed that line of thinking have not and never will fulfill our dreams.
   Maybe there is a much better dream we need to consider. What is God's dream for our lives? Ephesians 2:10 tells us we were born into this world according to God's plan to fulfill His dream. It states, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
   This means that God divinely designed us with specific abilities, aptitudes, desires and passions. When we come to faith in Christ, He also gives us spiritual gifts. All of these combined together uniquely equip each of us to fulfill God's dream. His dream for us was conceived before we were ever born.
   How do we discover God's dream for our lives? Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." This means that as we enjoy our God who lives in us, He will place desires in our hearts which He will fulfill through us.
   Have you ever noticed that you seem to be drawn to certain activities over and over? That is usually a good indication that you are discovering God's dream for your life. Get involved in what you are drawn to and see if your desire grows for that activity. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying every Christian is to be in full time ministry. One of my new friends is a business artist. Another is a construction worker.
   It is reported that the late R.G. LeTourneau, inventor of great earth moving equipment and servant of God said, "When I get to heaven, I hope there is some dirt to move!" Ask our Abba what His dream is for your life and watch Him unfold it for you.
   Until next time remenber, He loves us.  

Is Forgiving Yourself Biblical? (Part 2)

   When we ask God for forgiveness or thank Him for our forgiveness for a sin, we do it with confidence that Jesus already died for that sin.  You will never commit a sin Jesus did not already die for. You are not going to surprise your Father one day such that He says, "Oh no!  I forgot to put that sin on the cross!"  Many of us have received God's forgiveness and are at peace with Him. However, we may still be holding a sin against ourself.  In light of this, is forgiving yourself Biblical? 
   Yes!  The second greatest commandment is to "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31).   One of your greatest acts of love is to forgive someone.  To love someone as we love ourself would mean we may, at times, need to forgive ourself.  Many people are disappointed with themselves.  Others are angry with themselves.  Some actually hate themselves. Sometimes we need to forgive ourself for a sin God has already forgiven.  Other times, we need to forgive ourself for a mistake we made, though it was not a sin like when I wrecked my car on a father/son weekend two years ago.  Forgiving ourself may be one of the most difficult things we ever do.  
    A young married man I mentored took four weeks to forgive many people from his past and present.  He forgave himself last because he noted he was the most difficult person to forgive.  Yet, he's never been the same.  I wish you could have seen the before and after expression on his face!  God has provided our complete forgiveness in Christ but have we fully forgiven ourselves where needed?  If not, our standard for forgiveness is higher than God's. Do it today!

   Until next time remenber, He loves us.