Grace is a Passport to Something Great

First, thanks for your materials. My wife and I are brand new to SAW and have recently received the Rain Forest series. It is excellent quality and thought provoking! I%u2019m listening to everything two or three times before moving to the next disk (still have 2 of 7 to go) Your friend Dave Buehring's quote on humility struck me at the heart. At 53, an elder for more than 20 years, and daily reading scripture for 25 years, you would think I would have learned and willing to be known for who I really am. But, I see myself as inferior and lacking, it goes back to those Core Beliefs. Instead I often attempt to make myself out to be more than I am. Your right this is not humility it is nothing short of the sin of pride or the absence of humility and the rejection of God's grace. I recently read in John Hutchison's %u201CMortification of Sin%u201D, an old Puritan work that, many men will privately confess a sin for decades to God and barely will anything change, until they publicly confess the sin and expose it to the light. I%u2019m not sure why this is, maybe its the accountability or maybe it is the very act of humility that the victory comes. Forgive me everyone and let it be known to all that this is the year (2007) that I get totally real and prayerfully find God's favor and grace including the realm of supply, where my family and I are in desperate need. May God bless this fool and pour His Grace down upon him. Thank you

I, too, have struggled with pride almost all of my Christian life. It's a shame when we rob Christ of His glory by trying to be in the limelight ourselves. However, by God's grace we can overcome this. I have a \"hillbilly\" definition of grace which goes something like this, \"Grace is God helping me when I don't deserve it and can't do a thing to earn it.\" I have found a principle in God's Word, though, which is helping me. Grace has to ALWAYS be sought for. It is not like mercy, which is was given to us at Calvary with no action whatsoever on our part. In every mention of grace in the Bible, someone was seeking it. i.e. \"Noah FOUND grace in the eyes of the Lord\" \"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and FIND grace to help in time of need.\" etc. etc. If we want grace, we have to deliberately, consciously seek it out. And, with that action, which is simply faith, comes the grace because Christ tells us in Mt 7:7 and again in Lu 11:9 \"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:\" Thankfully, we also have the promise of Jas 4:8 \"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.\" To me, this simply means that if I will take one step toward God, He will take two towards me. Please pray for me as I try to submit my will to His will and get myself out of the way so His light can shine through me and my business and I will be praying for each of you.

John Piper's book, \"Future Grace\", is a great read on the subject of Grace.

My most humbling moments are when I am in awe of Him dispensing the grace on me or working through me. The grace infuses humility as you go, and the old selfish dreams fall away.

2006 was a very difficult year for my husband and me. We have learned to draw closer to God because He is all we need...nothing else matters. As God gives us strength to overcome our battles He has given us comfort in believing that He will provide for us in 2007. We desperately want to be used of Him even if it is through difficulties. Michaell, as we learn from your thoughts every week we are anxious to see what God is going to do in and through us this year. I plan on sending an email in December sharing with you God's grace on our lives in 2007. He is all we need, anything more is His abundant blessing.

Wow. I sell cars. It is hard to be humble. It can be done. It works and you become transparent and the walls come down and the relationship that is required for a successful transaction becomes easier. It is contrary to the way most of the industry operates.

This can be especially challenging for the self-employed. Much of what makes an entrepreneur successful makes it hard for him/her to wait upon God's grace and timing or to be transparent and vulnerable. Part of it is a worldly mindset and part is personality traits that just need to be brought under God's rule. For me it comes in most when I become presumptous upon a deal. I will often start discussing it with others. I'm excited, but deep down it's probably to draw attention to myself ( some times giving credit to God, but still with eyes on myself). It's amazing how many of these deals fall apart and how many that I don't discuss with anyone that come through.

I always get such strength from reading your posts... today especially. I have been in a slump lately with illness in my family and now myself I have not met my goals at work and am in a cirtical period there. I cannot afford to lose my job. Somewhere along the way I forgot to pray and was depending on myself to get out of this; thanks for reminding me. If anyone of you reading this could be so kind with a prayer too I would be so greatful.

Patti... I am praying for you now as I post this response. In Him, Michael

Patti, trust in the Lord for He is good. He is the Alpha and Omega. Before time began he knew what you would be experiencing today AND He already knows the outcome. Scripture says that every good gift comes from above, which also could read, everything that God allows is good. All to often he allows us to be \"pressed\" in order to draw us closer to him. Lord, be with Patti and her family. Bring complete healing. Bring favor upon her in the workplace. Give her peace and strength through this time. Let this time be a hallmark moment where she can vividly remember the day God moved mightly in her life. Amen

John Stumpf's confession is SO unusual and SO certain to bring blessing. The sentence after \"Confess your faults one to another\" is \"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much\". May You become more and more effectual down this (discipleship) road dear man of God. Big hug. Roy