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be filled with the spirit · don't be drunk with wine · Happy New Year 2019 · New year's eve sobering message · sobriety · sobriety, spiritually and otherwise · Uncategorized

Taking God’s discipline as a gift……did you hear me? This is important!

Laura GraceLeave a comment

So…I am not preaching to you here, Okay? I”m preaching to myself! 

     Today I open my email box, I see a message from Minister Glenn Jackson (a minister I have learned to trust, and follow) and it’s about correction, and God disciplining those he loves.  Now, when I think of correction, I think of a Shepherd’s staff (Prodding us into the right direction). Don’t you? But what if we still don’t listen? Then what? 

     God’s been telling me lately, “I need to rest.” Oh Man this is hard for me! I am a person who fears not being accepted (or loved) by others if I do not seem to be doing my part! Ever Felt beaten? (I have) and is this always the devil? Or is the Lord allowing us to be “beat to a pulp” until we realize we need to do HIS will, not our own? 

There is probably no greater lesson in this life than “getting our way.” as I have soberly learned. 

     I know this doesn’t seem to be a very happy message for you all (and I am sorry about that). But, I am pretty sober today. Speaking of sobriety, New Year’s Eve is the time most people “whoop it up” and get all drunk and stuff. 

This is what I consider today (as I”m pondering the discipline of God). He allowed or let me “do whatever I willed’ for years and years. It led to nothing (and to nowhere). I drank, partied, forgot what I did, threw up in the toilet after too many drinks, Spent money I didn’t have, bounced some checks, had to pay a bunch of fees and all kinds of things i”m not proud of. It wasn’t SHAME that brought me back from the dead, it was Jesus (and his Grace) that said “Hey, you haven’t given me a serious chance in your life yet have you?” 

It reminds me of the passage that says “9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corn 6). 

     Now I ask you, what do you want to inherit? Sorrow and death? Or Love, Peace, Joy and righteousness in the Holy Ghost? You can’t have both.  God’s not keeping tabs to try and “Punish you” but at the same time…..a good parent will grab you by the neck and say “What are you doing boy?” and if you fight him, he’ll say fine, “don’t call me from Jail!”. God’s not a co-dependent. He’s not going to say oh that’s just fine and dandy, you do what you want, “I’ll just keep blessing your wanton ways and half-hearted efforts.” Does that sound like God to you? Good, cause it isn’t! 

     “Father help us today to realize LOVE IS YOUR DISCIPLINE” and often discipline comes in the form of “giving us our way.” I pray we have the Grace to come to our senses, and escape the terrible traps of the evil one, before it’s too late. And by the way Father, Thank you for disciplining me …….and I mean it. Thank you, so much! amen”                       Laura Grace 

  Hebrews 12: For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes’. You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline? Now if you are exempt from correction and left without discipline in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate offspring and not true sons [at all].

abundant life · abuse · being real with God · being real with God 2 · being real with Jesus · better days ahead · bible basics · de-cluttering our lives · disciplesofchrist · everyday living in God · God heals · grace versus law · gracetogrow · Gracetogrowrealstories · gracetogrowstudy · gracewalk · Holy Spirit teaching · Holy Spirit, come · Jesus loves you · leprosy · Uncategorized · uncleanness

A Clean House (Spiritually Speaking, that is) De-Cluttering and Unclean. What does it all mean in New Testament living?

Laura GraceLeave a comment

clutter.jpg Hi! Greetings in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ! (who had me studying about clutter, just this morning!). 

 “Clutter” is not a word that’s in our bibles, but we now it exists. Don’t believe me? Check out the picture (above!). Do we see why we should not limit our terms and uses of language to bible language only (now?). Clutter is a real thing! 

So often, we clutter our minds with opinions, useless information, all the jokes we saw online yesterday, and at Christmas especially, most of us get all cluttered up with the festivities that go with “Christmas.” It’s all good clutter, isn’t it? And yet sometimes, it is clutter, nonetheless. 

     It’s wierd how a study on Clutter this morning, (just one word the Spirit gave me) wound up being a study on uncleanness too! I had a friend just recently, who told me a mouse was in her trap and she wanted it disposed of. She said “I have mice” what should I do? Incidentally, she didn’t want to use poison, mostly because she didn’t want dead mouse-bodies laying around (where she could not see them.). 

     No, clutter is not the same as “dead things” (which were a big deal in Old Testemant times). God had special rituals listed in the Book of Numbers on how to get “clean again” and in Leviticus, and even 2 Kings, uncleanness was just a very big deal in those days. 

     Why? Why was touching dead things such a very big deal to God Almighty? 

     On top of that, why did God give Peter a Vision (Acts 10) and tell him not to call any man unclean? (Acts 10:38). Just as “back then” science had not developed to a place where people understood say “How to cook a Lobster” (and not get sick) or nobody knew that they needed to use Chlorine or something anti-bacterial to protect themselves after handling “dead things” (in order to protect and preserve one’s life), therefore, God listed everything that would bring his children harm, or potentially bring them harm, and deemed it all to be a big fat ‘No no.” 

     We understand clutter makes it hard for us to find “good things’ (which we have lost in the pile of clutter) and we easily understand “germs’ make us sick, dead bodies carry disease, and mold or mildew can especially cause immediate sickness (or even death!). 

     At the same time, we tend to clutter up our lives, and ignore the warning signs that we are spiritually “sickened” by all the things we expose ourselves to in this life.

     We want God to “clean up the mess” and we need to get after it ourselves! “Clear the Way” (John the Baptist) “Prepare for his coming (answer) and not just the coming of him as the last trumpet sounds. See? We’ve got work to do!

     How often do people cry out to God (for answers), and wonder why they can’t find or even see the answer from him? We get “clutter of the soul” and wonder why we can’t hear God, when he promised “the sheep will know his voice.”

   What about the audible clutter in our lives? (Noise Pollution). We listen to many things, think our own thoughts, and spend a whole lot of time stressing out, trying to figure out how to solve a problem! 

     At the same time, we wonder why we can’t hear God very well? We clutter up our lives and wonder why we cannot SEE Him? Didn’t you promise I would see you, God? Maybe the answer is “right there” and we can’t see it, because of the clutter! 

     James had the answer “Purify your hearts” He said (in other words, de-clutter, get the junk out, and pay attention to him!). We want living water, but we mix it up with the defilements of this world (and wonder why it doesn’t refresh us!). 

     Ponder this awhile! (to be continued) ……With Love, 

Laura Grace, Author Grace to Grow, Grace to Soar…….(etc and so on). 

 

 

christians growing · christianthoughts · christmas · christmas encouragment · christmas miracles · christmas stories · christmas testimonial · christmas testimony · Christmas tidings of great Joy · Christmas time · christmasislove · Uncategorized

the Sacred Snowmen

Laura GraceLeave a comment

     The year was 2003 and I was visiting my son (then a teenager). He had his first job but it was part time, and he didn’t make a lot of money. I saw these little snowmen on a sled (about 3 inches high) in this cool store in Detroit Lakes, MN. 

I remember I exclaimed how cute they were, and that was a hard year for us as I had left his dad, he was alone without his mom….

He did this remarkable thing I have never forgotten…..

     A package came…..(from him) at christmas..in it was the (gasp) snowmen and the little tobaggen. I have them (to this day) I can’t look at them without remember the love that shined out of Thomas ….(during a very dark time in his life)….

    Now he’s a man…a minister, a leader..has a wife (and child) owns his own house. He’s a prayer warrior…more of a friend now than ‘a son” but he’ll always be my son even though he is primarily God’s son.  And i have to think….If I being a mere human never forgot that extraordinary act of love….

    How could we ever think God does not notice what his children do, for him? 

 Oh how his heart must smile, just thinking about us…..and the things we’ve done just to honor him……._Laura Grace 

abiding in the vine · abiding in the vine John 15 · bible studies · following God too · Jesus calling us · Jesus christ · Jesus is number 1 · Jesus is real · Jesus is the answer · Jesus is the light · Jesus is the way · Jesus loves you · Uncategorized

Abide! (It’s where we live, in Jesus).

Laura GraceLeave a comment

our house in Denton.jpg

ABIDE: (It’s where you live that counts!). by Laura Grace

Many people do not understand or even care to understand what Jesus meant when he said to ABIDE in Him. This is not a place we visit, it’s a place where we live.

“Moving in” with Jesus is a process, whereby we may have to get rid of a lot JUNK He doesn’t approve of (in our lives).

This is all between “Us and Him” and it’s not for others to decide. Listen: THIS IS what religion can do to you: if you are caught up in relgious rules, christian cliche’s, man’s doctrines, the latest bible study that everyone is flocking after or (anything else) that is not about your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then; chances are you are not Abiding IN HIM…………

YOUR Relationship with God is NOT WORTH compromising for anyone my friends. In the end, you will stand before HIm not “all these other people” with their 2 cents worth of input. He has eyes that Blaze with Fire and He is going to ask you so….”What did I say to do?”

We will be undone by the sword in his tongue. This is what it means to be on fire for God: Do what HE is telling you today. He promises to make his will known to you, But we have to participate in teh asking, seeking and finding out 
WHAT He wants us to do.

He may tell you to go preach and he may say “go home” and he may say “go sweep the sidewalk today.” ……….This is not a game! Our Relationship with Jesus is more serious than any marital relationship or anything else upon this earth. Therefore I plead with you “Be reconciled to Him” GO HOME (to his heart) and LIVE THERE….in Jesus’ name.

.”Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you”…. John 15:4-7 NASB

By Laura Grace, Author, Grace to Grow, Dysfunctional People, and others……(available on Amazon). 

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Doing the right thing…..(pressing on) Why should I? …….

Laura Grace1 Comment

Grace to the Rescue pic.jpg I can remember times when doing the right thing was like pulling teeth For me, literally. I hope this is not too candid, but I can remember times I screamed and hollered to the Lord I cannot take this anymore (screaming!!) and telling him how unfair it all was. I told him when I was tempted beyond what I could bear, I cried, yelled, begged, pleaded and said why why why don’t you do something about ________(so and so).

  Injustice was a thing that drove me nearly insane, as my soul counted up the cost of doing the right things for years on end, while someone else did what they pleased (and seemed to have no consequence). I was doing it God’s way and I wanted his help. I need him to back me up or I could do it no longer. I finally came to a place I had to say okay, I”ll go without him (my spouse) “Please Father do not let me Go!” 

You see, you really can’t do the counselling “co-dependent no more” thing and love your enemies and bless them at the same time.

Can you? I wish I could get across to some people out there (who have never experienced being married to an addict) that many are so slippery about not getting caught, covering their tracks, lying, getting away with stuff (and on and on it goes)

They aren’t BAD enough to get sentenced to treatment sometimes. I did the intervention thing, got him all mad at me, then he stayed one day and ran away from there. Telling people to do tough love ain’t that easy, unless you are willing to be like the good samaritan who paid the whole cost for someone’s healing.  Why do I say that? Because: ALL THOSE PROGRAMS you heard about, often do not help. Women who try to get free often get beat up, silenced and they finally stop telling you what is going on. They fear for their lives. Capice? 

How many of you out there have just wanted to give up? Be honest! If you’ve loved, forgiven, prayed, turned the other cheek so many times you lost count, isn’t there a time you finally say “Enough already?” Maybe just give up on that person and don’t tell anyone, because if you have to hear one more “love lecture” It will be the end of your rope! What’s the purpose of this message right now? It’s This: 

LET THEM GO BEFORE YOU HATE THEM!

If you Shrink back from Jesus because your abuser makes you want to turn on God it’s TIME TO GO………….GET OUT OF THERE! Nothing is worth losing Jesus over. 

The same applies to Jobs where you are being abused, when church people abuse you……..(and on and on it goes). Pray for God to help you as his GRACE will keep you where he intends you to be. Sometimes we are “no longer graced to be” in a certain situation. It’s time to go……….

If you have loved and forgiven, loved and forgiven, God gave you the grace to do that. You asked for strength, he gave it to you. If you can’t do it anymore even after prayer IT”S TIME TO LET GO! You matter too. God doesn’t want anyone “dragging your soul to hell” because they are bent on destruction. 

Having Faith means not letting go of Jesus’ hands. Have faith to let go my friend, Have faith to press on…..Have Faith to see miracles, have Faith to believe the miracle might just be “YOU” surviving this…..”Have Faith” …..

  How you accomplish that, is between you and God, my friend. 

 

And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” Hebrews 10:38 

Laura Grace, author, Grace to the Rescue. A story of Deliverance. A story of Love. A story of Hope. A story of Redemption. And it’s all true: 

 

 

 

 

Judgement · Uncategorized

God’s Judgement: what I learned from a silly kids’ video (and never forgot)

Laura GraceLeave a comment

JUDGEMENT.jpg

Judgement (and God’s wrath?) I feel like I need to share this, for some odd reason so here goes: Before I came to Jesus, I thought God was punishing me for all my sins. Nothing was going right, and I mean nothing.

I had this moment where I realized how I’d pushed him away, and said in my heart “I’ll get back to you when I’m old, if you are really there” because really I saw God as a big fun-killler who was out to wreck all our fun.

To me, he was just an ogre who demanded we sit still in church and pretend to love him, even if we did not feel his love for ourselves, and while I knew he probably existed (Nature told me that) I didn’t believe he cared personally for me, at all.

After I finally gave my life to him (because I had messed it up so bad, and NOTHING was going right in my life) I had this period of time where I thought “His Judgement” had caused many bad things to happen to me.

Then I saw this kids’ movie, where humpty dumpty was talking to a dragon while sitting on this wall, and the dragon convinced him to lean over to the other side and he FELL into the kingdom of darkness. There, he was unprotected. in this “Kids’ movie” Humpy dumpty cried out to Jesus and was put back on the good side of the wall (which represented God’s kingdom) and God restored him and put him back together again.

As long as I live, I will never forget that movie. it was full of truth and Grace, just like Jesus is. Nobody gave me a list of scipture 10 miles long “a child” could understand the concept of this movie. Keep it simple! God can use such simple things to get his heart across to us. That day, he used a simple corny kids movie to set me straight about his heart towards us….

And I haven’t been the same since   Love to you all! Laura Grace 

becoming Christ-like · church · disciplesofchrist · grace versus law · gracetogrow · growing in grace & the knowledge of Jesus · growing up in Christ · growing up in Christ Jesus · growingupinchrist · hard topics christianity · humble and staying humble · hypocrites · pride · Pride is a sin · prideful · self righteousness · Uncategorized

Word on Pride (a most deceptive sin)

Laura GraceLeave a comment

 

I don’t even want to admit to you how many times I’ve had pride rise up in my life like bread with leaven (Yeast) Leavened bread puffs up (sound familiar?) and that’s why Jesus warned his disciples about it “beware of the yeast” of the Pharisees……..

When we do good things like go to church, study our bibles daily, pray all the time, faithful stewards of our things (or whatever) it’s so easy to get into pride about it and consider ourselves to be “OBEDIENT” and then become like clanging cymbals in the ears and hearts of others…………

God is not impressed when we beat our chest and say how very righteous we are. it’s a big stench in his nostrils…

By his Grace we are saved by his Grace we are led into obedience, by his Grace we carry out his plans…..

by his Grace, By his Grace, By his Grace & his power alone.

“Only God can circumcise our hearts by the power of his Spirit, in Jesus’ name! Colossians 2:22-23

“These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”

God circumcises our hearts (cuts away) what is not of him
BY HIS POWER……”Col 2:11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands.”

TO HIM BE THE GLORY FOREVER! Our God Reigns!

BREAD.jpg

growing and church · Hippocrisy in church · hypocrites · leaven · Lets grow church · Pharisee-ism · Uncategorized

Hypocrisy! Let’s not do this…..

Laura GraceLeave a comment

I remember I knew this guy (a Christian) he would harp about how evil music was from my generation and how “not Christian,” and he would proceed to listen to his country ho-down hee haw stuff! I didn’t mind but I didn’t take him too seriously. If we are hypocritical my friends, we just won’t be very effective in ministry……

Check out my 5 min spontaneous video from this morning on this important topic: 

a word for God's church · courage · Godprotects · godswisdom · Good counselling is objective · Grace books · grace reigns · grace to grow · grace to Grow in grace · Uncategorized

the Letting go process (it’s so very hard)

Laura GraceLeave a comment

DSCN0011.JPG

One of the hardest things I’ve ever done (and still do) is accepting what I cannot change. it’s especially hard when you love someone, so very much, and you’ve invested so much into them, you just practically die trying to let them go…….

 We need to let go of people sometimes. People who are not ready to receive yet, or people who don’t want to change anything and it becomes what I call a one-way relationship. Relationships take work, committment, prayer, wisdom, (can you think of some more ingredients?) from both people to succeed & be good. 

My advice is to get to a place you can Rest in Him- and allow God to do the work he needs to do in you, no matter what! Even if others are not as passionate as you are about it. This is called “loving yourself” (the Jesus way). 

….then when you’ve received from God- you can love others “as you love yourself”…see? You can let go without giving up on a person. You can commit them into the loving hands of Jesus, through prayer. I have said sometimes “Thank you Father if you want this relationship to be, you will work things out. Show us what your vision is Father, for our relationship, in Jesus’ name!” 

There have been those I’ve had to let go of, simply because they were hindering God from taking me where I wanted to go. In those cases, at times, I”ve had to let go. 

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well

James 2:8

     I’m not sure God meant foot massages, meals out, or great vacations. The best way to love yourself is to spend time with Him (and allow him to be your best friend!). 

” And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.” -Mark 12:31-32

Prayer: “Dear Father help me stay in balance today. Help me love others AS I love myself. Help me to love myself the way you intended and receive what you want me to receive.” you know best! In Jesus’ name” Amen.

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“YOUR KINGDOM COME”

Laura GraceLeave a comment

    We live in a society that rewards us for doing good (Much of the time) a raise for our work, a bonus for doing an extra great job, Prizes for those who work extra hard at something. A lot of times when hard things or difficult things happen to people, they feel like “what did I do?” to deserve this? We have a reward mentality this is where the saying comes “Nice guys finish last” (a very negative saying!) We see things as being in God’s control, even though Jesus said: “in the world” we’ll have tribulation” and he did not say he gives it to us, he just said it would happen.

     So, when we got news Tim had cancer, it sent our minds into tribulation. Jesus is interested in building his kingdom within us, we are interested in having the problem solved. Can’t God just do miracles? Sure, he can. But just like kids do not grow into adults without what they consider to be tribulation (at school, with friends and so on) we spiritually don’t learn to stand in that Kingdom (within us) without something happening to see what we’re made of. I don’t like storms, and none of us “like trials”.

     When Tim (found out) he had cancer, it was a very bad day for us. We looked to the future and saw possible devastation, financially and otherwise.

     We had to choose to put the whole thing in God’s hands, time and time again.

     As we do this, the Kingdom of God is being built within us.

     The day he had his biopsy (June 2017) God spoke to me 8 things, I wrote them in my Journal and one of them was “Tim will be fine,” But at the same time, The Lord told me to declare victory in the face of evil, among other things. He also said “go hand in hand” which meant the Lord wanted us to face this together (With God’s help) We wanted a miracle as in “No doctor.” We were spending our faith believing for that miracle, but at some point, God let us know he wanted us to trust him THROUGH the tribulation of surgery. Trusting God through It and Trusting God to be delivered from something, can (and often will) happen at the same time.

      Anytime we believe for something in God’s word and it becomes more real to us than what the rest of the world is saying, that’s Kingdom Living!

     It takes Faith to ask or believe for a miracle and it takes faith to believe for peace, Joy and righteousness too. God wants to build his Kingdom within us. We have to receive it by faith.

     Many people wind up on medication because of the hard or difficult times they’ve been through.

     What a wonderful place to Live (IN) the Kingdom of God! It’s within us!

Someday these things we are previewing, will become the place we live forever.

                                                 “Your Kingdom Come” Father, Your will Be done “ON EARTH” as it is in Heaven…….Think about that for a minute!

It’s a real prayer of Faith! -Laura Grace