Haven't been on here in awhile, but I am currently in Rockford, Illinois, okay to be specific I quess it's not "Rockford", as my daughter so lovingly just pointed out to me, we are in "Poplar Grove", Illinois! Which is closest to Rockford, which is Northeast of Chicago by about an hour or so. No big trips to the big city though, much too cold yet for me to take on such an adventure. The cold and I just don't get along that well. But, we are having a great time just just spending time with family.

I was reading today in the book of James, when I came to 4:6, it was speaking of "grace". This word seems to have crossed my path quite a bit lately, maybe thats why it caught my attention. When I think about the word "grace", and ponder on the given Biblical meaning of the word which is:

Gods unmerited undeserved favor;

Gods ability in us and for us what we are incapable of doing for ourselves.

Although we speak of His grace and hear it spoken of often, are we really grasping and living in it's true meaning?

Maybe it's forgiveness, or acceptance. In our own power maybe we can't forgive the person who hurt us, or we just can't see how we can accept the choices someone close to us is making in their lives, but if we are realistic and look back where we once were, we will see, that we were not deserving to receive Gods forgiveness and grace. Our Father looks beyond the actions and only looks at who He created us to be.

In Titus3:3-7 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared. He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. Whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

According to this word, we can "do" nothing to insure grace given to us. If we were required to deserve it, I'm afraid not one of us would receive grace. I quess the thing I'm most curious about is not the "why" of Gods grace but more the "why" of us being so reluctant to give it ourselves. We receive it from the Lord just because of His love for us, yet we tend to make those in and around our own lives "earn" it, they somehow must be deserving. As this scripture says, we too once walked in the lustfulness of sin, and when the grace of God was offered we willingly accepted.

My prayer today is that the Lord would show us in our hearts how to give the same grace He so willigly has given us, to others, not because they deserve it, but just because to do so will bring joy to our Fathers heart, which should be the desire of our heart.