Major League Grace

August 23, 2022 Gracie

Little League Game, Major League Grace

Never in a million years did I think I’d ever share a video from the major sports network, ESPN.

But, I’m delighted to share this one with a glimpse into America’s greatest pastime – Baseball.

Sometimes it takes a young teen to remind us what the God-given qualities of compassion and forgiveness are all about.

See if this doesn’t tug at your heartstrings.

What a beautiful scene to witness – the epitome of sportsmanship, but beyond that – major league grace.

Even more amazing is the way that God so readily forgives us when we come to Him with humility.

No matter “what” we’ve done, no matter how much we’ve hurt Him, God will forgive our repentant hearts.

In one of Jeremiah’s final “turn back to God” prophecies spoken to Judah, the prophet reminded the people that the hearts of man can be deceitful.

God’s truth is paramount.

The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it? – Jeremiah 17:9, (NASB).¹

As guilty sinners, we deserve eternal punishment and yet, God sent us His Son.

The blood of Christ redeems us.

Because what has happened in the resurrection is cosmic in its significance. It is akin to what happened when God created the universe. You read the very beginning of the Bible, and what do you discover? That: it was darkness over the face of the land, and into that, the power and might of God shines. – Christian pastor and author, Alistair Begg, of Truth for Life teaching ministry.²

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² Quotation from Alistair Begg, Christian pastor, author, and founder of Truth For Life Teaching Ministry. “Then They Were Glad”, April 17, 2022. para. 28. Web. Accessed 21 August, 2022. Retrieved from https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/then-they-were-glad/

Our Exceptional God

God is in the Details

August 16, 2022 Gracie

God is in the Details

A morning greeting – a God-given sunrise that was almost too beautiful for words. Magnificent shades of oranges, yellows, blues, and purples blended together perfectly to light up the morning sky with their brilliance.

No human artist can even come close to painting a masterpiece like this one.

God is in the details of creation.

Wait! Take a picture of that!

Mesmerized for a moment, I forgot we had someplace to go.

Lord, we praise You for Your beautiful sunrises

that bear witness to Your holy signature.

In the following verse from Romans 1, the Apostle Paul taught the Gentiles (and all of us by extension) that there is no excuse for denying that God exists.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. – Romans 1:20, (NASB).¹

The handprints of creator God are all over His creation. His divine power is so clearly seen that no one has an excuse not to believe.

This affirmation is available to all – even those who live in the deepest jungles in the world.

God is invisible, and His attributes or characteristics can only be seen indirectly. This is achieved through God’s creation, through His intervention in human history, and through His revealed Word. This revealed knowledge of God is evident and undeniable. – Bob Deffinbaugh, pastor and bible study teacher.²

Every Little DetailWe can easily get caught up in the “beauty” of creation itself, but we can’t let it distract us from worshipping the One who made it.

To God be all the glory!

We can only stand back in awe, and thank Him for His goodness.

M.S. Lowndes wrote a wonderful poem called “The Beauty of Your Creation.”

As her poem beautifully illustrates, we should never lose our sense of wonder over what God has done.

The Beauty of Your Creation

Lord, I marvel at your creation,
Such beauty to behold,
For you can be seen in all you’ve made
And in each regenerate soul

For you are truly magnificent,
And I stand back in awe
At each small, but significant detail
Of your created works, O Lord

For the beauty your creation unveils,
Keeps me truly amazed,
But so much more than all of this,
It is you, Lord, who I praise.

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²Bob Deffinbaugh quotation is courtesy of bible.org. from “The Present Wrath of God (Romans 1:15-32)” August 18, 2004. Web. Accessed August 2, 2022. Retrieved from https://bible.org/seriespage/2-present-wrath-god-romans-115-32

³Poetry courtesy of M.S. Lowndes. “The Beauty of Your Creation.” [online post]. From Heavensinspirations.com, ©M.S. Lowndes, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, n.d. Web. Accessed August 2, 2022. https://www.heavensinspirations.com/beauty-of-creation.html

Our Exceptional God

Eternal Riches

August 8, 2022 Gracie

True Wealth and Eternal Riches

According to an article on Investopedia.com, Jeff Bezos, former CEO of Amazon, has a net worth of 144 billion dollars.¹

I can’t even tell you what a billion dollars looks like, much less 144 of them!

But seriously, I don’t even want to know.

Money can become the main priority in a person’s life – a serious distraction away from God.

Specifically, I’m talking about the self-indulgent pursuit of wealth which we can see, for example, on display in some celebrity lifestyles.

The pursuit of riches and fame are on display all around us, but these two worldly scorecards amount to a big “0” when it comes to our eternal salvation.

Does that mean that money itself is bad?

In general, no.

To emphasize, there’s a huge difference between being blessed by God with a nice bank account or choosing to let money pursuits consume your life.

In Matthew’s synopsis of the Sermon on the Mount, we find Jesus teaching the multitudes about, among other vices, the dangers of materialism and idol worship.

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. – Matthew 6:24, (NASB).²

Consequently, Jesus’ words here are eternally significant for all of us.

The Blessing Of Eternal Riches

Acclaimed poet, Louis Gander, recently published a poem that gets to the heart of the matter when it comes to the love of money.

To emphasize: true wealth and eternal riches aren’t in your bank account.

A Stubborn Lot 8-1-22

Can a penny buy a morsel of some dried unleavened bread?
Can a nickel have some meaning to apologies unsaid?

Can a dime hide a confession that we want to keep inside?
Can a quarter take the place of the regrets when we have lied?

Can a dollar buy a drop of love from someone we have pained?
Can a ten buy us full freedom, though it’s we ourselves we’ve chained?

Can a hundred cover up our sins so we can’t be enslaved?
Can a Million pay for all our sins so that we can then be saved?

Can a Billion buy a sliver from the cross where Jesus died?
Can a Trillion buy a seat in Heav’n so we can’t be denied?

ALL the money in the world can’t buy one SPECK of space
in Heaven where the God of Love bestows sufficient grace.

It’s loving dedication and full faithfulness we owe.
Our money is so worthless – yet we idolize it so.

We are a spoiled people in our air conditioned cars.
We’re over-entertained by our most favorite superstars.

We are a prideful people and we’re such a stubborn lot –
but owe to Jesus EVERYTHING and EVERYTHING we’ve got.

We All Need Jesus

If you’ve experienced God’s grace, then you know that all of the riches in the world can never replace the treasure of knowing His love firsthand.

Looking back, there was a time in my own life where money and fame were important to me.

However, once I came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, those pursuits took a nosedive.

In short,

We don’t “need” followers

We don’t “need” fame

But, we all need Jesus

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¹Quotation from Dan Moskowitz, financial writer for many investment online magazines. “The 10 Richest People in the World.” Courtesy of Investopedia.com. June 1, 2022. Web. Accessed 1 August, 2022. Retrieved from: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/012715/5-richest-people-world.asp

³Poetry courtesy of Louis Gander, ©2022 Louis Gander ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, “A Stubborn Lot 8-1-22.” [online post]. From Gander Story Poems, n.d. Web. Accessed August 2, 2022. https://www.ganderpoems.org/2022/07/a-stubborn-lot-10-1-22.html

Our Exceptional God

Designed By The Almighty – The Dumbo Octopus

August 2, 2022 Gracie

The Dumbo Octopus – Designed By The Almighty

Now I’ve seen everything!

Who ever thought an octopus could be described as “cute”?

Meet the Dumbo Octopus.

With its flappy ears (flippers, actually) and big soulful eyes, this little creature has captured the fancy of those who are lucky enough to see one up close.

And how about that name, “Dumbo Octopus.”

It does kind of look like “Dumbo” the Elephant from the Walt Disney film of long ago.

I never cease to delight in what God has created!

To know that every animal is designed by the Almighty, not by random chance or an accident, is humbling indeed.

This little one has a long scientific name that seems almost bigger than he is.

“Grimpoteuthis”

When you pronounce it, it sounds like this: “Grimp oh tooth this.”

The Dumbo Octopus – NOAA Ocean Exploration¹

The Dumbo Octopus can reach lengths of about 12 inches long.

They like to eat worms and other wiggly things that swim in the deep along the ocean floor (Helminstine).²

In the Bible, Psalm 104 (attributed to David) conveys the many wonders of the world that God created, including under the sea.

All glory to God!

Deep Dive

According to the Institute For Creation Research, a Dumbo Octopus was spotted swimming at a depth of about 21 thousand feet.

Now that’s deep!

It should be appreciated that the Dumbo Octopus has no high-tech submersible to house and protect it in those depths. It only has what its Creator gave it—the innate ability to thrive at those great depths. – James, J.S. Johnson, Institute For Creation Research.⁴

How humbling it is when we realize that the wonders and complexities of the creation around us lead us right to our Creator God.

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¹Photo courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2019 Southeastern U.S. Deep-sea Exploration. November 19, 2019. Online Image. NOAA Photo Gallery. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/oceanexplorergov/49203817176/in/photolist-2hXYqBs-2jsp69y-vcXdBp-nxFUAS-HaDW8D-GKstCA-M6NLAN-LHdtjs-LuNYZ-zfR4-8daU8S-zfR3-2jp5RY1-5HWhs1-atvdh1-5vWZVP-BgJv-2eDnx8-2eDnzk-9brE82-4xkYfi-4momfm-2eDnyK-2WdjX2-2jsRGjG-2jq7LFb-2jqvgwC-2joUX8d-4xkYwZ-aFTer8-2eDnwi-9vVvpb-eShSAu-ndWySt-6jrqSG-BByY-4Lrt8W-75wewg-4LnfFi-KfebxD-ajdhaL-2joHca9-4LnfEg-2jpw7nX-s2sNUH-4d4ANn-7MgSUu-6obpVp-4jLdhE-2jqbSpy

²Quotation from Anne Marie Helmenstine (Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences) – science writer, educator, and consultant. “All About Grimpoteuthis, the Dumbo Octopus.” Courtesy of ThoughtCo. July 13, 2019. Web. Accessed 31, July, 2022. Retrieved from: https://www.thoughtco.com/grimpoteuthis-dumbo-octopus-4160927

⁴Quotation courtesy of The Institute For Creation Research. By James. J.S. Johnson, J.D., TH.D. From “Like Father, Like Son, in the Deepest Deep”, June 23, 2020. para. 10. Web. Accessed 29 July, 2022. Retrieved from https://www.icr.org/article/like-father-like-son-in-the-deepest-deep

Our Exceptional God

Your Truth My Truth

July 26, 2022 Gracie

Your Truth My Truth – Playing With Fire

Aren’t you glad that Almighty God is eternally on His throne?

The effect of the fall of man (SIN) is everywhere, at a blatant level I bet you thought you’d never see before.

It’s getting to be where I don’t even want to look at the headlines anymore.

Do you see what’s happening around us?

Here’s a case in point: the other day I saw an attention-grabbing headline on a popular website.

“Shout Your Truth!” it said in big bold letters on the landing page.

Did you catch that?

“Your truth.”

Does it break your heart to see that as it does mine?

Your truth, my truth?

No thanks.

Friends, this is insane.

We are so undeserving of God’s mercy, and yet despite a world gone mad that’s also full of hatred towards Him, He freely offers us His grace.

Out of concerns for our country, I continue to pray for a spiritual revival, but what trumps everything is to pray that God’s will be done.

I want to tell these misguided people – take off your blinders!

God will always be Sovereign and on His throne!

Not that they would listen.

If you’re getting sick of the madness as much I am, then my suggestion is to turn off the mainstream news media when you can, and tune out the obscenity-laden sitcoms and reality shows.

Focus your concentration on what God has done, and what He will do.

It’s A New Day

Tomorrow morning when you wake up and you’re on your way to work, take a moment to check out the sunrise.

Thank You God, for beautiful sunrises!

It’s the first thing I see when I lift up the shades in the morning.

Providing encouragement to all, King David wrote in Psalm 105:

Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
Tell of all His wonders. – Psalm 105:2, (NASB).¹

No doubt, in the challenging times ahead, we will have good days and bad days.

But we can’t lose our perspective.

Remember these words in 1 Peter that also apply to us today . . .

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. – 1 Peter 5:10: (NASB).²

The world is watching Christians. We are, in essence, under a microscope.

As Christians, we have the answer that a hurting world needs. Next time you’re approached by a person who’s hurting due to illness, death, circumstances, or a natural disaster, point them to God’s Word. Show them how death and suffering are the punishment for sin but how Jesus Christ provided the solution to that problem when He died on the Cross and rose again. Because of Christ, we have hope for now and eternity. – Avery Foley, Answers in Genesis.³

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³Quotation from Avery Foley (MA, Theological Studies) – writer, speaker, cohost of Answers News for Answers in Genesis. “Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen.” Courtesy of Answersingenesis.org. Web. Accessed 21, July, 2022. Retrieved from: https://answersingenesis.org/suffering/why-does-god-allow-bad-things-to-happen/

Our Exceptional God

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