Saturday, October 30, 2010

Grace and Guilt.

Tom's Journal.http://tomschuckmanjournal.blogspot.com/
tschuckman@aol.com

The article below is a deep one, but I learned something good and valuable in college... "repetition is the mother of retention." However, when planting something of the Bible in our brains and hearts--IMHO, the Holy Spirit is needed to help us understand. And then-- what good is "head knowledge" if the heart is not transformed into a more godly, Christ like organ?? It's true that we CAN BE SAVED-- but what will we do with something that great-- hide it under a bushel basket, or let our light shine for others to benefit by? And I have heard pastors give feeble attempts to explain what GRACE is all about, but they fell short and lacked the English verbal aptitude-- and other people told me the same thing [and I have been in so many different churches..]. It's true that we don't all have the same 'gifts' and abilities, but how can spiritual leaders fail at something so important as this|?

Perhaps we just live in a very LAZY generation in the year 2010 where the majority of folks are functionally illiterate where the most important thing is gratuitous, selfish, greedy, pleasure. "Lovers of themselves rather than lovers of God."

I would really like to talk about something more joyous and happy! I don't have anything to complain about today and my wife sounds OK, PTL. But I think it's going to be a long, cold, lonely Winter for me, and I liked the Summer too much as it was more gentle on my bones and joints. I ended up turning the heat on yesterday for the first time this year-- and I though: 'Why should I get sick and uncomfortable?' But now I need to dig out my warmer Winter clothes and deliver some to my wife too. And I was thinking that from now on I don't need to eat big meals-- but just a normal serving of foods and more fresh apples and other fruits for snacks.

Yesterday, I posted some scary news about the new obama-care "health bill" that showers us with new nasty hidden taxes that will knock most of us to our knees-- but I figure that SOMETHING will be done in the near future so that riots in the streets don't happen.... Ha! The Republicans were so smart NOT to get suckered into voting for that monstrosity/ Frankenstein bill !! I personally envision things in America [and the world] getting much worse in the next 6 months-- but somehow we will survive in the USA, even if we have to eat less and tighten our belts. Death and misery go on, but true Christians have a very LARGE helper-- the Holy Spirit ---and God's GRACE! And that's worth more than all the tea in China.

I am trying to think of a way to get my wife to some closer church on Sundays, but perhaps I just ought to share Sunday services with her and a short bible study. Some folks see Sunday worship and church as something tedious and boring-- but real Christian understand the need to get together for prayer and encouragement.

Regards,
Tom


Grace and Guilt

Posted: 29 Oct 2010 07:12 PM PDT

By Jack Kinsella The Omega Letter Grace is one of those Divine topics that is so deep and wide and endless that there can never been enough said about it. It is so complex in its simplicity that a full understanding of it probably cannot be had this side of heaven.Grace is easier to define by what it is not than by what it is. Grace is not mercy or love. In Ephesians 2:4-6 three doctrines are