Rags to Riches

The Beverly Hillbillies, a sitcom of the 60s and early 70s, and a family favorite during my childhood days, was a “rags to riches” sort of show of a poor backwoods family who strike it rich when “Pa”, the Clampett family patriarch discovers oil—black gold, Texas tea—while hunting for mealtime provisions. 

Kinfolk of the Clampetts then urged the family to pack up their belongings and move to California, where they could reside in a large mansion in the Beverly Hills district; a dwelling more befitting their newfound wealth.

The show was a comedic combination of poverty and affluence, and the unsophisticated with the refined as the Clampetts maintained their simpleton lifestyle while having access to millions. It made for amusing entertainment.

When Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus, he sought to encourage them to recognize the spiritual wealth they had “in Christ”. They were spiritually rich beyond measure but had been living as beggars—spiritual paupers—because of their ignorance of all that was available to them in Christ.

We do the same. 

Many believers today live as beggars, spiritual paupers, and victims of their past because of the same reason: they are not aware of the great wealth they have in Christ. They walk around in the old garments of spiritual poverty—content in their old ways.

Paul writes:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. 

In all wisdom and insight, He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention, which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. (Eph. 1:3-14 NASB)

God has given everything we need to live the victorious Christian life. He predestined this great mystery before the foundation of the earth and before you were formed in your mother’s womb. From the days of old, everything took place in its proper order so that this mystery might be revealed to us according to the glory of His grace.

The love and kindness of God intended that we have adoption, acceptance, redemption, forgiveness, wisdom, inheritance, the seal of the Holy Spirit, life, grace, and citizenship—in short, every spiritual blessing. We have all the resources needed for living a victorious Christian life.

Father God, help me to fully grasp the truth of Your word in Eph. 1 that I may know and receive every spiritual blessing for me. Open my eyes and my heart to see what I need to lay down in order to fill up with an abundance of Your blessings to live a victorious life in You, that others may know that You are the One True God, in Jesus' name, amen.  

"All our righteous acts are like filthy rags".  Is. 64:6 

Healing the Wounded Heart (A Prayer)

Father God,

Though so many of us try to hide it with a smile, we know that inside we are broken and bruised, wounded by issues of long ago and left unchecked. We are the walking wounded plagued by feelings of hurt, neglect, abuse and abandonment. Many of us have attempted to find relief by our own methods but instead found ourselves feeling even emptier, even spiraling into depression. 

We learn that sins of omission (neglect, abandonment, etc.) are just as damaging to the soul as the sins of commission. Emotional wounds become so deeply embedded that it begins to feel "normal", setting ourselves up to continue to cycle.

Infection extends into relationships and marriage like a virus, spreading a new strain of sin-saturated remnants stained by years of buried emotions. Deep-seeded anger follows closely, while anger’s close companion, bitterness, begins to rot the soul and distressing the body.(Heb. 12:15)

But, You, O God, desire healing for Your children, (Ps. 147:3)  and are greater than all of our hurts, all of our neglect, all of our abandonment, and all of our rejection. You are more than able to comfort us in all our afflictions. (2 Cor. 1:4) You lead us in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. (Ps. 23:3) You desire righteousness for us, Father, (Matt. 5:6) for sin and righteousness cannot coexist.

Thank you for revealing Your righteousness to us, bringing light to darkness and exposing areas of sin in our lives. Thank you for walking with us through the valleys of past hurts, (Ps. 23: 4) not to revisit our pain, but to reveal Your healing through our forgiveness. (Matt. 6:12) Lack of forgiveness is sin, creating ugly and festering wounds in our lives in which all the perfumes of religious activities cannot remove, but only superficially mask. (Romans 8:6)

Your mercy and grace, O God, and Your forgiveness completely remove the deep underlying roots of the disease of our souls, as Jesus Christ, the Balm of Gilead, brings restoration and healing to the wounded heart. You restore us to the joy of Your salvation, Father, granting us a willing spirit to sustain us. (Ps. 51:12, Ps. 149:4) Your compassion and mercy reveal the hurts of those who have hurt us, helping us to understand their own pain. Hurt people often hurt people. Thank you for helping us to forgive as You have forgiven us.

Your Word tells us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 6:19) You bring us out of the midst of sin, (Col. 1:13) and desire for us to touch only that which is clean, and nothing that is unclean. (2 Cor. 6:17) You are my Father, God, and I am your daughter/son. Blessed be the name of the Lord, in all the earth. (Ps. 72:19)

Thank you Father, for Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God and Light of the world, (John 8:12) Who shines the light of righteousness into the dark corners of our lives (2 Sam. 22:29) revealing those things You desire to remove as You lead us in Your paths of righteousness. Thank you for Your forgiveness as we forgive those who trespass against us.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Grace Savors God's Love

I am delighted to introduce to you a woman I first met at a writer's conference, author and speaker, Nancy Grace. Since then, she has finished a labor of love and grace so appropriately entitled "The Grace Impact". Nancy stops by today on her Blog Tour to share a portion of her soon to be released "The Grace Impact". It is an honor to present to you... Nancy Kay Grace. 

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God’s love comforts, strengthens, and restores our weary hearts. He reaches us in our despair and brings peace and a new perspective.  Below is an excerpt from The Grace Impact, p.37-40.

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    Everyday blessings are easy to take for granted—blossoming trees awakening in the spring, bright sunshine warming the air after a chilly rain, laughter shared with friends. Each of these gifts needs to be savored and enjoyed, but all too often we overlook them to rush to the next event on our calendars.

Disruptions of our fast-passed life can force us to slow down and notice the simple joys. A phone call from a doctor’s office can disrupt a quiet day and change your life, as it did mine.

    ”I have some good news and some bad news.” The doctor’s calm voice sounded serious. He had my attention. I sat at the kitchen table and picked up a pen to write what he would tell me.

    “The bad news is that it’s cancer, but the good news is that we got it all and it’s very treatable.”

    He explained the diagnosis, but my mind froze on his first statement. Cancer? I choked back tears. Tongue cancer? Because of the stitches and swelling in my tongue, I struggled to form words as my mind flooded with questions.

    After hanging up, I thought about how I had gotten to this point. It had begun with a sore on my tongue that would not heal. Eventually the dentist referred me to an oral surgeon who removed the affected tissue. Because I didn’t fit the profile of one at risk for oral cancer, he almost didn’t send it off for a biopsy. Although all the tissue was removed, I had to face the fact that I had cancer.

    That evening I plopped onto my bed in despair. Desperately I called out to God in my spirit with tears streaming down my face. Weary and restless, I move to my piano where I played hymns and prayed through my fingers. In those moments of worship, a gentle but powerful exchange occurred in my heart as I released my anxiety. God gave me special assurance—a deeper peace than I had ever known. The Lord accepted my “what if” questions and replaced them with the precious affirmation of His love. The grace of God’s love would sustain me in this health crisis. I had found an inner sanctuary that became my refuge.

    In the following weeks, I had to retrain my tongue to say some words, for a while my name was “Nanthy Gwathe.” I pulled back from my church activities to sort out the confusion of the unexpected diagnosis. My speaking ministry was put on hold. Jesus became my safe hiding place. Intentional time spent reading Scripture, praying, and journaling brought steady healing to my soul. I gained perspective that God would use this trial for His Good. God’s love was shown in the kindness of family and encouragement for friends. In my uncertainty and despair the God of the universe did not remain far off, but gave me His peace and assurance in the shelter of His love. I again realized I didn’t have to do anything to be loved; I could only accept God’s love. Resting in the refuge of God brought a deeper awareness of His love for me.

    As a result, I have become more aware of the need to slow down and treasure the everyday blessing like a cardinal’s song, a butterfly on a flower, or the hug of a child.

    The cancer experience has also strengthened my resolve to use my faltering tongue to proclaim the good news and hope of Jesus Christ.

“I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3b

    God sent His son, Jesus, out of love for us, to bring us back into relationship with Him. He loves each of us with an everlasting love. Nothing can separate us from His love. Even in hard times His love carries us.

    Savor the impact of grace when you take time to allow your thoughts to linger on God’s awesome love. Bask in the truth of knowing you are loved more than you ever thought possible.

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Nancy Kay Grace is captivated by God’s grace and love to share about embracing it is everyday life. She has contributed stories to several anthologies and published magazine articles. Nancy is married to her best friend, Rick, who is a senior pastor in northwest Arkansas. They have served the Lord for more that forty year, seeing His grace at work in many countries. Now they enjoy the stage of life with two married children and an increasing number of grandchildren.

 In a few months, Nancy will be hosting an online Bible study using The Grace Impact. If you are interested in more information about this opportunity, please sign up for her GraceNotes newsletter at http://www.nancykaygrace.com.

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