Newness of Life

I used to mix law and grace. I believe that most Christians do until they come to see the futility in trying hard to be good enough while claiming to believe in salvation by Christ alone. By the age of 22, my defeat was absolute. The law had done what it was supposed to do: it had convinced me that I was a sinner without hope apart from grace and God's power. Grace alone transforms and self-effort and law keeping are useless. Living by grace is a journey and a process, but one that has revealed the compassionate love of God, as well as the riches of His glory, and the power of His mighty Spirit in our lives. Today I came across a video explaining the difference between living under law and living by grace and wanted to share it for those who feel that they are not experiencing the power of God in their lives. If we live under law than we cannot experience grace; Paul says that we have fallen from grace and are in a powerless, condemned condition (because the law can o...

I saw it with perfect clarity right after Steve died suddenly in a car accident, the very week that we were setting our wedding date. While I was tossing around wedding ideas with my sister on the phone one clear, fall morning, unbeknownst to me, Steve had already died in a wreck. In a few hours I would get the call. But through the violent tears of grief for the greatest love I have ever known, God kindly gave me a glimpse of eternity. I could see, not with my natural eyes, but with those unseen eyes of the heart. Those eyes are the only eyes that really matter.   Satan opened the eyes of Adam and Eve to his selfish version of reality, his narrative.   This is the dark sight that Jesus came to strike with blindness so that we can see the light of truth. He said he came to give sight to the blind, and to blind those who see. For a brief time after Steve's death, it was as if a veil was lifted and I could peer into eternity itself. Everything becam...