Reason no. 1114...

So thankful for time to relax and time to be restored. Having time to read and bake are 2 things that I did not have time for this semester, but now I can enjoy! Reason no.1114 :)

Reason no. 1113...

'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.'

Ephesians 2: 8-9

Thank you God for salvation. Thank you God that it is not something I earn or deserve, but a gift from you. Thank you God that it comes from Your heart and the overflow of Your love for Your people. Reason no. 1113 :)

Reason no. 1112...

Thank you God that You sing songs of delight over me. Thank you God that You did that before I even knew who You were. Thank you God that You are smiling at me and cheering me on. Reason no. 1112 :)

Reason no. 1111...

'The joy of the Lord is my strength'.

In the depths of the valleys, in the midst of the darkness, during the hard times: Your truth remains. You are the unchanging God remaining faithful, loving, good, my shield, my refuge and my defender. You are the One who chose me before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in Your sight. You have redeemed me and forgiven me. You have deposited Your holy spirit in me as a guarantee of my incredible inheritance to come. You are the One who is faithful to every promise You have spoken, so in the midst of the struggle I will cling to what You have said knowing it will come to fulfilment. You are a God of joy and as Your beloved child with the Spirit of God in me, I will walk in joy too. Reason no. 1111 :)

Reason no. 1110...

Romans 1:16-17

'I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation for everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'the righteous will live by faith'.

The youth group I grew up in was called 'unashamed' and it was based on this passage. It was a reminder  that we should not be embarrassed by the gospel. The fact that Paul has put it so bluntly that he is not ashamed of the gospel, perhaps suggests that there has been a time when he was embarrassed by it. This is encouraging as Paul is no longer in that place of feeling ashamed as he is now boldly proclaiming the gospel. If that can happen for Paul, then it can happen for the likes of you and me too.

What reason is there to be ashamed of the gospel? 'Has God reconciled us to himself through Christ, forgiven our sins, made us His children, put His spirit within us begun to transform us, and introduced us into his new community?' (Stott, 1994) ...This is the incredible gospel!

It is through the gospel that we get to know the 'righteousness of God': 'God's just justification of the unjust, his righteous way of pronouncing the unrighteous righteous, in which he both demonstrates his righteousness and gives righteousness to us. He has done it through Christ, the righteous One, who died for the unrighteous...' (Stott, 1994). His righteousness is a gift and the direct result of trusting Jesus as the Son of the living God.

The gospel is powerful and it is for everyone.

Reason no. 1110 :)

Reason no. 1109...

Thank you God that You know my name and You know me.

Reason no. 1109 :)

Reason no. 1108...

Thank you God for an amazing answer to prayer with my parents getting an offer on their house and that the person who put the offer in got a job so they could put the offer in! Reason no. 1108 :)