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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I’m not too good at staying consistent with this thing called blogging. Come to think of it, I feel like I am not too good at keeping things consistent in<\/p>\n
I’m not too good at staying consistent with this thing called blogging. Come to think of it, I feel like I am not too good at keeping things consistent in life. I try to juggle the balancing act between life itself, personal time, family time, and working as an effective minister. It would be easy to put on the mask and attempt to pull off this incredible feat by being fake, but this isn’t in my DNA. It’s not in the cards for who I am and the identity that God has put inside of me.<\/p>\n
Whenever I begin to go down this crazy path of self-despair, I have to believe in one the the best verses that has spoken directly into my life every time I hear it. What is it, you ask? Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Praise God for this incredible reality and freedom. I don’t need more thoughts of how bad my life is and how much shame that I take on my shoulders on a regular basis. I know that many out there deal with this in their mindset and the ongoing struggle with the battlefield of the mind.<\/p>\n
Without Jesus, spiritually there is nothing good that I can produce. It is because of the awesome grace that comes from above that allows me to even come to the decision to be real about my struggles and difficulties. This grace is fueled by an unconditional love that no one can match! Grace is undeserved, unmerited favor. It getting something that we aren’t entitled to receive. Mercy is a withholding of what we do deserve. Both are at work and we can be thankful in the reality of who we are that we are being transformed each and every day.<\/p>\n
I hope that you can relate to this verse in the same way that I can. We don’t have to continually be bombarded with feeling the overwhelming burden of perpetual self-condemnation. We are free as we have been set free. We can live with His reality and be formed the way that He wants us to be. The last thing that can produce anything effective is being fake. We have to be real and we have to be honest. Let’s share this characteristic within our ministry time together. Let’s learn to allow the grace and mercy and love from on high to flow within our dialogue and connection. May this lead to more freedom and more opportunity to be real before God and before others.<\/p>\n
For the Kingdom, Jay<\/p>\n