Saturday, November 24, 2012

Another Chance


“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

If there is one thing that is indisputable about everyone one of us, it’s that we all have the endless capacity to mess up! Every day we try to do our best, but so often we slip up. And if there was ever a message that every one of us needed to hear again and again, it would be that God is a God of another chance!

…a new day

                              …a clean slate

                                       …the chance to do better

                                                 …an opportunity to start over


The grace of God means that even when we blow it He gives us every chance in the world to acknowledge our mistakes and ask for His forgiveness; His steadfast love and mercy are greater than any sin, and He promises His loving grace. Grace is more than just second chances and undeserved gifts. It is manifested in human failure, mistakes, weakness, and flaws, and God’s grace does not give up!

“But because of Hid great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Time after time, our gracious Lord gives us another chance; He is the God of new beginnings. He creates new days and gives us a fresh start…He extends GRACE!

G-God

R-Redeemed us

A-Adopted us

C-Changed us

E-Eternally


God doesn’t give up on us as quickly as we give up on ourselves; He gives us better chances to get it right the next time. We may wonder how He can love us when we constantly mess up and fail to follow His word, but God the great forgiver grips each of us in our darkest mishaps! His love and grace is not based on our performance, but rather because we surrender our heart to Him and challenge ourselves to try harder. God continually reaches out to people like you and me that need another chance, and the more grace we receive, the more power we have over sin! It is this grace that speaks into our lives and forms our character and keeps us moving forward. God believes in us even when we don’t believe in ourselves, and we have to cling to the miracle of His grace. Every new day there is a fresh supply and the God of second chances gives us a lifetime of opportunity!

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)

Linking up this week with Spiritual Sundays, Winsome Wednesdays, Rich Faith Rising, and A Sheltering Tree


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34 comments:

  1. God's grace is truly amazing! How blessed we are who know Him and love Him. When I mess up, it is so comforting to know that I can turn to Him for forgiveness.

    I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving Denise!

    Blessings and love,
    Debbie

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    1. You too Debbie....in all your warm sunshine! :) bunches of love!

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  2. Grace. I've always loved the word.

    I love what you wrote too. "Grace is more than just second chances and undeserved gifts. It is manifested in human failure, mistakes, weakness, and flaws, and God’s grace does not give up!"

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    1. I have always loved it too Peaches! :) Thanks for stopping by my friend!

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  3. Denise very timely, I cannot tell you. It is amazing how God knows just what you need at a time that you need a Word, a person, something. He knows! Blessings to you Denise and your family.

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    1. Thanks friend, and blessings to you as you listen in your times of need; praying for you...

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  4. A refreshingly encouraging post Denise. I'm so grateful for another chance.

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    1. Thanks Wanda; always grateful for a second (and 3rd, 4th!) chance!

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  5. I just love this Denise..When I read 'capacity to mess up, ' I was nodding my head and the post in total - perfect for me. Love the Grace words too. Hope your week shines cause got to tell you....you really do!!!

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    1. Thanks sweet girl; your comments are always so uplifting! Blessings! :)

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  6. Excellent Post Sister Denise you know reading this many things came to my mind one was God is a God of second changes which means He never gives up on us. I was also reminded of how He is so longsuffering when it comes to us. He stands at the heart of our door knocking time and time again before we open that door. And sometimes I just wonder how many times did He have to knock at my heart before I said yes to Him?

    THis is why I can't understand how people can say there is no GOD for how does one even deal with life without Him? I can't that is for sure. And in those moments I began to wonder the Lord says to me Desiray you was just like others as well. There was a time when you didn't have time for me...that humbles me so quickly because I don't ever want to forget about where He found me and how my life was so messed up without Him. I know many people rather forget but I don't want to forget because it keeps me humble and it helps me to tell somebody else what my God did in my life. AMEN.

    I pray you and yours had a lovely Thanksgiving Day....Enjoy the lovely Monday which the Lord has given us..amen

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    1. I feel SO blessed that He doesn't give up on me Desi! Thanks so much for your words; love hearing from you! Blessings to you and your family.....

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  7. We are all we are only by His grace. We can all Him Father only by His grace, thank God for His grace that looks past our faults and loves us anyway.
    Thanks for sharing sister, have a super blessed day!
    Love

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    1. Thanks Ugochi; blessings on your day too! :)

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  8. God's Grace is what it is all about. I enjoyed your post .

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  9. In this broken world, how needed is the word, "grace"! And so true, "God doesn’t give up on us as quickly as we give up on ourselves". Don't you just love how God pursues us with an unrelenting love...a love that is not dependent on our own works or merit! Such a great God we serve! Love also your hearts here too, my friend! Thanks for linking up on UNITE this week! Hope to see you again soon! ~ jen

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    1. Amen Jen! An unrelenting love! My pleasure to link up; so glad you started it! Blessings my friend.....

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  10. I am so thankful for God's grace that covers all of my mistakes and messes! Visiting from the Unite link up!

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    1. Thanks for visiting Barb; I will hop over and visit yours next!

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  11. Hi Denise, whenever I visit here I feel so loved, all the hearts and your heart in your posts. I love it. Also, I love love love acronyms. Will be borrowing yours for my Pinterest :) Thanks for linking up sweet lady. Always better when you are there.
    God bless
    Tracy

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    1. Oh and I feel the same way Tracy...love hearing from you always! <3 Thought of you when I made the acronym; know how you love them! Blessings sweet sister!

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  12. Hi sweet sister, was thinking of you the other day! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

    Wow, I'd be NOTHING without the grace of God. It overwhelms me.

    Haven't been in the blogging world, hope to after the first of the new year. Releasing a new book and getting ready to move! :O So, life is a little crazy!

    Your friendship is such a blessing sister!
    Hugs,
    Cherie

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    1. I am so excited to hear about your writing Cherie! You are such an encouragement to all....and YOU my friend, are a blessing to me! Hugs!

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  13. I love your words here! So true. I am so grateful for His grace.

    I also love your artwork... :) I was wondering how you format your art to post it on your blog. I've recently done some pen and ink drawings - I take them to the printer to get myself a copy and they put it on a UCB as a PDF, which only allows me to put a link online. I don't know much about that, but I wonder - is there a way they could be making a JPeg for me or something that would allow me to post it? I'd appreciate your thoughts... :) Pam, http://wordglow.wordpress.com

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    1. Thanks Pam, and thanks for the visit. I will hop over to yours and let you know how I insert pictures; hopefully you can figure out how to get your drawings saved and on your blog. :)

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  14. Thank God that he doesn't give up on me as quickly as I give up on myself...I'd be doomed! I think that means that we should never be quick to give up on others either, although sometimes that is not so easy.
    I've never been able to understand how people can not believe in God either!
    ~God bless you and your family~ ((Hugs)) ~Lisa~

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    1. I always love your words Lisa; thanks Sister, and God bless you and yours also!

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  15. Wow Denise, I love this post. I have blown it more times than I could even think to count. Praise God, His mercies are new every morning.
    Blessings,
    Ken

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    1. Right? More times than I can remember; so glad He isn't counting...:) Blessings my dear friend Ken!

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  16. Denise,

    Praise God for His abundant grace that overflows to us. I so appreciate reading your meditations on God. My heart, mind and soul are strengthened.

    Blessings to you in Christ...Susan

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  17. So encouraged by your words, "God doesn't up on us as quickly as we do ourselves." I'm so thankful for the truth of that.

    Lovely art. I love the "Follow Grace."

    Thank you for linking to "Sharing the Shelter." I hope you can link again soon.

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