Freedom and Grace

I can't remember the circumstances, nor even who was present, but I remember the words that were spoken. 

"There's grace to cover that," someone said. 

Those words came back to me today as I read Romans 6. "Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?" Paul asked. I read that and wondered why anyone would think continued sin a good idea. 

Keep sinning to get more grace? It sounds abhorrent, but it's what we do, in a way, isn't it?

When we intentionally sin, knowing we can get forgiveness, we are "continuing in sin that grace might increase". 

When, as disciples of Christ, we say things we know we shouldn't, do things we know we shouldn't, watch or read things we know we shouldn't, we aren't doing them with the expectation of eternal damnation for our sin. We do them with the expectation of grace to cover it.

The expectation of grace is sometimes treated as a "free pass", allowing us to do what we want, knowing we can ask for forgiveness later.

It was the stripes on Jesus' back, the blood He spilled, the death and resurrection of our Lord that bought the grace with which we sin so freely. 

I wonder how God views our casual treatment of His Son's sacrifice. Probably not as casually as we do.

Paul wrote that our old self was crucified with Christ, and our body of sin with it. We, who have died with Christ, are freed from sin.

We are freed from sin and it is no longer master over us. 

If we are free, then we must live free. The power of the Spirit of God in us makes freedom from sin possible. 

As the new year is still in its infancy, we can choose to make 2016 a different year. We can choose to make it a year of freedom from sin's hold on us. It sounds impossible, doesn't it? It's not. The sacrifice of Christ released us from bondage. Let's honor that sacrifice with our lives. There's a choice to be made, and it's simple. 

Don't choose sin. Choose righteousness.

Will I fail in this? Yes. 

Will you fail? Yes. 

A momentary failure, however, is not the same as defeat. The battle has already been won, so let us, this year, determine to live as victors through Christ. 

It bears repeating because we will repeat the choice over and over this year.

Don't choose sin. Choose righteousness. 

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You might also like these posts: (they'll open in a new window) The New Zealand Badge and Out with the Old. 
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photo courtesy of freeimages.com

#freedominChrist #choice #righteousness #disciple #Christian

Out With the Old

My grandmother believed the Christmas tree and all the decorations had to be down and put away before New Year's Day. It was bad luck to take the "old" into the new year, she said. 

I don't believe in luck, but I do believe in dealing with the old year before the new year begins. I want clean sheets and an empty dirty clothes hamper when midnight of New Year's Eve rolls around. 

I want to be finished with the last year before I start the next.

It took me all day yesterday, but, when I stopped, I had clean clothes, fresh sheets, and a clean refrigerator. I had boxes filled for a local charity, straightened cabinets, and clean floors. All the decorations were put away and a section of the storage house had been straightened.

There were a few heart issues that needed attention, as well. An attitude needed to be corrected, a hurt that I needed to let go. As I worked, I gave those to God, too. "I don't want to deal with this next year," I told the Lord.

Today is a new day, the start of a new year. If you haven't already, now is a perfect time to let go of the old to make way for the new.

I don't want to carry critical, judgmental attitudes, wrong choices, poor priorities, animosity, or repeated sin into the new year. This year, I won't. 

One of things that differentiates humans from the lower animals is free choice, and I've decided to make better choices, starting today.

Let's take a few minutes today to evaluate the sin that's plagued us, the priorities that have been misplaced, the hurts we've held to and make a better choice. 

Mark the old year, with its failures, "finished", and start the new year with a clean, fresh heart. 
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Here's another post you might like: The New Zealand Badge
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Need a quick holiday read? Humor mixed with faith? 

Consider my e-book. The Clay Papers (lessons in being moldable in God's hands, based on a series of pottery lessons) is now available as a 99 cent ebook on Amazon. Click the link to see more. (There's a link to give it as a gift as well.)
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photo courtesy of freeimages.com
#newyear #choice #makeachange

Engine Misfire, part 2: How to recognize a misfire

Yesterday, I wrote about my recent "service engine soon" light and the misfire that caused it. If you missed that blog post, you can read it here.

As promised, today we're considering how to recognize a misfire. To my predominantly left-brained mind, it sounds a bit mysterious, but it's not. An engine misfire, in very simple terms, is a loss of power and can occur for a variety of reasons. For an automobile, a misfire can cause vibrations at idle, poor acceleration, stalling out, and difficulty starting the engine. 

For the disciple of Jesus, a spiritual misfire is much the same. 

If the spark and fuel required to provide power for disciples are prayer and Bible study, a lack of either will cause adverse effects in our lives. 

How do we recognize a misfire before it becomes a complete loss of power? 

Restlessness, lack of peace, difficulty persevering in tasks God has commanded, isolation and withdrawal from our Christian community can be early signs of a misfire. 

Left to continue, the situation will deteriorate, and the works of the flesh will become evident in our lives, and all too quickly. 

In case we've forgotten, Galatians 5:19 tells us that the works of the flesh are: "sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these." When these things are in our lives, we have a problem that needs to be addressed.

The easiest way to recognize a misfire, though, is an accounting of time spent in prayer and Bible study. Are we opening our Bible or not? Are we spending quiet time in prayer and meditation on Scripture or not?

If we feel far from God, it's not His fault. 

If we feel far from God, the solution is simple. 

Confess our sin and ask for forgiveness. Open our Bibles and read until God's Still Small Voice speaks in our hearts. Pray until we know God has heard and answered.

Proper functioning as a disciple of Christ requires time with the One we say we follow. 

As we look toward 2016, let's live boldly as disciples of Christ, embracing the adventure of faith on a daily basis. Let's open our Bibles and bend our knees before the One who gave everything for us.
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My heart is filled with gratitude for your faithfulness in reading Lines from Leanna this past twelve months. Readership has more than tripled this year. Hearts have been encouraged. Lives have been changed. I appreciate you more than you can imagine.

To celebrate this great year, I'm hosting a special New Year's Eve e-celebration. Count down the New Year with Lines from Leanna. I'll be posting a countdown of the most-read posts of 2015 every hour beginning at 6 pm and going until midnight, so be sure to read along. Bookmark the link and check back throughout the evening.

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Need a quick holiday read? Humor mixed with faith? 

Consider my e-book. The Clay Papers (lessons in being moldable in God's hands, based on a series of pottery lessons) is now available as a 99 cent ebook on Amazon. Click the link to see more. (There's a link to give it as a gift as well.)

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links:  Finding Christmas: Overcoming,  Finding Christmas: Giving Ourselves,  The Belated Christmas Letter, Living Lean, The Sleep Goal, The Service Engine Soon Light, and The Engine Misfire.

The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter.
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#enginemisfire #misfire #prayerandBiblestudy #faithful #disciple #JesusChrist

Photo courtesy of free images.com

Engine Misfire

The service engine soon light had been on for five days. It didn't look like it was going off on its on, so I drove to my mechanic's shop yesterday. On the way, I stopped by town hall. When I started the engine again, the "service engine soon" light had gone off. I considered calling it an answered prayer (which it was) and going home, but opted to have it checked. Just in case. 

"One cylinder had a misfire," John told me after a quick check of the car's computer. "It looks like just one cylinder. Has it been misfiring?" 

"Oh, no. It's been running fine." I didn't think it had misfired. Silently, I wondered how I'd recognize a misfire if it happened. 

"Well, it's not misfiring now. If it happens again, come back and we'll take a closer look."

I was delighted with the plan, but still uncertain about the cause of the misfire. As you might expect, I turned to Google. I am no mechanic, but it appears that misfires happen as a result of two possible problems. Ignition problems or fuel problems. 

There are a host of subproblems in both of these categories but, in broad terms, both a spark and fuel are required for an engine to run smoothly. 

If anything happens to prevent a solid spark or adequate fuel flow, the engine will misfire.

Nothing could be more true for the life of a disciple. We, too, need a solid spark and adequate fuel to maintain the faithful, disciplined life to which we are called. 

That spark comes from time spent with our Lord through prayer. It was the presence of the Holy Spirit that brought tongues of fire to the disciples in Jerusalem and it is that same Holy Spirit that delivers the Holy Spark to fuel our lives as disciples today. 

Without spending time in His presence, the Holy Spark will be sadly diminished in our lives.

The fuel for faithful living comes from The Book. Nothing can substitute for the Word of God, the Bible. If we are only going to read one book, it should be the Bible. As a writer of books, I say this with conviction. Only God's Book is sufficient to provide power for our souls.

Without spending time in God's Word, Divine Power and Wisdom will be greatly diminished in our lives.

We will consider how to recognize a misfire tomorrow (in lives and in cars), but, for today, let's consider the consistency of power in our spiritual life. Do we have an abundant supply of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? 

If we lack power, perhaps we have a spiritual misfire as a result of inadequate time spent in prayer and Bible study. 

The solution is simple, and can be fixed in a matter of minutes. 

Open the Bible. Bow the head. Bend the knee.

Bible study and prayer. Neither are optional. Both are essential.

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Need a quick holiday read? Humor mixed with faith? 

Consider my e-book. The Clay Papers (lessons in being moldable in God's hands, based on a series of pottery lessons) is now available as a 99 cent ebook on Amazon. Click the link to see more. (There's a link to give it as a gift as well.)

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links:  Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter, Finding Christmas: Overcoming,  Finding Christmas: Giving Ourselves,  The Belated Christmas Letter, Living Lean, The Sleep Goal, and The Service Engine Soon Light.

The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter.
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#enginemisfire #misfire #prayerandBiblestudy #faithful #disciple #JesusChrist

The Service Engine Soon Light

Friday is my day to open and close the park in our little town. This past Friday evening, I jumped in my car and drove to the park. When I started the ignition, there were no warning lights on. I drove to the park, stopped, and got out to lock the gate. When I started the ignition again, a warning light flicked on. "Service engine soon," it said.

It was the Christmas weekend, so there was no way to "service engine soon." I parked the car and drove my old farm truck instead. Today, my mechanic will check the computer to see what kind of service my engine needs.

The red light suggests trouble is brewing in my engine, but catastrophe can be avoided. If I'm willing to heed the warning.

Therein lies the problem, doesn't it? It's easy to ignore a warning light for a few days that turn into a few weeks and finally results in a major motor problem. I firmly believe in that possibility, so I have warning lights checked.

Wouldn't it be nice if we had the same kind of warning lights for our soul? Imagine a flashing light that says, "Trouble ahead. Better rethink this decision." 

We don't, of course, have a flashing light, but, as disciples of Christ, we do have a warning system. It's called the Holy Spirit, and one of His jobs is to "convict the world concerning sin". (John 16:8)

During the last few hours with His disciples, Jesus comforted them with the promise that they would not be left alone. He would send a Helper to convict them, remind them of His words, and guide them into the Truth. We have that same Helper to convict, remind, and guide.

His warnings, spoken with a Still, Small Voice are a little like the warning light in my car. 

His whispers are a quiet direction to take note, reassess, make a course correction before we go too far. If we are willing to be still, listen, and heed his warning.

It's being still to listen that trips us up, isn't it? 

The words of a song from my childhood come to mind. "Speak to my heart, Lord Jesus. Speak that my soul may hear. Speak to my heart, Lord Jesus. Calm every doubt and fear." (B.B. McKinney)

If we will be still enough to listen, He will speak where we can hear. 

When He does, He will do more than calm our doubts and fears, He will convict us, guide us into truth, and help us make the right decisions. Every time. 

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Need a quick holiday read? Humor mixed with faith? 

Consider my e-book. The Clay Papers (lessons in being moldable in God's hands, based on a series of pottery lessons) is now available as a 99 cent ebook on Amazon. Click the link to see more. (There's a link to give it as a gift as well.)

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links:  Finding Christmas: The Divine Paradox, and Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter, Finding Christmas: Overcoming,  Finding Christmas: Giving Ourselves,  The Belated Christmas Letter, Living Lean, and The Sleep Goal.

The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter.
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#serviceenginesoonlight #StillSmallVoice #HolySpirit #disciple #Christian

The Sleep Goal

Last night, Maggie the Wonder Dog wanted something. She scratched my leg, ran in circles trying to get my attention, and finally sat down and whimpered. I thought she wanted to go outside. She didn't. I tried putting her in my lap, thinking she wanted a snuggle. She didn't. It went on and on. 

Finally, I stood up, put hands on hips, and demanded, "What do you want, Maggie? You'll have to show me." Maggie raced for the stairs.  She wanted to go to bed. It was only 7:30. I was knitting and not ready for bed. She didn't care. There was a storm outside and she wanted her safe place. 

She went to bed. I didn't. 

Maggie has always been serious about sleep. I never have been. 

I've always subscribed to Proverbs 20:13, which says, "Do not love sleep, lest you become poor..." Sleep, it has seemed, is a great way to do less and miss something important. "I can sleep when I'm dead," I usually say. (That's not technically true, because I'll be singing around the throne of God after I'm dead. Not sleeping.)

Recently, however, sleep has been on my mind a bit more. It started when I found my FitBit after a several week period of lostness. It was, for no sensible reason, under the driver's seat in my truck. 

My dashboard now includes a report on my "sleep goal" progress. 

Since I had not set a sleep goal, FitBit set one for me. Supposedly, I should get eight hours sleep. That's not likely to happen, because I'm not sure I've ever slept that long. This morning, though, I had a notice that said, "Congratulations. You met your sleep goal." 

Yeah, right, I thought. The FitBit had recorded 8 hours and 29 minutes of sleep. Apparently, I am very still while reading in bed, because it counted some of my reading time. I'm not complaining. I met my goal (but only by being still... not by sleeping.)

The question of sleep goals (and not sleeping) brought a verse to mind. 

"Behold, He who keeps Israel 

Will neither slumber nor sleep."

                                       Psalm 121:4 nasb

`

It is a great comfort to me that God is always "up". He never misses the circumstances of my life because He's napping. He never sleeps through my distress. He is always awake, alert, and on the job.

No matter what we face, God is awake for it.

No matter how far we run, God is awake to see it.

He is never asleep. Never off duty. Never ignoring the world He created.

The "no sleeping verse" goes on to relate a truth worth remembering. Instead of sleeping, this is what God does:

The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade on your right hand...

The Lord will protect you from all evil;

He will keep your soul.

The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in

From this day forth and forevermore.

Psalm 121: 5, 7, 8 nasb

Take heart today that our God is up and on it. He hasn't missed a single circumstance of our lives. He knows. He sees. He cares. He actively works on our behalf.

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Need a quick holiday read? Humor mixed with faith? 

Consider my new e-book. The Clay Papers (lessons in being moldable in God's hands, based on a series of pottery lessons) is now available as a 99 cent ebook on Amazon. Click the link to see more. There's a link to give as a gift as well.)

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links:  Finding Christmas: The Mission Statement, Finding Christmas: The Divine Paradox, and Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter, Finding Christmas: Overcoming, and Finding Christmas: Giving Ourselves,  The Belated Christmas Letter, and Living Lean.

The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter.
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#sleepgoal #Godneversleeps #disciple #JesusChrist #Christian

Living Lean

"Hey, Ryan, I have two of these vases. Why don't you take one back to Atlanta. Don't you need a vase for flowers?" I had made the vases during my days as a potter, and I view them as a treasure.

Ryan looked at me in disbelief, but spoke with the patience usually reserved for a child. "Mama, my apartment is really small. I have nine decorative items. If I had even one more thing, it would be cluttered." He was serious.

I looked around my house and saw my "stuff" with new eyes.  "I have more than nine decorations," I said, musing.

"Yeah, and you should consider getting rid of some of them."

Out of the mouths of babes...

I have not only considered getting rid of some things, I've started cleaning out. Much to my surprise, I found a three-piece service for eight of Christmas dishes, twelve goblets with trees for stems, a snowman spoon rest, and a set of snowman salt and pepper shakers, none of which I have used in the last two decades. They had been stashed in a top cabinet so long, I'd forgotten I had them.  

Those Christmas items are only the beginning of the "stuff" I've accumulated over twenty-six years in this house. They will soon be going to a new home. 

I'm cleaning out what I don't need. 

Ryan lives lean and it's so freeing for him that I've decided to try it. Well, I probably won't live as lean as Ryan, but I'm moving in that direction. 

This morning, I considered one of the verses I've memorized.

"...one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions..." Luke 12:15 esv

Life is not about stuff. Life in Christ is about freedom. 

"It was for freedom that Christ set us free..." Galatians 5:1 nasb

That freedom includes the freedom from "stuff", but it is so much more. Christ intended us to be free from the burden of sin, as well. 

As we make preparations for the new year, let's clean out the accumulations of the old and move toward living lean. 

Let's do more than just clean out unneeded possessions, though. The bitterness, anger, unforgiveness, selfishness, and all the other sins we accumulate were not meant to find a welcome home in our hearts. Let's clean out the sin that so easily besets and make our hearts lean and clean as well. 

Today, let's take a fresh look at our hearts and the sin that dwells there. Offer the "clutter" to Jesus and let Him make us fresh and clean. 

If we want to make a fresh start in 2016, we must begin by having a "fresh heart". 

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Need a quick holiday read? Humor mixed with faith? 

Consider my new e-book. The Clay Papers (lessons in being moldable in God's hands, based on a series of pottery lessons) is now available as a 99 cent ebook on Amazon. Click the link to see more. There's a link to give as a gift as well.)

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links:  Finding Christmas: The Sin Fast, Finding Christmas: The Mission Statement, Finding Christmas: The Divine Paradox, and Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter, Finding Christmas: Overcoming, and Finding Christmas: Giving Ourselves,  and The Belated Christmas Letter.

The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter.
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#livinglean #possessions #timetocleanout #clutter #disciple