Grace and Gratitude

I've been doing daily bread for quite some time with "Our Daily Journey"
think it's really helpful... one of the interesting article read last week to share...

-- Taken from Our Daily Journey --

Read - Titus 2:11-14
¹¹For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. ¹²It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.


Martin Luther wanted to quit. His congregation in Wittenberg, having learned that Luther's gospel promised forgiveness for any and all sin, had stopped attending services and giving to the ministry and had started indulging in greed, lust, and booze. A frustrated Luther threatened to go on strike if they didn't change their ways. He declared, "You absolutely unthankful beasts, unworthy of the gospel; if you do not repent, i will stop preaching to you." They did not and so he did, taking several months off from being " the shepherd of such pigs."
Like the Luthers in Wittenberg, many of us may have though (early in our Christian career) : If God forgives us no matter what we do, then ultimately does not matter what we do. Salvation is a blank check. We can sin as much as we want, for it's all covered!
Surprisingly, Paul tells Titus that rather than encourage sin, the grace of God actually instructs us "to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures" (Titus 2:12).
The Heidelberg Catechism explains that only when I realise "how great my sin and misery are" can I understand "how I may be delivered from all my sins and misery," which then leads me "to express my gratitude to God for such deliverance."
So here is the Calculus. Understanding the extent of my sin enables me to appreciate grace, which automatically fills me with gratitude, which always looks for ways to say thank you. It looks like this: Sin--> Grace--> Gratitude--> Good Works.
If your love for God is waning and your will to obey is lacking, the answer is not to grit your teeth and try harder. Instead, work the formula. Start with a realization of the depths of your sin. Only then will you appreciate your need for grace. And gratitude and obedience will surely follow. --- Mike Wittmer


next--> Why is it significant that the New Testament word for gratitude (encharistia) is built on the term for grace (charis)? Is gratitude a better motivation than duty? Why?


-- Taken from Our Daily Journey --

拍我的看法

never own a camera b4.. the ones i use is my sis or the family's camera eh..
maybe i should get one.... someday... someday.... haa
happy to see cheer's news!.. kekee~ (siao.. super fan -_-!)(to a certain extend i have split personality.. haa.. one side is happy, the other think i'm crazy.. hahaaa)



anyway something out of topic.. will be playing (guitar) on radio1003 later today 9 to 11pm...
kinda stress.. cos kinda last min! still preparing the songs now.. =''=

The Last Lecture - Dr. Randy Pausch

respond to Judson's post....

actually watched this clip b4 sometime ago.. and i could not totally agree with the point he mentioned.
eg: "if u live ur life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. the dreams will come to you."
agree that we should live our life the right way, but i think sometimes the dreams that you want might not come to you.. not saying that we should not dream of cos... i mean.. we should work hard for what we dream for but when the outcome is not what you wanted.. we should learn to embrace it... keeping in mind the fact that the outcome might not be a bad outcome... it might even be better then what u wanted..
after i watched the clip again this time.. realise that on the other hand.. Dr Randy did accept the fact that he is going to die.. (sorry to know he passed away) knowing that some things in life is unpredictable (there might be a higher being out there)... but we can chose to have the right mindset.. positive mindset.. having patience, humility, work and play well with others, etc..
inspirational speech indeed.. =)

爱情之所以为爱情

买cd 把你的声音丢在角落 看电影到结局总是配角的错
你要的故事让你去说 我要的生活我好好过
写日记写不出是谁 的感受 夜空里每个人占有一个星座
你到底懂不懂 我只要一点温热的触碰
你到底懂不懂 有些话并不是一定要说

你总说爱情之所以为爱情是用来挥霍
你总是漫不在乎当我看着自己的稀薄
你编织的感觉难以捉摸 你比我的梦境还困惑

我看见爱情之所以为爱情谁都在挥霍
我想的天长地久也许只是时间的荒谬
我沈迷的感动与你不同 我的了解让我自由

一场雨有时候下得不是时候 就像你说难过不是真的难过
你到底懂不懂我只要一个安稳的等候
你到底懂不懂 想你想得好像空气都停了

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