Life by Grace Alone

A month and a half have gone by since I turned seventy. Recently I came across a letter I wrote to my grandmother when she had celebrated her 90th birthday. It was clear how my words applied in some measure to myself. I was 25 when I wrote these words to my grandmother in honor of her birthday. Little did I know how much encouragement I would receive from my own words 45 years later. Recently I saw a movie in which a man told a woman that she wasn't just 40 years old but that she was also 40 carats. By this he meant that just as a diamond becomes more valuable with each carat,Grandmom each year you become more precious to me. More importantly since you are a Christian, each year God takes the joys and sorrows of your life and uses them to make you more and more like His son, Jesus Christ. Even when you are unaware of it He is working to make you into a more obedient child of His. Just as we can't deserve to be saved by Jesus from our sins neither can we merit any of the wo...

I have a selection of cards with Bible verses. Each day I pick 2 or more to read and meditate on those truths as I go on a walk. 2 Corinthians 4:7-9  is a passage that keeps popping up. " B ut we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed." At first I was entranced by the promise that the worst thing would not happen. I would not be crushed, driven to despair, forsaken or destroyed. That sounded great but then I thought about the rest. I did not want to be afflicted in every way, perplexed, persecuted or struck down. This list did not make me any happier than the other list. Both lists did not fit in with my desire for a smooth life with only short bouts of suffering. Over the years I have experienced the uncertainty and discomfort of many surgeries as well as the illnesses a...