Heart in Bloom

“Sometimes we need grace from heaven to just maintain faith:

By simplifying our life, we can allow space for God’s amazing grace to enter, there are still practical steps to simplify your life if you really want to go in that direction. A true artist knows how to measure silences between the notes.

Playing a beautiful song on the piano requires not only hitting the right note but also allowing enough breaks between the notes to emphasize the musical piece. What about your life? You may think you are pressing the right keys. You may be making your own music, but it could be drowning out everything else including inspiration from the Holy Spirit. It’s time to start listening to the silence, the space between the notes that can turn our life into something much more beautiful. ‘Grace fills empty spaces.’ If your body, mind and spirit are always busy with worldly events and pleasure, how can God’s spirit enter? Grace is crowded out.

The Psalmist David wrote ‘Be still and know that I am God,’ (Psalms 46:10). In the quiet of silence, we can hear the voice of God coming from His spirit. Any steps you can take toward simplicity will lead you in the right direction, lead you toward God, and away from other distractions! Try to avoid relationships with people who bring you down physically or mentally. Jesus turned the other cheek, but He refused to let people walk over Him or keep Him from accomplishing His mission. Your mission is to love and serve God, and to help others whenever possible.

God will guide you in changing yourself for the better. The Psalmist David, was inspired to write, ‘The Lord protects those of child like faith; I was facing death, and then He saved me.’ (Psalms 116:7) It’s a simple belief, faith in God, creator of all things. It is just simple! ‘For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.’ (Romans 15:4) Sometimes we need grace from heaven just to maintain faith.

The first disciples believed only because of what they saw. Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus appeared to the other disciples, so he doubted their story that the Savior was alive. Only when he was able to put his fingers in the nail prints and into the place where the spear had pierced Jesus’ side, did Thomas believe. “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believed,’ (John 20:29).

Those who are very sick sometimes don’t believe they will ever be healthy again. The doubt and fear that we feel in any time of these circumstances isn’t all that different than it is for those who find it hard to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. It’s our hope in salvation, because we know that God has entered our life and given us real hope for any problem that we might have. When God raised Jesus from the dead, He proclaimed that He can also do the same for us, not only by raising us from the dead, but also healing us when we are sick, and giving us hope when things seem hopeless. If He can defeat death, He can deliver us in times of trouble during our physical life.

Now we can begin to understand why Jesus said, that it’s more blessed to believe without seeing because as long as we can’t see with our eyes, the possibility of faith is always there. And that’s how any loving relationship must be built.

To have that deeper relationship with Jesus we must choose to believe. Loving relationships like the one God wants to have with us can only survive through a faith that’s strong enough to overcome the fears and doubts.

Our very faith, our courageous choice to believe, is a grace that comes from heaven through the Holy Spirit. And sometimes we must pray for that faith when we don’t seem to have it. But through grace, our faith can be stronger than that which was shown by these disciples who saw Jesus in the flesh after His resurrection.

James shows us how to put our faith into the service of God. James the brother of Jesus offers all of us some practical instructions for living in a world where evil often prevails. In the New Testament book, James was inspired to write to Jewish Christians and reflects in a remarkable way Christ our Lord’s teaching from the sermon on the mount. His inspired words taken from the first two chapters of James should be taken to heart by, all of us as we struggle with obeying God in a corrupt and sinful world.

‘Dear brothers and sisters when trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy,’ he writes. ‘For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow, so let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.’ It all depends on our faith and attitude.

‘God blesses the people who patiently endure testing.’ says James, ‘Afterwards they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.’ (James 1:12)

If we rejoice in all circumstances we will be richly blessed by the Lord. And the crown of life will be waiting for us when Jesus comes again. Here is James’ advice on listening and doing: ‘Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.’ ‘Your anger can never make things right in God’s sight.’ ‘So get rid of all filth and evil in your lives and humbly accept the message God planted in your heart, for it is strong enough to save your souls.’

By doing what we can to follow this advice, our hearts will be open to accept God’s divine message through the Holy Spirit, James doesn’t stop there, and remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to.

‘For if you listen and don’t obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror, but doing nothing to improve your appearance, you see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you keep looking into God’s perfect law, the law that sets you free and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.’ (James 1:23-25) Whether we read our Bibles or hear a powerful sermon, if we forget what we’ve heard, then it’s a waste of time and means nothing to our spiritual welfare. Later in the second chapter of James, he writes, ‘So whatever you speak, whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law of love, the law that set you free.’ ‘For there will be no mercy for you if you have not been merciful to others.’ ‘But if you have been merciful, then God’s mercy toward you will win out over His judgment, against you.’

Those are powerful and convicting words! God was merciful to us and all He asks in return is that we be merciful to others. If we don’t want to be judged by God, then we should show mercy to others. Then James writes about faith without good deeds and how important it is to have both. ‘Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone. Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing and you say, ‘Well, goodbye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well.’ but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing, what good does that do?’ Then James sums it up this way. ‘Do you still think it’s enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this and they tremble in terror! When will you ever learn that faith that does not result in good deeds is useless?’

‘A generous man will prosper: He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed’ (Proverbs 11:25)”