by grace we are saved

Ephesians 2:7-10 New International Version (NIV) 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:7-10 The Message (MSG) 7-10 Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

Just seed for Me...

When witnessing to a non-believer I find myself sometimes getting really frustrated. Could I have presented this better...was my timing bad...am I not explaining the gospel correctly? When they don't respond positively or seem open to the ideas I feel like I failed or I even get mad. I have to step back and remember that I can only plant a seed...hopefully water it here and there...but the Holy Spirit makes it grow. We can't even fathom what goes on behind the scenes in someones heart... and sometimes they don't even know. So we just trust that God will make the seed we planted grow. Really, the best thing we can do is to imitate God's grace to others by being compassionate and understanding... for some of us we can look back to where we came from and relate to how "hard headed" we might have been.God knows I was a hard case! the Bible says that we have been given what we need just spread the gospel of Jesus Christ... but it doesn't mean that every person we witness to is necessarily going to be an instant spiritual success story. We can only do what we can do then let go and let God do the rest. perhaps you have some thoughts on the subject of witnessing you'd like to share... or some suggestions on how to be a better evangelist or disciple to the unsaved.

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Acts 2:42-47 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit of God blew into the hearts and lives of common, ordinary followers of Jesus and the church was born. On that first day, Peter stood up and preached a very basic message pointing people to Jesus. He called them to repent and be baptized. On that day, about three thousand people came to faith! So what do you do with three thousand new...

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THE WATERFALL OF GRACE

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