GracePerfected

 Impossible :  adjective " not able to be done ".      Ever feel like the chances of your circumstances turning positive equal the word above? IMPOSSIBLE? I know I have. Even now, I still feel that way. For you, the word 'Impossible' could surface when you meet with your school counselor and he/she tells you that you can't get into the universities you desire, even if you have always worked hard. It could also surface when you hear that even the smartest person in your class didn't pass the major exam. Impossible.      One word, with such a powerful meaning. Sometimes, we give this word more power than the words that Jesus say in Luke 18:27 "What is impossible with man is possible with God". Getting even more personal, sometimes we let our mistakes and failures get in the way of us trusting in the grace and mercy of God on us. It is as if God cannot change our situation around for His glory because our mistake are"too bad" for him. 

     Several years ago, in Long Beach, California, a fellow went into a fried chicken place and bought a couple of chicken dinners for himself and his date late one afternoon. The young woman at the counter inadvertently gave him the proceeds from the day-a whole bag of money (much of it cash) instead of fried chicken. After driving to their picnic site, the two of them sat down to open the meal and enjoy some chicken together. They discovered a whole lot more than chicken--over $800! But he was unusual. He quickly put the money back in the bag. They got back into the car and drove all the way back. Mr. Clean got out, walked in, and became an instant hero. By then the manager was frantic. The guy with the bag of money looked the manager in the eye and said, "I want you to know I came by to get a couple of chicken dinners and wound up with all this money. Here." Well, the manager was thrilled to death. He said, "Oh, great, let me call the newspaper. I'm going to have

“The people again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…and the people cried out for help to the Lord.” The people of Israel fell into a constant pattern of sin. Over and over again, they broke the covenant that God had made with them; over and over again, they fell to the same sins, the FORGOT the God who delivered them out of Egypt and led them into the Promised Land. They would break the covenant, and then cry out to God when the world around them came crashing down. Then, God being the loving and great God He is would rise up a deliverer for them and save them. Israel in their [pattern] of sin broke the Father’s heart, but when they would cry out to Him, He would render the heavens for them. The Lord is slow to anger and [SO] abounding in love. I read this and my immediate thought was what is wrong with these people? But let’s get real now. I am Israel. I fall into the same exact patterns of sin over and over again. How sad.

Psalm 116: 1-7 (NIV) I love the  Lord ,  for he heard my voice;    he heard my cry  for mercy.   Because he turned his ear  to me,      I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death  entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me;       I was overcome by distress and sorrow.   Then I called on the name  of the  Lord :      “ Lord , save me! ” The  Lord  is gracious and righteous;   our God is full of compassion The  Lord  protects the unwary; when I was brought low,  he saved me. Return to your rest,  my soul,      for the  Lord  has been good  to you .      This is a Psalm that God has continuously been reminding me of for the last two weeks. Before He brought me to it, I was stressed out with many things. Stressed out because I knew my spiritual life needed to get better, stressed about how my grades had to get better, and stressed out about my future.       And that is when God took me to thi