GracePerfected

I have astigmatism. It’s nothing too serious, but my eyes just can’t focus like everyone else’s can. My vision is blurred because the optics of my eyes cannot focus a point object into a sharp focused image on my retina. So, I wear glasses and contacts to correct my vision, to help my eyes refocus. On their own, my eyes cannot see clearly; they need to be refocused. You know when having astigmatism is the most irritating? When I’m driving at night. Throw some bright lights or your high beams my way, and I promise you, I won’t be able to see anything else. Pretty dangerous, huh? (PTL for anti-glare glasses!) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, And sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. -Hebrews 12:2- I’ve found in my walk with the Lord, when I’m driving at night is when my spiritual astigmatism is the worst too. When I can’t see the road ahead, and when unexpec...

Exodus 39:1, 8-10, 21 -  From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn  they made woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary.  They also made sacred garments  for Aaron, as the  Lord  commanded Moses...  They fashioned the breastpiece —the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.   9  It was square—a span long and a span wide—and folded double.   10  Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. T 21  They tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband so that the breastpiece would not swing out from the ephod—as the  Lord  commanded Moses.      It is currently 12:30 AM as I am writing, and I firmly believe God is speaking to someone who is reading this.       You may be wondering how can an inspiring message com...

Exodus 3:1-2: " Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro  his father-in-law, the priest of Midian,  and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,  the mountain  of God.   2  There the angel of the  Lord  appeared to him in flames of fire  from within a bush.  Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up"      We have all heard the story of Moses. In fact, we have all heard the story, read the story, and probably even acted as one of the many influential people in a church play. You're probably wondering, "What else of the one-thousand lessons from Moses is GracePerfected going to expound upon?". Well, my friend, these two powerful verses are more than just an explanation of how Moses came to the burning bush.       Moses was tending his father-in-law's flock one day. I don't know about you, but if I was tending a flock I wouldn't go to the far end of ...

          We all have annoying habits. An annoying habit of yours could be you chew with your mouth open, or you bite your nails. But having an annoying habit is different than having a sinful habit. An annoying habit can be overlooked, but a sinful habit can eventually hurt everything about you.      Lets get personal. Something that I have been dealing with recently is disappointment. A lot of it actually. It seems everywhere I look someone or something is hurting every area in my life. I could say that I am getting better in dealing with this discouragement, but in reality I find myself growing in resentment towards people. At one point I told God "hey, why should I be loving if no one cares about me anyway?". So on and so forth, frustration became my sinful habit.      One night I decided to look to God and divulge all my frustration to Him. All of a sudden I had an urge to watch an online sermon by a preacher I had never...

     There was a summer when I really sensed God telling me to pray more. Yes, I knew I should pray often to grow further in my walk with Christ, but this call was different. I felt God was telling me that if I earnestly sought Him, even if it was difficult to crack my Bible open for more than five minutes, He would change me and instill a passion in me for Him. A prophet didn't have to tell me this.  God's voice was so clear  . You might be wondering "how do you know when God is telling you something?", but let me tell you, if God wants you to know something, He'll make it LOUD and CLEAR to you.        In response to this call, I started to pray more and more. I found myself talking to Jesus for hours, just as if I were talking to my best friend. I didn't realize how much I would change in doing this. God changed my attitude, my grades [IMMENSELY], and I started feeling peace in my heart. I give all the glory to Jesus for opening doors tha...

     I am at a very different time in my life where every choice I make from now on will affect my future differently. I have also been undertaking different responsibilities that never in my life have I had to before. In all of this chaos and worry, I found myself lacking in prayer. Or if I did pray, I would find myself falling asleep during my own personal prayer.                                                           At this I started to feel ashamed before God. I still do sometimes even now. I remembered how much I don't deserve His grace in my life, or even His guidance to help me with all of these responsibilities and life-changing choices. One night I started to cry before God as I remembered the promises of Him on my life, pleading to Him and asking Him to not take those promises away because of what I've done. A...

           We were hiking near a waterfall as a family and my 5 year old daughter tightly held my hand. As I showed her ways she could rest her one foot on the firm rock before she took her next step, I was reminded of how we can stand on Christ as our solid rock.  I stood there looking at the solid rocks and the water fell on it so heavily. The force of the water was able to throw anything off its surface. But these rushing waters became still streams in the valleys. And I realized if you were standing on muddy ground, this soil beneath your feet would give way easily and carry you with its tide.                       This is a perfect analogy to our Christian lives. The storms, waves and the turmoils of this world can throw away any person. No one is immune to the fiery trials of this world. During these moments of distress, what differentiates a t...