Relationship vs. Rules . . .

Ok, so here's something that has taken me two days to digest and wrestle with.

Saul (before he was Paul) was often referred to as the "Pharisee of Pharisees", meaning he was the best at what he did. What he did was try to follow every rule, law & letter.

Acts 9:1&2
Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to "The Way", whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

He lived by trying to follow rules & not breaking rules.

Go down to Acts 9:6

So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?"
Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

Once the Lord revealed himself to Saul, Saul (soon to be Paul) didn't say what are your rules? What laws should I follow? What Laws should I enforce? He asked "What do you want me to do?".

He instantly wanted a relationship with God.

Since then Paul identifies himself as:

Romans 1:1
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

Ephesians 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God

Galatians 1:1
Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father Who raised Him from the dead)

1 Corinthians 1:1
Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother

2 Corinthians 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother

(Seeing a pattern here?)

He does not identify with what he was. He does not claim to be a Pharisee, a Christian Hunter or a Hater of "The Way".

So why would we identify with anything less than being a Child of God? I'm not wretched (though I still choose to do wretched things sometimes). I'm NOT in bondage. I'm not a worthless sinner (though I do still choose to sin). I was dead in my trespasses and sin. But now, I am a chosen, called, loved, child of God. And, if you are a believer, so are you. Now go work on your relationship with God & quit trying to live by the law.

I Timothy 4:12

Yes.. The Alien is coming home soooooon....

This is a part of the E-mail from Ms.Debbie:

Dear Church Family,

We received a call from Sally just a little while ago and she was so excited I could see her smile over the phone!

Everything went wonderfully for her and they have approved her return and we should be seeing her in about 10 days or so. Sally said she had never seen the process go this smoothly. Praise God!

Thank you all for praying for her.


Way cool eh??


"Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the REACH of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the NEED for God's grace."

Well I'm at lunch and in a great hurry. The back yard looks way cool today.

And here's a thought to ponder on...

"True Faith results in obedience & Godly living"

Now the interaction part: Do you believe this? Yes or No? Why or why not?

E-mail me and tell me..

"Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the REACH of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the NEED for God's grace."

Well here it is Sunday afternoon. I went to church, heard a great message and am now home preparing for a nice relaxing lunch. Then, it's back to work (Yep, today is the day I finish the back yard). Thanks to Robert we got all of the main framing and support finished yesterday.

Today, we focused on The Risen Lord (which is appropriate with today being Easter). Anyway, part of that focus was the fact that because Christ has risen we too (as believers) can also count on our own resurrection (or our own easter as I saw in a poem this morning).

So, we need to remember that we died to ourselves and Christ lives in us. This means that we may have plans or goals or ideas for our lives BUT we must 100% submit to the sovereignty of God if we are truly Christians. If we have that relationship to look forward to, having eternity with Christ, then we need to live for Him now & not for ourselves. It's one or the other we can't have both.

Just a thought. But, I thought it was a good thought to think about ;)

I'll be back later after I swat some nails.

Oh yeah, it's been 3 days since I've played Settlers (I'm having withdrawls now).

"Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the REACH of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the NEED for God's grace."