FREE GIFT

 

Romans 4:4

 

"Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due." ESV 

 

Our God loves us so much He gave the most precious gift, salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. We cannot receive a gift by working for it. If we work for it, it is not a gift, but something we earned. We can only receive His gift by recognizing our need for it, repenting, and accepting it.

 

Lord, help us to remember that we are no longer held responsible for our sinful nature. It's not because of anything we did to earn it, but Your great love and mercy is the gift You gave. In Your name we pray, Amen.

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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FREE TO SERVE

 

Galatians 5:13

 

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." ESV 

 

Just the thought of being free is a wonderful thing. We were made free by the sacrifice of Jesus at the cross. We are free to say no to the things of this world that once held us captive. We are free to live so that we become more and more like Christ.

 

Lord, we praise You for setting us free to love and serve You and one another. Help us to use our freedom solely for Your kingdom. In Your name we pray, Amen.

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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BESIEGED

 

Psalm 31:21

 

"Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love me when I was in a besieged city." ESV 

 

To be besieged is to be closed in and surrounded by those whose intent is to conquer and take over, such as a city or military fortress. We were besieged by the forces of sin and Satan. There was no escape for us. We were in position for take over by the enemy and we weren't even aware of it. But God, in His great love reached out to us with His mighty hand to rescue us. Those of us who recognized the danger grabbed onto His hand. Those who believed everything was business as usual, sensing no danger, refused to take hold of His hand and offer of rescue. We recognized we were in danger because someone who had been rescued before took the time to share the Word with those of us who were still in captivity. If we do the same, God is still reaching out His hand to those in danger in a besieged place, and He will use us to prepare them to take His hand.

 

Jesus, how can we ever show our gratitude that You came to us when we were held captive by sin and You rescued us? What love You have for us. Help us to share Your love, as others did, to those who are still besieged in the danger of sin. We pray they will take Your hand and be set free. In Your name, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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WHICH SIDE OF THE DOOR ARE YOU STANDING?

 

Romans 6:18

 

"And, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness." ESV

 

God's Word is clear that, as Christians, we are free to say no to sin and free to say yes to the Lord. Actually, there is no middle ground. We can't follow our own sinful ways when we feel like it, then follow Christ when we have need of His help. We are either slaves of sin or we are slaves of Christ. The way we live our lives will reveal who our master is.

 

Heavenly Father, we thank You that Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light. We praise You for giving all to purchase our lives so that we would be totally free from sin. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

 

©2008-2014 Daily Grace Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC   http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/   No Copyright Infringement Intended Personal Use Only

TALK ABOUT EXPENSIVE!

 

 

Romans 3:23-25

 

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith." ESV

 

When we accept the free gift of salvation, often times we forget its extremely expensive cost. Who paid the bill for this most eloquent and elaborate gift? It was paid in full by the God who loves us that much, by the perfect Son who was willingly tortured and shed His blood for us, and by the Holy Spirit who leads us to Him. All free to us, costing our Lord everything. How can it be that difficult to give back to Him everything we are, everything we have? It all belongs to Him anyway.

 

Heavenly Father, how narrow our sight gets when we keep looking at all the things we have and all the things we want. Forgive us when we take Your lavish gift of salvation for granted. Forgive us for holding on to earthly things dear to us when You withheld nothing. Search our hearts and do the work necessary to give us the willingness to turn everything over to You. We pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

©2008-2013

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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SET FREE SO STAY THAT WAY

 

 

Galatians 5:1

 

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." ESV

 

Before we accepted the free gift of Christ's salvation, we were slaves, captives to our own sinful nature. His sacrifice on the cross gave total freedom to "not" sin and to be able to turn our backs on our old sinful natures. Warning! It is so easy to slip back into our old ways. We don't want to go back there.

 

Heavenly Father, how we thank You and praise You for Your Son Jesus Christ, who set us free from sin by His death on the cross and His resurrection. We stand in need of Your grace as we stand firm against the temptations that would pull us back into the old life of sin. In Jesus name, Amen.

 

©2008-2013

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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FREEDOM FROM THIS, TO DO THAT

 

1 Peter 2:16

"Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God." ESV

Usually when we think of freedom, we think of the ability to be able to do whatever we want to do. That is not freedom, that is license. The freedom we have in Christ is twofold: He has set us free from the stronghold, bondage, slavery of sin. Sin no longer has a hold on us. Therefore, we are free to say no to sin, resist temptation, and to keep control over our bodies and minds. True freedom is being able to do what we know is right. Then when we lay our heads down on our pillows at night, we have peace, free of guilt.

Heavenly Father, we cannot thank You enough for the price You paid to set us free. Forgive us for taking advantage of that freedom and using it as a license to do whatever we want. Help us to understand true freedom in Christ. We pray in His precious name, Amen.

        

©2013

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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DON'T GET STUCK IN THE MUD AGAIN

 

 

Galatians 5:1

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, the, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." NIV

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." KJV

Without the truth of the light of Christ, we are totally unaware that we are chained to sin, slaves of the evils of this world. Christ died to set us free to live holy lives that gives us clean hearts and peaceful minds. If we fail to keep our faith strong or let down our guard, the enemy will pull us back into the same chains of slavery.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the sacrifice You made for us to be free from the strongholds of this world. Help us to stay alert and strong in faith so that we don't drift back into bondage. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

       

©2012

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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NOT OF THIS WORLD

 

1 Corinthians 2:12

"What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us."NIV

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." KJV

The spirit of this world which dictates the beliefs and behaviors of non-Christians, does not understand, nor seek to understand the things of God. As Christians, we sometimes become frustrated that non-believers don't "get it" and they shrug us off when we shine His light on them. If we understand that they are in the prison of darkness and cannot, are not able to, know about our God. We know the wonderful gifts He has showered on us. If we pray to be open to God so He can show us what to say and do, He will prepare the hearts of the unbelievers to receive Him.

Heavenly Father, we are so fully aware of the wonderful gift of eternal life You have given us. Forgive us for not understanding that unbelievers are held prisoners by the evil one and do not have the ability to understand. Give us the fullness of Your Holy Spirit to share the good news with them, so that they can share in the blessings of Your Kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

           

©2012

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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PAY FOR SIN, GET SALVATION FOR FREE

 

Romans 6:23

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." NIV

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." KJV

How many times have we heard non-Christians say, "I thought God was love, how then could He send anyone to hell?" God doesn't send anyone to hell! Those who go to eternal damnation have earned it. The payment for their sin is death because they did not believe in the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection. This is a very difficult thing for unbelievers to understand and can only be understood by the conviction of the Holy Spirit to a ready heart. God's free gift to ALL who believe in Him is eternal life. No charge. No entry fee. No actions, other than to believe. We have a choice. We can pay for our own sins or accept the free gift of Christ, who paid for our sins for us through His death and resurrection.

Heavenly Father, oh how we glorify You for the free gift of eternal life You intend for everyone to receive. Help us Lord to share this wonderful news with those who are in our path. Give us hearts of longing and prayer to send workers into the field to bring in those who will accept Your precious free Gift. In Your Son our Saviour's name we pray, Amen.

           

©2011

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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Personal Use Only