{ephesians 2:8-9}

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."
[New International Version]

"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it."

[New Living Translation]


I've really really been stressed out over the past like 4 weeks. I mean really. You can ask anyone who's been around me that I wouldn't have classified myself as doing well over the past 4 weeks. And one of the BIGGEST reasons that I've been down is that I felt like I can't ever get this 'living-as-a-Christ follower' thing down. I mean every time I try I fail. Every time. I just felt like I was a horrible Christ-follower and I couldn't do anything right, which then led to me comparing myself to other Christ-followers and how they were doing everything right and I couldn't do anything right. It was just a bad situation. And I was really really down about it. Then this morning I sat down and had a long talk with God. I explained how I felt, and why I felt that way, and I asked Him for His help (which I've done many times in the past few weeks). But today was different. I was sitting there thinking and praying, and then all of a sudden had this realization. You know how we've been told from like the dawn of time that we weren't saved by works? I mean thats what the Christian belief is...that we aren't saved by what we do. Now we also know that faith without deeds is dead...but our deeds aren't what saves us. It is our FAITH! It is our choice to believe in what can sometimes be hard to believe. Our choice to believe in Someone that is greater than ourselves. And thats what hit me today. As I was praying, God just started saying "hey tay...you aren't saved by what you do. It isn't your works that gets you saved or brings you salvation. It is your faith in me!! And so while I know that you need to follow up your decision by striving to do whats right, your deeds don't determine whether or not you are saved. I love you because you chose to believe in me! And btws, I hate to break it to you but you won't ever get everything right so I would suggest you just get used to that now. You are going to fail...you are human. But the important part is that you get back up and you still trust in me either way. So for now, just choose to rest in the grace and mercy I am giving you!!" After thinking for a bit, I realized "yeah duh...i've been told my entire life that i'm not saved by what i do." So that would make sense huh? All of a sudden I was going "lightbulb!"

Hope this encourages you. Now, off to kick some Colonization =) loves!
tay