Happy Monday and happy Labor Day!

I hope you were able to do some resting on this holiday called Labor Day! I spent the day writing a paper for my Old Testament class. It is due in the morning. There were three questions to be answered and it took me most of the day and into the evening to complete the writing. But I am really learning about the Old Testament. There were some really sneaky people in the Old Testament.

Prayer: “Lord, I pray that I will live my life in light of Your sacrifice on my behalf. Allow me to rest in Your finished work and trust that Your Spirit lives inside of me, giving me the ability to live the Spirit-filled life! Amen.”

1 John 5: 9-11 “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Sons of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son, And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”

I love the movie “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” It is the story of Loretta Lynn, the First Lady of Country Music. As she and her husband Dew were traveling around the country trying to sell her record, they were unaware of how popular she had become. When they are told by a radio station that they were on the charts Dew took them to Nashville to the Grand Old Opry. As she prepared to go on that stage Loretta was really scared and believed she was not “worthy” to sing on that revered stage. She told her husband she couldn’t go on because she hadn’t “paid her dues.”

Most of us feel that we have to earn what we receive whether it is money earned from a job or a good grade on a paper for seminary. Working hard is an honorable characteristic to have, but this constantly working to “earn our keep” can be hard on our relationship with God. There are some people who will not accept anything they believe they have not earned or cannot pay for.

Salvation has nothing to do with our human effort or the ability to “earn our keep.” God’s love for us is unchanging. He doesn’t love us any more if we have read every word in the Bible or read none at all. The truth is that God has done all the work through Jesus. It is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that provides our atonement for sin and not anything we do ourselves. Hard work is satisfying for our earthly time, but salvation is God’s gift of eternal life begun on earth and this life is in His Son, Jesus Christ. Our hope is in God and this is really good news!

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Share the good news with someone who needs a free gift today. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.


Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe and I believe God.

PS Good news! It is supposed to 59 degrees tonight. Now that is good news!