I Believe in Grace

This week I've been thinking about something that brings joy and hope to my life. It heals the wounded soul and offers peace to those who struggle. It has the ability to make us complete and clean. It strengthens the strong and weak alike. Everyone needs this in their lives - whether they were, are, or will be, whether they be male or female, saint or sinner, etc. You name it, they need it. It is readily accessible to us because of our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

It is Christ's atonement. As used in the sciptures, to atone is to suffer the penalty for sins, thereby removing the effects of sin from the repentant sinner and alowing him or her to be reconciled to God. Jesus Christ was the only one capable of carrying out the Atonement for all mankind. Because of His Atonement, all people will be resurrected, and those who obey His gospel will receive the gift of eternal life with God. However, I want to talk about two particular points of the atonement, which I will do in two seperate posts. 

First, I want to talk about grace.

We hear that word often in Christian conversation and lingo, but do you know what it really means, and how that effects you?

I had to do some digging myself to find out. On lds.org, I found this wonderful definition:

Grace is the help or strength given through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through the grace of God, everyone who has lived will be resurrected - our spirits will be reunited with our bodies, never again to be separated. Through His grace, the Lord also enables those who live His gospel to repent and be forgiven. 

The grace of God helps us every day. It strengthens us to do good works we could not do on our own. The Lord promised that if we humble ourselves before Him and have faith in Him, His grace will help us overcome all our personal weaknesses (see Ether 12:27).

Indescribably wonderful, right? I know that that is true! But how does that apply to us?

I want to reference a concept shared in a phenomenal speech given by Brad Wilcox called "His Grace is Sufficient." (That speech has changed my life. You should give it a read, because I'm going to have to keep it to the bare minimum here.)

"Christ’s arrangement with us is similar to a mom providing music lessons for her child. Mom pays the piano teacher. Because Mom pays the debt in full, she can turn to her child and ask for something. What is it? Practice! Does the child’s practice pay the piano teacher? No. Does the child’s practice repay Mom for paying the piano teacher? No. Practicing is how the child shows appreciation for Mom’s incredible gift. It is how he takes advantage of the amazing opportunity Mom is giving him to live his life at a higher level. Mom’s joy is found not in getting repaid but in seeing her gift used—seeing her child improve. And so she continues to call for practice, practice, practice...

In the same way, because Jesus has paid justice, He can now turn to us and say, “Follow me” (Matthew 4:19), “Keep my commandments” (John 14:15)..."

I absolutely LOVE that analogy. It made it so much easier to understand the atonement, and how it works in my life. Our choosing to follow Christ isn't trying to "pay Him back" for what He's done for us. It's already paid. 

Brad Wilcox goes on to expound on the next part after the payment: the practice.

"I have born-again Christian friends who say to me, “You Mormons are trying to earn your way to heaven.”

I say, “No, we are not earning heaven. We are learning heaven. We are preparing for it (see D&C 78:7). We are practicing for it.”

They ask me, “Have you been saved by grace?”

I answer, “Yes. Absolutely, totally, completely, thankfully—yes!”

Then I ask them a question that perhaps they have not fully considered: “Have you been changed by grace?” They are so excited about being saved that maybe they are not thinking enough about what comes next. They are so happy the debt is paid that they may not have considered why the debt existed in the first place. Latter-day Saints know not only what Jesus has saved us from but also what He has saved us for. As my friend Brett Sanders puts it, “A life impacted by grace eventually begins to look like Christ’s life.” As my friend Omar Canals puts it, “While many Christians view Christ’s suffering as only a huge favor He did for us, Latter-day Saints also recognize it as a huge investment He made in us.” As Moroni puts it, grace isn’t just about being saved. It is also about becoming like the Savior (see Moroni 7:48).

The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we die but that we can live more abundantly (see John 10:10). The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be transformed (see Romans 8). Scriptures make it clear that no unclean thing can dwell with God (see Alma 40:26), but, brothers and sisters, no unchanged thing will even want to."

Have you been transformed through Christ's atonement?

 I just want to express my gratitude for the atonement, and for the grace that I experience because of it. Every time that I have turned to Christ with my weakness, my inadequacies, my pain, my mistakes, and even my strengths, He is able to take them and make them shine with His light. He is able to make me more than I can even imagine through His grace as I choose to follow Him. 

And He can do the same for you. 

He's already paid the price. Now, with His help, we can do our best so we can be transformed and be able to dwell with God when our time comes. 

And with that incredible truth, I end this post.

Trust in God and His ability to change you. And have a blessed day! :) 

I Believe...

"Why haven't you been posting lately?" you might be asking. 

Well, I don't have a clear answer for that except that I just didn't feel inspired to write. I would think, ponder, and think some more, but nothing would create the spark that excites a writer to pick up a pencil (or keyboard I guess in this case) and just let the thoughts flow. What is one to do? I love writing, so why wasn't I coming up with anything? I didn't know. 

So I went back to square one. Back to the drawing board with the purpose of my blog. What do I want to accomplish here? 

Well, as I got to searching, a Bible story that I love came to my mind. It's the story of a struggling father who approached the Savior during His earthly ministry. "Master," said he, "I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away...and ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us." 

One can only imagine the incredible heartache and fear this father felt for his son's sake. His plea just pierces my heart as I think of times where I too have felt to cry out to our Savior in prayer: "If thou canst do any thing, have compassion on me, and help me!" Jesus's answer to this poor father rings true for all who seek refuge and peace through life and in struggles.

"Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."

"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."

This father's response is one that all who are seeking should remember. This man didn't need perfect faith. He recognized that Christ is the "Author and Finisher of our faith" and that if he could exercise all the faith he did have, the rest would be made up in Christ. Jesus was able to cleanse this father's son, because the father was willing to exercise his faith as far as it would go, and lean on the Savior when his faith could take him no farther in asking for this miracle. 

I know that there are miracles today. Every day they happen in all shapes and forms, from incredible medical recovery/ improvement and safety in dangerous situations to the peace you felt as you saw this morning's sunrise and the joy of seeing the beautiful smile of a loved one. Sometimes miracles are hard to see and feel amongst the noise, conflict, and confusion that makes up the world we live in. However, if we can answer as this pleading father, and turn to the Lord for the things we need with the faith that we do have, Christ can show us the beauty and miracles that He surrounds us with that are hidden from us only because we have yet to ask Him to help us see as He does. 

With that story and those thoughts in mind, I realized what I wanted to be able to do with this blog: I want to be able to build up and inspire all who read to come unto Christ, that they may be able to feel of His love and light, as I have. I want to post about what I believe, and how that belief has changed my life. 

Basically, I want to share my testimony with you in the hope that it will strengthen your faith too.

So with that, I testify of our Savior, Jesus Christ - that He lives, that He is listening when we pray, and that with Him and because of Him, nothing is impossible. 

"Lord, I believe..."

What do you think?

 The thing that has been on my mind lately is a principle that we hear often:

 faith.

Just look at that word. What does it mean to you? What are some of the feelings you have when you see this word?

Faith is a principle of power. It is alive in that it needs to be nourished daily, or it will deteriorate and fade. It takes time to grow, but even the desire to have faith makes growth and change possible. We walk by faith rather than sight at times, but isn't it true that we end up seeing clearer than ever before?

I know that as we nurture our faith in Christ, that nothing will be impossible to us. Take some time this week to study faith and to better understand what it means for you. I know that Christ has given us every reason to have faith in Him, and that He is with us every step of our journey here on earth. What a blessing!

I stand all amazed

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,

Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.

I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,

That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

 I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine

To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,

That he should extend his great love unto such as I,

Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify. 

I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!

  Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?
No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,
Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet.

Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me
Enough to die for me!
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

                                                                 - "I Stand All Amazed, Hymn 193

Those words have touched my heart again and again over the years. How truly precious it is to know that Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sins, mistakes, and shortcomings. Our Savior sacrificed His life for us out of love, that we may return to be with Him and our Heavenly Father for the rest of eternity. That is the message I strive to share as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with all. I hope to share the love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ by sharing what I know to be true, that our faith may grow. Please feel free to comment or to message me!