WORKS and GOOD WORKS

Danna Shirley
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  (Eph 2:8-10 NIV)

Some might say this is a conflicting scripture—we’re saved NOT by our works but we’re created to DO good works. 

Not by works – performance…

Do good works – performance...

Hard to understand? Not really.  Our own works are of no benefit because we’re moving through our own motivation, under our own power, and in our own ability—maybe through pride or the drive to achieve. 

Our works in Christ Jesus, resting in His care and moving in obedience to the Holy Spirit, brings about not just works but “good works” and these are what God had planned for us to do from the beginning. 

Works done in the flesh will burn up…

Good works done in the Spirit will last for eternity…

GOOD NEWS

Danna Shirley
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  (Romans 10:13) Saved!  ...  From what? … Their sins!

“How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in?” (Romans 10:14a) I’m a good person.  I don’t drink, or curse, or beat my dog!  I believe in myself!!!

“And how can they believe in the One of Whom they have not heard?  (Romans 10:14b) I don’t need a Savior—I don’t need to hear anything!

“And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  Consequently, faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard though the Word of Christ.” (Romans 10:14c,17) YOU be a witness to the lost.  YOU speak the Words of Life.  YOU give your testimony of God’s grace and mercy, and of Jesus Christ—Lord and Savior of all. (Acts 19:8-10 and 23:11)

Why? Because “how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news” (Romans 10:15b) GOOD NEWS!!! 

I am so thankful for the “beautiful feet” of those saints who planted and watered the “Good News” into me and for Betty Baxter, who gave her testimony of God’s saving grace and healing power on that Sunday in May 1980, which prompted me, a 32-year-old sinner, pregnant with her third child, to walk down that aisle in Montgomery, Alabama and receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

         

Oh, thank You, Lord, for the “beautiful feet” of Your saints!

UNASHAMED

Danna Shirley 
"He who believes in Him will not be put to shame.”  (Rom 10:11 NIV)

Have you ever not had your prayers answered?

 “Oh, what a shame…that’s a shame…too bad...I guess God didn’t hear you,” an unbeliever might say mocking your faith.

    

As believers, we wonder why our prayers aren’t answered when and how we want them to be but we are never ashamed of God’s methods or His timing.  We wait patiently on Him knowing He’s in control of our lives. 

    

I have had many instances when I called upon God to move in a particular situation, or answer a prayer in a certain way, and it didn’t come to pass!

    

Oh, but the “Thank You’s” I uttered when I realized later the “answered” prayer would have been a disaster or would have put me into some pretty deep despair.

    

Thank You, Lord, that You always had my best in Your hands—never spoiled me but increased my knowledge and wisdom of You (Ephesians 1:17). Oh, how much You love me.

    

Thank You, Lord, that You’ve never put me to shame but only held me up through it all.

A NEW SONG

Danna Shirley 
“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.  He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.  He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.”  (Psalm 40:1-3)

New beginnings…yes, new beginnings.  He has brought me out of the pit and set my feet upon a rock.  That Rock is Jesus Christ. 

We all have our testimonies of how God got our attention when we were out in the world; how the Holy Spirit introduced us to the reality of Jesus Christ and wooed us to Himself; how we recognized our sin and need for a Savior; and how we finally believed, received, and were born into the Kingdom of God.  We all have our testimonies and they are all different, as different as every one of us is different.

    

We didn’t know we had been waiting patiently for the Lord to come and save us.  If we had known, we might not have been so patient or so evasive.  God’s timing is perfect, though. 

    

I wasn’t saved until I was 32 years old.  I used to ponder why I didn’t receive Jesus until that age even though I was raised in church.  My regret is I could have been and done so much in the name of the Lord that was left undone for all those years.

     

Then He saved me and set my feet on a firm foundation and put a “new song” in my heart.  A new song…How Great Thou Art! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlfcvUtUoOM

ONE FLESH

Danna Shirley
“But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’  For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ‘and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”  (Matthew 19:6-9a)

“Joined together”—to glue or cement, adhere to, join firmly; also includes faithfulness, loyalty, and permanency. 

There is nothing that can compare to the necessity of the marriage commitment, especially for those marriages that might be on the shaky side and too easily dissolved without a “superglue clause” included. 

Those first few months and even years can be very trying as each one is becoming acclimated to the other.  Some days that commitment is the only thing holding a marriage together, for it would be so easy to throw up one’s hands and say, “I quit!”

I heard a young fiancé utter recently, “I don’t want to become a nag even before I become a wife!” as she complained that her intended had not yet confirmed his groomsmen nor the preacher just a few weeks before the wedding…and she had been slaving over the nuptial plans for months.

A most recent book title claims, Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.  Does that mean they are galaxies apart?  Different personalities have different priorities.  Learning to live with and successfully foresee your mate’s intentions is just part of the challenge of loving someone.  Are you up to the challenge?  It will be a magnificent adventure!  Just wait until each of you can finish the other’s sentence, or one of you goes to get the very thing for which the other is about to ask.  Yes, it is a challenge in the beginning, but a great adventure that brings much comfort and satisfaction over the long haul.

Anyone can throw in the towel after a few years but oh, the glory upon the faces of the couple that has endured to the end…the joy, the love, the care, the tenderness, the memories… even the tears.  It is worth it!!!

I, THE LORD, SEARCH THE HEART

Danna Shirley 

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind.  Even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

According to Strong’s Concordance #3820, besides being the physical organ, the heart encompasses our intellect, awareness, and our mind; our inner person, inner feelings, and deepest thoughts. 

    

Jeremiah 17:9 states that the human heart can be the most deceitful thing in the world, but verse 10 shows that the Lord is still able to sort out and analyze what lies within the heart. And as the Lord searches the heart, He [charges] every man according to his [action and behavior], according to the [reward] of his [work].

How easily we, in our human nature, can deceive ourselves by glossing over our own shortcomings. I can see why the Lord searches [penetrates] our heart and tests [examines] our mind, for if we were to do it ourselves, we most assuredly would come to an innocuous conclusion.

    

Now the Holy Spirit’s job is to show us the “things” in our heart, the little deceptions in our lives, the ungodly thought lying under the surface of our conscience, the hateful attitude toward someone who has hurt us, the lingering unforgiveness that we just can’t let go of from years past, our self-righteous attitude regarding spiritual things, and the list can go on and on.  “These things” we should not escape from and “these things” should not remain innocuous. 

    

As we are reminded by the Holy Spirit of “these things,” we are then held accountable for our actions and behavior in remedying the situation.

One of the best gifts we can give ourselves is to allow God to search our heart, test our mind, and show us our ways and the fruit of our doings.  When we do, we will then move farther down that path into spiritual maturity.

A TIME FOR EVERY SEASON

Danna Shirley 
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: 

          a time to be born                        a time to die

          a time to plant                            a time to pluck what is planted

          a time to kill                               a time to heal

          a time to break down                 a time to build up

          a time to cast away stones         a time to gather stones

          a time to embrace                      a time to refrain from embracing

          a time to gain                             a time to lose

          a time to keep                            a time to throw away

          a time to tear                             a time to sew

          a time to keep silence                a time to speak

          a time to love                             a time to hate

          a time of war                             a time of peace…

He has made everything beautiful in its time…”  (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8,11a)

Everything beautiful?  How can that be?  I can see how birth, planting, healing, building up, gathering, embracing, gaining, keeping, sewing, silence, love, and peace can be beautiful!  But where is the beauty in dying, killing, breaking, casting away, losing, throwing away, tearing, hating, and war?  Yet, God says He has made everything beautiful…in its time!

    

Could it mean that with God—through God, He can take those things that appear as tragedy to us and bring some beauty out of the ashes? 

“And we know that ALL things work together for GOOD to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His PURPOSE.”  (Romans 8:28)

     

Purpose? Could God possibly have some purpose in those negatives in our lives?  Just as strain, stress, and stretching builds our physical man, so also strain, stress, and stretching will build our spiritual man…our faith and our character. 

    

Purpose? Virtues such as integrity, honor, morality, loyalty, patience, respect, faithfulness, dependability, self-control, diligence, commitment, tenderness, humility, purity, compassion, trust, servanthood, obedience, generosity, forgiveness—these things are taught through life’s lessons and learned, hopefully, through life’s tragedies. 

Test it for yourself and see if this isn’t so?