Called with Grace: 2 Tim 1:9

"He who has given us life and has called us with a holy calling,

 not according to our works,

 but according to his will and the grace which has been given to us in Yeshua The Messiah

 before the time of the world,"

2 Tim 1:9 ABPE

Good morning Abba, Good morning Jesus, Good morning Holy Spirit,

Have you wondered how the disciples walked by faith, even to the point of death? What gave them the courage, the grit, the freedom from "that which is in the world," and the peace-filled grace to walk each day with purpose? For my daily walk, the moment I leave my devotional time and enter my daily life, I find the things of this world begin taking over my focus. Once my focus is redirected, gosh, my graciousness and even my dignity begins to falter. Why is that? 

How do I bring people with me into His marvelous light? Am I celebrating the gift I've been given by Jesus? How am I responding to His gift of Grace and Holiness? Tough questions, right! As an educator, the most valuable aspect to my calling has been a simple formula: seeking to know + willingness to practice + internalizing with a journal = living as a life-long learner. The prior questions and so, so, many more become clearer when I can read, listen, write, and contemplate in my time spent before our Lord. Summertime retreat means mornings spent with a spiritual leader (chosen book), my journal, and Study Gateway.

For today, learning how to "Dance in Grace, Stand our Holy Ground, and Run our Mission" will inspire me as this day unfolds. Today's choice is to step into the abundance of His blessings,

"Looking at the Holiness that God has written over you

and how you live out worship

in honoring Him with your choices..."

Jess Connolly

ISBN: 9780310345640

Grace is always good news. But it's not cheap—true grace compels us to change. That’s where holiness comes in.

Beloved writer, speaker, and bestselling coauthor of Wild and Free Jess Connolly will be the first to admit that not long ago, like many women, she grasped grace but she had forgotten holiness. Dance, Stand, Run charts her discovery that holiness was never meant to be a shaming reminder of what we “should” be doing, but rather a profound privilege of becoming more like Christ. That’s when we start to change the world, rather than being changed by it.

Dance, Stand, Run is an invitation to the daughters of God to step into the movements of abundant life: dancing in grace, standing firm in holiness, and running on mission. Through story and study, Jess casts a fresh vision for how to live into your identity as a holy daughter of God, how to break free of cheap grace and empty rule-keeping, and finally, how to live out your holy influence with confidence before a watching world. Spoiler alert: it’s a beautiful thing.

For anyone longing to take their place in what God is doing in the world, Dance, Stand, Run will rally your strength, refresh your purpose, and energize your faith in a God who calls us to be like Him.

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