The Kathleenmaxwellrambie Podcast

The Kathleenmaxwellrambie Podcast

Grace-The power to do something we cannot do ourselves and the unmerited favor of God

Two Sides of the Coin of Grace

Kathleen Maxwell-Rambie

July 2019

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God’s grace is something that has helped me through many hard days in my life. His grace is never rationed, in short supply or earned. It is always hanging around but sometimes, it is hidden in plain sight because we do not understand it. So, what is grace?

I think of grace like a valuable coin. There are two sides to grace. It is a word that is often thrown around casually in many Christian circles but I have to wonder, how many people really understand it or access it?

John 1:17 says, “But the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth were given by Jesus Christ.” (NIV)

One side of the coin is defined as, the free and unmerited favor of God on the undeserving or unmerited blessings. Grace is free and it is a gift from God. You cannot earn it. The truth is none of us deserve anything good, therefore, every good thing in our lives is simply a gift of grace. 

James 1:7 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father...”(NIV) 

All that we have in our lives that is good, is from God. That is pretty humbling. As talented as some people are, at the end of the day, the talent comes from God’s favor in their lives. The choice we have, is to partner with God and use our gifts and talents to bless others, or bury them.

The other side of the coin of grace can also be described as power. The desire and power to do what is right or what God tells us to do. There have been times in my life when I knew what I needed to do, however, I just felt like I could not do it. I had the desire, but I felt like I simply did not have it in me to do what was needed at the moment. I underestimated myself and God’s ability to work in me. When I simply said, “God, I need your help and grace,”somehow, His grace showed up and helped me do what I could not do in my own ability.

Recently, I was reading in the book of Jonah and a scripture stood out to me. It says, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”(NIV) 

When I read it, I had to reread it again and again. What a powerful and pointed scripture!  I had to ask myself, “What am I clinging to that is worthless? Am I forfeiting God’s grace in my life in anyway?”Then, I had to ask myself, “do I have any worthless things I am hanging on to that I need to let go of?” 

Unfortunately, my answer to these questions was yes.

 An idol something that we put before our love for God. It can be a person, relationship or even a spouse, or child. Another idol can be a job or hobby. It can be an addiction, money or a house or car. All of these things are good, but become an idol when we put them before our love and worship of God. An idol is anything that occupies our focus. Often times idols are deceptive. We do not realize something has become an idol until God reveals it to us. Jesus came to give us grace and truth. Ask him to reveal truth to you in any area you are blinded to and show you any idols you may have. 

 “I just do not have grace for that,”was a frequent comment I could be heard saying when I did not want to do something. I do not make that statement anymore. I realized that I always had God’s grace if I asked and wanted to do things His way, instead of mine. 

I recently talked to a young man that was recovering from an alcohol addiction. As he shared his story with me, I told him about the scripture in Jonah. He wholeheartedly agreed that alcohol and drugs were his idol and that he spent too much time forfeiting God’s grace to quit his addiction. 

The word forfeit means, not even showing up to play the game. Forfeit means we do not even try. Are you resisting the grace that could be yours? Are you not even showing up and asking God for His grace?

 II Corinthians 12:9. It says, “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in your weakness.”(NIV)

 It constantly reminds me that no matter what I face, His grace (power) is all I need. His grace walks with me and is like a shadow, it is always beside me. His grace grows in my weakness; therefore, my weakness is a good thing when I draw on Him.

I Peter 5:5 says, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”This indicates that we need to humble ourselves instead of trying to do everything in our own strength. 

The next time you are challenged by a circumstance, do not forfeit the grace of God. Show up on His doorstep and ask for his help to lay down your idol. Do not let pride be your idol. I find that people that are not transparent with their lives and cannot admit when they are wrong have pride as an idol. The most freeing words spoken are, “I was wrong.”Too many times people are held captive by the thought that they are a mistake, instead of the fact that they are simply human and made a mistake. Do you need to say the freeing words, “I was wrong?”It does not indicate weakness but strength under control.

God’s grace is waiting for you and me. His power to do what we cannot do ourselves is a tremendous gift. Do not waste the grace of God or forfeit His grace. Look at both sides of the coin of grace and spend it daily. Will you join me on the treasure hunt of discovering His incredible grace? Let me know what you find! I’d love to hear about your discovery.

Kathleen is a native of the Hill Country and is a writer and speaker. She is passionate about helping people discover their value and worth. Beginning September 2019, at 6:30, she will be leading a Bible study at The Kroc Center called, The Gathering-Bringing God into everyday life. You can register for the event and reach her at kathleenmaxwell1@gmail.com, and visit her podcast at kathleenmaxwellrambie.podbean.com or her blog at www.theMaxwellminutes.blogspot.com
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Living in the home of the brave

Home of the brave

Kathleen Maxwell-Rambie

July 2019

Copyright

Back in May, I was listening to the beautiful voice of a woman that was singing the National Anthem at the Kerrville National Day of Prayer. When she came to the last line of the verse, she belted out, “O’re the land of the free and the home of the brave.” 

 As I have thought about those words, I have thanked God for the privilege of living in a place where we can enjoy many freedoms. We are free to worship wherever we want, free to assemble to pray, free to go into business for ourselves, and the list goes on.

I have also focused on the last five words of the verse, “the home of the brave.”

For some reason, those words keep reverberating in my head.

 I asked Siri the meaning of the word brave. As an adjective, it means, “ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage.” As a noun, it means, “people who are ready to face and endure danger or pain.” 

These words accurately describe our country’s military, and I want to say a big thank you to all of you that have served our nation and are currently serving the United States of America. You are brave.

I had to ask myself, “how readyam I on a daily basis to face life’s difficulties with courage and bravery?”  What about you? 

Our nation was founded as, the home of the brave; therefore, we should be comfortable with being brave, just like we are comfortable being at home. We also have a God given right to walk with courage, knowing God is right there with us.

I recently had my own opportunity to be brave. A few weeks ago, I kept my grandchildren so my daughter and son-in-law could attend a wedding. My grandson is five and has Type One Diabetes, which basically means, we have to constantly monitor his blood glucose and give him insulin, as his body does not produce it. Fortunately, there is a devise that is attached to his arm and is linked to a cell phone, so it is easier to monitor and see his numbers.

Mallory and Rob are modern day heroes, as there is much that goes into caring for a child with Type One. I have tried to learn everything I can so I can over the past three years since his diagnoses, so I can keep him at times.

At 5:30 they left for the wedding, I was on duty, and the kids were so excited about their time with Mama Max. We went swimming and were having a great time, when I realized I could not see his blood glucose numbers anymore. The devise read, “sensor error.” 

I tried to call Truett’s parents to see what I should do. They did not answer. I took a deep breathe, quickly said, “Truett, I need to do a finger poke to check your numbers.” I hated sticking his little finger to make it bleed.

“Okay, and then can we get back in the pool?” he replied, in a cheerful voice. 

I pricked his finger to draw blood and manually get his blood glucose level, only to discover, he was 18 points low, which meant I needed to act quickly, to get it back up in the normal range. Again, I tried to call his parents. No answer.

Then, I remembered the words of the National Anthem, “home of the brave.”

“Lord, please help me, I cannot let anything happen to this child on my watch,” I prayed. 

As a teacher, I know children key off the emotions of adults. I had to keep calm and figure this out. I tried to contact his parents again. No answer.

I recalled a scriptures I had recently read,  Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (NIV) 

Ezra 10:4 states, “Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.”

I could not afford the luxury of panic, I had to be brave.  I was going to have to constantly manually monitor his numbers and make adjustments to keep him in the normal blood glucose range. His numbers kept going low, therefore, monitoring was imperative, as low blood glucose is very dangerous for a Type One and they can go into a coma.

I had turned the TV on to find a kid friendly show. As I was flipping throught the channels, I came upon a sporting event and someone was signing the National Anthem. Again, I heard, “O’re the land of the free and the home of the brave.” God was reminding again about being brave.

 Several hours later, I finally got in touch with my daughter. They were in a location that had no cell service, but my daughter said, “Mom, everything that could have gone wrong did, but I knew you could handle it Mom. I appreciated the peace God gave her and was happy to help she and Rob have a good time.

Truett’s fancy monitoring devise had failed and that required ten finger pokes that evening; however, Max was brave and Truett and Ellis had a fun filled evening.

 I was exhausted by the time my daughter returned, but thankfully, remembering the words, “home of the brave,” kept me steady in a challenging situation.

None of know when we will be thrust into things beyond our control and where others will depend on us to be courageous and brave.

With this month is being our nations 243^rdbirthday, let me encourage you to look at your challenging situation in the face, and be brave, just like those who fought for our freedom. You and I are fortunate to live in a country that is the home of the brave.

Kathleen is a native of the Hill Country and is a writer and speaker. She is passionate about helping people discover their value and worth. Beginning September 2019, at 6:30, she will be leading a Bible study at The Kroc Center called, The Gathering-Bringing God into everyday life. You can register for the event and reach her at kathleenmaxwell1@gmail.comor visit her blog at www.theMaxwellminutes.blogspot.com