Episode 4 of the Grace I Am series featuring inspirational words that help us believe and experience the myriad of things God believes about us! Each message comes from a page in my newest book “Grace To All” which is available at gracewithpaulgray.com/books/ and Amazon. All proceeds go to help single parents and their children! ~Paul Gray
The purpose of each of these blogs to help you know, experience, and internalize the truth of what The Creator of the Universe says is true about you.
Grace I AM #3 ~Paul Gray
In knowing and experiencing God and discerning the difference between the only true God, as Jesus calls the Father, and the false, perverted perception of an angry, punitive, distant, aloof, list-keeping, retributive “god” of religion. It’s imperative that we know that God IS Grace! Grace is not a doctrine, not a concept, not a dogma…God IS Grace! Jesus personally taught a man named Paul, who then wrote to us “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people!” Grace is a person— Christ. The Spirit of Christ —Grace—lives in you! Grace is the antidote and answer to all our negative situations…the most powerful “medicine” there is!
For a brief introduction in seeing how this works, let’s look at Jesus. Not the historical, textbook, religious Jesus that’s sort of a mascot for religious people…rather the REAL Jesus— Grace personified— who is an example of (not for) you!
In Jesus’ greatest time of trouble, facing the most brutal physical beating ever, the greatest rejection ever, the most hurtful accusations, lies and slander ever, the greatest embarrassment ever and ultimate physical death…Jesus chose…in His mind…JOY! “Joy” and “Grace” are very closely related. They both come from the same Greek root word!
Before you say, “Even if Jesus did choose joy, He’s God…I could never do that,” remember, we’re starting to experience a totally new paradigm… one of actually believing the truth that (as written by Jesus’ best friend, John) “As Jesus was here on earth, so are you!”
We’ll continue fleshing that out, but for now, look at how Jesus faced the worst of the worst of the worst: “We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!”
No matter what we have experienced in the past or will ever experience, when we know The Truth, we can change our mindset and move from negative to positive and focus our attention and expectation on the best positive outcome we can even imagine!
As you come to know and believe the love that God/Grace has unveiled within you, you awaken to your full inclusion of your love union where everything is perfect and you start to see that what happens to you, what goes on around you, your circumstances and situation may not seem perfect, but within you, in your Secret Place, you are perfect, just like Jesus, the Son of God…God Himself!
Take a few minutes in your secret place with your primary Teammates, Jesus, Papa, and Grace, and say (out loud if you can) several times slowly, “I Am Just Like Jesus Is, I Am choosing Joy!”