I'm a daughter of God

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Hanzo and I made a huge break through and it didn't happen overnight. God has been working on us for a long time now and today, He has given us the privilege to see His progress in our hearts. Wow! We are totally united. I am so proud of Hanzo. He more than anything I ever imagined a leader could be. He treats me with love, with genuine respect, and humility. I love my husband and I praise and glorify God for the work He is doing in our marriage.

2 Samuel 6:20 & 23
20 But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants' maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!"
23 Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

First of all, I noticed that Michal was referred to as Saul's daughter. She was not recognized or titled in this section as so and so's wife because I believe the author wanted to point out where her behavior was inherited from, which in this case, was her earthly father. Generational sin. This is a common theme of the Bible. How often when we tell someone that a person has wronged us that we identify that person with the one we are truly blaming. For example, when my brother made a hole in the wall, my mom told my dad, "Your son put a hole in the wall." My brother is my mom's son too, but instead, she associated my brother with my dad. Why do we do this? Why must we point the finger? Is it something that must happen? If it is something unavoidable because we live in a fallen world, what do I do about it?

Well, this passage makes me evaluate my own associations. Do people associate me with my flesh or with God? Shouldn't everything I do be glorifying to God so that they say, "Laine, daughter of God, helped this person." I could also damage God's name because I am a Christian, so I must make sure to live a life beyond reproach. People could very well look at negative things and say, "Laine, daughter of God, is legalistic and self-righteous." So not only do I want to be associated with God, but I want to give good associations to God also. Michal failed at this and here she is, branded as only the daughter of Saul. As a result, she wasn't fruitful. This is a crucial period for Hanzo and I since we are newly weds and are making plans for our own family. I must be willing to examine my own heart, seek counsel and correction, and implement the changes. Fruitfulness is at stake. I don't think it should be taken lightly. If I settle for being just the daughter of Bernard then I'll never shake off the bondage of generational sin. I see that even though Hanzo and I had great victory today, there are greater moments of victory ahead if we press on.

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for Your word and for leading us to victory. I love You, Lord. I'm so grateful. I choose to be recognized as Your daughter. I desire to give You all the glory. Please continue to cover us and lead us in Your way. In Jesus Christ's name I pray, Amen.

Am I Offensive?

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Today makes 4 months exactly for Hanzo and I as a married couple. We have grown so much over these past four months, and I know I have God to thank. I must admit, we grow the most through our struggles. The hard times make the good times even better.

Psalm 139:24
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

This psalm focuses on God’s omnipresence. The Lord is everywhere. There is no place or no thing that I can do without God knowing about it and even anticipating it. I cannot surprise God. David asks God to search his heart and to reveal anything that is anxious and/or offensive. Then David tells God to lead him in the everlasting way. David has a teachable, correctable heart. He honestly desires God to lead him.

There is a person at work that makes me feel inferior. This person makes me seem like I’m a wicked person by the way “it” treats me. Like I could be working super hard, and then that person will make a comment that makes me feel like I’m lazy and not working hard enough. Or when I try to help this person, I’m not really a help at all to this person. My best isn’t good enough. All I can do it forgive this person, and ask God the same thing David asked which is, “See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” I don’t want to be offensive. How can I make this person like me? Well, I suppose I might never have this person like me. Also, if there is one thing I’ve learned in life is I can’t please everyone. The only one I need to please is God and He loves me already! So what I am worried or anxious about. I just need to keep giving my best and God will take care of the rest.

Lord, Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me. Thank You for Your grace and mercy. Please continue to forgive me, Lord. I repent and ask that if there is any offensive way in me, that You would lead me in Your way. Lord, I want to be teachable. Change my heart. Lord, please help me to forgive this person. Please convict this person, Lord, and make this person see that we both serve the same Master. We are on the same team! Lord, I leave this at the cross. I know You will care for me and protect me. Lord, please bless my car and keep it from breaking down. I praise You, Lord. Please guide my every move today during work. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Free the soul

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Wow, May is coming soon and then it'll be so close to half a year gone by. What am I doing with my time here on earth? Today two Jehovah's witnesses came by my house. I was in my "Hungry?" shirt and my Thumper pajama pants. I must have looked so odd. But I recognized one of the ladies. She is Lavern. A woman that I absolutely couldn't stand when I worked a Zippy's during my partying days. Mostly, I didn't like her back then because she always seemed to talk down to me and be "fake" nice. Well, it was so odd seeing her today. But you know, I just said hello and confirmed that I did indeed know her from those Zippy's days. She didn't remember my name. But you know, I forgive her now. I took that hand out she gave me about the Last Days. I haven't read it yet. I found out from her that my Uncle George had gone to the Jehovah Witness meetings a long time ago. Hmm...I wonder why I never succeeded at bringing Uncle George to church, but Lavern did. I guess I'd better steward my time here more wisely. As for right now, I am very happy. I have time to do my devotion, I got the things done that I needed to get done, I have some waffles sitting in a bowl, dripping with butter and syrup and a glass of water to wash it down. I'm so content. I'm so pleased. I'm very happy.

Psalm 142:7
"Bring my soul out of prison,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will deal bountifully with me."

David wrote this Psalm. It is titled, prayer for help in trouble. It is a prayer of desperation. It happened when David was in a cave. Unlike the other Psalms which are mostly songs, this one is called a prayer. Here, David asks God to bring his soul out of prison. David feels like he can't feel grateful when he is in this kind of trouble, even though he knows that he ought to keep thanking God. David's hope and faith is in God's character. David knows that God will be good to him. He remembers that and trusts in that for his future.

When I get really down, I feel like my soul is in a prison. David captures his emotions so perfectly. I can see it now, the way my soul longs to be free and light, but instead, it's held in bondage, in chains, and it's weary from struggling to get out. How do I allow God to free my soul when I get attacked or feel so down? Pray. I must pray. I must keep praying to God and telling Him what is going on. Not because He doesn't know, but because He wants me to ask Him to help. Although I presently do not feel like I'm in trouble, I need to keep praying and thanking God. He will be good to me. He doesn't want to change that ever. I'm so grateful to my Father.

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for Jesus. I am so glad that I have a relationship with You. I pray that You would forgive me of my sins. Thank You for redeeming me and filling me with Your joy. Thank You for never forsaking me. I love You, Lord. May I always pray to You and keep my heart close to Your promises. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Pleasing God

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Matthew 12: 18"BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN;
MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED;

Here Matthew explains that Jesus fulfills what the prophet Isaiah said which was that Jesus is God's chosen servant whom God loves and is well-pleased. God refers to being well-pleased to Jesus quite a few times throughout the Bible.

Who am I pleasing? I know I should only be pleasing to the Lord, but often I find myself pleasing people. Being a performer most of my life, I've grown accustomed to receiving applause and praise from men. How can I set my heart of just pleasing God? We always say before doing a service, that we are doing it for an audience of one, but do I really think that when I agree to go up there? Do I really believe that while I'm performing? Why do I feel like somewhere deep inside, I am still doing things for myself or for others? God was well pleased with Jesus because Jesus only did things for the Father. Today, and from now on, I want God to say to me he is well-pleased. It is such a high mark to aim for, but I have to try. Lately, I've been feeling unpleasing to anyone. So if I can please God, that is all I truly need.

Heavenly Father, please forgive me for being a people pleaser. Please help me to be pleasing to only You. Lord, transform me. Please wash me clean this morning and make me new. I'm so tired and weary, I need Your yoke. Please carry me through this dry period in my life. Bring something new and unexpected. I love You. In Jesus Christ's name I pray, Amen.

Rest

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Matthew 11:8"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Jesus is speaking to the crowds. He tells them that no one can know the Father except the Son. So the people must come to Jesus to know and understand God. I like to imagine that Jesus is referring to the physically tired people. Those who are weak and weary from laboring for so long. But now, I actually think that Jesus is also referring to those who are weary and burdened emotionally. Since Jesus promises rest for those who come to Him, then why is it so draining to go into ministry?

I really need to run to Jesus. I feel like I've been going through a long dry spell and it is making me so weary. Today, I wanted to just sleep in. Why am I not my usual peppy self? I am fast forwarding in my mind what today will be like, and it just makes me sad. I wonder how I drifted so far from Jesus. I've been doing my devotions, praying, asking Him to fill me with His love, listened to Godly counsel, but I seem to have wandered off somewhere. How do I run back to Him? I know that once I draw near to Him, He will give me rest.

Lord Jesus Christ, I run to You. Please draw me towards Yourself. Lord, please forgive me of my sins. I desire to be made pure. Lord, You promised that if I come to You, that You will give me rest. Lord, please grant me rest today. I trust in this promise. I am holding You to it. Lord, keep me within Your embrace. Forgive me for being a sinner. Help me to stay on Your righteous path. I love You. I need You. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

He has the best life for me

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Matthew 10: 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Jesus tells this to His disciples. He is basically saying when someone finds his own way and plan in life, he will loose it. But those who lose their lives, their comfortable ways of living, for Jesus’ sake will find true life.

I feel like I’m the latter. I feel like I’ve left my comfortable dreams and goals for the daunting mission of representing Jesus. It is so hard to be a Christian. I have so much pressure on me and there is a lot of expectations from other Christians and non-Christians. I thought I had such a good life, on my way to becoming an actress, dancing and singing for crowds that were pleased by my performance. I thought I was on my way to fortune and fame. But now, I see that nothing I wanted to do will really come to pass. At least not in the way that I desired it to. But God is making a new way for the desires of my heart to be fulfilled. This new way will only bring Him the honor and glory. This is the true meaning of life, to honor and glorify the Creator of all the Universe and Heavens. There is no better audience than He. That is the best life to live, but it is only available to those who ditch their own dreams and seek His will.

Lord, I want to pursue this life that You have for me. There is nothing there for me, romanticizing about my former life. It is barren. There is no fruit in that life. But with You, there is an abundant harvest. Please forgive me, Lord, for complaining. Forgive me for my sins. I love You. Please change my heart. Fill me with Your love and joy. I trust in You. You are all I need. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

God is my judge

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1 Samuel 24:12 May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you.

Psalm 58:11 Then men will say, "Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth."

In 1 Samuel 24, Saul is relieving himself in a cave, and David gets close enough to Saul that he cuts off a corner of Saul’s robe. But David decides that although God had delivered Saul into his hands, David chooses not to play a vengeful role. David knows that Saul will be judged by God, but he will have no part in it. David says in his psalm, that men will say that God is the judge of the earth because the righteous get their reward. There are many things in which God uses us for His will, but not all of them bring God the glory. For example, Judas was used for God’s will, but his actions did not bring glory to God. We have three choices in life: to sin, to do God’s will, and to allow God to do His will. The latter is the best because it takes us out of the picture altogether.

Lately, I’ve been learning that although I am not sinning, I am not allowing God to be glorified in my choices and actions. There is a difference, and it is one that I must learn to discern. To counsel a friend in need is not a sin, but to allow God to counsel that friend is to give God all the glory. I am realizing that I am in the way of what God really wants to do. God truly is the judge of all the earth and if I turn to Him for all the decisions, then the only person I need to answer to is Him. I often seek to do the thing that would not be wrong, but I do not take it a step further and seek what would be God’s best. When I do seek God’s best, His ruling on the matter, I’ll probably find that the required level of my involvement is very minimal. Like David, it is best for judgment and vengeance to not come from me. God can take care of protecting His righteousness Himself. This is not to say that I shouldn’t do anything. I need to constantly be available for God to use and work through. In all things, I need to ask God what He thinks is best, and faithfully, He will tell me what that is.

Heavenly Father, what a tough lesson to learn. Please see me through on this till the very end. I want to know what Your best plans are. Lord, help me to step out of the way of Your will. Lord, I give You all the glory. Please forgive me for doubting Your best for me. Lord, may You judge me and redeem me from my wicked tendencies. Speak boldly to me, Lord. I want to hear You. I am willing. I love You and I praise You. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Jesus is more than able

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Matthew 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

Here it is plainly described that Jesus is a teacher, preacher, & healer. It is worthy to note that Jesus healed every disease and sickness. He didn’t just heal certain people, He healed every single one. There is nothing that Jesus cannot do if He is willing.

I most often have prayer requests from friends about healing. It is when I pray for healing that I struggle the most with my faith. Am I praying for healing against God’s will? What if God wants some one to be sick? Am I acting like God by trying to create miracle healing for this request? I guess what it really comes down to is, nothing is impossible for God. Although I may ask, sometimes the answer is no. God has His reasons, His ways, and they are much higher than my ways. The confidence I have in praying is that God does hear every prayer and He is capable of fulfilling every good request. However, He does have a will and above all else, I must desire His will to be done.

Heavenly Father, please forgive me for limiting Your ability and authority. You are almighty. You are sovereign. Please help me to pray according to Your will especially for healing. Lord, I thank You for being the only one who can restore, heal, and renew. I love You, Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Thankful

Oh Lord, this is my thank you letter to You. Lord, today I have witnessed countless miracles, and I am so thankful. Thank you for sending someone for this Refresh. Thank you for my amazing husband who is so understanding and loving. Thank you for a gracious boss. Thank you for positive co-workers. Thank you for delicious food to eat. Thank you for my family and all their love and support. I love You, Lord. Why are you so good to me? I pray that I am pleasing to You.
Love,
Your Daughter

Dealing with Stubbornness

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1 Samuel 12:23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way.

Samuel is telling the Israelites that they asked for a king when God was their king and they just did not acknowledge Him. And now, God has appointed a king over them, Saul, and the people were repentant. However, I can tell that Samuel is still really upset at the people. To keep himself from sinning like them, he decides that he will continue to pray for the people and continue to give them God's instruction.

Stubbornness. I know that I get frustrated with stubborn people. My tendency is to give up on them, allow them to feel the consequences of their wrong choices. Today, God is showing me His way. The way to deal with stubbornness is not bailing out, but stubbornness on my part for God's best in their lives. There are some people that I feel like, "Geez, I've prayed for you on that already. Why are you still putting yourself in that situation?" So I stop praying for them. I figure, why waste my prayers or breath on someone who refuses to change? But God wants me to continue to pray for those people and to continue to instruct them in His ways.

Lord Jesus, thank You for never giving up on me. Father God, I thank You for showing me what to do. Please fill me with the strength and endurance to continue to pray for stubborn people. Lord, please reveal to me areas in which I have been stubborn in. Lord, use me today for Your glory. I lay it down, I give it to You. Please take it. Forgive me, Lord. Thank You. I love You. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Full Devotion

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1 Samuel 7: 3 And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.

2 Corinthians 9: 6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Samuel was definitely hearing the voice of God. He tells the Israelites that if they truly are returning and repenting with all their hearts, they will rid themselves of the false idols in their lives. Instead of listening to Samuel, the people simply put away the idols. It seems that they just put them in a closet somewhere so that they can pull them out later. They are not fully dedicated to the Lord. Also, Paul speaks to the Corinthians about sowing generously. If people give generously, then they will reap generously. God is essentially giving back. If we give God 100% He will multiply what we have given Him. But if we give him only half of our effort, dedication, and heart, then we will be the ones who will come up short handed.

God is calling me to step it up. I’ve been a zombie lately, only doing things because they are the minimum to get by. I do my share of Christian things to do, then I frump along during the rest of the time. Also, I can feel that there are things I’m holding on to. Things from the past that are bubbling up again and I thought I let it go. I thought I had rid myself of them, but really, I just put it away. I swept it under a rug. I want to be authentic, sincere, and pure. To be all these things, I need to step up my commitment to the Lord. He is my God, my one and only. I want to give Him my all. He is all I need.

Heavenly Father, the one and only Lord of all Creation, I love You with all my heart. Please forgive me for only giving a percentage of my devotion. I want to love You with reckless abandon. I want to be passionate about serving You. Lord, I give You my troubles. I give my wandering thoughts to You. I want to be rid of them. I only want and need You. Cleanse me and purify me to the core. I trust in You. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Rejoice in the Lord

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Samuel 1:18 She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

Elkanah had two wives and Hannah was the more favored wife although she was barren. The other wife, Peninah, provoked Hannah every time they went to the temple. Hannah, out of her grief stands up and prays a vow to the Lord saying that if He would give her a son that she would give him to the Lord all the days of his life and no razor would be used on his head. Hannah’s husband thought she was drunk when she was praying, but she made her heart and actions clear by explaining that she was indeed praying and pouring out her soul to the Lord. After she did that, she sat down and she was no longer downcast. Hannah had a deep trust in the Lord. She knew that He heard her prayer and there was no more need to keep grieving and wallowing in her feelings. Sure enough, the next day, the Lord fulfilled her prayer and she later gave birth to a son.

Samuel 2:1 Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn [a] is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.

This is Hannah’s prayer after Samuel, her son, is given over to the Lord to live and learn in the temple with the priests. Hannah says that her heart rejoices in the Lord. Pastor Larry said at staff meeting that to rejoice is to joy again. Hannah returned to her joy in the Lord. She chose to delight in the Lord’s deliverance.

2 Corinthians 7:4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.

Paul tells the Corinthians that in all troubles he is overflowing with joy. Joy is something that we need to choose for ourselves. We can choose joy when we trust in the Lord.

My soul is downcast at times because I feel like I’m giving up all this junk to God but the junk still bothers me. I want to be like Hannah and just trust in the Lord. I want to believe in my heart that the Lord’s promises are as good as done. But I have to admit, I have a huge flaw in my character, I wallow in self pity. I pray over and over to God to take away this wandering mind. I want to focus and concentrate only on the Lord. Instead I find that I’m just trying to convince myself and God that I really don’t want to remember those things anymore. I have to realize that God knows that I don’t want to remember those past mistakes anymore and He will deliver me. But if I never delight in His deliverance, I won’t be able to return to my joy in the Lord again. Today, I will return to my joy in the Lord. I don’t want my soul to be downcast anymore. I can have a joy that knows no bounds. I need to trust in the Lord.

Heavenly Father, creator of all things, thank You for being trustworthy. Lord, I return to my joy in You today. I will not be downcast anymore. No more pity parties, Lord. I claim that boundary-less joy for myself. I trust in You, Lord. Jesus, thank You for loving me and living in me. May all things that bring You joy bring me joy as well. Today, may I dwell in Your presence continuously. I love You, Lord. Forgive me for dwelling in the past. Thank You for forgiving my past. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Under His Wings

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Ruth 2: 12 May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."

Psalm 61: 4 I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah

In Ruth 2, Ruth chose to follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, and clung to the Lord. Ruth found favor in her kinsman redeemer, Boaz, and he blesses her by saying that she will be repaid for her actions richly because she has chosen to take refuge in God’s wings. In Psalm 61, David is crying out to God in prayer. David says that he longs to dwell in God’s holy tent, the tabernacle, forever. Also, David longs to take refuge under God’s wings. In the Bible, God is likened to a mother hen that wishes to give her chicks shelter and protection under her wings. He wants to protect us, but we need to cling to Him.

I sense a change in weather, metaphorically speaking. I must write a resignation letter to my Grandpa & Aunty Amy and it is very hard. I am afraid that my heart will be misunderstood. In my attempt to cling to Jesus and take refuge under His wing, I feel like I am leaving some others out in the storm. Is that right? Am I being obedient to Christ? I think that the crucial point I need to make is that I am not trying to be more holy than anyone else, but that I am in my own process of refining myself. I want to be like Ruth, who left it all behind to follow the Lord, but I think I might others offended. What I hear God saying is, “Find refuge under my wings. Be still and know that I am God.” Since God is calling me to be set apart, and I can’t help but obey, He will take care of the rest. Maybe I’ll be like Ruth, and have to glean for a season in humility, but God knows exactly what I need and He desires to bless me.

Lord, please help me to trust You. I run to You and take shelter in Your wings. Please protect me during this storm. It may be a small storm, it may be a big storm, but I know that You will protect me no matter what as long as I cling to You. Please prepare the hearts of my family to hear the news of my decision to resign. May only Your will be done. May Your peace and grace reign during this transition. I love You. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Ask before calling it quits

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Judges 20:28And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days--saying, Shall we yet again go out to battle against our brethren the Benjamites or shall we quit? And the Lord said, Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.

The Benjamites had intended to rape and kill a man from the Levite clan while he was staying the night at a former Ephraim resident's house in Gibeah. The Benjamites took the Levite's concubine instead and raped and abused her to death. When the Levite got back to his home he cut her body into twelve pieces, and sent the pieces all over Israel. The twelve tribes came together to do something about what had happened. A war broke out and at first, Israel took all the losses. Then, when they were about to give up, God tells Phinehas that He will now deliver the Benjamites into Israel's hands.

I think that man shouldn't have cut his concubine into pieces. I think Israel didn't ask God what to do before going into battle. It is said over and over in Judges that Judges 21:25In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes. The commentary on this scripture is very interesting because it says that basically there was no king because they didn't acknowledge God as their king. The people just followed the law. They didn't ask God about anything until they were ready to quit. Once they asked God what to do, that is when God helped them. God was waiting for them to talk with Him all along. Once they asked Him what to do, He didn't condemn them, or withhold His answer. Sometimes I think that I am sooo bad. That this is the worst I've ever been. This is the most disobedient or sinful I've ever been. But God is always there, waiting to have a relationship with me. I never need to get to the point of giving up to hear Him speak. I simply need to ask Him and He will answer.

Heavenly Father, thank You for being all I need. Lord, I have to be honest with You, I am very tired. I am worn out. I need Your spirit. I need Your strength. Lord, I want to only do Your will. Please change me, Lord. I want Your will to happen in my life. I dedicate my heart to You once again. Please forgive me for sinning. Lord, I lean and press into You today. May I not call it quits. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

God's grace never stops

033108: I am tempted once again this sabbath to make lists and reminders. I'm even struggling with checking my email. I don't know what to do. After this devotion, I will read "Captivating" and perhaps, that will help me to focus on the joy of today instead of the burdens of tomorrow.

Judges 10:13Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will deliver you no more.

This scripture makes me so sad. The Israelites had yet again fallen into the habit of worshiping false idols, and now they were in captivity again. Israel was "sorely distressed" because the Ammonites and the Philistines were oppressing them again. The people cried out to God, once more, and confessed their sin, but this time, God tells them He will deliver them no more. He tells them to cry to the gods that they have chosen instead. Has God's patience run out? Does He have a limit to His grace?

1 Corinthians 16:23The grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Paul ends his letter to the Corinthians with this scripture. What does it mean to have the grace of Jesus Christ with you? Well, I think this means that God's grace does not run out. God sent His son so that He will always be reminded that we are worth saving. No matter how many times we mess up, fall short, sin, or make mistakes, the Lord Jesus Christ is within us, so we have God's favor and spiritual blessing upon us.

I think that I am always afraid of grace running out. I think that is why I'm such a people pleaser. I think deep down inside, I feel that I only have so many strikes before I'm out. I really should know, and live like I know, that my worth comes only from God and that as long as I am following Him, I don't need to please anyone else. But to live that way is something totally foreign and detestable to me. I see people who don't care what other people think, and I don't like them. I have a hard time loving them. I think I don't love them. I think I tolerate them.
Personally, I feel good about pleasing others. I think it keeps me agreeable, kind, and helpful. Also, it keeps me humble. However, my joy is stolen from me by people who aren't pleased. I think that there must be something I can do to win back their grace. I really should be searching only for God's grace. He gives it freely through His son, Jesus Christ. God will never stop forgiving me, so I better not be afraid of His grace running dry. When I sin, I have to ask for forgiveness, and try again. Often I think, "Oh boy, this time I've really done it. There is no fixing me this time. I'd better just end it here." But God wants to forgive me because the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is with me. I can count on His unfailing love.

Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for being the giver of God's grace. Thank You, God, for Your unfailing love. Please forgive me, once more, for my sinful ways. Lord, continue to do Your good work within me. Transform me, Lord, from glory to glory. Let my flesh and this world die, and may You rule and reign within me. Continue to teach me to be kind, Lord. Also, help me take all my thoughts captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. In the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen.