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Made Alive by Mercy – Love Beyond Measure · Still, Here

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is still here, a quiet moment to remember what is true.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to these words from the book of Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 4 and 5.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: But God,
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: being rich in mercy,
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: for His great love with which He loved us,
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: By grace you have been saved.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: There are places within us that effort cannot repair.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: We may spend years trying to correct perceived flaws,
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: overcome unwanted patterns or work ourselves into a closer relationship with God.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: We read more, try harder, make promises and begin again.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Some of those efforts may help for a while.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Some leave us exhausted and more preoccupied with ourselves than before.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: The small ruler says, I must repair myself before I can fully receive God's life.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Spiritual deadness may not always look dramatic.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: It may feel like numbness, resignation, disconnection, or the quiet loss of desire.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: It may sound like nothing is going to change or this is simply who I am.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Fear gives those conclusions greater power.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: The more afraid we become of what is wrong with us, the more inwardly focused we become.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually, self-repair becomes the center of the spiritual life.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Paul begins somewhere else, but God being rich in mercy.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Those words turn the whole story toward grace.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: God does not wait for us to become more promising before moving toward us.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Mercy enters where our efforts have reached their limit.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Grace is not given because our repentance was strong enough
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: or our improvement became convincing.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: There is nothing we can do to make ourselves more deserving of the life God gives us.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Being made alive is different from being helped to try harder.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Help may strengthen the effort we are already making.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Resurrection creates a kind of life we could not produce on our own.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: God's life begins moving within the places that had become tired, fearful, numb, or resigned.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: This awakening does not end when we first become Christians.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: We may belong to God and still have much to awaken to.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: We may be redeemed and still struggle to receive love.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: We may be part of God's family and still live as though fear,
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: shame or the past has the final word.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Mercy continues to make us alive.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: New life may begin before circumstances change.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: It may first appear as trust.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: The quiet recognition that God is already present and active.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Desire begins to return.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Possibility becomes visible.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: The next faithful step no longer feels entirely dependent on our own strength.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Mercy may awaken you to the fact that you are more than
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: the problem you have been trying to solve.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: You are a person loved by God, held within grace.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Incapable of receiving life even in places you do not yet understand.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: This does not make growth passive.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Grace may lead you toward wise decisions,
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: honest confession, counseling, repair, boundaries, practice and perseverance.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yet those responses now rise from life rather than fear.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: They cooperate with mercy instead of trying to replace it.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: You do not have to criticize yourself into transformation.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: You do not have to repair yourself before God can meet you.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: God is already here.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Mercy is already moving toward the places where effort has grown tired.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Grace is bringing life to what you thought could never change.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: For this moment, Release the plan to become acceptable.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Let yourself be met by the God who is rich in mercy.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: You are being made alive with Christ.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Take a moment for this prayer of presence.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: God rich in mercy?
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: You meet me in the places where my effort has grown tired.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: I confess how often I have treated myself as a problem I must repair
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: As you walk back into your home,
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: your office, your calling, carry this prayer with you.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: I do not need to fix myself.
• 5:50
  Mercy makes me alive.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: Mercy makes me alive.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: If you'd like to go further, the written reflections are available at powerloveandmiracles.com.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay steady, stay open, stay present.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: You are still here.