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Create by Grace for a Life of Love – Love Beyond Measure · Still, Here

0:02
SPEAKER_00: This is still here.
0:05
SPEAKER_00: A quiet moment to remember what is true.
0:09
SPEAKER_00: Listen to these words from the book of Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 through 10.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.
0:21
SPEAKER_00: It is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast.
0:27
SPEAKER_00: For we are his workmanship,
0:29
SPEAKER_00: created in Christ Jesus for good works,
0:32
SPEAKER_00: which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: It is possible to turn purpose into another way of measuring our worth.
0:43
SPEAKER_00: Much of life teaches us to evaluate people by what they accomplish.
0:48
SPEAKER_00: School rewards performance.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: Workplaces measure productivity.
0:54
SPEAKER_00: Even relationships can begin to feel connected to how helpful,
0:58
SPEAKER_00: successful, agreeable, or easy to appreciate we are.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: Over time, the desire for a meaningful life can become a burden.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: I must do something important enough to prove that I matter.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: The small ruler says, My value depends on what I accomplish.
1:20
SPEAKER_00: Paul begins somewhere entirely different.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: He says we are saved by grace through faith.
1:27
SPEAKER_00: Salvation is God's gift.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: It does not arise from our work,
1:32
SPEAKER_00: our discipline,
1:34
SPEAKER_00: our usefulness, or our ability to build an impressive spiritual life.
1:40
SPEAKER_00: Then Paul says we are his workmanship.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: That word carries the sense of something made,
1:48
SPEAKER_00: a work shaped by the intention and creativity of its maker.
1:53
SPEAKER_00: You are not a self-improvement project responsible for designing
1:57
SPEAKER_00: a more acceptable version of yourself.
2:01
SPEAKER_00: God is the one creating and forming your life in Christ.
2:06
SPEAKER_00: You are not interchangeable with anyone else.
2:10
SPEAKER_00: Your gifts,
2:11
SPEAKER_00: abilities,
2:12
SPEAKER_00: strengths, experiences, desires, and story have become part of a distinct life.
2:20
SPEAKER_00: Even the places you have considered weaknesses are known by the one who is shaping you.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: Pain may have formed parts of you that you would never have chosen.
2:31
SPEAKER_00: Limitations may have caused you to feel less useful than others.
2:36
SPEAKER_00: A missed opportunity,
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SPEAKER_00: an unfinished dream,
2:40
SPEAKER_00: or a season of waiting may appear to have reduced what your life can offer.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: Grace gathers those places too.
2:49
SPEAKER_00: Compassion can grow from pain.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: Patience can deepen through waiting.
2:55
SPEAKER_00: A limitation can help you recognize someone the hurried world overlooks.
3:01
SPEAKER_00: What once made you feel disqualified may become part of
3:05
SPEAKER_00: the way love reaches another person through you.
3:09
SPEAKER_00: This does not make suffering good or require you to be thankful for what wounded you.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: It means the grace of God is creative enough to work within the whole truth of your life.
3:23
SPEAKER_00: Paul says we were created in Christ Jesus for good works
3:28
SPEAKER_00: that God prepared beforehand for us to walk in.
3:32
SPEAKER_00: These good works are not a new list of spiritual requirements.
3:37
SPEAKER_00: They are not assignments you must invent to prove that grace has been effective.
3:43
SPEAKER_00: They are opportunities for love that fit the person God is forming you to be.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: Purpose often appears in ordinary places.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: It may take form in the way you listen,
3:56
SPEAKER_00: create, repair, teach, organize, encourage, protect, or remain present.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: It may emerge when your God-given shape meets a need and love begins to flow
4:11
SPEAKER_00: without your having to pretend to be someone else.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: There will be seasons when your contribution is visible and seasons when it is quiet.
4:21
SPEAKER_00: There may be times when strength allows you to carry much and times
4:26
SPEAKER_00: when receiving care is itself an act of trust.
4:31
SPEAKER_00: Your worth does not rise and fall with your output.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: You do not have to manufacture a meaningful self.
4:39
SPEAKER_00: You can become attentive to the life already taking form.
4:44
SPEAKER_00: Grace does more than rescue you from what has gone wrong.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: Grace reveals that your life has been held in God's imagination all along.
4:54
SPEAKER_00: You are His workmanship.
4:57
SPEAKER_00: Purpose is love taking form through the person God created you to be.
5:03
SPEAKER_00: Take a moment for this prayer of presence.
5:07
SPEAKER_00: Lord God, you are the one who designs and shapes my life.
5:13
SPEAKER_00: I confess how easily I measure my worth by accomplishment and usefulness.
5:18
SPEAKER_00: My gifts, experiences, desires, wounds, and limits are all held within your grace.
5:27
SPEAKER_00: Help me recognize the ordinary places where love is already taking form through me.
5:34
SPEAKER_00: I receive my identity as your workmanship and offer myself willingly to
5:39
SPEAKER_00: the life you are creating.
5:42
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
5:45
SPEAKER_00: As you open your inbox, your calendar, your door, carry this prayer with you.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: I have nothing to prove.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: I am God's workmanship.
6:01
SPEAKER_00: I have nothing to prove.
6:05
SPEAKER_00: I have nothing to prove.
6:13
SPEAKER_00: I am God's workmanship.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: I have nothing to prove.
6:21
SPEAKER_00: I am God's workmanship.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay steady, stay open, stay present.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: You are still here.