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graduation

Graduation is a big thing. Last night I attended the graduation ceremony for my baby Anna Beth. I told her mother when she was born "we've got 18 years." I know that she feels that she has moved to another level, but I feel that my wife and I have also. It was very emotional seeing her cross that stage. It was very emotional knowing that our baby is finished with that stage of life. I had to also face the fact that as she moves to a new stage, we as parents move to a new and exciting stage of life. Graduates of the parents happened also. No more checking on report cards and such - they are on their own. Legally, 18 is adult-whether we or they know it.
Legally, when we accept Christ as our only way to The Father , we have graduated.
It is finished. No more tests to take. No more getting graded. We have passed with a 4.0. We are completely accepted in Christ. When we realize this, we will live more holy accidentally than we ever will on purpose.---be blessed---c


pics to follow

standing against rejection

Any human over the age of probably three years old knows or has experienced rejection.  Rejection comes in many forms but probably most often shows up in a verbal fashion.  Being accepted is a need within everyone of us.  Without acceptance we strive for a place or a purpose to feel accepted.  Church or religion is where many rejected people find their place of approval.  We do the right things and recieve the praise of men to get our approval need met.  That approval is always short lived and is temporarily satisfying.  That is rarely if ever authorized by The Holy Spirit, and it leaves us exhausted and offended because we have done it out of our flesh as an obligation and not out of The Love flowing through us by the Holy Spirit.

Matt. 3:17 says that at the Baptism of Jesus a Voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with Him."  Three verses later, the devil came to Jesus and said"If you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves of bread."  If Jesus lived in the place that most christians live, He would have turned the stones into a truckload of bread and said "I told you, I told you, nanny nanny nanee nanee."  But as we Know he used the Word and quoted Deut. 8:3.."they must feed on every Word of God."  The Word of God had just come from heaven "This is my Son, and I am fully pleased with Him."

If we are in Christ, we are fully pleasing to Our Father God, and there is no need for us to jump through religious hoops to gain that approval.  We can be at rest while the world and religion drive themselves to exhaustion to please man and try to gain something that they already have in Christ.  The real thing is that we must KNOW that we are swallowed up in Christ.  Just as death was swallowed up in the ressurection of Christ, we are also.  Faith is the only way to gain righteousness, and the only Righteousness is in Christ---Be Blessed---c