Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:12,13

For most of us along our journey through life, no matter what our age is, we enjoy having new clothes. It does not matter if it is swim suits, tank tops, shirts, pants, or shoes, something in these new experience makes us feel better and most of the time we at least think we look better. New clothes usually even impact our attitude and emotions; it’s just a refreshing time. God's grace puts new clothes in our closet every day and these clothes not only make us feel better, they bless everyone around us. Believe me; these clothes really impact our attitude and emotions for the day. What is wonderful about these clothes is that they are a gift from the Lord and they are wrapped in grace. That means every day we can experience the opening of a new gift and when we put them on, we not only look better, we feel better. On this new day may you enjoy what the Lord has given you in and through his grace. There is great freedom here with no condemnation and you will find that what he has given you to wear is a perfect fit. Thanksgiving and joy will come very naturally and everyone around you will feel the beauty of your new look.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him praise his name. Psalm 100:4

Our natural nature is birthed in condemnation, which is self-centered. In that condition we can find ourselves easily annoyed, irritated, criticized and shamed. In that condition giving thanksgiving and praise is something to do, which is just one more task along our journey. Grace changes the entire situation. It puts God's love right into the center of our lives and changes our values and who we are. In that condition, thanksgiving and praise are not one more thing to do, it is who we are. Living our journey in thanksgiving and praise to our Lord lets us encourage, bless, be considerate and esteem others as more important than ourselves. On this new day, may you absolutely enjoy his grace that has set you free from the control of your old nature. You will like this day and those around you will feel important, encouraged and refreshed. His grace will renew your emotions and let thanksgiving and rejoicing be your gift to those who come into contact with your today.

Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Romans 6:4

New life is always refreshing to us. It can be the birth of our children or grandchildren and at those moments we find ourselves celebrating with emotions and thoughts of joy, no matter what we may personally be going through. Ever notice the joy of children when they are around puppies? Well God’s grace is his love given in power through the name of Jesus the Christ without any condemnation, and this is his glory. Here is a question – “what is true of the resurrection?” The glory of the Father, God’s power was exercised. The resurrection proclaims the glory and grace of the power of God. It was a public announcement that the reign of sin has been defeated. Because of his grace we now have been given a new life and we know this is true because God’s Word expresses it as a fact. On this new day may you let yourself rejoice in the presence of his grace that has been given to you. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Romans 8:11 NLT. May you find your emotions and thoughts choosing to celebrate in this new life. Enjoy!

Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him. Psalm 34:8 NLT

Imagine if you will, going to a wonderful restaurant and as you walk in you immediately notice the beauty of all that is around you. Then you order your meal and its presentation and taste, blow your hair back. The next day you find yourself telling all your friends how wonderful it was and encourage them to go. Well here is even a greater invitation. Taste and see that the LORD is good. Wow! Obviously this is not some kind of invitation to a religion or belief system. This is an invitation to experience the beauty, the life and the grace of God within your journey. Here in him there is refreshment and a freedom that is found nowhere else. On this new day may you taste well and see well that his grace for you is good. May you find your joys in him overwhelming. May the foundational relationships of your home be found in the joy of his grace.

Imitate God, therefore in everything you do because you are his dear children. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and course jokes – these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. Ephesians 5:1,3,4 NLT

What is commonly called salvation in Jesus the Christ is the freedom that his grace gives to our character. If the things listed here in God’s Word were so outstanding, we would have stayed in them and rejected the freedom of his grace. Here we can experience the refreshing nature of grace as it renews our values, our thinking, our emotions and our attitudes towards God, family, friends and co-workers. On this new day may you celebrate the freedom you have in his grace to live in the joy of thanksgiving. Here, you and everyone around you will experience a delight in relationships with the Lord and each other. As you live and imitate the freedom of his grace no one around you will be irritated. Transparency, kindness and integrity will just be who you are. Enjoy!

This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:9,10

Here we have the beginning of what is commonly known as the “Lord’s Prayer.” This is actually what Jesus the Christ gave to the disciples when they asked – “teach us how to pray.” Many can quote this prayer without any joy of understanding of what is being said. Grace gives us the ability to see the wonder and awe of our relationship with the one we know as God. “Our Father” lets us know how personal God’s grace has made our relationship with the Lord and each other. “Hallowed be your name,” is the expression from our heart and words that says there is no one like you and I am in a state of awe, overwhelmed by your grace. “Your kingdom come” reveals that where you are there is no death or condemnation and is an expression of praise and thanksgiving. “Your will be done” expresses the joy and result of grace in our lives that trusts our Lord’s direction through the details of our journey. On this new day may you know and enjoy the love of Christ in this relationship of grace. May you celebrate his name with the certainty that he is in the details of your life. Prayer will no longer be something you have to do, it will be an expression of your relationship with the Lord because of his grace that has been expressed and given to you in Jesus the Christ. Attitudes of joy and encouragement will just be who you are.

For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17 NLT

There is a beautiful gift given to us in and through Jesus the Christ. It is not just some kind of forgiveness so that we may continue in our addictions to our old sins. There will always be a great contrast between what once we were and what now by the grace of God we are. God's grace is his love given in power, by which he grants total exemption from judgement of any kind to men and women who were guilty and condemned because of their sin. Grace has nothing to do with our worthiness and based on nothing we have done or failed to do. This is the wow of salvation, a life full of freedom, encouragment, with attitudes and actions that bless us and those around us. On this new day may your life bring praise and glory to the one who called you by his grace. May you rejoice in this life in Jesus the Christ that is eternal and as you delight in him may you discover what it means to give glory to his name.

Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? Romans 2:4

The nature we are born with gives us the ability to be intolerant, impatient and at times less than kind towards those around us, even those of our own family. With this comes condemnation about ourselves, others and even God. The beauty of being overwhelmed by his grace is that we have the freedom to live without this condemnation, which changes all the relationships around us, especially our view of God. Repentance does not come from a feeling of condemnation, it comes as an act of worship because of his grace (his love and kindness expressed and given without condemnation). This being true, we have joy in the details of our lives because of the results of repentance. For repentance is a change in our emotions, thinking and activities along our daily journey. This change gives glory to God and refreshment to others. On this new day, may you enjoy the freedom of his kindness that gives you a brand new day in your emotions, thinking and activities. May his grace overwhelm you along your journey and may you know that freedom of expression called grace. You and everyone around you will like this day. Thanksgiving and praise will be just who you are. Enjoy!

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.  Ephesians 3:16-18

Here in God’s breath we have a prayer given so that we might have the power to enjoy our relationship with the Lord. We will then find out that our worship is much more beautiful than something we just do on Sunday.  In worship prayer can be described as the oxygen of the soul.  Worship is from the inside out and we find that it is founded in love and faith; therefore it has no condemnation or regret at all.  When we recognize the love of God in the depth of our being, we begin to enjoy and live in his grace.  Growing in grace can be defined as the decreasing frequency of sin because of the power of Christ’s love and therefore there is no sorrow in it.  Today may you find your heart established in his love by faith.  Your expressions, your voice and your opinions in this place will delight you and everything about your journey will become uplifting for anyone who meets you.  Allow those around you to grasp the love of Christ because of you.  Enjoy!

You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.  Matthew 5:14, 16 NLT

One of the beautiful benefits of God’s grace in our lives is the freedom we have in letting.  His grace not only gives life but the power to let.  The illustration of the life of grace here is seen as light, light that can be seen in all directions like a city on a hill.  But this light is also now our character which is the character of grace.  The power of his grace gives the freedom to “let” this new life be seen and heard in the midst of all our opportunities.  Then men and women will see as well as hear, through us the refreshment of the life of Christ.  This refreshes families, neighborhoods and communities. Oh, it also blesses us and lets us enjoy the wonders of his grace.  Today may you find that what you are “letting” (your life) is like a light shining on a hilltop and everyone around you, including you will be blessed.  Enjoy!