Grace for Grace

I'm going to start out by saying that I don't understand the Trinity, and I don't think that my finite mind will. The idea of three separate persons, but also one person, still separate, all together, is actual gibberish. Anyway, because I didn't understand the Trinity and didn't want to say the wrong thing, I would always refer to God, or Jesus, or the Holy Spirit as a vague "Lord". The blanket term. It's kind of like calling Satan or demons "the enemy". It added distance for me, safety in case I messed up terminology or sounded too "woo-woo". But that sanitized distance wasn't good enough for God. My first encounter with God was with the paternal, crushingly close love of a Father. It felt like something was released in me, and something was pressed upon me at the same time. That framed my picture of the grand galaxy God that loves so completely. God the Father. Then I was swept up into a long season of discovering Jes...

A powerful tool in overcoming pride is exposing it, being honest. That's how we get humility. If we hold on to pride in our hearts, we can sweep it under the rug, justify our actions, and pretend like it's not there, but the moment we say it out loud, we have to acknowledge that we are still fallible, still deeply sinful and in need of God's mercy. It is one of the most humbling things you can do to be open about your sin. I believe God rejoices when we take that step and begin to be free with our heart, good and bad. Because that's what He wants for us, freedom. Every time that I admit to a fault, I feel freaking victorious. It is such a small thing, but it takes so much. And for me, it signifies how far I've come, and I am proud of it, of what God has done in my heart. The other day I was struggling with something in my heart towards Bethany, and it was petty, and after going back and forth in my mind long enough, I just said it. I just said "I know it...