And now...

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News. (2 Timothy 1:9-10 NLT)

And now...

Jesus came, he will come again, in the meantime - we live devoted lives. His grace came in human form, not so we could just be Sunday Christians - so we could live powerful, full, and complete lives both now and into eternity. Our part is to believe, then to follow. His part was to break the bonds of sin, then to continue to endue us with his power.

And now...

Let's live our new lives - holy lives, fully devoted to him. Not because we deserve his grace, repeatedly requiring renewal and regeneration, but because it is his plan to have us in his family. We may not have appreciated the 'plan' God has for our lives at the beginning of this walk with him, but as time goes on, we begin to see the extreme wonder of his grace revealed in and through us.

And now...

The power of death is broken. Sin brought death into our spirits - his Son brings life that death has absolutely no power over. Eternal life, grace-filled life, powerful life. We might have lived broken lives apart from that grace and his power within us, but now we live 'illuminated' lives. Nothing mystical about the illumination he brings - it is just that our heart, mind, will, and emotions all begin to appreciate him in all we behold.

And now...

Grace comes in the form of a person - Christ. We ask for his grace - he gives us himself. We seek his wisdom - he gives us himself. We desire to see clearly - he leads us himself. There is no other way - the path has been clearly defined for us. The choice to stay on that path requires our active participation, though. We choose moment-by-moment if we will live within that path. At each turn, we choose again and again to either follow or lead. Which will your choice be today? Just askin...