G.R.A.C.E. MINISTRY

Hope. Dreams. Life... Love: Blast From the Past : <   Write Now Literary  is pleased to be organizing a book blast for Blast From The Past by M. E. Marshall. The book blast tour will run ...

What is it that inspires you? Is it a person? Is it a musician, or an athlete, or someone spiritual in your life who you look up to? Maybe it is not necessarily a person, but something like an event or experience that someone has had. Everyone draws inspiration from someone or something. The world watches for anything they can to find inspiration in, but yet they won’t look to the Lord. They allow others to hold that spot in their lives, but not the Creator. When we as Christians draw inspiration from the Lord, each other, Christian resources, and the Bible, we will find strength, and we can share it with the world. There are many places we can go to find inspiration. Christian books and resources are a great place to find hope and you can also find accountability when you meet with other believers. The Bible holds many stories and experiences that we can find inspiration from. For example, look at the story of Noah. He was so willing to follow the Lord and His will, that He worked f...

We can show our faith when we honor God with our finances. We can also do the complete opposite: we can show lack of faith when we are greedy with money or live in such a way that does not show our trust in Him. 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” The way we treat money shows whether or not we trust in the Lord.   Money can cause divisions in families, can create bitterness and hatred, and can drive people to make decisions they will regret. However, it can also be a blessing when given as a gift or offering and can have lasting effects when used to make good decisions. For example, when a person budgets and uses extra money each month to save toward either getting rid of debt, investing in the future by making a big purchase like a house, or giving toward a ministry or someone in need, the rewards can bring joy, peace, and satis...

Trials can have great effects on our lives. They can either devastate us and leave us lonely, helpless, bitter, and unforgiving, or they can inspire us and shape who we become. We are in charge of how we handle our trials; we choose how we let them affect us. However, there is always a reason in everything we experience. If we allow Him, God will give purpose to our pain and healing to our hurt. So how can we endure through hard times and trust God in everything?   Know that God is always working for our good, even when it doesn’t seem like it. Romans 8:28 tells us that “ we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” This doesn’t mean that we will never experience anything bad; it just means that in every situation, God will work to bring about something good. As a child of God, we are guaranteed His presence and His love in our lives forever. He cares about every little detail, every ma...

We are coming to the end of 2020.  In a few weeks, we will be entering the final quarter for the year.  We are in an election year,  Much of 2020 has been focused on the pandemic, called COVID-19, or the corona virus.  Many families have been quarantined in their homes for months.  Schools have had to adjust to the restrictions caused by the virus and develop a new approach to teaching their students.  Many people have lost their jobs, or have had their hours drastically reduced because of the State directive to stay home, and practice social distancing.  We call it the "New Normal"!  I'm not sure I like that term, but it's sticking.  Many people struggle with financial challenges, loss of family and friends to the virus, loss of the way things used to be, social gatherings, even churches are holding their services virtually!.  We have to adapt to Zoom meetings instead of in-person meetings.  Businesses struggle to survive by coming...

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Psalm 42:2

Do you know the origin of Black Friday?   It’s the retailers trying to get out of the red.   In accounting terms, being in the ‘red’ means you have a negative balance, or a negative cash flow.   Being in the ‘black’ means you have a positive balance, or a positive cash flow.   Retailers seemingly mark down the prices on their big-ticket items, like cell phones, flat screen TV’s or other technology, to entice you to purchase them so that they can end the year in the black.   Especially if their 3 rd quarter sales were not that great.      Not a bad idea, but is that really your problem?   Consider this, according to an article by Aaron Tilly a former staff member of Apple in Forbes magazine , the average cost to make an Apple watch was $89.70 in 2017.   This same watch is sold for anywhere from $350 to over $900.   That’s a 25% to a 98% mark up or more.     Considering technology changes rapidly, this ...