was reading hongteck's blog, and he shared about him being a big fan of sarah chang, the violinist. so went and take a look at the url.

and i was so impressed. wow. i heard she was good. but never knew she was THAT good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCLxso5XDN4

i pray for such finger talent too. to play guitar. haha.

today's lesson for shepherding was on grace. and it really brought me back to appreciate this elemental quality of Christ.

and i learn that, grace is the core concept of Faith. it's His gift to us.

yes, gift. and grace does hold the meaning of gift in Greek. Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast..."

so, what is Grace? :))

share a little of what i've learnt today,

Grace is one of God's attributes.
Psalms 116:5 "The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion..."

and it is the expression of God's character. how so?

• He forgives us.
• 2 Chronicles 30:9 "If you return to the LORD, then your brothers and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will come back to this land, for the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him."; 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

• He does good to us!
• Psalms 111:4-5 "He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate, He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever."

• He gives generously to us!
• Nehemiah 2:18 "I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work."

• He helps us in times of need.
• Psalms 116:5-6 "The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me."

• He answers our prayers.
• Psalms 25:15-16 "My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted."

• He is patient with us.
• Exodus 34:6 "And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."
  

one thing that spoke to me much about grace, was when atom shared about how sometimes, we do feel condemned due to the sinful nature, and feeling unworthy to go to the feet of our Father. and she shared about this incident she experienced in thailand, where she was feeling self-condemned. Her mentor flipped to a verse in 1 John 1:9, and asked her to read that out loud 300 times!

and she shared that after she read it for 10 over times, how tears just flowed out inconsolably. she was deeply touched by God's immeasurable grace in her life. how He choose to forgive and purify us, if we confess and repent, and make attempts to do the right things again.

what a wonderful, gracious Father we have, who loves us, not cos of good works, not cos we serve, but loves, cos He loves.