start off on the right foot.

Grace Alone
(Scott Wesley Brown)

Every promise we can make, every prayer and step of faith
Every difference we can make is only by His grace.
Every mountain we will climb, every ray of hope we shine
Every blessing left behind is only by His grace

Grace alone which God supplies, strength unknown He will provide
Christ in us, our cornerstone, we will go forth in grace alone.

Every soul we long to reach, every heart we hope to teach
Everywhere we share His peace is only by His grace.
Every loving word we say, every tear we wipe away
Every sorrow turned to praise is only by His grace.

-------

People Need the Lord
(Steve Green)

Everyday they pass me by, I can see it in their eyes.
Empty people filled with care, headed who knows where?
On they go through private pain, living fear to fear.
Laughter hides their silent cries, only Jesus hears.

People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
At the end of broken dreams, He's the open door.
People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
When will we realize, people need the Lord?

We are called to take His light to a world where wrong seems right.
What could be too great a cost for sharing life with one who's lost?
Through His love our hearts can feel all the grief they bear.
They must hear the Words of Life only we can share.

these 2 songs and their lyrics gripped my heart tight and spoke volumes just the other day. it is by grace alone that we can reach out, not only to those in faraway places but even more so to those around us. the fact that we live to breathe to trudge through each day, is in itself by grace alone. and grace is something we don't deserve but yet receive, which is why people need the Lord. in particular, perhaps by no coincidence, i thought of a particular someone who was out there reaching out to others. i guess one of the biggest misconceptions about missions outreach is that the ones who go, go there to bless, when in reality they we're the ones who are blessed. the reason, though, that those who reach out are the ones who end up getting blessed, is that because they first opened up and were willing to give their all. the outpouring of themselves, allowed them to receive more.

religion is a particularly difficult topic to broach because it's based solely on faith and trust. all religions claim to be the one, and christianity often takes the rap because we "preach". someone i knew once put it in a wonderful way, "if you had two small, round, white pills in front of you, but one is aspirin and the other is arsenic. it's not the similarities that matter anymore, it's the difference that make the world of a difference." it justifies the reason then, doesn't it. you say preach, i say share. you say to-may-to, i say to-mah-to. what we call it is irrelevant, it's the content that is relevant. that said, however, we are all unfortunately human. i don't profess to always be loving and loveable. in fact, i gripe even more when a self-professed fellow christian is a scumbug. but i am reminded not to judge, because my very reaction makes me a bitter scumbug too. i am grateful for the grace that takes away all my iniquities. it is because of this very grace that i strive to be the person Christ is and was, the person He would want me to be.
 

at the end of broken dreams,
He's the open door.
...
we will go forth in grace alone.