Lifetime Blog

Lifetime Blog
English

Wide Open Spaces

Wednesday 03 March, 2010 by Andy Knight

RSS Feed Print Article E-mail Article

Have you ever had this happen to you? You try to call someone, but they don't answer because they were trying to call you at that exact same time. It makes for a good laugh. That's what I'm reminded of when I read that passage in Romans:

"By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us'set us right with him, make us fit for him'we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus.2 And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us."
- Romans 5:1-2a The Message

It says, "We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us." The doorway that leads to faith is heavy. In fact, it's too heavy. No matter how strong we are, we can't open it by ourselves. The entrance into faith isn't the result of our effort, nor is it the result of gathering enough evidence so that we can decide all by ourselves that Christ is real.

No, Faith is the result of Father swinging the door wide open to us. Then we get to decide whether or not to walk through it.  Our entering into a relationship with God, or our salvation as it is traditionally called, was His work of genius, not ours.

Likewise, it's also God's work of genius that allows us to live a godly lifestyle on a day-to-day basis. I've seen many Christians who believe their spiritual birth was a result of grace, but they live as if their day-to-day spiritual life is a result of their own hard work. Colossians 2:6 says, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him."  We received Him by grace, and so it's also by grace that we continue to live in Him. Back to the Romans passage, I like what it says here:

We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand'out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. 
- Romans 5:1,2a The Message

My parents live on 50 acres in south Alabama and have a few fields. I love the freedom of being in the middle of an open field. I also love the feeling of being so far out in the water that you can't see the shore, particularly when we have a good motor...and a backup motor...and a good radio. 

Like being in wide open spaces, the experience of God's grace is not confining or burdensome. There is freedom to move around, freedom to be ourselves, freedom to live without guilt, freedom to rest, freedom to give without restraint, and freedom to experience an abundant life. He's thrown open this door for us. 


Andy Knight

Back to top | Lifetime Blog Archive

© Lifetime Guarantee Ministries. Content on Lifetime.org is written for your encouragement and spiritual growth. Copying, printing, and distributing to others are encouraged. Thank you for crediting Lifetime Guarantee Ministries and our website (www.lifetime.org) as the source.

Recent Articles:

Date Title
Wed, March 3rd Wide Open Spaces
Mon, March 1st Focus More on being and less on doing
Wed, February 24th Leading with Grace
Wed, February 17th Ridiculous Love
Wed, February 10th Any Given Sunday. Any Given Marriage.
Wed, February 3rd Grace in your Marriage
Mon, February 1st Focus: More on Relationships and Less on Rules
Wed, January 27th Christ in You: The Hope for Your Marriage
Wed, January 20th Marriage isn't Do-It-Yourself
Wed, January 13th Marriage is a Covenant (Not a Contract)
Wed, January 6th Let's Talk about Marriage
Mon, January 4th A Look Back. A Look Ahead.
Tue, December 22nd Savoring Christ in your Heart this Christmas
Wed, December 16th Not Always the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Mon, December 14th Cliffhanger
Wed, December 2nd If we could only live our life the way my son plays basketball
Tue, November 24th Happy Thanksgiving
Wed, November 18th Moonshine
Sun, November 1st Three Phases in the Christian's Experience
Wed, October 28th What is your enemy wanting you to believe?
Wed, October 21st Love me...or else!
Mon, October 19th Interview on "Women of Grace and Freedom"
Mon, October 5th Hard Decisions
Wed, September 30th Getting Rid of the Extra Weight
Mon, September 28th The Problem with Being the Richest Man in Town
Wed, September 23rd What are you afraid of?
Wed, September 16th Identity Theft
Tue, September 8th Why I'm at Lifetime
Wed, September 2nd Holding Us Securely in Place
Wed, August 26th Letting Go is not Easy
Wed, August 19th Lifetime on Facebook
Wed, August 5th Christianity is Not a Ticket to an Easy Life
Wed, July 29th So, What are you Thinking About?
Wed, July 8th Rules Without Relationship
Fri, July 3rd Embracing our Emancipation
Wed, June 3rd Highlights from the 2009 AELM Conference
Thu, May 28th Schizophrenic Theology
Wed, May 13th Approaching God After We've Failed
Wed, May 6th Are you a Sinner or a Saint?
Mon, April 27th Meeting Our Needs
Wed, April 15th Ups and Downs in the Christian Life
Mon, April 6th The Passion
Mon, March 30th What Lies Beneath
Wed, March 25th Stability
Mon, March 16th Your Responses on "What Do You Have That Cannot be Taken Away?"
Wed, March 11th What Do You Have That Cannot be Taken Away?
Wed, March 4th God is Self-Centered
Mon, March 2nd Success...a Fertile Soil For Pride
Fri, February 20th Who Are You Anyway?
Thu, February 19th When Elephants and Tigers Forget Who They Are
Thu, February 12th Valentine's Gift Giving
Wed, January 28th Keeping the Flame: An Interview with Bill and Anabel Gillham
Thu, January 1st The Fear of Falling
Tue, November 25th Christmas in the Ordinary
Tue, November 4th A New Beginning
Wed, September 24th Leaving It Up to God
Thu, August 28th Confusing Days
Wed, July 23rd Who Are You?
Tue, June 24th Trusting Father's Heart
Tue, May 27th Family Business
Thu, April 24th What is God thinking?
Thu, March 27th Outside Western Perspectives
Thu, February 28th Yes, You Are a Minister!
Mon, January 28th Where is God?
Thu, December 27th Who Influences You?
Tue, November 27th Vision and Revelation
Thu, November 1st Safety and Security with Father
Tue, September 25th An Exhortation for Marketing
Mon, August 27th How Well Do You Know Him?
Fri, July 27th Why Forgive?
Sun, July 1st Introducing Our New Site
Fri, June 1st Struggling to Rest
Tue, May 1st What Do You Know of Grace?
Sun, April 1st Father's Reassuring Grip
Thu, March 1st Contract or Covenant?
Thu, February 1st Be Strong in the Lord
Mon, January 1st A Glorious Pursuit
Fri, December 1st Tying Grace to the Spirit of Christmas
Wed, November 1st Nothing but Christ
Sun, October 1st Changing the World
Fri, September 1st Communicating with Father
Tue, August 1st What Would Make God Leave His Throne?
Sat, July 1st Giving Gracefully
Thu, June 1st Learning to Read the Code
Mon, May 1st Mastering an Unspiritual Media
Sat, April 1st Stopping Short is Not an Option
Wed, March 1st An Invitation to Consider
Wed, February 1st Is God Eccentric?
Sun, January 1st The Ultimate Expression of Love
Thu, December 1st Shooting at the Bull's Eye
Tue, November 1st Seen Any Visions Lately?
Sat, October 1st Bask in His Mercy. Rest in His Peace.
Thu, September 1st What's the Point of Prayer?
Mon, August 1st Live From Your Heart
Fri, July 1st The Power of Teamwork
Wed, June 1st The Name God Prefers
Sat, May 1st The Sufficiency of Christ
Helpful Resources

Products

Lifetime Guarantee
Whether your struggle is with people, sinful habits, or self-esteem, Lifetime Guarantee promises a practical, step-by-step approach to appropriate the solution God has placed within the new spirit of every Christian.
The Victorious Life (CD)
This basic album is from the Gillham’s well-known seminar they've presented across the country. In it you’ll hear the cornerstone teaching of this ministry: The truth of your identity in Christ and how to allow Christ to live life through you.

Spiritual Development

The Victorious Life Book

Daily Devotional

Daily Devotional
A Cheerful Giver
Thu, Mar 11, 2010
by Dr. Bill Gillham


More Daily Devotionals  |  Subscribe Today

Lifetime Prayer Community

Interactive Prayer Community

Most recent prayer request:

For Shelter
Tue, Mar 09, 2010
by Ray

Lifetime Weekly

Subscribe to Lifetime Weekly
The Straight Path
Wed, Mar 03, 2010
by Preston Gillham


More Articles  |  Subscribe Today

Lifetime Blog

Lifetime Blog
Wide Open Spaces
Wed, Mar 03, 2010
by Andy Knight


Read Lifetime Blog

Free Item of the Month

Free Item of the Month
Each month, we provide you with a free item to encourage you in your walk with Christ. Login to your Account or create an Account to receive your free item today!
Get this month's free item

Trust

Trust
For the peace of mind of our faithful Lifetime Ministry Partners, we voluntarily submit to financial audits by an outside accounting firm.
Financial Standard