aBlessedWoman-THE BLOG

Relying on the Holy Spirit, I hope to post timely messages for the benefit of those who are in need of comfort, encouragement, help, inspiration, and so much more...; even those who hunger for the True & Pure Love of God, but don't quite know or realize this fact as yet...

May 16, 2006

Can You Lose “The Free Gift of Salvation”?



I recently discussed captioned subject on 2 separate occasions with 2 different people. Both are fellow Blessed Women in Christ, and we happen to share the opinion that it IS possible to lose God’s Free Gift of Salvation. Naturally, you can’t lose what you didn’t receive. Hence, this article serves as “food for thought” for my Precious Brethren in Christ.

Do you recall that awful gift you got on your birthday? Didn’t you wonder if they actually expected you to use it? What did you do with it? Did you give it away, throw it away or stuff it away? How about the best gift you ever received? Didn’t you cherish it? Weren’t you careful not to damage it?

My first automobile was a brand new Nissan sports car. My Dad bought it for me, and I was ecstatic when I got it. I obviously took all my closest friends for a ride, and was extremely careful to park it in areas non-conducive to damage or vandalism. I washed it almost everyday…until the “excitement” wore off. I was still careful where I parked it, but the washing frequency diminished to once-a-week, and sometimes even twice-a-month. Thank God I didn’t “desensitize” to the extent of not arranging engine services in a timely fashion (or not at all). Not doing so would have eventually cause the engine to seize…the once brand new Nissan sports car would have ended up in a “junk yard”…of no use to me (nor anyone else).

How about a costly piece of home décor made out of a delicate material. It’s the owner’s choice as to “where” to display it. Imagine if it’s placed in an area easily reachable by a toddler, and one happens to knock it off the display. Such items usually can’t be fixed, and are often irreplaceable.

Did you ever stop to consider “how” you’re treating the Gift of Salvation that God freely gave you? Since you received it you now “own” it. How are you exercising your “ownership” of Salvation thru Christ Jesus. Are you a “good steward” of this “ownership”? Are you really treating it as a “costly, delicate, irreplaceable, and precious” Gift of God that you received “effortlessly“? So, what do you think: can you lose your Free Gift of Salvation?

May 06, 2006

Got Overflow?

Besides Virtual Assistance, I also offer real estate consultancy services. One of my approaches towards my customers is to seek out valuable things I can learn from my relationship with them. This article is about a valuable lesson I recently learned.

Whilst assisting one of my customers, we got to talking about her needs in terms of storage space. Naturally, she insisted on having a lot of storage space in her new Condo. An absolute “necessity” was a “walk-in closet” to have ample space to store her clothes, shoes, etc. I must admit that a “walk-in closet” used to be one of the many things I had in mind for my “dream home”, thus I initially fully agreed with her on this aspect…until God changed that.

I found myself pondering on this, and suddenly realized that having a “walk-in closet” is not a necessity, but a luxury. They say that there is a fine line between love and hate, I honestly think that’s also the case when it comes to necessities and luxuries. How many times have we categorized something as an absolute necessity when it actually was a luxury? How much money have we actually spent on “necessities”, which actually were “luxuries”? How much more true quality could we add to our lives by proper categorizing necessities and luxuries? Don’t take me wrong, I’m definitely not against luxuries. It’s just that I realized that I could be a better person, and community member by proper assessing and determining overflow in my life.

A walk-in closet is definitely not on my list of necessities anymore. Instead, I’ve decided to have a limited amount of clothes, and shoes. How many clothes and shoes do we really need? How many clothes and shoes are an absolute necessity? As for me, I’m going to establish what is an absolute necessity for me in that as well as other areas in my life, and apply the overflow towards better goals. Just the thought of it has already enhanced my quality of life! Think about it: this summer you can actually screen and clear your home from unnecessary items, have a garage sale, split the earnings 50-50, donate 50% to a worthy cause (like for instance to an orphanage), and apply the other 50% to something that will truly contribute to enhancing the quality of your life (ie: maybe to advertise your home-based business or purchase a much needed piece of equipment, or a pampering day at a massage parlor or spa, or towards your savings to give your parent(s) a wonderful appreciation gift -- the possibilities are endless…).

I honestly believe that we’re all blessed to be a blessing – it’s just that sometimes we fail to realize how blessed we really are. How blessed are you? Got overflow that you can give away? Hopefully the following Scripture will encourage you to do so in every thinkable way:

"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over…." (Luke 6:38)


By Sophia van Dinter
aBlessedWoman.com