Summer is here and it’s going to be the best ever!!! Why do I say that? Because ABBA has and exciting, nurturing, and healing Summer Road Trip for us… to draw us nearer to His Beautiful Heart of Love… you won’t want to miss it! So, get ready to sit back, strap yourselves in, and let ABBA do the driving on this one-of-a-kind road trip!

I love road trips… there’s something about the open road driving in a car that’s both exciting and restful…

Several years ago, you heard me tell you how some of my fondest memories of my childhood: a road trip with my dad and his friend. We attend the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal Canada.

What an amazing journey for a 9-year-old! It had such an impact on my life that now, nothing is more relaxing and peaceful than an open road, a full tank of gas, great travel companions, and a bright horizon in front of you! It’s something my dad passed on to me: A passion for the open road!

Well, your ABBA loves the open road too! It’s an opportunity to show His little ones new things... give them new hope… and reveal more of His heart to them… as He takes them to the destinations HE has planned out for them…

On this trip, we’ll make several REST stops on the way… they will be opportunities for us to REFLECT on how far we’ve come on the journey AND allow for ABBA to minister to us and draw us even closer to His Heart…

So, back your toothbrush, toiletries, and your bags (light of course!) because we’re going to be taking off so strap yourselves in as the journey begins…. NOW!!!

To begin this journey, we first must define what GRACE is… Grace is something we enjoy, whether know it or recognized it…

The first mention of Grace is in Genesis 6:8:

“But Noah [(quite) rest] found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”

Let’s see what it means in Hebrew:

Khane – from [khaw-nan' – a primitive root; properly, to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to favor, bestow;]; graciousness, i.e. subjective (kindness, favor) or objective (beauty): translated: favour, grace(-ious), pleasant, precious, (well-)favoured.

This leads us to our first Grace Principle:

IN REST… GRACE FLOWS…

Grace is wonderful, powerful, and life changing… but it isn’t a movement or a fad…. It is a Person:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” - John 1:14

Grace in the Greek means:

khar’-ece - from khah'-ee-ro [a primary verb; to be "cheer"ful, i.e. calmly happy or well-off;]; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude)

This leads us to the follow Grace Principles:

Grace Principle #2 – GRACE and TRUTH Go Together

Principle of Grace #3 – Walking in GRACE is Walking in Truth… And Walking in Truth IS
Walking in GRACE

Principle of Grace #4 – GRACE should be reflected in your WALK… And your WALK should
reflect GRACE

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” – John 1:17 ESV

OLD WAYS WON’T OPEN NEW DOORS

To do the same things over-and-over-again expecting different results is the definition of insanity!

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2

If you think and act like the world… you’ll receive what they get… no more no less…

A new path… the right path… will set you on the right road… to run the right race…

A Time For Reflection….

“This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it.”

Isaiah 30:15

Israel received an invitation to return to Him… to rest IN Him… and they ignored it…. And in doing so paid a heavy price…

DON’T MAKE THAT MISTAKE….

His IN you and WITH you but YOU have to YIELD to Him…

Will you LISTEN…? Will you go TO Him…? It could be the difference and the beginning of the change you have longed for…