Dear Customers,
A few shipments arrived this week. If you log into your account at www.toywonders.com, before clicking on any of the links below, approved wholesale accounts will see wholesale pricing.
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DIECAST Collectible
Model Cars And More
| Item# |
Description |
Stock
Status |
| T6930/9964 |
Mattel Hot Wheels Elite - Ferrari 512 S #23 (24 Hours of Daytona 1971, 1:18, Red) T6930/9964 |
New |
| TT1126 |
1320 The Fuelers Dragster - Jade Grenade (1:24, Green) TT1126 |
Restock |
| TT1306 |
1320 The Diggers Fuel Dragster - Art Malone U.S.1 (1:24, Blue & White) TT1306 |
Restock |
| 5039DA |
Kinsmart - Dodge Viper GTS-R Hard Top (1:36, Asstd.) 5039DA |
New |
| 5057DFS1 |
Kinsmart - Volkswagen Beetle Hard Top w/ Decals & Surfboard (1967, 1:32, Asstd.) 5057DFS1 |
New |
| 73641 |
Motormax Moments In Time - Country General Store Diorama w/ Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country Wagon (1979, 1:64) 73641 |
New |
| 73642 |
Motormax Moments In Time - My Garage Diorama w/ Plymouth Horizon (1981, 1:64, White) 73642 |
New |
| 73644 |
Motormax Moments In Time - Weekend Mechanics Diorama w/ Ford Maverick (1970, 1:64, Yellow) 73644 |
New |
| 31500/16 |
Castline M2 Machines Auto-Thentics - Release 16 (1:64, Asstd.) 31500/16 |
New |
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Thank you
Lu Su
Toy Wonders, Inc.
www.toywonders.com
201-229-1700
God and the Art of Toy and Diecast Marketing
What is Grace? (part 2 of 3)
By Lu Su
It's been a little while, so let's review. Grace is like mercy but better. Mercy is not getting something you deserve. Grace is getting something you don't deserve. Grace is unmerited favor. Grace is a gift from God. Grace can transform you into becoming a child of God. And according to the Bible, we are not all children of God. Let me show you how this concept of grace separates Christianity from all other religions.
It's basic human nature to want to know the cost before you join something (e.g. BJ Wholesale Club, PTA, Lee's Tae Kwon Do Academy, a college or university). The same goes before joining or adopting a particular faith or religion; before you become a member or follower you want to know 1) what you have to do and 2) what it's going to cost.
Merriam Webster defines religion as, "The service and worship of God or the supernatural." Notice that embedded into the definition of religion is service -something you need to do. I guess this makes sense. If you want to become a devout Jew, you need to restrict what you can eat, return home before sunset, and limit the amount of activity you do on the Sabbath Day. If you want to be a devout Muslim (2nd most popular religion in the world), you need to pray five times a day and refrain from alcohol. And when you pray, you need to orient yourself towards the holy city Mecca. If you want to be a devout Hindu (3rd most popular religion in the world) you accept this concept called karma, which literally translates as action, work, or deed. Karma is all about the sum of all your actions in this and previous states of existence, which will then affect your fate of your future existences. But what if you want to become a Christian (The most popular religion in the world)? What do you have to do? What service do you need to engage in, in order to become a Christian?
This is how Christianity differs. If service is part of the definition of religion, then technically Christianity isn't a religion. Know this: There is no service a person is first required to do in order to become a Christian. It is God's grace that allows you to become a child of God. Once you are a child of God, then you are a member of His family. And then membership has its privileges. You can have a sense of joy and peace, no matter what your circumstance, starting right now. When the body you are in now eventually gives out, like Jesus, you will be resurrected and receive a newer and better model (one without all those defects and all those character flaws). These are just two membership benefits that come to mind.
The Bible teaches there is nothing you can do on your own to merit membership into His kingdom. Eating only certain foods or refraining from certain foods, doesn't get you a membership card. Wearing certain clothes or not wearing certain clothes doesn't get you in. Saying a certain number of prayers or saying some special sequence of words, doesn't gain you entrance either. Doing some quantity of good deeds (work) doesn't gain membership either. You cannot refrain from enough stuff, do enough good deeds, or engage in any type of work in order to be admitted. Christianity is radically different from all religions because there is no service requirement. Most religions require that you do certain things, perform certain tasks, and do a certain level of work. Only after you have accomplished certain tasks, then some type of reward will await you.
The picture that comes to mind is using an apple as an incentive for the animal to pull the cart. You dangle the apple in front of the animal, which then causes him to move forward; but as the animal moves forward the apples moves at the same pace as him. Notice that I said, "him", I think females are too smart to fall for this trick. Christianity differs from other religions because God gives you the reward (grace) in advance. The only thing you need to do is to receive it (Jesus). Isn't this totally backwards? You want to give out the reward before your followers do the work you want them to accomplish?
I know in my household, if I want my kids to get ready for bed, I tell them that they need to change into their pajamas before they can get dessert. They then sprint to their rooms in order to get changed. I just don't think I would get the same result if I gave them the ice-cream in advance. Isn't that risky? Won't certain people just receive the reward, but then have no motivation to go do the work God wants. Yes, it does happen. But God apparently is willing to make that gamble. Incidentally, this very same question about work was posed to Jesus.
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” -John 6: 28-29
I think a reasonable question to ask here is, if God sent his son Jesus to serve as a sacrifice for man's sins, then why isn't everyone automatically a child of God's? Well the answer is like all gifts (grace is a gift), it needs to be received. If I give you a hundred bucks, It's not yours until you receive it. But it is unfortunate because most people will not accept this free gift and reject Christ. But not all people. Now let's re-read this theologically dense passage on grace and see if it makes more sense.
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
But because of his great love for us,
God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. -Ephesians 2:1-10
I know most people will still have difficulties in understanding this concept of grace. Beside it being a pretty radical concept to religious people, grace is deeply rooted into these concepts of sin, God's love, and truth; because many people don't even think these three things exist, I can see the difficulty in understand God' grace.
Some things need to be experienced before you can really understand them. Like a toothache, for example. I can write several paragraphs in describing a toothache. I can even throw in a few quotes from some famous dentists. But until you experience it, you don't really have that great of an understand on what a toothache is. So next time, I'm going to tell you about two guys who experienced grace. I willing to bet that you have heard of at least one of the guys. Hopefully the upcoming stories will help you better understand What Is Grace.
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