Grace

What comes to mind when we think of the word grace. Elegance or beauty of form, manner, or action. Maybe to favor or honor; to grace an occasion with ones presence. Or maybe a short prayer before a meal. That is mainly what we think of when we hear the word grace. What grace really is, is the freely given, unmerited favor of God, Read Ephesians 1:7. We need grace because all of us are sinful, Romans 3:10-11, Romans 3:23. Please read those, They are good convicting verses. God is a God of justice and love. Romans 3:24, explains God's justice, we are justified through His grace, because of Christ. Romans 8:23, explains God's love, God shows His love for us, in that when we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That is so encouraging to me. Think about it, before we even thought about choosing Him and were just in the world, in sin, He still died for us, even if we never choose Him. How do we view grace? Typically we abuse grace. There are really 2 ways in which we abuse it. 1. We allow grace to be an excuse to sin. Freedom in Christ does not allow us freedom to sin, but freedom from sin. Two verses taken out of context are Galatians 5:1 and John 10:10. Living life to the full does not mean living a life full of sin. We should be living our lives to the full for God. Galatians 5:13, Not to do what we want and sin, but to live in and of the Gospel. When we do sin, it hurts God and the Spirit grieves, 1 Corinthians 3:17. This should not be our attitude. To many times I catch myself knowing that I am going to sin, and yet I still do it. Why? I know I will be forgiven? That is wrong, that is the complete opposite attitude I should have. I should use every inch of me, and the Spirit in me not to sin, to flee from it, to stay as far away from it as I possible can. Thankfully no matter how much we do sin, grace will keep growing and over power it. This again, does not give anyone the right or permission to sin. 2. We believe God's blessing is dependent on our performance. We believe we can work for God's favor. For example; I pray this long, had a quiet time for this long, Iv'e read the Bible this many times. Really read Luke 18:9-14. Do you really think God is impressed with the things that you are suppose to be doing? It's almost comical, and I find myself doing it daily. Our good works are like filthy rags unto the Lord. We have the mindset of good day/ bad day attitude. Other times we believe our sin is to great to be forgiven, Read Romans 8:31-33. Why do we think God could't forgive us or believe God couldn't love us. Are we that arrogant to think God's grace isn't good enough for you, that it is too great? Our attitudes should not be on the religion, but the relationship that you have with Jesus. To many times I catch myself not making it about Jesus. We should ultimately view grace as a way to rejoice in the Lord, Romans 5:1-2. As a way to draw us into a deeper, more personal relationship with God, Titus 2:11-12. Remember this; "Your days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace." Every look you take at sin, take 25 looks at the cross. Not literally 25, there is nothing special with that number, but overwhelm yourself with grace. Personally think about your life. Do you use grace as an excuse, are you performance based on good and bad. Are you really experiencing God, and if so are you finding joy. I need to be rejoicing that I have a savior, every day. While I was a sinner, and still am, Christ died for me. I am a great sinner, Christ is an even greater savior. Please pray that I will not take grace for granted. That I will not base it off my works and good/bad days. Pray that I will continue to rejoice in my relationship with Him. This is a hard one for me, but I am so thankful that God gives me grace.

Serving Him,

Daniel