Skip to main content

Grace and Space

    "Grace" is a word we toss around a lot in Christian circles, but maybe don't stop to think about much. But where would we be without the grace of God? It is one of the most amazing gifts Jesus has given us. We can mess up to the point of complete failure in the world's eyes, but grace gives us another chance. It is God's divine favor on our lives regardless of our imperfect actions. We are flawed in our flesh and cannot keep the law perfectly. That's why we ever needed Jesus to begin with and that is why grace is so important.

    Just because grace allows us to continue with God's plan even when we mess up, does not give us the liberty to abuse that gift. There are many grace-abusers in the church world. These people claim to be Christians, but instead of living their life focused on Jesus, they live their life focused on sin. They never try to walk by the Spirit, but continually indulge in sinful habits of the flesh, claiming that it is covered under grace.

    Remember that taking advantage of God's gifts never gets you anywhere in life. Jesus honors those who have a repentant heart and are honestly seeking Him. Those are the people that grace was meant for. God knows your heart and He will know if you are trying to use grace to cover your sinning behind-- there is no fooling Him. Seek Him and honor His beautiful gift of grace.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV)

Romans 6:14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (ESV)

Romans 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. (ESV)

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (ESV)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Think Twice

    When the Holy Spirit was sent to us on earth, it made Jesus readily available to all. Now He lives in us, not among us. When you are a born again Christian, you now have Jesus dwelling inside you. How does that affect your daily life? Do you realize that you are a reflection of the one you carry with you everywhere you go?    Sadly, that doesn't mean much to a lot of Christians. Instead of using Jesus as an instrument of love, hope, and salvation, they use His name as a weapon. They spend their time boycotting instead of praying for Jesus to change hearts. Telling others that the God who IS love, hates them. Letting others know that they will go to hell for their decisions, instead of lighting the way to heaven. Let me be clear: this is wrong! No one wants to believe in a hateful, unforgiving God. I certainly don't. That's why I follow Jesus.     Even if you aren't the one openly boycotting on street corners, be careful of the image of God you are g...

Seeing by Faith

    When we are trying to live by faith, the things that inhibit us are the things that are right under our noses. We are trained to live based on the things around us. We don't believe anything if we don't see proof of it. The things around us are more our reality than what we say we believe in. But the Bible tells us that we are to walk by faith and not by sight. We are to live based on what we know is truth, not by what we see.     The things we see around us distract us from the reality we should be living in. What is unseen is eternal and more important than the things of this world. We need to fix our eyes on what is lasting and know the difference. We need to be filling ourselves with the word and not the world. When we are distracted by the world, we forget the truth. We become discouraged and doubt our faith. We need to draw strength from one another so that we may run the race with endurance.     What is determining your reality today? Is i...

Receiving Graciously Pt. 1

    We've all heard sermons and teachings about the importance of giving, yet not many leaders in the church seem to cover the topic of receiving. We know that it s hugely important that we give and give abundantly to those around us. We use what God has blessed us with to bless those around us. But what happens when you're on the other end of that blessing? When God uses someone else to bless you? There are two big mistakes when it comes to receiving-- those who take too much and those who won't receive at all. Let's start with the former and finish with the latter tomorrow.     We all know those people who will try to get anything they can out of others. Free food? Let me stuff my pockets for later. You're buying? Let me order the most expensive thing off the menu. Is that attitude really exhibiting the characteristics of Jesus? No. Jesus was no beggar and no taker. He wasn't one to take everything He could get out of others and we shouldn't be either. O...