More Thoughts on Grace...

Excerpt from an article by Bob Hoekstra on the grace of God:

Since we are justified and sanctified by the impact of the grace of God in and upon our lives, does this mean that man does nothing in his growing and serving by the grace of God? Some hear the message of the grace of God and then imagine there is no contribution on their part. Truly, it is God’s grace and it is not about we can do but what He can do in and through us. Does that mean we are to do nothing and are mere robots to the grace of God? Not at all. We get fully engaged and entirely involved in the life of grace.

But it happens in ways related to trusting and depending on the Lord. It is the whole matter of learning to live by faith—walking by faith, not by sight. The perplexing thing in all of this is that we all have a question that is almost burning in us but we are almost afraid to say it because once we say it, it sounds funny. How do you do faith anyway? But the answer lies not in how do we do it, but how do we grow in it. We grow in our faith by this day-by-day trusting the Lord in whatever He has revealed to us, in whatever He has provided for us, and in whatever He has unfolded for us in the Word applying that grace to the circumstances at hand in this moment.

Whether like the prophet Elijah off by the Brook Cherith having to let the ravens feed you and living such by faith or being on top of Mount Carmel, calling down fire against the hundreds of false prophets—we always must live by faith. The key is not activity. The key is not inactivity. The key is trusting in the Lord. The just shall live by faith.

We shall see time and again in these studies on growing in the grace of God, that such growth in grace hinges upon faith.

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace. (Rom 4:16)

The striving of the flesh—whether to be great and mighty or live up to the standards of God—never goes with the grace of God. But believing God fits the grace of God. Faith and grace go together hand-in-glove. Drawing on the grace of God and living by the grace of God involves learning day by day to trust God in whatever is at hand, to work in and through our lives by the resources and impact of His grace upon us.

Grace Thought For Today

"Let me assure you that it is only by divine grace that we are able to know God. You must never presume that it is by your own efforts. You are not capable of coming to God unless He has chosen to call you first. "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you" (John 15:16)" - Madame Guyon

Forgive Me

Well, something has been stirring in my heart for the past 2 days. I want to start with a Scripture:

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23-24)

Recently, I experienced an incident where a person whom I knew from my past revealed to me that I had said something to hurt her in 4th grade that she had still resented me for all these years later. I was overwhelmed with gratitude and joy that God had led her to forgive me for that and release it to Him.

The Lord used this incident as well as others in my life to impress upon me just how much wounds, resentments, unforgiveness and bitterness can affect our lives, even towards those who are not aware that they have hurt us at all! My friends, this is a serious matter. I have been there! I can testify!

The Word warns us about allowing bitterness to take "root" in our hearts in Hebrews 12:15 --

Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look [after one another], to see that no one falls back from and fails to secure God's grace (His unmerited favor and spiritual blessing), in order that no root of resentment (rancor, bitterness, or hatred) shoots forth and causes trouble and bitter torment, and the many become contaminated and defiled by it. (Amplified Bible)

With this in mind, I personally feel led to take the opportunity and the time to ask for forgiveness from any and everyone that I may have hurt knowingly or unknowingly in my entire life. This could be from childhood, adolescence, teen years, college years, young adulthood, all the way up until now. Whatever I may have done to hurt you, I am truly sorry. I only desire for you to be free, to experience the grace and goodness and mercy of our heavenly Father.

This note is the equivalent of me leaving the altar and going to whoever has an issue or a hurt and seeking reconciliation. True, we may never be close confidants or hang out together, but we can release the past and embrace all God has for the future. By God's perfect grace, we can overcome the temptation to harbor resentments and to choose the way of agape, the way of God's love and restoration.

I pray that this has touched someone's heart tonight. If not toward me personally, I pray that it has begun to stir your thoughts toward others whom have hurt or abused or harmed you in some way or whom you may have hurt, and I pray that true reconciliation can happen within your heart. I pray that you will experience the fresh and wonderful grace of the Savior Jesus Christ to fill you with His perfect love and peace. May the Lord bless you always and in every possible way,

Tina
(Please feel free to send this to anyone you feel needs to see it, even if they are not on my friends list.)

This Is All of It

Our grace reminder for today comes from a classic, "Grace: God's Unmerited Favor" by Charles Spurgeon. May you be blessed by the truth as you read this. May you receive this revelation today of just how much our Savior and Lord loves and keeps us.

God has raised his hand and sworn that Christ will have the reward of His passion; that His purchased ones will be brought under His sovereign power; that having borne sin and put it away, it will never be a second time charged against His redeemed. His oath is unbreakable.

This is all of it. Do you believe in Christ? Then, God will work in you "to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13) God will conquer your sin; God will sanctify you; God will save you; God will keep you; God will bring you to Himself. Rest in the covenant. Then, moved by intense gratitude, go forward to serve your Lord with all your heart and soul and strength. Being saved, live to praise Him. Do not work so that you may be saved, but serve Him because you are saved, for the covenant has secured your safety.

I Need Thee Every Hour

“If God wants you to do something, he'll make it possible for you to do it, but the grace he provides comes only with the task and cannot be stockpiled beforehand. We are dependent on him from hour to hour, and the greater our awareness of this fact, the less likely we are to faint or fail in a crisis.” -Louis Cassels (1922-1974)

Today's grace quote reminded me of the old hymn, "I Need Thee Every Hour." I remember singing this song growing up in church, yet never having a deep understanding of what it meant to live with this kind of desperation for the Lord. I am now seeing this moment by moment dependence upon Him in my own life, and the grace He provides when we do surrender ourselves to daily abiding in this way brings a sense of peace that is beyond comprehension. What a delight it truly is to need Him every hour, because His grace is truly sufficient for us in every way.

Click HERE to listen to this beautiful hymn and meditate on its grace-filled words below:

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

Refrain

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.

Refrain

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain.

Refrain

I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

Refrain

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessèd Son.

Refrain

I Didn't Read My Bible Today!

I didn't read my Bible today, and I don't feel bad about it.

There...I said it!

Does that shock you? There was a time in my life where if I missed reading my Bible, at the end of the day, I would have been filled with self-condemnation. The tapes would begin to roll in my mind, "Look what you've done, Tina. You didn't even have time for God. What's wrong with you? Can't you get it together and make time for it?"

Please don't misunderstand me, friends. I love the truth of God's Word. It sets us free. It is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, of this I am fully aware and totally believe. Yet, what the Lord has been showing me is even more amazing to me personally. In my spirit, I truly feel the Lord releasing me from the "performance mentality" which basically says that in order to be closer to Him or more like Him, that I must "strive" and "press through" or whatever form of Christianese you want to call it. It's simply not true. (Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt.)

I truly feel the Spirit drawing me to continual communion with Him throughout the day, and this learning to constantly abide in Him means far more to me than planning out my 30 minute time slot to "study my Word" and then check it off my list for the day. Because there is that tendency in us, you know, at least in me. It is a certain sense of accomplishment on my part; a certain sense of self-righteousness that muses "Oh, I read my Bible for an hour today. Wow. I am so spiritual."

We must hide God's Word in our hearts, friends. No doubt. But we must resist the temptation to base our spirituality on how much we "study" or read the Bible. Frankly, at this point in time, I am reading books on family, marriage, boundaries and grace, which are filled with His Word through believers in Christ, and I am gathering much divine wisdom and knowledge from those. Yet, even in this, I cannot and should not boast, because it gains me nothing if I have not love! If I have no fellowship with my Lord and no agape flowing through me, then all the studying in the world would be like chaff blown away.

May God's precious Word be a delight to us, not a way to enlighten or elevate ourselves above others or to gain certain acceptance or blessing from our Father. May our motivations always be pure in the light of His love and not merely a way for us to feel better about ourselves or to check it off our spiritual agenda. May we see our time seeking Him through prayer, through viewing nature, through time spent with others, through listening to His voice as all part of our daily walk of grace. May we be set truly free of being driven to perform tasks, no matter how spiritual they may be, out of a sense of guilt, fear or striving. May we come to the study of Truth with a fresh and open heart to hear Him however He chooses to speak to us each day.

Peace, love and grace to all,
Tina

Jesus Fulfills the Law

A wonderful devotion today taken from the Blue Letter Bible site.

Jesus Fulfilling the Law

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17)
The standard of the law of God is infinitely high and lofty: "be holy, be loving, be perfect." This is because the law reflects the very character of God. In light of this, we may wonder if there is any way that the law can be fulfilled. How could the righteous demands of the law ever be met in our lives? The answer to this vital question is contained in the truth that Jesus came "to fulfill" the law.

Consider how comprehensive was Jesus' fulfillment of the law. He fulfilled the law in His life, becoming our example. As Jesus lived, He showed us what life would look like if one could always, in every way, live up to the heavenly standards of God. Jesus' testimony was "I always do those things that please Him" (John 8:29).

Further, He fulfilled the law in His death, becoming our substitutionary sacrifice. The law included a penalty for violation, and that penalty was death. "The soul who sins shall die…For the wages of sin is death" (Ezekiel 18:4 and Romans 6:23). Jesus lovingly died in our place to pay that penalty which we owed. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Additionally, He wants to fulfill the law now in our daily experience, by being our life: "Christ who is our life" (Colossians 3:4). The Lord Jesus wants to live in and through the lives of His disciples, as we daily put our faith in Him. "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God" (Galatians 2:20).

Yes, Jesus fulfills the law comprehensively!

Dear Father of Glory, what marvelous grace—what marvelous grace! Such a thorough provision is supplied by Your grace. Through the work of Jesus, my Lord, the law is fulfilled. Its holy demands are met on my behalf. My failure before Your law is fully covered by Your grace. Lord Jesus, thank You for paying the penalty for my sins. My desire to grow in the righteous life that You lived, and that the law describes, is fully available by Your grace. O Lord, this is grace upon grace. For this I praise You, and I rejoice with expectation. Lord Jesus, by faith I now look to You to be my life this day. Lord, inhabit my heart and shape my attitudes, my words, my relationships, and my deeds, I pray in Your mighty name, Amen.

Hoekstra, Bob. "Jesus Fulfilling the Law," Day By Day By Grace. Blue Letter Bible. 19 Mar 2004. 16 Jan 2010.
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