Grace in Vain? (2 Corinthians 6:1)

Today’s scripture: 2 Corinthians 6:1

It breaks my heart when I hear people say something like, “Well, I can live however I want as long as I ask for forgiveness.” They really don’t understand what grace is. And what Jesus did for us to receive grace.

They “receive the grace of God in vain.”

For us to have grace—unmerited favor—Jesus died. He died. He gave everything so that we could have everything: salvation, justification, eternal life.

When we think of all He did, we should want to live differently so that He is pleased, so that He receives glory and honor.

Grace isn’t a “get out of jail free” card to be used over and over. It’s a gift, an amazing gift from the sovereign God of the universe.

Be grateful … and don’t take it in vain.

Grace and Mercy (James 2:8-13)

Today’s scripture: James 2:8-13

Many belief systems or religions believe that if your good outweighs your bad, you’ll get to heaven or some kind of an eternal realm of peace or nirvana. What that percentage of good over bad no one quite knows.

The Bible tells us something very different. All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23). There is none righteous (Rom. 3:10). Or as James puts it, if we “stumble in one point, we have become guilty of all.” And each of us has stumbled … at least once.

We are all deserving of judgment, and if it were up to us, we wouldn’t get anywhere near heaven. But God is merciful. He, through His love and grace, offers freedom from our sin. He offers liberty. He offers forgiveness. To everyone:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life” (John 3:16).

“If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). 

We are sinners. We do deserve judgment. We do deserve eternal separation from our God. We don’t deserve mercy. We don’t deserve grace.

But when we accept God’s gift of salvation, we don’t receive judgment or eternal separation from God. Instead, we receive His mercy and grace.

What an amazing God we serve!

Grace to You (1 Thessalonians 5:25-28)

Today’s scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:25-28

Grace. It’s the greatest gift we receive from our Lord God. Unmerited favor. Receiving something amazing even though we don’t deserve it—at all.

I feel so tremendously blessed that God’s grace covers all my sin—past, present, and future.

His grace covered me when I deliberately turned my back on Him, when I went my own way over and over again.

It covers me now when I falter. And I do falter because no matter how I strive to live as Jesus would want, I still sin.

As much as I’d like to think I won’t sin in the future, I know that probably ain’t gonna happen … (Forgive my poor grammar, but it just seems to fit!)

Yet, God’s grace covers it all. It’s a gift I don’t take lightly. I do my very, very best to honor His gift by surrendering my life to Him daily. By doing what He’s called me to do. By serving Him and others. By offering grace to others.

It’s the least I can do.

It's All In the Words (Ephesians 6:21-24)

Today's scriptures: Ephesians 6:21-24

Some of my favorite words are in these verses. Faithful. Comfort. Peace. Love. Grace.

And as children of God, we experience all of these from God 

God is faithful. Utterly, completely faithful. He is unchanging and constant. He has always been and will always be. He will complete His work in His time.

He offers comfort. He promises to never leave nor forsake us. He is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in times of trouble. When we hurt, He carries us.

He offers peace. We know we don’t need to worry or be afraid. Even in the midst of the storm, He’ll reach out a hand to pull us from the waves. And when we come to Him with our anxious thoughts, He’ll fill our hearts with that pace that surpasses human understanding.

He offers love. He loves us with an everlasting love. He loves us so very much that He sent His Son, part of Himself to save us from our sins, and to bring us back into relationship with Him.

He offers grace. Salvation isn’t about what I do. It’s about what He has already done. Because of His love for me, He grants me unmerited favor. He gives me something I don’t deserve: Eternity with Him.

All because He’s faithful, loving, gracious, and the Giver of peace and comfort.

He’s so very, very good!!

God's Richest Blessings (Ephesians 2:4-7)

Today's scripture: Ephesians 2:4-7

Yesterday, I wrote that if we’re not following God, we’re following His enemy. We’re “dead people walking.” But when we commit our lives to Christ, we are “made alive.” And it’s because of God’s love, His mercy, His grace, and His kindness.

God loves us so very much, and He freely showers us with mercy, grace, and kindness.

Mercy … “compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power.”

Grace … “unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification.”

Kindness … “the quality or state of being kind; favor; benevolence.”

We don’t deserve any of these precious gifts. We don’t deserve being “seated with Him in the heavenly places.” We don’t deserve His love.

But He does love us: "God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die" (CEV, John 3:16). That’s how much He loves me. That’s how much He loves you.

Have you accepted God’s amazing gifts of love, mercy, grace, and kindness? He’s waiting.

Abundant Grace (2 Corinthians 8:9-15)

Today’s scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:9-15

Grace. Unmerited favor.

We are so undeserving of God’s grace. We are so unworthy. We fail so often. We listen to the lies of the world. We compromise truth.

And yet, God sees worth in us. He loves us so much He offers grace and forgiveness even when we don’t deserve it.

Our Savior gave everything for us. Everything. He gave up heaven to come to earth. He took on flesh and experienced temptation. Pain. Fatigue. Sorrow. Death.

All for us. All so that we could receive grace.

Oh, we have been so abundantly blessed because, not only does God offer grace to those who seek Him, but He also gives us strength for each day. He provides for our needs—not our wants, but our needs. He gives us peace and comfort through times of affliction. He loves us unconditionally. He never leaves us alone.

It would have been enough if He’d only offered grace, but He chooses to give us so much more.

No matter what you’re going through right now, God is with you. He’s walking alongside you, every minute of every day. He’s there to hold your hand—and sometimes to carry you—when you just don’t think you can just don’t think you can make it on your own.

You have been blessed. Abundantly.

Such Amazing Grace (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

Today's scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:20-21

I am so very frail, fleshly, and flawed. I struggle with sin so much more than I wish I did. And frankly, it breaks my heart that I so resonate with Paul’s words to the Romans, “… what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do …” (7:15-16).

If it weren’t my sin, Christ wouldn’t have had to die. It is only because of the spilling of His blood that I am righteous in the eyes in the Father. He was willing to take on my sin—my ugly, habitual sin—so that I can be cleansed.

We’re offered such amazing grace. Such amazing grace.

And because of the grace we have been granted, we should gladly and gratefully be Christ’s “ambassadors.” We should share God’s grace with everyone we meet, begging them on “behalf of Christ [to] be reconciled to God.”

So that they too can experience God’s amazing grace.

Grace for the Least (1 Corinthians 15:9-11)

Today's scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:9-11

We are all the “least of the apostles.” None of us deserves God’s grace. None of us.

Yet that’s exactly what God offers to us. Grace. Unmerited favor. Getting what we don’t deserve.

Most of us didn’t persecute the church of God, but we sinned. Each and every one of us. Some of us “worse” than others, certainly. But each of us has sinned. Each of has broken the heart of our Lord and Savior. Each of us deserves eternal separation from Him.

Yet, if we receive the gift of salvation by receiving Christ as our Savior, we are covered by God’s grace. We receive eternity with our Lord and Savior.

We receive so much of what we don’t deserve. Even those of us who have been the worst of sinners.

Grace is ours … We just have to ask.

Amazing Grace (Psalm 111:4b-5)

Today's scripture: Psalm 111:4b-5

The greatest gift we receive as children of God is grace—unmerited favor. 

We deserve nothing from God. Nothing.

I take that back. We do deserve something. We are sinful, fallen, rebellious creatures who really only deserve God’s wrath and justice. We deserve punishment. We deserve hell.

What we don’t deserve is forgiveness. We don’t deserve God’s forgetting our sin. We don’t deserve His grace.

Yet, “ … God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). What an amazing grace we receive because of God’s compassion and love for us. Even knowing how sinful and rebellious I would be, Jesus still died for me.

He did the same for you.

Have you accepted the gift of God’s grace? If you have, don’t take it for granted. Thank Him, and determine to live in humble gratitude.

It’s the least any of us can do for the most He did for us.