Glory in weaknesses

When we encounter problems in life, do we rely on our own human effort and wisdom to solve them or do we depend on God’s grace? Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 exhorts us : “But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and ^[a]show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may ^[b]pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!" (The Amplified Bible)

This is such an amazing verse! We often only quote the first part of it which says that God’s grace is sufficient for us in our difficulties. We tend to overlook the following sentence which says, “for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness". Wow! God’s grace is sufficient for me because His strength and power are made perfect and fulfilled in my weakness! In another words, ONLY when I am weak, then can He be strong.

This is so contrary to the values of the world which exalt strength and independence. Being weak is frowned upon and seen as wimpy. God’s ways are in total contrast to the ways of the world. Isaiah 40:29 tells us, “He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.” (NKJ) Paul proudly declares in 2 Corinthians 12:10 : “…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (NKJ)

So what does the Bible mean by “weak” here? I believe it means we must be willing to put down our human pride and admit that we need God’s grace in every situation of our lives. When we meet with a difficult situation, we need to know that we have to rely entirely on His grace to see us through, not our self effort or human wisdom. It is so tempting in life to glory in our own strength and independence and not admit that we need to depend on God’s grace which The Amplified Bible defines very clearly as God’s favor, loving kindness and mercy.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 sums it up so aptly, “I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time. (NLT) The crux of the message here is that the strong and wise do not always get the best of everything. It is decided by chance and being at the right place at the right time. Who can ensure that he will always be at the right place at the right time? Only God can. Only His favor can let chance and time happen to us and for us.

No wonder the apostle Paul says “…I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may ^[b]pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!” (2 Corinthians 12:9 The Amplified Bible)

Are you glad to glory in your weaknesses?

Grace Has Made Us Heirs

If we want to know what God’s grace is, look at the cross. It is an addition sign (+). Through Jesus’ finished work on the cross, we have been miraculously added into the family of God. We are now His children who have the wonderful privilege of calling Him, Abba (Father), the name of God which Jesus came to reveal to man. “For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba(Father)! Father!” (Romans 8:15 The Amplified Bible) Galatians reinforces this by saying, “And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the [ Holy] Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba (Father)! Father!” (Galatians 4:6 The Amplified Bible)

This is just the tip of the iceberg. The best part of this good news is being God’s children means we are now heirs! "and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,..." (Romans 8:17 NKJ) Heirs of God and JOINT HEIRS with Christ! I think this is the best part : JOINT HEIRS with Christ. Wow! That means whatever inheritance Christ is entitled to, I am too! But hang on a second, what self sacrificing deed have I done to deserve such an awesome and fantastic thing? NOTHING. It is a gift that came through the cross, through grace. We cannot work for it. “But if it is by grace (His unmerited favor and graciousness), it is no longer conditioned on works or anything men have done. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace [it would be meaningless].” (Romans 11:6, The Amplified Bible)

How then do we receive this gift? By simply believing Jesus’ finished work on the cross for us. He cried “It Is Finished!” on the cross, to declare loudly that there is nothing more we need to do. The next pertinent question is what does it mean to be heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ? There are many phrases in the New Testament that describe our inheritance : heirs of the kingdom, heirs of the promise, heirs of the righteousness that comes by faith, inherit salvation and inherit eternal life. Eternal life is a wonderful inheritance if you ask me. “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3 NIV) Eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ. How can we do that? In this case we must bear in mind that God is not like a human father who is very rich and his heirs only inherit his estate when he dies. God will never die so how do we inherit? This is not just an earthly inheritance, when we are heirs of God, we not only inherit everything that God owns, we also inherit eternal life and eternal life is to know God and Jesus. This is our inheritance : to know God and Jesus, to know He is our Abba, our Daddy God, not a stern and far away God but One who embraces and holds us in His bosom. And because God is eternal, this "knowing God" is also eternal. Eternal life is to continually be in His presence and know Him intimately.

John in Revelation 21:3-7 sums it up beautifully, “³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.⁵He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.⁶He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.⁷He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (NIV) We inherit the benefits of being His sons and of drinking from the fountain of life. God Himself is our inheritance.

Fellow blogger and dear sister in Christ, Geri, sent me am sms that is so powerful : “He who has God and everything has nothing more than he who has God alone.” (CS Lewis)

Are you an heir of God and joint heir with Christ?

Grace Is Unfair

In all the parables that Jesus told, I think the one that raised the most eyebrows during His time and probably even now is the Parable of the Vineyard Workers. (Matthew 20:1-16 NIV)

¹"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.²He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' ⁵So they went.

"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. ⁶About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'

⁷" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.
"He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'

⁸"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'

⁹"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹²'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'

¹³"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

¹⁶"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

It is no wonder that the first group of workers who toiled the longest was mad! They had worked the longest under the hot sun and these late comers who were doing nothing earlier but loafing around at the market square barely worked for a few hours after they were given the job and they received the same pay! Surely the landowner was out of his mind and extremely unfair to the first hour workers.

Let’s examine his answer “'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'” The landowner hit the nail on the head! He asked if they were jealous because he was generous!

The landowner in Jesus’ parable did not cheat the group of first hour workers, he paid them according to what he promised them. They were upset and discontented because they could not accept that their employer could do whatever he wanted with his money and he paid the late comers the same amount as them. They felt that he was being downright UNFAIR by their own standards.

When Jesus told this story, He was giving us a parable about grace, and yes God’s grace is unfair because it cannot be measured, not by a day’s wage or by our “good” works. Jesus put it very plainly, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last." Grace means it is not about counting! Grace is a GIFT, to be RECEIVED from God, we cannot do anything to earn it. Yes, God’s grace is unfair, it is unfairly GOOD!

Philip Yancey in his book, “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” sums it up so eloquently. “ We like to think of ourselves as responsible workers, and the employer’s strange behaviour baffles us as it did the original hearers. We risk missing the story’s point: that God dispenses gifts, not wages. None of us gets paid according to merit, for none of us comes close to satisfying God’s requirements for a perfect life. If paid on the basis of fairness, we would all end up in hell.”

Have you embraced this unfair grace?

Extreme Grace (3) – The Extremely Diligent and Patient Searcher

In my two previous posts, I have talked about the parables of the lost sheep and the lost son in Luke 15. The second parable in this trilogy is the parable of the lost coin. I believe that the woman in this parable who lost her coin and went about diligently and patiently searching for it is a picture of the Holy Spirit.

In this story, a woman had ten coins and lost one. Many bible commentators believe that these coins could be part of the woman’s dowry. The Amplified Bible says that one coin was equivalent to a day’s wage, which means that the coin was very valuable to her. When she lost it, she made every effort to recover the lost coin. Luke 15 tells us, “Or what woman, having ten [silver] drachmas [each one equal to a day's wages], if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and look carefully and diligently until she finds it?” (Luke 15:8 The Amplified Bible)

If we understand that Palestinian homes at that time had no windows to let the light in and the floor of their homes were usually dirt floors covered with straws, we would appreciate the extent the woman went through to search for that one lost coin. She patiently lit a lamp and diligently and carefully swept the entire house to look for that lost item. “…light a lamp and sweep the house and look carefully and diligently until she finds it” (verse 8) The key word here is UNTIL, the woman searches until she finds the lost coin. She patiently and diligently searches UNTIL she finds it.

As in the other two parables that Jesus told in Luke 15, there was extreme rejoicing when the woman finally found her lost coin. She rushed out and called her friends and neighbours to her house to celebrate her joy in finding her precious lost coin. “And when she finds it you can be sure she'll call her friends and neighbors: 'Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!” (Luke 15 :9 The Amplified Bible)

This parable depicts the Holy Spirit as the One who is always searching the earth for the lost and when He finds one and reconciles him to God, there is extreme jubilation and rejoicing in heaven. “…Count on it—that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God." (Luke 15:10 The Amplified Bible)

I want to end this series on the extreme grace of God with this beautiful quotation by Soren Kierkegaard from my favourite book, “What’s So Amazing About Grace?”, by Philip Yancey. "When it is a question of a sinner He does not merely stand still, open his arms and say, “Come hither”; no, He stands there and waits, as the father of the lost son waited, rather He does not stand and wait, He goes forth to seek, as the shepherd sought the lost sheep, as the woman sought the lost coin. He goes – yet no, He has gone, but infinitely farther than any shepherd or any woman, He went, in sooth, the infinitely long way from being God to becoming man, and that way He went in search of sinners.”

Aren’t you moved by this extreme grace? I am completely bowled over!

Extreme Grace (2) – The Extremely Compassionate and Sacrificial Shepherd

In the first of the string of three parables in Luke 15, Jesus asks a question in answer to the pharisees criticizing Him for socializing with sinners , “What man of you, if he has a hundred sheep and should lose one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness (desert) and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? (Luke 15:4 The Amplified Bible) Jesus says affirmatively that the shepherd in the story will definitely leave the ninety nine sheep behind in the desert to go and search for that one lost sheep. In reality I think no shepherd in his right frame of mind will do that because it does not make sense to leave ninety nine healthy,vulnerable and defenseless sheep behind in the wilderness to go in search of one lost sheep that may never be found or if found, could be severely injured or dead.

Jesus is very sure that the shepherd in the parable will leave his helpless flock of ninety nine behind and plunge into the dark and dangerous night outside to seek the one lost sheep which appearance He knows by heart. Jesus knows the heart of the shepherd in the story so intimately because HE IS that shepherd. Luke 19:10 tells us, “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

To Jesus’ extremely compassionate heart, even just one sheep from His fold that has gone missing will cause Him deep sorrow; He cannot bear the thought of the lost sheep in jeopardy. But you may point out that the shepherd in the story still has ninety nine left in the fold, so one missing sheep will not make that big a difference, will it? Well, it is a BIG deal to the extremely compassionate Shepherd. 2 Peter 3:9 puts it across so poignantly, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (NKJ)

When the shepherd in the story plunges into the unknown darkness to seek the one lost sheep, he has knowingly allowed himself to be plunged into an extremely dangerous situation. He has to go where the sheep has gone, tread paths that he has never gone before and venture into dark and perilous woods just to find that one lost and defenseless sheep. By doing that, the shepherd has put his own life on the line. Jesus, the extremely sacrificial shepherd, has laid down His life on the cross for us, the lost sheep. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11 NKJ)

When one of these sheep is lost and then found, the shepherd “lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” There is no stern reprimand or punishment for the silly sheep who wandered away on its own but only extreme rejoicing. So extreme is the shepherd’s joy at finally finding that lost sheep that he lays the sheep which probably weighs a minimum of 100 pounds on his shoulders! The sheep doesn’t even have to walk! What extreme grace from the extremely compassionate and sacrificial shepherd! Isaiah 53:6 tells it so well, “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.” (NLT) The extremely sacrificial shepherd bore on His shoulders all the sins of the lost sheep.

Has this extremely compassionate and sacrificial shepherd found you?

Extreme Grace (1) – The Extremely Loving and Forgiving Father

Many people are familiar with The Parable of the Prodigal or Lost Son. I believe this parable is titled such because the focus is on the son who was brazen enough to ask his aged father for his share of the inheritance and then spent all the money on wild living. He was so down and out that even the food of the pigs which he was tending looked delicious to him. It was then that he decided he should return to his father’s house since the servants there were better fed than he.

Many Christians think that the prodigal son in this parable taken from Luke 15:11-32 is the prime figure in the story because they see it from the perspective that when we sin, we should be like the prodigal son. We have to be willing to turn back to God and repent of our sins and He will forgive us.

If we look at this parable in context, it is the third parable in a string of three which Jesus told in Luke 15 – the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. I believe and Pastor Prince has also preached that these three parables depict Jesus as the shepherd, the Holy Spirit as the woman and God as the father. The lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son are all pictures of lost sinners whom the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are seeking. Just one lost soul found will call for extreme and extravagant celebration and jubilation.

In the parable of the Prodigal Son (I want to rename it the story of The Extremely Loving and Forgiving Father), the key figure or the main character is the father. When the son was a long way off, the father saw him, ran to him and embraced him with all his might. The father broke all tradition as it was not befitting for a man of his status to run and rushed forward to welcome home the wayward son who had squandered half of his fortune. The son was so overwhelmed by his father's extreme display of affection that he could not utter a word, let alone recite his prepared speech of asking to be one of his father's hired servants.

There was no stern or angry reprimand as the son expected but extreme lavishing of love and forgiveness as the jubilant father called for an extremely generous celebration. “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.” (Luke 15:22-24 NLT) What extreme grace! It was so extreme that the older son was angry and indignant “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’”(Luke 15:28-30 NLT)

Such is God’s extreme grace, it does not depend on what we have done or can do for God. Extreme grace is God’s extreme love and forgiveness for extremely sinful man.

Have you embraced this extreme grace?

Grace Means We Can Breathe Easy

Fellow blogger and good friend, Stan, has a very powerful analogy of breathing in his post, Breathe. He says, "I have been thinking over the past two days about how to explain clearly the role of our will when the word "Breathe" kept rising in my spirit.
While you were reading this post up till this very moment, have you noticed that you were and still are breathing? Were you consciously commanding yourself to breathe or were you just breathing without really thinking about the fact you were breathing?

I don't know about you but most of the time, I am not even conscious of the fact that I am breathing! I only notice my breathing when I am NOT AT REST or doing something strenuous.

Similarly, that is how Phil 2:12-13 works. When we are resting in the grace of God, our will and God's will become one; and we do, without being conscious of the fact that we are doing!"

I want to continue with this spot on analogy of breathing in my comparison of grace with works. When a believer knows that he is under grace, his walk with the Lord is like breathing, he is unconscious of self-effort, because his eyes are fixed on Christ and His finished work on the cross. I call this the grace walk. When we know that Christ has fulfilled every aspect of the law and we are in Him, we can breathe easy because the work has been done! "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." (Romans10:4 NKJ) Christ said IT IS FINISHED on the cross, which means there is nothing we can ever do to add to His prefect work. I do not have to perform or try my utmost best to fulfil the law to get into God’s good books. I am righteous (have right standing with God) in Christ because of what Jesus has done for me on the cross, not because of what I have done or can ever do. Praise the Lord! This is grace! We can be at rest and breathe easy now that we know the burden is not on our behaviour or good works, can’t we?

When we focus on the person of Jesus and His finished work, we are like Mary, Martha’s sister. Mary sat at Jesus' feet, she was not conscious of her breathing, but Martha was stressed out and "hyperventilating", blaming everyone around her for not caring that she was working so hard. Jesus said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41,42 NKJ)

In contrast to breathing easy is laboured breathing. Labour in the Old Testament is always associated with hard work and human effort, “the labor of my hands” (Genesis 31:42), “Rachel labored in childbirth” (Genesis 35:16), “hard labor” (Genesis35: 17”), “you shall labor and do all your work” (Exodus 20:9). There are many more besides these examples. In our Christian walk, if we think that we have to constantly score points with God by keeping the law or by doing good works, then we become very focused on ourselves. This is always lacking because we are imperfect and when we depend on our self-efforts to earn our right standing with God, we will become very stressed and our breathing will become laboured. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NKJ)

Interestingly, the only labour that the bible says we should do as believers under the covenant of grace is to labour to enter that rest, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Hebrews 4:9-11 KJV)

Are you labouring to enter into that rest?

The Throne of Grace

It is so natural and human to rely on our own effort to solve our problems. The world has this saying “God helps those who help themselves”. I used to think that it was a quote from the bible but it is not. In stark contrast to this famous quote which incidentally is from Benjamin Franklin, the bible says in the book of Hebrews, “Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].” (Hebrews 4:16 Amplified bible). Isn’t it wonderful to know that in our times of need, we can approach God boldly, without fear of rejection or unworthiness? What is even more comforting is that the throne of God is a throne of grace, not a throne of judgement or condemnation. I don’t have to score points with God just to obtain mercy and grace. The throne of grace here as defined by the Amplified Bible is the throne of God’s unmerited favour to us sinners.

Grace is the unmerited favour of God. Unmerited means I have not done and cannot do anything to earn it. It says here in this verse that we can find grace to help and this help is well-timed and comes just when we need it. Wow! Just knowing that I have God’s unmerited favour to help me at the time that is most appropriate sure lifts the burden of working for my own solutions off my puny shoulders! My part is to learn to rely completely on His grace, not on my own works. “But if it is by grace (His unmerited favor and graciousness), it is no longer conditioned on works or anything men have done. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace [it would be meaningless].”(Romans 11:6 Amplified bible)

Do you find that when we look to ourselves for a solution to the problem that we are facing, we become burdened with worries and stress? I guess this is because we do not know whether we are able to come up with the best solution because we do not have full knowledge of the situation and what will happen in the future. But praise God! Grace to help in time of trouble when we need it most can be found at His throne but do we look for this grace from God or do we look to others or ourselves for help?

Sometimes we can be so full of trying to provide the answers to a problem that we miss receiving from God. The story of Martha is a good example (Luke 10:38-42). She saw Jesus as the one “in need”; that He was hungry and took it upon herself to provide a solution, in her case, it was food. She was so busy with providing what she thought was the answer that she missed receiving from the Lord. In contrast, her sister, Mary, had the revelation that grace could be found in Jesus, that was why she sat at His feet, receiving from Him. Jesus said that “one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken from her.” (verse 42)

Have you chosen the good part?

G.O.D. - Grace On Delivery

I am still on the topic of acronyms (I love acronyms) ;). Since this blog is all about God's grace, it just seems so appropriate that G.O.D should stand for Grace On Delivery. I have embedded the link to one of my favourite songs sung by Evie so you can enjoy it too. The title is Special Delivery. The first verse and the chorus are as follows:

Special Delivery Lyrics

Verse:

Never was anyone like Him, never will one be the same Tiny babe, an Infant King, Savior, we worship and honor the power of His name

Chorus:

He came special delivery, wrapped up in love, bound by a promise, sealed by a dove And filled with the spirit, carried by grace, you knew where He was goin', by the look on His face.

The lyrics are so beautiful, especially the chorus. God delivered His grace to us in the person of His beloved Son. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth". (John 1:14 NKJ). Jesus came wrapped up in love and carried by GRACE. John 1:17 tells us, "For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." The law was given (implying distance) but grace CAME in the person of Jesus. He came by special delivery, born of a virgin, the perfect and sinless embodiment of grace.

In an account in Luke 4, Jesus was in the synagogue on the Sabbath day:
17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

18 “ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”(Luke 4:17-19 NKJ)

When Jesus read up to here, He closed the book and sat down (verse 20). This is amazing, as the actual passage taken from Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1,2) did not end here. It ends with “And the day of vengeance of our God”. Jesus came to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, He came to proclaim God’s amazing grace! No more day of vengeance of our God. No wonder in verse 22, the people “marvelled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.”

God delivered Jesus to be born into this world to show us what His definition of grace is. Grace demands nothing from the receivers but it cost the Giver His Son, His Only Son, the Son whom He loved. "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32 NKJ)

Do you want to sign for the delivery?

Special Delivery - Evie

Grace – Given Redemption At Christ’s Expense (2)

As I continue to dwell on the acronym, G.R.A.C.E. and what it means to me (Given Redemption At Christ’s Expense), I realize with growing conviction in my heart that I have indeed been redeemed from many bad things for the bible says in Galatians 3:13: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." (NIV)

I have been redeemed from the curse of the law at Christ’s expense! How does one come under the curse of the law in the first place? A few verses up and it tells us clearly: All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." (Galatians 3:10 NIV). This is really scary because what it means is that if I rely on observing the law, I have put myself under a curse and if I DO NOT do EVERYTHING written in the book of law, I am cursed!

What is the book of law? John 1:17 tells us, For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (NIV). The only laws given through Moses were the Ten Commandments, which were written by God’s own finger on tablets of stone. This means that according to Galatians 3:10, if I rely on keeping these laws and I cannot do what the commandments demand then I am cursed! But praise be to Daddy God! The second part of the verse brings me great comfort and hope for it declares; “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”.

I can rejoice and sing for grace and truth came in the person of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ and He has redeemed me from the curses of the Ten Commandments, which demand absolute obedience and adherence from me. God in His mercy knows that I will never in this life be able with my own effort to fulfill all the demands of the law. Thank God Jesus came, to redeem me from these demands and the curses that will come upon me when I disobey the law. He came to fulfill the law so that I am no longer under law, but under grace and this has been made possible for me at Christ’s expense. “… you are not under law, but under grace”. (Romans 6:14 NIV)

This brings me to the important question of what is the curse of the law (not that I want the curse or curses) but it behoves me to find out what Christ has redeemed me from. The curses on disobedience are listed in detail in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. Wow! That is a lot of curses! But because of Jesus, NONE of these curses will befall me because He has redeemed me from the curse of poverty, sickness, disease, broken relationships, etc and etc.
Hallelujah! What a wonderful Saviour!

Grace – Given Redemption At Christ’s Expense (1)

I have often heard that the acronym, G.R.A.C.E.,stands for God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. I feel that this is really awesome as it is a constant reminder of how much God loves us, His children. He has given us His riches at the expense of His beloved Son, Jesus. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9 NIV)

As I was meditating on what to write for today’s post, the acronym G.R.A.C.E. took on a more personal meaning for me. To me, G.R.A.C.E. speaks of me as a wretched sinner being Given Redemption At Christ’s Expense. Redemption is GIVEN because I have not done and can never do anything to earn it; it is God’s gift to all who will receive it. 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; (Romans 3:23,24 NAS Bible)

What is redemption? WordReference.com English Dictionary defines redemption as repurchase, buyback, the act of purchasing back something previously sold. It is also defined as salvation. Not only have I been given salvation at Christ’s expense, blessings that previously belonged to me have been bought back at Christ’s expense!

Galatians 3:13,14 sum it up beautifully: 13-14Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham's blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive God's life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing—just the way Abraham received it. (The Message)

What is my part? I only need to believe! The New Kings James bible says in verse 14 “that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith”

Is Grace Amazing to You?

One of the most beloved hymns of all time, Amazing Grace, starts with " Amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me..."

When I was in college, my friend would joke that every time she sang that hymn, she would change the sentence "that saved a wretch like me" to "that saved a wretch like YOU". As she sang that, she would look at her clueless friend gleefully and give the poor girl a painful jibe in the elbow.

I used to laugh at her antic and her ingenuity at changing that particular sentence of the hymn. Now in retrospect, it has struck me that to my friend at that time, there was nothing amazing about grace because she never felt that the word "wretch" described her in any way at all.

It has finally dawned on me that only those who really know how wretched they are will truly understand why grace is so amazing and how sweet that word sounds.

Amazing Grace Lyrics
John Newton (1725-1807)Stanza 6 anon.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.