Category: Grace

Daily Promise – October 8 – He exchanged His life for our life

John 1:16 KJV

And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

Promise #281: I have blessed you in Christ with one outpouring of grace after another.

I love the Amplified version of this Bible verse…
For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift. AMP

In Jesus, God the Father has blessed us with grace upon grace, heaped favor upon favor on us and blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven (Ephesians 1:3). Words cannot express the wonderful, bountiful outpouring of love and blessings that God has given us through the free gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

My prayer is that we would be able to tangibly grasp the unshakeable inheritance that is ours in Jesus Christ today. He exchanged His life for our life and made the way for us to be partakers of His divine nature and beneficiaries of all His blessings. Thank you God for your amazing grace and every good and perfect gift that comes from your hand (James 1:17)!

Daily Promise – September 27 – He will keep us from falling

Jude 1:24 KJV

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling,
and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

Promise #270: I will keep you from falling until you joyfully stand blameless in My presence.

One day, each one of us who has called on the name of the Lord will stand before His presence. Today’s promise encourages us that we have nothing to fear on that glorious day. Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Lord, and our Elder Brother, will present us before His Father completely faultless (blameless) on that holy day. The NLT Bible says that Jesus ‘will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.’

I love the thought that when Jesus presents us to God, He will do so with exceeding joy! The Amplified Bible describes it as… triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight]. It will absolutely thrill the heart of Jesus to present us blameless before His Father on the day that we will see Him face to face!

We have nothing to fear about our future. Jesus has promised to be faithful to keep us from falling and will one day present us completely blameless before His Father and our Father in triumphant joy with unspeakable, ecstatic delight! Hallelujah!!!!!!
Photo by Martin Smith

AuthorBarry Adams

Verse of the Day – join us in going to the great celebration of grace and salvation at his return!

VERSE:
The inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, “Let us
go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself
am going.”
— Zechariah 8:21
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Zechariah+8:21

THOUGHT:
This Messianic message from Zechariah anticipates the day of the
LORD’s redemption. Many different peoples, from all over the world,
will come looking for the great mercy of God. God’s people will
have one key phrase on their hearts: “Let’s go seek the presence of
God. I’m going; why don’t you join me?” As believers, we know Jesus
has come, has died, and has been raised from the dead. We know
Jesus is returning with salvation for all who truly know and follow
him. Let’s ask others to join us in going to the great celebration
of grace and salvation at his return!

PRAYER:
Loving Father, I seek your presence daily in my life. Without
your guidance, love, holiness, and truth, I would be lost and
confused. Knowing that my destiny is with you, I look forward to
seeing you face to face as your child. Please lead me to those who
do not know you, but who are seeking you. Give me eyes to see them,
ears to hear their cry, and wisdom to know how to share your grace.
Use me to prepare them to meet you at the great Day of Redemption
that is coming with your Son. In the name of Christ Jesus my Lord.
Amen.

http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20110927

Verse of the Day – We will see God face to face

VERSE:
Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may return; renew our
days as of old.
— Lamentations 5:21
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Lamentations+5:21

THOUGHT:
When these words were first spoken, they focused on God’s
restoration of Israel back to its place, its prominence, its life,
and its Temple. Yet from our vantage point, this prayer can be ours
as well. Restoration can mean Christ’s return which brings us home
to God. On that day, every barrier standing between God and us will
fall. Our mortality will be swallowed up in victory. We will see
God face to face and get to walk with him in the cool of the day as
his perfect children. May that day come soon!

PRAYER:
Holy and awesome God, I know a huge gulf stands between your
perfection and my limitations. Yet, dear Father, I believe you have
spanned that gulf with your grace. While I wait for that perfection
to dawn in all its fullness, please empower me for my battles with
the Evil One and deliver me from all spiritual harm and attack.
Until the day I see you face to face, please accept my
all-too-limited and human praise for all you have done to save me.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20110921

Daily Promise – September 18 – Do not repay evil for evil, but rather be a blessing instead

1 Peter 3:9 KJV

9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing;
knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.


Promise #261: I have called you to inherit My blessing.

In this Scripture passage, the Apostle Peter is encouraging us not to repay evil for evil, but rather be a blessing instead. If we are living with an orphan perspective, we will have to scratch and claw for everything we get in life. When people do evil things to us, we will need to respond in the same way back to them. The life of an orphan is lonely and scary. He or she is left to their own devices to manage life.The life of a son or daughter however, is quite different. They know that they are loved beyond imagination and are safe from harm. They live in the reassurance that they are blessed beyond measure and that they have a rich inheritance of blessings yet to come. In Ephesians 1:3, the Bible says that our heavenly Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven. The life that we are called to live is a life of abundance and blessing.

That is why when someone acts in an ‘orphan-like’ way to us, even a brother or sister in Christ, we don’t have to respond in a similiar way, but with blessings. May each one of us be so filled with the revelation that we have been called to inherit a blessing, that we become an absolute outflow of blessings to others!

~ Barry Adams

Verse of the Day – God sees trouble and grief

VERSE:
You, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it
in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of
the fatherless.
— Psalm 10:14
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Psalm+10:14

THOUGHT:
Those who take advantage of people who are powerless, who are
down on their luck, or who are in compromising situations, need to
know that God sees their actions and will hold them accountable.
Those who are in distress must keep their faith in God, trusting
that he sees, cares, and will send his help at the right time.
Those of us who fit neither category need to be working for the
deliverance and blessing of those who are facing difficulties and
hardships.

PRAYER:
Gracious God, please bless several people I know who are in
times of real distress and heartbreak. Please use me to minister to
them. But please, dear Father, fill them with your Spirit so they
will have the strength and courage necessary to endure. Bless them
with deliverance that is clearly from you, so that all will know
your grace and give glory to you. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Daily Promise – September 8 – Simply because He loves us

Ephesians 2:4-5 KJV
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,
(by grace ye are saved;)

Promise #251: I made you alive in Jesus simply because I love you.

Today’s promise is the very core of the gospel message. Because Father God is rich in mercy, He has loved us with a love that is immeasureable. He has set a value on each one of our lives that is beyond our comprehension. In His great kindness, God saw fit to make us alive in Jesus Christ even when we were His enemies, dead in our sin.

By the unmerited favor of our God and Father and by the sacrifice of our savior and Lord Jesus Christ, we are saved from eternal separation from the Godhead. The motivation for such a great salvation is simply the love that God has for us. We don’t know why He decided to love us and sacrifice all that He had to gain our love, we just know that He does.

My prayer is that not one of us would miss the incredible simplicity of God’s heart for humanity. His motivation to save us was rooted and grounded in His love and great mercy. Period. He is not looking for servants, but sons and daughters. That is why Jesus died for you and I.  So that you could be part of His family. May we all be in awe today of the salvation that has been so freely given to each one of us.

~ Barry Adams

Verse of the Day – Seek the good of others

VERSE:
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
— 1 Corinthians 10:24
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=1+Corinthians+10:24

THOUGHT:
Isn’t it amazing how the more we try to fix things for
ourselves, the more we focus on “looking out for number 1,” and the
more we also find ourselves isolated from meaningful relationships
that make life worth living. “If you want to have a friend, then be
a friend,” the saying goes. You know what? It’s right! It’s easy to
seek what is only for our own good. That’s what most folks do as a
matter of course. But what makes Christians redemptive, what makes
them like God, is their willingness to think of others before
themselves!

PRAYER:
Father, forgive me, because I know that I am often selfish and
seldom think through the implications of my decisions based on the
needs of others. I want to have the mind of Christ and be more
selfless and sacrificial with everyone who needs your grace and the
tenderness that you have placed within me to share with them.
Please bless me as I seek to be like your Son in this area of my
life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Encouragement to Grace

You’ve got everlasting arms beneath you,
love all around you,
GRACE to see you through,
and enough strength to make it too.

You’re supported in ways you can’t see,
more than you know,
and the God whose heart beats with love for you
will never let you go.

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27

-Holley Gerth

Excerpt from one of Holley’s new cards, inspired by her new devotional book God’s Heart for You.

God’s Grace is for Everyone

God’s Grace is for Everyone


Luke 17:15-16

New King James Version (NKJV)

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

Jesus healed all ten lepers; but only one returned to thank him.

It is possible to receive God’s great gifts with an ungrateful spirit–nine of the lepers did so.

Only the thankful leper, however, learned that his faith had played a role in his healing, and only grateful Christians grow in understanding of God’s grace.

God does not demand that we thank him, but he is pleased when we do so, and he uses our spirit of thankfulness to teach us more about his Kingdom.

~ Life Application Bible

Why we must depend on God’s Grace

Romans 2:1 (New King James Version)

1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself;  for you who judge practice the same things.

No one is good enough to save himself. We must depend totally on God’s grace, regardless of whether we have done horrible things, or have been full of good deeds and rarely do anything wrong. Any sin is enough to cause us to depend on Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life.

 

Note: Dictionary.com defines salvation

sal·va·tion

[sal-vey-shuhn]

noun

1.   the act of saving or protecting from harm, risk, loss, destruction, etc.
2.  the state of being saved or protected from harm, risk, etc.
3.  a source, cause, or means of being saved or protected from harm, risk, etc.
4.  Theology . deliverance from the power and penalty of sin; redemption.

 

When Speculation Replaces Faith

By Jon Walker

That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crestfallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn’t bear to let go. (Matthew 19:22 MSG)

Jesus demands we drop the distractions and become single-minded in our obedience to his commands. In the case of the rich young man, this pulls him away from the romantic fantasy that Christ’s commands are what Bonhoeffer calls a mere “opportunity for moral adventure, a thrilling way of life, but one which might easily be abandoned for another if occasion arose.”

The young man is pulled into the reality of costly grace, where our only hope to enter the kingdom of heaven lies in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Jesus won’t allow him to see eternal life as a distant dream; he insists the young man follow him into that life now. Jesus consistently said, “The kingdom of heaven is upon you.”

Discipleship, Bonhoeffer says, is not the completion of an old life, doing that one final thing you have to do to enter the kingdom, like the capstone of a long and distinguished career ushers you into retirement. Discipleship is about irrevocably leaving your present life behind and entering a new life where Jesus is the center of significance.

It is a life in which Jesus is the only significance.

Bonhoeffer says, “Here is the sum of the commandments—to live in fellowship with Christ.” Jesus must bring us to the place where we abandon anything that holds us to the old life, anything other than Jesus to which we are attached.

The attachments may be different for different people. For the rich young man, the attachment was to his wealth. What are the attachments you have that keep you part-time in your pursuit of Christ?

When Speculation Replaces Faith is a post from: GraceCreates Jon Walker is the author of Costly Grace: A Contemporary View of Bonhoeffer’s ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ and Growing with Purpose. He has served on staff at Saddleback Church and Purpose Driven Ministries and is currently the managing editor of Rick Warren’s Daily Devotionals and the Ministry Toolbox. Contact him at questions@gracecreates.com. This article is copyrighted 2011 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

Facebook: GraceCreates with Jon Walker. Twitter: http://twitter.com/Grace_Creates

Olly, Olly Oxen Free! « Two Minutes of Grace

Olly, Olly Oxen Free! « Two Minutes of Grace.

Debbie and I are kindred souls for sure. Lightning bugs, memories, hide and seek, learning to feel loved by God, so we feel love for ourselves. We can live and dwell in the Room of Grace rather than in the Room of Good Intentions. We are accepted for Who we are by God. After all, we are HIS handiwork, specially made for His good pleasure. Thanks, Debbie for sharing from your heart, as always.

Daily Promises – August 26 – You shall obtain mercy if . . .

Matthew 5:7 KJV
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Promise #238: I will show mercy to those who are merciful to others.Even in secular surroundings, there is an often quoted verse from Jesus that we call the ‘golden rule’.

Do unto others as you would like others to do unto you.
Even the world recognizes that this is a universal principle.
Mercy works the same way. There is a promise for mercy for those who are merciful to others.

It is that simple.
How much mercy do I need in my life?
Do I need just a little, or a lot? 
And of course my answer is always…
“I need as much mercy as I can get!”The way that I can walk in mercy (for myself) every day is by simply extending mercy to those around me.

The person who cuts me off when I am driving,
the miserable store clerk,
the friend who might have offended me in some way.
If I forget that I need mercy myself,
I may forget that I need to extend mercy to others. Think of the areas that you need mercy in your own life.

For your shortcomings, for your failures, etc.
Do you want mercy to cover every area where you fall short?
Then shower mercy on others on every occasion
because mercy is receiving something we don’t deserve.We know that God’s love for us is unconditional and we can’t do anything to earn or deserve it.

However, there is a principle in God’s kingdom that is at work
everytime we sow something…
because what we sow, we will eventually reap.
I know that I need mercy today,
so I pray that I will have the wisdom to sow mercy wherever I go!

. . . Change Your Life


Posted: 23 Aug 2011 12:00 AM PDT

By Jon Walker

I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin again. (John 8:11 TEV)

Grace is meant to justify the sinner — “Go and sin no more.” Grace is never meant to justify our sins — “Everything is forgiven, so you can stay as you are.”

In other words, the grace of God is not a cosmic “get out of jail free” card.

Grace is given freely, but it cost Jesus a bloody price to offer it to us: “Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13 NLT).

Grace is given freely, but to walk in grace with Jesus will cost us everything as we join Jesus in “the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing” (Ephesians 2:10 MSG).

Jesus rescued the woman caught in adultery from certain death, but his expectation was that her life would change immediately. To return to her old life would have mocked the very grace that Jesus offered her that day.

His expectation of a changed life is no different for us: “Go in my grace, and sin no more.”