GROWING in GRACE

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

 

Max Lucado:

It’s wonderful to see that grace is something God already did for us, and how it moved us from unforgiven to forgiven. But to really see His grace for all it is, we need to recognize it as something God is doing now. It’s the word the Bible uses to describe His ongoing, aggressive commitment to change us from the inside out.

 

…I will give you a new heart—I will give you new and right desires—and put a new spirit within you. I will take out your stony hearts of sin and give you new hearts of love. And I will put my Spirit within you so that you will obey… Ezekiel 36:3 (MSG)

 

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!

 

The well-known words of the hymn speak of grace that saves us from a death sentence, pulls us out of darkness, and gives us a fresh start. It’s a gift of unmerited mercy that cancels our debts and sets us free. But as the hymn’s later verse says, there’s still MORE TO THIS GRACE:

 

Through many dangers, toils, and snares

I have already come;

’Twas grace that brought me safe thus far

And grace will lead me home.

 

Isn’t that remarkable?

Grace saves!

Then GRACE directs, it comforts, it clarifies, it changes, it equips, it PROTECTS, it inspires, and it leads!

 

There’s something about GOD'S supernatural grace that stays with us from start to finish and, day after day, creating our calling for how to live, breath, obey, grow, and flourish IN CHRIST!

…grow in the GRACE and knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. 

2 Peter 3:18 (CEB)

 

Grace is not merely the one-time gift of salvation but if allowed "to breathe" can be the very heartbeat of our walk in and with CHRIST every day.

 

That is why it is so important that EACH DAY we honor GOD’s grace with our best. That is why it is so important that EACH DAY we pause to acknowledge not just its saving power but it’s changing power.

For this "amazing" GRACE:

...allows us to be more loving.

...allows us to be more kind and thoughtful.

...opens the spirits of compassion and service in each one of us.

...if exercised will not just lead us home but lead us to emulate CHRIST!

 

And at the end of the day that should be the goal of every one of us.

 

So, my friends be blessed today. Walk in HIS GRACE!

 

“God will change you if you let Him—and His grace will shape your life.”

– Charles Stanley

 

I love you all!

HAVE A BLESSED DAY!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE