Weekly Grace

We live in an environment surrounded by people more concerned with their own agendas and activities than seeing God and acknowledging His presence. This is a sign of being spiritually blind. Most people have learned to be self-reliant and self-sufficient, and asking for God’s help never occurs to them. This kind of mindset stems from the now-expired Law of Moses, which holds us back from receiving God’s best.

Hearing the Word of grace preached offends spiritually-blind people. This was what happened when the Pharisees were highly offended by what Jesus taught. Rather than get caught up in trying to convince people who simply didn’t believe, Jesus told His disciples to leave them alone. They were blind leaders of the blind; listening to today’s religious doctrines only further intensifies spiritual blindness.

Under the law, the requirement to follow hundreds of rules and work hard to obey all the commandments put people in bondage to self-effort. However, what was true under the law may not be true under grace; we’ve now been freed from all those rules. When Jesus was preaching to the people, He told the Jews who believed Him that if they continued in His Word, they would know the truth, and the truth would make them free. Faith in grace gives us rest from our labors.

Trusting in Christ lets Him open blind eyes. He brings out prisoners and those who sit in spiritual darkness. With help from the Holy Spirit, we can do the same things Jesus did; preach deliverance to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and set at liberty those who are bruised in spirit. The empowerment He gives us is something we can help others find.

The law, which requires self-effort, focuses on sin. Thankfully, sin doesn’t have dominion over us anymore because we’re no longer under the law, but under grace. Receiving this gift for ourselves opens our spiritual eyes and lets us see life from God’s perspective.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Your Son opens our eyes to Your goodness, mercy, and grace. We don’t need perfect performance, just a willingness to believe. We’re grateful for the freedoms You brought us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Matthew 15:12-14

John 8:31, 32

Matthew 11:28-30

Isaiah 42:7

Luke 4:18

Romans 6:14

Have you ever wrestled with a problem that seemed so enormous you felt it would overwhelm you? At one time or another, we all have. We can feel as if we’re about to go under; at times like these, talking to God about it in prayer gives us amazing breakthroughs. We can come boldly to His throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

Trusting in and relying on Jesus makes us righteous in God’s eyes. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. We can be thankful that the requirements for prayer have changed from the covenant of the law to the covenant of grace. We no longer have to beg and plead with God to help us; because of the finished works of Jesus, everything we need to master situations in life has already been finished.

Before the cross, David prayed that God would create a clean heart in him; he asked God not to banish him from His presence or take His Holy Spirit from him. After the cross, God promises us that He will never give us up or leave us without support. He’ll be with us always, even to the end of the world.

Christ made this possible by being the propitiation for our sins; he was the peace offering to God and the ransom paid to put us back in right-standing with the Father. What makes us righteous now isn’t what we do, but the state of our hearts. Therefore, when we pray, we can do so with gratitude. We’re told to devote ourselves to prayer with alert minds and thankful hearts.

Life will always have problems, but they no longer have to dominate us. God has made us the head and not the tail. Because of Christ, we can now win in life.

Prayer:

God, Your Son shed His blood so that we could be righteous and experience victory over the issues in life that defeat others. This transforms everything, including our prayer lives. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Hebrews 4:16

James 5:16, NLT

John 19:30

Psalm 51:10, 11, NLT

Hebrews 13:5, AMPC

Matthew 28:20

1 John 2:2

Colossians 4:2, NLT

Deuteronomy 28:13

Life doesn’t always follow a script. From unexpected challenges to sudden changes, we’re often left wondering what to do next. For some, it’s thrilling; for others, it’s overwhelming. But for every believer, there’s a steady answer: the grace of God.

Grace has made available everything we’ll ever need for a successful life—including wisdom. This spiritual gift tells us what to do when we don’t know what to do. Depending on the Holy Spirit to guide us gives us much better results than if we had relied on our own efforts. Hearkening to counsel from Him is a sign of wisdom.

God, who can view time all at once from beginning to end, has a completely different perspective than we do with our limited point of view. Issues that frazzle our nerves and cause us anxiety are easily handled when we let godly wisdom and discernment guide our hearts. The heart of the prudent gets knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it as well. Leaning on the Holy Ghost in difficult situations allows Him to point out solutions that we would never see by ourselves.

Wisdom from heaven brings us the ability to deal with everyday situations calmly, peacefully, and with consideration for others. Listening for God’s voice enables us to hear counsel and receive instruction from Him so that we can be wise. He gives us what we need to see all sides of an issue impartially, and teaches us why we should seek wise counsel from others. If we lack this wisdom, we need only ask Him; He’ll give it to us liberally without upbraiding or finding fault with us.

Wisdom from heaven is pure, peace-loving, considerate, merciful, and sincere. These are all godly traits, and the by-products of the things of God. Accepting these gifts from Him gives us the ability to make the right decision for everyone involved, even in the midst of confusion. Depending on this grace gift connects us to the mind of God.

Prayer:

Father, You gave us the gift of godly wisdom, which is what we need to help us make sound decisions in life. Thank You for this. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Proverbs 12:15

Proverbs 18:15

Proverbs 19:20

James 1:5

James 3:17, NIV

1 Corinthians 2:16

If you’ve ever had a disagreement with someone that escalated to the point where you felt like your anger was about to boil over and get out of control, you were most likely in strife. As part of being human, we’ve all felt that way at one time or another. Strife is emotionally painful, and has the potential to destroy us. Learning how to recognize and deal with it keeps us safe.

Strife is a vigorous, bitter conflict, antagonism toward someone else, intense jealousy, or an angry quarrel with another person. It can destroy families, relationships, and even entire churches. It can break up marriages, businesses, and all that God’s grace is trying to do. Wherever envying and strife show up, confusion and every evil work follow.

Diffusing strife allows God’s blessings to operate in our lives. In the Old Testament, Abraham dealt with it wisely when it caused arguments between the herdsman for his cattle and Lot’s cattle. It may initially have appeared that Lot was getting the better land, but God blessed Abraham abundantly because of the integrity he displayed.

Strife prevents us from making progress in life because it blocks God’s intervention. Self-centeredness is one way it originates, but it’s impossible to be in strife when we walk in love. Putting Him in the center of the situation instead of ourselves shields us from this dangerous emotion. God is love; bringing Him into the situation means strife has to go.
Pride, which is a refusal to submit to God’s plans for us, is another source of strife. A proud heart stirs up strife, but the person who trusts in the Lord will prosper. God loves us, and angry striving against each other isn’t His will for us. Hatred stirs up strife, but loves covers all sins.

God wants to deliver us from emotional turmoil. In the same way He delivered David from Saul and from strife with his people, He’ll deliver us from its toxic effects. Trusting Him on this brings us peace.

Prayer:

Lord, Your will is for us to experience peace, not strife, in our lives. Walking in Your Word helps us to do that, and we’re grateful for this. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

James 3:16
Genesis 13:7-17
1 John 4:8, 16
Proverbs 28:25, NKJV
Proverbs 10:12
2 Samuel 22:44, AMPC

We all want good things from God, and as our heavenly Father, He certainly wants to bless us. However, how we receive His blessings has changed over time. Most Christians don’t realize that God deals with people through covenants, and that the covenant of the Law of Moses has been replaced with the covenant of grace. A covenant is an irrevocable promise between two or more parties to carry out the terms agreed upon; to be blessed now requires that we understand and live under this new covenant.

The old agreement was conditional and depended on man fulfilling all the law before he could get blessed; otherwise, he would be cursed. The law was perfect, but too perfect for imperfect man to keep. Breaking even one commandment meant a person was guilty of breaking them all. The law was given to focus on man’s flaws, and actually strengthened sin; that’s why Jesus came to be the mediator of the new covenant.

Being born again puts us under grace; under this agreement, the focus is on what we believe, not what we do. Grace allows us to be one with Christ; we no longer count on our own righteousness through obeying the law, but now are made righteous through faith in Him. Christ is the end of the law for everyone who believes. Therefore, sin no longer has dominion over us, because we’re not under the law but under grace.

Unlike under the Old Testament, New-Testament believers can live under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, who helps us meet God’s moral standards in ways the law never could. Understanding which covenant we should live under takes all pressure off us to rely on our self-efforts. We’re now free to receive all the blessings without any of the curses.

Prayer:

Lord, mankind struggled unsuccessfully to keep the law; You showed mercy by replacing it with grace. Thank You for taking away the endless requirements to perform so that we can focus instead on Your love for us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 28:1-3, 15
James 2:10
1 Corinthians 15:56
Hebrews 8:6, 7
Hebrews 10:9
Philippians 3:9, NLT
Romans 10:4
Romans 6:14

Everyone likes the idea of getting into heaven; however, few people know the details of how to get there. Religion teaches that we must constantly do good deeds and hope for the best. It pushes the idea that if we work hard and do everything right, eventually we’ll be ready for heaven. The truth is that when we get born again, we’re instantly made heaven-ready.

Salvation isn’t a “sweet by-and-by,” a gradual state we attain when we cross heaven’s gate; it’s available to us right now when we accept Jesus. When we hear and believe the Good News that God has saved us, He identifies us as His own by giving us the Holy Spirit to live in us. The Spirit is His guarantee that we’ll receive the promised inheritance, and that He has purchased us to be His people.

We’re spirits possessing souls and living in physical bodies; being born again unites our spirits with the Holy Spirit. When we sin with our bodies or souls and miss the mark, He protects our spirits from participating in sin. Even when we do something foolish, it’s impossible for our spirit beings—our real selves—to sin. Whoever is born of God doesn’t, and can’t, commit sin.

Being in Jesus makes us God’s children. Our names are written in heaven, our spirits are righteous, and we’ve been made perfect. As brothers and sisters of Christ, we sit together in heavenly places in Him. We receive this gift of righteousness and salvation not because we’re perfect through our own efforts, but because every man is presented perfect in Christ Jesus.

We get into heaven not by works, but by faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross. By one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified. This is God’s grace in action on our behalf.

Prayer:

Lord, the sacrifice Your Son made took care of our salvation. Our faith in what He did grafts us into Your family and assures us of our final destination in heaven. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Ephesians 1:13, 14, NLT
1 John 3:9
Hebrews 12:23, NLT
Ephesians 2:6
Colossians 1:28
Hebrews 10:14