Weekly Grace

For most people, condemnation is a way of life. It’s so subtle, they don’t even notice it. The prevailing mindset in the world is overwhelmingly negative, and demands perfect performance to avoid judgment from others. As Christians, when we see someone struggling to perform perfectly but missing the mark, we need to encourage them, not condemn them.
No one is perfect; we all make mistakes. The woman caught in adultery made a big one. When she was brought to Jesus, He had every right to condemn her, but He didn’t. He instead forgave her, told her in love to stop sinning, and gave her the gift of no condemnation.
Showing grace and mercy to people who fall short is what God wants all of us to do. It’s part of godly humility, something the world lacks. It’s easy to see the faults in others, but harder to see them in ourselves. Before worrying about the speck in our friend’s eye, we must first get rid of the log in our own eye.
Just like Jesus, we’re to show nonjudgmental kindness and compassion to the world. Jesus traveled far and wide to preach the gospel, and was moved with compassion when He saw the multitudes. When He came to the edge of the city and saw a dead man being carried out, He had compassion on the man’s mother and raised him from the dead. Having this character trait gives us new insight and lets us see what God wants to show us.
God knows what we’re feeling when we struggle with condemnation; He gave us His Son, who is full of grace and truth, to help us win over it. Accepting Him frees us from harshly judging ourselves and others, because there’s no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Believing in Him elevates us to the judgment-free zone.
Prayer:
God, You’ve instructed us to show compassion and love, not condemnation, to people struggling to meet unrealistic standards. The world condemns and judges, but this isn’t Your nature. Thank You for teaching us this important lesson. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Scriptures:
John 8:3-11
Matthew 7:5
Matthew 9:36
Matthew 14:14
Mark 6:34
Luke 7:12-15
John 1:14
Romans 8:1, NIV

Faith is a powerful motivator behind everything we do. Our belief ultimately influences our actions. However, if we want to succeed, we must know what to believe. When everything we expected and hoped for in the natural realm fails us, we can confidently pin our hopes on God’s promises.

Abraham was an example of someone who chose to believe God, even in the face of adverse circumstances. When God promised Abraham he and Sarah would have a son, that appeared impossible in the natural. Abraham believed he would be the father of many nations; despite his age, he wasn’t weak in faith. God’s promise manifested itself when Sarah gave birth to Isaac.

Having the kind of belief that Abraham had isn’t complicated; the key is to pay attention to God’s promises, not to the circumstances that contradict His Word. We may be tempted to look around and give more consideration to what we see and hear than to what God tells us. This was the mistake the disciples made when they tried unsuccessfully to cast out the demon from a boy. What they saw and heard caused unbelief.

The enemy uses whatever he can in the natural realm to create fear and cause us to abandon our belief. We overcome unbelief by thinking more about what God said than about the situation at hand. By His grace, God has given us authority over our thought lives. Authority is the right to command; using our authority to stand on His Word allows us to make our way prosperous and have good success.   

God has made many promises to us; when we have a problem, we can choose which promise to apply to our own lives. The temptation to consider the problem more than the promise will always exist, but we can’t be tempted by something we refuse to consider. We win in life by doggedly clinging to what God tells us, no matter what.

Prayer:

Lord, Your promises to us are numerous. Exercising our faith to focus on them, instead of on the situation, empowers us to succeed. Thank You for giving us the authority to do that. In Jesus’ name, amen.   

Scriptures:

Romans 4:17-19

Genesis 21:1-3

Matthew 17:14-20

Mark 9:17-27

Joshua 1:8

Forming partnerships is an important part of experiencing success. Relying on a partner’s strength and power can compensate for our weakness and help us do things we can’t do on our own. Although the world doesn’t know the Holy Spirit, He’s the most important partner we could ever have. If we find ourselves struggling after being born again, perhaps we should reacquaint ourselves with our unseen partner.

The Holy Spirit is the one who administers the covenant of grace to us on a daily basis. He’s responsible for the amazing things that happen in our lives for which we can’t take the credit. When the situation we’ve been stuck in suddenly turns around and we see breakthrough we can’t explain, we acknowledge Him by admitting it’s the Lord’s doing, and it’s marvelous in our eyes.

Religion tricks us into thinking that our success and accomplishments are the result of our own abilities. It pushes us toward self-effort and self-reliance. However, no matter how hard we try, some things will never come to pass without the Spirit’s intervention. When the world tells us we are responsible for the good things that happen, God says, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.”

We can’t simply move on our own and expect to succeed without the Spirit’s help. Jesus didn’t do a single miracle until the Holy Spirit descended on Him after He was baptized in the Jordan River. After His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples not to begin their ministries until they received power from the Holy Spirit. Power is the ability to get the job done, which is what we need before seeing any results.

We’ve all received a mission from God; just like the disciples, our instructions are to go forth and carry it out. To succeed, we need to wait for the Spirit’s direction. Real power comes only from Him.   

Prayer:

Lord, when You give us Your instructions, You also give us the power to carry them out. The Holy Spirit equips us with the ability to succeed in getting the job done. Thank You for Your help. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Psalm 118:23

Zechariah 4:6, NKJV

Matthew 3:16

Luke 3:22

John 1:32, 33

Luke 24:49

Acts 1:8

We’ve received multiple blessings from God. One of those blessings is the ability to get the results we want in life because of His unearned, undeserved favor toward us. Healing, deliverance, prosperity, salvation, joy, and everything else we need to live fulfilling lives are available to us; our faith takes possession of them. The spiritual laws empowering us to receive these benefits are at our disposal; as believers, we’re authorized to enforce those laws.

One of those laws states that when we speak God’s Word and constantly meditate on it, we make our way prosperous and have good success. Another reassures us that if we trust in God with our whole heart and don’t lean on our own understanding, He’ll direct our path. Yet another reminds us that the just shall live by faith.

During His ministry, Jesus told His disciples to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out devils; we have the same ability He has. Those who believe on Him will not only do the same works that He did, but even greater works than those. The power to fulfill these directives comes directly from Him. This is no small thing; our faith in the spiritual principles God established makes it possible to do what’s impossible by earthly standards.

Believers have the power to experience victory over any situation. By going to the cross and shedding His blood, Jesus replaced the Law of Moses with the law of love, which is the greatest weapon we have in our arsenal. Under grace, all the law is fulfilled in one word: love your neighbors as yourself. If we fulfill the royal law according to this Scripture, we do well.

Prayer:

God, You set us apart from the rest of the world by giving us the same ability to get results that You have. We receive this power by faith in Jesus. Thank You for doing what You did. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Joshua 1:8

Proverbs 3:5, 6

Romans 1:17

Galatians 3:11

Hebrews 10:38

Matthew 10:8

John 14:12

James 2:8

Christians have access to advantages the world has no knowledge of. One of those advantages is God’s unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor. In these last days, it’s important to vigilantly guard against false doctrines that challenge the grace of God. We can hear all kinds of messages, but some of what we hear won’t line up with the New-Testament truth.

Not everything that’s preached is grace-based. Regardless of how good a sermon sounds when it’s preached from the pulpit, we need to rely on the Holy Spirit to tell us what’s behind that message. Watered-down versions of the Gospel of Grace will lead us astray. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul expressed surprise and astonishment that the church turned renegade and deserted Him who called them by the grace of Christ.

Despite his past, Paul received abundant grace and forgiveness from God. Although Paul endured severe persecution because of the message he brought, he remained laser-focused on preaching grace, and nothing else. Nothing in the natural realm moved him; his main motivation was to further the ministry he had received from Jesus, to testify of the gospel of God’s grace.

There’s no genuine gospel other than the Gospel of Grace, yet some people can disturb and bewilder us with a different kind of teaching. Not every spirit is from God. It’s imperative to test the spirits, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. We must watch out for those who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what we’ve been taught.

We mustn’t let ourselves be sidetracked from what we know is the truth. Spiritual discernment helps keep us from being tripped up by any philosophy that contradicts the message of grace. By being alert and mindful of spiritual danger, we can walk in the blessings Jesus made available to us.

Prayer:

Lord, Your favor makes amazing benefits available to us. There’s always a danger that false doctrines will hold us back from receiving blessings, which is why You warn us not to fall prey to these wrong teachings. Thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to help us distinguish between worldly philosophy and Your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Galatians 1:6, 7, AMPC

Acts 20:24

1 John 4:1, NKJV

Romans 16:17, NLT

All of us, at some point, have made mistakes or fallen short of our goals and felt guilty because of it. Perhaps we’ve made repeated attempts to do something we felt we should do, failed, and condemned ourselves for our failures. Feelings of condemnation stem from a mindset based in the old, expired Law of Moses; thankfully, the covenant of grace that Jesus established releases us from this curse. God sent us His Son not to condemn us, but to save us.

The law as given—with not only the Ten Commandments, but also more than six hundred additional requirements—was impossible to keep. It pointed out man’s sin, and created guilty consciences in everyone. When Jesus came, however, He turned everything around. The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 

Grace offers unconditional love and acceptance without judging. When Jesus came to Jericho and Zacchaeus, a thief, climbed a tree to see Him, Zacchaeus received grace, not condemnation, from Jesus. The woman caught in adultery received the gift of no condemnation when she was brought to Jesus. Zacchaeus and the woman were among many whose lives were changed by God’s grace.

Condemnation has the potential to destroy our lives, but a relationship with Jesus renders this emotion powerless. If we’re accustomed to thinking of God in old-covenant terms, we no longer have to be afraid of Him under the new covenant. It’s not His nature to punish or condemn us. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Under the law, the people had no opportunity to be born again and receive a new nature; therefore, they were alienated from God.  By comparison, born-again believers have received the ministry of reconciliation that Jesus brought. We’re no longer separated from God, and He’s no longer our harsh judge. Instead, grace has revealed to us a loving heavenly Father. 

Prayer:

Lord, the covenant of grace Your Son established shows us a merciful, compassionate side of You that many people don’t know about. You’re not angry with us, and You welcome us with open arms. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

John 3:17

John 1:17

Luke 19:1-9

John 8:3-11

Romans 8:1, NIV

2 Corinthians 5:18