Weekly Grace

The way we relate to others often depends on how we perceive them to be. The same is true about God. There’s a huge difference between the way mankind operates and the way God operates. He thinks and works on a much higher level than we’re capable of.

God’s mindset is far above our natural minds. His thoughts aren’t our thoughts; neither are His ways our ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than ours.

What was true before the cross may no longer be true after the cross. In the Old Testament, God was angry with man because of the sin that Adam brought; approaching Him without permission meant certain death. However, God is no longer angry; Jesus took upon Himself all the punishment meant for man when He went to the cross. We can now boldly approach the throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace when we need it.

The problem is that most people still see God as He was before the cross. Under the law, He was a judge; under grace, He’s our loving Father who wants a relationship with us. His merciful, compassionate nature was perfectly reflected in Jesus, who forgave the woman caught in adultery, as well as Zacchaeus, a despised tax collector who stole until he met Jesus.

If we don’t know God’s nature under the New-Testament covenant of grace, we’ll be afraid of Him. If we fear Him, we’ll never have the kind of personal relationship He wants to have with us and never receive the good things He wants to give us. God is love, and perfect love casts out fear. Knowing His nature and character—as He is now—allows us to commune with Him, and lets Him perfect us in love.

Prayer:

God, the world doesn’t know You because it sees You as a God who condemns and punishes. However, You’re no longer like that under the covenant of grace. Thank You for letting us get to know You through Your Son. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Isaiah 55:8, 9

Exodus 19:12, 13

Hebrews 4:16

John 8:1-11

Luke 19:1-9

1 John 4:18

As human beings, happy relationships are critical to our emotional and mental health. We were created to be in relationship with each other, and as Christians, we must remember who we should be rooted in. If we don’t have a close friendship with Jesus Christ, first, nothing else in our lives will work. However, a relationship with Him is more than just working the mechanics of Christianity, but personally knowing the grace of God.

Without being attached to God, we’re just floating aimlessly through life. During His ministry, Jesus had to remind His disciples that He was the vine and they were the branches; without Him, they could do nothing. The world has a fuzzy, disconnected view of grace; grace isn’t just a concept, but a person—Jesus, full of grace and truth.   

Success on every level depends on totally immersing ourselves in a personal relationship with God. In Him, we live, and move, and have our being. Understanding the relationship Jesus has with God is critical; Jesus told the disciples that He and the Father were one. Therefore, accepting Jesus puts us on good terms with God.

We can’t do life on our own. The law was given to remind man of his need for God. In the Old Testament, the people were arrogant enough to declare that all that the Lord had spoken, they would do. They failed miserably because they depended on their self-efforts; now that we’re under grace, we need to rely on God even more.

A relationship with God puts us on solid footing; we can completely trust in His faithfulness. He will never, ever leave us helpless, forsake us, or let us down. No earthly relationship can guarantee that. Discovering the essence of Jesus through personally knowing Him enriches our lives like nothing or no one else can.

Prayer:

Lord, You concern Yourself with the relationships we make with others. Without a strong relationship with You, first, all other relationships will be shaky. Thank You for letting us get to know You through Your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

John 15:5

John 1:14

Acts 17:28

John 10:30

Exodus 19:8

Hebrews 13:5, AMPC

If you’ve ever struggled with an issue that threatened to be your undoing, you’re not alone. We all face bad situations at one time or another; how we handle them determines whether we defeat adversity, or whether adversity defeats us. The devil is an expert at organizing attacks aimed at our weakest points, designed to bring us down. Thankfully, what Jesus did on the cross gives us victory in spiritual warfare.

Before Christ established the covenant of grace, evil had the upper hand. Now, however, the balance has flipped. Jesus gave Christians the power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; even the spirits are subject to us. If we believe this, then nothing can hurt us.

After Jesus’ crucifixion, His resurrection signaled victory for all believers; He has now handed that victory to us. This means that when trouble shows up, we maintain the victory He already obtained. We do that by standing on our believer’s authority, which extends to every realm. Whatever we bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever we loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Trials and temptation don’t happen in a vacuum—Satan uses them to attack us and break down our faith. Although we walk in bodies made of flesh, we don’t war after the flesh. We’re not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, the rulers of darkness in this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places. Jesus has disarmed those principalities and powers that were against us, made a public example of them, and triumphed over them on the cross.

In the daily spiritual warfare we’re in, evil has no power over us when we walk in God’s grace. The enemy’s weapons have been forever disabled. This is a permanent victory for which we can rejoice. 

Prayer:

God, we no longer have to be defeated by anything we face in life. Others struggle unsuccessfully with their issues, but Your Son gave us the authority to trample them underfoot. Thank You for what You did. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Luke 10:19, 20

Matthew 18:18

2 Corinthians 10:3

Ephesians 6:12

Colossians 2:15, AMPC

Have you ever struggled with something and not seen positive results? Most of us have, and it can be a real test of faith to keep moving forward. When we encounter adversity, the enemy wants us to cave in and quit. We become spiritually dry when we stop trusting God during these seasons.

To succeed, we must understand how faith works. God gave us a measure of faith, and we’ve all received the same amount; the outcome of a situation has nothing to do with “strong faith” or “little faith.” What makes the difference is how we work that faith. Jesus had to explain this to His disciples when they asked Him to increase their faith.

Faith and grace are equally important; faith is simply our positive response to what grace has made available. Trusting God involves stepping out in faith, which is what Peter did when he walked on water to get to Jesus. Peter sank only when he stopped working his faith and became distracted and frightened by the situation around him. When trouble hits, the correct response is faith, not fear.

The devil wants us to take our faith off the field when we don’t see immediate results. God tells us to trust Him, regardless of what we see or don’t see. During his dry season, Abraham persevered in his faith until he saw God’s promises manifested. Abraham’s faith was strong not because he had more of it than others, but because he continued walking in it.

When God makes a promise, everything He says will come to pass; His Word will never return void. By grace we’re saved through faith. In other words, we can confidently trust in God’s promise of deliverance from whatever situation we’re in. Our faith in His favor toward us helps us get through the painful times and reach the place where He wants us to be. 

Prayer:

God, faith in what You tell us gets us through difficult times. When we consistently trust You, regardless of the circumstances, You’ll always bring us through. We’re thankful for that. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Romans 12:3, NKJV

Luke 17:5, 6

Matthew 14:27-31

Romans 4:19, 20

Isaiah 55:11

Ephesians 2:8

When most people hear the word “communion,” they think of it in a religious sense. Communing with God, however, goes much deeper than that; communion is defined as the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings. This is exactly what the Holy Spirit wants in a personal, loving relationship with us. Letting Him guide us into a deeper relationship with the Father reveals dimensions to life we could never discover on our own.

God wants to talk with us all the time, not just once a week in church. Speaking in tongues helps us stay connected to Him. Tongues is a grace gift from the Holy Spirit; when we pray in tongues, we speak not to man, but directly to God. In the Spirit, we utter secret truths and hidden things not obvious to our understanding.

The Holy Spirit gives us the kind of peace that only comes from God. When we don’t have that peace, praying in tongues helps us find it again. This kind of prayer lets Christ’s peace rule in our hearts, deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in our minds. It opens us up to the kind of peace only Jesus—not the world—gives to us.    

Communing with the Spirit has other benefits, as well. Praying in the Holy Ghost builds us up in our most holy faith and allows Him to give us strength and wisdom when we need it. It also allows the Spirit to work in us to produce the spiritual fruits of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance, against which there is no law. These are the kinds of things we need, and are exactly what God gives us through the fellowship of communion.   

Prayer:

God, You sent us Your Holy Spirit to enable us to enter into a personal relationship with You. The Spirit is the one who guides us through this relationship and helps us to walk in it. Thank You for all the blessings this brings. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

1 Corinthians 14:2, AMPC

Colossians 3:15, AMPC

John 14:27

Jude 1:20

Galatians 5:22, 23

Believers are on a journey through life. On this Christian walk, grace and faith are both critical in keeping us on the right path, and we need a proper balance of both. Going to the extreme with grace produces a passive Christian. By contrast, leaning too far toward faith results in a legalistic mindset that causes us to think that our actions will cause God to move.

God already moved more than two thousand years ago. Faith is our positive response to what He did through Jesus. Grace and faith always go together. We’re justified by faith, which gives us access into the grace in which we stand.

God certainly is sovereign, but the idea that He’s in complete control, independent of us, is also incorrect. We’ve been made free moral agents and given freedom of choice; it’s a mistake just to sit back and assume that what we do doesn’t matter. Jesus gave us power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; nothing can hurt us if we believe this. We even have authority over the devil and every evil spirit.

Jesus, who is grace personified, made available to us healing, prosperity, peace, joy, deliverance, and everything else good our old lives lacked before being born again. Our faith takes what grace made. By grace we’re saved through faith; this is a gift from God.

There will be times when we’re tempted to stray too far in the direction of either grace or faith; this is when we’re at our weakest. Wrong-thinking causes us to struggle; believing that God’s grace is sufficient strengthens us. When our own faith wavers, leaning on the faith of Jesus Christ reassures us we’re still the righteousness of God. We can be thankful that even when we miss the mark, His grace justifies us.   

Prayer:

Lord, faith and grace are both equally important, and Your Word teaches us how they go together.  Your favor gave us everything we’ll ever need in life, and we receive it through our trust in You. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Romans 5:2

Luke 10:19

Ephesians 2:8

2 Corinthians 12:9

Romans 3:22-24