Weekly Grace

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

Sickness and illness are real issues we deal with; when we face them, we have to fight the mindset that says we must simply resign ourselves to ill health. The world tries to instill in us the attitude that this is a part of life, and we must therefore accept it. However, this kind of thinking isn’t God’s will for believers. Under the old covenant, diseases were part of the curses that resulted from failing to keep all the law; however, things have changed since then.

God deals with man according to covenants. The old covenant was all about punishment and condemnation; that ended when Jesus made it obsolete, and established a new covenant that was all about faith in God’s grace. Jesus went to the cross to redeem us from the curse of the law. Believing in what He did brings us out from being under the curse and moves us under the blessing of Abraham that God offers to everyone.

Our trust in God positions us to receive all the blessings He wants to heap on us, but disbelief blocks those blessings. When Jesus went from town to town healing those who came to Him, their faith allowed them to receive miracles. When He came to His own country, He could do no mighty work, and He marveled at their unbelief.

Under the new covenant, our healing has already been made available; our trust in this is the key to receiving it. The centurion soldier believed so strongly in Jesus’ authority to heal that when the soldier simply took Jesus at His word, his servant was healed that very hour. When the woman who had suffered from a bleeding disorder for twelve years had enough faith in Jesus to push her way through the crowds to touch His robe, her faith made her whole. That same healing power is available to us today, on any level we need it. 

Prayer:

God, the world tries to complicate healing, but Your Word makes it very simple. Our acts of faith demonstrate our belief in Your undeserved, unearned favor that made healing a finished work. We’re grateful for that. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 28:21-29

Hebrews 8:13, NKJV

Galatians 3:13, 14

Mark 6:1-6

Matthew 8:5-13

Mark 5:25-34

Luke 8:43-48

To experience God’s underserved favor on the deep level He wants us to, we need a solid understanding of how it works. We received grace when we got born again, and it will certainly be waiting for us in heaven, but there’s no reason why we can’t experience it right now. It’s available for us when we need it in our daily lives. It all starts with Jesus Christ.

Through Him, we have our introduction by faith into grace, which is the state of God’s favor, in which we firmly stand. What we believe—not what we do—ushers us into grace. To be privileged is to have an advantage over others; as believers, we receive privileges we don’t deserve.

Accepting Jesus lets Him add a whole new dimension to living. He teaches us things we need to know for our spiritual growth and success, walks us through difficult times, and makes us stronger and more resilient afterward. Paul experienced this firsthand. He wrote to the Corinthians that whatever He had become, it was all because God poured out His special favor on him, independent of his hard work; the results weren’t due to him, but to God working through him by His grace.

Paul had his weak moments, but found strength that wasn’t his. God’s grace was all he needed, because His power works best in weakness. This applies to us as well; we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us. This gives us a tremendous advantage over people who live by relying on their own efforts.

Despite what we have, we must avoid becoming proud if we want God’s favor to show up when we need it. He resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Unlike life under the law, we no longer have to work hard to receive from Him. This raises our ordinary lives to the supernatural realm.

Prayer:

God, the new covenant under which we now live transforms our lives into something extraordinary. We’ll never have to go through life alone, because You’re walking beside us every step of the way. Thank You for this. In Jesus’ name, amen.   

Scriptures:

Romans 5:2, AMPC

1 Corinthians 15:10, NLT 

2 Corinthians 12:9, NLT

Philippians 4:13, NKJV

James 4:6

Knowing the truth about something always brings clarity and understanding. We all want to know what’s true; however, we live in a spiritually blind world that doesn’t know where to look to find it. What was true before Jesus went to the cross may no longer be true afterward. The quality of our lives depends on understanding this.

To comprehend what God wants to show us, we need spiritual vision. This vision is impossible without the help of the Holy Spirit, who reveals to us that life radically changed when Jesus replaced the law with grace. Before the cross, the requirements for salvation were based on doing; after the cross, they’re based on believing. When the rich young ruler asked Jesus how to find eternal life, Jesus gave the man a list of things to do; after His death and resurrection, the answer Paul and Silas gave to the jailer who asked the same question was simply to believe.

Many other things have also changed. Before the cross, man had to forgive, first, before God could forgive him; after the cross, we can forgive others because we’ve already been forgiven. Before the cross, man had to love God based on self-effort; after the cross, we can love God because He first loved us. Before the cross, sinning meant condemnation; after the cross, condemnation from sin was replaced with salvation.

If we’re unaware of the changes, we’ll make the mistake of continuing to live under the old, expired law. Most churches still teach the law because they don’t know any better; accepting wrong doctrines preached from the pulpit keeps people from experiencing good results in life. It’s up to believers to compare everything we hear to the written Word of God.

God doesn’t want His Word to be a mystery. It’s His will that we understand what He’s telling us. Having the discernment we need removes the veil from our hearts and from our spiritual eyes.

Prayer:

Lord, in light of Your progressive revelation over time, Old Testament truth was incomplete. Trying to apply law-based truths to what’s is now true under grace simply doesn’t work. Thank You for the changes You made through Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Scriptures:

Matthew 19:16-21

Mark 10:17-21

Acts 16:30, 31

Matthew 6:14, 15

Mark 11:25, 26

Ephesians 4:32

Colossians 3:13

Mark 12:30

1 John 4:19

Romans 5:18

John 3:17

John 12:47

Our spiritual walk as Christians is always more focused when we have a proper understanding of God’s Word. To learn what we need to know, we need Jesus as our teacher who imparts the things of God to us. One of the biggest problems in the church today is that Christians haven’t been trained to read the Bible with discernment. Specifically, what was true under the Law of Moses may no longer be true under grace.

God’s grace has moved the believer out from under the law’s oppressive requirements. Sin no longer has dominion over us, because we’re not under the law, but under grace. Not knowing this can severely impact the quality of our lives. This is why it’s so important to study to show ourselves approved to God, workmen who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.

We’re now free from the Old-Testament requirement that we follow a long list of rules to be righteous before God. During His ministry, Jesus told the Jews—who were in bondage to following hundreds of laws—that if they believed Him and continued in His Word, they would know the truth, and the truth would make them free.

Grace frees us from constant, useless laboring to please our heavenly Father. When the people asked Jesus what to do to work the works of God, He told them the work of God is to believe in the one He sent. This work emphasizes faith over empty actions, and contradict what was required under the law.

Before the cross, humans were blessed by perfect obedience, and cursed when they fell short. After the cross, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by hanging on a tree for us so that we might receive the blessing of Abraham.

We’re the righteousness of God by faith, not by our own efforts. Moving away from religious teachings reveals this. Renewing our minds to this New Testament truth radically changes our lives.

Prayer:

God, You offer us the discernment and wisdom to read Your Word with understanding and clarity. What was true before is no longer true now; understanding this unshackles us so that we’re free to continue moving forward. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Romans 6:14

2 Timothy 2:15

John 8:31, 32

John 6:28, 29

Deuteronomy 28:2, 15

Galatians 3:13, 14