Weekly Grace

Born-again believers live in an environment completely ignorant of the things of God. The world has no concept of being righteous and upstanding before Him. Religion gives us a long list of things to do to be accepted by others, but this is simply relying on our own works instead of on God. The focus is on what we do, not on who we are, but everything changes when we listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to us.

The Spirit of Grace ministering to us reminds us that we’re already righteous. He reveals to us our family ties to God. Our faith in His grace frees us from useless self-efforts to please others. All who believe and accept Jesus have received the right to be children of God.

Our Father loves us so much that He calls us His children, which is what we are. However, those who belong to the world don’t recognize this because they don’t know Him. As His dear children we must remain in fellowship with Christ, our older brother, so that when He returns, we’ll be full of courage and not shrink back from Him in shame. Christ is righteous; therefore, all who do what’s right are God’s children.

Belief in our identity in Jesus makes us righteous without the need to work hard to earn it. All who believe in Him are made right with God. Religion preaches the law, which requires us to do something to earn our righteousness; this mindset is the number one enemy to God’s favor.

To him who works, the reward isn’t reckoned of grace, but of debt. By contrast, to him who doesn’t work but simply believes on the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. When Jesus ended the law as a means of governing how we live, He replaced it with the Hoy Ghost. Letting Him minister to us is vastly better.

Prayer:

Lord, we could never do enough on our own to make ourselves righteous in Your eyes. However, our belief in Jesus and in His finished works not only makes us righteous by faith, but also makes us Your children. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

John 1:12, NLT

1 John 3:1, 2, NLT

1 John 2:28, 29, NLT

Romans 10:4, NLT

Romans 4:4, 5

One characteristic of a true believer is generosity. However, the decision whether or not to give is entirely up to us; we can either joyfully embrace it or fearfully shy away from it. The world knows about taking but not giving, and therefore doesn’t understand how giving generously empowers the giver. Giving isn’t about money, but about trust.

During His ministry, Jesus had plenty to say about money. When He saw the widow put two mites into the treasury, which was all the money she had, He remarked on her generosity. Compared to the wealthy people who cast in greater amounts of money from their excess, the woman’s giving was an act of trust in God.

The grace that God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia empowered them to freely give although they were poor in material wealth. The joy they felt at hearing the Word preached gave them the power to give beyond their physical means. They were generous, despite their afflictions and deep poverty.

Grace-based giving is purposeful and deliberate; it plans ahead, and isn’t just an afterthought. Paul taught proportional giving. He advised the churches to set aside money in advance, as God had prospered each person. God prospers us to give so that we never have to be afraid of giving what we don’t have.

Paul urged the believers to sow bountifully. He also warned them not to consume all their financial resources, but to save some to give to others. God will multiply the financial seed that we sow into others’ lives and increase the fruits of our righteousness. What we give—not what we spend on ourselves—will be multiplied.

God set the example for us when He gave us His own Son. We can never out-give Him. When we trust Him with our finances, we can expect grace from the one who enables us to give.

Prayer:

God, You blessed each of us generously so that we, in turn, can bless others. You empower us with financial seed so that we can sow some of that seed into others’ lives. Thank You for the abundance You give us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Mark 12:41-44

2 Corinthians 8:1-3

1 Corinthians 16:2

2 Corinthians 9:6, 10

John 3:16

We all want to experience good things, but few of us know how to get them to show up in our lives. The world teaches its own way of getting what we want, which includes various strategies while leaving God’s grace out of the equation. Everything we need in life—such as peace, joy, healing, deliverance, and prosperity—was made available to us thousands of years ago when Jesus went to the cross. These are manifested when we have faith in what He did to allow us to receive them.

Seeing the physical results of what God promised us requires a proper balance of both grace, which is God’s part, and faith, which is our part. Grace isn’t just a concept or an idea; grace is a person, and His name is Jesus. God did His part when He sent us His Son, who is full of grace and truth. We do our part when we believe in Him.

There’s one extreme that thinks that grace has predestined every detail in life and everything that happens, good or bad, is therefore God’s will. The other extreme is thinking that our faith will get God to move on our behalf. The truth is that our faith won’t get God to move; He has already moved. He has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness and blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places; it’s significant that this is in the past tense.

Religion tells us we must do something before we can get blessed, but skips over the finished works of Jesus Christ. The three words He said just before His death on the cross, “It is finished,” impact us tremendously. Whatever it is we’re praying for has already been done.

Receiving from God starts with our trust in Him. There’s no need to beg Him to do what He already did. We can experience His best for us right now.

Prayer:

Lord, Your Son died to give us access to all the good things in life that You want us to have. We don’t have to beg You for them, because they’re already available to us to receive by faith. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

John 1:14

2 Peter 1:3

Ephesians 1:3

John 19:30

We all have emotions, but few people understand their true potential. Feelings can either make life enjoyable and exciting, or miserable and painful. However, we don’t have to let them pull and yank us around like puppets on a string. Understanding what God says in this area allows us to consciously choose the emotions that will take us where we want to go.

We master our emotions with joy and peace; we find these godly emotions when we study God’s Word long enough for it to have an effect on us. None of our lives are completely trouble-free; when trouble does surface, holding on to the joy we get only from God enables us to move through the hard times. We mustn’t let grief or sorrows weaken us; the joy of the Lord is our strength.

Our joy increases when we remember all the times God rescued and delivered us from trouble. We can use this emotion as a weapon to strengthen our faith. Being full of the kind of joy that only comes from Jesus keeps our emotions from spiraling out of control when the world hits us in the face. Jesus gave us His Word so that His joy might remain in us, and that our joy may be made full.

Peace is another spiritual weapon we have at our disposal. Peace is defined as security in the midst of turmoil; like joy, we get our peace from the Word. A relationship with Jesus, the Lord of peace, gives us peace always.

Being in God’s presence brings us the peace we need to live in turbulent times. Letting the peace of God rule in our hearts gives us joy that won’t quit, no matter what happens in our lives. When we feel negative emotions trying to assert themselves, aligning our feelings with God’s Word gives us the upper hand.

Prayer:

Lord, the world is full of negative emotions, but we don’t have to be affected by them. Your Word gives us the peace and joy we need to make life beautiful. We’re thankful for this. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Nehemiah 8:10

John 15:11

2 Thessalonians 3:16

Colossians 3:15

Life can be beautiful and exciting, but can also have an ugly side as well. Whether we master it or let it master us depends on our mindset. Some people think they’re helpless victims of circumstances, and therefore put up with bad situations. By comparison, born-again believers have received the authority to rule over things that defeat everyone else.

There’s always a reason behind everything that goes on in the world; nothing just happens. Satan has already been beaten; however, he remains hard at work behind the scenes to bring trouble and adversity into our lives. As Christians, we have the right to put our foot down, stand firm, and boldly declare our authority. We’re the redeemed of the Lord, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.

We have the same power as Jesus. He walked in victory; we can too. He spoke His Word to us so that, in Him, we might have peace. In the world we’ll have tribulation, but we can rejoice because He has overcome the world.

By grace, we win in life. Jesus took everything the enemy uses against us and nailed it to the cross. By doing this, Christ spoiled principalities and powers, made a show of them openly, and triumphed over them. We can give thanks to God, who always gives us victory through Jesus.

Grace also makes us God’s children. We’ve been given the Holy Spirit, who constantly reminds us of the authority we’ve inherited as His sons and daughters. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. The Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we’re the children of God.

Circumstances don’t have to define the quality of our lives. We face a defeated foe, and we don’t have to let him psych us out. We’re operating from a place of victory; embracing this mindset keeps us in the winner’s circle.

Prayer:

God, You didn’t put us on this earth for us to be victims; You gave us the same power and authority over the enemy as You have. Applying Your Word to our lives always gives us the victory. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Psalm 107:2

John 16:33

Colossians 2:15

1 Corinthians 15:57

2 Corinthians 2:14

Romans 8:14, 16

Change is a part of life. If we never change, we become stagnant and stop growing. Although there may be things about us we don’t like and want to disappear, we can’t change ourselves; only God can change us. True change comes from studying His Word and letting it gradually transform us.

Effective transformation begins on the inside of us and starts with our minds. What we think determines what we do; therefore, we must learn to think differently. We may have grown up with a particular mindset that blends in to worldly philosophy but no longer gives us the results we want. We mustn’t be conformed to this world, but instead should be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Paul was an example of how God’s mercy and grace changes people. Paul deserved death because of how he had persecuted the early church, but he instead received mercy and grace. When he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, the encounter changed Paul so radically that it took others some time to realize he wasn’t the man he was before.

Under the law, God dealt with the people according to their deeds; that ended when the covenant of grace was established. Because of what Jesus did on the cross, the requirements to be righteous and receive salvation changed. Before His death, Jesus told the rich young ruler to keep the Law of Moses to receive eternal life. Afterward, the requirement to be saved changed to simple belief in Jesus.

Mercy is when we don’t receive the bad that we do deserve; grace is when we receive the good that we don’t deserve. Just like Paul, when we encounter Jesus’ undeserved favor, something about it causes us to change our minds about submitting to God’s will. The richness of His goodness is bound to lead us to repentance.

Prayer:

Lord, grace and mercy are part of who You are; it’s Your nature to show us love and forgiveness when we turn to You. We’re thankful that encountering You changes us for the better. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Romans 12:2

Acts 9:1-18

Matthew 19:16-19

Acts 16:30, 31

Romans 2:4