Thoughts about Grace

It is easy to get ahead of where we should be, as Proverbs 19:2 indicates. God's provisions are for us, as Luke 11:3 points out: for "us each day our daily bread." And this is not just the physical bread but, more important, that which feeds our spirits. As Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).

Daily Grace

God gives me grace daily
When I take of the living bread,
Strength as I need it,
Wisdom for my plans
From the living Head.

God gives me grace
For all I face,
But not until the time;
God gives grace, and fully,
As is His good design.

I don't know what will face me,
If any days will come;
But I know that He will meet my needs,
He's done the needful sum.

God's grace is good and daily and sufficient as He planned,
And all I need to have it is
To stretch out a prayerful, obedient hand.

Examining Grace

Grace: what a concept! Unmerited favor--for merited would not be favor but payback.

Grace--derived from rejoice--and when we experience grace, we can only respond with rejoicing, and awed hearts because we don't "deserve" grace.

Grace: said to be descriptive of God's favor, His forgiving mercy, the gospel (of grace, of course), gifts (spiritual), and eternal life.

Grace: the source of salvation, call of God, faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), justification, forgiveness, and that blessed comfort.

Grace: described as all-abundant, glorious, great, manifold, and rich.

Grace: believers are under it, receive it, stand in it, abound in it, are to be strong in it, grow in it, speak with it, and will inherit it.

Grace: who can wrap their mind around such a gift as this?

It is more than one package can contain, hold, yet small enough for the heart to encompass.

It is beyond the most mature believer to fully comprehend, but not for the newest or the youngest to receive and rejoice in.

Grace.

Furthermore

Did you know that the Bible ends with grace? Revelation 22:31: "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen."

The Psalmist wrote a plea for grace in Psalm 86:6: "Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace."

Grace is the subject of John 1:14, 16-17; Acts 4:33; 20:24, 32; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2.

What is the point of grace? I discussed this with my husband a while ago.  We agreed that God shows grace--what is known as common grace--to all people, as in the instance of rain falling on the just and the unjust alike. And the promise through Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood, and we would enjoy regular seasons.

But saving grace is another matter altogether. This is what Paul refers to in Romans when he talks about our being justified  by grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ (3:24), a promise that rests on grace (4:16), through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the glory of God (5:2).

Does saving grace free us to sin? As Paul wrote: "What shall we say, then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!" (Romans 6:1) and restates this later in that chapter: "What then? Are we to sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? By no means!" (6:15).

For other references on the subject, read 2 Corinthians 6:1; 9:8; 12:9; Galatians 1:6; 2:21; 5:4; 6:18; Ephesians 2:1, 4-10.

In Philippians1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; 2:16-17 and other letters Paul mentions God's grace.

The writers of Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, Jude, and Revelation also highlight it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

It seems to me that anything God has seen fit to emphasize we should pay close attention to also.

2 John 3: "Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love."