Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today let’s embrace God’s grace

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 11:6 (AMP)…
But if it is by grace [God’s unmerited favor], it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace [it would not be a gift but a reward for works].

Consider…
This week we explored:

• Embracing The Voice of Truth (listen to him)
• Embracing Fear (Faithfully Embrace the Awareness of Realizing who God is)
• Embracing God’s Love (his Fatherly disciplinary love)
• Embracing Obedience (God’s love language)
• Embracing Repentance (rearranging our thinking)

Hopefully this week helped us become more intimate with pleasing God. Prayerfully, God used me to inspire you to walk further away from sin and run to righteousness in Him.

Which brings us to today’s encouragement. Our righteousness is found in God’s grace. Although, we should and do try to do what’s right and pleasing to God, it’s impossible for us to do it on our own.

The Apostle Paul personally testified…
But, because of God’s grace, that is what I am. And his grace that he gave me was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other apostles. (But I was not really the one working. It was God’s grace that was with me.) – 1 Corinthians 15:10 ERV

He recognized, as should we, that we need God’s grace to become what He wants us to be. That message comes through loud and clear in Ephesians 2:8‭-‬10 (ERV)…
I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.

God wants us to realize, like Paul…
So I am not the one living now—it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God. He is the one who loved me and gave himself to save me. – Galatians 2:20 ERV

Yet, God inspired Paul to follow his declaration of dedication with an awareness and realization of his ongoing need for God’s grace. Notice what He wrote in Galatians 2:21a (ERV)…
I am not the one destroying the meaning of God’s grace.

Why would he say that?

He continues…
If following the law is how people are made right with God, then Christ did not have to die. – Galatians 2:21b ERV

I envision Paul harkening back to his Damascus road grace encounter, when he wrote Galatians 2:21. You see, he thought he was doing the right thing by arresting blasphemers, until he was arrested by God’s grace. It was when he met Jesus that he realized he was blindly following the law and failed to see the Lawgiver. Although Paul thought he was doing the right things, he soon discovered it’s impossible to do right with wrong thinking. So Jesus had to rearrange His thoughts and show him that he was blind so that he could clearly see God’s grace mystery.

Paul reveals that mystery in Ephesians 3:3‭-‬7 (NLT)…
As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

You see, from the beginning God wanted a relationship with everyone. He articulated that in Ephesians 1:4‭-‬6 (NLT)…
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.

But understand, He did that because of His grace, not anything we’ve done, or will ever do. As a matter of fact, His grace is emphasized as being His love inspite of us…
You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. – Ephesians 2:2‭-‬3 NLT

Then we see God use His favorite conjunction…
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) – Ephesians 2:4‭-‬5 NLT

Notice the Holy Spirit emphasized, “It is ONLY by God’s grace that you have been saved!”

Just a few verses later, God points out…
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. – Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9 NLT

This shows us that God’s grace reveals our humility in Him. That makes me think of James 4:6 (NLT), which says…
And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

So as you try to live for God, don’t be discouraged when you fall short. Rather, recognize in your weakness, God’s power is made strong in you, just like Paul. He testified in 2 Corinthians 12:6‭-‬9 (NLT)…
If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

Notice God…

• Kept Paul humble
• Said, grace is all you need
• Explained that His power works best in weakness

That makes me appreciate that God’s grace helps us decrease so that He can increase.

So that next time you’re feeling disappointed, inadequate or insufficient in pleasing God, remember His grace reveals:

• When you can’t, He can…
• When you won’t, He will…
• When you don’t, He does…

That’s what God’s grace looks like, His sufficiency replacing our insufficiency.

When others see us they should see trophies of God’s grace. The key thing to remember about a trophy is that it is a testament to the winner and not itself.

Today’s song is…
I See Grace
https://youtu.be/eMHoKdawIEY?si=lUnUbvsEVDT_5my0

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)