When Grace becomes Amazing

It's never a good time for bad news, is it? Yet, there is something in life that always creates good out of life's bad news.

Grace! ... when life goes terribly wrong ... when things get bad ... that is when Grace becomes amazing!
You see, Life is a journey ... life is a pilgrimage. And often times, it is a pilgrimage through bad news (aka: pain, fear, and weakness). Pain caused by others, and often times, pain caused by our very own selves. Fear caused by others, and often times, fear caused by our very own selves. W eakness caused by others, and often times, weakness caused by our very own selves. Has pain, fear, or weakness ever left you longing in life? Has your heart ever fainted inside you? Has your flesh ever cried out? Has bad news ever left you physically crying out? Has your soul ever longed for God?

Here's reality: at some point, life will leave you longing and whether you realize it or not, what you are really longing for is God and God's grace.
In the Bible, the Psalmist wrote about experiences like these this way ... Psalms 84:2,5 "My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God ... blessed is the man (or woman) whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage ... they go from strength to strength. Each one appears before God in Zion ... for the LORD God is a sun and shield. THE LORD WILL GIVE GRACE and glory. No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." The Psalmist said life is a pilgrimage ... life is a journey. And, the Psalmist said the Lord gives us GRACE for the journey. It is the Grace of God that strengthens us as we walk thru the good and the bad. It is the Grace of God that moves us from strength to strength. So, What exactly is grace? The best definition of "grace" that I can think of is this ...
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Grace is the "convergence of God's love, mercy, kindness, and strength coming into our life all at once" ... or you could say ... "the simultaneous collision of God's love, mercy, kindness, and strength into our life and spirit". The Bible tells us in Titus 2:11 that "the GRACE OF GOD that brings salvation has appeared to all men (and women)." Goodness gracious, that in itself is amazing.

God says He has made His Grace appear to all of us. God has made His Grace available to all of us.
Let's learn more about God's grace and how He made it available to us and how it can be helpful to us in life. Even more importantly, the Bible says it can be helpful to us for eternal life too. The first thing you and I need to know about Grace is that God came right here to our world to make grace available to us: John 1:1,14,16 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, FULL OF GRACE and truth ... and of His fullness we have all received, and GRACE for GRACE." That's amazing. When Jesus came to us, He came FULL OF GRACE. Out of His fullness, He brought us grace for grace ... grace upon grace upon grace upon grace. Grace multiplied. And why did He do that? Because our life is full of bad news, is it not? And much of that bad news, we have caused our very own selves. Romans 3:23-26 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by HIS GRACE through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood through faith ... to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." The next thing you need to know about grace is that you and I have fallen very short of God's glory. We have all sinned. We have all created our own bad news. We have also all experienced bad news that others have created on us.
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Here's the good news though ... Romans 5:19-21 "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous ... WHERE SIN ABOUNDED, GRACE ABOUNDED MUCH MORE ... so that as sin reigned in death even SO GRACE MIGHT REIGN through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The good news is that where sin abounded, where sin abounds ... GRACE ABOUNDS MUCH MORE. That's amazing. Have you ever felt sin abounding in your life? Again, either your sin or the sin of others? Has sin ever abounded in your life? Better question ... Has GRACE ever abounded in your life? Here's some more verses on grace ABOUNDING! ... grace STRENGTHENING! 2 Corinthians 4:15-18 "For all things are for your sakes, that GRACE, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction which is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 8:7-9 "But as you abound in everythingin faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for usSEE THAT YOU ABOUND IN THIS GRACE ALSO. I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though He was rich yet for your sakes He became poor that you through His poverty might become rich." That's amazing! Amazing grace is sounding a little more sweet, isn't it? 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "And He said to me, "MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU, for MY STRENGTH is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak then I am strong." So how do you and I activate this Amazing Grace in our life?
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How does grace become amazing in the midst of all our bad news? How does God's love, mercy, kindness, and strength collide with our life? Simply this ... Ephesians 2:4-8 "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses made us alive together with Christ (BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED), and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come He might show THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF HIS GRACE in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Titus 3:4-7 "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been JUSTIFIED BY HIS GRACE we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Simply by faith! Grace is a gift of God. You simply receive it by faith, not by works, not by good deeds ... BY FAITH. That's amazing! You and I's faith activates God's saving grace in our life for eternal life. Furthermore, You and I's faith activates God's grace (God's love+mercy+kindness+strength) in our day to day life. Here's how God's amazing grace plays out in the midst of all our bad news on a moment by moment basis ... Hebrews 4:14-16 "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore COME BOLDLY TO THE THRONE OF GRACE that we may obtain mercy and find GRACE to help in time of need." 1 Peter 5:10 "But may the GOD OF ALL GRACE, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you." It is God's grace in this life that perfects us. Establishes us.
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Strengthens us. And settles us. That's when Grace becomes Amazing to us. When we begin to experience it for our very own selves even when life's news gets bad. That's amazing!

Isn't Grace beginning to sound a little more sweet?

"Amazing Grace how sweet the sound ... T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear. And Grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear The hour I first believed. Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come; 'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far and Grace will lead me home." You see, Life is a journey ... life is a pilgrimage. And life, if you allow it to, will lead you to God's Amazing Grace. And God's amazing grace, if you allow it to, will lead you Home. That's when Grace becomes Amazing! 2 Corinthians 13:11,14 "Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you ... THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THE LOVE OF GOD, AND THE COMMUNION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT be with you all. Amen."

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