For the grace of God has appeared; bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly,righteously and godly in the present age. (Titus 2:11–12) Thank You, dear Lord, for the beautiful way You teach us. Thank You for Your patience when we fail. Thank You for Your understanding in the midst of all our own confusion.
Read MoreCategory Archives: Grace
For Relief from Shame
“If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said.
Read MoreOvercoming Guilt by Remembering Whose We Are
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38–39) Dear gracious Father, we’re our own worst enemy. We focus on our failures rather than on Your rescues.
Read MoreHope beyond Failure
Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And [Peter] went outside and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:60–62 NIV)
Read MoreGrace to the Saved
Paul’s message emphasized the gospel to the lost and grace to the saved. That is a wonderful paradigm for any minister or ministry to adopt. As I’ve studied the life of Paul, . . . I find two prominent themes.
Read MoreSon of Encouragement
The disciples feared Saul. They couldn’t bring themselves to believe he was a disciple. “But Barnabas . . . ” Isn’t that a great opening? Out of nowhere comes Barnabas to encourage Saul and be his personal advocate.
Read MoreA Lesser Known
Act two of the drama opens with, “When he came to Jerusalem . . . ” (v. 26). Jerusalem! Saul owned Jerusalem. He went to graduate school in that great town. I mean, the man knew that old city like the back of his hand.
Read MoreA New Beginning
Regardless of what you have done, no one is beyond hope. That’s the great hope of the Christian message. No amount or depth of sin in your past can trump the grace of God. If you question that, remember Saul, the brash Pharisee of Tarsus.
Read MoreA Lot of Grace
You know why I love the Bible? Because it’s so real. There’s a lot of fog rolling into Job’s life, just as in our lives. On this earth nobody “lives happily ever after.” That line is a huge fairy tale. You’re living in a dream world if you’re waiting for things to be “happy ever after.”
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