Living In Grace

Well, It’s week two and my hopes and plans for my blog and even my life at this point have all fallen apart!  I keep trying to remind myself that God’s plans are not always my plans.  If I will let Him have control, things will turn out much better than I could ever have imagined!  So, I’m trying to “let go and let God”.

As I was thinking about what I wanted to write, all I could think of were these negative things going on in my life.  At the same time God kept reminding me of His grace.  So I began to think on and research God’s grace.  Sometimes we limit grace to “saving grace”.  We take the standard definition of “the unmerited favor of God” and we put it in the context of our salvation.  Well of course we can’t have God’s grace any other way until we accept it in salvation.  Let me explain what I mean.  I was born a sinner.  At some point I came to the realization that when I do wrong those things go against God and are sin (Romans 3:23).  Because I sin that separates me from God.  God is perfect and cannot associate with sin.  When Jesus died on the cross He was able to pay for all my sins, because He is sinless, yet He took all of my sins on Himself that day on the cross.  The awesome thing is He didn’t just pay for my sins, He paid for the sins of everyone in the whole world, past, present and future (Romans 5:8).  Now if I want to restore that relationship with God, I have to acknowledge that I am a sinner, that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, was buried and rose again the third day.  Then I must ask Him to come in to my life and become the one who leads and controls my life (Romans 10:9).  This does not mean life is perfect.  What it does means is I no longer have to be in control of the worries of life.  I have put my life in God’s hands, and I can trust Him to guide me where I should go.  That is Saving Grace.

Once I am saved I get the privilege to Live in Grace.  This is a concept that, though I’ve known for a long time, has just recently become really real to me.  Maybe a better way to put it is that I am more aware of God’s Grace in my daily life.  I think about the way I treat my family and friends, when I’m not very kind to them they let me know about it.  Then I apologize, they forgive me and we move on.  Well, what happens when I do the same thing to God?   What if I start my morning and don’t pray or read my Bible.  Does God say anything?  Does He get mad at me?  Does He quit speaking to me?  Yes He’s disappointed, but He extends His grace to me.  When I come back to Him, He is right there waiting for that fellowship!  WOW!  That’s just one example.  Can you think of any ways you might have disappointed God?  How has he extended His grace to you?

Take the time to read John 21.  It is the account of Jesus revisiting the Sea of Galilee.  Peter, John and some other disciples have gone there one night, after Jesus’ resurrection and decided to go fishing.  They fish all night and don’t catch a thing.  In the morning they see a man (Jesus) on shore who tells them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat.  Sound familiar?  When they recognize his voice Peter jumps out of the boat and swims to shore.  Interesting huh?  Peter, who denied Jesus just a few days before is running to him.  What does Jesus do?  Never says a word, and before the day is over he is calling Peter to be a Pastor.

What amazing Living Grace.  This is the Grace we live in and I am so thankful for.

Living in Grace,

Angie