Category: Grace

Promised Care of God

10/5/2014

"6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6-7

While it is very true that the Lord cares for His own children and for you in particular, we must not forget that the beginning of His promised care begins with this condition: we must humble ourselves “under the mighty hand of God.”

Eating a slice of “humble pie” can be difficult; yet, grace is given to those who are humble (James 4:6). If we want God’s care and providence to operate in our life, we must believe that God helps those who have submitted themselves to Him. Humility is the opposite of pride. Pride tries to convince us we are better than everyone else, we deserve the best in life, and we don’t really need God’s help in our everyday experiences. Pride began in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) when Satan convinced Eve that if she partook of the fruit that was not to be eaten, she would not die. All 'pride' questions the plans, motives, and truthfulness of God. Just as Eve disbelieved God’s word, when we live our lives in superiority over others or even over the Lord - how can we expect to even recognize God’s loving kindness in our life?

It is equally as possible that doubt (a seed of pride) can also hinder God’s providence in our life. If we bring up a lot of our worries, sins, and concerns to other people, there is always a possibility they will not believe our concerns are of very much significance. If something is a “big deal” to you, it’s a “big deal” to God; don’t convince yourself that since others don’t care, God must not care either. Coming to such a conclusion will cause lack of trust and lack of faith that God can take care of all your needs. Always remember - God cares for you! But don’t let haughtiness stop you from receiving that care.

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Steadfast Christians Lost in Their Love for Him

7/31/2013

"And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." Acts 2:42

Acts 2:42 tells us that the early Christians were steadfast in three things: * the Apostle’s doctrine, *fellowship, * the Lord’s table, and * prayers. In other words, the early Christians had a faith which was more than just believing in Him; they were diligent in the disciplines that God had taught them. They didn’t just “amen” the preacher to death on Sunday only to live like the wicked world on Monday! Their testimony helped to bear witness to the truth of Jesus in the world.

God's Grace Offered Forgiveness before we asked for it.

7/14/2013

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God ... Ephesians 2:8

God’s grace is amazing; He is known as the “God of all grace” [1 Peter 5:10] in the Holy Bible. When we think of God, do we think of how longsuffering and kind He is? We have disobeyed His holy laws (the very heart of God), we have thrown our fist up before Him, and we have tried to define our own righteousness rather than relying on His righteousness and His ways. Even as believers in Him, we often fail to be as gracious and kind as He is to us.

Matthew 6:33-34 - His Priorities Our First Priority

7/4/2013

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Matthew 6:33-34

Did you personally accept Jesus Christ and start seeking his Kingdom from our last blog post? If so, welcome to God’s family! Continue seeking after Him and His ways.

Above all, seek the Lord; make Him a priority. It’s the first thing we should do when we awaken; give glory and honor to Him through prayer and then seek after Him by reading a faithful Bible translation, the King James Bible. As we make Jesus a priority, then He promises He will give to us all He has in store.

Rejoicing of God’s goodness, even in bad times.

4/28/2013

"... the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1:21b

God has given Christians grace so we can rejoice when life gets tough. I could spend a long time telling you about, no doubt. But there are also good times and how you handle the bad times and how you handle the good times is dependent on the type of attitude that you have. There are some people that are just "hunky dory" and smiling and everything’s going right as long as everything is going right. But as soon as something bad happens, they get real grumpy and they start blaming everybody. That’s not the way God wants us to be.

Lord, you want me to do what?

4/21/2013

"And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there" 1 Kings 17:4

There was once a prophet of God who was asked to believe some pretty weird things; the Lord asked Elijah to speak out about the ungodly life style of some of the rulers of the day. In so doing, the Lord used Elijah to prophesy about a drought in Israel. As a result, God told Elijah that He would take care of Him even though there would be no food or water. Elijah was sent to a brook to wait on the Lord, and there – he was told (1 Kings 17:3) that he would drink from the nearby brook and be fed by birds (ravens) who would come by every so often to feed him! Would you wait at a brook and wait for food from the mouth of birds? It would take faith.

Bitterness - A root that must be plucked out

4/20/2013

"Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled" Hebrews 12:15

Today’s scripture passage reminds us that when we fail to live in God’s grace, we may allow a root of bitterness to establish itself in our lives. This bitterness could be toward others, toward God, or toward the seeming judgment or punishment God may allow to come our way. Perhaps the circumstances in life did not go the way we wanted; we avoid people or situations because the hurt feelings come back to tell us the others are completely wrong. We fail to forgive others. If we allow that hurt to take root in our lives, it will affect not only ourselves but it will spread like a cancer to our friends and family.

God's Grace: Receiving what you need, not always what you want

4/17/2013

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

God’s grace is His goodness, His direction, His guidance, and His watch care for His children. His grace helps us stop sinning, induces joy, lifts us up in difficult moments, and leads us along His path. Someone once said that grace is “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”.

Diligence in an Age of Instant

4/17/2013

"14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled" Hebrews 12:14

In order to remember and take hold of God’s grace, we need a dose of old fashioned diligence. It is not bad to have cell phones, ipods, and kindles; but all this technology sometimes gives us a false sense of accomplishment. Its ‘instant’ nature may also make it hard to discipline ourselves. However, in God’s kingdom – it takes discipline and diligence to following God’s path. We must continually strive, even when our flesh becomes tired and no longer wants to read God’s word or pray.

What If I Am Not Perfectly Holy?

4/16/2013

"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" Hebrews 12:14

We are to follow after God’s holiness; as believers in Christ, we are to be holy because He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). Since we are to imitate God in all His ways, let’s live in His holiness. This does not mean we look down on the spirituality of other people; instead, it means we think others better than ourselves in all our ways while striving to obey Him. We ought not live holy because it is our duty; instead, we ought to live holy because of what He has done for us. C.T. Studd says, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”

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