Wonder of Grace

Scriptures: 1 John 4:8, Luke 15:11-32

What is Grace?

Grace is hard to define, so in Luke 15:11-32, Jesus tells a story about two brothers to illustrate it. 

The younger brother asked for his inheritance before his father had died. He went off and blew the lot, living a corrupt life. He hit rock bottom and returned home, hoping his father might offer him a paid job if he accepted him back. 

Full of shame, he trudged home. His father had been looking out for him. Gathering up his robes, he ran to embrace his son. He gave him a ring, a robe, and sandals, clearly signifying that there was no way he would have him work as a paid servant. Despite all his serious mistakes, his father restored him as a son with all the authority, riches, and rights that went with that. 

This is Grace. No matter what we have done, God still loves us and is eager to receive us back into right standing with Him when we choose to return home. 

There is another son in this story, the older brother who diligently “slaved away” for his father while his brother was having fun. He was furious that the father forgave and restored his brother. It seemed so unfair. 

He couldn’t get his head around Grace. He was trying to earn his father’s love by obeying him and working hard, but that was totally unnecessary. His father loved him anyway. 

This brother shows us how we can do all the “right” things for all the wrong reasons. Are there ways you try to earn your Heavenly Father’s Love or try to feel better about yourself by what you do for Him? 

These brothers both teach us an astonishing wonder of Grace: there is nothing we can do to make God love us any more or any less. His Love depends not on what we do but on who He is. As 1 John 4:8 says, God is Love. 

Reflect and Respond 

Which brother do you relate to more? Why? 

Pray 

Take some time with God and “receive” the truth that you are now a child of God who is freely loved. Then choose to serve Him out of that Love and not because you are trying to become who you already are or earn what you already have. 

Scriptures: Galatians 3:26-29,2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Psalms 103:11-13

How Does God See Me?

When God looks at you, what does He see? 

It’s easy to believe that He doesn’t just see us but also that “thing” we did all those years ago that makes us wince every time we think about it. We can feel as though we stand before Him covered with stains from our past or present struggles. 

One of the greatest wonders of Grace is this: when you come to Christ, you become a Whole New Person, brand new through and through. You were not just “covered” by Christ as if deep down inside, you are still the same person you used to be. Second Corinthians 5:21 says you become the very Righteousness of God—Pure and Holy right to your core. 

Whatever you’ve done or has been done to you, it no longer defines you. God sees you for who you truly are: Holy, Righteous, and Pure. 

It’s not that God isn’t aware of your sin, He’s All-Knowing. But Psalm 103:11-13 says He has removed it from you as far as the East is from the West. If you travel East, you can keep going forever. We’re talking about your sin being moved an infinite distance away from you because Jesus died for you. 

God no longer defines you by your mistakes. By His Grace, you are a Brand-New Creation in Christ. When God looks at you, He sees you as you really are – a product of Jesus’ Death, Ascension, and Resurrection – Holy, Righteous, and Pure. 

Reflect and Respond 

Do you struggle to see yourself as Holy, Righteous, and Pure even though God tells you that’s what you are? If so, is there something you need to forgive yourself for? 

Pray 

Father, 

Thank You that, by Your Grace, You no longer define me by my mistakes. I choose now to receive the truth that I am defined only by what Jesus has done. Thank You that I am Holy, Righteous, and Pure. 

Amen.

Scriptures: Romans 8:1, 2 Corinthians 5:14, John 3:16-18

Motivated by Guilt or Grace? 

Why do you do what you do for God? Is it because you love Him and know He loves you? Or is it because you want to keep in His Good Books? 

When trying not to feel guilty becomes our driving reason to serve Him, we become focused on what we do. We “must” read our Bible, we “must” pray, we “must” go to church. Instead of doing these things out of a desire to go deeper in Him, they come from fear and guilt. We try to make the right decisions based on our strengths. We strive and struggle. We lose our focus and our joy. Faith becomes religion, and our relationship with God becomes a list of do’s and don’ts. 

This is far from the relationship God wants us to have with Him. He wants us to serve Him because we choose to, because we love Him, not because we feel we must. 

When Jesus died on the Cross, He paid for every sin, no matter how bad. It’s easy to think that what Jesus did was enough to cancel everyone else’s debt, but somehow, not ours. The Bible is clear in Romans 8:1 that if you are a Christian, there is now no condemnation from God for you. There are no caveats in that statement. Now means now – and no means no! 

It may not feel true. But it is true. The question is, will you believe what God says about you or what your past experiences or feelings say? 

When we receive God’s forgiveness and know we are already loved, we see another wonder of Grace. Suddenly, we naturally want to spend time with our Father, to simply “hang out.” From that place of relationship, we naturally make the right decisions and serve Him with joy without striving. 

Grace, not guilt, really is the best motivation to serve Jesus. 

Reflect and Respond 

Can you identify times that you have served God through guilt? 

Pray 

Heavenly Father, remind me of how I’ve seen that You are with me and for me this week. 

Scriptures: 2 Peter 1:3, Romans 6:14, Romans 8:2, 2 Corinthians 5:21

Can I Really Change?

People will always act according to what they believe to be true about themselves, so we must know who we are now in Christ. 

This is never more critical than when you feel stuck in an unhelpful way of thinking or behaving and want to change. 

We try to stop doing the things we hate. We apologize to God and commit to stopping, but we keep returning. It’s depressing! 

Have you learned to see yourself as a “sinner,” albeit a “sinner saved by Grace?” What do sinners do by definition? They sin! If we think we’re a useless sinner, we will live up to that label. 

But in the New Testament, the word “sinner” is used for those who do not yet know Jesus. The word most used for those who know Jesus is “Holy One.” 

Knowing that we are a Holy Child of God (though we sometimes go wrong and sin) can make all the difference in the world. 

The Bible also contains other vital truths. Romans 6:14 clarifies that Jesus broke sin’s power in our lives. Second Peter 1:3 shows us that we already have everything we need to live a Godly life. When we utterly understand this and step into who we are, we will find we can tap into the Strength of Christ to overcome. 

That’s not to say we won’t slip up or don’t need to put effort in. We must still submit ourselves to God by acknowledging our mistakes, apologizing, and turning from them. And we will need to resist temptation. But knowing that we already have the Power to do this, and that sin doesn’t define us is the foundation of overcoming anything we are stuck in. 

God’s Grace means that sin no longer has any power over us unless we let it. We really can change. 

Reflect and Respond

How might seeing yourself as a Holy One rather than a sinner change your life? 

Pray

Ask God to reveal to your heart the truth of who you really are in Him.

Scriptures: Philippians 4:13, 1 John 4:8, 2 Timothy 1:7, 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Am I Helpless in the Face of Fear?

In dangerous situations, a part of our brain called the Amygdala recognizes the danger and tells our body to go into Fight-or-Flight Mode. This Mode gives the sensation of fear but with it also comes almost super-human abilities to run, jump, or lift heavy weights to get out of danger. It’s how mothers lift cars off their children in accidents and how people walk miles from remote areas to safety. 

Maybe you’ve come to believe that feeling fear means you lack faith. This is simply not true. God created us with this Fight-or-Flight mechanism. Fear is a God-given emotion designed to keep us safe in danger. True courage is doing the right thing in the face of that fear. 

But that doesn’t mean that all fear is healthy. We can end up scared of things we don’t need to be afraid of. Yes, it’s healthy to be frightened if a lion confronts us. But not by a kitten. 

By God’s Grace, no child of God is powerless in the face of fear because we already have everything we need to overcome it. Second Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear but the very opposite: a spirit of Power, Love, and a Sound Mind. We can use these anytime – we don’t have to ask for them; we already have them! 

God, by His Grace and in His Perfect Love, has promised that we can do all things through Him. We can lean on Him and ask Him to strengthen us when we feel weak. 

We have a choice – we can take courage and overcome any fear because knowing God and His Perfect Love enables us to. 

Reflect and Respond

What do you fear? 

Pray

Bring a fear before God and thank Him that you can overcome it in His Strength.

Scriptures: Colossians 1:27, 2 Peter 1:3-11

What is My Purpose?

There was a dentist, a kind, gentle, and wise man who was passionate for God. Often, people told him that he should go into full-time ministry and that he was wasting his life being a dentist. He took these suggestions seriously, prayed, and sought God, but never felt a push from the Holy Spirit to stop working. He stayed at his dental job but continued to go deeper and deeper in his relationship with God. 

As his relationship with God deepened, he became more like Jesus in character. Patients terrified of dentists would seek him out, saying it was like having their teeth done by Jesus Himself! He would chat openly with the dental nurses and hygienists in his practice about Jesus and became the embodiment of Colossians 1:27 as Christ shone out of him. 

He had numerous opportunities to tell people about Jesus, who may never have heard about Him otherwise. And while he used words, what spoke most to not-yet-Christians was the character of Christ that shone through him (see 2 Peter 1:5-8). 

Does serving God mean giving up everything and going into full-time ministry? For some of us, that is what God calls us to do. But God doesn’t make any sacred/secular divide. Every place we are is a mission field. And you are the worker whom God has called to the mission field where He has placed you. 

God is primarily concerned with what you are like rather than what you do because He knows what you do will come from who you are. And as you become increasingly like Jesus, He will be able to use you more powerfully wherever you are. 

Reflect and Respond

To become more like Jesus, you need to spend more time with Him, just hanging out or reading His Word. How can you spend more time with Him? 

Pray

Father, life can be busy, but I want to spend more time with You to become more like Jesus. Please help me prioritize time with You. 

Amen.

Scriptures: John 15:1-5, Psalms 46:10, Hebrews 13:5, Philippians 4:13, Proverbs 2:6, James 1:5

How Can I Make My Life Count?

Jesus uses the picture of a vine in John 15:1-5 and tells us that if we want to bear fruit or make our lives count, we must remain in the Vine. In other words, we need to stay connected to Him. That’s mind-blowing – stay connected, and He will bear fruit through us. 

But what does that look like in practice? Let’s be honest, it’s not easy. There is a relentlessness to life; the hustle, bustle, pressure, and busyness can make it hard to remember God, let alone feel connected to Him throughout our day. 

Many of us may take a “God time,” a moment once a day when we immerse ourselves deeply in Him, where we feel filled up and realigned. That is an excellent thing. But what about when we get to work or whatever we do that day? It can feel like we leave Jesus on the doorstep and continue our day as if He’s not with us. The busyness takes over, and we enter the pressure zone. 

But what if, instead of switching modes, we seek to invite Him into every moment of our day? What if we kept our conversation going with Him and brought our glitches, pressures, and struggles moment by moment before Him? What if when it all got too much, we just stopped momentarily and remembered that He is God (Psalm 46:10) and is with us right now (Hebrews 13:5)? 

God makes some profound promises in the Bible: that we can do all things through Him (Philippians 4:13), that all wisdom belongs to Him (Proverbs 2:6), and that we can ask Him at any time, and He will give it to us (James 1:5). Imagine how much easier and fruitful our days would be if we learned to practice His Presence like this and consciously sought to stay hard-wired into Him, the true Vine. 

Reflect and Respond

How might you stay better connected to Jesus as your Vine throughout your day? 

Pray

Choose a day and ask God to keep you consciously connected to Him.

Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12:15-20, John 17:20-21, 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, Luke 7:47

Why Do I Need Other People?

The Church is incredible, but finding our place in it is not always easy. 

Church can be messy. We don’t always agree on everything; sometimes, there are character clashes, and sometimes people get hurt. 

Jesus knew it would be hard. He was fully human and fully God, and He knew there would be challenges in building His Church. That is why He prayed specifically for us in John 17:20-21 that we would have unity. 

But the biggest block to unity in the Church isn’t the mess, the disagreements, or even the hurts – sadly, those will happen occasionally when any group of people gather. The biggest block is the unforgiveness we carry as a result. If you show me any break in a church, when you dig through the mess and the details and get to the bottom, you will always find unforgiveness, leading to bitterness and resentment and preventing people from moving on. 

In 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, Paul tells us that we need to forgive so we don’t let Satan take advantage of us. Satan hates the Church. He knows it’s God’s only plan to advance His Love and Kingdom here on Earth. Unresolved unforgiveness can be the greatest tool Satan can use against us. 

Forgiveness is a choice. Yes, it’s tough. But in Luke 7:47, Jesus said that those who are forgiven much, love much, because forgiveness is an outpouring of the Grace we have received from God for our mistakes. When we fully understand how much we have been forgiven, it becomes easier to release forgiveness to others. 

God is asking us to do what He has already done for us. When we do, we not only prevent the enemy from taking advantage of the situation, but we also create space for God to bring healing that enables us to move on and take our place in His plans. 

The Grace we have received from God enables us to live in community with unity. 

Pray

Take some time to forgive those who have hurt you. Tell God exactly what you are forgiving them for and how it made you feel.