Run Over by the Grace Train

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10

DAY 1: Grace Saves

Have you ever gotten fed up with yourself? You can’t keep your own promises, you do the very thing you don’t want to do, you stick your foot in your mouth, and so on and so on. It’s an unpopular opinion, but the truth is that you and I are the problem. Our diagnosis is that we have a disease, and we think that if we can just try harder or be better, then we can cure it. We fool ourselves into thinking we can self-help our way out of things when, in reality, we self-helped our way into things. 

Our problem is much bigger than we think because the Bible tells us that we are not just bad people, but we are actually dead. What can a dead person do? That’s right, nothing. The only one who can do something about it is the one who beat death. 

We downplay the severity of sin, but it is the very thing that has led us to our demise. Sin is a big deal because Jesus, God in the flesh, shed his own blood and sacrificed his own body to pay for it. The King of Kings had to endure the wrath of God so that you and I could be forgiven. 

The good news is that Jesus IS life. He wants to resurrect you. This groundbreaking, hit-by-a-freight-train kind of love is offered by the grace of Jesus, and all you have to do is accept it. If you have never accepted this all-encompassing grace, the God of the Universe is inviting you to do it now. There is no magic prayer to recite but rather a transferring of faith from yourself to Him. Just tell Him you are a sinner, and you can’t fix your own heart problem alone. Tell Him you need Him, and you believe Jesus is the Son of God and Savior. If you have already placed your faith in Jesus before reading this, take this as your reminder of the miracle of your salvation and the grace He has hit you with.

Scripture: Romans 3

DAY 2: Grace Can’t Be Lost. And Neither Can You 

Every human being is on the same playing field when it comes to sin. By nature and nurture, we are all wretched, black-hearted sinners. It doesn’t matter where you grew up, in a nice neighborhood or in government housing. Whether you made straight A’s in school or dropped out. Whether you were really good at being good or really good at being bad. We ALL need the saving grace of the gospel. 

Grace is not anti-effort, but it is anti-earning. This means that following Jesus is not easy, and the truth is, you actually are justified by good works…just not your own. Jesus is the only one capable of giving us a right standing before God. When we surrender to Him, God wraps us up in a blanket of that righteousness. 

A major misconception that many people carry around with them is that when they surrender to Jesus, they still believe God is dissatisfied with them. This is a misinformation campaign from the devil to try to make us live in condemnation and not in freedom. If Jesus is the payment that satisfies, and you trust in Him, that means God cannot be dissatisfied with you. It is impossible! No matter what you have done or are going to do, God has and will never regret saving you. He will never regret calling you His child. With that truth planted firmly in you, you can now live a life of obedience out of a grateful response to the grace God has given you.

Scripture: Luke 15

DAY 3: Grace Sanctifies Both the Rebel and the Religious 

Imagine someone throwing you the most spectacular surprise birthday party. Your closest friends are there: eating, laughing, and dancing. The party is full of joy and celebration because you are so loved. As wonderful as this sounds, a party like this can’t hold a candle to the lavish party Grace throws. 

In the story of the Prodigal Son, the title makes it sound like there is only one son lost, but as you read the parable, you realize both sons are lost. One son is lost in rebellion, and one is lost in religion, and there is a lavish father in the middle of them. The party the father throws for the rebellious son that has returned doesn’t make sense to the older son and even offends him, but that is exactly what grace does. It doesn’t make sense to the lost world and often offends our precious little egos. 

The extravagant party thrown for the son points to the extravagant grace God pours out to the one who RSVPs to the party. It points to a future party in Heaven where there won’t be any rebellion or precious little egos. When we think we must clean ourselves up for God to love us, or work for His approval, we don’t know the true lavish Father. 

The truth is that there is more grace in Jesus than sin in you. There is more forgiveness than you can imagine. Confess your sins to God and receive His lavish love.

Scripture: John 8:1-11

DAY 4: Grace Does Not Condemn

In the Old Testament, the Covenant came before the Law (Genesis 12), and the verdict came before the performance (Leviticus 16). Before the cross of Christ, God set a system in place that would atone for the sins of His people. Grace was not plan B or an afterthought, but rather the all-knowing God knew we would all need the net of grace to catch us when we fall.

A powerful thing about grace is that it is not isolated from the truth. When Jesus stood between the woman caught in adultery and the men about to stone her, He did not condone her sin and brush it under the rug. Because of His great love for her, with grace on His tongue, He spoke truth to her, and He does the same for you.

The devil is only capable of speaking lies, and his ancient tactics have not changed. He wants you to eat, sleep, and breathe condemnation. He wants you to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The devil accuses you, labels you, and deems you unfit for use, but only Jesus has the authority to tell you who you are.

As a new creation in Christ, you don’t have to live the same life of sin. Listen to The Holy Spirit as He convicts you and invites you to repent of sin and live in the power of the blood of Jesus.

Scripture: Psalms 51, 2 Samuel 11

DAY 5: Grace Cleanses

We see in 1 Samuel 13:14 that David is called a man after God’s own heart. God chose David to be King and anointed him, all the while knowing the sin David would choose to step into. All throughout the pages of the Bible is the theme of redemption. God chooses to cleanse the dirty and use the weak to show off His strength. King David is a perfect example of this. David commits adultery and murder and comes to the threshing floor of his own heart when he sees the depth of his depravity. David knows he deserves death, but instead, he is met with God’s grace. God withholds the penalty of the sin by His mercy and then cleanses David by His grace. God shows David He is not done with him yet.

One of the common problems of being a human is our predisposition to judge others. We often hone in on everyone else’s sin while ignoring the giant dumpster of sin in our own life. The truth is, we are all David. King David needed a Savior to forgive his sins and purify his heart. We need that same Savior. David put his faith in that coming Savior, who we know now is Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin, and Jesus once and for all paid the penalty for our sin with His perfect blood.

Maybe you have sinned like David and carry around the condemnation of that sin every day. The devil may be constantly badgering you with lies, or you may have given up and have given in to the “norms” of society. To be “normal” is to be depressed and sick and lonely. Jesus didn’t die on the cross for you to waste your life. The Bible says in James 5:16, “Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” Don’t waste another day; be cleansed by the blood of Christ.

Scripture: John 4:1-45

DAY 6: Grace for the Outcast

Have you ever felt like an outcast? Did you know Jesus was misunderstood, falsely accused, mocked, and betrayed? Not only were these things done, but they were done by His closest friends and the community He graciously served. Jesus did not shy away from the marginalized because He experienced what it meant to be one.

In the time of Jesus’s life, the Samaritans were the ultimate outcasts. On one of His journeys, He bee-lined it straight into the heart of no man’s land. He knew what He was doing and who He was going to meet at Jacob’s well.

Jesus talking to a Samaritan was scandalous, but talking to a Samaritan woman seemed outright crazy. There He is, the perfect Rabbi, sitting next to her, asking for water because He is thirsty, and then offering her the everlasting water of eternal life. She doesn’t get it at first. She is caught up in the mess of her life, and Jesus keeps pouring out grace.

Our soul was made with an insatiable appetite that can only be satisfied with the everlasting God. This is why when you try to fill your soul with sex, stuff, and status, it may feel good for a little while, but there is a hole in the bottom of the boat. Eventually, this hole in the boat will drain everything out.

The woman at the well was living in sin, cast out from her community, and suffering. Jesus knew it all. He knew her deepest, darkest secrets and was not embarrassed by her. He knows your deepest, darkest secrets too, and He is not ashamed of you. He doesn’t want you defined by your scars but by His scars. The woman eventually trusts what Jesus is saying and runs to tell the town. God uses a woman with a shameful past to start a revival! Will you bring your mess into the light so He can use it to share the greatest message of all time?

Scripture: Matthew 18:15-35

DAY 7: Grace Forgives 

Forgiveness. What a loaded word. We have all been sinned against, and we have all sinned against someone else. While Jesus was hanging on the cross, He asked God the Father to forgive His murderers. In Matthew 18, Jesus tells us what to do when we have conflict with our brother or sister, and what will happen if we don’t forgive. 

Forgiveness is a big deal. It takes guts to do it. Forgiveness is not a feeling but a willful decision to cancel someone’s debt they owe you. It is not mustered up by your own strength but can only flow from first receiving forgiveness from God. Forgiveness doesn’t earn forgiveness from God but rather is evidence that you have been forgiven. Jesus canceled your debt; therefore, you can cancel someone else’s. 

Now, while forgiveness can bring freedom, unforgiveness is like a poison in your bloodstream. It overtakes you and tortures you. It is not something to be messed around with. Forgiving someone is not minimizing the pain they caused you. It is not forgetting what happened or even reconciling with that person. Forgiveness is a form of grace that God has poured out on you that you can pour out on others. 

Create your own debt ledger and write down on it the name of the person or persons who sinned against you. Write down what they did and what they took from you. Then, bring the ledger to the feet of Jesus and choose to cancel that debt. Remember, that the person that you are holding a debt over their head may even be you.

Scripture: James 1

DAY 8: Grace is Slow to Anger

Anger is like the pin of a grenade. If you pull that pin, there will be an explosion, and it won’t just affect you, but also everything and everyone around you. Anger is an emotion God gave us, and emotions are not evil. It is what we do with them that matters. The Bible tells us in James 1:19 to be slow to anger. This slowness to anger comes from God Himself. In Exodus 34, God reveals His character to Moses, and He says He is slow to anger, which literally is translated as “long nose” in Hebrew. This description portrays anger rising from your “gut” all the way up your face, where you would snort and snarl it out. The longer the nose, the longer it took for the anger to be released. What this is saying is that God Almighty is not reactionary or quick-tempered. He is not waiting in the bushes to bust you. He is not keeping a list and checking it twice.

God calls you His beloved, and when you trust Jesus and surrender to Him as Lord, you are spared from God’s wrath towards sin. You are no longer an enemy of God, but you belong to Him. Ownership precedes identity, and identity precedes activity. To change what you are doing, you must first know who you are, which starts with knowing whose you are.

If you want to heal your anger, you must take it to the One who can be angry and not sin. God’s anger is slow, and it is also perfect. God is holy; therefore, He cannot sin, thus making His wrath toward sin holy justice.

Ask God to show you the root of your anger. What are you believing about Him and about yourself that are lies? Receive the grace that Christ purchased for you and repent from your anger daily.

Scripture: John 21

DAY 9: Grace Again and Again and Again

God’s grace is inexhaustible. It never dries up. It never takes a day off. There is no quit in it. When you have been hit by the grace train, you have been knocked out dead and resurrected. The old you is gone, and the new you is now in Christ. You are swallowed up in grace, and you can’t do anything to change that. You can’t run too far away or break things apart too badly to lose a seat on the grace train.

Peter was one of Jesus’s closest friends and disciples, and he was a total screw-up. He reprimanded Jesus, made things all about himself, and then denied that he even knew Jesus. And what does Jesus do? He sits with him in the depths of his despair and offers him grace.

Peter didn’t know what he was going to do with his life after Jesus was laid in the tomb. He was scared and confused, but Jesus didn’t let grace stay dead. He resurrected from the grave and extended grace to Peter and to you. He gave Peter a purpose and mission for his life, and He has one for you too. Let Him restore you with His grace again, and again, and again.