Category: Daily Prayers

 

 

2 Peter 3:18. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone boast.” (Ephesians 2:8)

“… who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.” (2 Timothy 1:9)

“And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.” (Romans 11:6)

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2)

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men …” (Titus 2:11)

“But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” (Acts 15:11)

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7)

“… that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:7)

“… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus …” (Romans 3:23-24)

“For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace …” (2 Thessalonians 2:16)

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence …” (Ephesians 1:7-8)

“For if by the one man’s offense, many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.” (Romans 5:15)

“… having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:6)

“But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20)

“I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” (Galatians 2:21)

• For by grace you have been saved through faith
• Who has saved us … according to His own purpose and grace
• We have access by faith into this grace
• For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men
• Through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved
• By grace you have been saved
• Having been justified by His grace
• Being justified freely by His grace
• Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ
• Given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace
• In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

How is grace defined:

1. Unmerited favor, mercy, compassion
2. Undeserved blessing, a free gift
3. Gods loving mercy toward mankind
4. Favor, graciousness, kindness, beauty, pleasantness
5. God’s disposition to exercise goodwill toward His creatures
6. Synonymous with the gospel of God’s gift of unmerited salvation in Jesus Christ
7. Favor or kindness shown without regard to the worth or merit of the one who receives it and in spite of what that same person deserves
8. Undeserved acceptance and love received from another, especially the characteristic attitude of God in providing salvation to sinners
9. The gift of God as expressed in His actions of extending mercy, loving-kindness and salvation to people
10. Unmerited divine assistance given man for his regeneration or sanctification
11. The power and equipment for ministry

If we spent all of our earthly lives searching for the fullness of God’s grace we would never find the end of it. Yet, in this desire and searching of it we would grow in our understanding and knowledge of it. The worldly and fleshly would be discerned more clearly and our honor and glory for Jesus Christ would permeate more and more in our thoughts, words, and actions. It is a very weak and unfruitful life to live void of growth in the faith, power, and encouragement  God’s grace offers to those who seek knowledge and understanding of it. 

Great and precious promises are declared and revealed in God’s Word. This too is through His grace.  Salvation is by Grace, the infilling Holy Spirit is by Grace, Discernment is by grace, our talents are by grace, power and courage are by grace, understanding of God’s purpose and meaning for our lives are by grace, Fruits of the Holy Spirit are by grace, eternal life is by grace, Adoption into His family is by grace, Conviction of sin is by His grace, Forgiveness is by grace, Repentance is because of His grace realized, peace and rest for our souls is because of His grace, His Word was given to us because of His grace, sending Jesus to redeem us was by His grace, wisdom and knowledge are by grace, etc….

Hope, faith, trust, and reliance all find their beginning in our understanding and knowledge of the Grace of God. This understanding and knowledge should be sought after, ever-growing, and never ceasing. Maturing in this understanding and knowledge will have an affect on how you think, what you say, and what you do. It will refine how you honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all thoughts, words, and actions. It will fill you with purpose and meaning. It will expose the worldly and fleshly from the heavenly and godly. 

When we are maturing in the knowledge and understanding of God’s grace, how can we not become more humbled? Surely, one expression of maturing in God’s grace is how we likewise show grace to others, family, friends, strangers, and brothers and sisters in Christ.

We should never become neglectful or complacent in the desire of this knowledge and understanding of the Grace of God. 

 

How can a man be in the right before God?

–Job 9:2

Some years ago, a pastor from another state called me to ask for advice. Some people in his church had begun to study the Old Testament intensively, and they became convinced that the church needed to follow the regulations and rituals of the Old Testament law. I thought, How unbelievable that a group of Christians, who have been freed from the regulations and rituals of the Old Testament law, would voluntarily place themselves under those restrictions!

Then I remembered Solomon’s words: “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). This pastor was experiencing the same thing the Christians in Colossae experienced two thousand years ago. Some people in the Colossian church were saying, “Jesus Christ is important, but He’s not enough. You also need to follow the rituals and regulations of the Old Testament law to be right with God.” In Colossians 2, Paul reminded us that only Jesus Christ can set us free from the power and the consequences of sin.

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul identified four heresies that had invaded the Colossian church. These heresies all said Christ is not sufficient, so people need something else to be saved. Last week, we looked at the first heresy: human philosophy. Philosophy based on man-made wisdom is utterly bankrupt to meet our real needs.

Paul then confronted a second heresy in the Colossian church: legalism, which is the attempt to gain God’s approval through rituals and regulations. The Jewish Christians in Colossae were telling the Gentile Christians to be circumcised and follow the Old Testament law to be saved.

You may think that sounds ridiculous, but there’s a large segment of the church today that believes Jesus is important but not sufficient for our salvation. Some people, for example, believe we also need to observe certain rituals, such as baptism, the sacraments, going to the priest, or attending the right church. Other people believe we need to keep certain man-made regulations regarding our behavior or habits.

It is Christ alone who makes us right before God. Rituals and regulations deal only with our external behaviors–they do nothing to change our hearts. What we all desperately need is a renovation of our hearts. Only Christ can perform that kind of radical surgery.

 

Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. (Genesis 16:3-4)

God promised Abram and Sarai what they desperately wanted and long waited for: a son. After waiting ten years, they decided to “help” God fulfill His promise by using an Egyptian slave woman as an ancient version of a surrogate mother. In this, Abram and Sarai both acted in unbelief. Abram did not actually marry Hagar, but he acted towards her as a man should only act towards his wife. This wasn’t the right path for Abram, the friend of God and the man of faith. God had a different way for him, but Abram and Sarai didn’t want to take that way.

Abram and Sarai were discouraged enough that they approached the problem of no children by leaving God out of the matter. It was as if they said, “If we remove God from this situation, how do we solve this?” This was wrong for many reasons.

– God is never removed from any circumstance.
– Men and women of faith must walk in faith, not in unbelief.
– Men and women of faith must live being mindful of the realm of the spirit, not only mindful of the material world.

When a believer impatiently tries to fulfill God’s promises in their own effort, it accomplishes nothing and may even prolong the time until the promise is fulfilled. Jacob had to live as an exile for 25 years, because he thought he had to arrange the fulfillment of God’s promise to get his father’s blessing (Genesis 28:1-5; 33:17-20). Moses had to tend sheep for 40 years in the desert after he tried to arrange the fulfillment of God’s promise by murdering an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-15; 3:1).

It is better to receive God’s help than to try and help Him in our own wisdom and unbelief. When the servant woman conceived, things only became worse, especially for Sarai, the wife of Abram. Hagar’s pregnancy seemed to confirm that the inability to bear children was Sarai’s problem, not Abram’s. In a culture that so highly valued childbearing, mothering the child of a wealthy and influential man like Abram gave Hagar greater status, and made her appeared more blessed than Sarai.

This is a good reminder that results are not enough to justify what we do before God. It’s not right to say, “They got a baby out of it. It must have been God’s will.” The flesh profits nothing (John 6:63), but it can producesomething. Doing things in the flesh may get results, but they may be results that are soon regretted.

Whatever a man or woman attempts to do without God will be a miserable failure – or an even more miserable success.

 

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

–Matthew 5:16

Throughout the Bible, we find the theme of walking in Christ. For example, in Ephesians 4:1, Paul said, “I . . . implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” In 1 John 2:6, the apostle John wrote, “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

Why does the Bible place such an emphasis on walking in Christ? Let me point out two benefits of patterning your life after that of Jesus Christ.

First of all, walking in Christ results in a fulfilling life. God’s principles about your family life, finances, and moral purity were given not to restrict your happiness but to enhance your happiness. God is not a cosmic killjoy who is trying to make your life miserable. He loves you, and the Bible is His instruction manual for experiencing life to the fullest.

As a pastor, I see the truthfulness of God’s Word played out every day. I encounter Christians who have ignored what the Bible says about marriage or money, yet they wonder why their lives are engulfed by heartache. I see other Christians who follow the principles in God’s Word, and their lives are marked by stability, consistency, and productivity. If you want a truly fulfilling life, you will walk in Christ.

Second, walking in Christ serves as a positive witness to others. When you live according to God’s standard, you bring glory to God. The word “glory” in the Bible literally means “heavy.” When Christians live according to God’s Word, it makes God look heavy, substantive, and worthy of worship. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” There is nothing wrong with letting people see your good works as long as you deflect the glory to God. Nothing brings glory to God more than when Christians walk according to the principles of God’s Word.

 

The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

–1 John 2:6

When Doug and his bride, Sylvia, entered the honeymoon suite, they were surprised by how small it was. They saw a closet door, sleeper sofa, and two end tables, but no bed. After an uncomfortable night on the sofa, Doug went to the desk and gave the manager a tongue-lashing. The manager was perplexed. He said, “Didn’t you open the door?” Doug went back to the suite and opened what he had thought was the closet door. Inside was a beautiful bedroom, complete with flowers, fruit, and candy for the newlyweds. Though Doug and Sylvia had entered the suite, they hadn’t gone far enough inside–and they missed everything that had been planned for them.

A lot of Christians are like those newlyweds: they make the initial decision to trust in Christ, but they don’t go far enough into their relationship with Christ to experience all the benefits of their salvation. As a result, they’re missing out on what God has planned for them, and they’re tempted to chase after other philosophies or experiences to find fulfillment in life.

In Colossians 2, Paul shared five keys for standing firm in your faith and not wandering away. First, strengthen your mind with the Word of God. Second, remain unified with other Christians. Third, be assured of the identity and sufficiency of Jesus Christ. In verse 6, we find a fourth secret for remaining strong in your faith: walk in Christ. Paul wrote, “As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”

To understand what it means to walk in Christ, we have to understand what it means to receive Christ. Many Christians would say receiving Christ means inviting Him into your heart or asking Him to take control of your life. But nowhere in the Bible is a non-Christian instructed to do those things in order to become a Christian. Becoming a Christian has to do with placing your full trust in Jesus to save you from your sins. In John 3:14–15, Jesus said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.” That’s what it means to receive Christ.

Look again at Colossians 2:6: “As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” The phrase “to walk” means to conduct your daily life. Paul was referring to how you live your life after you trust in Christ as your Savior. To walk in Christ means to pattern every part of your life after that of Jesus Christ.

 

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Romans 8:26

We try so hard to be self-sufficient. Although we delight in helping others out of our strength, it takes a giant swallow of our pride to accept help. We avoid feelings of brokenness and dependence. We would rather struggle for months on end before admitting we need help. This tendency stunts our growth because it rejects the help and power God has provided.

Although unseen, the Holy Spirit is the invisible hero dwelling within us. God knows our weakness and provides the Holy Spirit to guide, strengthen, and sustain us. The Spirit comes to our rescue time and again. We are loved, and our weakness is never mocked. When God calls us, we can rest assured that the Holy Spirit will equip us through His insight and power. The evidence is clear in both the life of Christ and the lives of His followers.

The first thing that accounts for God’s using D. L. Moody so mightily was that he was a fully surrendered man.

 

Gal 5:16 I say then; walk in the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Couples laughing and talking, seniors strolling hand in hand, young children skipping and hopping alongside mom and dad—there is something undeniably wonderful about walking with someone you enjoy. Maybe it’s the anticipation of something thrilling happening along the way, the promise of treasure right around the corner, or simply the sheer joy of being together. The same is true when we choose to walk in the Spirit, and our steps synchronize with His.

When you walk according to the Lord’s direction and leading, you can count on a treasury of spiritual blessings because walking in the Spirit guarantees the wisdom of heaven replacing earthly inclinations. Discernment will triumph over judgmentalism, operations of faith replace presumptive actions, discretion overcomes folly, love vanquishes selfishness, and encouraging words become the norm. It’s a wonderful way to live!

One morning, you and I will wake up ready to face the day, but instead of making it to our beds that evening, Jesus will reach out, take our hand, and lead us to His house in heaven. Until then, be alert as you walk with Him. Watch for confirmation from God’s Word that your path is indeed the right one and determine to be in sync with His Spirit—moment by moment, day by day.