God's Gift...
What do you know about God’s grace?
Music is what often refreshes my soul. Lyrics to certain songs cause me to think in a fresh way. Music picks up my spirit. U2 is my favorite band… they wrote a song in 2000 entitled, “Grace” Here are some of the lyrics… “Grace. She takes the blame. She covers the shame. Removes the stain. It could be her name. Grace. It’s the name for a girl. It’s also a thought that changed the world. Grace makes beauty out of ugly things. Grace finds beauty in everything. Grace finds goodness in everything.”
Ephesians 2:4-10 (NLT)… “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
Sin makes us dead; God’s mercy and love brings us back to life. The resurrection of Jesus gives us life! Saving us has always been God’s idea and God’s plan. God is in the rescue business; we can’t get ourselves out of this mess but we try…
God’s loving mercy makes new life in possible; we become alive, raised up and seated with Jesus.
Our salvation in Jesus Christ is an act of mercy from a loving God. It’s not an achievement we get credit for… It’s an act of God’s goodness to us. The good works we do are the result or the fruit of our salvation in Jesus, not the cause of our salvation. Our good works are not incidental to God’s plan for our lives, they are essential in God’s redemptive plan to save the world.
God’s Grace… It’s for you, but it's not about you. It’s free to you, but you don’t deserve it. It’s the key to new life, but you can’t earn it. It’s the one concept that will change the world! It’s God’s goodness, kindness and love given to you, not because of who you are or what you have done but because of who God is…
God’s gift of grace… You won’t understand its power in your life until you experience it firsthand and extend it to someone else.