Leaving Room for Grace

Sometimes, when we are going through some of the greatest struggles we have ever faced, we forget to leave room for the grace of God. How do you leave room for God’s grace? Start by reminding yourself that you are God’s child, He loves you, and if you put your trust in Him, it is going to work out for good.

Luke eight recounts the story of the woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years. She had spent all she had on medical treatment, yet grew worse. In the natural, there seemed to be no hope, yet she was looking to see how God could be her help, and then, she heard of Jesus. She heard He was healing others with hopeless medical conditions. Maybe He would heal her. She said, “If I can just touch the hem of His garment, I can be made well.” She was leaving room for the grace of God.

She made her way to Jesus, she pressed through the crowd, she touched His garment, and was made whole. Jesus said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer, your faith has made you whole.” Leaving room for the grace of God does not necessarily mean we passively sit and wait for God to do something. It means we come to God with faith saying, “I believe You love me, I believe You are for me. Lord, You know what I’m going through, and You will help me. I may not know how, but I believe You are my answer.

Whatever you are facing right now, whether challenges big or small, remember, God loves you so much, and remember to leave room for God to work in your life. Remember to leave room for the grace of God.

Letters Of Commendation

In the U.S. Military, every soldier, sailor, or marine has a place on their dress uniform to display ribbons, badges and commendations they have earned and received.  It displays military campaigns they have participated in as well as medals and badges for meritorious service.  Some medals and badges are also accompanied by a letter of commendation.  This is a way to show others how they have been commended for a job well done.

In 2 Corinthians 3, the Apostle Paul tells the believers at Corinth that as followers of Jesus, they are living letters of commendation.  These letters are not written with pen and paper or displayed on a uniform.  Instead their lives are to reflect the love of God and the character of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Verse 3 says, “You are an epistle of Christ ... written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on the tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.”

When people in the world observe Christians living their lives, they should be able to tell a difference between how the Christian lives and how others live.  Sadly, in the church today, it's hard to tell much difference between the church and the world.  This ought not to be so.

Jesus said, “Let your life so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  As followers of Jesus, may our lives reflect the Lord we love and serve.  No need for a letter of commendation; we are living letters to be read by all.  May our lives reflect His character and love.

Jesus is our Rock

In Matthew 7, Jesus tells of two men who built a house. The difference was upon the foundation they chose to build their house. One chose a solid rock, the other chose shifting sand. Both men built a house, but when the storms came, one man’s house was completely destroyed, while the other man’s stood firm.

This of course is a picture of our lives. Whether we know it or not, the way we live our lives is building a house for eternity. The most important part of any house is a firm foundation. No matter how elaborate the rest of the house is, if the foundation is not secure, when the storms come, all will be swept away.

What kind of foundation have you chosen for your house? In Jesus’ parable, both men heard the sayings of Jesus, but only one of them put what Jesus said into practice in his life. His house withstood in the midst of the storm. The other man heard the sayings of Jesus, but chose not to apply what Jesus said. This man’s house was swept away in the storm.

Everyone’s life will face storms, tests, and trials. The key is building your life on being a doer of what Jesus said. When the storms of life come, the house built on the rock, Jesus Christ, will stand.

This world is a crazy place and it’s getting crazier every day. But, no matter how crazy this world becomes, if we will make doing what Jesus said our number one priority, when the storms come, we will stand firm because we have chosen to build on The Rock, Jesus Christ. 

Psalm 62:2 says, “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.” Let’s make Jesus our rock.

How to Pray

In Matthew 6:7 Jesus said, “When you pray, don’t use vain repetitions like the heathen do, for they think they will be heard for their many words.” There are religions today that teach their adherents that the goal of prayer is to pray a mantra. A mantra is a series of syllables or words that when prayed repeatedly and in rapid succession disengage the normal thought processes to get to some “higher plane” of consciousness. Jesus said, “don’t pray this way.” Instead, Jesus taught that prayer is to be an intimate conversation with God, extolling Him for His goodness and faithfulness to us.

In verse 9 Jesus shows us how to pray, saying, “Our Father”….. Even when praying this prayer, the goal is not how many repetitions you can pray this prayer in x number of minutes. No! The goal is to commune with our Heavenly Father. To say, “My Father, You are in heaven, and holy is Your name. Let Your kingdom be established here on earth as we know it is established in heaven. Your will is what I desire to be accomplished in my life. You are my faithful provider, so thank You for providing my daily bread, and really everything that I have need of today. Thank You for sending Your only Son to die on the cross for my sins, and for offering forgiveness of all my trespasses. As I receive Your forgiveness, I in turn forgive others. In this life, temptations are all around, yet with every temptation I face, You provide a way of escape, delivering me from evil. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever, amen.”

Prayer is simple, personal communion with the creator of the universe. That’s how Jesus taught us to pray.

Prepare the Soil

Jesus shares a teaching recorded in Matthew 13 where He explains how it is possible for the Word of God to enter a man’s heart and produce an abundant harvest. This harvest may result in the benefits of salvation, healing, love, joy and peace to name just a few. Jesus also tells us that there are certain “heart” conditions that will hinder this abundant harvest. The first heart condition Jesus speaks of that will not produce any kingdom benefits is a hard heart. A hard heart is a heart rooted in pride. A hard heart says “God, I can handle this myself, I don’t need you.” A hard heart might say “I pray, I go to church, I do a lot of good works, therefore, I am fine like I am, I don’t really need to come to God; I’ve got this.” A person with this condition might be very intelligent, might be well educated, but hardness of heart prevents this person from accepting even simple basic truths of the Christian faith.

But, praise God, there is an answer to a hard heart: Humility. James 4:6 says “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Humbling our hearts before God is likened to plowing up the hard soil, so that the seed of God’s Word can produce in our lives. Then the Holy Spirit is able to help us understand the hard concepts of faith so our lives can be changed by God’s power. In verse 23 Jesus further explains, “What was sown on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop yielding thirty, sixty, or a hundred times what was sown.” In the natural, planting time is right around the corner. Is your heart ready to receive the seed of God’s Word?