By Receiving It!
Lesson 5 of "A Taste of Grace"
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| The Grace of God is a GIFT! |
I RECEIVE the grace and righteousness of God
by BELIEVING,
and ACCEPTING it by FAITH in Jesus Christ.
"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
"...How much more will those who RECEIVE God's abundant provision of GRACE
and of the GIFT of righteousness reign in life
through the one man, Jesus Christ!
I receive the grace of God by BEING HUMBLE
and by PRAYING.
"...He gives MORE GRACE...
God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble."
"If my people, who are called by My Name,
will HUMBLE themselves,
will HUMBLE themselves,
and PRAY and SEEK MY FACE...
then I will hear from heaven..."
I receive God's grace by TRUSTING,
...and not by DOING!
Learn to "BE", and not to "DO"!
"For when I tried to keep the law, I realized I could never earn God's approval.
So I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ.
I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave Himself for me.
I am not one of those who treats the grace of God as meaningless.
For if we could be saved by keeping the law, then there was no need for Christ to die.
Maybe those verses are easier to understand from The Message Translation:
"What actually took place is this:
I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So I quit being a “law man” so that I could be God’s man. Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.
Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily."
There are times in life when it seems we need
"EXTRA GRACE"!
How do we get it?
"CRY OUT!"
"...Cry out to the LORD...
...Let your tears flow like a river day and night;
give yourself no relief, your eyes no rest.
Arise, cry out in the night,
as the watches of the night begin;
Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the LORD,
Lift up your hands to Him..."
"From the depths of despair, O LORD,
I call for your help.
Hear my cry, O Lord.
Pay attention to my prayer..."
"In my distress I called upon the LORD,
and CRIED OUT to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears...
He came down...
He came down...
He delivered me because He delighted in me."
Sometimes when you are in DISTRESS,
all you can do is GROAN!
In these times, it is comforting to know God hears those groans!
"God heard their groaning and remembered His covenant..."
"...The LORD was moved to pity by their groaning
because of those who oppressed and harassed them."
Paul talks about "GROANING" in his letter to the Romans:
"...We believers also GROAN, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us...
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness..."
The Holy Spirit also GROANS and He prays for us,
making all things work together for our good!
God not only hears our groans,
He hears us every time we SIGH!
"You know what I long for, LORD;
You hear my every sigh."
"While we live in these earthly bodies,
we GROAN and SIGH...
...We want to put on our new bodies...
God Himself has prepared us for this and...
has given us His Holy Spirit"
SURRENDER YOUR WILL!
The NKJV of Matthew 6:10 says,
"Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
But let this translation of "The Lord's Prayer" from The Message
stimulate your thinking:
“This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes."
COUNT on His Word and don't lose HOPE!
"I am counting on the LORD;
yes, I am counting on Him.
I have put my hope in His Word."
Don't forget the confidence expressed in Philippians 1:6, which says:
"There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears."
Let God show you His strength and POWER
through your WEAKNESS!
"My grace is sufficient for you,
for My power is made perfect in weakness"
"My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed)
and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness.
Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities,
that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest
(yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!"
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| Remember God is FAITHFUL... And He will never let you down! (1 Corinthians 10:13) |
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The painted rock above was featured as a Name for God on Rock4Today,
and can be seen by clicking HERE!
May God bless you and me as together we continue to learn to
TASTE HIS GRACE!
Below are the "Fill in the Blanks" made to go along with this lesson.
**********************************************************
How DO I Get GRACE?
The Grace of God is a _________________________.
I ___________________ the grace and righteousness of God
by__________________,
and ____________________ by_______________________.
"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
"...How much more will those who RECEIVE God's abundant provision of GRACE
and of the GIFT of righteousness reign in life
through the one man, Jesus Christ!
I receive the grace of God by __________________
_________________and by ______________________.
"...He gives MORE GRACE...
God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble."
"If my people, who are called by My Name,
and PRAY and SEEK MY FACE...
then I will hear from heaven..."
I receive God's grace by _____________________,
and not by___________________!
Learn to "___________", and not to "__________"!
"For when I tried to keep the law, I realized I could never earn God's approval.
So I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ.
I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave Himself for me.
I am not one of those who treats the grace of God as meaningless.
For if we could be saved by keeping the law, then there was no need for Christ to die.
There are times in life when it seems we need
"_____________ ____________"!
How do we get it?
"_____________ _____________!"
"...Cry out to the LORD...
...Let your tears flow like a river day and night;
give yourself no relief, your eyes no rest.
Arise, cry out in the night,
as the watches of the night begin;
Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the LORD,
Lift up your hands to Him..."
Sometimes when you are in_____________________,
all you can do is __________________!
In these times, it is comforting to know God hears those groans!
"God heard their groaning and remembered His covenant..."
"...The LORD was moved to pity by their groaning
because of those who oppressed and harassed them."
Paul talks about "GROANING" in his letter to the Romans:
"...We believers also GROAN, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us...
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness..."
The Holy Spirit also GROANS and He prays for us,
making all things work together for our good!
God not only hears our groans,
He hears us every time we __________________!
"You know what I long for, LORD;
You hear my every sigh."
"While we live in these earthly bodies,
we GROAN and SIGH...
...We want to put on our new bodies...
God Himself has prepared us for this and...
has given us His Holy Spirit"
Don't forget to ___________________ YOUR ____________!
The NKJV of Matthew 6:10 says,
"Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
________________ on His Word and don't lose _____________!
"I am counting on the LORD;
yes, I am counting on Him.
I have put my hope in His Word."
Let God show you His strength and _________________ through your __________________!
"My grace is sufficient for you,
for My power is made perfect in weakness"
Remember,
God is __________________
and He will never let you down!
2 comments:
Thank you for teaching God's words and making them more meaningful. Work of the Holy Spirit. It is inspiring and awakening.
Thank you, Esther Joy!
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