I guess the one thing we have is Grace, two things actually, grace and love, but lets talk about grace.
First of all, grace isn't a free-pass card to do whatever you want. The only way to experience grace is to take it as an extension of God's love. If somebody loves on you, you don't throw it back in their face, right?
Jude 1:4 talks about ungodly men who've slipped in among God's people, who use grace as a license for evil. He warns the people that if they follow in those steps, they'll be part of the condemnation that's set for them.
1 Peter 5:10 talks about how the purpose of Grace is to restore, confirm, strengthen and establish.
(1Pet 5:10 [NET])
And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Restoring us as His beloved, confirming our place in His heart, strengthening us so we want fall again, establishing us on higher heights.
But, in order to get these, we need to get Jude 1:5 first, we cant use grace as a free-pass. That's not love and we wont be restored, confirmed, strengthened or established if we keep working our way back. It'll be going round in circles, and most importantly, it's not really giving God any glory.
One thing I learnt this week, is that, "The glory of God is at stake." In how I live my life, walk, talk, dress, act, being a friend, a daughter, a sister, in all these things, the glory of God is at stake. As a Christian, I reflect the glory of God. So far, I've not being doing a really good job. I need to constantly check myself, are the actions I do now going to hurt me tomorrow. Is wasting time at work now, going to give me stress tomorrow as I catch up. Its not just a "Christian" thing, its a life thing.
God doesn't want us wallowing in whatever muck we wallow in as a result of going our own way, He doesn't enjoy our "meh!" days just as much as we don't enjoy them. That's the practical reason grace exists, so our lives can be better.
First of all, grace isn't a free-pass card to do whatever you want. The only way to experience grace is to take it as an extension of God's love. If somebody loves on you, you don't throw it back in their face, right?
Jude 1:4 talks about ungodly men who've slipped in among God's people, who use grace as a license for evil. He warns the people that if they follow in those steps, they'll be part of the condemnation that's set for them.
1 Peter 5:10 talks about how the purpose of Grace is to restore, confirm, strengthen and establish.
(1Pet 5:10 [NET])
And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Restoring us as His beloved, confirming our place in His heart, strengthening us so we want fall again, establishing us on higher heights.
But, in order to get these, we need to get Jude 1:5 first, we cant use grace as a free-pass. That's not love and we wont be restored, confirmed, strengthened or established if we keep working our way back. It'll be going round in circles, and most importantly, it's not really giving God any glory.
One thing I learnt this week, is that, "The glory of God is at stake." In how I live my life, walk, talk, dress, act, being a friend, a daughter, a sister, in all these things, the glory of God is at stake. As a Christian, I reflect the glory of God. So far, I've not being doing a really good job. I need to constantly check myself, are the actions I do now going to hurt me tomorrow. Is wasting time at work now, going to give me stress tomorrow as I catch up. Its not just a "Christian" thing, its a life thing.
God doesn't want us wallowing in whatever muck we wallow in as a result of going our own way, He doesn't enjoy our "meh!" days just as much as we don't enjoy them. That's the practical reason grace exists, so our lives can be better.
Restore. Confirm. Strengthen. Establish.
