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Grace of God~
I have been in a real funk lately. I have felt so disconnected from the Lord and
didn’t completely understand why I felt so alone. God has been working in my life lately and I
have reluctantly allowed Him bits and pieces of me but didn’t really want to
give Him my all. Well last night he
really got a hold of me. It wasn’t a
slight nudge, or a quiet whisper, it was a hang on tight I am bringing you to
your knees. And He literally brought me
to my knees. I was in the youth worship
service and the first song I only half-heartedly sang. Then Rick pointed out that we were more
excited to play the game than to worship our Lord. I have to say “Guilty”. My heart wasn’t in the worship. I was honestly there partly for show. So we prayed and I felt my heart soften and
open up to the words I was singing. The
second song was The Great I Am… for those of you who don’t know this song please
go listen to it! While this song moved me
it wasn’t the one that brought me to my knees.
The third song was Grace Flows Down.
Amazing Grace how sweet the sound,
Amazing love now flowing down,
From hands and feet that were nailed to the tree,
And grace flows down and covers me,
Amazing Grace how sweet the sound,
Amazing love now flowing down,
From hands and feet that were nailed to the tree,
And grace flows down and covers me,
It covers me,
It covers me,
It covers me,
And covers me.
Last night I could not help but fall to my
knees and know that Gods amazing grace is covering me! Well it didn’t stop there! It always amazes me the way God talks to
me. I picked up my bible to do my quiet
time (which I must admit very sadly that this is my first time since September)
and started studying Acts 11:19-30. We
are walking through Acts in our Bible study class on Sunday morning and so I
thought what better place to start than what we will be studying this
Sunday. Acts 11: 23 (ESV) When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad
and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.
There it is again Grace. I really
started digging into what the Grace of God is.
I have always believed that Ephesians
2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your doing; it is the gift of
God meant that grace was a free gift from God and that was the end of
it. But in my study this morning I
realize it means so much more. Yes the
Grace of God is a gift from God, which God bestows upon those who have true
faith in Him! But the Grace of God doesn’t
stop there. The grace of God was sent
with a purpose. It seems so silly to not
have realized this sooner. Of course it
has a purpose. But I never realized
it. Maybe it’s in the way it was always
worded or in the way that I heard it, but I always thought the grace of God was
simply that the Grace of God.
Well in my study I found myself in
Titus. It amazes me that when you follow
the footnotes where it takes you.
Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for
all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to
live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for
our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus
Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify
for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
There it is.
The grace of God appeared, bringing salvation for all people (no this
does not mean universal salvation, this means it is available for all who
accept it), and it is there to train us.
The Grace of God did not stop on the cross. And it gives a whole new meaning to the words
Grace falls down and covers me. The way
that I will live a life glorifying God and walking in His light so others may
see, is by accepting the training of the Grace of God, by realizing that it has
to cover me completely in His strength and power. I have to believe that one of the ways that
this training comes is from the Holy Spirit.
Acts 11:16-17 And I remembered the
word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be
baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ The
Holy Spirit was sent here to be our helper.
We are to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not just listen to Him now
and then but to be submerged under His power.
In the past few months I have not allowed the
grace of God to work in my life, the Holy Spirit was shushed by the business I
allowed in my life. It is a very humbling
experience when you realize that the silence and loneliness is a result of your
own walking. The longer I focused on the
business of the world the farther I was from God. I was knocked to my knees last night
realizing that His grace covers me (not by my own doing but by the faith I have
in Christ), and today He revealed to me that I do not get to just sit in the
midst of this Grace but I must allow it to work in my life. Good works do not result in faith but faith
results in good works. It is time for my
faith to result in action as I wait for the Lords return.
This may not be something you are struggling
with, and honestly I hope it’s not. I
pray that your walk with the Lord is strong and you are not struggling as I
am. But for those of us who are, this is
a gentle reminder that God’s grace is there for us, and in our true faith we
can accept it. But it is not a gift to
accept and put on the shelf. It is a gift
given to us to train us, in His perfect way.
It will not always be easy, it will hurt some, but it is done so that we
may bear fruit.
