Grace | Good Friday
There's one thing I've realized in my Christian walk... the closer I get to God... the more I realize my depravity and my desperate need for His grace. I'm not talking about what it has been portrayed as in the church. "We are saved by grace" has been perverted and used as an excuse for uncontrolled passion and sin.
Grace: God's Devine influence in humans to regenerate and sanctify, to inspire virtuous impulses, and to impart strength to endure trial and resist temptation; and as an individual virtue or excellence of divine origin.
This meaning is completely opposite of what's being taught from many pulpits. Yes, were it not for His mercy and grace, we would never have been persuaded to turn to Jesus in the first place. Not one of us could have ever approached the throne room of God and been transformed in His presence. Our sin, without the blood of Jesus would have been too vulgar for God to have accepted. But He provided a way of escape and a complete pardon from its affects.
It's His grace, by His Spirit that draws us to Christ, but there's so much more to this incredible gift! Once saved, we are now empowered by grace to do His will and to seek after holiness. Though perfection isn't something we could ever achieve... holiness is! Not by the work of our flesh, but the empowerment of His grace. We don't have to walk out our salvation alone, but we can rely on the Holy Spirit to strengthen us, as we lean on Him for strength in the midst of our weakness.
Today is the day that commemorates Good Friday... the day that Christ willingly sacrificed His life in exchange for ours! He took our sin upon Himself and experienced the consequences of it, so we wouldn't have to. That wasn't done so that we could continue living a life dominated by the control of sin. This sacrifice severed its hold upon our lives. Now we have a choice to make. Return to being controlled by it, or surrender every area of our lives to Jesus and allow His Spirit to reveal what requires change and repentance and receive His grace to accomplish it. This isn't a one time experience, but a daily commitment to seek after holiness and purity. The deeper we go with Him, the more of our baggage must be eradicated and believe me, there's always more purification of our hearts, actions, motives, thoughts and attitudes that need to come into alignment with Him.
Hand over the reigns, repent, commit to seek Him and read His Word daily.
The Son of God has given His life for you! Let's commit to surrendering ours to Him. We just mess it up anyway. He had a plan for yours before you were born and it's perfectly designed for you! It's filled with His love, peace, purity, presence, communion and guidance, regardless of your current circumstances!
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (TPT) Three times I pleaded with the Lord to relieve me of this. But He answered me, “My grace is always more than enough for you, and my power finds its full expression through your weakness.” So I will celebrate my weaknesses, for when I’m weak I sense more deeply the mighty power of Christ living in me. So I’m not defeated by my weakness, but delighted! For when I feel my weakness and endure mistreatment—when I’m surrounded with troubles on every side and face persecution because of my love for Christ—I am made yet stronger. For my weakness becomes a portal to God’s power.
Romans 6:19 (TPT) I’ve used the familiar terms of a “servant” and a “master” to compensate for your weakness to understand. For just as you surrendered your bodies and souls to impurity and lawlessness, which only brought more lawlessness into your lives, so now surrender yourselves as servants of righteousness, which brings you deeper into true holiness.
Romans 5:6-9 (NKJV) For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
2 Corinthians 7:1 (KJV) Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
