Grace: March 16, 2010

March 16. TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY MARCH 16, 2010.

GRACE

DEFINITION:

Mercy; clemency and pardon; freely given unmerited favor; Divine favor.

SCRIPTURE:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, therefore I hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. Lamentations 3:22-25.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Most people cannot give a good definition of grace from a Biblical perspective. This is because they really do not understand that true grace from a Biblical perspective is the clemency and pardon that God offers us to save us from our sins. It is given freely to us even though it is unmerited if we will admit that we are sinners. Simply stated, grace is God’s unmerited favor. God sent His Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and we then can be saved from our sinful nature by GOD’S GRACE!

Many times in church we have sung a hymn with the words “Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all our sins.” There is no sin that God by His grace has not forgiven.

Raising children takes a lot of grace. As a parent, no doubt, you have said, “How many times do I have to tell you?” We said that to our children more often than we can remember. Our children did try our patience but because we loved them we forgave them. Because they were our children we gave them our unmerited favor.

God freely gives to us, by grace, our salvation because He loves us. Yes, salvation is given to us by grace and not by the works we do as the scripture above tells us. There is absolutely nothing we can do to earn our salvation. It is God’s gift to us. When we have accepted the salvation that God offers us by His grace we should be so grateful for what He has done for us that we will want to do good works for Him.

Especially in our times of crisis we need to grasp the importance of every hour and dare not forget that God’s grace (mercy) everyday gives us a second chance to serve Him. His compassion fails not (Lamentations 3, above) and He has new mercy for us every day.

In John 5:1-18 we read the account of the sick man at the pool of Bethesda. This pool was near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. Hundreds of sick people, blind, crippled and paralyzed sat and lay by this pool because they believed that when the water stirred, the first sick person that got in the pool would be healed.

One man had been an invalid there for 38 years. When Jesus saw this man stretched out by the pool and He knew how long he had been there, He said to the sick man, “Do you want to get well?” The sick man responded to Jesus by saying. “Sir, when the water is stirred, I do not have anyone to put me in the pool and by the time I get in, somebody else is already in the pool.”

Jesus responded by saying, “Get up, take your bedroll, start walking.” The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off. Usually Jesus healed in response to faith. In this case the man did not even know who Jesus was nor did he ask Jesus for help. His healing was unmerited but because of Jesus mercy on him he was healed by grace. Later Jesus saw the man in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning.” The man only saw his need for physical healing but God saw his need to be spiritually healed.

This is a wonderful example of God’s grace. This man never asked to be saved but God through His grace not only healed him but gave him by grace eternal life. Jesus healed him to show that He had the power to save by grace those that want to know Jesus.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Joshua 1:9.

“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

PRAYER:

Thank You that You have saved me by your grace. Help me to learn by the experiences that we read in Your Word as to how to share our faith with those who do not know You. Give me the strength and courage today to lead my family to a closer relationship with you knowing that we need to begin in our home to serve You daily.