THE GIFT OF GRACE

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast.”  (Ephesians 2:8–9)

After centuries of handling and mishandling, most religious words have become so shopworn nobody's much interested anymore. Not so with ‘grace’, for some reason. Mysteriously, even derivatives like gracious and graceful still have some of the bloom left.

Grace is something you can never get but can only be given. There's no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth.

A good sleep is grace and so are good dreams. Most tears are grace. The smell of rain is grace. Somebody loving you is grace. Loving somebody is grace. Have you ever tried to love somebody?...

The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is your world. Beautiful and terrible things happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you.

There is only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you'll reach out and take it. 

-- Excerpted from “Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC's of Faith” by Frederick Buechner

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LIFE’S FINAL CATEGORIES

Jesus said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."  (Matthew 7:13-14)

Vance Havner (1901-1986) once wrote that “When the Titanic sank in 1912, it was the ship that was supposed to be unsinkable. The only thing it ever did was sink. When it took off from England, all kinds of passengers were aboard -- millionaires, celebrities, people of moderate means, and poor folks down in the steerage. But a few hours later when they put the list in the Cunard office in New York, it carried only two categories -- lost and saved. Grim tragedy had leveled all distinctions.”

The Titanic's tragic tale carries a profound spiritual truth. In those dark hours as the "unsinkable" ship descended into the Atlantic's depths, all worldly distinctions -- wealth, fame, political party, social status -- dissolved into meaninglessness. In those final moments, the only distinction that mattered was between the lost and the saved.

This mirrors our spiritual reality. We spend our lives building reputations, accumulating wealth, and establishing our place in society's hierarchy. Yet in eternity's light, only one question remains: are we lost or are we saved? Just as the Titanic's passengers faced a stark binary outcome regardless of their cabin class, we too face an eternal choice that transcends all earthly categories.

The world may define us by our achievements, possessions, or social standing, but God sees only the state of our hearts. Have we accepted His salvation in Christ? Are we walking the narrow path? These are the questions that truly matter. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™, compiled from a variety of sources 

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SAVED FROM A SINKING BOAT

Quite dramatically it dawns upon you: There is a God. There's more to life than what I have been seeing. There is a God. And God makes a claim on my life.

Perhaps at the very same moment, you get a whole different view of yourself. Scales fall off. It is horrible. "I've been living for me. I've been curved in on myself all these years… All the love lost! And the betrayals -- by neglect as much as anything! The blindness! Woe is me. I'm a mess that can't be fixed. I've got to close all these thoughts up and get out of here." The boat is sinking.

But then, if you are blessed, just as soon as the horror of self-knowledge is embraced, there comes another feeling of presence. A gentle voice which speaks from the depths of the soul, even from the depths of the universe. "It's all right. Do not be afraid. I know who you are. Forgiveness is Mine to grant. I'm not here to destroy your life. I'm here to remake it." It feels like death at first, but then there is new life. "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!”  (2 Corinthians 5:17 NRSV)

The sudden apprehension of God's reality creates a sudden knowledge of self. And you perceive a horrible gap between yourself and God. But immediately into the breach God pours love and forgiveness in Christ. There is an intuition that God knows full well who you are, loves you anyway, and empowers you to change. Beneath the crisis of the meaning of life, whatever form it takes, God gives a sense that all is well and you are kept in love. God lifts you out of the sinking boat. 

– Adapted from Gerrit Scott Dawson in “Heartfelt”

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WHAT’S SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE? – Part 2

“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit.”  (1 Peter 3:18 RSV)

“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved.”  (Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV)

Grace is God as a heart surgeon, cracking open your chest, removing your heart -- poisoned as it is with pride and pain -- and replacing it with His own. Rather than tell you to change, He creates the change. Do you clean up so that He can accept you? God accepts you and then begins cleaning up. His dream isn’t just to get you into heaven but to get heaven into you. What a difference this makes! Can’t forgive your enemy? Can’t face tomorrow? Can’t forgive your past? Christ can, and He is on the move, aggressively budging you from graceless to grace-shaped living. The gift-given giving gifts. Forgiven people forgiving people. Deep sighs of relief. Stumbles aplenty but despair seldom.

Grace is everything Jesus. Grace lives because He does, works because He works, and matters because He matters. He placed a term-limit on sin and danced a victory jig in a graveyard. To be saved by grace is to be saved by Him -- not by an idea, doctrine, creed, or church membership, but by Jesus Himself, who will sweep into heaven anyone who so much as gives Him the nod. 

-- Max Lucado in “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine”

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THE MIRACLE OF GOD’S GRACE

“Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”  (Ephesians 2:4-7 NIV)

We are not meant to be seen as God’s perfect, bright-shining examples, but to be seen as the everyday essence of ordinary lives exhibiting the miracle of His grace. 

-- Oswald Chambers in “My Utmost for His Highest”

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THE HEART OF JESUS – Part 2 of 3

Jesus refused to be guided by anything other than His high call. His heart was purposeful. Most lives aim at nothing in particular and achieve it. Jesus aimed at one goal – to save humanity from its sin. He could summarize His life with one sentence: "The Son of man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10 RSV). Jesus was so focused on His task that He knew when to say "My time has not yet come" (John 2:4) and when to say, "It is finished" (John 19:30). But He was not so focused on His goal that He was unpleasant.

Quite the contrary. How pleasant were His thoughts! Children couldn't resist Jesus. He could find beauty in lilies, joy in worship, and possibilities in problems. He would spend days with multitudes of sick people and still feel sorry for them. He spent over three decades wading through the muck and mire of our sin, yet still saw enough beauty in us to die for our mistakes. 

-- Max Lucado in “A Heart Like Jesus”

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IMMERSED IN GRACE

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…”  (Titus 2:11-12 NIV)

To believe we are totally and eternally debt free is seldom easy.  Even if we’ve stood before the throne and heard it from the King Himself, we still doubt.  As a result, many are forgiven only a little, not because the grace of the King is limited, but because the faith of the sinner is small.  God is willing to forgive all.  He’s willing to wipe the slate completely clean.  He guides us to a pool of mercy and invites us to bathe.  Some plunge in, but others just touch the surface. They leave feeling unforgiven…

Where the grace of God is missed, bitterness is born. But where the grace of God is embraced, forgiveness flourishes.

The longer we walk in the garden, the more likely we are to smell like flowers.  The more we immerse ourselves in grace, the more likely we are to give grace.

-- Max Lucado in “In the Grip of Grace”

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THE GOSPEL IN COMMUNITY

In the wake of Paul’s travels throughout the Mediterranean, Christian communities sprang up, consolidated and began to multiply. This was the outcome of a deliberate policy on his part. He not only proclaimed the message of Christ and brought people into an intimate relationship with God, but drew the consequences of that message for the life of his converts and led them into a personal relationship with one another… For Paul the gospel bound men and women to one another as well as to God.

Acceptance by Christ necessitated acceptance of those who He had already welcomed (Romans 15:7); reconciliation with God entailed reconciliation with others that exhibited the character of the gospel preaching (Philippians 4:2-3); union in the Spirit involved union with one another, for the Spirit was primarily a shared, not individual experience (2 Corinthians 13:14; Philippians 2:1; Ephesians 4:3). The gospel is not a purely personal matter. It has a social dimension. It is a communal affair. 

-- Robert Banks in “Paul’s Idea of Community: Early House Churches in their Historical Settings”

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JOURNEY TO THE CROSS

"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."  (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Lent is a season of preparation and repentance during which we anticipate the death (Good Friday) and resurrection (Easter Sunday) of Jesus. It is this very preparation and repentance -- aimed at grasping the intense significance of the crucifixion -- that gives us a deep and powerful longing for the resurrection, the joy of Easter.

As the title of this devotional suggests, Lent is a journey to the cross: meditating on our sin and weakness, looking to Jesus as our perfect example and substitute, and being heightened in our worship of His victory over Satan, sin, and death. On the cross, Jesus took our place to appease God’s righteous anger toward our sin and rebellion. He was separated from God so that we could experience union with God. He was crushed by God so that we could be adopted by God. He was raised with God so that we too might be raised with God. The drama of how this unfolded is the story of Lent.

The journey of Lent is to immerse ourselves in this grand story so that it might increase our appreciation of Easter and love for Jesus. May we mourn the darkness in our hearts and rejoice in the light of God who came into the world to save us! 

-- From the Preface to the book “Journey to the Cross: Readings and Devotions for Lent” by Kendal Haug & Will Walker

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EXPRESSING THANKS FOR GOD’S GRACE

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son.”  (Ephesians 1:3-6 NLT)

Paul says that God “chose us” to emphasize that salvation depends totally on God. We are not saved because we deserve it but because God is gracious and freely gives salvation. We did not influence God’s decision to save us; He saved us according to His plan. Thus, there is no way to take credit for our salvation or to allow room for pride. The mystery of salvation originated in the timeless mind of God long before we existed. It is hard to understand how God could accept us. But because of Christ, we are holy and blameless in His sight. God chose us, and when we belong to Him through Jesus Christ, God looks at us as if we had never sinned. All we can do is express our thanks for His wonderful love… Have you entered into this loving relationship with God? 

-- From the “Life Application Study Bible”

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THE TRUTH BY WHICH WE LIVE

Jesus told [Thomas], "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. If you had known who I am, then you would have known who My Father is. From now on you have known Him and have seen Him."  (John 14:6 The Message)

The great need today among the young is the strengthening of belief in things spiritual, for in spite of the superhuman advances in science, invention, and culture, none of this is attributed to God's gift to mankind; in fact, the increase of knowledge… has but given to youth a self-reliant independence where religion has no place, and beyond admitting that Christ was “the best man that ever lived,” there are few who concede any other tribute to the Creator.  And yet the saving principles of the world are rooted in Christ, implanted in Him; the Truth by which we live is the Truth as taught and lived by Jesus. 

-- Helen Olney in “Thoughts”

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JUSTIFIED BY GRACE

“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”  (Romans 3:22-24 NIV)

The Church is the only fellowship in the world where the one requirement for membership is the unworthiness of the candidate. 

-- Robert B. Munger, quoted in “Growing Strong in God’s Family”

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A SACRED SPOT

“So Zacchaeus ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Jesus, for He was about to pass that way.”  (Luke 19:4 ESV)

Let me ask you something… Do you know the redeeming love of Christ in your life? Has He turned your life around? Has He loved you into life?

There is a beautiful old story about Zacchaeus the tax collector. It tells how in later years, he rose early every morning and left his house. His wife, curious, followed him one morning. At the town well he filled a bucket, and he walked until he came to a sycamore tree. There, setting down the bucket, he began to clean away the stones, the branches, and the rubbish from around the base of the tree. Having done that, he poured water on the roots and stood there in silence, gently caressing the trunk with both hands. When his amazed wife came out of hiding and asked what he was doing, Zacchaeus replied simply, “This is where I found Christ!”…

Do you have a sacred spot where you would declare, “This is where I found Christ; this is where Christ loved me to life”? 

-- Adapted from James W. Moore and Bob J. Moore in “Lord, Give Me Patience… And Give It to Me Right Now!”

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ONLY THROUGH FAITH

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.”  (Galatians 2:20-21 NLT)

Trying to get right with God by keeping a bunch of religious rules is a formula for frustration and failure. First problem, whose rules? Such requirements vary from religion to religion, person to person, and generation to generation. What if you’re working from the wrong list? Second problem, how do we define what it mean to “keep” those rules? Do we have to follow them perfectly? Or are we allowed a reasonable number of mistakes and missteps? And what is considered “reasonable”? The gospel of Christ eliminates all this confusion by stating categorically that no one but Christ is good enough. Only through faith in Him, only by relying on His efforts on our behalf, do we qualify for heaven.

Father, we are not made right with You by human efforts, and we do not stay right with You by works. Remaining “in Your good graces” means counting on Christ alone to live in us. Amen. 

– Max Lucado in “Life Lessons: Galatians – Free in Christ”

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JESUS PERSONIFIES GRACE

“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit.”  (1 Peter 3:18 RSV)

The grace of God is found in His great love for sinners, in His longing to do them good. His Son Jesus Christ personifies grace, for by the offering up of His body, sinners are made whole and pure, once and for all.   

-- John Bunyan

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FULLY ACCEPTED BY FAITH IN CHRIST

“So again I ask, does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham ‘believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”  (Galatians 3:5-9 NIV)

Just like Abraham, we are made right with God by faith alone. And just like Abraham, we are commissioned to bless all nations by sharing and showing the good news of God’s forgiveness. God’s intention is for us -- now forgiven and free -- to be bright beacons of hope and life in the world. But when we forget that salvation is by grace, we stop shining. Living in our own strength darkens our hearts and deadens our enthusiasm. What’s more, when we fall into the trap of trying to earn God’s approval, we paint a misleading and unattractive picture of what it means to be a child of God. Revel in the astonishing good news that you are -- now, already -- fully accepted in Christ. Then spend your life revealing that amazing grace to others. 

-- Max Lucado in “Life Lessons: Galatians”

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MEASURING UP

I’ll never forget the day I handed Jesus my yardstick. I had been saved since childhood, but I was almost thirty before the message of grace finally made the trip from my head to my heart, setting me “free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). As the light of the good news finally penetrated the darkness of my self-condemning mind, the “perfect love” 1 John 4:18 speaks of finally drove out my insecurity, which had always been rooted in fear and punishment.

When I finally laid down my Pharisee pride and admitted that in myself I would never be -- could never be -- enough, I experienced a breakthrough that has radically changed my life. For as I surrendered my yardstick -- the tool of comparison that had caused so much mental torment and a sense of separation from God -- Jesus took it from my hands. Then, with a look of great love, He broke it over His knee and turned it into a cross, reminding me that He died so I wouldn’t have to.

That the punishment I so fully deserve has already been paid for.

That the way has been made for everyone who will believe in Jesus not only to come to Him but to come back home to the heart of God. 

-- Joanna Weaver in “Lazarus Awakening: Finding Your Place in the Heart of God” 

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DISCOVERING GRACE

You have been given a perfect personal gift. One just for you. “There has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11 NASB)… Jesus is the gift.

He Himself is the treasure. Grace is precious because He is. Grace changes lives because He does. Grace secures us because He will. The gift is the Giver. To discover grace is to discover God’s utter devotion to you, His stubborn resolve to give you a cleansing, healing, purging love that lifts the wounded back to their feet. Does He stand on a hill and bid you climb out of the valley?  No. He bungees down and carries you out. Does He build a bridge and demand you to cross it? No. He crosses the bridge and shoulders you over. “You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.” (Ephesians 2:8 NCV)

This is the gift that God gives. A grace that grants us first the power to receive love and then the power to give it. A grace that changes us, shapes us, and leads us to a life that is eternally altered. Do you know this grace? Do you trust this grace? If not, you can. All God wants from us is faith. Put your faith in God.

-- Max Lucado in “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine”


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GOOD WORKS VERSUS GOD’S WORK

Most people embrace the assumption that God saves good people. So be good! Be moral. Be honest. Be decent. Pray the rosary. Keep the Sabbath. Keep your promises. Pray five times a day facing east. Stay sober. Pay taxes. Earn merit badges.

Yet for all the talk about being good, still no one can answer the fundamental question: What level of good is good enough? Bizarre. At stake is our eternal destination, yet we are more confident about lasagna recipes than the entrance requirements for heaven.

God has a better idea: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God -- not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NRSV)

We contribute nothing. Zilch. As opposed to the merit badge of the Scout, salvation of the soul is unearned. A gift. Our merits merit nothing. God’s work merits everything.

-- Max Lucado in “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine”


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SUSTAINING GRACE

“My grace is sufficient for you.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Grace takes on an added dimension here. Paul is referring to sustaining grace. Saving grace saves us from our sins. Sustaining grace meets us at our point of need and equips us with courage, wisdom, and strength. It surprises us in the middle of our personal crisis with ample resources of faith. Sustaining grace promises not the absence of struggle but the presence of God.

God has sufficient, sustaining grace to meet every single challenge of our lives. Sufficient.

-- Max Lucado in “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine”



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