Sweet Sisters,
My goal in today’s lesson is to challenge you. I want you to pause and think about a word that I suspect we have come to take for granted. A word that we hear often, but I wonder if we really understand. I am going to discuss some of my favorite scriptures concerning this word and then leave you with a list of scriptures to study on your own.
So my Princess Warriors, grab your bible, a notebook and a pen and maybe a cup of coffee and let’s get to work.
The word I want to talk about is “grace”. I am going to ask questions but not necessarily give you the answers. I want you to come up with your own. I want you to step away from what you’ve heard and look at it like you are seeing it for the first time.
GRACE:
How would you define it?
What part of speech is it?
How do we access it?
Why should we seek it?
Is it an Old Testament concept or a New Testament one?
Let’s begin in the Old Testament. Surprisingly, I found several scriptures that refer to the graciousness of God. I have chosen one to discuss, but have include the others for your to research on your own.
I want to look at Psalm 103:8-12:
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
These verses are a beautiful description of God’s grace. We learn that the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He does not treat us the way we deserve. We also learn that these gifts are for those who fear Him. Fear here means to respect or stand in awe of.
For further research in the Old Testament concerning God’s grace, read:
II Chronicles 30:9
Nehemiah 9:30-31
Isaiah 30:18-19
Joel 2:13
In each one look for what the verse says about God and what it says about the response He expects from us.
As we move into the New Testament, the first scripture I have chosen is much like the ones we have looked at in the Old Testament and unique from the ones that will follow. Why is this?
In John 1:14, John describes “the Word.”
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
In verse 14, he tells us that “the Word” became flesh and dwelt among us. He came from the Father full of “grace and truth”.
Who is this a description of? How does this description compare to the God we saw in the Old Testament?
As we move into the following scriptures, I am looking for the answers to two questions in each one:
1) What do I learn about God?
2) What do I learn about what God wants from me?
I have written the answers that came to my mind. Yours may be different.
Those of you who have been in my classes before know that I like to go through scriptures in Biblical order. So let’s get started.
Romans 3:22 – 25
22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—
I learn here that God presented Jesus as a sacrifice for sin and that all are justified freely by His grace. I learn that I receive this gift by faith in Jesus Christ.
II Corinthians 12:8-10
8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
I learn that God accomplishes great things through our weaknesses. I learn that God’s grace is all we need.
Ephesians 1:6,13
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
I learn God freely gives glorious grace. I learn that when I heard the truth and believed, I was marked with a seal. What’s this seal? Why is it important?
Titus 2:11-14
11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
I learn the grace of God offers salvation and teaches us how to live. I learn that I am to wait for the blessed hope and be eager to do good.
Hebrews 4:14-16
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Of all the scriptures in the New Testament that talk about grace, this is my favorite. I learn here that Jesus, the Son of God, is my high priest. He understands everything that I struggle with. He gives grace and mercy in my time of need. I learn that I need to hold on firmly to my faith and that I can confidently approach God’s throne and ask for help in my time of need.
For further research in the New Testament concerning grace read:
Romans 6:14
Galatians 1:15
Ephesians 2:4-10
II Timothy 1:9-10, 13, 14
James 4:6
I Peter 5:10
Grace; an amazing, beautiful gift that God offers to all those who are willing to believe in Him and make Him Lord of their lives.
Debbie
I love what Paul says next: “The Lord is near.” Our joy comes from knowing that God is always near us. He never walks away. He never abandons us. Whatever we are going through, He is right beside us.
Sweet Sisters, do you see where Paul is going with this? If the Lord never leaves us and our joy is in Him, then we can take everything that we are anxious about and talk to God about it with a spirit of thanksgiving knowing that He will do what is best. Paul promises that when we pray like this, God will fill our hearts with a peace that is beyond our ability to understand and that will protect (guard) our hearts and our minds.
I have a couple of questions. What is this “Peace of God” protecting us from? Do you think that Satan is going to calmly sit back and allow all this to take place? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! He is going to try and distract you in as many ways as is possible! He is going to whisper to you “but what if…” or, “you can’t do that!” He may even use those closest to you to do the “whispering for him.”
That is why in verse 8 Paul says: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
He has already told us to:
1.) put our joy in the Lord.
2.) to let our gentleness be seen by others.
3.) to know that God is near.
4.) to bring everything we are anxious about to God.
Now he tells us to focus on the good. This is so very important in the world we are living in. Everyday it seems like there is something new that we should be afraid of. We hear it from the media, we hear it from the people around us and sometimes we even hear it from our brothers and sisters in the church. STAY FOCUSED on the good! In every situation, look for the good.
I would like to make a comment here about focusing on what is true. “True” here means – absolute, real, authentic. Just because something is true does not mean it is good. The point here is not to get distracted by “illusions of truth.”
Years ago there was a TV show called Dragnet. One of the characters in the show was Sergeant Friday. He used to say whenever he was interviewing someone, “Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.” If you aren’t sure if something is true, ask God to show you.
Sweet Sisters, in times of conflict and chaos, if you find yourself longing for reassurance and joy in your life, then I would suggest you ask the Lord to “take this out of our hands” and find peace in knowing that whatever happens, you are good with it.
Debbie