January 29, 2023
“He gives us grace and glory. No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who do what is right.” Psalm 84:11
“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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:3
Of all the writers of the New Testament, the Apostle Paul is at the top of my list. His formal greeting and introduction that he uses in most of his epistles is “Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.”
In Galatians 1:3, the traditional Greek and Hebrew forms of greeting, grace, and peace, were always used by Paul in his salutations to express the hope that the believing readers might be sustained by daily portions of these blessings. “Grace and Peace” find their source in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In that same verse, the word grace (charis) was the gentile form of greeting in that day, while peace (shalom) was the religious greeting of the Jews. Now the grace of God must be experienced before the peace that is from God the Father can be experienced.
The Word of God tells us how God has extended GRACE to us by offering us Salvation-Eternal Life with Him for FREE! We don’t have to do anything to earn it. There is no amount of money that can purchase it. We simply accept it by believing that Jesus, God’s Son, died for our sins so we wouldn’t have to. God’s ultimate act of grace is an example of how we are to extend grace to others.
Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9 “God saved you by His special favor when you believed. It is by God’s grace that he decided to offer us the gift of salvation.” We simply receive by faith and in thanks. Praise God for His grace and gift of salvation.
Thank God for His Saving Grace! I also, thank Him for His Sufficient Grace, the grace I needed yesterday. I lost a document (program) that I have been working on and off for months and it was 99% completed. I am sure there are some of you have experienced that before. After much technical intervention and calling my brother Michael in Ohio, I finally accepted the fact that it was gone. I only had a previous version of the document about 50% completed. Yes, I had a pity-party and later repented and prayed. After several hours of accepting the reality, God gave me peace, and when I was ready to receive it, He whispered “My grace is sufficient” I was able to get started again and I must say it is going better than I anticipated. Yes, God is faithful and yes, we are expected to also grow in God’s sufficient grace! It is not a stagnant gift.
It is by His grace, we have been transformed on the inside so that we want to live pure lives for Him. The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 1:5-6 “Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” God never stops working in us to bring us to maturity. Recognizing and requesting God’s grace takes humility, and realizing that we do not deserve it, which is exactly why we need it.
Hebrews 4:16 reminded me that we can come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it. When we arrive at God’s very throne through prayer, we must linger to receive His grace, and wait for His guidance and direction.
The Word of God Encourages Us With Many Additional Benefits That Grace Secures For Every Believer:
Paul credited the success of his ministry not to his own substantial labors but to “The Grace of God.”
Grace provides us access to God to communicate and fellowship with Him (Ephesians 1:6).
Grace wins for us a new relationship of intimacy with God (Exodus 33:17).
Grace disciplines and trains us to live in a way that honors God (Titus 2:11–14; 2 Corinthians 8:7).
Grace grants us immeasurable spiritual riches (Proverbs 10:22; Ephesians 2:7).
Grace justifies us before a holy God and helps us in our every need (Hebrews 4:16) (Romans 3:24; Ephesians 1:6; Titus 3:7).
Grace is the reason behind our every deliverance (Psalm 44:3–8; Hebrews 4:16).
Grace preserves us and comforts, encourages, and strengthens us (2 Corinthians 13:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17; 2 Timothy 2:1).
A GRACE-FILLED 
HEART: Grace is the ongoing, benevolent act of God working in us, without it we can do nothing John 15:5 says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
FATHER GOD, Thank You for Your Word instructing us how to live! Thank you for Your Grace that is actively and continually working in our lives. As Christians and recipients of Your grace, help us to be gracious to others exercising our spiritual gifts for the building up of Your Kingdom, in the Precious, Powerful, and Preeminent Name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.