by David Jones
For a long time I have been fascinated by the phrase ‘The gracious hand of the Lord was upon me’. It is found in the books of Ezra & Nehemiah on a number of occasions. Both men recognised that any success they had, in fulfilling their God-given tasks, could only be attributed to the grace of God upon their lives.
It still stands today; if we want to accomplish the tasks that God has given us whether as individuals or together as the people of God, we need the gracious hand of the Lord upon us.
We sing about the Grace of God all the time but I want us to not just sing about it, but think about it, get ourselves in a position were we can receive it and remain in a place were we can live in it.
The dictionary defines Grace as a favour rendered by one who need not do so. It is also traditionally thought of as God’s unmerited favour towards us. But much more than that, God’s grace enables us to be who He wants us to be and do what HE wants us to do.
I recently read this:
‘When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day's pay for his time, that is a wage.
When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize.
When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award.
But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award, yet receives such a gift anyway, that is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.’
Saving Grace
Salvation is ongoing in our lives, it’s not a one hit wonder! WE ARE SAVED, WE ARE BEING SAVED, AND WE WILL BE SAVED. The Holy Spirit is continually releasing the active power of grace into our lives, by which we are being changed more and more into the likeness of Christ.
• We have been saved ~ Eph 2v8 It is by grace you have been saved
• We are being saved ~ 1 Cor 1v18 The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God
• We will be saved ~ Rom 5v9 Since we have been justified by His blood how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him
This is the grace that comes from the God who was, who is, and is to come, and combining these three thoughts, Paul writes in Titus 2v11-13 The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope of the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ
Effective Grace
As you consider the following scriptures you will see how powerful God’s grace is:
John1v14 The word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth ……. v16 From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another
Acts 4v33 With great power the apostles continued to testify of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and much grace was upon them al, (this was after they had prayed for great boldness)
Acts 6v8 Stephen ~ A man full of God’s grace and power, did great signs and wonders among the people
Heb 4v16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
1Tim 1v14 The grace of the Lord was poured out on me abundantly
Today you may be going through tough circumstances, be encouraged with the words of the Apostle Paul, 2 Cor 12v9 (regarding what he calls his ‘thorn in flesh’) Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me ~ But He said to me ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’
Grace is an Active Force
The grace of God will take you to places that you would never get to in your own strength or ability. The favour of God brought Nehemiah into a position before the King. Somebody once said “The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not protect you”
Paul was able to say, 1 Cor 3:10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. He recognised that it was God’s grace that enabled him to be a foundation layer for the early church and he also acknowledged that others would be ‘graced’ to play their part. He went on to say, 2 Cor 9:8 God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work
The grace of God is the foundation for our Salvation and our service for Him. We receive God’s grace by living in His will. This grace then gives us the ability to carry out the will of God and recognise that His grace is only made effective when we move forward in faith.
I encourage you to:
• Continue in the grace of God, Acts 13:43 In Antioch Paul & Barnabas urged them to continue in the grace of God
• Testify to the grace of God, Acts 20:24 Paul said the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
• Commend one another to the grace of God, Acts 15:40 Just as Paul and Silas set off on a missionary journey, they were commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.
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