God's Grace III

SCRIPTURE READING:
Ezekiel 44:1 - 46:24

THIS WEEK'S SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, "Follow Me"(John 1:43).

Did you get the message about our February trip to India? If you can partner with us, send a gift to: Fresh Wind Ministries, PO Box 124, Homer, Illinois 61849 or donate online at: www.freshwind.org/resource Our first goal is $500 by Sept 30th. May the Lord lead you!

I know my share of imperfect people. It my case, it takes one to know one. I am imperfect. I've tried to be perfect, but it is impossible. Maybe you've failed at being the perfect spouse, the perfect pastor, the perfect church member, the perfect employee or parent. I have found one area of perfection in my life. I am perfectly loved by Jesus. I am a perfect candidate for His grace! You too?

Let me tell you about Christianity. A perfect God loving and granting grace to His imperfect creation. That's grace. An aspect of God's grace that has helped me so much is to confess to Jesus that I am not perfect, but I am progressing. Maybe you've seen people wearing shirts that says, "God Isn't Finished With Me Yet".

God's grace has a perfecting element to it. Any of us could correctly say, "I'm not perfect" and in so doing, even find comfort to continue on in our sins and imperfections. However, the Apostle Paul said, "But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"(Romans 5:20b - 6:2).

Grace should not just be seen as a wash rag between sins. Sure, grace covers our sins, but grace must also compel us to go and sin no more. To the woman caught in adultery, Jesus said, "Go now and leave your life of sin"(John 8:11b).

Grace should never make us think that we should stop progressing in our Spiritual growth and simply accept our imperfections and expect others to accept them too. While "love covers a multitude of sins" it calls us into a deeper state of gratitude for His grace and love and compels us to ask His Spirit to help us to progress--not to be sinless but to sin less.

Today, understand God's grace this way: God's perfect work on the cross makes us perfect in Christ. That is, we are perfectly loved and perfectly covered by His grace. If you journal, take a few minutes today to write down some areas you are trying to be perfect in. Then, pray about these areas and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into greater Spiritual maturity through God's process of growth.

Dear Heavenly Father, I praise You for Your grace. While we are not perfect, we are progressing onward toward being more like Jesus. In His Name, AMEN!

fresh wind