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We require it. We request it. We receive it. We rely on it. But let’s be clear about it… Grace isn’t given because we are great, but because God is. The grace of God testifies to the glory of God. When it is received and rightly understood, it results in worship for the One who gives it. It should prompt in us as receivers a celebration of Him and commendation of Him as a generous, powerful, wise, good, rich, holy and loving God. Those who think they merit what they receive have little praise for God; those who know everything they have is a gift have much praise for God. Today, as He gives grace to us, let us give glory to Him.

There are no grace graduates. None of us get to the point where we no longer need God’s provision. We aren’t who we used to be, but our transformation isn’t complete. We’ve been fruitful, but our good work isn’t finished. We’ve come a long way, but our journey home isn’t over. We don’t move on from grace; we move on because of grace! So, let us confidently call on God for help to joyfully live out His plans, live for what matters most, live with our circumstances and live in this world, not as in-dependent people, but as His grace-dependent people. Until the very end… We will not stop needing. God will not stop supplying.

All of God’s gracious actions toward us are designed to lead us toward Him. He means for us to respond to His gifts not by seeking more gifts, but by seeking Jesus … to know Him, trust Him, honor Him, enjoy Him and love Him as we follow Him. Grace enables and encourages us to take steps with Jesus. When we do, we grow in our relationship with Him as we go with Him wherever He leads to do whatever He says. God woos us with His kindness along the way because He wants us to be together every step until we are with Him forever. Certainly, we will take mis-steps along the way; but Jesus will never let us lose our way.

Faith in God’s future grace destroys fear, frustration, anxiety, worry, jealousy, envy, vanity, idolatry, insecurity, doubt, selfishness and worldliness in the present. When we trust in all that God has promised to do for us, give to us and be for us, it rids us of what is robbing us of real joy in Jesus. Belief that God knows best, does what is best and will give us what is best moment-by-moment for the rest of our lives sustains us when we have to give up something we want or go through something we don’t want. No matter what happens today, let us be sure of this: Grace is already there and more is on the way.

God helps us help one another by giving spiritual gifts of His grace to every person in His family. We don’t earn these spiritual abilities; they are gifts. They aren’t all the same; they come in various forms. We don’t let them gather dust; we use them. They aren’t to be used selfishly; they are to be used to bless others. Therefore… We should strive to live full and fruitful lives serving the people in our lives “right here, right now” with the resources we have been entrusted to steward. Do your part today knowing this: One way God shows grace to us is through others; one way God shows grace to others is through us.

God’s grace will call us to submit to God’s authority. From the moment we put our faith in Jesus, we will begin a lifelong journey where we yield more and more control to Him as we trust Him more fully in more areas of our lives. For genuine believers, there will be an immediate, increasing, imperfect reception of the new life of joyful obedience and rejection of the old life of sinful disobedience. We will stand by His grace when we get it right and fall into His grace when we get it wrong. Whatever happens today, let us strive to gladly obey Jesus knowing this… He rules for our good when we submit to His rule over our lives.

God’s law is not grace, but it is gracious. First, it leads us in this world showing us how God expects us to live in light of how He has designed everything to work. Second, it leads us to Jesus when we are convicted of our disobedience to His commands, and convinced of our inability to desire or do what He tells us. When we put our faith in Jesus, He graciously and progressively overcomes our weaknesses before the law, enabling us to love it and live it. We will obey Him imperfectly, but we can take heart in this… We know that God’s grace is working in our lives every time we willingly do what is right in God’s eyes.

Salvation is received, not achieved. We cannot do anything to deserve it or earn it, not even acts of obedience or righteousness. God does it all… The Father wills it. The Son secures it. The Holy Spirit administers it. What a gift! What a God! He doesn’t help those who help themselves; He helps those who cannot help themselves. From start to finish, it’s all by grace… Chosen. Called. Converted. Completed. Someday every genuine believer will be fully and forever delivered from the presence of sin into the presence of God. Not by us keeping the law, but by Jesus keeping us.

What does it mean to be “saved” by grace? It means to be rescued from something for something. From sin, for righteousness. From Satan, for God. From punishment, for reward. From death, for life. From hell, for heaven. From wrath, for joy. From brokenness, for glory. We must be rescued because we are incapable of reversing the curse on mankind caused by our sin. God is undoing all of the horrible things that sin has done and replacing them all with good things, beautiful things, joyful things, perfect things, eternal things. All of this is by grace, which means… The only requirement for salvation is sincerely asking for it.

If you think you can simply be a “good person” to get into heaven when you die, then you have grossly underestimated what God requires for entrance. Something we need to understand is this: our standards may be low enough that we can meet them, but God’s are high enough that we never will. As sinners, the best we can do does not measure up. The good news is this: We don’t have to because Jesus already did on behalf of all who put their trust in Him. Jesus lived for us. Jesus died for us. Someday we will be accepted into heaven by grace through faith in this: He exchanged His perfect life for our imperfect ones.