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Grace is God’s answer to the question of how sinners like you and me could ever be welcomed into His presence, His family and His blessing. Then, grace poses a question for us to answer: will you receive it? The gospel of grace is only good news if it is true, if you are included in it, and if you believe it. It is true. You can be included. Do you believe? You can have it all if you believe Jesus is Who the Bible says He is, Jesus did what the Bible says He did, and Jesus will deliver all the Bible says He will. Grace leads us to Jesus. Faith leads us to follow Jesus in loving obedience. Nearness leads us to enjoy real life with Jesus.

You can’t afford it; but it’s already paid for. You can’t earn it; but it’s freely given. You can’t secure it; but it’s always available to you. God’s grace has countless implications and applications for everyday life and eternal life, ranging from getting good things to getting through bad things to getting to the best things. There is grace for you to have the life of real contentedness that you’ve always wanted. And that’s just the beginning, for it will expand and extend throughout eternity. All you have to do is … Want it. Ask for it. Receive it. Enjoy it. Grace isn’t about your doing or your deserving; it’s about God giving us His gifts.

There is a lot we learn to love about Who Jesus is, which we learn about from what Jesus does. We love that He is gracious, kind, powerful, wise and compassionate … and we see He is all of those things in the way He relates to us. He forgives us, so we know He is gracious. He blesses us, so we know He is kind. He helps us, so we know He is powerful. He guides us, so we know He is wise. He cares for us, so we know He is compassionate. But it is His character, nature and personality that draw us and delight us. We don’t love Jesus because we see His wonderful acts; we love Jesus because we see His wonderful heart.

As Christians, we are in an ongoing war against our sin, and there are daily occasions in which we lose the battle. This spiritual journey we are on is one in which we have not yet been fully delivered from the presence of sin, so we must fight against it and confess our failings when we lose a skirmish. Ours is a humble and simple cry out for grace: “I did it. I regret doing it. Help me not do it again. Lead me to something better in you.” Because Jesus has already secured the final victory over our sin, there is grace for us. Grace that gives us pardon when we lose the fight, and grace that gives us power to fight on.

Worshipping Jesus is war against worshipping anything else. Only one person, pursuit, prize or passion can rank as your highest priority, get your greatest admiration and be your fullest joy. The more you value Jesus above all other things, the less you will value other things above Jesus. Your heart. Your mind. Your will. These will all bow down to something or someone that means the most to you. While we are “given all things richly to enjoy,” none of these things are meant to compete with our love and loyalty for Jesus. Who is worthy of our worship? May we answer with our hearts, minds and lives: Jesus is.

Christians are to be both consumers of and contributors to the mutual building up of the family of God. In our role as consumers, we are to let others do for us. In our role as contributors, we are to do for others. All of the “one another” commands in the Bible for how we are to interact with each other are two-sided. We are to be encouraged by others, and we are to encourage others. We are to be served by others, and we are to serve others. We are to be cared for by others, and we are to care for others. Every Christ-like act of love should flow in both directions. By grace, let’s do two things today: give and receive.

How is God glorified through our happiness? There are at least three ways… First, He is glorified when we trust that He knows best how to make us happy, and we lovingly do what He says to bring about our happiness. Second, He is glorified when we thank Him for the good things He gives to us and does for us that make us happy so that He gets credit. Third, He is glorified when we treasure Him as our ultimate source of happiness by delighting not just in His gifts, but in Him as a good and generous and gracious Giver. Trust Him. Thank Him. Treasure Him. This is how God is honored in us and we are happy in Him.

It may surprise us. It may confuse us. It may overwhelm us. But when it does, let us rest in knowing that the plan of God is good for us in the end, better than our own preferred ideas, and the best way of doing things to get what we’re both after. The mutual goal for our lives is simple: for God to be glorified in our happiness. We don’t have to choose between God being honored and us being happy. We have to choose between God’s way and our way for getting there. Trust Him today because… Our plans are flawed even when we don’t think they are. His plans are perfect even when we don’t think they are.

Never give up on your family member who is far from God. Never stop praying for your friend who is cold toward God. Never lose hope over your loved one who doesn’t believe in God. We were all there in some way at some time in our past, and God changed our lives. He can do it again! He is still rescuing sinners by His grace so they can find their way to new life in Jesus. No matter how far away they are. No matter how cold they are. No matter how unbelieving they are. It takes a miracle for someone to repent and believe the gospel, but that’s exactly where we pin our hopes: Our gracious God still works miracles.

Life is a series of personal, societal and general changes. But there is one thing that remains the same: our God is worthy to be praised through all of the ups and downs of our lives. Therefore… We praise Him when we succeed, but also when we fail. We praise Him when things are comfortable, but also when they are difficult. We praise Him when we get what we want, but also when we miss out. God deserves our praise because of Who He is and what He does whether we are experiencing a high or a low. So… Let’s praise Him today as the One Who gets us to the mountaintops and gets us through the valleys.