For all who trust in Jesus, there is a glorious eternity ahead in which bad things will be eliminated, good things will be perfected, and the best things will be unveiled.  We have an eternity with Him that… Never gets stale.  Never gets boring.  Never gets routine.  Never gets unappealing.  Never gets finished.  There will always be more to discover and enjoy from the immeasurable riches of God’s grace towards us in Christ Jesus.  Don’t live for this day; live for that day.  Don’t be discouraged by this day; be encouraged by that day.  Take hope in this every day:  For those who are trusting in Jesus, the best is always yet to come.

You are not bothering God when you ask Him for more grace.  He isn’t too busy or too disinterested.  He doesn’t need to put something more important on hold to help you.  Listen… There is no sin so big that God won’t forgive it and no sin so small that God will ignore it.  There is no stronghold so powerful that God can’t break it and no stronghold so flimsy that God wants you to get free on your own.  There is no problem so significant that God won’t handle it and no problem so petty that God doesn’t care about it.  He does trillions of things at once in sustaining the universe.  And one of His favorites is hearing from and helping you.

We were made in God’s image to bring glory to Him, but we all sin and fall short of God’s glory which distorts His image in us.  Jesus came to display the perfect image of God and glorify Him in ways we did not, and then die in our place to atone for our sin.  When we put our faith in Him, He begins restoring the image of God in us so we can bring Him glory.  This is what grace does for us:  It takes people who don’t look and act much like God and transforms us into people who do.  Undeserving sinners are remade into joy-filled, purpose-driven, difference-making, love-giving image-bearers of God.  We are who we are because of grace.

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 independent 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.

To receive God’s grace is to be so radically changed that nothing will ever be the same again.  Not your past, because your sin no longer convicts you.  Not your present, because your sin no longer controls you.  Not your future, because your sin no longer condemns you.  When you trust in Jesus, God graciously remakes everything about who you were, who you are and who you will become.  You are given a new identity in Christ, a growing similarity to Christ and a joy-filled destiny with Christ.  Grace.  Changes.  Everything.  You are not defined by who the world says you are; you are defined by who God says you are.

There’s only one reason we persevere through the trials, troubles and tragedies of life in this broken world:  grace.  We are given the strength, encouragement and provision we need to keep going when the going gets tough. God is always graciously working in us, working behind the scenes for us, and working all things out for the good of us.  Call on Him.  Count on Him.  Collapse on Him.  When He does not give you grace to escape problems, He will give you grace to endure them. You will make it. This is our hope in Jesus…  When the time is right, God will bring our hurting to an end and give us happiness without end.

Contentment increases when your awareness of grace does.   The more you recognize what God has done, is doing and will do for you as a free and undeserved gift, the more you will be grateful for what you have instead of grumble over what you do not have. To nurture this contentment, we should regularly look back at God’s faithfulness to us in Christ and look forward to God’s promises to us in Christ.  Today, let us rejoice over past grace and request future grace, knowing that God has always and will always give to us what is best for us.   We don’t have to look very hard to appreciate all that we are given; we just have to look.

There are certain rhythms of grace that will help us better experience grace.  These habits, disciplines and practices help us remember, rejoice in, respond to, and rely on God’s favor to us in Christ.  While there are many of them, there are four basic rhythms that give birth to the rest of them:  Pray.  Read the Bible.  Respond to what God tells you.  Help others do the same. This is how we better experience all that God means for us to have, as a means for us to better enjoy God Himself.  The best way to dive into and delight in the fountainhead of grace is to walk daily with the Giver of grace.

While grace is available to us all the time, we do not experience its every benefit all the time. We often miss out on blessings that could be ours.  Why?  Because of sin-created barriers.  We don’t think we need God’s help, don’t remember to ask for God’s help, don’t believe God will send help, and/or refuse the help that He sends.  But here is good news: He welcomes us to come back to Him.  Therefore, let us… Acknowledge our need for His help, ask for His help, anticipate His help, accept His help, and act by His help.  When we do, we can be sure of this:  Jesus, our great Barrier-Remover will not push us away; He will make us a way.

What is going on in your life today?  If something good is happening, it’s by grace.  If something bad is being handled, it’s by grace.  That sunset, steak and surprise text from your friend.  That’s by grace.  The trial you’re getting through and the trouble you got through.  Yep, grace.  Your ability, opportunity and community … grace, grace, grace.  The tears wiped away and the smiles of the day.  Grace on top of grace.   Beating hearts, peaceful sleep, acts of service, growing pains, friends that care, strength to continue, paid bills, lessons learned, fresh water, hugs. You can’t look in any direction without seeing the evidence of God’s grace.

The practicality of grace can get lost in the technicality of its meaning.  We know grace is God’s “unmerited favor” toward us, but that’s very generalized.  What does it specifically look like in everyday life?  It looks like: forgiveness during failures, peace during storms, hope during trials, comfort during heartaches, joy during suffering, guidance during uncertainty, rest during busyness, strength during temptation, blessing during good times, and so much more.  But even that is not as pin-point accurate as grace really is, for it shows up in countless minutiae within those categories.  Grace is all around us.