Grace, Grace, God's Grace

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,

grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!

Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured,

there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,

freely bestowed on all who believe!

You that are longing to see His face,

Will you this moment His grace receive?

Refrain:

Grace, grace, God's grace,

grace that will pardon and cleanse within;

grace, grace, God's grace,

grace that is greater than all our sin!

I've been thinking about the word Grace for the past few months. Having grown up in an evangelical church, I heard about grace all the time. We sang about such things as: Amazing Grace, Marvelous Grace, Matchless Grace, and so on. The song above is one of those wonderfully rich hymns I recall about grace. I also remember hearing teachers speak about grace a few times. And as a believer, I understood how grace through Jesus Christ redeemed my life.

A while back someone mentioned getting so caught up in trying to always do the right thing that she forgot to live life (my loose paraphrase). Essentially, it paralyzed her confidence in being able to make big decisions.

Now, don't get me wrong. Striving to live a "perfect" life (being like Jesus) and doing our best to make the right choices is a good thing. But if we live in fear of making the wrong choice and it keeps us from living life, that's not a good thing. It might actually keep us from serving effectively as a believer.

In reference to the person mentioned earlier, fear of doing the wrong thing was preventing her from stepping out in faith and trusting God. She almost missed an opportunity which eventually resulted in a great blessing. For the record, this was not a good vs. evil choice.

So, I've been pondering this idea of GRACE sometimes defined as...

God's undeserved, unearned favor, goodness and love.

I know it's there to cover me when I inevitably do the wrong thing (sin), but that grace (God's love) also prevents me from testing Him. I don't want to take advantage of God's grace by knowingly doing something wrong with the idea of asking for forgiveness later. Yeah, that's just wrong any way you look at it.

But it has gotten me to thinking about missed opportunities and those moments when I wasn't sure what the best choice was so it kept me from making any choice for fear of making the wrong choice.

I'm also reminded that I WILL make mistakes. God's grace is big enough to handle my sins when I confess. But, God's grace is also big enough to handle those times when I make the wrong choice, I open door number one and find out I've just stepped into quicksand. His grace can use those opportunities to demonstrate His love, to use it for His glory, and to teach me something in the midst of it all.

Grace is a big subject. I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of it, but I am enjoying learning about it.

Your Will Be Done

Are you familiar with King Hezekiah? A number of years ago I recall studying Hezekiah of the Old Testament. He was one of the few good kings who ruled over Judah. The story of Hezekiah made a lasting impression on me. I think about his story occasionally and was once again reminded of Hezekiah's story. 


Hezekiah followed the Lord, but he became ill and was told by a prophet that it was time to set his affairs in order. Hezekiah was told that he would not recover from the illness and would die. Imagine knowing that!  

Hezekiah did something bold--he prayed fervently for his life to be spared. He reminded God of his faithfulness to serve the Lord and how he always tried to please God in everything he did. 

So, Hezekiah was a good guy who loved God. He prayed for something he really wanted, asking God to change his mind and allow him to live. Then he wept bitterly. What Hezekiah was asking for was not really a bad thing (it wasn't against any of God's laws, it wasn't immoral, etc.). In his mind, Hezekiah wasn't ready to die and would like to continue leading Judah on the Lord's behalf.

God heard his prayer and extended Hezekiah's life by 15 years...

‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David’” (2 Kings 20:5).
 
But (wouldn't you know it) during those extra years bad things happened. Hezekiah allowed people from other countries to see all the treasures in Judah (the Babylonians would eventually come back and take all the treasures). This time also ushered in one of the worst kings in their history to take over when Hezekiah finally died--his own son, Manasseh. 

The sovereign God knew that it would be better for Hezekiah to die the first time he became so ill, but God allowed him to live. He answered Hezekiah's big prayer.

I think of this scenario sometimes when I pray those big prayers. In my hurt and suffering, when I ask God to change my circumstances--or those of others--I wonder if having my way will result in relief now, but more pain later? It always gives me pause to ask for God's will to be done.

The thing that I am learning is that it's okay to ask God and pray those big prayers. It's okay to believe God for big things, to have faith in a God who can move mountains and creates life.

God wants me to talk to Him about these big things and the little things that concern me. But, I also understand that when I ask, I should keep in mind what Jesus taught the disciples to pray in Matthew 6:10 says,"Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

God Can Make a Way

Earlier this week as I was reading scripture for my quiet time, one verse really jumped out at me. Psalm 77:19 says,

Your road led through the sea, 

your pathway through the mighty waters—

a pathway no one knew was there! 

There’s always a quickening of my spirit whenever the Lord uses the Word to speak to me, so I had to stop and think on it a moment. What was it about this verse that caused me to stop? I had to look at the context of the scripture and look at it in context of my own life.

This particular Psalm is written by Asaph and it's all about comfort during troubled times and remembering how God came through for His people.  I felt as if the Lord was reminding me that His path is rarely ever the easiest path. In fact, they almost always are ones we would not choose, and often in a place where we might not see a path. There was something very encouraging about that thought. It was a simple reminder to me that God can make a way where my eyes can see no way. 

I'm not going through a particularly troubled time. In fact, this is a rather quiet season in comparison to recent months. But, the path to this point has been rough at times and when I look ahead, I do often feel as if the way is obscured or insurmountable. 

It takes me back to just trusting that God does have a plan for my life and He will accomplish what He wants to accomplish in me and through me. Life won't always be easy. In fact, God rarely does the predictable. If the waters need to part so that I can walk on dry land--God will do that. If He needs to divert my path to go around the mountain instead of over it--God will do it.

Ahhh, if only I had that pillar of fire by night and the cloud to guide me by day! (see Exodus 13:21-22)

What do you need to trust God to do this week?

Patient Endurance

"When you come to a mountain you can do one of two things: You can go around it or you can go over it. The first way is the easiest, but you'll miss the view from the top." (Quote from The Waltons)

There is a mountain of wisdom in that quote. I was watching an episode of The Waltons when the older brother (Jason) was giving this piece of advice to his younger brother (Jim Bob). The younger of the two was trying to avoid a path that his life was taking. The path he was avoiding would take him out of his comfort zone and prove to be challenging. It would have been so much easier to avoid the challenging path, but in the end he would not have discovered all that he could accomplish. He rose to the challenge and exceeded his own expectations--and that of friends and family.

Sometimes life gets tedious and sometimes it's treacherous.

The tedious path of life is often quiet. Those are the times when I'm just putting one foot in front of the other on level ground. For the most part it's not very exciting. It's often predictable, but it's safe.   

The treacherous path is challenging. Effort is required to take this path. I may stumble on this path, get out of breath, or look at what's ahead and just become flat-out intimidated. It's unpredictable. Safe?? Hard to say.

Both paths are profitable. The tedious path produces endurance so that we can go the distance. The treacherous path calls upon that endurance to help us climb that mountain. It also makes our senses more keen to notice the path we're walking on so that we're carefully climbing.

If we try to climb a mountain without putting in the endurance training, we might not make it up that mountain or be so incredibly worn out when we get there that we miss the view at the top. If we avoid climbing mountains altogether, we'll definitely miss the breathtaking view from the top.

Usually I'm writing about things I'm learning so why am I talking about mountains? Lately I've been on that predictable, sometimes tedious path. Each day looks about the same as the other--with a few exceptions here and there. It's pleasant, but I keep thinking there should be more.  Then I started getting the feeling that God has a mountain for me to climb. I wasn't ready for that mountain so I decided to keep circling it instead. However, the Lord patiently reminds me that I need to begin taking steps onto that mountain. Thankfully, I don't have to climb it all in one day. Just a little at a time.

The first way is the easiest, but I don't really want to miss the view from the top. And, as I've been constantly reminded lately... If God is leading, then He's also equipping.

"So do not throw away this 

confident trust in the Lord. 

Remember the great reward it brings you!  

Patient endurance is what you need now, 

so that you will continue to do God’s will. 

Then you will receive all that he has promised."

-Hebrews 10:35-36 

Wordy Wednesday

Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house;
    I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.
Lead me in the right path, O Lord,
    or my enemies will conquer me.
Make your way plain for me to follow. - Psalm 5:7-8

Three On Thursday: Purpose

With all the Christmas plans and time off work this week, I'm a little out of my routine. I haven't done a Three on Thursday post in a while, so here are some notes I took after listening to Tony Evans speaking about a Christian's life having purpose.

1. A Christian's purpose in life is to glorify God and advance His kingdom. If you are fulfilling God's purposes, people will be impacted. If others are not being impacted by you, then you are merely existing. 
2. Your purpose will always involve your passion. What are you passionate about? If you aren't sure what your purpose is, take a look at what you are passionate about. 
3. All believers have been gifted with a divine capacity to serve God and be used for the kingdom. God will use our experiences (the good and the bad), our personality (uniqueness), and our gifts--if we make ourselves available.

May we all strive to find and fullfil our kingdom purpose and be like David as described in Acts 13:22

...‘I have found David the son of Jesse,  

a man after My heart, who will do all My will.