Grace, and grace upon grace

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. Psa 103:10

How our praise should rise to God in thankfulness and gratitude forHe does not count our sins against us. If He did how could we stand? God is so merciful to us and so gracious a Father that we are not consumed by His anger.

I shudder sometimes when I think how I can take the grace of God for granted. We somehow seem to think that once we have been saved and walked with God for a long while we're doing okay. How often do we stop to think about the things we actually think? The other day, I was walking along the beach and some thoughts arose about the way a fairly large person was dressed, and I was about to retort to Sam, when the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit began to convict me.

When I think about the unkind thoughts I've had, mostly about strangers in a critical way, and the words I've spoken, the attitudes of my heart, drawing away from those who don't come up to my expectation, impatience, not helping others when I've had the ability to and a host of myriad things, I realise that I need to come up higher in my love-walk. I need to be aware of what I think and what I say for this will surely show me what is in my heart.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. Psa 103:11 -13

God is Holy. Holy and yet He pours out His grace upon us, forgiving us for all our wrong doing all because of what Jesus Christ has done for us.

For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Rom 5:17

Wow what grace! Wow what LOVE! The cross of Christ was the greatest swap made on our behalf, and our biggest plus all because of grace, truth and love.

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2Co 5:21) and, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. (2Co 8:9)

What a swap. His righteousness for our unrighteousness, His riches for our poverty "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace." (Joh 1:16)

Yes, grace upon grace, God pours down on us, praise to His Holy name. Powerful Redemption through Christ gives us all the reasons and more to make our hearts dance and our mouths sing with joy to the glorious Father and His Son, our Saviour. Thank you Father for the grace you pour out upon us. Help us never to take it for granted and help us extend it in your Son's name Jesus we pray.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. (Psa 84:11)

Dressed for best.

Getting ready for church this morning, a question arose in my heart that we dress to go to church but do we dress our hearts before we come before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

What should we "put on" before we come to church? What are we carrying in our hearts? Do we come with an attitude of quite surrender to God, a gentle humility toward our brothers and sisters in the faith? Do we come to receive the Word of God with all meekness? Do we come with the attitude to minister to our God or are we coming for what He and others can give to us? Are we bringing the "attitude of gratitude" to the One who gave His all for us, or are we coming with a critical spirit for the things we lack in life?

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;

bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Col 3:12-16

I love going to church and always go with the expectation that I am going to meet with Father and He

always touches me and I often leave feeling refreshed, lightened and challenged. Do I always leave

with a dressed heart though? I wish I could tell you I do, after being in the presence of my Lord, but it is

amazing how often some small annoyance seems to come along (generally arising out of relationship

with someone close) and a sharp retort can come spewing out and the truth flies out of my heart. I am

learning to wise-up though and "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to

fulfill its lusts." (Rom 13:14)

The Word tells us that we should "put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (Eph 4:24) Definitely a challenge but if God commands us to do it, then He has made the provision for us to attempt to do so and part of that is to renew our minds with the water and the washing of the Word. His Word is a mirror that will reflect back to us the wrong attitudes in our heart so that we can repent and ask for His help in time of need. We need to learn to walk in the newness of life through the power of the Holy Spirit, in all humility, leaning on Him to help us. Amen?

Unity

How important is our unity is to the Godhead? I have been reading John and the subject of being "one" is prevalent throughout this gospel, as it is indeed throughout the Word. Right from the very beginning of the creation of man, God ordained marriage to be a relationship of unity between a man and his wife.

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Gen 2:24

And God walked with them, bringing to us a picture of love, friendship and unity between all of them but this perfect picture and perfect way of life was shattered with the introduction of sin and the sin nature within us into which we are now born.

There is absolute unity within the Godhead which is why Jesus tells us that, "I and My Father are one." (Joh 10:30) We are called into this unity and intimacy with the Godhead. How amazing is this? Jesus prayed "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." (Joh 17:21) What an incredibly awesome prayer of Christ's. Do we see this though, the church walking in unity with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? Hardly, and I think that this would indeed sadden the Father heart of God.

How can we walk in unity with the Godhead and with each other? I believe that one of the answers to walking in unity is to confess (which literally means to speak the same way that God speaks). There is only one way to do this. Confess the word. The bible is God's manual for our living, chock-a-block full of promises and a new way to talk, walk and act. When we pray the scriptures, we are agreeing with God. Mind you, it is not enough just to talk the talk but not walk the walk. Our actions must line up with what we say and this is very challenging. Thank goodness for the help and power of the Holy Spirit. When we fail, we need to repent immediately, asking God for the forgiveness of our sin, and if a third party is involved, in humility be reconciled to them too, and so "endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph 4:3)

In His last moments with His disciples, before He was crucified, the whole issue of being one is prevalent in His prayer. "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are." (Joh 17:11)

How it must grieve the Holy Spirit when the bride of Christ cannot get on with each other, especially as we are called to love one another, as Christ loves us. How we are so fractured under so many different denominations when the heart of Spirit of God had Paul the Apostle pen this:-

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Eph 4:4)

Jesus continued in His prayer, "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me." (Joh 17:23)

Children of God, we can be unified in the belief that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, died on a cross and took the punishment for our sins. He rose again on the third day (which is the proof that God had accepted His perfect sacrifice) and so we have been purchased "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1Pe 1:20)

May we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Eph 4:14-16)

May we grow together in love and unity, for "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!" (Psa 133:1) Help us Father, we look to you. Amen.