Grace

A friend once related to me the tale of an old gentleman with a third-grade education who shared a simple but profound truth. This uneducated old man said, “Mercy is when the Lord don’t give ya what ya had a-comin’, and grace is when he gives ya what ya didn’t have a-comin’.” These are words so profound that angels might meditate on them, yet so simple that even a child could understand them. Grace is the oil that keeps relationships running smoothly—and grace is what allows us to have a relationship with God at all. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t need to receive the grace of my husband and children. Nor is there a day that I don’t need to extend grace to them as well. And more important is my need for God’s grace. Paul talked about his determination to live each day in a manner pleasing to God only to discover that he had failed in ways that grieved Him. And yet . . . and yet God’s grace is fresh each morning as we experience a new beginning and discover we didn’t get what we “had a-comin’.” Paul reminds us that we’re not to continue in deliberate sin, but I’m so grateful that when life gets the better of me, God’s grace is always there to meet me. Give your family grace. Give yourself grace. And thank the Lord for His relentless, overwhelming grace that pursues you again and again.

WHEN YOU THINK IT’S ALL UP TO YOU . . .

We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

WHEN YOUR CHILD NEEDS TO KNOW THAT GRACE IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE . . .

Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

WHEN YOU’VE REACHED THE END OF YOUR OWN STRENGTH . . .

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.