Grace valued...

(2 Corinthians 6:1) “Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.”

 

What a statement, it encapsulates the grace of God and without a comma it then emphasises the “in vain” aspect that must draw our attention. We must sit up and take note. What a tragedy that would be, to receive the grace of God in vain; to be offered a perfect lifeline and then to throw it all away because of some selfish want. The ten virgin comes to mind, with five of them oil less and groping in the dark with their lanterns snuffed. Sadly for some, we will be caught off guard, the second coming of our Lord and Saviour will find some with their hands in the cookie jar of sin. We have been called to “come out and be separate”, the Christian is a peculiar person and our ties to the world must be meniscal when it comes to our lifestyles. We have been singled out and must therefore live accordingly. We are the salt of the earth but if that salt has become favourless, what is it good for, except the rubbish bin.

 

I shudder to think of the way we live, I live, when I mirror it against the saints of old; “We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love;” (2 Corinthians 6:3-5) - Not to say we have all been given the same responsibilities, but our commitment to the gifts of God must be exercised with intent to bring God glory. This is why we have been saved from our sin to live lives filled with hope and to point people to the finished work of the cross. To snuff out all the lies filtering down from the world and those wanting to be heard. Here is the instruction; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2) – The Spirit of God has caused me to hone in on these verses, as they are imperative, when we make them a part of our daily living, we will shift gears and then we can look to the gifts of grace to walk in the Spirit and then like a well trained soldier to keep step with the Spirit.

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (Romans 12:3) – This verse reminds us that it grace’s (unmerited favour) involvement in our lives that we must latch onto and treasure. Boasting has been excluded, however this should not leave us unresolved to stir up the gifts that God has given us. We have a responsibility to Him and others to be good stewards with what we have been given. And I stress, the spiritual gifts we have received is what I refer to, not the gifts that feed our worldly desires. We need to focus on our ability to present our bodies as living sacrifices. Less of self as an overarching rule and then by testing we can align ourselves by the Spirits intervention of reprogramming our minds to understand the will of God for our lives. This must become a priority, if we are to please our God and heavenly Father. Remember our Saviours example and the words that followed; “And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”  (Mark 1:10-11)

 

This journey of ours is all about finding the will of God for it. That’s it! Not easy to accomplish, with so many distracting voices looking to throw us off course and not to mention everything else that the world offers, the lusts of the flesh, lust of our eyes and finally the pride of life. In fact, an impossible task if we were left to our own devices. The law of God has already proven this. However, we are not alone, we have the mind of Christ, the Holy Spirit as our ally and Jesus Christ the high priest who intercedes on our behalf. God has afforded all His children the tools needed to overcome. We must just learn to let God and let go. 

 

It’s now time to focus on what really counts, I’m praying for you, please pray for me. The pressure is on and will only increase from here on in. If our attentions are not locked onto to the finished work of the cross we will end up squandering the grace of God in our lives, God forbid we ever regard Christs sacrifice with such impunity.  

 

I must remind us all of our hope, for without this wonderful anticipation we will perish; one day we will be like our Saviour in character, once our race is run, we will see our God, faith will now longer be required and we will be able to handle this tangible truth, God will be our Father and we will be His sons. I will be able to fall to my knees and personally kiss His feet. What a day that will be, even so come quickly Lord Jesus.

 

Let us not be sucked into the mould of compromise; “When we begin sharing truth based on how well that truth will be received, we are halfway to compromise.” (Charles Spurgeon)

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone