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Evidence of Grace

Acts 11:23 When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.

Jesus came for the entire world!  That is the message in this section of Acts.  The "evidence of the grace of God" is what's got me thinking today.  What is the evidence of God's grace?  It is loving the unlovable.  It is patience in affliction.  It is joy in sorrow.  It is the Holy Spirit visible in people.  So how do we do that?  Well, the answer is simple.  We don't.  God does.  It's the application of this that gets tricky.  Living in the Spirit is a journey you take with Jesus.  You start by recognizing where the Spirit is prompting you.  In other words, when do you notice yourself feeling bad or guilty?  When do you say or do things you know you shouldn't?  This would be the Spirit nudging you.  When I feel that way, I immediately pray about that situation or action that caused the feeling and ask God to "work on that in me".  I surrender it to Him and then pay attention.  What I notice after turning it over to God is that the Spirit starts to change me and I don't feel the urge to react in the same manner as I had been.  It's not that I'm trying not to react, it's that I actually don't even think about my reaction, but my reaction changes.  This can be done for all of the places in life that need work.  This is God's grace in action.  Turn each piece over to God one at a time and remember it's a journey.  I fall back into my old ways and then have to re-surrender and ask God again to change my heart.  The beauty is, He is always willing to pick me up when I fall.  I pray you would begin your journey with Jesus today, and let the Spirit work in you.  May you see the evidence of the grace of God in your life!

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