Skip to main content

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!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land.  Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord. This is God's word through Ezekiel in the Valley of the Dry Bones.  There are a couple of thoughts that come to mind with this verse.  First, I have to admit that sometimes I feel as though I have dry bones.  I continue on my path and lose sight of the One who brings life. At times I am surrounded by things, people, or situations that suck the life out of me and I need the breath of life from the Spirit again.  It is a conscious effort for me to not involve myself in things that are life taking.  I make the decision to spend alone time with Jesus in order to experience His life giving power.  Second, one word in particular stands out to me in this verse.  It is the word settle.  It is speaking to me today of a peace and calm that is ahead.  Things ha...
1 comment
Read more

By Grace

Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. Works and grace are two terms that are so difficult to grasp in the Christian walk.  We know that if we are living by grace then works should be seen.  The issue is that we often times try to do the works on our own rather than letting the works be a by-product of the Spirit within us.  We take over our own lives trying to do good and be good rather than letting the grace of God work in us to transform us into the new creation that is good. Instead, we like to list off all of the ways we have shown God's goodness to those around us, or how we've conquered a sinful habit, or how we've been nice to someone who was not.  Unfortunately, these are what become the "works" Paul wrote about.  We completely remove God's grace from our lives and therefore lose sight of what is most important, the Spirit working in us to transform us.  It is a tricky concept and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

My Lenten Journey

2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear fiends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. As I have pondered the journey I am to take this Lenten season, this verse has spoken.  God's promise is for us to become sons and daughters through the removal of "unclean things" and separation from unbelievers.  My prayer through Lent is that the Spirit will reveal those "unclean things" in me that I may ask Jesus to step in and begin to cleanse me of them.  As for the unbeliever part, Paul was referring to being "yoked" with an unbeliever.  Since I am not yoked with an unbeliever, I feel called to journey in a different way with unbelievers.  There is a verse in chapter 5 which says, "So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view."  Paul is speaking about believers looking at one another.  When I read it today, it spoke to me of unbelievers. (...
Post a Comment
Read more