Tag Archives: God’s grace

September 2
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“For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. . .”  (I Corinthians 15:9-10, NIV)

What effect has the grace of God had in you?

Has it made you more humble?  Has it made you more gracious?  Has it made you more compassionate?  Has it made you more obedient to the will of our heavenly Father?

Like Paul, we’ve all come into the light of the truth of God from some very dark places.  In Paul’s case, he was a former enemy and persecutor of the disciples of Jesus.  He took no credit for what he had become: An apostle of the same church that he had previously tried to destroy!

Paul knew that God’s grace had given him another chance to change for the better.  He knew that repentance is the desired effect of God’s mercies: To turn from darkness to the light; from death to life; from the faraway or foreign places to our one true home.  – Luther

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January 7
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“God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil — evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart.” (Genesis 6:5-6, The Message) 

God had made humans in His own image and after His likeness.  The potential for immense good was resident within every creature, and it broke God’s heart to see divine inspiration squandered, and human potential corrupted.

Yet, it was this apparent disregard of goodness, justice, and mercy by the very people that God had created, that He regretted having created us.  Moreover, God was about to hit the “reset” button on the world that He had called “good” at the dawn of Creation.

Even in the midnight of divine reckoning, God does not extinguish the flickering hope of reconciliation. In the case of today’s scripture, God’s immutable righteousness required the “reset”; as His unfathomable mercy allowed a “restart” through the faithful obedience of Noah and his family members.

God continues to seek us — even in our rebellion.  God continues to loves us — even with a broken heart.  How can we resist such love?  – Luther

Special greetings today to Diane L. and to Billie C.: Happy Birthday!

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December 17
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“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18, NIV)

The last verse of the final chapter of Peter’s letters to the exiled Christians contains the admonition to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Christ.

An applicable definition of Grace is “unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification.”

To grow in grace means that things that once frustrated us no longer have the power to frustrate. It means that the things that once distracted us no longer have the power to distract. It means the things that once provoked us to react in an unseemly manner no longer provoke. To grow in grace is to become more like our heavenly Father — with His assistance!

Remember, with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)  – Luther

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