GRACE...MAN'S RESPONSE
When I think of grace, I usually think of all the good things God is doing to get my attention and my praise. However, sometimes grace is manifested in adversity. It is still an expression of His desire to restore a special relationship with me. If I respond to that correctly, I will ultimately see that the result of even difficulties will be a deeper experience of His love and goodness. It often opens my heart to hear His voice in a new and effective way.
My brother was very active in ministry, but in his early 50's found himself in the hospital for open heart surgery. For a season all his activity was stopped. He shared with me the word the Lord gave him as he lay in a hospital bed. From Psalm 23, "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He restoreth my soul." He saw the experience as God's grace to restore something in their relationship.
If grace is "A manifestation (expression) of God's intense desire for the restoration of His relationship with man", then my right response will bring me into a close and personal relationship with Him. When that occurs, I begin to hunger and thirst for Him... His word... His life. The words of the Psalmist become my words. "As the hart panteth after the water brooks,
so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God..."
Fellowship with my Father and hearing His voice become the priority of my life. It's as I've heard Him knocking at the door and opened the door and invited Him in, that we might dine together.
I must make time and place for us to commune together. Will He really speak to me? If I am not hearing God's voice consistently, I don't believe the problem is in His ability to speak. Rather it may be that I've filled my life with so much activity...distractions...than I am not taking time to listen. Jesus often went to a solitary place that He might commune with His Father. Those who throughout history have received God's living word, have often been found to be one's who set aside a time for communing with God.
This makes me wonder. Since I believe that the entire scripture supports my belief that God's intense desire is for relationship with me and His grace is extended to me with that purpose in mind, then have I really responded to His grace if my relationship with Him is not the essence of my life on earth? And here I must look at Jesus and consider what His life was while on earth. He said, "I do what I see the Father doing and say what I hear the Father saying".
Has grace been presented in such a way that we can just go thru a simple form... perhaps a simple prayer...and say that we have accepted God's grace and now we are "saved"? We have our ticket to heaven so we can go on with life as we please? This would seem to indicate that we haven't really understood the purpose of God's grace and responded in a way that He desires.
Recently I read an article about "the grace of God" in which the author stated that God expected nothing in return for His giving of grace. I find that contradictory to scripture. I immediately turned to Isaiah 5, where a great truth is presented in parable form...actually a song.
Jesus called "disciples" and His grace is intended to produce "disciples". Disciples are followers, students of His life and His way. When we become a true disciple, His grace makes every provision for us to hear Him and become a son that expresses His life in the earth.
Consider this quotation from a Christian writer: "Too often Christians may experience a changed mind about God, or even a changed heart toward God, without having a changed life with God. Where is the breakdown between belief and discipleship? Why isn’t the transformative power of the gospel more apparent in the daily workings of our lives?"
In my response to His wonderful grace, I want my life to be pleasing to Him. If that involves change, which it undoubtedly does, I will rely on His grace and His word to produce that change in me.
Read more here
When I think of grace, I usually think of all the good things God is doing to get my attention and my praise. However, sometimes grace is manifested in adversity. It is still an expression of His desire to restore a special relationship with me. If I respond to that correctly, I will ultimately see that the result of even difficulties will be a deeper experience of His love and goodness. It often opens my heart to hear His voice in a new and effective way.
My brother was very active in ministry, but in his early 50's found himself in the hospital for open heart surgery. For a season all his activity was stopped. He shared with me the word the Lord gave him as he lay in a hospital bed. From Psalm 23, "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He restoreth my soul." He saw the experience as God's grace to restore something in their relationship.
If grace is "A manifestation (expression) of God's intense desire for the restoration of His relationship with man", then my right response will bring me into a close and personal relationship with Him. When that occurs, I begin to hunger and thirst for Him... His word... His life. The words of the Psalmist become my words. "As the hart panteth after the water brooks,
so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God..."
Fellowship with my Father and hearing His voice become the priority of my life. It's as I've heard Him knocking at the door and opened the door and invited Him in, that we might dine together.
I must make time and place for us to commune together. Will He really speak to me? If I am not hearing God's voice consistently, I don't believe the problem is in His ability to speak. Rather it may be that I've filled my life with so much activity...distractions...than I am not taking time to listen. Jesus often went to a solitary place that He might commune with His Father. Those who throughout history have received God's living word, have often been found to be one's who set aside a time for communing with God.
This makes me wonder. Since I believe that the entire scripture supports my belief that God's intense desire is for relationship with me and His grace is extended to me with that purpose in mind, then have I really responded to His grace if my relationship with Him is not the essence of my life on earth? And here I must look at Jesus and consider what His life was while on earth. He said, "I do what I see the Father doing and say what I hear the Father saying".
Has grace been presented in such a way that we can just go thru a simple form... perhaps a simple prayer...and say that we have accepted God's grace and now we are "saved"? We have our ticket to heaven so we can go on with life as we please? This would seem to indicate that we haven't really understood the purpose of God's grace and responded in a way that He desires.
Recently I read an article about "the grace of God" in which the author stated that God expected nothing in return for His giving of grace. I find that contradictory to scripture. I immediately turned to Isaiah 5, where a great truth is presented in parable form...actually a song.
Jesus called "disciples" and His grace is intended to produce "disciples". Disciples are followers, students of His life and His way. When we become a true disciple, His grace makes every provision for us to hear Him and become a son that expresses His life in the earth.
Consider this quotation from a Christian writer: "Too often Christians may experience a changed mind about God, or even a changed heart toward God, without having a changed life with God. Where is the breakdown between belief and discipleship? Why isn’t the transformative power of the gospel more apparent in the daily workings of our lives?"
In my response to His wonderful grace, I want my life to be pleasing to Him. If that involves change, which it undoubtedly does, I will rely on His grace and His word to produce that change in me.
Read more here