grace – Far More Life

Refocus!

Last week I was feeling spiritually blah and wanted a verse to meditate on that would help me refocus. I searched on the word “hope” and found this gem:

…fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (I Peter 1:13, NASB)

Let’s break it down and meditate on it.

Fix means to set definitely or focus. When something is fixed it is secure rather than wavering. It is solid rather than shifting. My emotions have been fluctuating recently and that has caused my mind to vacillate as well. This is a factor in feeling spiritual blah. I want to experience the peace and calm that comes from fixing my mind on what comes next in this verse. I trust that will lead to far more life.

Hope is more than a wish. It is a confident expectation. It is not blind, but is based on evidence. Often my well-being is hanging on whatever I am hoping in. When I hope in temporary things, I feel good temporarily. But that is not satisfying! God has given me a desire for permanent hope. If I am to “fix my hope”, it must be placed in something that is more secure. Far more life recognizes that hope must be placed on the eternal. That is the only trustworthy source of hope.

Completely. If there can be only one object of hope, this verse is getting ready to define it! Whatever is ahead is worthy of all my hope. It will not disappoint. It will be firm. It will be consistently available. This word promises that far more life is within my grasp if my hope is fixed in the right place!

On the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Christ Jesus. This is the key to the whole verse. It is the best possible object of my hope. The revelation of Christ Jesus will definitely occur at His second coming. He will be revealed as The Messiah, Lord of Lord, King of Kings, Redeemer, and more. He will rescue God’s children — including me! — from this wicked earth and take us home to Heaven. I will be rescued from the power, presence, and penalty of sin forever. All who have denied Christ — or ridiculed me for following Him — will realize their error. I look forward to the day when He will return and the object of my hope will become visible!

When I pull this all together, far more life is placing my hope in the grace of Jesus Christ. It is knowing that eternity with Him is my ultimate goal. That allows me to take the challenges of this life in stride, knowing they are preparing me for the future that He already knows. I recognize that I am on a journey, a road trip, through this world. It is my current, temporary home, but something much better awaits me. I experience good and bad, and while both can bring personal growth, neither defines or fulfills me. Rather my connection to God is the source of my identity and fulfillment. When I remember all this, the spiritual “blah” feelings evaporate and I am able to see life through the lenses of joy and thankfulness.

Here are a few more verses on hope:

…godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. (I Timothy 4:8b-10, NASB)

Godliness leads to far more life now and for all eternity. God is trustworthy. If He says something is valuable, I can believe it is. When I fix my hope on Him, my efforts to become like Him will pay off.

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. (I Timothy 6:17, NASB)

When I consider worldwide economics, I am rich. Yet this should not be a source of pride. I should not fix my hope on money or possessions to make my life secure. Remembering that God is my ultimate provider is a key to living far more life. He is generous and wise; He knows exactly what I need and always supplies enough. I can expectantly look for and find His provision in every situation I face.

And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (I John 3:3, NASB)

Because my hope is in Jesus, I am pure. What a wonderful statement and promise! Jesus has purified my heart and enables me to rise above spiritual “blah” to far more life! When I stop to think about what He has done for me, I cannot stay in an emotional funk. God has already forgiven me for failing to remember all Jesus has done for me. But once I recall the price He paid and the benefits I received, my heart is eager to thank Him and notice all the ways He blesses me. Those moments of thankfulness are moments of far more life. May my day — and yours — be filled with them!

Sisters,
What verse or spiritual truth helps reset your vision?
Where is your hope? Is it on temporary things or eternal ones?
Do you believe that God will supply all you need? If not, what do you need that He has not supplied? What source have you turned to for those things? Did that source give you far more life?
Join me today in thanking God and focusing on far more life and the hope it brings!
-Shari

Overflowing with Grace

Think of a time something happened that you were eager to tell others. I bet you could hardly keep it from bubbling out! I feel this way when my hopes or dreams become reality or when something good happens unexpectedly. But the biggest, most exciting thing we will ever experience is God’s saving grace! He wants us to freely share that good news through words and actions that show how He changed us.

God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will overflow in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8, EHV)

All grace. All things. All times. All you need. Every good work. Wow, God is serious about this! But notice the verse begins “God is able…” Being filled with His grace and power — and overflowing with good works — is for our best, but God does not force it on us. Far more life is letting God’s grace fill us to overflowing. We know we are overflowing with grace by the changes in our thoughts and feelings. Others know by the changes in our actions.

One person in history was perfectly filled to overflowing with God’s grace: Jesus. His thoughts, feelings, and actions were always in line with God’s. The gospels are full of incidents where people experienced His grace in action. The Bible records how those in His hometown responded:

Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. (Luke 4:22a, NLT)

Overflowing grace makes you stand out! Jesus stood out because He was different. Our natural human reaction to challenging people and situations is defensiveness, anger, callousness, or other sinful responses. But when we live in the power of the Holy Spirit, we — like Jesus — are different. We have power to respond with gracious thoughts, feelings, and actions. Those are moments of far more life.

There are times we bite our tongues and put on a fake smile. That is better than spewing ugliness, but it is not grace. The grace that is evidence of God’s work in our lives is expressed as compassion and kindness. It is the result of a renewed mind, as described in these verses:

Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes. (Romans 12:2, TPT)

God’s grace transforms us, first changing our beliefs and thoughts, then changing our feelings and actions. The gospels illustrate this with the account of a woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. Just watching this made the disciples uneasy, but Jesus explained:

“…The great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But whoever has been forgiven little shows only a little love.” (Luke 7:47, GNT)

This woman understood that her sin was great, but she also understood that God’s grace was greater. Experiencing the depth of God’s grace inspires us to show others grace. When we realize how many sins we have committed and how much God has forgiven us, our love for Him increases. This inspires us to show grace to those around us.

When my children were young I got tired of giving them the same instructions over and over. But one day I realized God did not become impatient or angry about giving me the same reminders over and over. Recognizing God’s grace toward me inspired me to show my children grace; I decided even if I had to give the same instructions every day for the next 18 years, I would do so with love and kindness. The result was far more life in my own heart and in my relationship with my children.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10, NIV)

God has a beautiful, satisfying and perfect plan for your life! And He offers you overflowing grace for each step of that plan. Far more life embraces God’s purpose and seeks to fulfill it. His plan for you is unique; no one else on the planet can do the specific good works He prepared for you. But these works are not hidden; there is no reason to fear you will miss them. Instead, when you focus on understanding and living through His grace, those good works will natural flow out of you. Frequently your good works will benefit the people you regularly interact with. At other times you will have a strong desire to love and serve those facing a particular struggle or a particular people group. Often your good works will be linked to a particular skill you possess, so you will be happy to do them. Some of these works are actions that reveal God’s work in our lives, but they can also be words that share God’s grace.

The grace that overflows from us can help others find far more life, too. We have a wonderful opportunity to be a fountain of His grace. And experience another aspect of far more life. Try it out this week!

Sisters,
Are you overflowing with grace? If not, what barriers are blocking the flow?
How do you feel about standing out for overflowing with grace?
Do you think God has shown you a little or a lot of love? How does this impact the love you show others?
How are you seeking to fulfill God’s purpose for your life?
Focus on letting grace overflow this week and share far more life!
-Shari

The Gift of Grace

God’s grace can be a hard concept to fully grasp, maybe because it is so different from our experience in everyday human interactions. I’ve heard grace explained using the acronym “Great Riches At Christ’s Expense”. I’ve also heard it is “getting blessings we do not deserve” while its companion mercy is “not getting the punishment we do deserve”. These are simplified versions of the Dictionary.com definition: “the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings”. God’s Word confirms all those explanations are consistent with His expression of grace:

Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17b, NIV)
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:23-24, NIV)
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:7-8a, NIV)

Far more life understands that grace is a gift from God. A right perspective on grace enables us to live the best life possible. But we can think too much or too little of ourselves and miss the wonder of God’s amazing grace.

Thinking too much of ourselves leads us to minimize our sin and our need for God’s grace. We miss out on far more life when we believe our sins are “not that bad”. If this were true, then Jesus did not have to die to pay for our sin and the spiritual darkness it reveals! We could have overcome separation from God on our own; we did not need his gift of grace. These strong words from Romans 3 make it clear this is not the case:

As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12, NIV)

Grace is a gift. From God. Failing to recognize the Giver leads us to try and earn this precious gift, to prove our worthiness. But that is impossible. Earning it is not God’s plan; our efforts can actually pull us further away from the security of His grace.

On the other hand, thinking too little of ourselves leads us to minimize ourselves and reject God’s grace. We miss out on far more life when we continually question, “Why would God save me? I’m not worth it.” From God’s perspective we are the most important part of His creation. We are the only part made in His image (Genesis 1:27). We are the only part granted forgiveness (Colossians 1:13-14). And we are the only part that God lives inside (Romans 5:5, I Corinthians 3:16). We are worth it because God, our Creator, decided we are worth it.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10, NIV)

If we don’t understand God’s grace we will be tempted to think that doing good works will prove our worth and love for Him; we believe that will make Him happy with us. So when we fail to obey — which we will! — we feel guilty and condemned because we believe we have let God down. We fear that he will pull away from us. We may even feel separated from Him and assume that He has pulled away. But far more life frees us from feeling condemned when we sin. Instead it understands that God’s children live under grace. It enables us to acknowledge our sin without letting it define or conquer us. It believes this Biblical truth:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1, NIV)

Rather than being under the condemnation of sin, far more life is living in the power of the Holy Spirit. Grace-filled living is characterized by inner joy, peace, gentleness, patience, love, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness that radiates from us. God’s light shines through us and reveals the brilliance of His character. Grace also provides the power to choose righteousness rather than sin. We do not take Christ’s sacrifice for granted; our freedom was purchased at a high price. But that sacrifice was not the end; it was a new beginning. Jesus is alive. He overcame sin and death and sent His Holy Spirit to give us far more life. What a precious gift!

Sisters,
How do you define grace?
How do you minimize your sin?
How do you minimize your worth?
If you have not accepted God’s grace, what is stopping you?
If you have accepted God’s grace, how do you see His power changing you?
Praise God for the gift of grace and the power to live far more life!
-Shari