As God placed upon my heart this topic, I thought about how Christianity has been removed from the classroom in schools. I couldn't help but think how many are missing out on God's grace. Many of them do not learn anything about God until there sentenced to therapy, drug and alcohol rehabilitation classes. If I'm not mistaken, they teach that you need a higher power because you cannot do anything correctly without the higher power.
For most they will see Christianity in rehabilitation and therapy classes. Without being taught grace no rehabilitation including self help books will rehabilitate a person. You see, these self help books and rehabilitation classes do teach about grace. It's a proven fact, that's what works. So I'm wondering if these highly educated politicians are aware of the precautions of removing God's grace from the classrooms. Do we not know that without God's Grace we can do nothing correctly. Some of you politicians wouldn't know that because you were one in the classroom when it was first removed. Today's topic is about Grace.
1 Corinthians 15:10 (NASB)
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove
vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God
with me.
By the grace of God we are what we are today.
There is no teaching about the grace of God outside of Christianity. Again, all rehab programs have some kind of higher power to leave it to up the individual if it is God or not. On the other hand, one could attend many churches and never hear the right message about grace.
For me grace is everything and I consider all topics in the text of grace. Because of God's Grace, we are all where we are in our faith. You either have it or you don't. We do not earn God's favor by all the good deeds we do. We earn God's favor being in Christ, then we are righteous in His sight and only then, His grace will empower us to be more effective. Once we know we cannot do anything worth while with out Him, His grace will flow upon us. This reminds me of a song I use to sing in a worship service. It's call Grace Flows Down (../musicplayer/Songs/047%20Grace%20Flows%20Down.MP3)
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him.
The Father made (Jesus who did not sin) Jesus became sin for us so that we could be seen as righteous to Him.
This next verse shows the grace of God and it certainly touches my heart.
Isaiah 61:10 (NASB)
I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Let's face it, without God's grace we will never receive a transformed heart and remain in darkness.
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NASB)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Anyone who has bad habits or addictions usually cannot overcome them without God's help. I know, I was one of them. Until I realized God's Grace, needing Him, that the human will power could not overcome addiction, it was only then I found success. Through human will power sometimes people do give up bad habits and addictions but what about deep spiritual fulfillment and the peace that passes all understanding?
Does man feel the presence of God through human will power? No. Did the Christians sing praises to God while they were being burned alive because of human will power? No. Can man praise God in a time of trouble? Yes.
Did Martin Luther, John Wesley, Billy Graham and
RC Sproul change the lives of others by human will power? Was this a human mind
manipulation? of coarse not it was God's grace. God's grace is way beyond human
thinking.
Isaiah 55:7-8 (NASB)
7 Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways," declares the Lord.
Conclusion: God's grace places us where we're at today. We need to share God's grace with others, without meddling in with whatever path of life others may have chosen. In our daily life, we need to find the power of grace in everything good or bad. I know I cannot do anything on my own. This is why my wife and I pray every morning to help us in our daily tasks. And if you do the same, you will find things come together easier an smoother. God brings joy to whatever we do.