-One Hundred And Twenty Nine- Passing Grace On

Passing Grace On

Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 1:3-6

Focal Verse: 2 Corinthians 1:4

.who comforts us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

I can write this book with confidence because I know God’s grace firsthand.  I have personally known it in many of the ways I have written about.  I have seen it in the lives of those to which I am close.
There have been years of my life that were very troubling, but those years were also very sweet.  I grew to know my Lord in a much more intimate fashion.  I have seen His hand at work in miraculous ways, and have also seen it work in ways I didn’t understand at the time.
With the comfort He has given me, I now can comfort others.  With the patience He has had with me, I can now have more patience with others.  With the endurance He has graced me with, I can now encourage others to endure.  We were intended to pass on His grace.
Lord, please use me to pass grace on.

God has given each of us grace in some very unique ways. 

 You may be in someone’s life who needs that grace passed on to them.

Ask God to show you.

-One Hundred Twenty Eight- Grace in "Disaster"

Grace in “Disaster”

Today’s Reading: Acts 16:25-34

Focal Verse: Acts 16:34b

…he rejoiced, having believed in God…

God can take what looks like disaster and bring grace from it.  Many times with the loss of a job, a broken marriage, a natural disaster, the death of a loved one, alcoholism or addiction, an arrest, an accident, an ongoing illness, a mental breakdown (you continue the list), someone comes to know the Lord for the first time, or they come to know Him more intimately.
The Philippian jailer was ready to take his own life.  God was ready to give him eternal life.
If you are in the midst of a disaster, believe in God and His promises to His children.  He will give you grace to bring you through and you will be blessed with a greater knowledge of who He is.
If you know someone in the midst of a disaster, let them know you are there for them.  Paul reassured the jailer, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are here.”  As believers, we need to tell each other the same thing…and mean it!
When trials come, you can go through them with God or without Him…but you will go through them regardless.  Let the God of grace bring a blessing from your disaster.

If you are currently going through a difficult time, call on God.  Seek His word for His promises.

If you know of someone going through a difficult time, call them and tell them, “I am here”, and mean it.

-One Hundred And Twenty Seven- Grace To Carry You Through

Grace to Carry You Through

Today’s Reading: Acts 12:5-19

Focal Verse: Acts 12:7b

…And his chains fell off his hands.

If you are on mission for God, you will encounter obstacles.  Some may be minor irritations, but others may be more serious attacks that need earnest prayer.  You may even reach a stage of such severe attack where your hands seemed chained and you may even question the mission.
I hope that you have a close Christian friend or two that pray for you and your ministry.  Prayer is vital to any ministry, and faithful righteous prayer during attack can help break chains.
God can take whatever obstacles come to your ministry, even those where you feel chained, and use them to glorify Him and spread His gospel.  Your faithful endurance, as God sees you through to the end of your mission, is an encouragement to the many followers of Christ that His grace will see them through also.
His grace to His children never ends.

Do you have believers committed to praying for your ministry?

Are you committed to praying for someone else’s ministry?

-One Hundred And Twenty-Six- Grace To The "Religious"

Grace to the “Religious”

Today’s Reading: Acts 9:1-18

Focal Verse: Acts 9:4

Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

My heart is heavy with the multitudes of people trying to work their way into heaven who will be turned away because they don’t know Jesus.  Some of them are leading moral lives.  They may teach a church class.  They may sing in a choir.  They may go up and down streets knocking at doors seeking converts to their faith.  The Lord will say, “I never knew you; depart from Me.” (Matthew 7:21-23)  The story of Saul gives me hope for these because it is a story of a religious man who met Jesus and was changed.
Saul was very religious.  He followed all the right traditions and ceremonies.  He knew Scripture.  Even when he was persecuting Christians, he did it in the name of God.  And he was completely, utterly, totally lost.  It took a dramatic experience for God to get Saul’s attention, but He used an obedient servant, Ananias, to complete the job of Saul’s conversion to Christ.
Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?  Or are you merely religious, staying busy with religious works and moral behavior that you hope will stack up in your favor?  Your works cannot justify you.  Only Jesus can (Acts 13:39).  If you don’t know Him, click on Behold, I Stand At The Door And Knock.  Find a faithful servant like Ananias to share your conversion with.

If you are a believer, don’t give up on the Sauls of this world.  Pray for them and be ready to share with them The Way.

-One Hundred Twenty Five- Grace In Unity

Grace in Unity

Today’s Reading: Acts 4:32-35

Focal Verse: Acts 4:33b

And great grace was upon them all.

Unity seems to be a foreign concept today.  People are busy looking out for themselves.  They don’t really care about what happens to the groups they belong to, the company, and sometimes their own families, as long as they come out on top.
Unfortunately in many churches it is no different.  Each pastor or ministry has their own following, and someone looking in would think they are in competition, instead of working towards the same goal.
One key to unity is for everyone to have the same goal: sharing the gospel so that others can believe and receive the grace of God.
Another key to unity is to understand God’s ownership of everything.  If we think of His material blessings as being “ours” instead of being a potential to bless others, we will be selfish instead of selfless when it comes to meeting needs.  Unity means giving when we have it to give when needed by those who don’t.
Lastly, a loving concern for each other is necessary for unity.  We must put the needs of others above our own (1 Corinthians 10:24).  If we practice this, we will truly be “one heart”.
When the body of Christ is unified, it results in grace.  Grace to those, observing the miracle of unity, who draw close to hear the gospel; and grace to the body of Christ as they experience God’s blessing in their lives.

Which area of unity is a weakness for you?  Ask God to change your heart to allow you to be a part of the unity in the body that He desires.

-One Hundred And Twenty Four- Grace The Equips Us For Ministry

Grace that Equips Us for Ministry

Today’s Reading: Acts 2:1-4

Focal Verse: Acts 2:4

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Jesus commanded His disciples to be witnesses not only in their own country, but also to the ends of the earth.  That must have been intimidating to a group of men who were not extremely well educated.  They may have wondered how they were supposed to witness to people of a different language.  Jesus promised they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them.
He kept His promise.  The Holy Spirit fully equipped them to meet the language challenges they had ahead.
God may have called you to witness to someone that is different than you.  Maybe they are a different age, a different nationality, a different culture, or a different income.  If Jesus is your Savior, you have the Holy Spirit in you.  Just as He equipped those at Pentecost, you have received power from the Holy Spirit to equip you for your mission.
The Holy Spirit gives us the grace of His power.  Let’s use it!

What excuses have you made for not fulfilling your mission?

Do you believe the Holy Spirit has equipped you?

-One Hundred And Twenty Three- You Have Something To Give

You Have Something to Give

Today’s Reading: Acts 3:1-10

Focal Verse: Acts 3:6a

Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you.”

God has equipped you to meet someone’s need.  You many not think you have anything to offer, but you do.
The lame beggar asked for money.  Peter had no money.  Peter could have just shaken his head “no”, but he looked at him with compassion and gave what he did have – healing from God.
Grace demands that we show grace to each other.  Pay attention to those God puts you in contact with.  See how God has equipped you to serve them.  They may be looking for something different than what you have, but what you give may be the miracle they need.

We need to quit giving excuses for not serving others.  No matter what our limitations, there is a way we can serve.  Ask God to show you.