Wonderfully Blessed by Grace
- Richard
- Nov, 14, 2016
- Today's Musings
- No Comments
Did you read that too quickly? The end of verse 9? Mark it. “The LORD accepted.” And then, “The LORD restored.” End of verse 10, “The LORD increased.” Beginning of verse 12, “The LORD blessed.” Those are words of grace—statements of divine favor. Let them hit with full impact:
Accepted.
Restored.
Increased.
Blessed.
Because of the fallout of our cynical society, you and I are being programmed to rush by words of grace and blessing and to hurry on to words that are negative. They bring us down. Killings in the workplace. Mold in your house. Weather disasters. Fractured families. Forest fires. High rate of divorce. Economic woes. Acts of terrorism. The homeless. Fallen ministers. Broken hearts. Mistreatment of children. Spouse abuse. Chemical dependence. Deadbeat dads. Premature deaths. Fraudulent builders. Rising unemployment. Scandals among CEOs and famous athletes. On and on. That’s what fills the evening news.
We never hear: “Now, tomorrow night we’ll report only good news.” Instead, it’s “Stay tuned if you think that report was bad; in a moment we’ll have a full exposé.”
I mean, even the weatherman predicts “partly cloudy.” He never says, “Mainly sunny tomorrow.” It’s always a 20 percent chance of rain. He never says, “There’s an 80 percent probability of sunshine.” And furthermore, he’s usually wrong (talk about job security). Enough of all that!
Who does God bless? Job! This is great news! You haven’t forgotten that Job cursed the day he was born, have you? Or that he resented the fact he didn’t die when he was placed on his mother’s breast? He was also the one who said, “I am not at ease. I am not quiet.” In other words, “I resent what has happened.” That’s the same Job who is wonderfully blessed at the end of the book. Why? Grace, grace, grace, grace, grace!
Why does the weatherman say 20% chance of rain instead of 80% chance of sunshine?
by Charles R. Swindoll
Just as the lost don't understand the Gospel, the saved rarely understand grace.
There are few activities more exhausting and less rewarding than Christians attempting to please the people around them by maintaining impossible legalistic demands. What a tragic trap, and thousands are caught in it. When will we ever learn?
Grace has set us free!
That message streamed often through the sermons and personal testimonies of the apostle Paul.
The lost need to hear how they can go from the island of debris, filled with misery and guilt, to the land of peace and forgiveness, flowing with mercy and grace. Those bridges are built when we lovingly and patiently communicate the Gospel. You don't have to have a seminary degree. You don't have to know a lot of the religious vocabulary. In your own authentic, honest, and unguarded manner, share with people what Christ has done for you. Who knows? It may not be long before you will know the joy of leading a lost sinner from the darkness of death's dungeon across the bridge to the liberating hope of new life in Christ. Once they've arrived, release them. Release them into the magnificent freedom that grace provides. Don't smother them with a bunch of rules and regulations that put them on probation and keep them in that holding tank until they "get their lives straightened out."; Making us holy is the Spirit's work. Be faithful to dispense the Gospel to the lost and Grace to the saved. Then leave the results in the Lord's hands.