Amazing grace my chains are gone!
Today I am rejoicing, and I stand amazed and in awe that God refuses to stop loving us no matter the mess we’ve made of our lives. He refuses to exclude us. Until Jesus came, we were all outside the fence of God’s grace. Jesus did more than move the fence, he tore it down. It’s tragic how many are afraid to pursue our desire for God. God does not relate to us on performance, effort, work, or how hard we try. God relates to us on GRACE.
The bible is clear, God saves us by Grace. Everything in my life that is good is from God. I am excited by all the “possibilities” that we have. I am in AWE of what God has done, is doing, and will do…. Grace is so Big it’s hard to imagine or comprehend. I am so small, and God is so big. As I consider the bigness of God and how to share the grace that has touched me I wonder; Have you ever considered that small pieces of grace might be BIG?
We hide behind our mistakes, trying to make ourselves worthy, the scars of our choices are so clear. God’s grace provides the opportunity to change our lives, we don’t have to wait for us to be good enough, have our mess cleaned up, or mature enough, we can just begin. We can do small things that by the Grace of God can be big! Because Grace is BIG!
God’s grace is remembered, and he invites you and me to return to Him. God says that even now in the midst of your mess return to Me. We can experience grace Inch by Inch or by the bucketful! It’s still grace!
Joel 2 (MSG) 12 But there’s also this, it’s not too late—God’s personal Message!—“Come back to me and really mean it! Come fasting and weeping, sorry for your sins!” 13-14 Change your life, not just your clothes.
Come back to God, and here’s why: God is kind and merciful. He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot, this most patient God, extravagant in love, always ready to cancel catastrophe always ready to apply grace.
I am convinced with an experience of Grace there is power in the ordinary, significance in the insignificant, the eternal, different, ordinary, messy, unfinished, under construction people like you and me. You and I can make a huge difference by living in Grace. We can be inconspicuous, un-noticed disciples that have bought into the foolish, upside down, invisible grace of God. The kingdom of God is built upon the grace of Jesus Christ and at grace we share one small piece at a time, and it is building the kingdom.
Grace: shared and experienced inch by inch, piece by piece, even small acts can bring grace in a big way! You see every small contribution made from our experience of grace is noticed and remembered, and one day we will recognize how small things done with God’s love are the BIG things that bring others to experience the Grace of God. Our daily choices are moves towards God that may seem small. A smile, a note, a word of encouragement, an act of kindness may seem small, but they can be life changing!
Prayer;
God of grace, I am so thankful that You have not stopped loving me even on those days that I have not loved myself. You call me constantly as I wander away to come back and each time You greet me with open arms. You encourage me with Your love and grace to do better, live better and to love and be loved more. Today show me the small things that may be a big thing of grace that I might show others. Thank you.
Until Next time
Pastor Mike
