The following is from the devotional “Portals of Prayer” July-September 2017 edition.

“The power of grace is the cross and empty tomb; the purpose of grace is to wipe away any fear of judgement. To awaken each morning knowing that our slate is clean and we have been born anew yields joy; not the kind of joy that clicks our heels and lets us whistle merrily through life, but a quiet, inner joy that enables us to know, believe, and celebrate that we are always and forever bounded on all sides by God’s grace.”

Ephesians 1: 7 & 8 says; “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.”

The free dictionary defines grace as, “Divine favor bestowed freely on people, as in granting redemption from sin.” Bestowed freely. Lavished on us. Both references show us that we do not, nor can we, acquire grace on our own. This must also show us the love Christ has for us. This past Easter was a reminder of just how great that love is, we remembered what Christ went through, willingly, for us.

Now let’s see if you heard me clearly? I said bestowed freely and lavished on us. Both are in the past tense. They have already been done. So, again, there is nothing that we can do, in the present, to earn grace, you already have it, it is in your hand. If you work 40 hours in a week, and then get paid, you have your earnings. There is nothing that you can do to earn extra money, because you already have your money. So, why would you ask to do more work, so you could get the money for the 40 hours? The same goes for the grace we have from God, why work for something that we already have? In John 15:5 it says, “I am the vine you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” This tells us that we can not accomplish our salvation on our own. Our works amount to nothing unless we are one with Christ, through the acceptance of Him as our personal Savior.

That is why the non-believers can’t understand it, their understanding is that “You can’t get something for nothing.”  2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” But, for the believer this makes sense. In 2 Corinthians 4:6 it says, “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed the face of Christ.”  Christ gave His life in order that we can receive grace from God. His Son died so that our sins “He remembers no more!”  In Romans 2:1 Paul says this, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at what ever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” Here is an explanation from the NIV Life Application Study Bible on that verse. “When Paul’s letter was read in the Roman church, no doubt many heads nodded as he condemned idol worshipers, homosexual practices, and violent people. But what surprise his listeners must have felt when he turned on them and said in effect, “You have no excuse. You are just as bad!” Paul was emphatically stressing that nobody is good enough to save himself or herself. If we want to avoid punishment and live eternally with Christ, all of us, whether we have been murderers and molesters or whether we have been honest, hardworking, solid citizens, must depend totally on God’s grace. Paul is not discussing whether some sins are worse than others. Any sin is enough to lead us to depend on Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life. We have all sinned repeatedly, and there is no way apart from Christ to be saved from sin’s consequences.”

Grace, we have learned, is free. Jesus desires for us to have it, but we MUST accept Him so that He can give it to us. We MUST open our hearts and allow Him to take residence in us. Tomorrow may be too late, later today may be too late. At the first sign of a cold, we immediately begin to take medication to battle it, so why wait until all hell breaks loose for us to come to Christ and receive what is free for the taking. Accepting Jesus Christ right now will start the process of healing. It will bring the onset of the peace and joy that grace allows. Put aside the world’s view of “you don’t get something for nothing.” You can do nothing and receive something, the washing away of your sins, past, present and future. Living in the freedom of knowing without a doubt that you are saved because you have accepted Christ and are now “Bounded on all sides by Christ Jesus,” and the grace that comes with that.

                                   Seeing is believing

As believers we have seen God at work, in our lives and the lives of others around us. Now, in the lives of others, how many were believers? How many were non-believers? How many of those non-believers turned to Christ after He helped them? I want to talk about 4 examples in the bible of where others believed in Jesus after He helped them. And, I want these examples to encourage us in our walk of faith.

The first comes from Luke 17:11-19. While traveling to Jerusalem, He assed between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, 10 men with serious skin diseases me Him. They stood at a distance and raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He told the, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And while they were going, they were healed. But one of them, seeing that he was healed, returned and, with a loud voice, gave glory to God. He fell facedown at His feet, thanking Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus said, “Were not 10 cleansed? Where are the nine” Didn’t any return to give glory to God except this foreigner? And He told him, “Get up and go on your way. Your faith has made you well.” See all 10 had faith, but 9 went about their business. Would it be safe to say that they were so entrenched in the world? That what had just happened to them really did not mean much? But the 1 man did see, his eyes were opened to the miracle that Christ had done for him. Now the bible does not say if all these men were Samaritans, but if would be safe to say since they were all together they probably were. Now the one man that came back fell at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him. This one man saw the power, knew were it came from and came back to honor the Lord. He saw, and believed! When we see the power of God work in others lives, we must stand with them and rejoice, shouting hallelujah to Christ the King with them. This is imperative if this person is a non-believer. Christ in us could be the guiding light they need in order to make the confession of faith in Him. We can help them “See and Believe.”

The second example comes also from Luke. Chapter 7 verses 11 through 17. “Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him an, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said, “God has come to help his people. This news about Jesus spread throughout Juda and the surrounding country.”  In this scenario we see that “they were filled with awe.” People saw what had just happened and they believed because they “praised God” and “news about Jesus spread throughout Juda and the surrounding country.” These people did what we need to do when we have seen Christ work in either our lives or the lives of others, SPREAD THE NEWS!!!! We must use our examples, of blessings or healings, as testimony to others, telling them that the Jesus we know wants a relationship with them also. We must use His good works as examples of what He desires to give to them, no matter their past, present or future. God loves to give, to those who believe and follow Him, and they will receive too, all they need to do is ask for forgiveness and repent and accept Christ as their Savior.

                         The Word   Ephesians 15: 13-14 

Ephesians 1:13-14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14) who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

         Isn’t it great to hear the word of God? I don’t know about you, but I am filled with a joy and peace when I get into the word. In the past few years since I have accepted Christ whenever I read the word or hear the word preached, I just get pumped up.  Proverbs 8:34 says, “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.”  Luke 8:15 reads “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Being obedient to Christ, and what He has called us to do, is taking the time to read His word daily. By planting His word in our hearts and minds, we go out into the fields and sow what we have learned into others that we meet. We show them the love of Christ, and the salvation that we have received. Philippians 1: 27 & 28 says this, “Just one thing: live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the faith of the gospel not being frightened in any way by your opponents.”

         Now we don’t have a physical seal on us, but the Holy Spirit in us is the seal, and needs to flow forth out of us, which makes it important to read our bibles daily, so as to fill us up in order that we can give it away. The Holy Spirit in us, gives our voices the passion to speak about what Christ has done for us. People will hear that passion in our voices and they will walk away thinking, “That person really has something that I want.” The indwelling of the Holy Spirit needs to escape when ever possible from our lips, our actions, and our lives. The Holy Spirit enables us to boldly proclaim Christ no matter what opposition we may face. The Holy Spirit gives us courage to work for Christ every chance we get. Our eyes on Christ and our heart going out to those who don’t know Him. “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:16. 1 John 3:24 reads, “Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.”  We know that by doing His will here on earth for the others around us we are storing up treasures in heaven, but that should not be our focus. We need to look at everyone we meet and have a desire to inform them of the love God has for them, so that they may have treasures in heaven also. “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 2 Corinthians 1: 21 & 22. “To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” Acts 26:18. By telling others, we give them the opportunity to accept Christ as their Savior, so that His seal will be on them as well.

         Many time we thinks, “Well, what can I do? I’m just one person.” But think of this, if you, being that one person, bring someone else to Christ, then there are two. And those two become four, then eight, then sixteen and so on. Our mission, with the power coming from the Holy Spirit, is to give us passion and boldness in our voices, telling others about what He has done for us, and them. We must sow the seed, possibly watering it, and maybe even reaping it, but what ever the case the power of the Holy Spirit in us, is what gives us the desire to sow the seeds, to give others a chance at their inheritance. Continually showing them that they are God’s possession. As we share the love of Christ, others will take notice and possibly coming to a knowledge and relationship with Him. And when that happens we can give glory to God. We opened the door of their hearts, through our actions, prayers and words, for the Savior to enter in, and to give to them what He so richly has given to us, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and most importantly, His word.  

              Mercy-Compassion-Cleansing Psalm 51: 1-2

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” 

I want you to think back to your lives before you accepted Christ as your Savior, if you have, and honestly and truly remember what you were like. Before I accepted Christ, it was hard to accept the meaning to the words in verse 1. I had a “me” mentality. I did not put much thinking into how my actions, or words, would affect other people. I looked at my life as a colossal failure! I truly believed that I was someone that could not be accepted by Christ. I was not worthy of His mercy. I was such a wreak that there was no way AT ALL that God loved me!!!! Jesus did not have a blotter big enough to take care of my transgressions. Before I accepted Christ, all these words, were just that, words. They had no meaning to me, they made no sense to me, I just did not understand the length and depth of Christ’s love. It wasn’t until I was at the end of my rope, in what ever situation that I found that I had gotten myself into, that I even cried out to God for help, and when I did, I felt some relief. I did feel better, I felt the tension subside somewhat. What ever situation that I was struggling with at the time did not go away, I just put out of my mind, if you will, and did not worry about it any longer. In my mind, I took it to the Lord, He solved it, I thought it was done. I had peace inside! Didn’t Jesus help me? No, Jesus did not do anything. I looked to myself, honestly. Like I said the situations and circumstances eventually came to light again, because they never left in the first place. So that frustrated me and my faith in Christ was no faith at all. I didn’t believe anymore than some of you do right now that God loved me, that He had mercy for me, that He even knew that I existed at all. This coming from someone that attended church every Sunday, had devotions with the wife on an almost daily basis, and prayed with my kids every night until they were 10 or 11.

         Then August 18 came, my world, as I knew it, fell apart. This time I was in desperate need for Jesus, and out of that desperation I cried out to Him. And as I sat in the bottom of the hole, that I had been digging all my life, I saw His hand. Jesus reached out His hand and wanted to lift me, ME of all people, out of the hole. Jeremiah 31: 3 sums it up well, “The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying; I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” Here I was, a person that slapped Jesus in the face when ever I sinned. A person who delighted in walking my own way want no help from Christ whatever. A guy who did not care for God because His ways were too hard to live up to. But, here was His hand. Here was the God that formed me and gave me life. These words are etched in my brain, and will be forever, “Todd, I love you!”

          In that moment, all the things that I had heard about God, all the stories of forgiveness, mercy, compassion, love, grace, they all came rushing in. The surge of it all swept me away, I was transformed! “who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy” Micah 7:18. “For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.” Psalm 108:4. So, I took hold of His hand and He lifted me up. “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40: 2 & 3. It was also in that moment that I began to understand that it had been Satan putting those thoughts and ideas in my head. His mission is to take our eyes off Christ and what He did for us on the cross. Satan takes and covers us with the mud and muck of the lives we live in order to cover up the beauty of who God made us to be. I know that I did not see the beauty that was underneath, and you may not either, but please believe me that there is beauty there and God wants you to find it. By accepting Him as you’re Savior, you are washed in His blood, being transformed, made new. By accepting Christ, you have the power to rebuke the words that Satan has been whispering in your ear all your life.  “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7.

         So here I am today. Proclaiming the words that changed my life---forever! Allowing Jesus to take over my life, for me to lay in His hands my troubles, fears and trials, He gives me the strength to endure them. He guides me as I write these words. He gives me the hope that someone will read them and be encouraged by them, letting them see the real Jesus and not the one that Satan wants them to continue to see. No matter what you think about Jesus, I am here to say that He does love you! He desires to have a relationship with you! He knows you better that you know yourself!!! Personally, I would run the other way, when confronted about my sins by someone. I would pretend to listen, and then go on with my life, living like I wanted to. When I fell in my hole, I could not run any longer. He allowed my sins to bring me to Him, since I would not come to Him on my own. Think about that!  He allowed my sinfulness to bring me to Him. He had that planned before the world began! He has the same plans in place for your life too, meaning He wants you to come to Him and have a relationship with Him. He wants to show you first hand that what I am saying here today is the truth, because this truth will set you free!! This blog may be His way of bringing you to Him. Jesus’ death on the cross HAS cleansed you from ALL your sins PERIOD!!!! And by accepting Him as your Savior, He will wash you in that blood. He will wash the mud and muck from your life and reveal you to yourself that you are white, pure and holy. “Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name, deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake.” Psalm 79:9. Turn to Christ. Allow Him to make you anew. Accept Him as your Savior, allowing His mercy, compassion and cleansing to turn you into the person He designed you to be.