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.