The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Corinthians 13:14,
"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
This morning I ran into a friend in the parking garage and asked her how she was doing. She replied (as folks often do) "I'm blessed and highly favored!" To which I replied (as I often do) "How did you get that way?" She responded with the simple, but profound answer, "By God's grace! I don't know why, but it is just wonderful that he is gracious toward us!"
This is one of the deep mysteries of God. We don't know why it is God's nature to be gracious toward us- we just know that he is. We don't earn God's grace; we don't get it because we are "good enough" or fulfill various religious obligations, etc. We are told in 1 John 4 that God is love and that love compelled him to send his Son as an atoning sacrifice for the world. In Hebrews 12:2 we read that Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him, a joy springing from the action he was about to take to redeem us from the consequences of our sin!
Because of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have a hope before us that generates a glorious and inexpressible joy! I don't look past the reality that those who reject the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ will suffer a terrible fate, but this morning my thoughts are captured by how wonderful it is that he is gracious toward us, offering us eternal abundant life, life pregnant with joy and hope!
Embracing this has a way of casting a different light on my life from day to day!
How wonderful is our Lord Jesus Christ's grace toward us!!
This morning I ran into a friend in the parking garage and asked her how she was doing. She replied (as folks often do) "I'm blessed and highly favored!" To which I replied (as I often do) "How did you get that way?" She responded with the simple, but profound answer, "By God's grace! I don't know why, but it is just wonderful that he is gracious toward us!"
This is one of the deep mysteries of God. We don't know why it is God's nature to be gracious toward us- we just know that he is. We don't earn God's grace; we don't get it because we are "good enough" or fulfill various religious obligations, etc. We are told in 1 John 4 that God is love and that love compelled him to send his Son as an atoning sacrifice for the world. In Hebrews 12:2 we read that Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him, a joy springing from the action he was about to take to redeem us from the consequences of our sin!
Because of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have a hope before us that generates a glorious and inexpressible joy! I don't look past the reality that those who reject the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ will suffer a terrible fate, but this morning my thoughts are captured by how wonderful it is that he is gracious toward us, offering us eternal abundant life, life pregnant with joy and hope!
Embracing this has a way of casting a different light on my life from day to day!
How wonderful is our Lord Jesus Christ's grace toward us!!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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