The Balance Between Grace and Works

I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain (Galatians 2:21). For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead (James 2:17).For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (James 2:26).

  

We’re not saved by what we do, but by what we believe! And we’ve not been saved by grace to live by works. We’re saved by the grace of God. We stand righteous, able to please the Father by faith. We’re not right with God because of what we do; we’re right with God because of who Jesus is!

 

Bible reading, church attendance, prayer, and helping others are wonderful things to do as long as they are not done to make us right with God! With the right motive, they bless us. With the wrong motive, they hinder the grace of God and make life a religious set of rules void of joy and peace.

 

A person working to please God is never at peace and finds no inward rest. A person who comes to understand grace has ceased from his owns works, is comfortable in his own skin, and has settled down into a love relationship with the Father that produces supernatural peace and joy. It’s really quite incredible!

 

The other side of the coin is the works that follow grace. If the grace of God is working in me, then my lifestyle will prove it! Works don’t precede salvation, they follow it. James was practical. His statements show that grace through faith produces tangible results in a believer’s life. If I say that I have faith, then that faith will be realized in how I live my life. Works follow grace through faith! If my lifestyle doesn’t change as a result of what I believe, then I really don’t believe!

 

If a person professes to be saved by grace then change is sure to follow. That’s what James emphasizes. The works don’t save us, they merely point to what we already believe and are the byproduct of believing!

 

Rest in the grace of God today. Enjoy your free gift of righteousness. Bask I the peace that grace through faith provides. Then let the byproduct of your faith called works (salt and light) be seen by others so they can join you!

The Boomerang Effect

Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you  (Luke 6:37-38).

 

The law of sowing and reaping is working constantly in our lives. The attitudes I sow in others I reap back from them. The kindness I sow comes back to me. If I condemn others in my heart, then I will find that judgment coming back to me. If I want mercy from God, I must show mercy to others. If I want the benefits of forgiveness then I must forgive those who offend me.  It’s just like a boomerang.

See every act today as a seed that you’re sowing. See every thought you think as a mirror of what you will have in your future. This reciprocal effect works 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Remember that seeds you plant take time to grow. And once they grow, the harvest is assured. Make sure that the seeds you sow are the ones you don’t mind living with in the future!

Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and  that only is what he will reap. For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint. (Galatians 6:7-9).

Enlarging My Capacity to Receive From God

One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, "My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves." (2) "What can I do to help you?" Elisha asked. "Tell me, what do you have in the house?" "Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil," she replied. (3) And Elisha said, "Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. (4) Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled." (5) So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. (6) Soon every container was full to the brim! "Bring me another jar," she said to one of her sons. "There aren't any more!" he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing. (2 Kings 4:1-6-NLT).

Here in 2 Kings 4 , Elisha through working of miracles multiplies oil for a needy lady. As long as she brought pots, oil kept coming from a jar to fill each one. However, as soon as she brought the last jar, the oil ceased.

 

The idea here is that as long as we have capacity, the Lord gives to us from His rich resources. Our receiving from the Lord is directly related to our capacity to receive.  And our capacity to receive is directly related to our soul; that is, our mind, emotions, and will that has been influenced by family life in our young years.

 

We receive our beliefs and values for all of life from our family of origin by observation, association, and influence. We become what we learn at home! Our capacity in life is directly related to the values we have received from our family atmosphere.

Our outside life is a mirror image of our inside world. The only way to permanently alter our outward behavior is to alter the internal thoughts and motivations that cause it!

That’s where mind renewal comes into the picture. By looking into the perfect law of liberty and by associating with other believers who can speak truth to us we can see where our belief system needs changing. And we change by identifying, challenging, and acting contrary to wrong beliefs.

We all come from flawed families and it’s so important to renew our minds with truth every day! The process of change is a lifelong adventure in walking out the will of God.

The renewed mind will see God’s truth that I am a new creature in Christ, old things have passed away and all is new deep within the real me, the spirit nature. The renewed mind will see that Jesus became my sin for me so that I could become the righteousness of God in Him. The renewed mind sees inferiority, guilt, and sin consciousness as having been done away with by what Jesus did for me when He died and was raised from the dead. When He died, the old me died. When He was raised from the dead, the new me came alive! The renewed mind sees me as seated with Jesus in a place of love and privilege as a son of God. There, I am loved, favored, blessed, forgiven, healed, redeemed, and seated in a place far above all of Satan’s kingdom. I have authority in Christ!

I could go on and on here. But the point is that I must choose daily to replace wrong thinking that inhibits God’s best for me, and I must be willing by faith to accept what God says about me and act as though it is true even when feelings tell me otherwise!

Just like the widow bringing pots to fill with miraculously supplied oil, I am expanding my capacity to receive from God by clearing wrong thinking from my head and choosing to act as though what God about me is true!

Commit today to receiving God’s best by challenging wrong beliefs and by acting to overcome them. It’s a one step at a time, one day at a time deal. And if you’re doing it right, the farther and longer you go, the freer you become. It really is change from glory to glory!

The Word Can Change the Whole Course of Your Life!

I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart (Psalm 40:8)

The Word of God is filled with creative power. It has the power to change your desires, to move you to change your behavior and life focus. David went from being an adulterous murderer to a person who delighted in God and in doing His will. What made the drastic change? The Word!

The word contains in it the very power of God! Jesus said: the words that I speak are spirit and life. Paul was preaching in Ephesus and a revival broke out. People were saved and Spirit-Filled. Many were set free from occult practices, burning their witchcraft wares. Paul remained there in Ephesus a good while and notice what caused the great change in the city: So mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed (Acts 19:20). The Word affected change a whole city!

The Word dwelling in you can change any area of your life from being flesh dominated to being spirit dominated! The catalyst is you and your will. Time spent ingesting the word will produce dividends of great change in your life and lifestyle. You could begin your own personal revival just by becoming involved with the Word! Draw near to God and He will draw near to you!

Notice the change the Word will bring as noted by these verses: 

How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word (Psalm 119:9).

Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You (Psalm 119:11).

The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide (Psalm 37:31). 

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth (John 17:17).

That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word (Ephesians 5:26). A

nd we also especially thank God continually for this, that when you received the message of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of mere men, but as it truly is, the Word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe, exercising its superhuman power in those who adhere to and trust in and rely on it (1 Thessalonians 2:13-Amplified).

Nothing has the power to change you like the Word. The enemy knows this and seeks to keep you occupied with other things so the Word is choked and doesn’t bear fruit. 

Outsmart him today! Get in the Word when you first awaken, then meditate on it throughout the day. You’ll find its superhuman power creating in you strength, ability, wisdom, love, and godliness. Loose the power of God in your life today by being a person of the Word!

How Will You Treat Jesus Today?

As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting (Acts 9:3-5).

  

The way we treat other members of the body of Christ is the way we treat Jesus Himself. This is quite a statement. If I’m angry and resentful towards a fellow believer, I’m that way towards Jesus! The way I treat my wife Susan is the way I’m treating Jesus!

   

If we want the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we must treat other members of the body of Christ with the same respect we would give to Jesus Himself.

   

According to Jesus, when we see the stranger and give him shelter, when we go minister to the sick person, or the person in prison, we are ministering to Jesus Himself! (see Matthew 25:35-40).

   

We create an environment that either attracts or detracts from the presence of God by what we do with our attitudes, words, and actions towards fellow believers.

  

Be careful today with how you treat others. It will directly affect your relationship with the Lord! If we say we love Jesus, and pay no attention to others needs, how can we really say we love Him? If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? (1 John 4:20).

  

Our age is quickly becoming numb and loveless. This is our time to shine! Treat others the way you want to be treated. Pray for those you come in contact with daily. Ask the Lord to make you a blessing to them. Ask Him what you can do to show care and compassion to them.

  

If I don’t care for the person I can see, there’s no way I can really love the God I can’t see. The way I treat others. What I say about others. The attitudes that I have towards other believers is directly related to how I treat Jesus Himself.

We’re coming in contact with Jesus over and over today in other believers. How will we treat Him?

Praying Without Presumption

And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full (John 16:23-24).

I spoke to someone of a while back about presumption and answered prayer. Some people have the idea that we can just ask for anything we want, and, because God promises to answer prayer, we can get whatever we desire. While that could be true in a technical sense, it is very unwise. And this kind of attitude reeks with spiritual immaturity.

God has promised to answer our requests. I could cite here numerous scriptures to the affirmative. But we are called, not to do as we please, and just selfishly spout out requests to the Lord off the cuff, but to be branches of the vine. We are called to allow Jesus to live His life in us. We are extensions of Jesus and His ministry. Jesus came not to do His own will, but the will of the Father who sent Him.

Here’s an example. God wanted Israel to be a nation of kings and priests. But Israel wanted a king like other nations. God told Israel that a king would make life very hard for them and that He had a better way for them. But Israel persisted in their request, and God granted them a king even though it wasn’t His highest and best for them.

I’ve learned to be very careful as to what I ask for in prayer. It takes me longer to wait on God in prayer and find out how He wants me to pray and exercise my faith about a matter than it does to actually pray. The prayer of faith doesn’t take a lot of time to pray.

Don’t just run into personal prayer and ask for something off the top of your head. The major key to effective personal prayer is to spend the time necessary to feel the Father’s heart before you pray. Jesus said it best: If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done for you (John 15:7). Abiding, living, fellowshiping, and being intimate with Jesus is the key to prayer without being presumptuous.

David said it this way: Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4). When you put God first place in your life, He will place in you a desire to do what He wants you to do. You see, we’re not calling the shots, He is! And He knows what’s best for us.

I’m discussing here the “gray” areas of life that the Bible doesn’t have a specific answer to give. I know how to pray for healing or finances, or for some thing that is clearly revealed in scripture. But it’s the in between areas, like where you should work, or who you should marry, or whether or not to buy that house, or some other thing that is really up to you to make a decision. These things must be prayerfully pondered or you could end up with a result you weren’t looking for! That’s what happened to Israel.

Pray before you exercise your faith, and make sure that what you’re asking for in these gray areas of life are God’s highest and best for you!

Use the Hard Places in Life to Your Advantage

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.  So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way (James 1:2-4 –The Message)

   

Tests and difficulties are part of life on this planet. None of us are immune from hardship. Walking by faith doesn’t promise freedom from life challenges. But it does promise that the Father will help your through every circumstance to victory!

   

Determine to get the most out of the hard places life brings you by keeping a good attitude and expecting the Father to give you wisdom and to bring you through the ordeal.

   

And you can really milk all you can get out of a test or trial by counting it all joy. Decide to walk in praise and thanksgiving when you feel like griping and complaining. Active praise and worship in the midst of a test will open your life to the power of God. He will begin to put in motion the answer as you stand in faith by praising God and giving thanks.

   

And then what Satan meant for evil, God will actually work out for your good. As the outward pressure reveals areas of personal weakness in you, acknowledge those weaknesses to the Father and ask Him to work them out of your life.

    

Some of the greatest workings of the Father in my personal life have been during seasons of great hardship where I really wanted to quit. I just set my jaw and praised God and gave thanks for Him working the situation out.

    

My personal freedom from perfectionism, workaholic tendencies, and deep seated feelings of rejection came out of one of the greatest trials of my life many years ago.  Believe me, I don’t want to go through that time in my life again. But on the other hand, no amount of money could purchase the life change that going through that tough time produced in me!

   

If you’ve been whining and complaining about what’s happening in your life right now, I urge you to read the above verse again. Make a decision right now to adjust your attitude and being to stand in praise, worship, and thanksgiving for the victory the Father is providing you in this test! When you come out on the other side of this challenge, you’ll be stronger, wiser, and more patient and Christ like. But only if you choose to count it all joy!