Grace

There's been a lot of talk lately about GRACE. Grace givers, grace sharers and grace haters. But how do you give Grace when you don't like someone? And to make it worse, how do you even share openly that you don't even like someone, being that I am called to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and we all know that He likes everyone? So, how do I extend this Grace to people that I don't really like. People that I don't even want to spend a minute alone in a room with? How do I extend the same Grace that I receive daily to those that I don't even think about most days?

That's so not Christ-like.

And this is one of those tough things as a Christian that I struggle with. Among many other things. But this is the flavor this week. GRACE.

Do I truly know what Grace feels like?

Beautiful Grace. That is what this is about right? I take off on my Grace Discovery journey.

Grace is an undeserved free gift, undeserved favor, and undeserved love. (from Seek God).

All of the other religions of the world offer salvation by works. They say if you become good enough you can work your way to God, you must go through procedures and sufferings and rituals to get to God. Some religions say that you can become a god, this appeals to man's pride. Just as when pride entered into Satan and he said, "I will be like the Most High God", and he became God's enemy. The new age religions all pickup on this theme, that you can become a god. It is not new; even in the Garden of Eden Satan tempted Eve by telling her if she ate the fruit that she would become like God. (from Seek God).

(Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, {9} not of works, lest anyone should boast. Everything about our relationship with God depends upon us trusting Him in faith, by resting in His grace. We are to come to Him as a little child saying, "Daddy pick me up", and He does, Then He caries us. (Isaiah 46:4 NIV) Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

So what gets in the way of receiving God's Beautiful Grace?

For me...pride, ego, sin, lies. And as a Christian, I experience all of these on a daily basis. So why is it that some of the verses in the bible I take to heart but other verses I choose to ignore? Why is it that so many of us Christians are sitting in our Church pews in so much pain and anger and resentment and pride and still asking for God to Bless us? I'm starting to understand that God cannot bless my life if I am being disobedient to Him. Partial obedience is total disobedience to God.

I don't have the answers.