And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”
Romans 11:6 NIV
You are saved by grace so that you can:
Love by grace,
Forgive by grace,
Grow by grace,
Give by grace,
Work by grace,
Eat by grace,
Jesus lived, died and rose from the dead so you can have full access to it.
So you can live every moment of your life in the grace of God through Jesus.
May the grace of God be the fuel that drives your life today and every day.
Life often demands that you keep going even when you are tired.
When you are burdened with grief, you still have to go to work.
When you are battling anxiety, someone still has to do the dishes.
When you are restless to go but must stay right where you are.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it”
Matthew 11:28 MSG
Jesus invites us to walk with Him, work with Him, and watch how He lives in the fullness of God’s love every day while bearing a great burden.
Your world may be dripping with unmet expectations, foundation-shaking experiences, and unbearable obligations.
Or it may be boring and frustrating with endless monotony.
Whatever is happening around you, Jesus wants to walk with you through it.
Lean on His strength and let Him love you right where you are.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20 NIV
Your life as a Jesus follower is not about what you are capable of doing, it’s about what Jesus is capable of doing through you.
Your body is His to use, your mind is His to fill, your heart is His to heal.
His mission is your mission, His vision is your vision, His power is your power.
This life is no longer yours, it is His life lived through you.
I have learned that Jesus will take all the life you are “able” to give Him and live through it.
My friend, surrender all you can today, then all you can tomorrow.
Jesus will receive it with joyous love.
He will embrace it with strong arms of grace.
He will take you to places of faith you couldn’t have even imagined the first moment that you surrendered your life and chose to live by faith in the Son of God.
You have more life now than you did then.
Today is a good day to surrender all the life you have to Jesus… again.
Unless you have never done this, in that case, today is the perfect day to surrender your whole life to Jesus for the first time.
Are you living by faith in the Son of God or faith in yourself?
What do you have to surrender?
How does the Son of God want to live through you today?
”Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:3 NIV
When you wake up tired.
When you are facing the day wondering how you are going to get through it.
When you feel like you have nothing left to give.
That is when Jesus said you are blessed.
Why? Because when you know you have nothing, you are ready to receive God’s everything.
Because you are covered by grace.
Life with Jesus isn’t about how much you have or how much you can do.
It is about coming to Him with empty hands and letting Him fill them with His love, mercy, strength and power.
My prayer for you, dear friend, is that you let go of trying to be strong enough and embrace the grace available to those who know they have nothing without God.
A pencil in the hand of a master writer is a tool to tell a powerful story.
Your life, in the hands of the loving God who sent His own Son to redeem you, is a story of grace that He is writing every day.
The most powerful thing you can do today is to surrender completely and allow Him to use your life to be an instrument of hope to those around you.
My friend, you are chosen, held, directed and purposed in the gentle hand of God to be used by Him, right where you are.
What story of grace is Jesus telling through your life today?
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.”
1 Corinthians 16:23 NLT
Need grace?
Today you may be venturing into unknown territory and uncomfortable terrain.
You may need to have a hard conversation with someone you love.
You may need to extend mercy for someone you don’t love or don’t know.
Whatever happens today, my prayer for you is that the unstoppable grace of Jesus will be with you.
His grace is the very grace of God that was with Him as He walked on the earth, went to the cross and rose from the dead.
His grace is to you, for you and in you.
With Him, you can face anything that comes your way.
Clothed with humanity, God’s Son gave his body to be the sin-offering so that God could once and for all condemn the guilt and power of sin. So now every righteous requirement of the law can be fulfilled through the Anointed One living his life in us. And we are free to live, not according to our flesh, but by the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit!
– Romans 8:3-4 The Passion Translation
Because of Jesus, we are free to live.
Free to live loved.
Free to know love.
Free to love.
Not because we work really hard to deserve it.
Not because we are strong enough to do everything perfectly.
But because He gave Himself for us.
We are free to live, not according to the strength of our flesh, but according to the strength of God’s love.
All that God requires of us has been satisfied in Jesus.
And Jesus is satisfied to live with us, love through us, forgive us, and empower us to live in the full freedom of His finished work.
May the dynamic power of the Spirit of God within you fill you with overflowing joy and an uncompromising desire to celebrate this truth all day long.
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty”.
Psalms 91:1 NIV
You were made for rest and rest is God’s gift to recharge you.
Truly resting is the commitment to honor God and honor the body He gave you.
Real rest is a lifestyle of accepting God’s love, care, provision and salvation.
Real rest is having a daily relationship with the Most High God and letting Him bear your burdens.
Real rest is leaning of His strength when you don’t have any.
It is not a waste of time but a way to make the most of it.
It is not about being lazy but about being wise.
Rest is not a frivolous excuse to get out of something, it is the conscious choice to trust Someone so much that you can close your eyes and sleep.
This is real rest and this is what Jesus bought for you.
“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.”
Hebrews 4:9-10 NIV
The observance of taking a day off of work was established from the beginning.
And God was the first one to rest.
He created the world and all that was in it.
The air we breath, the bodies we inhabit, the wonder of the natural world.
Then He took a day.
He rested and celebrated.
He appreciated and enjoyed.
He called it Sabbath and told humans to do it once a week with Him.
It is still available and actually indispensable to your health.
Take a day, once a week to rest, celebrate, appreciate and enjoy this beautiful life with God.
You will be surprised at how much you need it.
You need it.
Take a day and let it revive your soul.
Relationships are not easy.
They take grace, forgiveness, honesty, and courage.
You may think that it would be easier and simpler to withdraw, it is not.
Don’t cheat yourself or others by withdrawing in fear.
Persevere.
Go toward the problem.
Reach out.
God can make a way where there seems to be no way.
Quiet the fear-filled beat of your heart and listen for the encouraging whisper of the Holy Spirit.
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had,”
Romans 15:5 NIV
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