#wtsdevo grace

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Unconditional Grace (#wtsdevo grace)

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!" - Luke 23:34-‬35 ‬‬‬‬‬

As we approach Good Friday and that time of year where we celebrate the single moment in history that changed our lives for eternity, the gospel seems to sink deeper and deeper into my soul. I'm just overwhelmed by the timeless power of His grace  and it's cost for my salvation.

To think, in the midst of the physical anguish, the mockery, the separation from the Father He endured, He still felt pity on the very people who put Him on the cross. He embraced it all because there was a greater good to come. One that was worthy of the pain and the eventual death He would suffer.

So those scoffers, murderers and unbelievers could one day be forgiven. His death, burial and resurrection made hell an unnecessary option rather than a certain death sentence. He looked beyond our offences and the justice we deserve to give us what we need. Grace.

As His life was fading He was still thinking of us. Through the opposition, the rejection then and now, He responded with grace.  Our challenge—my challenge is to be the kind of grace-giver that offers grace even in the face of injustice and pain. Unconditionally. Even when the recipient is harming us. Even when their actions aren't worthy of it. Because when we pursue the good for others and love them well, we go beyond their fault to meet their need. That's what grace does.

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Devotional Series: Grace (#wtsdevo grace)

By: Julian // Personal // Walk the Same

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Grace Givers (#wtsdevo grace)

“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’” -  Luke 23:34

Grace is such a good thing for us to be talking about right before Easter because it settles our hearts and our focus on the grace Jesus gave. The more we understand God’s grace, the better able we are to reflect it to the world. So, let’s walk through the moments leading up to Jesus’ death because – painful and uncomfortable as it is – if we want to really grasp grace, we have to understand the reality of what Jesus suffered so that He could extend it to us. Walk through this with me.

Jesus has just been deemed worthy of crucifixion by the crowd and Pilate has “surrendered Jesus to their will” (Luke 23:25). The guards haul Jesus away to be beaten, but before they follow Pilate’s orders, they stop to throw a robe of royalty on Jesus and then jam a crown of thorns into His head.

They spit on Him and bow down in mockery and pride and then they take Jesus and beat Him mercilessly to the point of exposing bone and organs. When it must have been nearly impossible for Jesus to stand, they force Him to carry the cross all the way to Calvary and then, one by one, they hammer the nails and leave Jesus to slowly die on the cross. Below Him, the crowd mocks Jesus, shouting for Him to save Himself if He really is the Son of God.

As they saw Him hanging there, the Pharisees, the elders and the teachers of the law – all those who wanted Jesus dead – must have thought, “Surely, we have Him now, He’ll show His true colors and prove us right.” I can’t imagine what they must have felt when the first words that fell from Jesus’ lips were these:

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

These words are for us, but they are also for the people who schemed to kill Him. These words are for the crowd that shouted for His crucifixion and rejoiced when they were granted their request. These words are for the soldiers who piled humiliation on Him before beating Him to the point of death. These words are for the people who watched as He stumbled carrying the cross. These words are for the men who hammered the nails and raised the cross. These words are for the people who saw Jesus hanging there and felt pride.

They caused Him impossible pain. They did not ask for forgiveness. They did not expect grace and, despite all He had suffered at their hands, Jesus extended both to them anyway. Now, let’s think about the people in our lives who have hurt us, humiliated us and caused us pain. They may not seek forgiveness; they may not even understand they’ve done wrong, but Jesus shows us that’s not the point.

One of my favorite songs by Tenth Avenue North is called “Losing” and there’s a line in that song that stops me in my tracks every time I hear it: “We think pain is owed apology, then it will stop; truth be told, it doesn’t matter if they’re sorry or not. Freedom comes when we surrender to the sound of mercy and Your grace.”

Jesus freely offered grace without an apology on their lips or remorse in their hearts, but the Pharisees and the people in the crowd were not looking for forgiveness. They did not expect to receive grace and I think, deep down, most of us feel the same way.

But let’s challenge this sad expectation and replace it with something new.

Let’s love like Jesus loved.

Let’s be grace-givers in a world that expects grace to be withheld.

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Devotional Series: Grace (#wtsdevo grace)

By: Alexandria // Personal // Walk the Same

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So you don’t Forget (#wtsdevo grace)

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” -  2 Corinthians 12:8-9

Many, many times, this heart of mine has cried out to God, pleading with Him to take this pain from me. I’ve shook my head adamantly, insisting that I don’t care what good could come from this – it hurts too much now and I don’t want it. I have ached and cried: why, why does this pain have to be mine?

Paul ached like this, too; the same question fell from his lips and our sweet Savior’s answer to him and to me and to you – every single time – is this:

So you remember that this battle isn’t yours, it’s Mine.

So you remember that weakness becomes strength in Me.

So you don’t miss out on the fullness of My good plan for you in favor of something easier and man-made.

So you remember that My power is more than enough and that nothing is too difficult for Me.

So you don’t forget how to receive grace.

So you don’t forget Me, dear one. So you don’t forget.

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Devotional Series: Grace (#wtsdevo grace)

By: Alexandria // Personal // Walk the Same

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Grow in Grace (#wtsdevo grace)

2 Peter 3:17-18 – “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

In John 1, we learn that we have received “grace upon grace” from God if we are in Christ. His grace never runs out. He will never stop pouring it out on us. When we are saved, God’s grace doesn’t end there. Once we are in Him, He doesn’t want us to stay where we are, but to grow in grace.

Peter teaches us that we need to guard ourselves. We don’t need to let ourselves get “carried away” with wrongdoing because we aren’t standing on anything stable. Instead, we are supposed to grow in grace and in knowledge of Christ. When we learn more of who Christ is, we see more of His grace and we grow in it. When we grow in grace and become more of who Christ wants us to be, our lives give God the glory. We learn more of who Christ is by spending time in His Word, in prayer, and in authentic fellowship with other believers.

He wants us to grow in grace and knowledge of Him so that we can be more like Him. Let’s not let ourselves get stagnant in our faith or carried away in lawlessness. Let’s not lose our stability. Praise God that He gives us more and more grace, because we always need it. He doesn’t want us to stay still in that, though, but to keep pressing on and growing as we receive more and more of His grace in our lives as we earnestly seek Him daily.

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Devotional Series: Grace (#wtsdevo grace)

Posted by: Rebecca Hankins \ Personal //  Walk the Same

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A Renewal of the Heart (#wtsdevo grace)

"Repentance was never yet produced in any man's heart apart from the grace of God. As soon may you expect the leopard to regret the blood with which its fangs are moistened,—as soon might you expect the lion of the wood to abjure his cruel tyranny over the feeble beasts of the plain, as expect the sinner to make any confession, or offer any repentance that shall be accepted of God, unless grace shall first renew the heart." - Charles Spurgeon 

Before we ever see repentance realized, we must first realize the extent of the free grace of our savior, Jesus Christ. - 2 Corinthians 12:9

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Devotional Series: Grace (#wtsdevo grace)

Posted by: Conner Folger \ Personal // Walk the Same

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The Gift (#wtsdevo grace)

In the story of the prodigal son, we read about the youngest son leaving home out of defiance and takes with him his share of his family riches. Things don’t go so well for him in the long run and when he comes back to his senses and returns home, his father accepted him with so much love and care that it seemed that he had forgotten all that his son had done. There’s more to this beautiful story of love and acceptance but the beauty of this entire parable is grace.

You see, we sinned so much that we had gone so far out of reach of God and it almost seemed like there was no hope left for us anymore. But when Christ came for us, died on the cross for us and came back to life for us, He bridged a gap, connecting us with God once again and simply doing the impossible. In under no circumstance we would have been able to build that intimate relationship with God on our own but by the gift of grace that Christ shared with us, we now share this incredible bond with our Father in heaven and it changed our lives and our world forever.

You may wonder, in what ways have we changed? Under the power of grace, we no longer choose to take the driver's’ seat instead we choose to die to ourselves and choose God and his grace to cover and take over every single area of our lives. Thus we become aligned to the life and ways of God and reflect His nature within our own.

This is the gift of grace and a priceless one at that.

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Devotional Series: Grace (#wtsdevo grace)

By: Elle \ Personal // Walk the Same

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From Grace (#wtsdevo grace)

“So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'  And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.” -Matthew 18:26-‬27‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

What an illustration we have before us. And the passages that follow are even more telling. Here, we see grace at it's finest but that same forgiven man withheld the same grace he was just given because he had his own justice to collect (Matt. 18:28-30).

I act out this story far too often. Except in this version, God is the Master and I'm the servant. I accept the grace He freely gives me and seem to have amnesia when it's my turn to offer it to others. See, I really like justice. And it's much easier to repay wrong with wrong. But that's why it's so imperative that we understand our place in the redemption story. It's from grace we do anything worthy of the kingdom.

The only ground we stand on is from grace.  It is by grace alone we are even children of God and it is from grace we relate to other imperfect people. Because we ourselves have been forgiven, we forgive. (Ephesians 2:8, Matthew 6:14-15, 7:12).

This servant deserved the punishment for his debt—regardless of whether or not he was able to pay it. But grace is undeserved kindness. It's unmerited favor. And Jesus, the sinless, perfect God-in-man-form paid a debt He didn't owe. Mine. Yours. But the debt we owed was too great for us too pay. How dare we demand the justice we hope to escape?

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Devotional Series: Grace (#wtsdevo grace)

By: Julian // Personal // Walk the Same

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Never Outdated (#wtsdevo grace)

You get that shiny brand new phone and you’re like that kid at a candy store - in wonder and awe. But all that shatters away a few days later when you hear that a new version of the phone has been announced and is just around the corner. The feeling that follows is generally not the most positive one.

This is generally how modern society works in our world these days. Things come and go before you know it and the rate at which stuff gets outdated is alarming. But what doesn’t change at all is the grace that God blesses us with. The very grace that saved us and brought us into a new and whole life.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9

The Bible tells us that His grace “is sufficient” meaning that it is more than enough to cover all of us for eternity. It’ll never run out or expire. It is here to stay. No matter the season or situation we find ourselves in, the grace of God is always prepared and ready to take over and impact us in ways that we can only imagine. It looks beyond our weaknesses and touches us in ways that leave us transformed and new.

As Christians let us all pursue a life seeking for His grace everyday. Given any situation or circumstance in our lives, all we need to do is draw from it. Our imperfections will be made perfect in Him.

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Devotional Series: Grace (#wtsdevo grace)

By: Jude \ Personal // Walk the Same