God’s Amazing Grace

What is God’s amazing grace?  To me grace is God’s un-merited favor.  I have a wretched testimony so to me God’s grace may be more personal than someone that was raised in the church, like my kids were.  I have experienced many things that are really too shameful to even talk about.

After so many years serving the Lord it seems like it was a whole different world.  I can’t thank and praise the Lord enough for what He has done in and through my life over the last 30 some years.  Sometimes I think it is good to look back and remember where I was before God’s amazing grace was poured out on me, a total freak, that only deserved His wrath instead of His grace.  When I think of where I might have been if not for the love, mercy and grace of God it is sort of mind boggling.  I may have been swept out into eternity separated from God forever.  If I thought about it I could think of many scenarios and none of them good ones.  I want to say this; God’s grace is amazing far beyond anything we can totally comprehend.

Sometimes God’s love and grace can be taken for granted or just unappreciated.  People may think they deserve it; after all they reassure themselves that they haven’t been all that bad.  Some people go to church every day; don’t they deserve the grace of God?  Let me tell you this, God’s grace isn’t given because of what we do, or have done, no, it is given because of what He has decided to do.  It is never because of our merit but only because of His mercy and love that we receive God’s grace.  

Like I said, I believe it is God’s un-merited favor, totally undeserved, it is God’s gift to us.  

Grace is a part of God’s character and is given freely and cannot be bought, worked for or deserved.  Paul talks about God’s grace in the book of Ephesians in chapter 2:1-10, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.  But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Now meditate on verses 8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  So many people have a struggle with this, getting something for nothing.  It is like walking up to someone and they hand you a priceless gift that has no equal, free, something you could never have bought or received any other way.  That is what our God has done for us.

Jesus said this in John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.  He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

If you have experienced the grace of God never take it for granted, it cost Jesus His very life and terrible pain and suffering to buy our salvation, which is God’s grace to all who will receive it.  All the good and perfect gifts come from God and are part of His grace to us.  So if you have experienced God’s free gift of grace start praising and thanking the Lord.  If you haven’t, then repent of your sins and ask Him to forgive you so that you may experience God’s amazing grace also, then thank and praise Him. Have a great day and may God bless you and yours!!