Trusting In God’s Grace

 

In the Book of Romans, it says:

 

"So how do we fit what we know of Abraham, our first father in the faith, into this new way of looking at things? If Abraham, by what he did for God, got God to approve him, he could certainly have taken credit for it. But the story we’re given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story. What we read in Scripture is, “Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own. If you’re a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don’t call your wages a gift. But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it’s something only God can do, and you trust him to do it—you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked—well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift."

(Romans 4:1-5)(MSG)

 

The 'Doctrine of Grace' is not just a doctrine. It's clearly, "The Way." Jesus is Grace. In Old Testament and New Testament both, it's all about accepting God's grace.

 

Today's Prayer

Thank You, Lord, for being an Almighty God who, for unfathomable reasons, loves us and pays attention to our details. Please, bless us with your Godly wisdom on all this. Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord. We thank You for Jesus, Father -- and in his name we both praise you and pray to you. Amen.

 

Why God Allows Some Bad Things to Happen

 

The Book of Romans, chapter 1, says this:

"Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it’s not as if they don’t know better. They know perfectly well they’re spitting in God’s face. And they don’t care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!"
(Romans 1:28-32)

 

People say the Bible isn't relevant today. Bah! That's just more of the same silliness mentioned above.

You want to read more in the same vein of explanation? Read ALL of chapter 1 in the Book of Romans. Very interesting and relevant to today's world.

You can check it out here if you don't have a Bible handy:
(www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%201&version=MSG)

 

What Jesus Said to Paul

 

“‘I’m sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I’m sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me.’"

(Acts 26:17-18)

 

You Handle It

 

Acts 21:14 says:

"We saw that we weren’t making even a dent in his resolve, and gave up. 'It’s in God’s hands now,' we said. 'Master, you handle it.'" (MSG)

 

Giving it to God is not just 'all we can do.' It's the right thing to do, quite often.

We take too much into our own hands -- or at least try to -- when it's simply not in our control. Then we come to God to 'help us' with the cleanup, rather than handing it to Him in the first place as we should.

 

Prayer for Today

Thank You, Father, for being an Almighty God. Thank You, Jesus, for being one with the Father. Please, teach us humility, and strengthen our faith so that we may experience that peace which you had, Jesus, while here on earth with us. Amen.