Photo above: The Hertford Bridge in Oxford, England. Used by Permission. © Tom Ley 01302 782837

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

The Powerful Weapon of Grace

By Gary Roberts
Robertson School of Government

Romans 5:21 "So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." NLT

Have you ever felt under condemnation because you believed you lacked the courage or strength to face a trial? Are you ever concerned that you will fail and let God “down”? I frequently question and doubt myself by fearing that I will not “measure up” in the time of crisis. In most cases, this catastrophic “what-if” thinking is a lie from the pit of hell designed to discourage us from following God’s will. I was recently lost in the wilderness of self-defeat when the Lord revealed a powerful manifestation of grace, a pre-emptive “lightening strike” against the attacks of the enemy through scripture. The life and ministry of Jesus demonstrated that in spite of His omniscient knowledge of the disciples failures and sins, their serious lapses and deficiencies in judgment, character and courage, Jesus always loved and forgave, disciplined, encouraged, showered grace, and said “peace be unto you”! The amazing fact is that God knows our actions, feelings, emotions, thoughts, desires, sins, temptations, and failures before we feel and act on them. David Seamonds, in his book “Healing Grace,” states that because God is pure love, our failings do not influence or change His love towards us. God loves unconditionally, and the ministry of Jesus consistently demonstrates unconditional love, patience, and loving discipline towards the disciples, who doubted, denied, betrayed, and abandoned Him. God earnestly desires fellowship with us, to walk with us, to love and serve, even with full advanced knowledge of our weaknesses. What amazing grace! The best way to defang condemnation is to recognize that the only failure is to bury our talents and quit trying, but even then, God still loves and provides opportunities for redemption. If you desire to achieve a higher degree of inner peace, become more Christ like and emulate Jesus and die to the prideful self and embrace the same spirit of pro-active grace, love, and forgiveness and Godly discipline with your own failures, sins and weaknesses as well as the weaknesses and sins of others. To God be the Glory!

Seamands, D. (1999). Healing grace: Finding a freedom from the performance trap. Indianapolis, IN: Light and Life Communications. ISBN: 0-89367238-6.

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