Living Grace

“I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.” – John 16 : 23-24

When you dig down into the very foundations of God, you will discover in the depths of his eternal character that God really is a good gift giver.

He gives gifts with no strings attached. Regardless of our performance, our actions, our works, our effort, no matter how disconnected we feel,  he even doesn’t require us to do anything after we get them either, like improve or pray more or sacrifice all our plans and desires and commit ourselves to his cause or do good things to show how thankful we really are. His gifts are given free.

The most awesome gift that we have been given is eternal life.

This eternal life is ours in his son.  When we receive the son, we automatically have eternal life, and this life is made manifest inside of us, as the very life of Christ comes and dwells within us. This life is Christ’s life in all its fullness.

God who was before time, immeasurable and infinite the source of all life, the everlasting creator, the fountain of eternal life was glorified in the resurrected Christ and because God’s life is eternal, receiving the son is receiving eternal life.

The essence of God’s eternal life knows Christ. Our fragile, dust frames have become the home of the vast, glorious God. We have been made alive by the Holy Spirit and our finite frame is now immersed into the infinite God.

This gift of eternal life is the imparting of all the son is, not just living forever but joy, holiness, peace, hope, love, faith, strength, freedom, authority, kindness, wholeness, security, long-suffering, faithfulness, goodness, righteousness, purity, everything that is of Christ is now made in me.

How do I receive this free gift by simply seeing what is true and saying thank you.  Thanking God for all he has done for me makes it come alive in my experience and makes me come alive to God’s reality.

Grace is the realization that everything is a gift from Christ, given because he loves me, because he is a good giver and he takes pleasure and delight in overwhelming his children with every good gift from his heart of love.

Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. – Jonah 1:17

Here in the book of Jonah is a remarkable outpouring of the heart of God. Within these few short chapters you can witness the compassion of God for his children and his overwhelming love for his creation.

In the story of Jonah, he ran away from the task God had given him, caught a boat in the opposite direction and completely disobeyed the commandment of God.  God however in a show of unfailing love orchestrated the fish of the sea to become a source of unmerited favour and Jonah’s salvation. God moved in love and provided a fish of grace.  In the midst of disobedience God acted in grace. For deep within his heart Jonah trusted in the goodness of God, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me, I cried to you from the land of the dead and Lord, you heard me.”  Jonah 2 : 1

A powerless and helpless man, unable to do anything for himself, at the lowest point of his life, tossed into an ocean of despair, death and desperation encountered the overwhelming grace of God. His rescue had already been orchestrated and provided by God.

Christ is our fish of grace.  For while we were sinners, ungodly, he died for us, he died in our place. He entered our world of despair, death and desperation and rescued us, before we even took our first breath or our heart took its first beat.

We were running away, going in the opposite direction, but God in Christ had orchestrated and provided our eternal redemption.

God has demonstrated to us, the helpless and the ungodly his infinite unconditional love. For his love is bigger, more self-sacrificing, more amazing and more abundant than any other love. His love found us at our worst and does not condemn us but rescues us and places us into Christ.

Just as Jonah was placed into the fish, you have been placed into Christ. You are now totally covered, totally safe, totally secure and supernaturally sustained in the embrace of Christ. Before you were born, God provided his son to die in your place so that you could receive the fullness of God and live in the embrace of Father and receive all the riches of heaven.

God is for you, He has already moved to help you, He loves you unconditionally, and you are the treasure of heaven.

“And God is able to make all grace [every favor and earthly blessing] come in abundance to you, so that you may always [under all circumstances, regardless of the need] have complete sufficiency in everything [being completely self-sufficient in Him], and have an abundance for every good work and act of charity.” – 2 Corinthians 9:8

The secret to living in the fullness of God’s grace is to first realise that God is a fountain of abundance. If you associate grace with just carrying on as you are, then you will look at life from a different perspective to the one God created for you. But if you stop and look through God’s eyes and his loving heart, everything begins to change.

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. “ Philippians 4:8

Our impressions of who God is and all that he has accomplished for us is built up over many years of listening, studying, discovering, soaking in the revelation imparted into us. Every revelation we experience influences our vision of the world around us and the God who created it. The more we connect with that revelation the more profound the impact inside our souls.

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” Ephesians 2:8

Grace is who God is, Grace is God’s nature

This is the most amazing revelation, that grace and God cannot be separated.

your Shepherd,

your Advocate,

your Mediator,

your Bridegroom,

your Conqueror,

your Lion,

your Lamb,

your sacrifice,

your manna,

your smitten Rock,

your living water,

your food,

your drink,

your good and abundant land,

your dwelling place,

your Sabbath,

your new moon,

your Jubilee,

your new wine,

your feast,

your aroma,

your anchor,

your wisdom,

your peace,

your comfort,

your Healer,

your joy,

your glory,

your power,

your strength,

your wealth,

your victory,

your redemption,

your Prophet,

your Priest,

your kinsman redeemer,

your teacher,

your guide,

your liberator,

your deliverer,

your Prince,

your Captain,

your vision,

your sight,

your beloved,

your way,

your truth,

your life,

your author,

your finisher,

your beginning,

your end,

your age,

your eternity

YOUR ALL IN ALL