Week 14 Grace
Grace reveals how the cross absorbed the consequences of our iniquity. However, this unmerited favor is often perceived as simply leniency when we sin.
Grace is more than that.
Grace is the enabling gift and power of God NOT to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (TPT)
For although we live in the natural realm, we don’t wage a military campaign employing human weapons, using manipulation to achieve our aims. Instead, our spiritual weapons are energized with divine power to effectively dismantle the defenses behind which people hide (strongholds). We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One. Since we are armed with such dynamic weaponry, we stand ready to punish any trace of rebellion, as soon as you choose complete obedience.
One of the most powerful weapons we have access to is grace. In the above scripture, the apostle Paul speaks of grace to be a “divine power” that has the ability to destroy strongholds. However, we must choose to wield this weapon. God won’t force it into our hands.
God’s grace is sufficient to help us overcome every hardship – there is no such thing as a sin that has immunity over God’s grace. The beauty of embracing this weaponized grace is seen when we allow it to empower us to go beyond our natural abilities.
When we see supernatural grace push us beyond our limitations, our faith and trust in Christ explodes like wildfire. This wildfire sets you apart from a world that believes that they are powerless to their vices, and points humanity to the matchless power of Jesus.
2 Timothy 2:1-3 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Timothy, my dear son, live your life empowered by God’s free-flowing grace, which is your true strength, found in the anointing of Jesus and your union with him! And all that you’ve learned from me, confirmed by the integrity of my life, pass on to faithful leaders who are competent to teach the congregations the same revelation. Overcome every form of evil as a victorious soldier of Jesus the Anointed One
Timothy’s goal was to pass on the revelation of God’s power to leaders and congregations. Paul exhorted Timothy to be strong in the grace. He didn’t tell him to write up a dozen theological dissertations, to surround himself with lofty Christian friends, or to be able to outwit his critics. Paul knew grace was the weapon Timothy needed to accomplish his goal successfully.
The enemy is not going to let us easily impact the world for Jesus. He is adamantly opposed to our mission, and we will have to press through opposition and resistance to accomplish our God-given goals.
Grace never fails us, but sometimes our faith wanes. When this happens, we can feel cut off from grace, and we end up fighting in our own strength. This leads to godless, white-knuckled resistance that leads to inevitable failure. To avoid this failure, we have to build ourselves up in faith. We do this by getting into God’s Word.
If your faith is failing:
Go to the Word.
Find a place to praise, worship, and thank God for who He is.
Declare and express gratitude for His provision.
Pray in the Spirit.
Doing these things keeps us connected to grace.
Hebrews 12:12-15 (TPT)
So be made strong even in your weakness by lifting up your tired hands in prayer and worship. And strengthen your weak knees, for as you keep walking forward on God’s paths all your stumbling ways will be divinely healed!
To turn back from the grace of God is to shift into neutral and become complacent to the enemy’s resistance. If we are not constantly being strengthened by God’s grace, we will eventually give up, for we cannot successfully fight our enemy in our own ability. The amazing news is that, even if you are worn out and considering giving up, you can still find renewed strength in God’s grace.
After this devotional, pray this over yourself:
Father, I thank You for the gift of Your amazing, empowering grace. Thank You for pulling me out from where I was before You saved me. Holy Spirit, I do not want to give up. I know that I can only keep going with Your empowerment. I recognize that this fight I’m in is not a game; it’s a war. I want to finish strong and be relentless in faith. I choose to step into my calling and take up the weapon of Your grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Daily Scripture for Week 14
DAY 2 | SCRIPTURE
Corinthians 15:9-10 (TPT)
Yes, I am the most insignificant of all the apostles, unworthy even to be called an apostle, because I hunted down believers and persecuted God’s church. But God’s amazing grace has made me who I am! And his grace to me was not fruitless. In fact, I worked harder than all the rest, yet not in my own strength but God’s, for his empowering grace is poured out upon me.
Process & Reflect:
Read the above scripture and meditate on God’s truth. God rescued Paul from a past that involved murder and persecution to a redemptive future, rich with purpose and fruitfulness.
Take this scripture and add your story to it. In your journal, or on a piece of paper, write this scripture out, but fill in the in the blank with the revelation God is showing you about the past He has rescued you from, and the future He holds for you.
Like this:
Yes, I am the most insignificant of all the apostles, unworthy even to be called an apostle, because I (write here what God rescued you from), But God’s amazing grace has made me who I am! And his grace to me was not fruitless. In fact, I worked harder than all the rest, yet not in my own strength but God’s, for his empowering grace is poured out upon me to: I (write here where God is taking you toward).
DAY 3 | SCRIPTURE
Grace gives us security in our position as VICTORS:
John 10:28 (TPT)
I give to them the gift of eternal life and they will never be lost, and no one has the power to snatch them out of my hands.
Process & Reflect:
Eternal life doesn’t start at the moment that you leave the physical and enter the spiritual. Eternal life begins the moment you are born. We are all going to face eternity; however, the grace of God gives an option to spend it with Him rather than in death. But His grace goes even deeper. What can be just as impacting as spending time with Jesus throughout eternity? The grace He also displays here on earth.
Take out your journal and take a minute to reflect on your life (You may need to close your eyes after reading this section). Look back at each impossible moment that you have faced and ask Jesus to show you where he was standing, kneeling, or sitting during those moments. Maybe He was cupping your face, holding your hand, giving you hug, or as He always does, protecting your heart. Ask Him to show you His presence and His grace during those moments. After asking, allow Him to speak to your heart, receive His word, then take out your journal and write down His revelation. This is the grace that our Heavenly Father displays. He walks with us every step of our Journey.
Take a minute and thank Him for His revelation. More importantly, thank Him for his presence during those moments you never thought you would make it through. God’s grace brings freedom.
DAY 4 | SCRIPTURE
Grace gives us the adequacy and boldness to live for Christ:
Romans 6:10-14 New International Version (NIV)
The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Process & Reflect:
Sexual sin steals my joy, robs me of the power that Christ bestowed upon me from the cross, and leaves me powerless and pusillanimous. I become a slave to my cycle. I allow the light of Christ to dim for sexual gratification. I wake up a slave; I go to bed a slave. I am driven by desire, I become callous, I allow hurt to control my emotion, I become angry, use tools of manipulation, and I allow the god of this world to use me as a puppet. How do I climb out of this cycle? How do I climb the cliff from which I jumped? How can I sustain sobriety? The simple answer is I cannot. This is where God’s grace takes over, and my works dissipate.
God never intended for us to walk this journey alone. The moment Jesus died on the cross, our journey became less about the law and sin, and more about His never-failing grace. The cross is where grace overpowers sin and allows the freedom of communion with our Father. Life becomes less about performance and more about intimacy. Not that we sin willingly; rather, we sin less because we see the love of the Father through every stumble.
Take a minute and ask God, is there anything that I have in my life that may be a stumbling block? Allow Him to reveal to you what that maybe. Allow His presence to wash over you. Allow His grace to saturate your heart. Repent and experience His grace.
DAY 5 | SCRIPTURE
Grace trains us:
Titus 2:11-15
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
Process & Reflect:
Simply, grace trains the heart.
The journey typically begins in a broken place. Our hearts are broken, life seems out of control, we seem to hurt everyone that is close to us. Our hearts are callous, our minds are contaminated, and our emotions are in moments of despair. Grace changes all of this. Grace teaches us forgiveness; grace teaches us love; grace drives transformation; grace shows us the face of our Father. The more we lean on grace, the more we give grace, the closer we become to God. Grace allows the forgiveness of God in our lives, but it also allows us to forgive others as God has forgiven us. We become more Christ like living a grace filled life. This is the very definition of Godliness – to be more Christ like.
God uses grace to transform our very hearts. He allows grace to soften us and meld us into the people He has called us to be.
Take a minute and ask God, “Do I harbor any unforgiveness in my heart towards anyone? Have I not forgiven myself? Do I allow this unforgiveness to control my emotions and my heart? Do I allow this unforgiveness to make me callous?
If you have answered yes to any of those questions. Ask for forgiveness and forgive. Invite God into this moment and allow Him to soften your heart. Be the clay that God needs you to be in this moment. Grace is the transformative power of God.
DAY 6 | SCRIPTURE
Grace gives us peace for today because we can fully trust in His sovereignty:
2 Peter 1:2-11
May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities[f] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
Process & Reflect:
As we have seen the past few days, the grace of God draws us closer to Him. God desires communion with us, no more no less. Through intimacy, we experience His grace. When we draw close to our Father, He starts to change our heart and our minds. His desires become our desires. We begin to work in unison with His vision for our lives. We begin to transform and show His glory through our hearts. We begin to live a consistent lifestyle, leaving the sin of yesterday behind. We begin to live out His plan. We begin to trust. At this state of our journey, we know that God only has good for us. He has shown us grace and allowed to live closer to Him regardless of our past. He has transformed us.
How has God transformed your heart?
How has this changed your thought process?
What areas of your life do you still need transformation?
Please journal and be prepared to share.