"Let us then approach the
throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace
to help us in our time of need." (Heb. 4:16 NIV)
As I grabbed my ringing telephone, I heard my
daughter saying that Frank was in the greenhouse. Dropping the receiver, I
made a dash out of the house, arrived at the greenhouse, and confirmed that
Frank had indeed broken in and was contently munching all the tender lettuce
plants down to their roots.
Frank is my miniature horse. He is extremely nosy
and very determined. Unaware of my arrival, he was chomping away when I
asked him what he was doing. He almost leapt out of his skin, and then gave
me one of the guiltiest looks that I had ever seen. Who knew? A horse could
look guilty? Not I until I caught him red-handed.
Trying not to laugh at this unexpected reaction, I
chastised him and pointed my finger for him to get out, which he at least
had the humility to obey.
Frank is not the only one who gets caught out in
his sin, though. The Holy Spirit is pretty adept at catching me, as well,
and then pointing the way out and the way to go. The way out and forward is
through God's grace in Christ -- grace which allows me to acknowledge my
sin, to be forgiven of both it and the guilt of it, and then to go forward
with a clean slate to set things as right as possible concerning the
situation. It's not that I deserve forgiveness, because God's grace is
undeserved. He extends it freely to all those who trust in Jesus Christ as
their Lord and Saviour.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through
faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." (Ephesians
2:8 NIV)
This marvellous gift of grace is something that I
am becoming more and more aware of as I age, due to the fact that I am often
awake during the night. During those periods of wakefulness, the Holy Spirit
brings to mind occurrences of sin from years before, even though I was often
not aware that they were sin at the time. They are not huge things, but
rather those everyday instances when I did not love my neighbour as myself.
I acted hastily, rudely, in an unthinking and unkind manner. I did not take
the time to help when I could and should have. I used harsh words or a
manner that was totally uncalled for. I left undone what I should have done.
All these things I either justified at the time or was simply blind to. Yet,
God was aware of them, and because He loves me so much, He wants me to be
holy in Christ, which also means becoming aware of any ungodliness within
and dealing with it, through His grace, which I am obediently doing step by
step, as He lovingly catches me out.
How about you? What does God's grace mean to you?
How aware of it are you in your daily life? Have you been saved by grace,
through faith -- and this is not from yourself, it is the gift of God. And
if not, ask yourself, why not?
One day, we will each be found out, much like I
found Frank out. Our life will come to its earthly end, and we shall stand
before God. How we have accepted or refused His grace in Christ will be the
judge of our eternity.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your grace
through Jesus Christ. Thank You that it is always available to us through
faith, that we might not only be forgiven of our sins but also the guilt of
them, which is so often the cause of depression, discouragement, and
hopelessness. May each of us learn to accept and rest in that grace, that we
might become more and more like You. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
Lynne
Phipps
Atlin, British Columbia, Canada
Reprinted from the
PresbyCan
Daily Devotional with the author's
permission
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