The Power of Grace

Matthew 18:21-35

I was recently reminded by a friend how much we are changed by the power of God's grace toward us. You see, Jesus has offered to pay the price for all of our failures. This cost of our failure is not a price we can pay, even if we dedicate our entire lives to try to "pay" for our sins. It is simply a gift! However, it is a gift that changes us from the inside out, if we have truly received it.

Sometimes when someone gives us something we are untrusting of their motives, because we judge their actions on what we might be willing to have done. In the case of Jesus, we might not fully receive His gift of grace because we cannot imagine being set free from a price we could never pay without having to do something for it. After all, if we were God, we would might make others pay a little... don't you think?

In the passage cited above, we read a story that Jesus tells of a man that is forgiven such a huge debt owed to a king that he could never have repaid it even if he worked his entire life to pay his debtor. Upon receiving the pardon from his creditor, he goes about his business. Upon finding a friend that owed him an amount that was indeed payable by comparison proceeds to show no mercy. The account indicates that the first man was left unchanged by the king's grace. Common sense tells us this should not be so!

This story give causes each of us to consider our own lives. Have we been changed by the love of our King Jesus? Are there areas of our lives that we hold unto unforgiveness? If so, I strongly encourage you to consider the amount of grace that has been extended to you by Jesus. His grace is the kind that will change your entire life! Any area of forgiveness that you are struggling in is an area that you need to consider under the light of what you have been forgiven of. You have been given much grace and should also extend that grace to every area of your life.

May God bless you and keep you,

Patrick

Jesus is the Vine

John 15:1-8

Jesus teaches us through this word picture of The True Vine both who He is and who we are in Him. He states that He is the "vine" and we are the "branches". Right away this evokes pictures of a grape vine that has many branches all producing a healthy crop of grapes. In this picture the vine is the source of nutrition for the branches, who are the conduit for the fruit to be nourished.

So what does all this mean? Jesus is identifying how the Father has caused us to rely on Jesus, the Vine. We need to have an intimate relationship with Him in order to be able to accomplish all that we were made to do. The term "abide" that is used in the New King James Version of the Bible means just that. To be in close and intimate relationship.

I love the picture of the Vine, because it shows that we cannot accomplish anything of value on our own. We need to be in an intimate relationship with Jesus for us to be productive and "bear fruit". The fruit is anything of eternal value and only can be produced by the life giving flow that come from Jesus and flows through the branches, us.

How do you have an intimate relationship with Jesus? First, ask Him. It is just that simple. Second, get to know Him. The easiest way to do that is by reading the Bible and spending time with others that believe and know about Him. A good place do this is at a Bible teaching church. Third, let Him work on you and work through you. By working on you, as you get to know Jesus more, it will become apparent some things in your life that you will want to get out of your life. Let Him point those thing out and help you remove them. Working through you... there will be things that become apparent that you should be doing. Things like, sharing your belief in Jesus with others. This is the kind of eternal fruit that Jesus is talking about. Finally, pray. Just like asking Jesus for an intimate relationship, praying is just talking to Him. He hears you when you talk to Him and in time you will "hear" Him too.

May you find Life in the Vine as much a joy as I have!

Patrick

Grace to Move a Mountain

Zechariah 4:6-10

Have you ever been so emotionally spent that you could not see the way out of your present circumstances? You are not alone! The Israelites had been held prisoner in a foreign land for 70 years. Their place of worship had been destroyed and the former captors finally were letting them go! The problem was that they were headed back to the ruins of their former home.

Sometimes our lives feel like they are in ruins, like Jerusalem was so long ago. However, God gave these people the faith to look past the mountain of their circumstances and begin to speak "Grace" into their troubles. That they did. Not only did they begin to clean up the ruins, but they started the foundation of their place of worship, the temple.

The new temple was not as grand as the original, but God gave them the courage not only to see a way to rebuild their ruins, but rejoice in it. Every small step they were encouraged to recognize.

If you find that you are in a difficult situation. I want to encourage you to begin praying that the grace that God promised Israel would be evident in the situation you are facing. God will meet you if you ask Him for help. He will answer your prayers. Simply put your trust in Him and begin to watch for the fingerprints of change in your life.

May the God who is the Author and Perfecter of those who believe in Him, be your comfort and provider in these days.

Living in the Vine!
Patrick