Grace And Glory

When I gave piano lessons I heard more than once that a former piano teacher whacked their hands with a ruler if they messed up. 

As a new Christian I remember thinking if I didn’t live perfect God would whack me some way. Of course, that wasn’t true because I could never live perfect, but by the grace of God I could live in His strength.

As the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am. . . .”

Jesus will guide you by His Spirit and give you strength and power to be what He wants you to be. Let Him do that.

And, no matter what happens in your life, never forget this song: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

Did you know His love is full of grace and glory?

Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

My Greatest Comfort

My greatest comfort these days is in hope that is beyond this world—when I see Jesus for the first time. 

John 14:1,3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. ,  ,  ,  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.                  

I met Jesus in salvation but not face to face. I can’t wait to see Him as He is, to spend eternity in His glorious presence.

In 1891 Fanny Crosby, blind as she was, wrote about it in a beautiful song.

“When my lifework is ended, and I cross the swelling tide,

When the bright and glorious morning I shall see;

I shall know my Redeemer when I reach the other side,

And His smile will be the first to welcome me.

I shall know Him, I shall know Him,

And redeemed by His side I shall stand,

I shall know Him, I shall know Him,

By the print of the nails in His hands.”

When life is pressing, comfort yourself with these words.

The Faithful One

God is faithful.  

He says, “Let it be,” and it is. He’s the God Who never changes, Hebrews 13:8. 

He’s the God Who never fails. 

He has always been and will ever be the Great “I AM”. 

He’s the God Who can be counted on. 

He is always everything the Bible says He is. 

Psalm 89:33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

Regardless of how life plays out, we have the confidence that our God is 

faithful and that He will stand by us even when our faith is weak.

Remember that God is the faithful one when you pray.

Where’s Your Faith

I think it’s safe to say that no one enjoys facing adversity, but we will at some time or other.

The disciples thought they would perish on the angry sea, but Jesus stepped in the boat and calmed the waters.

Mark 4:40-41 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

If Jesus was like any other man, I would’ve been scared in the boat, but Jesus calmed the wind and sea. They obeyed Him. 

Jesus parted waters, raised the dead, changed water to wine, healed the crippled and the blind, hung the moon and stars and nothing was created without Him.

Jesus takes black sinful hearts, cleanses them, making them white as snow.

How could we not have faith? 

Next time you’re in a storm—no matter how you feel or what you think—call out to Jesus and see His power and glory.

Virtue, Knowledge, Temperence . . .

I want to be the best I can be for the glory of God—always fruitful, have spiritual discernment and never doubting my salvation. I would think most Christians want that.

The Apostle Peter gives believers the secret to Godly living and receiving His blessings. 

2 Peter 1:4,5b. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. . . . giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge, ect.

Adding to these:

• Virtue – Moral uprightness —- Holiness — Liveing by the Bible
• Knowledge — Get in the Word and let the Word get into you
• Temperance — Control your tongues, tempers, and temptations
• Patience — Endurance — Stop letting every little thing knock you down
• Godliness — Walking in view of God’s greatness. Yielding to Him
• Brotherly Kindness — Love your brother 1 John 4:29-21
• Charity — God first, others second, you last

If you and I lack one or two or all seven of these in our lives, humbly seek the Lord. He wants to make us like Him. Let Him. These qualities make us victorious and blessed.

A Personal Touch

Jesus could’ve simply touched the deaf man who couldn’t speak, but He wanted to deal with him personally. He touched his ears and his tongue.

Mark 7:34-35 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.

We don’t serve a generic Lord who has a one size fits all touch. 

Jesus knows the condition of our heart and He wants to work with us in a personal way. 

The Lord is never short on grace, healing, encouragement or salvation.

I praise God that I have a personal Savior, One who cares about my individual needs. 

I don’t have to rely on someone else’s blessing; I can get the personal help I need for my life. 

You can too. Jesus wants to meet you where you are, bring you out from the crowd and fulfill your need.

Glory In Weakness

 By making the Apostle Paul weak, God showed His own power and strength. 

That sounds like a paradox but it’s true. God gets far more glory out of weaker Christians as they lean on Him.

1 Corinthians 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

The disciples were ordinary weak men, but God used them to alter the world for His glory.

When the Lord allows trials and sufferings in your life, He has a plan and He’s getting glory out of your weakness.  

You may never know this side of eternity just how He used your pain.  

But someone is watching or God is working through it some way for His glory.