Grace.

When I first heard of grace, I thought of this: Graceful movements of a dancer or ice skater. It took me a long time to fully understand what "grace" really was. In fact, I had to read a book about it. Why is grace so important to blog about? God is full of grace!

Here is an example of grace: Let say someone killed a family member and that person was caught. What would you do? Would you help convict and possibly execute the criminal? Or would you forgive him and help him in his defense, even achieving victory in court? The last question is an example of God's grace. That is how forgiving He is and how much He loves us.

Charles Swindoll wrote a book called The Grace Awakening (which is what much of this blog is based upon) of which I've had it for almost a year, and haven't finished it, but I was impacted by it within the first few chapters. Many think that because of Jesus, all before Him are not saved. That is not the case. Because the Lord has said many times, "I AM the Living God and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." To me, that means those men are with Him and that they are still alive. And, that was before the Law was given to God's Chosen through Moses.

So what does this mean to you? God's grace can forgive you of anything. Abraham didn't believe in God at first, but knew there was something out there. The Lord noticed this and made Himself known to him. This was before the Law of Moses with all of it's instructions and rituals, yet the Lord talked to Abraham. And from that day forward, God was active in this man's life. So what is the deal? Why did God do this? I thought Jesus was needed to be saved?

Grace. Plain and simple. God, with His infinite grace forgave Abraham and developed a relationship with Him. God even visited him and blessed Sarah with a child, even though she was very old. This boggles my mind! God, without Jesus, forgave a man that had never heard of Him, nor even really asked for forgiveness until much later in his life. I mean, God, the Father cannot tolerate sin, nor even look at it since He is so holy. Which leads me to believe something else, Jesus, even though He wasn't born yet, was with the Father. Because Jesus must have been able to look upon Abraham and forgive him of his sins. You see, Jesus, who died for our sins is able to look upon sin and can deal with it.

So, what does that mean to me? I am forgiven, even though I am not perfect. I still sin and I just ask the Lord to forgive me and move forward. Unless a sin is forgiven, Satan will assail you with shame and failure about the matter. He will even attack you after you have asked forgiveness, just to get you to fall. What can a person do? I have used this tactic, "Why are you attacking me with this? The sin is forgiven, because I know the Lord has forgiven me!" And let me tell you, it works, as long as you were honest with the Lord when you asked forgiveness. If you weren't, then the torment will continue.

-Dear Lord, I give so much thanks for Your awesome grace! I know without it, we wouldn't be here. Your grace has allowed us to love and worship You and to develop that close relationship You want to have with us. I know that love is the force behind Your actions, but it still takes grace to allow that love to flow. Thank You for loving me, regardless of my faults. Thank You for giving grace, regardless of my faults. Thank You for helping me regardless of my faults. I look forward to the wondrous day You have given and I will do my best to keep You the center of my focus today! In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.