God’s Amazing Grace

Grace.

We have heard of it, talked about it, sang about it, and gladly received it, but have we ever really thought about it?

* Grace, according to the Strong’s Concordance taken from the Greek is “the state of kindness and favor towards someone, often with a focus on a benefit given to the object. OR favor, kindness, or displaying a favorable disposition” it is also defined as unmerited or undeserved mercy.

David is one of my very favorite characters in the bible.

I guess I can identify with him so much because…well…let’s face it….he was a screw up…and I can relate to that.

One day, as David was looking out over his kingdom. No doubt admiring all that he was in control of, and probably feeling quite proud of himself, he saw something that really peeked his interest. Evidently Bathsheba was a major hottie and David got her digits and gave her a ring. He slept with her, she got pregnant. he then brought her husband back from war hoping that he would sleep with her and therefore cover up his transgression. That didn’t work so David had him sent to the front lines and he was killed and he then married Bathsheba. Problem solved…or so he thought.

“1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity. 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!”

“13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD. Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.” 2 Samuel 12

Let’s recap…David Slept with another mans wife, got her pregnant, tried to cover it up, then had the man killed and then married the woman.

Deserving death, he repented. God Forgave him…before he even asked!

Unmerited, undeserved mercy.

One of the things so amazing about God’s grace is that we don’t have to be good enough to get it. You don’t have to work hard to deserve it. You don’t have to jump through flaming hoops to get to it. He gives it freely, willingly to anyone who will receive it.

We are all deserving of our fate, which is death from sin.

“1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:1-10

Amazing Grace….no longer a slave to our sin nature, not bound by death or the cravings of our flesh man.

“24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;” 1 Peter 2:24

Here are some things we need to consider.

*It is no longer OUR sin…but his.

*Sin is no longer our nature. We are no longer held captive to it.

Most of us though have a hard time letting go of OUR sin. Why do we try to own it? Why do we try to keep it?

Here is what we need to get into our minds….

*OUR sin is not just covered by his mercy/grace, but actually TAKEN AWAY!

*It is no longer ours!

*He took them away from us, and took them upon himself.

I don’t think we realize that enough.

Unmerited, undeserved mercy!

Amazing things about God’s Grace

*You don’t have to be good enough to get it.

*You don’t have to jump through hoops to get to it.

*He freely gives it to everyone.

*It was given to you before you asked!

He is just waiting for us to realize, confess to him, and turn away from the sin that is no longer ours and turn towards His righteousness..

All of us struggle, all of us fail at times or fall short of what we believe God’s expectations are of us.

*We don’t have to let sin define us!

*We are no longer condemned by sin through His Grace!.

We have been granted the unmerited, undeserved Grace of our Gracious God.

A few days ago I was thinking about this, and the song “Amazing Grace” came to my mind. I had heard and sang that song probably thousands of times…but this time the first line stuck out to me.

“Amazing Grace how sweet the sound..”

That started my little brain to thinking and I posted this question on Twitter..

“What does Grace sound like?”

And one of the responses I got floored me because I had never thought of it this way.

“A sigh of relief!”

I don’t know about you, but God has forgiven me much…so I can identify with that sentiment.

I am thankful for God’s Amazing Grace!