The Age of Grace

 

 

1 CORINTHIANS 16:23

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 

The age of grace began at the cross of Jesus Christ. Until then, a strict adherent faithfulness to the laws of God had to be met: with a love for God in their hearts and an expectant longing for His Savior, Whom He had promised several times over would arrive and reign on David's throne. 

But what is grace? And why do we need it? 

Grace is the extension of God's love toward mankind because He wants to be near us. We need His grace because without it we cannot enter His eternal dwelling place, nor can we stand in His holy presence. 

How do we get this wonderful grace which has been proffered to us?

Through Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son; Who obediently suffered and died for sinners everywhere and in every time period. Ephesians 2:8 tells us, "It is by grace you have been saved, it is The Gift of God." We didn't earn this grace: it is freely given to all who put their faith in The Name of Jesus Christ for their salvation. It is saving grace and Christ Jesus is the only way to obtain it. 

God's grace will not end until after the millennial reign which Christ will set up at the end of the tribulation years. Sin will still exist, as well as death. For Isaiah says, " No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed." 

It is amazing to me that when Christ is on His throne during that time, that people will not only see His loving face and hear His beautiful voice, but will choose to believe that He is not The Only Begotten Son of God and live their lives without Him in it. They will have the same opportunities you and I have now, except for one thing: the churches will be gone. 

And my heart is sad and burdened, even now, for the people in this day and age who choose to disbelieve The Written Word of God, who deny His existence and, again, prefer to live their lives without Him in it. 

Please don't be one of those people who lives without Christ. Come to Jesus. And enjoy a close, personal relationship like you've never experienced before. 

JUST AS I AM (I COME BROKEN) - Travis Cottrell 

LIVE IN ME, JESUS - Calvin B. Rhone 

COME TO THE ALTAR - Elevation Worship

Statements of Faith - I Am Salt

 

Matthew 5:13

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

Colossians 4:6

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

    Salty foods make a person thirsty. In order for the child of God to be considered salt, our witness and our testimony must be evident every single day of our lives for the rest of our lives. If nobody can see the changes God is wreaking in our lives; if our words do not match our actions, then our salt has lost its savor: it is useless. We must be on the alert at all times to remain in Christ as He remains in us. God's Word is alive in us and we are in a constant state of motion on The Potter's wheel. 

    Salt preserves. It prevents rot and disease. When we are filled with The Word of God, we are filled with the salt of it. We don't want to go to heaven alone. We urge and plead with you who are even yet unknowing of the wonderful grace which God has prepared for you when you enter into a committed relationship with His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Jesus is coming back soon for His church, His bride, to bring her to the heavenly home He has prepared for her (1 Thessalonians 4:17; Mark 13:32, 33; John 14:2).

    After Jesus had witnessed to the woman at the well, and His disciples returned with lunch, He was not hungry. When they questioned Him, His response was "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me and to finish His work." Being obedient to God's will is satisfying. And how did He finish the work which God had prepared for Him to do? John 19:30 "When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit." "It is finished" were the last words He spoke before He died on the cross. His work was done.     

    Our work, however, is not; for we are still here. We still preach the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ to all nations. We preach this gospel in our homes with the love of God being manifested in us and through us. We speak love into the hearts of ur spouses and our children and our grandchildren. We speak Jesus into tired bodies, lonely hearts, distressed and despairing lives and broken minds. We speak the love of God into our neighborhoods and our communities and our cities. 

    We preach Christ crucified and resurrected, the first of God's children to do so. A great number which cannot be calculated have followed that first resurrection (Hebrews 12:1) and many more will follow. Our work for God is done in the love of God (1 Corinthians 13). Anything done in The Name of The Lord but not the grace and love of God is just empty words and wasted actions. 

    Our walk in Christ must align with Christ's steps. When you see Jesus in me, hear His loving words fall from my lips and see the grace which is upon me, then you will know that God has and still is changing me. And, hopefully, you will want this love and grace in your life, too. 

Matthew 5:6

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

SUFFICIENT FOR TODAY - TRIBL 

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS

LORD I NEED YOU 

OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART LORD 

 

Statements of Faith - Purchased

 

 

ACTS 20:28

Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.

    This is a gentle reminder to the church leaders not only to the church in Ephesus, but to church leaders everywhere even in this present time. For The Word of God is alive and ever flowing, like streams of living water flowing into His trees of righteousness, strengthening us and causing us to grow: in Him and in each other. 

    Jeremiah 3:15 tells us what the shepherds of God's people will be like: "Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding."

    John 21:15-19 shows us how Jesus reinstated Peter into the twelve after Peter's denial and Jesus' resurrection. Through Christ's neverending love and mercy, He was able to reveal to Peter not only what his life was to be about, but also his death. 

    God wants His shepherds, His church leaders, to have hearts like His heart: to seek and to save the lost; to have and to show the love of God by our words and our actions; to have knowledge and understanding of God's Holy Word that we might be able to share It with His wisdom, His Holy Spirit, active in us. 

    Every born again believer has been purchased by God with the blood of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. We are not our own: we have been bought from sin and its punishment at great cost: the blood of Jesus Christ. 

    Hebrews 9:14

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

    Matthew 26:28

For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 

    This blood of my Jesus covers me. Now when I face God on my day of judgment, God will not see this fleshly body in which I currently dwell: He will see His Son and I will dwell in the house of The Lord forever. 

    What will God see when He looks at you on your day of judgment? 

Romans 10:8-10, 13

(8) But what does it say? “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, The Word of Faith we are proclaiming: 

(9) that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

(10) For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved. 

(13) For whosoever shall call upon The Name of The Lord shall be saved.

    I am a whosoever. Are you?

    

SINCE YOUR LOVE - United Pursuit 

I AM NOT MY OWN - Keith & Krystin Getty

NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD - Jars of Clay

COVERED - Planetshakers

Statements of Faith - I Am Redeemed & Forgiven

 

 

EPHESIANS 1:7

In Whom we have redemption through His blood,

the forgiveness of sins,

according to the riches of His grace. 

GRACE THAT IS GREATER - Don Moen 

    

    Psalm 130:7

O Israel, put your hope in The LORD, for with The LORD is loving devotion, and with Him is redemption in abundance. 

    Acts 2:38

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of The Holy Spirit."

    Acts 20:28

Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which The Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. 

    Romans 3:21-25

(21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets.

(22)And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, 

(23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

(24) and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

(25) God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.

    Acts 17:30

Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.

REDEEMED - Big Daddy Weave

    Why do I talk about Jesus so much? Why would I ever stop? It's because of His grace that I am who I am today. Jesus redeemed us with His blood and forgave us with His grace. His redeeming power and transformative forgiveness set me on the path of righteousness and holiness, which I continue to walk in today. 

    It is an old path and a narrow one. Not everyone will choose to walk with Jesus; a mind-boggling thought and a sad one. But the constraints of holiness give freedom in the liberty of The Holy Spirit. Freedom from dark thoughts, freedom from every form of addiction, freedom from the chains of sin. Freedom  in Christ Who died for us. 

    God's people love to talk about their God and how He redeemed us with the blood of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. We love to testify, tell about how He changed us from the sinful person we once were into the person He is transforming us into. 

I LOVE TO TELL THE STORY   - Katherine Hankey

Verse 1

I love to tell the story of unseen things above,

Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true;

It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.

Chorus

I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,

To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.

Verse 2

I love to tell the story; more wonderful it seems

Than all the golden fancies of all our golden dreams.

I love to tell the story, it did so much for me;

And that is just the reason I tell it now to thee.

Verse 3

I love to tell the story; ’tis pleasant to repeat

What seems, each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet.

I love to tell the story, for some have never heard

The message of salvation from God’s own holy Word.

Verse 4

I love to tell the story, for those who know it best

Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.

And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song,

’Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.

I Will Sing of My Redeemer

 

Psalm 96:1

O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.

Psalm 40:3

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

Isaiah 42:10

Sing to the LORD a new song—His praise from the ends of the earth—you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who dwell in them.

Revelation 5:9

And they sang a new song: "Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation."

    What New Song is this which everyone is singing? The Song of Redemption. The Song of The Redeemed. The Song of Redeeming Grace, of God's Love Exemplified. 

I AM REDEEMED - Big Daddy Weave 
AMAZING GRACE - Chris Tomlin

    While the angels in heaven can worship with song and with music, only the redeemed of The Lord can worship from a sinner saved by grace standpoint. 

I'M JUST A SINNER SAVED BY GRACE - Gaither Vocal Group

    How did we get to be the redeemed of The Lord? By believing the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. He is our Redeemer, our Savior. Let me show you the Way. 

Nobody is good enough  to go to heaven on their own merits- Romans 3:10

Everyone is a sinner - Romans 3:23

But God loves us so much He sent His Son to die in our place - Romans 5:6; John 3:16

We deserve death for our sin but God's plan of salvation is a Gift to those who believe - Romans 6:23

When we speak out loud that we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in our hearts that this is true, God saves us, redeems us - Romans 10:9-10

Everyone who calls on Jesus' Name for their salvation is saved - Romans 10:13

I'M JUST A NOBODY - Casting Crowns 

A Crucified Life - - Comprehends Mercy

 

    Romans 10:19

But I ask, did Israel not know? First, Moses says: "I will provoke you to jealousy by those not a nation; I will anger you by a nation without understanding."

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 801

Without Understanding: unintelligent, unwise, undiscerning

From the Greek word 'asunetos' (pronounced as-oon'-ay-tos): without comprehension, foolish, illogical because unwilling to use good reason.

    Deuteronomy 32:21

They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.

    Romans 11:11

I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.

    1 Peter 2:10

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

    The prophecy against Israel goes all the way back to Moses' time. It is beginning to be fulfilled in Acts 2, when the Spirit-filled disciples go out into the city and preach the gospel. But because persecution was swift, many left the city and went out to other countries, other nations, sharing the gospel message as they went. 

    Very thankful for that. Where would I be without God's mercy? I'd be dead and in hell. For I was without understanding. I was foolish and ignorant of God's lovingkindness. I knew nothing and in the darkness of this world, I sought that which I knew not, but where I looked for it, I found it nought. 

    Cocaine, marijuana, 'ludes, LSD and liquor brought me neither joy nor lasting happiness. I had no peace, no hope, no awareness that I was living/dying in the darkness of sin. Death tried to have its way with me. Until Jesus found me and called my name. And I began to make my way to His cross.

    God's grace and mercy are found at the cross of Christ, where the blood of His Lamb washes away the stain of sin on my life. At the cross I found the only God I would ever need again. He found me first and brought me to the place of forgiveness and hope, for I had no hope. I didn't know joy until I gave my heart to Jesus Christ. 

    At the cross I was grafted into the Vine. In order to be grafted one must first be cut from one rootstock and grafted into another. There is a separation from the old and a twisting into the new. 

    At the cross I saw the light of God's love. It was both beautiful to me and a horror to look upon. For the Lamb of God was tortured, and beaten and had heavy nails pounded into His hands and feet (to hold Him onto the cross). He was a bloody mess.

    Blood ran down His face from the crown of thorns that was pushed forcefully into His head. Rivulets of blood ran down His chest from the whip lashings He endured for my sake. Pain coursed through His body until His heart broke and He died. For me, for you: for a foolish, ignorant people that we might be restored to a right relationship with God. 

    At the cross we see Jesus. In the garden we see Jesus. Both times He is unrecognizable. Until He speaks. On the cross He speaks forgiveness for the ignorant. In the garden He speaks Life to the seeker. 

    Mercy is mine because I am forgiven. And because I want to be where He is, I went to the garden, too, seeking Jesus. And He spoke to me. He speaks Life because He is Life Eternal. He speaks Love because He is the representation of God's Love to a broken world, a lost people, an ignorant nation. I'm so thankful I made my way to the cross. It's the wisest, smartest decision I ever made. 

MERCY IS MINE, PRAISE IS YOURS 

A Thousand Hallelujahs 

God Be Merciful To Me

Holy Forever

River of Life

At The Cross

Greater

Flawless

Redeemed

Broken Things

Forgiven

Heart of God

Different

    

    

A Crucified Life - - Knows Surpassing Grace

 

    2 Corinthians 9:14

And their prayers for you will express their affection for you because of the Surpassing Grace God has given you.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No.

Surpassing: beyond, exceed 

From the Greek word ' huperballó' (pronounced hoop-er-bal'-lo): excel.

Grace: gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ; kindness, the Lord's favor

From the Greek word 'charis' (pronounced khar'-ece). "The merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues" (quoted from Strong's)

    One of the exercises of Christian virtue is our willingness to share with others what we ourselves have received from God. Namely, His Son Jesus Christ, Who is Himself our Surpassing Grace. 

    It takes Holy Spirit boldness and a brave spirit to reach out to someone you've known your whole life (usually family) and say, "I've just met Jesus!" It takes Holy Spirit power to reach across the expanse of this globe to reach someone you've never met with the Love of God expressed through Christ. 

    That is just what these young churches were doing. Exerting, exercising, their increase in faith to help spread the gospel through the work of Paul and his companions. Their cup was overflowing and the overflow went to Paul.

     Is our cup of grace overflowing? where is the excess going to?

    

Surpassing Grace

There Is One Gospel - CityAlight

Greater Is The Blood - Mark & Sarah Tillman

Grace Like Rain - Todd Agnew

This Is Amazing Grace - Phil Wickham

Until Grace - Tauren Wells, Gary LeVox

Walking Free - Micah Tyler

Fill My Cup - Andrew Ripp

I Need A Ghost - Brandon Lake

Hands & Feet - Audio Adrenaline

I Will Serve Thee

I Speak Jesus - Here Be Lions

I See Grace - Micah Tyler

    

A Crucified Life - - Speaks Freely

 

2 Corinthians 6:11

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians. Our hearts are open wide.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 455

Speak Freely: to be or stand openly

From the Greek word 'anoigó' (pronounced an-oy'-go): speak freely, keeping nothing back.

    

    In writing to the church in Corinth, Paul reminds them that he has shared his sufferings and his joys with them, keeping nothing from them that they might share in not only these but also in the rewards of faithfulness. As Paul had written to the church in Rome, Romans 8:17 "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." 

    We who believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation are the church. Not in our name but in His Name. For we are also God's children, brothers and sisters in Christ and of Christ Jesus. We obtain this inheritance of glory through the sufferings of Christ. 

    What one believer suffers, all believers suffer. We are not alone. We may be on different continents, live in varying cities and towns, but we are all one in Christ. What one goes through, all go through. 

    When one of us goes through the fire, we all go through the fire. When one of us gets slandered, we all get slandered. When one of us is persecuted for the Name of Christ, all of us are persecuted for His Name's sake. 

    Having been called to suffer, why do so many persist in believing that persecution is not theirs to bear? That it belongs in some remote part of the world? Technically, we are all in remote parts of the world. And as much as the internet brings many together, it also separates. It is both a blessing and a curse. 

    But the sharing to which Paul alludes is of a much higher sharing in of: it is the cross of Christ which brings us all to His feet, it is the Suffering Servant Who makes us joint-heirs with Him by our belief in His Name for our salvation. 

    It is the blood of Christ which washes away our sins, changing us from sinners guilty of eternal damnation to saints worthy of an eternal inheritance. It is the grace of God extended to a lost and dying people that redeems us back to Him, making us found and alive in Christ. 

    It is the mercy of God through the obedience of His only begotten Son that is shown to each and every person time after time after time. We who believe receive such salvation, grace and mercy to the everlasting benefit of our souls. Do you believe?

    And now, let me speak freely. God loves us. God loves us so much He can't bear to leave us like He found us. So God changes the person who believes in His only begotten Son into a resemblance of His Son, so that when He looks at us, He sees only a reflection of His Son. He's not looking at unwashed, unglazed pottery any more. He's transformed us into a useable vessel to be of service in some form or fashion in His house. 

    I must ask you, Does God see Jesus in you? 

     

SPEAKING FREELY 

Refiner - Maverick City Music

Glorious Ruins - Hillsong Live

No Way, We Are Not Ashamed - Carman

The Worth of Knowing You - Austin Bratton

Alive In You - Jesus Culture

Do They See Jesus In Me - Jessell Dawn Mahinay

    

A Crucified Life - - Speaks For Itself

 

2 Corinthians 6:8

By honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No.

Evil Report: defamation, reproach, ill-repute

From the Greek word 'dusphemia' (pronounced doos-fay-mee'-ah).

Good Report: commendation, praise

From the Greek word 'euphémia' (pronounced yoo-fay-mee'-ah).

    Slandered. Spoken ill of for speaking the Truth. To share the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ is to expect people to come against you. As they came against Christ who not only speaks Truth but is Himself Truth, how can we expect any less to happen to us as His faithful followers? 

Jesus Himself warned His disciples that as many came against Him for the Truth of the Word which He spake, people would also come against them, against us. 

>John 16:1-3

>John 15:18-20

>Proverbs 29:27

>Matthew 10:22

>Matthew 24:9

    Knowing that even the very mention of the Name of Christ could get a person killed, how does the kingdom of God keep growing? Grace.Joy. Peace. Rest. Forgiveness. Wisdom. Love. Hope. Mercy. Of God. In Christ. Through the Holy Spirit of God. 

>GRACE: Ephesians 2:8

>JOY: John 15:11

>PEACE: John 16:33

>REST: Matthew 11:28

>FORGIVENESS: Ephesians 1:7

>WISDOM: Proverbs 11:30

>LOVE: 1 John 4:16

>HOPE: Psalm 39:7

>MERCY: Titus 3:5

    All of these things Christ is to us who believe. All of these are in us and need to be displayed to everyone else by our words and our actions. The name is the reputation. Whose name are you defined by? The faithful follower of Christ is defined by Christ's Name and carries His reputation with them wherever they go. 

    Philippians 2:7, 8

But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

     As such He did, so, too, do we, His followers. We make ourselves of no reputation, and yet, we are known by many for who we are. As Christ is known, both loved and hated, we who love Him and follow in His steps, are both loved  and hated. Though we desire no reputation of our own, we are given two. We are only slightly known to this world. But in God's kingdom we are fully known.

REPUTATION

Clean Hands - Lauren Alexandria

Better Than Life - Phil Wickham

Here's My Heart - I Am They

No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus - Steffany Gretzinger

Nothing Without You - United Pursuit

I Belong To Jesus - Paul, Hannah McClure

Give Us Clean Hands - Caedmon's Call

I Speak Jesus - Here Be Lions

Hands and Feet - Audio Adrenaline

Build Your Kingdom Here - Rend Collective

Known - Tauren Wells

    

A Crucified Life - - Doesn't Take Grace For Granted

 

2 Corinthians 6:1

Working together with Him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No.

Vain: empty, morally empty, worthless, hollow, ineffective, unreal, pretentious

From the Greek word 'kenos' (pronounced ken-os'): of no purpose.

    A crucified life does not take the grace of God for granted. We are always aware of how much God loves us. Having the cross of Christ always before us we are always cognizant of what it took for God to get us here. 

    A crucified life thanks God everyday for His abundant grace which He has poured out on us. We make the decision every day to put God first. To greet Him first thing every morning and last thing every night. We are conscious on every level of our being just how much God loves us; we celebrate our God in worship and song and thanksgiving.

     A crucified life shares the grace of God which it has received at the cross of Christ. We preach the gospel of salvation - saving grace - through Jesus Christ. In our every day lives we must proclaim the gospel. 

    Grace. God pours His grace onto the believing heart and breaks the chains of sin that keep it bound. Because this grace is only available through God, only God can dispense it. 

    Ephesians 2:8

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

    A crucified life is very aware that the grace of God was at the cost of God's beloved only begotten Son Jesus Christ, whose blood poured out of the top of His head, His nailed hands and feet, His beaten and torn back, His face which had its beard ripped out, His side which was pierced by a Roman soldier after He had died. 

    It's at the cross that grace is found. There is no other way to obtain God's grace. So we come to the cross. We look up at this Man Jesus and we believe that He is truly the Son of God. 

    Jesus' blood washes our hearts clean of sin: that's grace in action. Grace and forgiveness are the transforming powers of God at work in us when we believe. 

    Do you believe?

GRACE IS MINE

All My Hope - Crowder, Tauren Wells

Flawless - Mercy Me

Amazing Grace My Chains Are God - Chris Tomlin

At The Cross - Chris Tomlin

Glorious Day - Casting Crowns

Break Every Chain - Jesus Culture

Thank You Jesus For The Blood - Charity Gayle

What Grace Is Mine - Kristyn Getty

    

A Crucified Life - - Is Through Christ

 

2 Corinthians 5:18

All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 1223

Through: by the instrumentality of, by way of, for the sake of

From the Greek word 'dia' (pronounced dee-ah'): properly, across (to the other side), to go all the way through, "successfully across". 

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST SAVES, CLEANSES US    Romans 5:10

For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!

    Romans 5:15

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass (Adam's sin) the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one Man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many.

    Ephesians 1:7

In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

    Ephesians 2:13

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

    Acts 15:11

But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. 

    1 Peter 1:1, 2

This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and His Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace. (NLT Bible)

    Though we cannot literally apply this blood to ourselves, for we have not in and of ourselves the power to do so, nevertheless it is applied by God Himself when we believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation. Do you believe? 

    It is our Faith in Christ Jesus that gets the spiritual gears and cogs shifting and aligning. First, we believe that God is God and that His Word is Truth. Secondly, in our recognition of this fact, we realize we are sinners and have trespassed against God's Word. And thirdly, realizing now that we have nowhere else to go but God, we humble ourselves, kneeling at the altar and repenting of our sinful words and our sinful actions. We ask for His forgiveness and we receive it. 

GRACE THROUGH CHRIST

Washed By The Blood - CityAlight

Grace That Is Greater Than All Our Sin - Sovereign Grace Music

Softly And Tenderly - Kristyn Getty, Vince Gill, Ellie Holcomb, Sierra Hull

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross - Fernando Ortega

Sinner Saved By Grace - Gaither Vocal Band

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) - Chris Tomlin

    

A Crucified Life - - The Way of The Cross - - Grace Extended

     

2 Corinthians 4:15

All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may overflow in thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

    *Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 

Benefit: to go all the way through, successfully cross to the other side 

From the Greek word 'dia' (pronounced dee-ah'): across to the other side; from one side to the other. The means by which said benefit is accomplished.

    The Way of The Cross isn't paved with rose petals. In fact it isn't paved at all. It's rocky. It's dry and compacted from the many feet which have trod it before. It's blood-stained due to the fact that many who follow it have been beaten for their faith but not overcome; who have fallen from the weight of their scars, but received a hand up and a shoulder to help bear their load. Untold numbers who walked the Way have been killed but have not died. 

    The Way of The Cross is vital to the soul and necessary to the life of the testimony. Without it there is no testimony. For our Testimony walked that Way before us and even now walks it with us. Our Testimony hung on the Cross after He walked the Way of The Cross. But our Testimony didn't end on the Cross.

    The Way of The Cross leads to the Resurrection of the dead in Christ. Without the Way of The Cross there is no Resurrection of the dead in Christ. I'm walking the Way of The Cross. And I want you to walk it with me. 

    This is your invitation. God wrote it, Christ delivered it and I'm handing it to you. What are you going to do with it?

The Way of The Cross

Living Water - Anne Wilson

This Is Our God - Phil Wickham

One Step Away - Jason Upton

Turn To Jesus - Katy Nichole

Jericho - Andrew Ripp

Lay It All Down - Will Reagan & United Pursuit

Walking Free - Micah Tyler

Guard Your Heart - - Build Your Faith

 

Jude 1:20, 21

20. But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 

21. keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 2026

Building: to build upon

From the Greek word 'epoikodomeó' (pronounced ep-oy-kod-om-eh'-o): to build up, to edify; to follow a plan with pre-designed specifications; to make progress in building up (from one level to another).

UNWAVERING FAITH

~PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT~

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;)

James 1:6

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

    If we have our doubts when we pray, then we are praying in doubt, not in faith; our prayers will neither be received nor heard. We must pray expecting to receive, with confidence and absolute trust in God's perfect will. But only if we pray according to His will. 

    Praying in The Holy Spirit, The Holy Ghost, is praying according to God's Word: the Word we are being led to and through when we listen to The Spirit of God. If we pray our desires, then it is doubtful we will receive the answer we want. But when we pray God's Word over every situation, then God's Will will prevail. 

    Praying in The Spirit does not mean we have to pray in tongues (although that will happen sometimes with the person who is filled with The Holy Spirit), but that we need to be working with The Spirit of God throughout our daily lives: fervently (urgently), consistently (constantly) and in faith (believing that it will be so). James 5:16; Ephesians 6:18; James 1:6; 1 Timothy 2:1.

    Unwavering faith sees its sins forgiven, its bodies healed, its minds delivered, prisoners freed. Not just then, but even today. Unwavering faith desires to please God: doing what makes God happy. 

BUILDING ON THE FOUNDATION

~HONOR~

    Knowing that our Foundation is Jesus Christ, we need to be careful how we are building on that Foundation. For God built His Foundation with Justice and Righteousness (Isaiah 28:16, 17). 

    Reading 1 Corinthians 3:10 "We must be careful how we build on that Foundation". Throughout this past year we have been learning what it means to be born again. We are still learning. Each monthly series this year I have still listed under the main heading of Being Born Again. (if you don't see some of it on this site, check Facebook).

    1 Peter 2:1 tells us to "Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander." These items do not make good building blocks. Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander fall under the commandments of what not to do, how not to behave with one another: Thou shall not bear false witness (malice, deceit, hypocrisy, slander). Thou shall not covet (envy).   They are hindrances to the building. Our natural desires war against our spiritual desires (1 Peter 2:11) but conducting ourselves with honor is a desirable building block of faith (1 Peter 2:12).

~MERCY~

    In Matthew 25:35-40 Jesus is speaking on the faithful servant, the one who will enter into the joy of the Lord. "For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’

    Not everyone is called to be a missionary, but we are all called to pray for one another. In prayer I pray that needs are met. That the hungry are fed, the thirsty receive clean water, the sick are ministered to: their wounds bound, their diseases healed, their dead raised to life. 

I pray for the captives, in prison and out of prison, to be delivered and set free. I pray that their needs also are met. When I pray for those who serve on the front lines of ministry, I pray for each of these things on them as well. This is mercy.

~GRACE~FORGIVENESS~

    Saving grace is what God extended through Jesus Christ to us. (Acts 15:11). It is only by grace we are saved at all (Ephesians 2:5, 8). Grace is an extension of God's love. It is having and showing compassion; it is forgiveness multiplied beyond number (Matthew 18:21,22). Because if we are counting how many times you have "forgiven" a person or persons, then we are not really forgiving them at all: we're tallying up offenses and holding grudges. Not ideal building blocks at all to lay on the Foundation of our faith.

    The grace, the forgiveness, we offer to each other must be sincere and offered in love, the true love of God which lives in the born again believer. If we keep coming back to the original offense we received from the one we think we forgave, then we never offered them love and grace in the first place. Our hearts need to be right with God, aligned in His Justice and Righteousness, that we may freely give grace to one another.

KEEP IN THE LOVE OF GOD & HIS MERCY

 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

9. For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

10. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.

11. Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing.

Romans 14:8

If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

2 Timothy 2:11

This is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him.

    The only way to Keep in the Love of God and His Mercy is to remain in God's love, in God's testimony, in God's Son Jesus Christ. To remain in God's love is to live (dwell, take up residence) in God's love. 

    How do we conduct ourselves in our everyday living when we interact with family, when we are working with colleagues, when we sit in waiting rooms? Are we living in the love of God when we get angry, frustrated, upset? Are we living to the Lord by our actions and our words? These are questions only we can ask ourselves and only we can answer. If our answers are not in keeping with God's definition of Christian conduct, then we need to take the matter before Him in prayer and ask that He keep changing us, molding us into the people He wants us to be. 

    Have you ever thought about how the clay might feel on the potter's wheel? Being poked here, prodded there; smoothed away in some areas, broken off in others. Yet there the lump of clay sat, waiting for the potter to create in them what the potter had in mind to create. 

    We are lumps of clay being perfected on the Potter's wheel. Perhaps we, too, should wait without argument while our Potter finishes working on us; while He builds us into Himself. 

    We know we are saved. We both know and hope for our resurrection into eternal life. For it is in Christ that we have the Resurrection and the Life. Let us therefore live in God as He lives in us: with grace, with integrity, with mercy. 

2 Peter 3:13, 14

13. But in keeping with God’s promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

14. Therefore, beloved, as you anticipate these things, make every effort to be found at peace—spotless and blameless in His sight.

I BUILT MY HOUSE ON A STONE by Jason Upton

HOUSE OF PRAYER by Eddie James, Jayna Cullens

POUR ME OUT by Brandon Lake

FILL MY WAY by Iris DeMent

TREMBLE by I AM THEY

I WON'T LEAVE YOU HERE by Southern Raised Bluegrass