Extravagant Grace

LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

One of the things that God promises us is a new life. That’s a great promise, but what does it actually mean?

Well, imagine that you’ve been in jail for the last twenty years. Finally, the day comes for your release. You step outside with fresh clothes into the bright sunlight, and finally, the jailhouse door clangs shut behind you for the last time.

Going from captivity to freedom on the one hand would of course be wonderful, but coming to grips with this new-found freedom would take time.

In this devotional series, we’ve spent time looking at the central problem in our lives: sin. God dealt with sin so decisively on the cross, when Jesus died a brutal death for our sins. That tells you the priority God puts on dealing with this problem!

But stepping into this grace is a bit like stepping out of that jail. We have to come to grips with our new life, and make sure we don’t end up in the prison again.

How do we do this?

Well, Jesus didn’t only open the door for us to leave the jail – He also gave us a way to live going forwards. We are now to live according to the Spirit. Paul writes about this in Romans:

“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” (Romans 8:9-11)

This is such an awesome thing. The plan of God is not just to give us a new start, but to give us a new life.

When we shift our minds from what we used to desire to what the Spirit desires, the Spirit of God brings us a new life, a new freedom, a new peace, a new glory in our lives.

That’s God’s grace. Extravagant grace.

Comments

Good Friday

Happy Good Friday This is the day that we remember what Jesus did for us --- enduring beating, mocking, and being crucified. I imagine his disciples did not consider it to be a “good” Friday at the time. But what makes it GOOD is what happened on Sunday --- when Jesus did the impossible and rose from the dead. Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. ~ 1 Peter 1:18-19 ESV One of the best ways of celebrating Jesus and His Resurrection…is through family traditions. Family traditions can be as simple as attending ️ church and having lunch or brunch together. Jesus was a story-teller. I believe he knew the power of a story to capture hearts and bring joy while effectively delivering a specific message. He often used parables to teach. Do you have a favorite Bible Story or family tradition? A G

Canva

Created 2 Create Twitter Cover Image Design Canva - One of My Favorite Design Programs and Apps With Canva , you don’t have to be a design pro, it makes designing easy. You can use your own photos or you can you upload images from sites like Unsplash or Pexels and download them on your computer totally FREE. Canva also offers an app for you phone. Canva lets you Create designs for Web or print: blog graphics, presentations, Facebook & social media covers, flyers, posters, invitations and many more. The design options are endless, and the site is very user-friendly – you can modify one the their designs or create your own using one of the templates. Unsplash offers professional images that you can modify, edit and use as you desire. Again, totally free! Pexels ’ site is just like Upsplash , these are royalty-free photographs for you to use as you wish. These are some of the designs I created using Canva … Click on links belo

Why God Wants to Bless You!

Why God Wants to Bless You! “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Matthew 25:29, ESV). Do you know that God wants to bless you? He wants you to have abundance, lacking no good thing. But He doesn’t want that for you and me so we can merely enjoy our lives. He wants us to steward our resources so we can be better able to reach out to others and bless them in His name. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 (ESV), “…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” The goal is fruitfulness. The goal is God’s Kingdom. The goal is for God’s blessing to flow through us so we might be a blessing to others, to the glory of His name!

ChickChat

Search This Blog