Daily Devotional, Year 4 – July 3 (“What Is True Grace?”)
By admin On November 2nd, 2022.
.
Daily Devotional, Year 4 – July 3
.
.
.
.
“What Is True Grace?”
.
.
.
.
.
.
“But by the grace of God
I am what I am:
and His grace which was bestowed upon me
was not in vain;
but I laboured more abundantly than they all:
yet not I, but the grace of God
which was with me!”
1st Corinthians 15:10
.
.
.
In John Bunyan’s masterpiece allegory, “Pilgrim’s Progress”, there was a sad man who went by the name, “Graceless”.
.
And the reason why he was so sad, was because his Bible informed him that his very own city, “The City of Destruction”, was going to be burned with fire from Heaven because of its wickedness and sin.
.
Christian in Pilgrims Progress – Wikimedia – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
.
GRACELESS BECOMES “CHRISTIAN”
.
But in the process of time, by God’s saving grace, his name was changed from “Graceless” to “Christian”.
.
And from that time forward, Mr. Christian began his long upward sojourn to a distant city, “The Celestial City of the Lord Emmanuel”, as he encountered various characters, pitfalls, perils. etc., along the way.
Pilgrims Progress – His Burden Fell Off His Back – Wikimedia – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
WHAT IS TRUE GRACE?
.
Now, of course, this little book is an “everyman tale”, written to encourage all those who likewise have become Christian pilgrims on their sojourn to that heavenly city!
.
But the purpose for today’s devotional is to present what true grace is, as well as what true grace is NOT!
.
Question Mark – Wikimedia – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith“
.
Oh yes, Salvation by grace is as follows…
“For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Ephesians 2:8, 9
.
Yes, Salvation is truly a gift of grace and grace alone!
.
And yet, if we keep reading that very same passage, we likewise read one verse later that…
“For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:10
.
No, good works and obedience do not earn our Salvation.
.
But rather, Spirit-inspired good works and obedience are the evidence and the fruit of our Salvation.
Paul Converted – www.thebiblerevival.com
Paul Shipwrecked – Acts 27:41-44 – www.lavistachurchofchrist.org – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
And so, let’s take a few moments to consider some examples of what true grace is.
Magnifying Glass – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
.
.
.
.
.
.
“But we…beholding…the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same Image”
2nd Corinthians 3:18
.
For example, it is grace that inspires the desire to serve God and to become changed into His image…
“But we all, with open face,
beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same Image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
2nd Corinthians 3:18
.
Yes, the more we fix our minds upon God’s Word, and how it is fulfilled in Christ’s example, we become, day-by-day, imperceptibly changed into His image!
Transfiguration – Bloch – cropped – Wikimedia Commons – US Public-Domain
.
.
.
.
.
A NEW HEART ALSO WILL I PUT WITHIN YOU!
.
It is grace that causes us to begin to love the things of Heaven: such things as unceasing prayer and Bible contemplation, and beholding God’s wisdom found in all the things of Creation…
“A new heart also will I give you,
and a new Spirit will I put within you:
and I will take away the stony heart…
And I will put My spirit within you,
and cause you to walk in My statutes,
and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them.”
Ezekiel 36:26, 27
ABOVE PICTURE: Most Holy Place within the heart – Signs Of Heaven
.
.
.
.
.
“Put on…mercies, kindness, humbleness…Forbearing…and forgiving one another”
Colossians 3:12, 13
.
And it is true grace which places a Spirit of forgiveness within us, and a sympathetic understanding of the plight of others, yearning for their many needs and most of all, for their salvation…
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved,
bowels of mercies, kindness,
humbleness of mind, meekness,
longsuffering;
Forbearing one another,
and forgiving one another”
Colossians 3:12, 13
Ferguson Day – cropped Image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
.
.
.
.
.
.
“…but I labored more abundantly…yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
1st Corinthians 15:10
.
And it is grace which gives us power to go mightily forward in our labors for souls: for our own soul as well as the souls of others…
“But by the grace of God I am what I am:
and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain;
but I laboured more abundantly than they all:
yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
1st Corinthians 15:10
Paul Tentmaking – La Vista Church of Christ – Creative Commons License
.
.
.
.
.
LET’S NOT BE LIKE “WORLDLY WISEMAN”, OR LIKE “MR. IGNORANCE”!
.
But back to the tale of Pilgrim’s Progress.
.
Yes, Bunyan’s pilgrim, “Christian”, encountered various other fellows along the Way, such as “Worldly Wiseman”…
.
…and also, “Mr. Ignorance”, both of whom it may be said, did not understand the true Way of grace.
.
Pilgrims Progress – Ignorance – Wikimedia – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
“the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith…”
2nd Timothy 3:15
.
But the remedy for all such ignorance is for each hungering soul to soak in for his or her own self, God’s soul-saving Word…
“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures,
which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
2nd Timothy 3:15
.
Yes, a daily prayerful Bible study and contemplation will gradually diminish our ignorance, giving us Holy Spirit inspired wisdom in all heavenly matters!
USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Lord, Give me that true grace necessary to overcome the world, the flesh, and the Devil…
.
Christian and Apollyon – Pilgrim’s Progress – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
FURTHER READING
You may read the following… “January 7th (The Chrysalis Christian!)“…
… but also read…“May 2nd (Faith That Overcomes!)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
THE END
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
TODAY’S FEATURED SIGN
.
.
.
GOODLY HORSE IN BATTLE CONSTELLATION
.
“With the hoofs of his horses
shall he tread down all thy streets…”
Ezekiel 26:12
.
.
Notice how the right front hoof is trampling on the tail of the Dragon.
.
Also notice his eye is a star.
.
It’s best seen when in the western half of the sky.
.
It is found in mid-sky traveling from east to west.
.
In January, it is in the west after midnight.
.
As winter progresses, it can be seen earlier and earlier in the evening. a dark sky with good star-visibility is best, but not absolutely necessary to see this constellation.
.
It is found on the opposite side of the Dragon Constellation from Orion.
.
And as already stated, this Glorious Horse Constellation can be seen best in mid-winter when it is in the western side of the sky, and you are looking at it while you are facing west.
.
The nose and head of this horse is partly made from the Perseus Constellation.
.
The tail and rear end is partly of the Cassiopeia Constellation.
.
The hind-leg is made partly of stars from the Andromeda Constellation.
.
.
.
.
.
READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Goodly Horse in Battle Constellation”…
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
.
.
.
.
.
.
TOMORROW
July 4 (Sodom Rising, Part 20: “Great Balls of Fire”)
Meteors – Falling Stars – asteroids – Leonids-browse nasa Abe & Hajime Yano
.
.
.
.
.
.
ELLEN WHITE ON LAST DAY EVENTS
.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS 10-MINUTE TALK…Last Day Events Ellen G White Audio book Chapter 1 Earth’s Last Crisis (youtube.com)
.
Ellen G. White – Wikimedia – Public Domain
.Judgment Day – by sweet media – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license