Daily Devotional, Year 4 – July 3 (“What Is True Grace?”)
By admin On November 2nd, 2022.
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Daily Devotional, Year 4 – July 3
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“What Is True Grace?”
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“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
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In John Bunyan’s masterpiece allegory, “Pilgrim’s Progress”, there was a sad man who went by the name, “Graceless”.
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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.
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Christian in Pilgrims Progress – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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GRACELESS BECOMES “CHRISTIAN”
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But in the process of time, by God’s saving grace, his name was changed to “Christian”.
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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
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WHAT IS TRUE GRACE?
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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!
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But the purpose for today’s devotional is to present what true grace is, as well as what true grace is NOT!
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And the reason for writing this is because there is some confusion about what grace truly is.
Question Mark – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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“For I (Paul) know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock”
Acts 20:29
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And truth-be-told, there are many faithful church-attendees who have been deceived by false shepherds, mere wolves in sheep’s clothing, deceiving, even devouring God’s flock; saying that God’s grace somehow excuses them from “fighting the Good Fight”, or from “running the race”.
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In other words, there are many who believe that grace somehow excuses them from such verses as, “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He (Jesus) walked.” 1st John 2:6
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Or perhaps, they might confess…“God loves me, and all I need to do is to love Him back, and my fellow man too!” Well, it’s true, of course that to love God supremely and to love our fellow man are the two greatest commandments.
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But by continuing to read Scripture, we might run across such verses as this…“If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.” John 15:10
Picture – Running the Christian Race
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“For by grace are ye saved through faith“
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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
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Yes, Salvation is truly a gift of grace and grace alone!
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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
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No, good works and obedience do not earn our Salvation.
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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
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And so, because of all the confusion and misinformation coming forth from today’s church-world, let’s take a few moments to consider some examples of what true grace is.
Magnifying Glass – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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SAVED BY GRACE AND RENEWED BY FAITH!
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And it is true grace which forgives our failings and causes us to renew our faith and commitment to continue to follow Him, even in our discouragement, after we may have fallen…“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.” Lamentation 3:22, 23
David’s sorrow – Wikigallery – Public Domain
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“But we…beholding…the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same Image”
2nd Corinthians 3:18
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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
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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
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A NEW HEART ALSO WILL I PUT WITHIN YOU!
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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
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“Put on…mercies, kindness, humbleness…Forbearing…and forgiving one another”
Colossians 3:12, 13
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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
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“…but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
1st Corinthians 15:10
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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
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“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing!”
John 15:5
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No, true grace is not merely some nebulous aura surrounding God’s people! But rather, it is the empowering Spirit of God, working in and through an otherwise helpless, bumbling, spiritual-ne’er-do-well, incapable of doing any good thing, apart from God…
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Oh yes, we can confidently agree with Paul, when God says through him…“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God…”Ephesians 2:8
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But true grace goes far beyond God’s forgiveness! Grace even infills us with all the desire, and courage, and strength, and power necessary for every aspect of the Christian life, as we continue our ongoing, upward sojourn out of this “City of Destruction” world!
Pilgrim’s Progress – Then Atheist fell into a very great laughter – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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Well, these are but a few biblical examples of true grace.
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But they give us a great head-start in understanding this very powerful truth!
Magnifying Glass – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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LET’S NOT BE LIKE “WORLDLY WISEMAN”, OR LIKE “MR. IGNORANCE”!
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But back to the tale of Pilgrim’s Progress.
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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.
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And such it is, still today, in so much of the Christian community. There are an abundance of Bible teachers who, either by word or by example, misdirect the professed people of God, as to what the Christian life truly is!
Worldly Wiseman – Pilgrim’s Progress, p34 – Mr Worldly Wiseman – Wikimedia – Public Domain
Pilgrims Progress – Ignorance – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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“the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith…”
2nd Timothy 3:15
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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
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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
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TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Lord, Help me to endure these trials which plague my life! Help me to look up and fix my eyes heavenward. Give me that true grace necessary to overcome the world, the flesh, and the Devil…
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Christian and Apollyon – Pilgrim’s Progress – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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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
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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GOODLY HORSE IN BATTLE CONSTELLATION
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“With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.” Ezekiel 26:12
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THIS STAR-CHART: 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.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Goodly Horse in Battle Constellation” or you can also read… “The Holy-Ghost-Rider Constellation”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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TOMORROW
July 4 (Sodom Rising, Part 20: “Great Balls of Fire”)
Meteors – Falling Stars – asteroids – Leonids-browse nasa Abe & Hajime Yano