"Here I am! Stand at the door and knock. If
anyone hear my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him, and he
with me.
Revelation 3;20
In the galaxy of the Jewish universe, Paul was
one of the brightest luminaries a star of the first
magnitude. But God looked at Paul's life then, all
He saw was a black hole. It is God estimation of
Paul's life that caused the apostle to reevaluate
his credentials "But whatever things were gain
to me, those things I have counted as loss for the
sake of Christ" for year Paul had gone at warp
speed in his zeal of righteousness. Only problem
was, he traveled in the wrong direction, leaving
light years away from his destination. What
turned him around so that he could say,
"Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward
to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for
the price of the upward call of God in
Christ Jesus."
Grace is what Steered him in what direction by
enabling him to look at the map he was using in
an entirely different light. He was now able to say
that he "Put no confidence even in the flesh.
This bring us to a fourth principle about grace:
We accept grace when we no longer put
confidence in the flesh By "flesh" we mean the
tendency to achieve something in our own
strength apart from trusting in the empowerment
of God. When we put those things behind us, as
Paul did then we will be able to forge ahead to
what lies before us through the magnificence of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
What it Takes to Let Grace In
No matter how hard Jesus knocks on the door of
our heart or how persistently, that door must be
opened from the inside (see Rev.3:20). For some,
that door has been closed for so long that the
hinges have been rusted tight.
What can we do to oil those hinges and swing
open that door? Two things.
First, it takes an admission of humanity. We've
got to come to grips with the fact that we're only
human, that we all so and, sometimes, we sin
greatly (Rom. 3:23).
Second: it takes as attitude of humanity. Nothing
is so welcomed by grace as true humanity, which
is nothing more than a realization of one's true
standing before God that God is preeminent, that
He alone is worthy of glory and praise.
A wonderful road lies ahead for those who really
accept grace a road that makes the yellow brick
road to the Emerald city look like a footpath to the
hey barn. It almost seems too good to be true.
when George MacDonal the great Scottish
preacher, told one of his children about the glories
of the future, the child interrupted and said, "It all
seems too good to be true!"
A smile spread across MacDonald's whispered
face as he answers back, "Nay, it is just so good
it must be true! Amazing Love!
anyone hear my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him, and he
with me.
Revelation 3;20
In the galaxy of the Jewish universe, Paul was
one of the brightest luminaries a star of the first
magnitude. But God looked at Paul's life then, all
He saw was a black hole. It is God estimation of
Paul's life that caused the apostle to reevaluate
his credentials "But whatever things were gain
to me, those things I have counted as loss for the
sake of Christ" for year Paul had gone at warp
speed in his zeal of righteousness. Only problem
was, he traveled in the wrong direction, leaving
light years away from his destination. What
turned him around so that he could say,
"Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward
to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for
the price of the upward call of God in
Christ Jesus."
Grace is what Steered him in what direction by
enabling him to look at the map he was using in
an entirely different light. He was now able to say
that he "Put no confidence even in the flesh.
This bring us to a fourth principle about grace:
We accept grace when we no longer put
confidence in the flesh By "flesh" we mean the
tendency to achieve something in our own
strength apart from trusting in the empowerment
of God. When we put those things behind us, as
Paul did then we will be able to forge ahead to
what lies before us through the magnificence of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
What it Takes to Let Grace In
No matter how hard Jesus knocks on the door of
our heart or how persistently, that door must be
opened from the inside (see Rev.3:20). For some,
that door has been closed for so long that the
hinges have been rusted tight.
What can we do to oil those hinges and swing
open that door? Two things.
First, it takes an admission of humanity. We've
got to come to grips with the fact that we're only
human, that we all so and, sometimes, we sin
greatly (Rom. 3:23).
Second: it takes as attitude of humanity. Nothing
is so welcomed by grace as true humanity, which
is nothing more than a realization of one's true
standing before God that God is preeminent, that
He alone is worthy of glory and praise.
A wonderful road lies ahead for those who really
accept grace a road that makes the yellow brick
road to the Emerald city look like a footpath to the
hey barn. It almost seems too good to be true.
when George MacDonal the great Scottish
preacher, told one of his children about the glories
of the future, the child interrupted and said, "It all
seems too good to be true!"
A smile spread across MacDonald's whispered
face as he answers back, "Nay, it is just so good
it must be true! Amazing Love!
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