CLAIMING GRACE PART 1

"For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God."
1 Corinthian 15:9

There are areas in all our lives that are "still tin." Five common ones are 1.insecurity, 2. weakness, 3.abrasiveness, compromise, and pride. Maybe by bringing grace up close and making it personal, we'll be able to oil some of the stubborn tin that still clings to our lives. And maybe then those rusty spots will become transformed into flesh
1. The Tin of Insecurity-- Claiming the grace to be what I Am.
In 1 C1orinthian 15:9 Paul calls himself the least of the apostles and unfit to even be called an apostle because of his persecutory past. But instead of sinking in a sea of insecurity, Paul asserts with confidence that "by the grace of God I am what I am (read verse 10). Inspite of Paul's past, in spite of his unfitness to bear the name "apostle," the grace of God made him fit.
2. The Tin of Weakness-- Claiming the grace to learn from what I Suffer.
Another struggle we all live with is our own human weakness. A suffering that medication doesn't relieve. A failure that prayer doesn't remove. Because we're human, we're subject to all kinds of maladies and malaises. Paul's thorn in the flesh is a case in point (see 2 Cor.12:7-10). Prayer didn't remove the torn. It was grace that enabled him to bear that torn with contentment.