Category: Grace and Truth

A Life of Great Worth

The value of anything is what someone would pay for it. If this is true then what is your life worth? It is of great worth if you know the Lord because you have been bought with a price, which is the blood of Christ. He paid for you with His life.

I Corinthians 6:20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

The incredible price that you were bought with is the blood of Christ. You have been redeemed and bought out of slavery into freedom through the blood of Jesus.

I Peter 1:18,19 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

All the money in the world could not have bought your freedom. It took the life of One who loved you and have His life for you.

Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—

Not only did He redeem you and set you free but He has made you to be a kingdom and to represent men and women before the Father Himself as His priests.

Revelation 1:6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

However, not only are we to be priests to the Lord but we are His spokesmen to the world. We are to share the Good News of God’s love for mankind and His redeeming work of the blood of Jesus on the cross and how He was raised again to live forever and to give eternal life to those who believe in Him.

Jeremiah 15:19a Therefore, thus says the Lord,
“If you return, then I will restore you—
Before Me you will stand;
And if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become My spokesman.

The Bible says that those who do not know the Lord are worth less.

I Samuel 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the Lord

The heart of the wicked is worth little.

Proverbs 10:20 The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver,
The heart of the wicked is worth little.

Only Jesus Christ can restore the image of God within a person who has been destroyed through sin. Only Jesus Christ can give us a new heart and take our old sinful heart. Only Jesus Christ can transform our lives into the image of God according to how He designed and created us. Only God can do the work of salvation but He has chosen those who know Him to be His ambassadors and to tell others.

II Corinthians 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Jesus Christ is the King of kings and He has made us to be His kingdom, His priests and His ambassadors to the world that the world might be reconciled to God. What an incredible privilege and joy.

II Corinthians 5:18,19 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

 

 

A Life Blessed by Love and Truth

It was God’s love and His truth that was His gift to us in Jesus Christ. He took the initiative and loved us and made known the truth to us and made it available to us to become right with God.

Proverbs 16:6a By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for,

Our sin was atoned for through the death of Jesus Christ. He took the punishment and penalty for sin that we deserved. We are forgiven through Him and it was His love and His righteousness that we received. Atonement was made for us that we might have the gift of forgiveness and our guilt removed.

Leviticus 14:31 He shall offer what he can afford, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed.

Jesus was the lamb of God that took our guilt away and cleansed us from our sin.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

As many as will receive the gift of Jesus Christ, the lamb of God, who died for the world shall receive the gift of salvation, the removal of their guilt and the cleansing from their sin and they will become “at one” with God and become His child and a part of His family. God, the Father, receives those who receive Jesus Christ because of what Jesus did.

John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

 

A Life Living in Love and Truth

As you learn to live in God’s love and truth then you will soar in life. Your life will have purpose and meaning and you will experience great joy and fulfillment.

Psalm 138:8 The Lord will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

God’s love and God’s truth are eternal.

Psalm 117:2 For His lovingkindness is great toward us,
And the truth of the Lord is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!

As you live in His love and truth then you will being living the eternal life that He came to bring to you. You will have eternal values and eternal treasures.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

As you walk in His truth and His love then you will be doing what He has called you to do.

I John 2:3-6 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

His commandments are love and truth. If you love Him then you will keep His commandments and if you keep His commandments then you will be loving others as He has loved you. Jesus was full of love and truth and kept His Father’s commandments. He wants us to walk in the same manner as he Himself also walked.

I John 2:10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

When you love others then you will not make them stumble nor will you stumble. For this reason there are some activities that are not a right or wrong issue but they are “love” issues because they would make someone stumble. If you love your brother then you will not do anything to make Him stumble. You will restrict your “freedom” out of love for your brother.

Romans 14:15-21 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.

If you eat certain foods (that were sacrificed to idols) or drink wine and make your brother stumble then you are not walking according to love. The word “good” in this passage means the highest form of love. If you are not loving your brother then this issue is not just a love issue but has become a sin issue. Even though the activity may not be “sin” for you, the very action has become sin because it is not loving your brother.

I John 3:10b anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

If you are a Christian and belong to Him then the commandment that He has given you is to love your brother. If you keep His commandments then you will abide in His love and His love will abide in you.

 

A Life of Kindness and Truth

There are amazing promises to the person who will fill their lives with kindness and truth. You will find favor with God and man.

Proverbs 3:3,4 Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good repute
In the sight of God and man.

The person whom the Lord uses will characterize these traits for they are what defined our Lord Jesus Christ. He was full of kindness and He was full of truth. One of the aspects of grace is kindness. An expression of grace is showing favor towards someone expressed in kindness. Jesus was full of grace and truth and it was expressed in kindness and truth.

Proverbs 14:22 Will they not go astray who devise evil?
But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.

Goodness and doing good is what God has called us to do and it consist of doing kindness and truth. When you seek to do good to others then kindness and truth will come to you. The Lord is good and He is kindness and truth. He wants us to do good and to be kindness and truth to others. What you do to others will be done to you.

Psalm 25:10 All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth
To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

The paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth and when you learn to keep His commandments then you will walk in His paths.

Psalm 40:11,12 You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
For evils beyond number have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has failed me.

If you are seeking Him and seeking to obey Him and to do what is right then even when you feel as though you have failed and your sins have overtaken you so that you can not even see then His lovingkindness and His truth will still and continually preserve you. His lovingkindness and truth are in Christ Jesus and Jesus will never leave you or forsake you.

Psalm 61:2-4 From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For You have been a refuge for me,
A tower of strength against the enemy.
Let me dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.

Even when your heart is faint and you can not see through the darkness then call to Him. He will lead you to the rock that is higher than you. Jesus Christ is that Rock and He will be a refuge for you and a tower of strength against the enemy. You will dwell in His presence forever.

Hebrews 13:5b for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

 

 

 

 

 

A Life of Grace and Truth

Jesus Christ was full of grace and truth. Faith is coming to Jesus and it is God’s grace that allows us to come to Him. Salvation is the gift we receive by grace through faith.

Ephesians 2:8,9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

It is Jesus that saves us through His Word and sets us free from our sin. His Words are truth. The gospel (the good news) that Jesus brought to us is the power of God for salvation. Jesus Christ and His Word and truth are equal. The truth became flesh and dwelt among us.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus Christ is God and when He dwelt among men they saw His glory which is who the Father is and that is, Jesus was full of grace and truth. Grace is the opposite of shame. When someone is disgraced then they are shamed. Sin brings shame and disgrace. Jesus came to take away our sin and shame and to give us grace.

Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.

When we do what is right it will be expressed in grace and truth. When Joseph thought Mary, his betrothed, had been unfaithful to him then he, being a righteous man did not want to shame or disgrace her but sought to do what is right and loving by sending her away secretly.

Matthew 1:19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

Jesus took the attention off of the woman caught in adultery. She was being disgraced and He, being righteous, stooped even lower than those around and wrote on the ground so that the eyes of her accusers would be taken off of her and on to Him. He took away her disgrace by standing in the gap between the accusers and her.

John 8:3-11 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.

Jesus does this for each one of us. We have all sinned and are worthy of much disgrace but Jesus stood in the gap between us and the devil, who is our accuser. He stooped down to earth and made us great by taking our sin and punishment. He took our condemnation and has stood in the gap and faced our accuser for us so that we might be free from condemnation.

Romans 8:1-3 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

Just as Jesus stood up and asked the woman where her accusers were, for they were gone, so Jesus says the same to all of us, “I do not condemn you, either. Go, from now on sin no more.

John 8:10,11 Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”

Are you struggling with something that you know that you should stop? Is the devil secretly accusing you? Satan is a bully and a bully always goes after one who is weak at the moment. Satan won’t go after Jesus because he has already lost to the Lord Jesus Christ but he tries to get to Jesus through us.

I Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

The Bible says to resist the devil and he will flee from you. Resist him through God’s Word and the name of Jesus Christ and he will flee.

James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Get in God’s Word and keep resisting the devil until you see the victory. Keep firm in your faith in the Lord. After you have struggled and suffered for a little while then Jesus Himself will perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

I Peter 5:9-10 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

 

 

 

 

A Life of Generosity and Joy

Generosity and joy go hand and hand. The Lord Himself said that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Giving gets your eyes off of yourself and your interests and needs and causes you to become aware of the needs of others around you. The ore yo give, the more your cup of joy will overflow.

Acts20:35 In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Giving gives you a heart for the Lord, for where your treasure is there will your heat be also. Your heart will follow your treasure. Time and money are two of your treasures that you can give away.

Matthew 6:21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The generous person will be prosperous or successful.

Proverbs 11:25 The generous man will be prosperous,

Give to those who can not pay you back. The Lord says that even sinners give to those from whom they will receive something back. When you give to the needy of His people you are giving to the Lord.

Matthew 25:35-40  For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

The person who gives to the rich will come to poverty. Give to a person in need and they will give you their heart.  When you meet the need of the needy then you are removing the obstacle in their life so that they can hear the Gospel. You are allowing them to see the love and truth of God so that they can hear the love and truth of the Lord.

Proverbs 22:16 He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself Or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.

Give to the poor and the Lord says that He Himself will pay you back. It is the only time in Scripture where the Lord says that He will become man’s debtor. His payment is in full and more. He remains no man’s debtor.

Proverbs 19:17 One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord,  And He will repay him for his good deed.

Give to those who have helped you spiritually.

Galatians 6:6 The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.

Your cup of joy will overflow as you give to the Lord by giving to His people, the needy and to reach others for Christ.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”