Daily Devotionals in Verse and Rhyme: CHEAP GRACE

Saturday, December 29, 2012

CHEAP GRACE

Time with Jesus - Sunday, 30 December 2012

Hi all,

About 30 years ago Malcolm Smith was teaching on grace. The place was Emmanuel Church on Grosvenor Road, presently known as New Life. Something he said that evening has reverberated in me ever since I heard him. He said, God’s grace was free, but it wasn’t cheap. He referred to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph. 2:8-9 ESV Over the years it has become more and more apparent that many regard God’s gift as an obligation on His behalf. His grace was free. Thus many see it as an excuse to treat His grace profanely. Not in words, but in action. They have almost no respect for God. Many no longer are in Awe of the Creator of the Universe. It seems they have been “vaccinated” against the Fear of the Lord. They forget that the cost to Him was the life of His Son. Nothing in the Universe is more expensive. No man can possibly afford it. All the people who have lived or will ever live cannot pay the price. The collective wealth of Creation cannot pay the price for His grace. So God did the unimaginable. He gave it to us for free. Never devalue it or treat it as irrelevant. If you do, you may lose it. Today we meditate on Cheap Grace.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 30 December 2012			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	CHEAP GRACE
For how long have you been a Christian? A week; a month; a year; 50 years? The vast majority of Christian men and women have a good idea when they committed their lives to Jesus. Some of us can tell the precise date and time. You do not qualify as a Christian by remembering dates and times. Not unless you are speaking about the date and time of Jesus’ death. All other dates are comparatively unimportant. If you can remember; that’s great. If you can’t remember, don’t go into a downward spiral and celebrate with a pity party. The reason why many can remember is because of something specific. For me, I had just begun working as an apprentice. I was in a strange city in a strange land. All this contributed to the way I was. Most of us come to Jesus Christ with high expectations from ourselves and from other Christians. You know what I mean. “Now, I should be perfect. God is on my side and I’m on His. Everything should be tickety-boo! All that’s missing was my own personal halo! Within twenty four hours, most of us find that there is no halo and we are worse sinners than we thought. Then, to our horror, we find that the others in the church are little different from ourselves. When we make this discovery, there are three possible reactions. The first is to say, “So what! We are all like that. God loved me when He saved me. So why change? He gave me a ticket to heaven. It has no expiry date so I might as well carry on living the way I was. I may look like a sinner to everyone else, but God knows the truth. It happened 50 years ago so I’m safe from Hell! The second way is to start going down the, “Sorry Lord, I failed but I can do it” route. It’s the way of rededication. The way I started. “Yesterday I failed. Today I won’t. Watch me now. I’ll show you I can live like You did. Others may have failed. No me. I can do it and I will do it”. Incidentally, I was on that road for almost 3 years. Then I quit. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t live with my own hypocritical failures. The third way is the only one that works. You recognise that you can’t change. You know you have failed more times than you can count. So you come to Him helplessly on your knees. “Lord, I know I’m a failure. I can’t live the Christian life. It’s impossible for me. But I know You love me and I love You Lord. Please change me. Give me the grace to live for you for the next five minutes. Five minutes is all I ask Lord. This is what happened to me when I returned to Him after 17 years in the Wilderness. My prayer was, “Lord, just for today”. I know I can’t last for a week. So, just for today!” He touched me. I wept for my wasted years. But for that day, I was able to do what I couldn’t do 17 years previously. That was 31 years ago. He’s still doing it! Thank you Lord! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			⁹ "He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. 1 Samuel 2:9 ESV ⁶ So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. ⁷ But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:6-7 NLT ¹⁰ Jesus replied, "A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you." John 13:10 NLT ¹¹ I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. ¹² When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. ¹³ Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. ¹⁴ Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. ¹⁵ Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. Proverbs 4:11-15 ESV ²⁴ Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. ²⁵ Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. ²⁶ Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. ²⁷ Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. Proverbs 4:24-27 ESV ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 2 Timothy 4:18 ESV	What is the description of the normal Christian flake? Someone who’s not faithful and who God’s Word forsakes. 1 Sam 2:9 A man who walks in darkness and says he’s in the light. A lady we refer to as a woman of the night. A man without integrity; who doesn’t keep his word. A woman who will gossip about everything she’s heard. He doesn’t treat his servants with kindness and respect. He cheats them from the wages they rightfully expect. She makes them work long hours in excess of what they should. And when they make an error, she says they are no good. They’re good at church attendance; they even praise the Lord. But woe betide the pastor if they think they’ve been ignored! They boast to everybody about how much they give. But they pay no attention to the way that they should live. Behaviour doesn’t matter. Why bother? Grace is free! Jesus came and saved them back in nineteen twenty three! They have got their “ticket” and they are heavenward bound. “Sin is quite irrelevant”, is what they think they’ve found. Their claim to be in fellowship with God is just a lie. 1 John 1:6 If you live in darkness, in your sin you’ll die! If we walk with Jesus, we’ll do the things we should. Live the way He’s told us, transparent, true and good. If we walk in darkness we are wicked in God’s sight. Not because we’re perfect! His blood has made us right! 1 John 1:7 We required cleansing; He washed our sins away. If our feet are grubby; if we sin from day by day, John 13:10 Jesus Christ will cleanse them, provided we repent; Otherwise, sin sticks to us like huge blocks of cement. In the book of Proverbs, He tells us to be wise. Pro 4:11 Do not follow Satan and his myriad of lies. You will not be hampered. You won’t stumble when you run, If you are obedient to Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Stay away from evil. Avoid all crooked speech, Pro 4:24 Demonstrate a lifestyle in line with what you preach. Then the Lord will rescue you from every evil deed. 2 Tim 4:18 To His Heavenly Kingdom your steps He’ll surely lead. If we follow Jesus, everyone will know. We are truly Christian and God’s glory, He will show. Jim Strickland Written 30^th December 2012