Time with Jesus - Tuesday, 08 January 2013
Hi all,
In the Methodist Church and some of the related
churches, they speak of “prevenient grace”. By this they mean the grace that
prompts us to come to Jesus. It must be a slightly different grace to “sniff
out” someone who is a monster of iniquity”, reach out to him and save him. A
useful little title is to call it the “grace that comes before grace”. Sure
it’s all His grace. But to love us while we were still in the depths of our sin
is extraordinary. Today, we meditate upon this “type” of grace. It includes my
own testimony of His grace in my life.
Blessings,
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – Tuesday, 08 January 2013
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
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©
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These
devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright
protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it
is for non-commercial Christian purposes
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©
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INTRODUCTION
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DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES
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Set Free By Grace
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Grace comes to us in all shapes and sizes. It’s
never been given as “one size fits all”. God gives it to us “tailor made” for
our individual situation. Then, when we suddenly find we need more, He
provides just what’s needed. Never too much. Never too little. His grace is
sufficient for you and me. But it’s never wasted! I’ll explain.
Christmas 1980. My marriage hit rock bottom and divorce
was on the horizon. Don’t go there. It’s hell on earth. Love’s shattered
dreams pile up and do their very best to overwhelm you. The horrors of a
covenant made and broken engulf you. The silly mistakes! The
self-recriminations! The grief of arriving at a situation, contrary to everything
you hold dear, feels like a ton weight crushing the life out of you. Some
commit suicide. Some stoop to murder. I was thrown back on the God I had
known and walked with in my youth and early twenties.
I’d quit trying to be a Christian in 1963. My
“re-dedicator” had “worn out” and I couldn’t face my own hypocrisy. So I’d
quit. I was through with Him, but He wasn’t through with me. So in 1981, I
returned to Him, begged forgiveness in the hope that miraculously, He would
fix my marriage mess. Ultimately, He did. But not the way I thought.
I’ve always loved singing. Not the actual tune. I’ve
enjoyed singing the descant as others sang the tune. So I bought Christian
music cassette tapes to listen to and sing quietly in my car. The “Praise”
series by the “Maranatha” singers, (I think it was them) I listened to and
sang with them over and over again. There was one song in particular that I
kept repeating. It was called, “Set my spirit free”. I’ll never forget the
words. “Set my spirit free that I might worship
Thee. / Set my spirit free that I might praise Thy Name. / Let all bondage go
and let deliverance flow. / Set my spirit free to worship Thee”. Many
times I would weep as I sang the descant to the voice on the tape. This went
on for about six months. Then as the pressure of the divorce began to reduce,
I sang it less often. In fact, other titles on the tape touched me in
different ways.
The marriage ended in divorce! I carried on singing
in the car with those cassette tapes. I’d also started learning to “hear from
God”. That was a joy I’ll never forget. About a year after the divorce, I
came across the “Set my Spirit Free” song again. I was touched by its richness.
Suddenly, as I was driving, I heard a voice in my spirit. Somehow I knew it
was the Lord. He said to me. “My son, I did. I set
your spirit free to worship Me!” All I could do was cry tears of deep
gratitude. I could hardly credit that God had answered this “sung prayer”. I
didn’t even know I was praying! Some 31 years later, thinking about His grace
to me, I sometimes still weep!
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
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5 They have told no lies; they are without blame (before the throne of God)
Rev 14:5 NLT
20 In those days and at that time,"
declares the LORD, "people will look for
Israel's crimes, but they will find none. They will look for Judah's sins,
but none will be found. I will forgive the faithful few whom I have spared.
Jer 50:20 GW
18 Who is a God like
you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his
inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in
steadfast love. 19 He will
again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will
cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
Micah 7:18-19 ESV
6 All those things
bring praise to his glorious grace. God freely gave us his grace because of
the One he loves.
Eph 1:6 NIrV
22 But because Christ died, God has brought you
back to himself. Christ's death has made you holy
in God's sight. So now you don't have any flaw. You are free from blame.
Col 1:22 NIrV
24 Now all glory to
God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great
joy into His glorious presence without a single fault. 25 All glory to Him who alone is God, our Savior through
Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are His before
all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.
Jude 1:24-25 NLT
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The grace that Jesus offers is utterly unique.
It is the very quality that we all need to seek.
It’s not some smug acceptance that we can recognise.
It’s being granted something that is more than a surprise.
It’s having been His enemy and worked to bring Him down;
And finding we’re forgiven and asked to share His crown!
It’s getting just the opposite of all that we deserve;
And taken to His Father’s House where we will have the nerve,
To see Him as our brother. Adopted by His Dad!
Knowing that what we have done, should surely drive Him mad!
We cannot comprehend it. We’ve done our very best,
To bring dishonour to His Name and found that we are blessed.
He didn’t have to do it. He said that it was free.
The cost was quite impossible for anyone like me.
I knew I couldn’t buy it and that I couldn’t steal,
This gift so indescribable; I thought it wasn’t real.
How could the Blessed Saviour, who shouldn’t ever die,
Do the indescribable, for folk like you and I?
I knew I had insulted Him. I dragged His Name through mud.
In terms of Christianity, I surely was a dud.
Like every other sinner, my heart was frozen cold.
And yet he said He looked at me and said He saw pure gold!
I thought He must be seeing things. How could His words be true?
It must have been somebody else; it wasn’t me on view.
That’s when He said, “My precious child, you don’t appreciate,
The limits of My sovereign grace and mankind’s fallen state.
You’re right. You don’t deserve it. No man could ever earn,
The price I paid to save you. So here’s what you must learn.
No matter what you’ve ever done. No matter where you’ve been.
I knew what you were doing and that you were unclean.
You didn’t want to know Me. You much preferred your sin.
Your mind can never comprehend the mess that you were in.
But all it took to save you was a little tiny drop!
The blood I shed on Calvary. My blood would make you stop,
Your independent action and turn you back to me.
It was My grace that touched you and set your spirit free.
And in My sight you’re holy because of what was done
By grace, for you on Calvary when you embraced My Son.
Jim
Strickland
written
8th January 2012
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