Year: 2020

Saved by Grace Not by Faith

Dr. Mike grace , ,

Ephesians 2:5 ,8

…even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Prosperity gospel preachers love to emphasize the need of faith to obtain all of God’s blessings. They constantly imply that faith is the cause of whatever you desire. And when you don’t get what you desire, the problem is because “your faith isn’t strong enough – you need more faith.” A misunderstanding of faith, your belief, has caused the harm of many disciples within the Church over the ages. 

First, your faith doesn’t save you. You are saved by the finish work of Jesus Christ. Before you even knew Him, before you even asked for forgiveness, and yes even before you realized what His life and death and resurrection meant to you and humanity, your relationship with God was already restored. You were just ignorant of the event.

Faith is the pathway to the promise land; the escalator to God. Grace is God’s unmerited favor upon you. God so loved you and me He orchestrated world events to restore mankind’s direct access to Him. Faith opens our eyes to become more aware of HIS work in our lives. Jesus Christ is faith personified.

Through Jesus Christ we have direct access with His God. When Father God looks at you and me, He is looking through the prism of Jesus Christ. This is why He considers you and me as righteous; because He is looking at you and me through the righteousness of Jesus.

When people ask me when was I saved. I tell them about 2,000 years ago when Jesus completed his human mission on earth. However, I didn’t start to accept that truth until my 17th birthday when I began to follow Him. Jesus restored humanity’s relationship with God 2,000 years ago and I didn’t become His apprentice until my late teen years. His grace and faith saved me. When my head and heart came to the realization of this truth, I began to walkout through faith His way of life – the Bible calls it “being saved.”

Yes, we all “been saved” by the Grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. And we are “being saved” as we follow Him and allow the Holy Spirit transform our hearts and minds into His image. And we shall “yet be saved” when our bodies are resurrected and changed into eternal souls.

So, remember you have been saved apart from faith; faith doesn’t save you. You and I have been saved by God’s unmerited favor upon us. However, faith is the pathway to see, understand, and experience the richness of God’s salvation now and into eternity.     

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Leadership 360
Author of e-Books:

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

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Copyright 2013-2020 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Enough Grace for Everyone

Dr. Mike grace ,

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

Us humans, often mistakenly view life from a very limited perspective. We see all the limited resources around us and fight to grab a little piece for ourselves before the next person takes it from us and we are left with nothing.

And then there are some of us, who are so afraid of what so little we have, we want more and more until someone questions us that maybe we should have our own hoarder reality show. As a nation we recently witness the hoarding of toilet paper and cleaning supplies during the pandemic crisis.

Yet if God be our provider, why do we panic? Isn’t it true one’s character and heart are always revealed during a time of crisis?

When Jesus finished preaching to the crowd, he instructed his disciples to feed them. But his apprentices were dumbfounded. How could they feed 4,000 – 5,000 men, women, and children? All they could find around them was a young lad with 5 loaves and 2 fishes. Limited resources compared with the problem to solve. Yet God’s grace was on display. At the end of the day, all the people were fed and 12 baskets of leftovers were collected.

Today some of us would have taken the lad’s food just for ourselves, or maybe only fed the disciples and left everyone else fend for themselves. But Jesus, showed that there is always enough for everyone when God is involved.

God is able to provide all our needs, in every area of our life, so we may continue be his witness as we work and share His goodness with others. God’s grace is not limited to only a few. He loves us all; and is willing to give us more than we deserve. Yet He is also very wise and knows how much we can manage without destroying ourselves and others.

So, don’t limit God. He makes the impossible possible. He has enough Grace to share with every single one of us.      

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Leadership 360
Author of e-Books:

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-2020 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Grace for All

Dr. Mike grace , ,

Matthew 5:45 

…For he (God) makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

God chooses favorites. And the human race is His favorite.

Through Jesus Christ, He has inclusively brought all people together in Him as one.

Though many may ignore Him, disassociate themselves from Him, and even throw insults against Him, He still looks at us as His children because of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus gave His teaching on the love of God and how God demonstrates His love towards all, He is showing us His grace is open for all.

He wants all to know His kindness and generosity is for all of us to experience His way of life. Yet He also knows that some will choose the opposite. But still it doesn’t refrain Him from changing His character of showering us with His Grace whenever He chooses.

No one on earth has the corner market for God’s Grace. We can’t earn it through good work. We can’t control it through rituals or secret anecdotes. God gives as God chooses.

He doesn’t give out his grace only because you are a Christian. He bestows His grace on every person no matter their religion, political affiliation, nationality, ethic origin, sexual orientation, education bias, financial condition, or age.

When Jesus came walking on this planet, he hung around more with the undesirables rather than the elite, famous, or influencers of his time. His associates included women, fishermen, tax collectors, terrorists, the uneducated, and the working nobodies of the community. Yet He fed them with God’s words and teachings and gave them a taste of the Kingdom life. And yet, He also had contact with certain religious leaders and heavy market makers of his time. No one was left out.

God’ Grace is open for all.     

 

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Leadership 360
Author of e-Books:

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-2020 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved