grace

Grace Unlimited

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms , ,
1 Peter 5:10 ESV.
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

 

What is grace?

Many people I speak with seem to think it has only to do with the forgiveness of your sins. Others believe it is so much more. I being one.

Grace is simply defined as “unmerited favor.” Yes our Lord Jesus extended His grace upon us by removing mankind’s Sin of rebellion. But grace is so much more.

When Peter preached his first sermon on the Feast of Pentecost immediately after Christ’s resurrection, he quoted from the prophet Joel who stated in the latter days God’s Spirit will be poured out upon all humanity. The result is a manifestation of acts leading toward human flourishing. Without God extending His grace upon us through His Spirit, we would not be experiencing the richness of this planet. God is in the business of pouring out His grace upon us because He is the source of everything good.

Whether we pursue Him or not, His goodness and unmerited favor is showered everyday upon this planet. He feeds the ignorant and unjust. He hears the prayers of every person no matter their denomination or belief. Whether He answers or how He answers is another matter. But He knows. He grants unmerited favor upon people who serve His purpose. He allows the unrighteous to live longer than others knowing that time may breakdown their hard hearts.

When suffering seems overwhelming and the solutions are few, He showers His unmerited favor upon us. Yes we may hurt for a moment, but He is there to help carry us through. He is the author of grace and the sustainer of grace. He realizes our fragility. From His love, we experience His favor not because who or what we do, but because of who He IS. We don’t earn or buy His favor. Instead we place our trust in Him and allow His natural self rub off unto us. We realize the more we come to know Him and develop a strong, intimate relationship with Him for no other reason but to know Him and appreciate Him for who He IS, everything else will work out because of Who He IS.

Grace unlimited. How sweet the sound.

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 2013-2018 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Through Faith or By Faith

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms , , , ,
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast”. Eph 2:8-9 ESV.

through-faith-2

 

Faith is given to us by God. We don’t generate Godly faith. God disperses faith (Rm. 12:3).  It is His gift to us. We simply exercise it.

We exercise faith when we walk it out and through it. Faith is not the cause of our salvation. We are not saved by faith, but by grace. We are saved (justified) by the grace of Jesus Christ.  However, by walking through the faith given to us, we are being saved (regenerated) into the image of Jesus Christ.

Poor theology places the cause of salvation with our faith. Our response is not the cause of salvation; our response is the effect of salvation. In the words of cause and effect, our salvation is caused by Jesus Christ and our response is the effect of salvation.

If our faith is the cause of salvation, then we wouldn’t need a savior. However, since Jesus Christ is the reality of salvation, we either accept that reality or not. When we accept that reality, we begin to experience the power of salvation.

A good example is gravity. We acknowledge its existence and respect its authority. Just like your belief doesn’t cause gravity to exist; you simply acknowledge the truth and live life accordingly.

So walk your life through the faith God has given you. Be grateful for the grace He has bestowed upon you. There is nothing to boast about except what God has done.

Therefore, learn to live out your life with the faith He has given you. You will be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Director & Founder
Marketplace Bible Institute
& Resource Center, Inc
Author of e-Books:
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Does a Friend Need Encouragement…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2016 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

 

 

Why Graceful Pain?

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms , , ,
“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NIV.

graceful pain 2

Have you ever petition the Lord for help but the problem remains? Maybe God is telling you something that may be difficult for you to hear. Maybe the unwanted situation is for your good. Maybe He has already answered your prayer. Maybe He is blessing you with graceful pain.

Graceful pain is what Paul learned to accept for his sake. The Bible doesn’t tell us specifically what the pain was, except that it negatively impacted his flesh. He asked God three different times to remove it. But instead of removing it, God informed Him that it was for Paul’s benefit. From this crutch, Paul would live in humility rather than give conceit room to grow.

God is no respecter of persons. If He blessed Paul with the means to enjoy life through graceful pain, who are we do be any different? Our pain may be physical, mental, emotional, financial, or social. No matter the area, maybe God is revealing Himself to us through these unwanted means. Maybe He is growing us more effectively as we lean on Him. Maybe as we realize our weakness, we also see His power and strength at work in us.

So, if we have petitioned our Lord at least three different times without the answer we desire, maybe we need to see the benefits of our situation from His perspective. Maybe the trials we are currently traveling through are His mercies in disguise. Maybe living without graceful pain would be more harmful for us at this season of life than not. Maybe this period of pain is God’s blessing for us to see how strong we actually are in Him.

Paul boasted of his weaknesses. Maybe we need to do the same.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Director & Founder
Marketplace Bible Institute
& Resource Center, Inc
Author of e-Books:
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Does a Friend Need Encouragement…Share Today’s Message!