February 15

HEBREWS 12

¹² Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, ¹³ and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. ¹⁴ Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; ¹⁶ that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. ¹⁷ For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. – Hebrews 12:12-17

HEBREWS 12 OBTAIN THE GRACE OF GOD

In this account, the writer encourages and urges the believers to pursue peace with everyone and to obtain the grace of God. But wait, isn’t grace given to all those who believe in Jesus? Let us once again define grace. According to got questions.org “grace” is an essential part of God’s character. It is closely related to God’s benevolence, love and mercy. We heard from the bible that it is God’s favor towards those who do not deserve it. I’d like to quote the same website as to the benefits of grace to every believer. For us to be able to comprehend the true meaning of grace, we need to consider who we were without Christ and who we become after Christ died for us. This grace doesn’t stop once we are saved. We have it for the rest of our lives, working within and upon us. Here are some of the many additional benefits that grace secures for every believer:
• Grace justifies us before a holy God (Romans 3:24; Ephesians 1:6; Titus 3:7).
• Grace provides us access to God to communicate with Him (Ephesians 1:6; Hebrews 4:16).
• Grace wins for us a new relationship of intimacy with God (Exodus 33:17).
• Grace disciplines and trains us to live in a way that honors God (Titus 2:11–14; 2 Corinthians 8:7).
• Grace grants us immeasurable spiritual riches (Proverbs 10:22; Ephesians 2:7).
• Grace helps us in our every need (Hebrews 4:16).
• Grace is the reason behind our every deliverance (Psalm 44:3–8; Hebrews 4:16).
• Grace preserves us and comforts, encourages, and strengthens us (2 Corinthians 13:14;  2 Timothy 2:1).

After hearing the benefits of grace, no wonder the author of the book of Hebrews in verse 15 instructs the believers that they need to ensure they obtain the grace of God. Since sanctification is an ongoing process, we need to continually work at keeping ourselves pure and undefiled until the coming of the Lord. How can we diligently live a life full of the grace that was given to us while we didn’t deserve it? We need to depend on our God and never count any of our work as something we have done. We need to praise the Lord who is the source of all things so we can stay humble and grounded on truth. Self-sufficiency is a killer of grace. Love for the things of this world and the pleasure seekers may find it difficult to obtain this ongoing grace. Because of this undeserved favor, we all need to be thankful and praise our generous and loving God. In other words, we have to count our blessings so that we will never fail to reap the rewards that God has promised to all those who love him.

REFLECTION

• How does understanding grace keep us in check from falling from grace and growing our faith?

February 14

2 PETER 3

¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. ¹⁵ And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, ¹⁶ as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. ¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. – 2 Peter 3:14-18

2 PETER 3 GROW IN THE GRACE YOU RECEIVED

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Beloved, live in the grace that you have received in Christ

Don’t allow the world to corrupt your heart and mind

Be patient and steadfast as you wait for Jesus’ coming

You were given assurance when he defeated Satan

By his cross, you received undeserved favor from him

Grow in the grace you got and turn away from all sins.

Peter exhorts the believers to be diligent in their sanctification as they wait for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He stresses on ensuring that they are living according to the wisdom that only comes from the word of God. This is the only way that they can stay without blemish and at peace.

In verse 16, Peter points out that those who do not belong to the Lord will most likely twist Scriptures to their own destruction. The word of God is actually Jesus himself. John 1:1 is the verse that says that Jesus is the Word when John reveals to us that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. This shows us that Jesus is infinite and is the one who communicates God’s will to us humans. John 1:14 and Revelation 19:13 are verses that reiterates also that Jesus is the “Word” who became flesh. Paul cautions the believers to watch out for those who will defile the word of God and take care that they are not pulled away from truth by the errors of lawless people. If believers are not watchful, they can lose their stability and fall away since we still struggle with our flesh on a daily basis.

Peter urges the church to grow in the grace that they have received from Christ. By Jesus’ death on the cross, we were given much favor even while we were sinners. He enabled us to be cleansed by his blood and he gave us the Holy Spirit to dwell in every believer so that they will have the ability to walk in the Spirit and live a life for the service of the Lord. With all these blessings and favors given to every true Christian, we are able to defeat the enemy in our daily lives and serve the Lord our God by living under his grace and never on our own strength, understanding or abilities.

REFLECTION

• How is diligence in studying the word a way of growing in the grace that God has given us?

February 12

JAMES 4

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passionsare at war within you? ² You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴ You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? ⁶ But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” ⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

                                                                                 – James 4:1-10

JAMES 4 GRACE TO THE HUMBLE

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

The desires of the eyes and of the flesh and the pride of life

They all belong to the world and are the sources of all fights

They cause us to covet and long for something we don’t have

When we indulge on these things, we are feeding our lusts

But all those who do not conform with the systems of the world

They resist all evil and live under the grace coming from God’s word

Therefore, the God of mercy will grant favor to all those who are humble

But the Lord opposes the proud and all who resist him to become rebels.

In this account, James explains in great detail the grace that believers will receive if they live in humility. He brings into light what causes fights and quarrels among us. It is the passions at war inside each of every human heart that is the source of all sins. What are these passions? He pinpoints desires as the culprit of these obsessions which stirs us to covet, long, crave and even murder for what one does not possess.  James also pinpoints why we lack something. It is because we do not ask for our needs. Because God gives what his children ask for, the act of asking is humility. Even though we know God already knows what we need, he still expects us to run to him for the fulfillment of those needs. This is an act of humility and acknowledgement of their need for God’s provision and grace. But James also gives us a guideline on what to ask for. The reason for asking must be in line with God’s purpose for each one of us. It cannot be to fulfill our desires and passions that we will likely use to focus on the self rather than on glorifying God. James explains that God’s enemies are those who want to be friends of the world. In other words, when we have so many earthly desires, we follow the systems of “selfishness and pleasures.” This doesn’t belong to God’s purpose but it is the devil’s tactic to destroy our relationship with God.

REFLECTION

·       Why do you think God restricts giving grace only to the humble and not to the proud?

February 11

ACTS 15

⁵ But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”⁶ The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. ⁷ And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ⁹ and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”¹² And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.  – Acts 15:5-12

ACTS 15 GRACE CONQUERS THE LAW

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When you were chosen by God, you were filled with grace

You need not follow rules, instead, you obey the law of love

You have been saved by Jesus’ finished work on the cross

Live your life so that you will constantly serve and follow Christ

By God’s grace, you have died to the law through Jesus’ body

There is no reason to live as rule keepers but to be God lovers.

In this account, Luke tackles the subject of law and grace. When the Pharisees insisted that the believers needed to follow Moses’ law of circumcision. Luke presents them a brilliant narrative of the inability of the Pharisees to recognize the gift of grace when Jesus died on the cross. He narrates how the apostles and the elders addressed this issue that the Jewish leaders were presenting. Peter reminds them of the presence of the Holy Spirit in every heart of each believer. This is what these so-called teachers of the law missed out. They have no understanding of the finished work of Christ. How could they? They opposed Christ and actually killed him. This is a good exposition of the difference between religion and relationship. Religion encourages rule-keeping while relationships are about love and sacrifice. Jesus did not die for us to follow rules but to love one another as we are loved by God himself. Pure religion according to James 1:27 says the undefiled religion according to God is to care for the widows and orphans. In other words, it involves being immersed in relating and caring for the needs of the vulnerable, weak and poor.

John 1:17 says that “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” This reiterates what Peter is saying in this narrative. Galatians 5:18 reiterates this too when it says “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

REFLECTION

• How can some Christians miss the grace when they are strict rule-keepers?

February 8

ACTS 4

³² Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. ³³ And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴ There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold ³⁵ and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. ³⁶ Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, ³⁷ sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. – Acts 4:32-37

ACTS 4 OVERFLOWING GRACE

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When they were called to be servants of the Lord Jesus Christ

They became part of a family of believers who constantly witnessed

By the grace given to them, they testified to the resurrection

It is in this testimony that they come together in communion

They began to fill each other’s needs and stayed connected

Therefore, grace abounded because they were committed

By living this way, they encouraged and built one another

They became strong and ready to grow their faith together.

Luke’s account focused on how the disciples lived their lives in a community. It showed the accountability of each of the believers and manifested how they loved each other and built one another. In verse 33, Luke mentioned the powerful witnessing of the apostles to the resurrection of Jesus. Because of such faithful praise to God, they were overflowing with grace. In verse 34, one of the proofs of the fruit of grace is that there was nobody who was poor or needy in that community of believers. Those who possess properties and houses, shared whatever they have with those who didn’t have much. They all brought to the apostles whatever they have so that as all the gifts and contribution were gathered together, they met all the needs of the whole community. Luke specifically mentioned Joseph who was a Levite and native of Cyprus who sold a field he owned and gave the proceeds of that property to the apostles. It seemed like it was a big and generous act of giving. As a result of such loving and caring for each other, they abounded in God’s grace. Their needs were all met and they abounded in love and fellowship with each other. The result of such building each other up and being responsible for one another grew their church and community. That is overflowing grace!

These sharing and caring for one another in the believers’ lives is still practiced in our Christian churches now. They followed that same format of giving. This is why we have offerings and tithes that we give so that the people of God will be provided for. Even the act of giving is a manifestation of grace that we received when we were chosen to be God’s people.

REFLECTION

• What overflowing grace have you received when you became a believer?