The Daily Grace - Difficult People

In the book God in the Dock, author C.S. Lewis describes the kind of people we have trouble getting along with. Selfishness, anger, jealousy, or other quirks often sabotage our relationship with them. We sometimes think, "Life would be much easier if we didn't have to contend with such difficult people". Lewis then turns the tables on us by pointing out that these frustrations are what God has to endure with each of us every day. He writes: "You are just that sort of person. You also have a fatal flaw in your character. All the hopes and plans of others have again and again shipwrecked on your character just as your hopes and plans have shipwrecked on theirs". This self-awareness should motivate us to try to show the same patience and acceptance to others that God shows to us daily.

In Ephesians, Paul exhorts us to arm ourselves relationally "with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love" (4:2). The one who is patient is better able to deal with a difficult person without becoming provoked to anger and retaliation. Instead, he or she is able to endure, exhibiting grace in spite of upsetting behavior. Are there difficult people in your life? Ask God to show His love through you. See others as God sees you.

Today We Pray

Dear Lord, I pray for all my Christian brothers and sisters and for each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace to come into their heart. I pray for love and joy to abound in their homes.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than you, Mighty God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight, Lord. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them.

Send me Your light and truth, to keep this day and all the days of my life. And may Your mighty hand protect me, and all my brothers and sisters who have joined me in prayer this day, blessing our homes and our lives. In Christ’s name.

Amen

Today's Godly Reminder - 1 Peter 4:9

Love each other by being hospitable as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time.

Today's Godly Reminder - Romans 8:1

There is now no guilty verdict and no punishment for those who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior. There is no adjudging guilty of wrong for those who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh but after the dictates of the Spirit. With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. 

If you belong to Christ Jesus, you won’t be punished. This is the real freedom in Christ, to those who belong to Him. You are free in His arms. You are free in the name of Christ.

The Daily Grace - All We Need to Know

In a Fernando Ortega rendition of "Just As I Am", Billy Graham's voice can be heard faintly in the background. Dr. Graham is reminiscing about an illness during which he believed he was dying. As he mused on his past, he realized what a great sinner he was and how much he continues to need God's daily forgiveness. Billy Graham was put to an end to the notion that apart from God we're okay. We can feel good about ourselves, but that confidence must come from the knowledge that we're greatly loved children of God (John 3:16), not that we're very good children (Rom. 7:18).

The first step in becoming a truly "good" person as a follower of Christ is to stop pretending that we're good on our own and to ask God to make us as good as we can be. We will fail many times, but He will keep growing us and changing us. God is faithful and - in His time and in His way - He'll do it. 

In his final years, the writer of "Amazing Grace", John Newton, suffered from dementia and lamented the loss of his memory. Yet he confined, "I do remember two things: I am a great sinner, and Jesus is a great Savior". When it comes to faith, those are the only things anyone needs to know. God's grace accepted is God's peace experienced.

Today's Godly Reminder - John 3:16

This verse is very common nowadays, and probably the most memorized verse of all times. But, we should not miss the real essence of this verse, which is God's love to us. He sent His Son for us to die from our sins. Have faith in God so that we will live an eternal life. What a great love it is!

The Daily Grace - A Shared Bond

When I needed a locksmith to get into my car, I had a pleasant surprise. After he arrived and began opening my little Ford's door, we began chatting and I recognized his warm, familiar accent. It turned out that my rescuer was originally from Jamaica - a land I've visited often and have grown to love. This changed a negative event into a positive one. We were in a small way kindred spirits because of our shared love for that beautiful island nation.

This struck me as a reminder of an even greater camaraderie - the joy of meeting, someone new and discovering that he or she is also a believer in Christ. In some places, this is not unusual because there are many believers. But in those lands where there are few believers, the joy of meeting someone else who loves Jesus must be even greater. It's thrilling to share together the amazing reality rings a bond of unity of the freedom from sin we have through Christ!

For all who know Jesus, there is a shared bond, a oneness in Christ (Gal. 3:28), a joy of fellowship that can brighten even the darkest day. Praise God that He brings a bond of unity to all who know Him as Savior. Christian fellowship builds us up and binds us together.