G. R. A. C.E.

1 John 3:^6&9 “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him… No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.” (NIV)

God’s Gift To Me, Received By Faith, Available To Everyone, and Comes Through Christ. God’s gift of grace comes through Christ. He paid for it so that you and I can get it as a free gift. The story is told of a woman who was taking a walk along the beach with a cup of coffee in her hand. Her life was filled with pain and regret, and she felt so ashamed and depressed. And she was talking to God about this huge burden on her heart. She said, “Lord, I am tired. I am so tired!” And God said to her, “Nice coffee you have there.” The woman could have exclaimed, “Coffee! Lord, after everything I just said all, You can say is nice coffee?”

But she simply said, “Yes, that is my cup of coffee”, and God said, “Stop” and she stopped. God said, “Walk into the water to ankle deep.” And she obeyed. Then God said, “Take your cup of coffee and pour it into the ocean”, and she said, “But that is my cup of coffee.” And God said, “Pour it into the ocean”, so she did just as she was told and poured the coffee into the ocean. Then God said, “Can you find the coffee in the ocean?”, “I can’t! It got swallowed up in the ocean.” She responded. God said to her, “The coffee is your shame, disgrace, and depression. The ocean is my grace, and my grace covers it all!” Hallelujah!

As you release it into the ocean, you can gather it up again. That coffee is gone. Your pain is gone! The depression is gone! The shame is gone! The illness is gone! As you pour it into the ocean, your mind is restored. God is saying pour that challenge into the ocean of grace. But we often want to hold on to the coffee. God says pour it into the ocean of grace and lose the coffee. G.R.A.C.E. is God’s Gift To Me, Received By Faith, Available To Everyone, Comes Through Christ, and it is Extended Through Eternity. Romans 6:²³ “Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.” (MSG). It is a system that God has put in place. God doesn’t punish Christians, but when people continue to sin and choose to remain in sin, the result is death.

That is why the Bible says that anyone who is born of God does not continue to sin. Everyone who is born of God sins, but they do not continue to sin because the seed of God remains in them. It is the grace of God that takes you out of sin. The wages of sin is death, but the grace of God, the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus.

Prayer: Father, I pray that the seed of God in me will grow deep roots in Christ the source of my faith such that sin will have no place in me and no power over me, in Jesus Name. Amen!