~Grace~

Have you ever truly thought what the true meaning of GRACE is?

This is what Webster dictionary has listed as the definition:
1 a: unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification
b: a virtue coming from God c: a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace.

Our pastor preached on Grace today. Grace is a gift.

Romans 3:24 (NCV) "All of us need to be made right with God by His grace, which is a free gift - through Jesus Christ."

Ephesians 2:8 (NIV) "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."

If we were to try to pay for eternal life this would insult God. We simply are to accept God's forgiving grace.

John 1:12 (NLT) "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God."

Grace provides unlimited forgiveness ~ Romans 5:20 (NLT) "..as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant."

Grace is free, but not cheap. ~ Galatians 2:21 (NLT) "Don't treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die."

Isn't it wonderful that even though we don't deserve this gift, God loves us so much that he gave His only son so that we might have life everlasting. He knows what it is like to lose someone that He cares about, just as most of have lost someone we care about.

I want to share an example that our pastor gave today that I think was awesome. (I hope I can make the point as he did). He had a $5 dollar bill. He asked if anyone wanted it. No strings attached. All they had to do was say they wanted the $5. There were only 2 people out of 500 - 600 who said they wanted the $5. The first person who stood up got the $5. He went on to say that this is the same as the gift of salvation. It is being offered to us. It is free. It is a gift. We can either come and take it or sit there and refuse or ignore or do without this gift of eternal life that is being offered.

I'm not sure if I've been able to get the point across as well as he did. I hope so. There are so many people who are refusing this gift or who do not know about it. I'm sure we all know someone who has not accepted Christ. What more can we do before our Jesus returns?