Grace Truly Grace

I'm so glad you are here! I hope during your visit you get a glimpse of God's heart for we become what we are gazing at. I want to be a blessing to you so I've made these Resources available to you and have the Missional blog tab for practical ideas of how to live on mission right where you are. 

Currently I am writing my way through Judges sharing glimpses of God's heart and character for a weekday devotional. To check out the entire series so far head on over the the Judges Devotional. And if you are a blogger, come on over on Friday's for a blog hop.  

"Then Samson said, "With a donkey's jawbone I have made donkeys of them.With a donkey's jawbone I have killed a thousand men." When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi. Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD, "You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi. Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines." Judges 15:16-20 

I am blown away by the graciousness of God! Check out Samson's attitude. "With a donkey's jawbone I have made donkey's of them." but then when he gets thirsty suddenly it's God's doing. "You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" Blame-shifting, but aren't we all prone to it. And don't we sound like donkey's when we boast in our own strength as if we can do anything of eternal value apart from the enablement of the Holy spirit. 

Yet God, right smack in the middle of Samson's blaming Him attitude, does the miraculous and makes water start flowing from a hollow place. Wow! It's like spitting in God's face and yet He stoops down to wash your feet. Grace! Truly God's love is not dependant on our perfection. Truly we can't earn God's love. He will always do what's in our best interest, whether we deserve it or not. "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Matt 5:45 God is in the business of showing grace even when we don't deserve it. 

And what is in our best interest? Sometime it means letting us fail and giving us discipline to correct us. And sometimes it will mean giving success when we don't deserve it. He will always do what is best for our development and growth, just as we would do for our beloved children. Even when it hurts, even when they don't deserve it. 

His love for us is not based on our performance. Because after all we can't live the perfect Christian life apart from Him anyway. "Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" Gal. 3:3  The law exists to show us our desperate need for Jesus and drive us to our knees in dependence, relying on His strength and ability rather than our own. What a gracious God who drives even the strongest to their knees just like Samson in surrender.

God's love for us is based on the reality that we are His, His handiwork, not based on anything we do or don't do. And instead of thinking, if someone really believed that would they go out and sin and do whatever they wanted, the reality is that being loved unconditionally drives us to love more not less. So let's embrace what's true about us for it will drive us to adore the Lord even more.

If you've enjoyed this post will you share it with others? (Buttons that make it easy below)

#413 Spending a little time with Laurie, Rachel
#414 Mom helping me with the dishes
#415 Dad bringing over dinner
#416 Cute comments from Asher about wanting to share the gospel.
#417 Skype
#418 The hope of going to allume
#419 new trampoline and the smiles it brings to watch the boys jump


I'm linked up with the beautiful ladies at  A Holy Experience, The Beauty in His Grip, Nebraska Graceful, The Wellspring, The Better Mom, Homestead Revival, Pause on the Path, Create with Joy