Astonished by Grace

8 Blessed (happy, enviably fortunate, and spiritually prosperous—possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!

--Matthew 5:8 (AMP)

My one, increasingly desperate desire is to see God in all His Glory, to gaze upon His endless beauty, to worship and adore Him forever and ever.  According to the above scripture, in order to do so, we must have a pure heart.

“But how is that accomplished?” one might ask.  It’s so simple, we often miss it.  We must stay connected to this amazing Grace that totally envelopes us and carries us from one season to the next, day in and day out for the rest of our natural lives here on earth and then on into eternity.

This Grace has revolutionized my life.  The Amplified version of the above scripture says that we can be “conditioned by the revelation of His Grace.”  One of the definitions for being “conditioned” is “to be made suitable for a given purpose.”

Isn’t that perfect?!  Not a single one of us can accomplish our God-given purpose and divine destiny without a revelation of God’s endless Grace.  It certainly takes Grace to live in a world where people can do you so wrong, where we can wrong each other, and worst of all, where we can wrong our Most Holy God…and still only by the power of His Magnificent Grace can we make it through totally scot-free! What a God, what a God, what a God! Somebody help me, what a God!!!

His compassion humbles me. This Grace was displayed in the birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who is Grace personified.

Fight to stay in love.  Fight to keep its commands. Fight the good fight of faith.  Stay intimately connected to Christ through faith.

Don’t get burned out working in your own strength.  You’ll wither up and fall away.

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”  (Matt 11:28-30 MSG) 

A Message for the Body of Christ

Tongues and Interpretation for the Body of Christ:

"You are My chosen vessel for My Holy Spirit.  I will never lead you astray; you can trust Me.  You will operate in My Shekinah Glory.  The devil will flee from you, keep seeking Me.  Never lose hope.  Hold on to My Word and My promises.  You never have to worry or fear, for I am with you and I love you dearly.  I will warn My children ahead of time what danger awaits them.  I will divert storms that destroy.  I won't let your faith be snuffed out.  I love you."

Praise Is the Secret to Patience

For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness—in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God].

--Hebrews 12:11 (AMP)

Right now, the Lord is taking me through a season of patient endurance.  He’s whispered so many things to my heart and I believe Him 100%, but He’s asking me to wait on Him.

Of course, my flesh wants to throw a fit.  I started thinking, why is God asking me to do something so hard?? He drops a bomb shell on me, then tells me to do nothing about it.

Then God said, “I didn’t tell you to do nothing.  I told you to be patient.”

Feeling a little silly for pitching a fit, I told God I’m sorry and just started worshiping Him, not to get anything, not to make Him move on my behalf—just worshiping Him for Him.

He’s so awesome, He gives me something anyway.  He told me so calmly, “Praise is the secret to patience.”

I’m beginning to see how right He is.  We often make the mistake of judging our worth and value by the circumstances we’re in.  But God doesn’t see it that way.  When He looks at us, He sees the Son He gave up for us.  God gave up the most valuable thing He has for us.  Do you think He will withhold anything else?  He just wants to have a relationship with us and show us how much He loves us. 

The Bible says to rejoice in the Lord (Philippians 4:4).  It doesn’t say to rejoice in the state of your bank account or the kind of car you drive or anything else.  He tells us to rejoice in the Lord. Whether you’re on a mountain top, coasting on a plateau, or deep in a valley, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

We can rejoice in any situation, in any emotional condition, any time, & any place! As long as we have breath, we can praise the Lord.  I think this example in Acts 16 paints the perfect picture of what prayer and praise can do:

²⁵ Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. ²⁶ Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! ²⁷ The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. ²⁸ But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹ The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.³⁰ Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” 

--Acts 16:25-31

I think this is so amazing.  You can get in a state of praise and worship that is so good, you come to a point where you really don’t care what happens in the natural.  You’re right where you need to be: arms lifted high and totally satisfied.

Even though the prison doors flew open and their chains fell off, Paul and Silas still stayed right where they were!  Even more astounding, the other prisoners did too! And the jailer and his family got saved to boot!

I’m convinced God will never lead me in harm’s way unless He’s already given me the victory for it.  That’s why we can always praise Him in every season.  Nothing is impossible with God.  There’s not a single problem in the world He can’t solve with His goodness and Grace.

Go ahead, you know you want to: let’s give a big Hallelujah to our Awesome King!!!