Have you ever read or heard a Christian quote and thought 'something's a little off here?' This has been happening to me a lot lately. I'm actually rather glad to see it because it means that I'm growing in my understanding.
A while back my sister wrote a devotional she named, 'Gasping for Grace' and called it a devotional for discouraged dieters. While I need to diet, I tend to work at eating healthier as opposed to reducing my calories, yet I have found this devotional book to be life-changing. Her 31 daily devotions look at the huge concept of grace and break it down into bite-size pieces that come out like courses in a gourmet meal. The truth they provide has required several readings to sink in, but I can finally hear a new understanding of grace in my self-talk. How grace allows me to turn condemnation into a way to grow closer to God and to grow in maturity. How I can look at quotes like "Give it your best, then give it to God." and see why the Holy Spirit doesn't show up until the end of our ability to do things ourselves. I can read a prayer that's more like an apology and wonder 'where is the God-given power in that?' But especially when Satan comes to me with regret, I can take that memory to God and say, "God, I did that and I'm sorry. Thank you for forgiving me. Is there anything I need to do about that today." And during that process I know His presence and His blessing and at the end of the process, I show Him the gratitude of my heart. What a peace it brings! And, of course, the hope is that this personal understanding and application of grace will spread to the understanding and application of grace to others.
A while back my sister wrote a devotional she named, 'Gasping for Grace' and called it a devotional for discouraged dieters. While I need to diet, I tend to work at eating healthier as opposed to reducing my calories, yet I have found this devotional book to be life-changing. Her 31 daily devotions look at the huge concept of grace and break it down into bite-size pieces that come out like courses in a gourmet meal. The truth they provide has required several readings to sink in, but I can finally hear a new understanding of grace in my self-talk. How grace allows me to turn condemnation into a way to grow closer to God and to grow in maturity. How I can look at quotes like "Give it your best, then give it to God." and see why the Holy Spirit doesn't show up until the end of our ability to do things ourselves. I can read a prayer that's more like an apology and wonder 'where is the God-given power in that?' But especially when Satan comes to me with regret, I can take that memory to God and say, "God, I did that and I'm sorry. Thank you for forgiving me. Is there anything I need to do about that today." And during that process I know His presence and His blessing and at the end of the process, I show Him the gratitude of my heart. What a peace it brings! And, of course, the hope is that this personal understanding and application of grace will spread to the understanding and application of grace to others.
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