The love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it . . .
Isn't the grace of God perhaps the best gift we can receive while we walk on the earth? I can't think of anything better. How often do you actively pursue grace in your daily life? Think about it, do you spend as much time pursuing a friendship with God as you do pursuing money, enjoyment or influence? I know as good Christians we all work hard to cultivate a good relationship with God, but to constantly grow in grace, to CHOOSE GRACE daily is choice we have to make over and over again.
How can we CHOOSE GRACE daily. . .
1. Pray - pray with no other intent but to please God. Pray with your children, because if you don't teach them how, who will? Pray with humility. Pray every day to grow in grace.
2. Charity - God offers us so many chances on a daily basis to offer service to others. Proverbs 14:21 says " . . .but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy." Need can be defined in so many ways and we should be looking to help people in need in some small way everyday. We don't need to fulfill some great need, simple acts of kindness everyday can help us grow in grace. Maybe a smile to a stranger today will be just what they need today.
3. Forgiveness - Oh boy, this is a tough one. I don't know about you, but God sure does give me lots of opportunity to practice this one. When a friend or family member humbles themselves to ask for our forgiveness, we should accept their apology graciously. This is not the time to "teach lessons" or tell them they should have asked for forgiveness sooner, this is the time to practice choosing grace. Then it is up to us to choose forgiveness over and over again.
I think the most important thing to remember is that we don't have to be perfect to receive God's grace, we just have to be willing to accept it. Let's all practice CHOOSING GRACE a little more everyday.
All you need is faith,
Becky