"For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." ~ Deuteronomy14:2

Monday, June 25, 2012

Pleasant Stone Devotional Meditation: June 25

"And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all" ~ Acts 4:33
Most of us have been looking with longing into the depths of these "blue stone" verses, hoping fervently that we'll find something to increase our faith. To give us power in our Christian lives. In this one is a simple answer to that need. "And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all." We are to begin to witness and then the power will come. "Great grace" is already upon us!

Most of us have no power in our Christian lives because we have a subnormal concept of grace. Jesus Christ declares that His grace is sufficient for us. And this means it is sufficient to forgive every sin. This means it is sufficient to cover every failure. This means it is sufficient to cleanse every conscience. We can know the joy of a forgiven heart. We can know the creative joy in having learned how to fail in the Lord's strength. Everyone cannot win. Some must lose. But in His name, because of grace, we can learn how to fail. And we need never carry around the useless burden of a guilty conscience. Grace covers!

Our part is to open ourselves and obey as much as we see right now. This always opens the way for more grace to pour in and as it operates within us, our vision opens and new obedience becomes our privilege. We have God's own word for it; there is always bound to be more grace than sin! Jesus Christ has broken the power of sin. He has come to live within us, if we have received Him there. And with Him has come an all sufficient supply of an all sufficient grace.

"[He is] full of grace and truth."

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