For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God.
—Ephesians 2:8
Let me give you an illustration of the way that faith and grace work together to bring us the blessings of God. In my meetings I often take along a large electric fan that I set up on the speaker's platform. I call up a member of the audience and have her stand in front of the fan, telling her that I am going to cool her off. When the fan doesn't run even though I turn it on, I ask the audience, "What’s wrong? Why is this fan not running?"
Of course, the audience sees right away what's wrong: "It's not plugged in!" they yell. "That's right," I say, "and that's exactly what's wrong many times when our prayers are not answered." I explain that we get our eyes on faith (the fan), expecting it to do the work, but we fail to look beyond the fan to its source of power, which is the Lord.
Jesus had faith all the time He was suffering. He had faith while in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had faith before the high priest and Pilate. He had faith when He was being ridiculed, abused, and mistreated. He had faith on the way to Golgotha. He had faith while hanging on the cross. He even had faith while His body lay in the tomb; He had absolute faith that God would not leave Him there but would raise Him up, as He had promised. But do you realize that for all His faith, nothing happened until the power of God came forth to bring about the Resurrection?
His faith kept Him stable until the Father's appointed time for His deliverance. We can have all the faith in the world; but it will avail us nothing until it is "plugged in" to the source of power, which is the grace of God. Keep your eyes on God to deliver you—not your faith.
Time to Give an Account
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:20–21
In 1989, during filming for the television detective show B. L. Stryker, production assistants secured permission from the residents of a house in West Palm Beach, Florida, to stage a crash scene in front of the house. They warned the people that there was a possibility that there could be some damage to the lawn and the landscaping as a result, but were told to go ahead. At the last minute, a phone call from the irate owner of the house—who lived out of state in New York—halted their plans. The people living in the house were just renters, and did not have the right to authorize destruction of the property.
Everything that we have belongs to God. And one day we will face Him to give an account of how we have handled what He has entrusted to our care. This world is not meant to be our focus. All that we have will be left behind. As the old saying goes, “There are no pockets in a shroud.” We never see the funeral hearse followed by a U-Haul truck. The life that is focused only on this world is a foolish life, and it will not produce eternal rewards.
The rich fool in the parable believed he was thinking about the future as he planned to store up resources and enjoy a life of ease and comfort. But in reality his thinking was deceitfully short term. He had no thought of eternity, but found that his life was over before he expected it to be. We need to live each day with a consciousness of what truly matters and act accordingly.
Luke 12:20–21
In 1989, during filming for the television detective show B. L. Stryker, production assistants secured permission from the residents of a house in West Palm Beach, Florida, to stage a crash scene in front of the house. They warned the people that there was a possibility that there could be some damage to the lawn and the landscaping as a result, but were told to go ahead. At the last minute, a phone call from the irate owner of the house—who lived out of state in New York—halted their plans. The people living in the house were just renters, and did not have the right to authorize destruction of the property.
Everything that we have belongs to God. And one day we will face Him to give an account of how we have handled what He has entrusted to our care. This world is not meant to be our focus. All that we have will be left behind. As the old saying goes, “There are no pockets in a shroud.” We never see the funeral hearse followed by a U-Haul truck. The life that is focused only on this world is a foolish life, and it will not produce eternal rewards.
The rich fool in the parable believed he was thinking about the future as he planned to store up resources and enjoy a life of ease and comfort. But in reality his thinking was deceitfully short term. He had no thought of eternity, but found that his life was over before he expected it to be. We need to live each day with a consciousness of what truly matters and act accordingly.
Today’s Growth Principle:
When God calls us to give account, we should be ready to do so gladly because we have used our lives well.
Faith & Grace: Working Together
by Joyce Meyer - posted May 22, 2016For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God.
—Ephesians 2:8
Let me give you an illustration of the way that faith and grace work together to bring us the blessings of God. In my meetings I often take along a large electric fan that I set up on the speaker's platform. I call up a member of the audience and have her stand in front of the fan, telling her that I am going to cool her off. When the fan doesn't run even though I turn it on, I ask the audience, "What’s wrong? Why is this fan not running?"
Of course, the audience sees right away what's wrong: "It's not plugged in!" they yell. "That's right," I say, "and that's exactly what's wrong many times when our prayers are not answered." I explain that we get our eyes on faith (the fan), expecting it to do the work, but we fail to look beyond the fan to its source of power, which is the Lord.
Jesus had faith all the time He was suffering. He had faith while in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had faith before the high priest and Pilate. He had faith when He was being ridiculed, abused, and mistreated. He had faith on the way to Golgotha. He had faith while hanging on the cross. He even had faith while His body lay in the tomb; He had absolute faith that God would not leave Him there but would raise Him up, as He had promised. But do you realize that for all His faith, nothing happened until the power of God came forth to bring about the Resurrection?
His faith kept Him stable until the Father's appointed time for His deliverance. We can have all the faith in the world; but it will avail us nothing until it is "plugged in" to the source of power, which is the grace of God. Keep your eyes on God to deliver you—not your faith.
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