God IS Able!

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:” 2 Corinthians 9.8

This phrase captures my attention: “God is able … ” That phrase alone is a great encouragement to me. I hope it is to you as well. Just knowing “God is able” encourages me to keep on keeping-on with God. But what is Paul telling us in this verse? Here it is: “ … God is able to make all grace abound toward you … ” Why would God want to do that? Because He does not want us to fail in the Christian life, but rather to succeed. The wonderful thing about God’s grace is that it is limitless. We never leave Him with less that He had before He made all grace about toward us. This thought is mind-boggling. There is ALWAYS enough grace to see us through any situation we face, no matter how hard, how long, or how frustrating.

Paul continues explaining his thought here: “ … that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:” think through this phrase: “ … always having all sufficiency in all things … ” I hear God telling me that He wants me to always have enough of whatever I need to do whatever I need to do for Him. So, let’s snot view a task God gives us to handle as too much for us. It is not OUR ability that is at stake here. It is God’s ability to work in us and through us … “having all sufficiency in all things … ”

Finally, we read, “that ye … may abound to every good work.” There it is … God is saying “I want you to succeed.” We may want to conclude that because God gives us a difficult task, He wants us to fail, but just the opposite is true according to the words in this verse. So my friend, serve on and serve with joy and serve with gladness. God’s got this! Just my thoughts …

It’s All of Grace!

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2.8-9

No one who is thinking clearly would want to take credit for something that only God could do. So many people have their own idea of how THEY are going to get to heaven and it differs greatly from the plan that God has already spelled out. I spoke with a lady once about her relationship with God and how she was going to get into heaven and her response was, “When I get to heaven, God and I are going to have this talk.” Then she proceeded to tell me how she was going to convince God that she was good enough to get into heaven. When she finished, I said to her, “There will be no bargaining with God. It is His way or no way.”

Paul spells out for us so clearly in this verse what God’s way is: “For by grace are ye saved through faith … ” Even if a person struggle to define grace as it is used here, they know down deep in their hearts that it is something that ONLY God can give us. Look at it carefully: “grace … through faith …” You say, “Well, it was MY faith.” I don’t think so: “that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” God gives us the faith to believe in Him and to trust Him. And why would He do that? Here is it: “Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Simple but profound. When you and I get to heaven, there won’t be any bragging about how we got there. We will, however, be thankful for God’s grace and the faith He gave us to trust Him! Hallelujah! Just my thought …