Tag: fall short of the glory

Praying for Supernatural Grace

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

During our recent Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, it is likely that we took time to pause and thank our Heavenly Father for all of the love, protection and provision that we have enjoyed in our lives. We may have even been humble enough to give thanks for our salvation. But did we take time to consider and give thanks for the awesome gift of grace that we receive from Almighty God each day? With the New Year rushing toward us, let us be sure to add the gift of grace to our prayers of solicitation and thanksgiving.

The ever flowing grace of God is what makes all the other blessings in our lives relevant. Not one of us would even accept the gift of salvation if we had not first received the gift of grace. Our sinful, human nature without the grace of God is simply incapable of accepting the idea that a Savior is needed for entry into the eternal kingdom of God. The greatest blessing that we receive in life, for which we should give thanks every day, is the supernatural grace that we are provided which allows us to acknowledge that we are destitute without Our Savior and we are powerless without His presence in our lives.

With the cherished moments of our holiday season fading away, let us take the opportunity to give thanks for the supernatural gift of God’s grace. Let us always be mindful that only through the grace of God and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that our eyes are opened and our hearts are prepared so that we can see and accept the way, the truth and the life that is in Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we give thanks today for Your ever flowing gift of grace. We pray, Lord, that we will be acutely aware of how far we fall short of Your glory without Your grace. May our hunger for Your grace release the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. May the Holy Spirit lift us up into the fullness of our lives in Christ. May the world know us by the fruit that we bear because of our acceptance of Your grace. We ask all these things in the name of the One who is the ultimate evidence of Your grace, Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Knowledge of God Imprinted on Each of Us

Romans 1:22-23
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul explained how the pagans became idol worshippers. Prior to exposing the idolatry of the pagans, Paul taught how God imprinted knowledge of Himself in every man. He also taught that God confirmed His eternal power and divine nature in His workmanship. Paul’s intention in his teaching was to show that men are without excuse when they worship anyone or anything other than Almighty God.

While it is easy for us to see the foolish nature of the pagans, do we see as easily our own foolishness in placing the things of the world ahead of Our Father in heaven? Like the pagans, have we become vain in our own thinking and foolish in our choices?

God has imprinted the manifestation of who He is in the hearts of each of us. He has created us to be capable of seeking, seeing and understanding His goodness, His power and His promises. This equipping that God has given us should lead us to place Him first, above all other things in our lives. Sadly, we know that all too often we choose foolishness over godliness. We become no better than the pagans in that regard. Alas, we come to the place that we recognize that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Yet, we can rejoice for our merciful God, knowing of our weakness, provided a way for us to stand before Him without blemish. His grace provided us with a Redeemer who washes us clean of our sin and His Holy Spirit that stands by us to strengthen us in our moments of weakness.

Let us become resolute in our efforts to place God first in all things. Let us start each day asking for the Holy Spirit to stand with us and aid us in each decision that we make. Let us end each day asking for forgiveness for the times that we placed the world before Our Creator. Let us rejoice in knowing that on the last day when we stand before Almighty God that we will be received in the image of His Son without blemish.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for revealing Yourself to us. We thank You for placing a void in our hearts that can only be satisfied by a personal relationship with You through Your Son, Jesus. We exalt the name of Jesus whose shed blood washes us clean, making us worthy to stand before You. We ask that Your Holy Spirit stand by us each day as we make our daily decisions. We pray that our choices will always place You first. We pray that our every action will bring glory to You, Your Son and to the Holy Spirit. We ask all these things in the name of the Name Above All Names, Jesus Christ.