Written by His Grace,
Kevin K. O’Connor
Oct. 27, 2004
Main thought:
to examine the joys of Growing in Grace
Growing in Grace
2 Peter
3:17&18 17Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this,
be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless
men and fall from your secure position. 18But grow in the grace and
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and
forever! Amen.
Grace,
unmerited, underserved favor in the sight of God. Oh to have the grace of God
in one’s life. Have you ever seen those who have done something totally
thoughtless and careless and should have died and yet it seems as though
miraculously they didn’t? In the same way, there have been those who have done
things just the way they should and yet there lives were taken from them. The
mind and the will of God are farther above the heart of man than the heavens
above the earth. Oh that we would draw near to His heart and learn how to love
Him through those things we do and do not understand. To be rich in the Grace
of God, what a wonderful thought. How can one be rich in the favor of God?
Listening much and not becoming
angry.
Praying for those who despitefully
use us.
Giving a glass of cold water in His
name.
Considering others more highly than
ourselves.
Realizing that all things are merely
gifts, even our next breath.
Living free of anger and resentment.
Not being lazy!
To have
our hearts with these attributes causes us to be available for the Grace of God
to fill our lives for His Glory, Honor, and Praise. God’s desire is for a
Living, Loving relationship with each soul that will hear and respond to His
voice. These characteristics are only developed in a heart that has learned to
sit and listen at the feet of Christ our Lord for these attributes are not of
our nature but of Him and Him alone. Our clothing in Heaven will be the
characteristics of Christ that we have grown into while walking this world of
sorrow and suffering.
It seems that it is the extremes of life that have the
potential of developing in us the characteristics of Christ for it’s only in
the stretching of our muscles that they will grow and so it is with the nature
of Christ in us. So for those who are wondering why they were left behind when
a loved one passed away, it is for their own good so that God the Master Potter
may teach them how to use the heartache to clothe their hearts with the comfort
of Christ. For those who have experienced great wealth and prosperity it is so
that they may enjoy the empting of themselves on behalf of others just as
Christ emptied Himself of Heaven’s riches for us. For those who have been given
revelations into the heart of God it is for them to share with those who desire
to grow in relationship with Christ. Flowing water is clean water when the
headwaters are pure. But, you can have the purest headwaters but if the water
is allowed to flow into pools where it just sits, it can stagnate. God is at
the headwaters of every person who has heard the voice of His Love and Mercy
displayed thru His Son, Jesus Christ. But just as the purest water can stagnate
when not flowing so satan’s desire is to block the
water of God’s Spirit from flowing through our lives. Every time a person hears
the grace and mercy of God’s indescribable love, satan
tries to recoup his losses. Many times he does this by trying to make the one
that was saved to cause countless others to have nothing to do with Christ. He
usually does this by causing Christians to live half-hearted, lazy, complacent
lives with Christ thus causing their lives to be barren and empty. No wonder
God tells us in
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either
one or the other! (Whole Chapter: In
context: )
So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am
about to spit you out of my mouth. (Whole Chapter: In
context: )
Oh how we love our ruts
of comfort and complacency and how God hates them so. Another verse which shows
how we are to be as His children;
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that
does bear fruit he prunes[ 15:2 The Greek for prunes also means cleans.] so
that it will be even more fruitful. (Whole Chapter: In
context: )
Learning how to be
diligent to press in and take hold of the hem of His garment is a beautiful
trait that God admires;
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled. (Whole Chapter: In
context: )
He stands ready to reward each soul with more
Grace who has learned to shake off the dust of laziness that tries to wrap
itself around the heart of everyone that confesses Christ as Lord.
Oh the joy of moving in harmony with the Holy Spirit. Not
ahead of Him and not behind Him but hand in hand with His. It seems that the
perfect walk is one in perfect harmony with His. Not one who is so focused on
growing in the knowledge of God that they lack the living of it. Nor one who is so focused on the living of His Word that
they neglect growing in the knowledge of God. God is well pleased with one who
tries, fails, and gets right back up and learns from their mistakes and keeps
going. Perfect harmony concerning our bodies is when we eat exactly what we
need to function, not any less or any more. In the same way we need to be
faithful to use every blessing God brings into our lives unto His Glory, Honor
and Praise; Luke 19 16"The
first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' 17"
'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been
trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' Instead of focusing on what we don’t
have, we need to focus on what we do have and learn to use it with all of our
hearts, souls, minds and strengths to His Glory.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Whole Chapter: In
context: )
and another good verse
is in
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not
for men, (Whole Chapter: In
context: )
and one more good one is
here in Whatever
your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for
in the grave, [ 9:10 Hebrew [ Sheol ] ] where you are going, there is neither
working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. (Whole Chapter: In
context: )
God Bless our beloved
sister Joni Erickson Tada who although found herself in a broken body, realized
that God had her heart and with Him she could do and be anything God wanted her
to be. Because of this, she has blossomed into a beautiful vessel of God’s
beauty and Grace in this sin sick world. Her light of faith, patience, and
endurance shines brighter than one who has never experienced the depth of
brokenness that she has. Way to go Joni! God bless you our blessed sister! You
may learn of Joni and the ministries God has called her into via her web site
at; http://www.joniandfriends.org/
Oh that our hearts would focus not on the multitudes of our
actions but on the intensity of our hearts for His;
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (Whole
Chapter: In
context: )
We all have knowledge,
but until that knowledge enters the heart and affects our will, we will be left
without Joy and Life;
To them God has chosen to make known among the
Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope
of glory. (Whole Chapter: In
context: )
The Riches of God’s grace are free only for those hungry and
thirsty enough to press in and receive them. Why must it be for only the hungry
and thirsty? Because until we hunger and thirst for His Living waters, we are
still living and relying in our own sinful and selfish ways. This doesn’t mean
that we have to go down barren and dried up paths of our own making so that we
may then hunger for Christ. Take children whose hearts have yet to be made hard
by pride and arrogance and notice how when they hear the pure water of God’s
Word they hear it for what it is, Life. The hearing of His Word makes them
hungry and thirsty for His Way. How some of us need to sit for some time under
the hearing of His Word so that the hardness of our hearts can be broken up so
that the Beauty of God may grow therein;
But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and
continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be
blessed in what he does. (Whole Chapter: In
context: )
The only one
who limits our riches with Christ is ourselves. Some of the poorest people in
this life (by poor I mean in health, wealth, or popularity) will be some of the
richest people in Glory because where they could not excel in this life due to
their physical limitations, they will have heard the call of God’s heart into
the fullness of His rewards for every hungry heart.
Heavenly
Father, forgive us for not listening more to Your heart and realizing our need
to seek you ever more intently so that we may ever grow in the endless riches
of Your Love and Grace. In Jesus Glorious, Wonderful Name, Amen.
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