When we search for and seek God, we find Him. Specifically, we find His grace. This daily devotional reviews how we grow in grace, how grace overcomes sin, and what the end goal of grace is.
Devotions in the Self-Discipline Review series
When we search for and seek God, we find Him. Specifically, we find His grace. This daily devotional reviews what grace is, how it convicts us and grows us to be like Him.
All year, we’ve been looking at self-discipline. We looked at self-discipline as the operational plan for self-control because it talked about improvement.
We are reviewing everything and hopefully putting all of the building blocks together. What I am doing is going through all of the devotions for the year and pulling out the nuggets.
I am formatting this as a glossary page. If I already have one, I will combine them later.
When we search for and seek God, we run smack dab into His grace. We started looking at this in the last devotion. Let’s finish it up.
Growing in Grace
We are not called to be complacent with where we are at the time of conversion. We have to grow in grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3: 18) (The Way of Wisdom).
We use building blocks to grow. To me, that means there needs to be a foundation in which this growth occurs (Comprehending Christ’s Purpose).
It is learning — acquiring wisdom — so that we can grow in grace and knowledge (What Is the Relationship between Righteousness and Wisdom?).
As we perfect our relationships with God, we grow in grace and knowledge of Him, increasing our holiness so that we are more like Him (Disciples and Charitableness).
We don’t have seats on the bullet train. It is a walk — a step-by-step process of figuring everything out (What Does It Mean to Walk in the Spirit?).
Pray. Specifically, ask God for grace (The Battle between Flesh and Spirit).
God has one purpose — to further His kingdom – which He does that by choosing to show us grace and mercy (Blessings, not Curses).
God wants us to get back to where Adam and Eve were before the original sin, which we can through grace (How Are Disciples Pure in Heart).
We should seek God in order to grow in grace and knowledge. In that way, we will be better equipped to disciple others (The Ministry of Reconciliation).
Sanctification depends on us seeking God. As it is a process, we have to seek God to grow in grace and knowledge. Ignorance is the root of impurity (What Is the Relationship between Righteousness and Sanctification?).
We are not going to grow in grace and knowledge — we won’t progress through sanctification — if we don’t work at seeking God (What Is Diligence?).
Transformation needs to continue as we grow in grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3: 18). That growth in grace and knowledge is how we become sanctified. This changes our nature (What Is the Relationship between Righteousness and Wisdom?).
Growing in grace and knowledge to become a mature disciple is going to take effort (What Is Diligence?)
Establishing the relationship with God and growing in grace and knowledge — all the while fending off Satan — is no easy task (What Is Diligence?).
Because God awaits to give us mercy and grace, we can approach Him unreservedly. We can come to Him with anything — large or small. We don’t have to pray in the King James Version. We can know that we will be heard (How Does Boldness Help Consistency?).
The Scriptures teach us the Plan of Salvation and the justification needed for us to believe. No, its purpose is not to tell us how the earth was created. Its purpose is to introduce us to the Creator and His plan to restore our relationship with Him. It tells us of His grace and love (How Do We Profit from Scriptures?).
We strive to grow in grace and knowledge so that we can imitate Him (What Does It Mean to be Crucified with Christ?).
Grace doesn’t just change our character. It also sustains the change (Will There Be a Judgment Day?).
If the Spirit was with Jesus, He is with us also. He has so many roles that help us grow in grace and knowledge (Fulfilling Scripture).
When we grow in grace and knowledge of God, we also grow in wisdom (How Is Wisdom Righteous?).
Jesus addressed ambition. No, I don’t think He was telling us we shouldn’t try to improve ourselves. We know we are to grow in grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3: 18). Jesus was always focused on the spiritual. God wants us to focus more on the spiritual than the physical. The disciples were asking the question wrong (How Are We to be Children of God?).
Worldview people are very quick to point out when disciples don’t do the do’s and do the don’ts. They think it is about execution. It isn’t. The do’s and don’ts are about building character. It is about making the decisions, not necessarily what decision we make. I think it is really about growing in grace through the situations in which He calls us (Being Content with What We Have).
Did I mention peace comes from God? It is a gift — just like grace and faith are (What Is Peace?).
God is going to reveal Himself to us as we grow in His grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3: 18). That means we have to communicate with Him (Peace Starts with Getting Right with God).
God acknowledges our efforts to grow in His grace and knowledge and rewards us when we piously and humbly accept Him (Is Peace Really Just Delighting in the Lord?).
God is going to help us understand, so we will gain peace as He reveals Himself to us. We have all the great words, such as assurance, hope, grace, and provision, to expect God to provide us (Peace Gained through Prayer).
Salvation is about ABCDing. We need to admit our sins, believe Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer, and confess God as Sovereign Lord. The D part is where we shore up our relationship with God. It is where He reveals Himself to us so we can grow in grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3: 18) (What Is Purity to a Disciple of Christ?).
Rest is tied up in disciples seeking God to grow in grace and knowledge (How Are Disciples to be Rested?). God doesn’t leave us to our own devices. He looks after us. He gives us abundant grace and mercy (Isaiah’s Message on Our Call from God).
Worship helps us grow in grace and knowledge. That, in turn, helps us grow in strength and courage (How Do We Worship God in Our Souls?).
See Alsso
Grace Overcomes Sin
God wants us to cut out the old sin and replace it with His love and grace. He doesn’t want it to just be a ritual or symbolic. God wants the change to be real, personal, and genuine (How Are Disciples Humble?).
Not all of our experiences are rainbows and unicorns. We shouldn’t wallow in our cares and sorrows. Instead, we should use our experiences to grow in grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3: 18) (How Does Circumspection Help Consistency?).
What is the Spirit’s constant communication with us? Jesus is enough. God’s grace and strength will sustain us. In the big and the small, God is there (How Can We Find Comfort in Troubling Times?).
Mercy doesn’t negate or dilute God’s laws and commandments. Neither does justification and grace. Sin is still evil (How the Righteousness of God Filters to Us).
Unlike covenant circumcision, which was the physical sign the Israelites agreed with the covenant, circumcision of the heart is where God wants us to cut out the old sin and replace it with His love and grace. He doesn’t want it to just be a ritual or symbolic. God wants the change to be real, personal, and genuine (The Nominal Disciple).
Satan tries to convince us that grace isn’t free — we have to earn it (Belief: The first Step in Salvation).
Look at Scriptures. They show that God wants His grace to instill in us a confidence — in Him and in ourselves (Belief: the first Step in Salvation).
Sin is a part of this body. But our goal is to be growing in grace and knowledge of God (I Pet. 3: 18). Growing in knowledge of God helps us to bring the sin to light so that we can get rid of it (What Is Sin?).
Forgiveness and grace. Isn’t that exactly how we are supposed to interact with others — with forgiveness and grace? Yes, we fall short at times. What do we need to do to increase our abilities to show forgiveness and grace? (How Are Disciples Supposed to Treat People?).
Even though we fell from His grace, God still loved us enough to design the Plan of Salvation (Is Election Really Mercy?).
Spreading the gospel could mean that it is as simple as one person talking to another person, telling how to ABCD. It is us talking about His love and His grace (What Is Missions?).
A disciple gives mainly based on God’s grace. Because God gave so freely and abundantly to us, we give to others (Collecting for Others).
The best place for Satan to cast doubt is in our minds. He likes for us to keep going through a laundry list of past sins to increase our feelings of unworthiness. He wants those doubts to so fill our minds that there no room left for God’s love and grace (Why Do We Doubt that God Adopts Us?).
For those who have ABCDed, God’s mercy removes our guilt and gives us peace. His grace removes the impurities — i.e., sin — and makes us pure (The Fruits of Discerning the Voice of God).
Paul just got done writing that we glory in justification, faith, grace, and peace. Now he is telling us we also glory in suffering (Staying Strong in God during Hard Times to Build Hope).
If we are worshiping an idol, we are not fulfilling the covenant of grace. That means we risk being the fake disciple (How Do We Worship God in Our Souls?).
See Alsso
End Goal of Grace
Our goal is to be growing in grace and knowledge of God (I Pet. 3: 18) so we can become the ones we will be in heaven. To grow, we need to go through — hopefully successfully — these temptations (Does God Tempt Us?).
Righteousness is the end goal. It has to come from God. It is all about putting the wisdom we have learned from growing in grace and knowledge into practice so that we are imitators of God. We have changed our character so that we live our lives according to how He calls us (How Do Disciples Crave Righteousness).
We should approach God in humility. We have to realize we are sinners — even sinners saved by grace. We have to acknowledge that the only way we can gain eternal life is through belief in Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer (What Is Piety?).
Prayer requires grace. God’s willingness to reward comes from His gift (Belief: The first Step in Salvation).
God’s grace started before the foundation of the world, so it was an original thought. No one else could pull it off. That same grace is going to be evident even after this world ends. It will be present through eternity (What Is Election?).
Because we have the hope, we believe in the ultimate triumph of Truth. That will be Jesus’ second coming. In this instance, our hope is in eternal life. We only have that hope when we have Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer. We have to be a child of God, not just a creation made in His image. That hope should strengthen our confidence in God. Our hope is in His grace (Are We Proactive or Reactive?).
Where is our hope set? On grace. Grace gives us eternal hope (How Do We Know We Have Eternal Hope?).
Father. We do not deserve Your grace. Thank You that You give it to us anyway. Help us to grow more like you. Amen.
What do you think?
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