Our Daily Grace: The Best Thing

 "The best thing we can do for God is to let Him love us."

Mark Boyce

"Now God has us where He wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus."

Ephesians 2:7

God LOVES loving us! He doesn't want our efforts, He just wants to love on us. From that wonderful love flows light, clarity, wisdom, strength, hope, peace, joy, gentleness, friendliness. Seeing His love for us, letting ourselves see His smile and feel the warmth of His delight, melts our hearts and fills us with His very life. It's ok to let God love on us..that is the best thing we can do today!

A thought: My life is full of God's love.

Our Daily Grace: Unlimited Grace

 "Our grace card is not going to be cancelled. His grace is unlimited."

Mike Yaconelli

"But where sin increased, grace increased all the more."

Romans 5:20

It's so easy to think that our sins disqualify us from God's acceptance, favor and help.  But the Bible says that where sin abounds, grace only abounds more.  We can't outsin the grace, love, and support of God.  And if our sin won't keep God from us, nothing will. His grace is truly without limit.  It will never fail!

A thought: I will never be disqualified from God's grace.

Our Daily Grace: His Cherished Child

"You are the child God always wanted."

Steve McVey

"See what great love the Father has lavished us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!"

1 John 3:1

We can all say, "I am the child God always wanted!  I am wanted and cherished, just as I am. There is nothing wrong with me as a person. I am exactly who I am supposed to be, with the personality and quirks and interests He gave me.  He delights in the unique person that is me. I am loved and valued freely; I don't have to do or be anything to be more loved. I don't have to be anyone else but me."

A thought: God adores me, His child.

Our Daily Grace: At Our Lowest, He Accepts Us

 "Grace is God's unconditional love manifested to us in the midst of our sinfulness."

Bob George

"But God has shown us how much He loves us - it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!"

Romans 5:8

At our lowest point, when we feel the most sinful and unworthy, God breaks through and touches our hearts with His love.  He wants us to know that He loves us in every moment, even the ones we feel dirtiest and most undeserving.  Grace is the gift of His love and acceptance and blessing for free, so it doesn't have to be earned or deserved.  Isn't it wonderful to know Someone loves us even at our ugliest, and even calls us beautiful in those moments?

A thought: Even at my worst, I'm beautiful to God.

Our Daily Grace: Loved, Not Condemned

 "We expect criticism, what we receive is understanding. Instead of hearing words of condemnation, we hear over and over again, 'I love you.'"

Mike Yaconelli

"Jesus said, 'I do not condemn you..'" 

John 8:11

He is compassionate, not vindictive.  He is gentle, not harsh.  He is accepting, not critical.  He is not inspecting us to find out our faults but is instead looking on us with understanding, sympathetic of all we're going through. He is everything we hoped He would be and so much more.  His love melts away our defenses and pours like cool water over our souls, healing us with kindness!

A thought: God is everything I need Him to be.

Our Daily Grace: Our Union

 "Our union with God does not fluctuate.'

Dan Stone

"For God has said, 'I will never leave you; I will never abandon you."

Hebrews 13:5

We have been brought into the loving arms of God and made one with Him. He is in us and we are in Him, and this union is permanent.  God promises never to leave us or abandon us.  We are never alone and we are never on our own!

A thought: God is in me and I am in Him.

Our Daily Grace: Not Excluded

 "Your personal inconsistencies, doubts, addictions and failures do not exclude you from God's pleasure."

Mike Yaconelli

"For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love."

Romans 8:38

We are totally welcomed by God, and no part of us is excluded. God takes all of us, with all of our weaknesses, struggles, doubts and troubles.  He embraces the whole of us in His unconditional love. Nothing we do or don't do will stop this warm embrace. We are truly safe in His arms.

A thought: God embraces all parts of me.

Our Daily Grace: He Likes You

 "Jesus not only loves you, He likes you."

Mike Yaconelli

"He delights in every detail of their lives."

Psalm 37:23b

Sometimes it can be a struggle to find earthly friends who really enjoy our company and like us for who we are.  But Jesus is always that kind of friend!  He picks you as His friend, chooses you.  He loves to hang out with you, and He smiles when He thinks of you! He likes your personality, He likes your interests, He likes hearing your thoughts, He likes your inner hopes and dreams. He loves the way He made you with all your funny quirks and uniqueness.  He doesn't just love you, He truly likes you!

A thought: Jesus is the best friend I have ever had.

Our Daily Grace: No Struggle

 "Christ isn't struggling with me! I can relax. No need to struggle myself."

Anne Cary

"For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross."

Colossians 1:19-20

Christ isn't struggling with us or fighting with us.  He isn't disgusted with us or disappointed with us.  Christ is happy with us.  Christ is friendly towards us. Christ is at rest thinking of us. Christ is at peace with us!  Knowing He isn't struggling with us means we don't have to struggle with ourselves or beat ourselves up in self-hatred. We look into His eyes and all we see is love and friendship. There is such rest in that!

A thought: Christ is happy with me.

Our Daily Grace: Rest, Not Work

 "I wish for one moment we could get 'deeds' out of our mind when we think of God and our relationship with Him."

Bertie Brits

"For those who enter God's rest also cease from their labors, as God did from His."

Hebrews 4:10

God calls us to rest.  The Christian life is a life of rest.  We can rest from our endless labors to be good enough, to make up for our failures enough, to meet the standard enough, to figure out enough...because HE has already done enough, suffered and atoned enough, been good enough, met all standards enough.  His work is perfect, so mine doesn't have to be.  HE is perfect, so I don't have to be! He takes care of everything in this Christian life! Let's rest in His arms, because nothing is required of us today.  

A thought: God requires nothing of me.

Our Daily Grace: Blessed for Free

 "Grace means we can blow it in the morning and get blessed in the afternoon!"

Francis George

"Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing.."

1 Peter 3:9

God's way is about blessing and kindness.  He asks us to repay evil with blessing because that is His way of grace and love.  Our behavior doesn't have any bearing on how God treats us.  He always treats us with love, concern, care, help and encouragement.  He always blesses.  It is that kindness of God in the midst of our failures that raises up our hearts in such a powerful way.  Since He will love and bless us in the midst of our worst failures, He will ALWAYS love and bless us!  What security there is in this truth!

A thought: God is always blessing me.

Our Daily Grace: Our Sins Are Gone

 "Why focus on faults that God has dealt with satisfactorily in Him?  Why fix your eyes on what the Cross has redeemed and removed?"

Lydia Grewell

"But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself."

Hebrews 9:26

Christ's sacrifice removed sin, put it away, did away with it!  It's gone, once and for all.  So we can stop agonizing over our sins and faults and start thinking about Jesus and His love for us!

A thought: My sins are gone.

Our Daily Grace: Light Overcomes Darkness

"Light overcomes darkness, not the other way around."

Joyce

"In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

John 1:4-5

Sometimes it seems the darkness is so strong.  But the light of Christ easily overcomes darkness, the love of Christ easily overcomes hatred, the joy of Christ easily overcomes despair.  As God told Catherine Marshall just before He healed her of sickness, "There's nothing here that I can't handle."  

A thought: God easily overcomes the darkness.

Our Daily Grace: Always Gracious

 "Amazing grace has always been God's way.  He's never done anything that hasn't involved grace!"

Joel Brueseke

"The Lord is gracious and full of compassion."

Psalm 111:4

God wasn't all about law in the Old Testament then suddenly all about grace in the New Testament.  He has always been full of grace and has always taken the initiative to care for, love, relate to and bless us all. People's behavior has never been an obstacle for God. He has always loved and helped us regardless of our successes or failures. He has never been vindictive, punishing, or judgmental.  He has always been friendly, accepting and forgiving.   He has been carrying us along all the time, helping us and showing kindness to us, and He will keep on carrying us, supporting us and blessing us to the end!

A thought:  God has always been full of grace.

Our Daily Grace: Trustworthy

 "We have no reason NOT to trust the One who created us."

Kent Burgess

"..Perfect love drives out fear.."

1 John 4:18

Knowing He is perfect Love, purely kind, wholly good and gentle, makes it easier to trust Him.  He is only good; He has no "dark side."  He has never let us down and never will.  He will always come through for us in love and kindness and support.  He is the Love that never fails!

A thought: God has no dark side.

Our Daily Grace: Failure Makes No Difference

 "With grace, failure doesn't make any difference."

David Seamands

"For by virtue of that one offering He has perfected for all time everyone whom He makes holy."

Hebrews 10:14

Grace is amazing! Since it's based, not on our works, but on Christ's perfect righteousness and perfect, once-for-all work, we are truly safe.  We can't mess this up! No failure, lack of faith, confusion, waywardness, struggle or defeat on our part could ever undo what Jesus did or change one iota of His righteousness, which is given to us.  What happens between us and God when we fail?  Nothing!  We are still perfect before Him and totally accepted.  We are still His children and still right with Him (righteous). Isn't grace so wonderful?

A thought: When I fail, I am still right with God through Jesus.

Our Daily Grace: Forgiven Before We Repent

 "The Gospel is really vulgar, crass and immoral because it says that God forgives the world before it repents."

Robert Capon

"God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation."

2 Corinthians 5:19

Forgiveness - not counting people's sins against them.  That is what God did in Christ!  It's so mind-blowing to think of how He forgave the whole world before any of us repented, before we confessed, before we believed, and before you or I were even born.  We can share the message of this reconciliation, that God holds nothing against people, that there is nothing between us and God, that His arms are open wide to embrace us all!

A thought: There is nothing between me and God.

Our Daily Grace: Focused on His Love

 "We focus on His love for us, not on "trying to love."

Brennan Manning

"Lord, let You constant love surround us, for our hopes are in You alone." 

Psalm  33:22

No more struggling, no more endless trying to love. No more feeling that we are never good enough. Instead, just resting in HIS love that is perfect.  Just falling back into the arms that will never let us go!

A thought: His love will never let me go.

Our Daily Grace: Blameless

 "Christ is the END of BLAME for us!"

Sherri Minker

"Yet now He has reconciled you to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result, He has brought you into His presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault."

Colossians 1:22

Holy and blameless, without a single fault!  As holy, blameless and faultless before God as Jesus Himself is!  That's what Christ has brought forth; that's who we are.  There is nothing wrong with you; there is everything right with you!  

A thought: I stand before God blameless and holy.

Our Daily Grace: God's Treasure

 "You are a beautiful work of art, God's treasure.  He is with you, in every breath.  I hope you enjoy every minute with Him as much as He enjoys you."

Rebecca Armstrong

"You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God."

Isaiah 62:3

We can look at ourselves and only see flaws and failures.  God looks at us and only sees works of art to treasure!  What a great thought, that God enjoys us!  He loves looking at us, being with us, spending time with us, laughing at our jokes. He loves our company!  You are His little treasure, and He wouldn't want to spend His day any other way than by your side.

A thought: I am a treasure to God.

Our Daily Grace: Knowing Christ

 "The goal of the Christian life is not to stop sinning!  The real goal of the Christian life is knowing Christ."

Bob George

"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

John 17:3

This eternal life we have been given is not about stopping sin, feeling guilty for not being better, and trying harder to become holier.  This Christian life is about knowing Him!  

That's enough, just to know Him.  To walk with Him through every day in friendship and love.  To join in the cosmic love dance of the Trinity.  To look into the eyes that have been gazing on us forever.  To know a love that won't ever leave us or let us go.  To be delighted in as a child in God's arms.  

Simply to know Him IS eternal life, a fountain of life welling up with eternal joys, a wellspring of life that never will run dry!

A thought: Knowing Him is true life!

Our Daily Grace: Unfailing Love

 "God's love will never fail you."

Jamie Weeks

"Love..always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails."

1 Corinthians 13:7-8

Others have failed us.  And we have failed ourselves.  But He and His love will never fail us.  It will always be there, always accept us, always hold us, always carry us, always succeed for us, for all eternity.

He will not let you down!

A thought: God's love will always surround me.

Our Daily Grace: Righteous

"I am the righteousness of Christ.  And the Court of Heaven will back me up.  Heaven's got my back, what a thought!"

Lydia Grewell

"No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you will condemn.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me, says the Lord."

Isaiah 54:17

We are righteous with the pure and perfect righteousness of Christ!  No accusation can stand against that righteousness!  No shame, self-hatred, or despair can succeed against it!  You are righteous - right with God - through Jesus' finished work.  Never see yourself as dirty or unclean or lacking before God again!

A thought: God is on my side against all accusations!

Our Daily Grace: Loved, Not Punished

 "We were created by God to be loved, not punished."

Joel Brueseke

"Long before He laid down Earth's foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love."

Ephesians 1:4

God has only good thoughts toward us.  His thoughts are from eternity past and have always been love.  God didn't create people to punish them, crush them, harm them or condemn them.  He created people to love them.  Like any good parent, He loved His kids long before they were even born.  Let's see ourselves wrapped in His love, cradled in His arms!

A thought: My purpose is to be loved by God.

Our Daily Grace: Christ Our Life

 "The life I live in the body, I don't!"

Rob Rufus

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  

Galatians 2:20

We don't face anything alone; HE faces everything for us, in us, through us.  Christ is my life.  I don't have to worry about living the Christian life.  Christ naturally lives the Christian life, and that's who is living in me, as me! There is such a peace in knowing that rivers of Living Water are flowing out of us, completely adequate for anything!

A thought: Christ is naturally living out of me today.

Our Daily Grace: No Condemnation

 "God's voice is not on the frequency of condemnation."

Joseph Prince

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

John 3:17

God doesn't kick or demean people when they are down...He doesn't leave them feeling worse...He lifts up and saves people when they are down!  We may condemn ourselves and others may condemn us, but there's no condemnation coming to us from God.  Jesus wasn't called the Condemner; He is called the Savior!

A thought: God always makes me feel better, not worse.

Our Daily Grace: Restoring, Not Shaming

"God is in the business of restoring people, not labeling people."

Darin Hufford

"You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head."

Psalm 3:3

He doesn't want to put us down so that we hang our heads in shame.  He wants to lift us up so that we hold our heads high in joy!  God is not about bruising and breaking: God is about soothing and healing!

A thought: God always lifts me up.

Our Daily Grace: Love Beyond Reason

"God never loved you for a reason."  Wayne Jacobsen

"He loved us not to get something from us but to give everything of Himself to us."

Ephesians 5:1

He doesn't need some reason to love us and He has no agenda in His love.  He just loves us for free!  Like any good parent, He just loves His kids. And "His kids" includes all of His created ones. As Paul told the people of Athens, "We are the offspring of God." Acts 17:29

A thought: God is a good Dad to me!

Our Daily Grace: Loving Ourselves

 "It's alright to love who God loves: YOU!"

Elaine

"I have loved you with an everlasting love."

Jeremiah 31:3

It's godly to love ourselves, not hate ourselves!  It's godly to be gentle, kind and understanding with ourselves. We are to love all who God loves, and God loves each of us!  For God so loved "the World" - that includes all of us.

A thought: I am loved by God so I can love myself.

Our Daily Grace: Delight

 "God is happy with what He made: us!"

Susannah St. John

"The Lord delights in you!"

Isaiah 62:4

We are not a cause of disgust or disappointment to Him but always a delight to Him!  He is crazy about His kids!  He's so proud of us all.  As a billboard I saw once said:  "Your picture is on God's refrigerator."

A thought:  I am special to God.

Our Daily Grace: Joy

 "Everything God says is designed to bring us into joy."  Graham Cooke

"I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete."

John 15:11

His plan for us is always unceasing joy!  He is a merry, laughing, smiling God and He is bringing us into His joy and happiness. Everything leads to the eternal joy that IS Christ in us!

A thought: God's joy is in me today.