THE GRACE OF GOD

Most Evangelical Christians have heard the name of the prolific Hymn  writer and poet Fanny Crosby,who at six weeks old as a result of poor treatment totally lost her sight, but whose hymns have blest millions of Believers over the years, but how many have heard of Annie Johnson Flint, who lost her mother  when she was just three, her mother died giving birth to a second daughter, her father had an incurable disease, so she was adopted by the Flint family who were Baptists. At age 10 she came to faith in a Revival meeting, when she finished school she trained as a school teacher, but after a few short years she became so crippled with Arthritis that she could not walk and became confined to a wheel chair, and like Fanny she began to write poems and hymns some you may know but were not aware of the author. I am wring two blogs regarding two of her well known hymns and commenting on them. The first hymn is the hymn  HE GIVETH MORE GRACE
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.
His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
The main Greek word translated GRACE  is Charis (Strongs 5485) and is defined as

THE DIVINE INFLUENCE ON THE HEART

Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God. AMP. Here the Amplified translation describes GRACE  as the unmerited (undeserved) favour of God,
All mankind deserved was the wrath of God because of Adam’s disobedience, but Jesus took that wrath upon Himself plus all the sins and sicknesses of the world, all for us.
But, that was just the start, as from the day we are born again, we NEED the Grace of God. I guess my favourite verse is Hebrews 4:16 NKJV Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. AMP I love this translation, we can come :

• FEARLESSLY
• CONFIDENT
• BOLDLY           why?  Romans 5:2 NKJV Christ, through whom also we have ACCESS by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God

WE HAVE ACCESS 24/7 TO THE THRONE OF GRACE

Which ACTUALLY MEANS we do not have one excuse for any situation we face in this life, the challenge is, we MUST utterly reject the whispers of the evil one, who says we are unworthy  BY HIS GRACE WE HAVE BEEN MADE WORTHY. let me encourage you to MEDITATE much of this verse, let the Logos become a RHEMA, let the Holy Spirit TURN THE LIGHT ON.
The write to Hebrews says to come “in time of need” and without sounding negative, life is full of constant “times of need” and we must learn to FALL upon the grace of God continually, it may not be a temptation problem. it may not be a mind problem, it may not be a motives problem, it may not be a health problem or an aging problem, let us be convinced:

WITHOUT HIM WE CAN DO NOTHING

Don’t even try and contend with the situation in your own strength, but FALL .UPON THE GRACE OF GOD, we don’t have to do face the challenge in our own strength but letting Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit work in us  we can say with the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:13 NKJV I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  The Amp. says I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me  The Passion translation says I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.

WITH CHRIST WE CAN DO ALL THINGS

By God’s grace we can come to that place where we can say with the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:37 NKJV Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us  The AMP says Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

NOT JUST CONQUERERS BUT MORE THAN CONQUERERS

Some scholars suggest the picture in the Greek text is this:

WE CAN COME THROUGH THE BATTLE WITHOUT A SCRATCH

This is my prayer, “Lord increase my understanding of what your GRACE means for me, and that in EVERY situation help me to throw myself upon your grace for I want it the Man of God you have called me to be” AMEN