When I consider the magnetic effects of gracious giving, four qualities immediately emerge. First, grace is so attractive: Grace individualizes the gift. When you give by grace, you give individually.
Read MoreCategory Archives: Grace
Free Indeed
My hope has been to create an appetite for grace that is so strong nothing will restrain us from pursuing the freedom and spontaneity it can bring—a longing so deep that a new spiritual dawn, a “grace awakening,” if you will, cannot help but burst through the wall of legalism.
Read MoreMarital Grace
The more the grace of God is awakened in a marriage, the less husbands will attempt to control and restrict and the less wives will feel the need to “please no matter what.” It makes marriage easier to manage.
Read MoreGrace That Releases
One characteristic of a grace awakening ministry deserves special attention: release from past failures. A ministry of grace doesn’t keep bringing up the past for the purpose of holding it over people. There is an absence of shame.
Read MoreAwakening Grace
Want a boost of encouragement? Our God is working toward that end in all of His children. It is His constant pursuit, His daily agenda, as He points us toward our final destination, “the Celestial City,” as Bunyan calls it. Having cleansed our hearts of the debris of inward corruptions and the dust of sin’s domination, God is now daily at work awakening grace within us, perfecting our character and bringing it to completion.
Read MoreModeling Grace Through Disagreeable Times
Let me offer several comments that may help you handle future disagreeable times in a gracious manner. First, always leave room for an opposing viewpoint. If you don’t have room for an opposing viewpoint, you’re not going to do well when you get teenagers. Teens can be among our best teachers. I know ours have been.
Read MoreAgreeing about Disagreements, Part Two
As much as we may pursue peace, and as positive and tactful as we may be, there will still be occasions when disagreements arise. As one wag put it, “Life ain’t no exact science,” which brings me to the last two of four facts with which everyone (well, most of us) would agree. (I shared the first two facts yesterday.)
Read MoreAgreeing about Disagreements, Part One
As much as we may pursue peace, and as positive and tactful as we may be, there will still be occasions when disagreements arise. As one wag put it, “Life ain’t no exact science,” which brings me to the first two of four facts with which everyone (well, most of us) would agree.
Read MoreA Few Actions That Signify Grace
I want to focus our attention today on the concluding verses in Romans 14. Read verse 19 slowly and thoughtfully. “So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.” On the basis of that great statement, consider the first of four action steps.
Read MoreGuiding Grace
In his letter to the Romans, Paul goes into great detail regarding the issue of personal freedom—greater detail than almost anywhere else in his writings. In the fourteenth chapter, for example, he sets forth four very practical guidelines that can be followed by all who are serious about releasing others in grace.
Read More